I have fond memories of my Grandpa’s fried okra, and as a Southern girl, the only way I wanted to prepare my okra was to fry it! So tonight I made a Southern dinner for Koen and me: BBQ porkchops, fried okra, and mashed potatoes. I also feel it’s worth noting that I used American barbeque sauce (Sticky Fingers’ Habanero Hot, my favorite, that my mother brought me in April). If you buy barbeque sauce here, whether as a sauce or even as a chip flavor, it tastes completely different – and to me, not nearly as delicious!
It was so nice having a taste of home for dinner, and I owe a special thanks to my friend Isabella! After talking about cravings from our home countries, America and Sierra Leone, Isabella told me she knew where to find okra. Not only did she bring me okra, but also habanero peppers. Now I also want to visit the market in Brussels!
An American in Antwerp 
Boy that okra goes around. This recipe from your grandpa goes back to Siera Leone I suspect. It arrived in the southern states along with the slave trade. Perhaps way back someone that came thru or from Siera Leone showed one of your ancestors how to cook it. Now someone from Siera Leone showed you where to buy it. I would think you could buy okra in Roosendaal. There should be stores that cater to Surinamers. I’m sure Suriname Maroons entrenched the okra into the Surinam diet and in turn the Surinamers brought them back to Holland. I noticed okra was more readily available in Nova Scotia also. That probably has something to do with the Maroon population there. Besides American Maroons there were Jamaican Maroons there who were taken there by the Brittish because they were causing to much trouble. The climate was not suitable to them so they convinced the Brittish to ship them back to Siera Leone. These and other Maroons were a huge influence on Siera Leone and they are credited with creating Siera Leones unofficial national language, Krio. The language was used in trading and is a brew of Nova Scotian English and African dialects. I’m curious if your friend Isabella speaks it. Maybe you can post one of her favorit okra recipes . And check out how the Surinamers like to prepare it, probably involves curry. I have never eaten okra and all the above info might not be totally acurate but I’m pretty sure it’s close. Of course I don’t have to tell you who shipped the okra to America. Probably one of Koen’s Ancestors
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I just showed it to him. The pork chops and mashed potatoes look good!