Okra

As novelist and cookbook author Dori Sanders invites me into her hotel room, she insists I look toward the bed."I can't believe this," she says pointing upward. Over the big four-poster is a ceiling mirror. "I just can't get over that," she says.That kind of odd luxury is a long way from her life and that of her forefathers, who were farmers in South Carolina dating back to ++ the 1800s.Ms. Sanders, who has written two novels plus "Dori Sanders' Country Cooking" (Algonquin, 1995, $18.95), can trace her family's history back to slavery.

I am glad for the work of Danielle Nierenberg and Amanda Strickler and their Nourishing the Planet project ("Shortening the food chain," Aug. 23). However, there was no mention in their recent opinion piece of the fact that there is already 3,600 calories per person per day available in the U.S., twice what is needed. Good food does not satisfy, although it fills you up. I recommend two cups of water four times a day which amounts to zero calories. Then have one pound of true vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce or celery.

Canning Before freezers, canning was the most popular method of preserving the summer's harvest. Canning involves cooking foods to kill microorganisms, packing foods in airtight glass jars and sterilizing the jars in boiling water to prevent spoilage. Equipment: Canning jars, lids, large kettle, kitchen tongs, jar funnel, jar lifter, bubble freer Summer choices: Berries, peaches, tomatoes, green beans, okra, summer squash Drying Drying is the oldest method of preserving. Food drying extracts water from food by circulating air through it. Nothing is added.

If my husband and I were to name our favorite cities, New Orleans would be right at the top of our list. Our ties to the Crescent City are deep. Growing up, we visited often because we had grandparents who lived nearby, then we spent our college years at Tulane and Newcomb. We have many fond memories of celebrating Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street, and now, many years later, we still check the calendar to find out when Fat Tuesday falls. I am planning to host a Mardi Gras party next week, and already have the menu chosen.

Bring a little Southern flavor to your dinner table with a spicy thick Creole gumbo, a soup that traditionally consists of many combinations of fish or shellfish, poultry, game, meats and game.The recipe here is a streamlined version of the traditional gumbo. It's a tantalizing taste of southern Louisiana without a great deal of effort. The entree soup can be prepared in 10 to 15 minutes.Gumbo traditionally is brimming with sliced okra, which also serves as a thickener. This is a vegetable you may have to learn to love.

When it comes to American Southern "peasant cuisine," the best advice is to make more than you need, and you'll find a great secret of the farm wife's economical but lavish table. Because you can pull side dishes from the refrigerator all week, you'll be serving mini-banquets, not lugubrious leftovers. It's the meal that keeps on giving.Country ham, red-eye gravy and gritsServes six.Look for thin, pink slices of ham packaged in see-through plastic, preferably from Virginia or North Carolina.

After eating a mess of gumbos - 13 bowls to be exact - I was curious about what the keys were to making a good one. "It's the roux; you have to move it, move it, move it," said Mary Rivers, who prepares the gumbo at Ale Mary's, a Fells Point pub that she operates with her husband, Tom, and her brother-in-law, Bill. "The roux has to be the consistency of good gravy," said Brian Badger, who whips up the gumbo in the kitchen of Slainte Irish Pub and Restaurant on Thames Street. "You can't rush the roux," said Jill Oliver, who - along with Ted Young - makes the gumbo at the Wharf Rat's locations downtown and in Fells Point.

By now, it's safe to say Miss Shirley's has Southern cuisine down to a science, regardless of the location. From the Baltimore restaurants to the food truck — and now, the new Annapolis branch — breakfast and lunch at Miss Shirley's are undeniable hits. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the Miss Shirley's in Annpolis, which opened early last month, was jammed. Luckily, a table opened and we were seated by a hostess who sported a Secret Service-type ear bud that kept her and the busboys aware of what's going on in different parts of the restaurant.

Hook, line and sinker, the flavor of these two seafood recipes will surely catch you.Bonnie M. Binebrink of Baltimore wants a recipe for a crab mold. "I have a shrimp mold recipe and would like to serve a crab and shrimp mold as part of a summer lunch," she wrote.Chef Gilles Syglowski chose a recipe of Linda Prause of Reisterstown, who sent "a favorite of my guests."Crab mousseServes 16 as an hors d'oeuvre or 6 as part of a luncheon1 (10 3/4 -ounce) can cream of mushroom soup1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese1 package (or 2 teaspoons)

Forget the beer and nachos for this television show and instead dust off the fine china. The 25th Anniversary Gala at the Metropolitan Opera will be broadcast nationally via pay-per-view cable television Monday evening. Check your cable network for channel and price information.For culinary inspiration we turned to the "The Metropolitan Opera Cookbook" edited by Jules Bond. The cookbook is full of recipes contributed by opera greats such as Luciano Pavarotti's pasta and tuna recipe and Leontyne Price's shrimp gumbo recipe.