SO. This is okra. Okra is wonderful, and if you aren’t yet on the okra plane then…well it’s leaving. That means no in flight movie, no scratchy blankets you have to pay for and ABSOLUTELY no salads with crunchy fried okra pieces. 

Work-lady strikes again, this time with a huge bag of okra. Not gonna lie to you, last time this happened it sat in the bag until it had to be thrown away. But then it became guilt okra; I couldn’t look at the woman without feeling awful for tossing out her okra she probably broke a rib to produce…maybe not, but still. Gardening is dangerous.

Last night I went to Publix in a fit of boredom. I know, everyone’s surprised. I happened on these things in the produce section (which is always promising)

Those little beauties are called dinosaur  pluots. Get it? Plum + Apricot = Pluot. They have a sweet, mild flavor and are speckled with red, orange and yellow. The fact is these are probably some freak of genetic produce manufacturing, but they’re so tasty I want to slap people so I’m doing the classic thing and ignoring the problem.

I thought to make this stone fruit and okra centric salad to celebrate the hopeful emergence of fall this weekend and the wonderful produce that comes with it (consider this salad my fall-dance). Like rain dance. But for Fall. Who doesn’t like pumpkin spice and sweaters anyway?*

Arugula with Pluots, Goat Cheese and Fried Okra

White Wine Vinaigrette

• 1/3 C Vegetable Oil (I used half olive and half veg)
• 1/4 C White Wine Vinegar 
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 2 Tsp. Sugar
• 2 Tsp. Ground Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp. Dried Parsley
• 1/4 Tsp. Dried Basil

Fried Okra

• 10 Pieces Okra, washed and dried, cut into 1/4 in. pieces
• 1 Beaten Egg
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1 Cup Cornmeal
• 1/4 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tsp. Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Ground Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil 

Salad

• 1 Package Arugula 
• 4 Oz. Goat Cheese, crumbled
• 2 Pluots (but buy more to nomnom), sliced (Could substitute Plums, Apricots or Peaches) 

Directions

1. Combine vinaigrette ingredients and shake together (I have a fancy dressing spinner, but I love using a tight mason jar too.)
2. Place cut okra in a small bowl with the egg and milk . Let sit for about 15 minutes.
3. Combine the cornmeal, salt, sugar and ground pepper in a large bowl.
4. Heat oil on med-high heat in a large pan or wok.
5. Dredge the okra in two batches by tossing half the okra in the cornmeal mix at a time.
6. Gently set half okra in oil. Let sit for a minute or so, then stir around with a spatula and keep the okra moving (gently so the coating sets)
7. When the coloring looks right (somewhere right past golden brown), remove okra with a slotted spatula or spoon to a paper towel lined plate
8. Toss salad with a few tablespoons of dressing, top with crumbled cheese, okra pieces, and sliced pluots.
9. Die happy.

*We can still be friends if you dislike pumpkin spice and sweaters. But seriously. 

…Never try to smoke jalapeños in a pot. You may end up running around throwing beach towels at your screechy system so that your upstairs stompy Asian neighbors don’t hate you even more than they already do. 

Not to say that the first thing I would do in a fire emergency is throw a pan of cold baked oatmeal back into the fridge so that the fire department doesn’t judge me…

Spaghetti for dinner it is. 

DON’T ASK ME WHY I WAS EATING TWO DINNERS OK. GET BACK ON YOUR SPRINKLERS AND MAKE A SEXY CALENDAR ALREADY.

My search for jalapeño recipes turned into a rant about how there is no diet soda in the house…which turned into me googling mad old ladies.

What is my brain?

OH PS. I’m totally gonna roast the eff out of those little bastards.  

Can’t stop listening to this while brainstorming ideas for hot peppers. I’m not mad at it. 

My boyfriend is awesome. More on that later. Some housewife at his work gardens a lot, and sometimes I receive the fruits of her house-labor. This time, a bag of hot peppers. What to do, what to do…