Meatless Monday: Spiced Okra

Meatless Monday is featuring my recipe for Spiced Okra on their website this week! And my lovely photograph is on their main page.

Here's their description of the dish: 

Okra is caramelized in the oven and tossed with tart lemon juice. Curry powder adds a kick to this simple side dish that highlights okra’s naturally savory flavor.

Just the other day, I was standing next to a huge box of fresh okra at the West Hollywood Farmers Market, when a woman asked me how to cook okra. She complained that whenever she's attempted it, the okra always comes out horribly slimy (which it tends to do when not prepared properly).

What I love about this recipe is that roasting the okra crisps it up beautifully, transforming the sliminess into juicy deliciousness. The curry powder and lemon juice lend the dish a great kick and amplify the flavor. And roasting the okra with olive oil is much healthier than frying it (which also eliminates the slime factor).

So if you have a chance, hop over to Meatless Monday's website and check out my recipe for Spiced Okra -- and those from the other three featured bloggers this week. Their recipes include Eggplant Chard Frittata, Corn Bell Pepper Soup, and Roasted Summer Squash Spagehettini. Can anybody say yum?

Here's the direct link to my recipe for Spiced Okra

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes & Kale

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes & Kale

My husband is in Las Vegas for his fantasy football draft (but given how seriously he takes it, I don't think it's much of a fantasy for him).

Consequently, I have a very quiet Saturday planned. I woke and drank a pot of green tea. Then, I prepared and ate my simple, yet perfect breakfast (one egg, one slice of Ezekial toast, sauteed baby bok choy with low sodium tamari and sesame seeds, raspberries). I also did yoga on my porch while the sky thundered and rained a little bit (the first rain we've had in as long as I can remember).

I'll spend the rest of the day doing a little work, writing my recipe column for Patch, and organizing my office. And perhaps I'll come closer to finishing A Dance with Dragons (I've been reading this series for the better part of the last five months, but it's drawing to a close soon). And I'm addicted to Salon's Life Stories, and am reading through the entire archive (I love personal essays).

I also decided to make one of my favorite recipes for dinner tonight: Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatoes & Kale. I threw all of the ingredients into my slow-cooker instead of cooking them conventionally.

I'll let them simmer and stew away all day, and then eat them over brown rice. And perhaps with a side of garlic naan as a special treat (from the freezer section at Trader Joe's). This will be a comforting, healthy dinner.

I love the hearty, earthy combination of lentils, sweet potatoes, and kale.

I also love using my slow-cooker because at the end of the day, it feels like somebody has cooked dinner for me, something that never ever happens in my house...

To a lovely weekend for us all, filled with joy, comfort, and most of all, good food!

Update: I ended up meeting friends last minute at Son of a Gun for delicious cocktails and dinner. But this dish made a fabulous lunch the next day!

Heirloom Tomato Bread Salad (Panzanella) with Wild Arugula

Heirloom Tomato Bread Salad

According to my calendar, it's September, but you wouldn't know it from the triple digit temperatures in Los Angeles.

The Adorable Monster and I are huddling up by the air conditioner, avoiding the dog park (much to his chagrin), and doing out best to stay cool. Ironically, our Labor Day weekend was filled with work! I finished polishing my manuscript and sent it off to my agent this morning (Yay! Can't wait to see how it all unfolds!).

So hold a positive vision for the novel finding the right publisher...

When it gets hot like this, I always gravitate toward making cool dishes, like today's recipe for Heirloom Tomato Bread Salad. Also known as Panznella, this recipe is based on the Florentine dish that combines tomatoes with stale bread, olive oil, and vinegar. Basil and onions often accompany it, too.

Fortunately, heirloom tomatoes are still going strong at my local markets, and I'm always looking for any way to use them. Another thing that I love about this recipe is that it makes use of stale bread (waste not, want not!).

In addition to the bread and tomatoes, I added some lovely purple basil and wild arugula, but feel free to make it without those flourishes. It's great either way! Also, if I'm feeling extra fancy, I sometimes saute the bread cubes with a little olive oil to crisp them up slightly, but this step isn't required.

Heirloom Tomato Bread Salad (Panzanella) with Wild Arugula
Prep time: about 10 minutes
Serves 4 people
Vegan
Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 medium heirloom tomatoes (about 2 cups), chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
• 1 cup stale bread, cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup wild arugula (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Place the bread in the bottom of a bowl. 
2. Top with the tomatoes. Drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. 
3. Allow to rest for about 30 minutes, until the bread soaks up the liquids from the tomatoes and softens. 
4. Add the basil and arugula (optional) and toss to combine. Serve right away at room temperature. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients

• heirloom tomatoes, purple basil, and wild arugula from the West Hollywood Farmers Market
• sourdough baguette from La Brea Bakery 

The Adorable Monster Sleeps Through Earthquake

It's been awhile since I've posted about the Adorable Monster, my crazy mini-golodendoodle who is fast approaching the ripe old age of three. That's twenty-one in human years.

Yesterday, an earthquake struck Southern California--only a 4.2 on the scale--but enough to shake the house and rattle Kuzak's high rise. He texted me to ask if our dog sensed the earthquake before it struck and led me to safety.

Yeah right! I thought as I read the text. Fat chance of that...

So I sent him this picture of exactly what the Adorable Monster was doing during the earthquake--sleeping! Also, note his preference for using pillows like a human.

Earthquake sensing is apparently not in his repertoire.  

What are his main talents?

1. Waking me up. Every. Single. Morning. By pouncing on me wolverine style with his monster paws.

2. Getting overly excited when told he is going to the "dog park" (two words you should never say in my house, unless you want a fur ball flying through the air at you at top speed with paws extended).

3. Eating anything and everything he can get his furry paws on. This includes kitchen scraps, sticks, dead bugs, live bugs, leaves, hair bands, guitar picks, loose change, socks, underwear, bras, actually, any item of clothing, dish towels, and more.

4. Barking at every dog which walks past our house. Even though the same dogs pass the house at the same time. Every. Single. Morning. Somehow, it still excites him. Sometimes, I wonder if he's like a gold fish with shoddy long term memory.

5. Sleeping in various contorted positions on the softest things in the house. At all hours of the day. Sometimes all day long.

6. And lastly--he has a talent for being extra fluffy. Seriously, that counts.

So there you have it folks! This concludes the Adorable Monster update.

Jinya Ramen in Studio City

Let's all welcome September!

It's sure to be a packed month. I'm busy finishing a polish on the manuscript for my debut novel, which I'm delivering to my agent after Labor Day. I'll be hunkering down for the next five days, staring at my computer screen with blurry eyes and swigging green tee by the pot. But there's nothing I'd rather be doing.

Instead of sharing a recipe today, I wanted to post about the fabulous lunch that I had yesterday at Jinya Ramen in Studio City. A recent transplant from Japan, I consider this shop to have the best ramen in Los Angeles (I know, there's always a big debate raging about this).

Yesterday, along with my friend/editor/literary guardian angel, I feasted on the spicy ramen, studded with spinach, spicy bean sprouts, and pork chasu. We both added a green salad and gyoza, which I adore.

Although, we both had to take post-ramen naps, it was worth it! I think that ramen is the ultimate comfort food--filling, flavorful, warm, soupy, and budget friendly.

In addition to Jinya Ramen, I also love their counterpart izakaya (Japanese pub) called Jinya Robata on 3rd Street in West Hollywood. In fact, I go there so often, that the manager and all the cooks know me well.

Here's the article I wrote on Jinya Ramen when they first opened.