Ok, Okra!

How many of you have run screaming from the room?

To the sophisticated few who are still with us, but privately thinking "I don't really like okra". I say "yes you do."

Blasphemy?

Well, no. It's easy to dislike okra– a bit too easy if you ask me.

And it's true, it can be a bit of a slimy mess when cooked improperly. But the obvious answer is, don't cook it improperly! Because, while it is true okra can ooze a certain slime. And it seems that may be unpaltable to many people. But heat tames the slime. Fried okra can be bliss. Really! I mean it. Still there are other ways to enjoy okra.

I like spicy food.

I even like really spicy food.

In my current state of broken jaw with mouth wired shut, I seem to be missing spicy food. Even more than a nice chewy cut of red meat. I am sure that particular craving will hit me soon (like a ton of bricks). After all my mouth has been closed for business less than a week now. Give it some time. The worst is yet to come. I am sure it will start to get ugly real soon.

But right now, right here, today, I want something spicy and south of the border in flavor.

I’d really like a torta al pastor from any one of the many thousands of taco stands or trucks that dot the corners of Los Angeles (gosh, you gotta LOVE Los Angeles). But pork is not a tune my teeth can tap to anytime soon. Heck even bread or tortillas are out of the question for several more weeks.

What’s a man to do?

I am home! I am home! I am HOME!

I hope you noticed that Sup has been a little bit AWOL this past week. I was traveling. I wish I could say it was a vacation, but it was really mostly work stuff.

When these plans were made I had great hopes of posting from the road.  But, well… one thing led to another BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. I am great at excuses aren’t I?

In case you didn’t know. I was in San Francisco. I met The Daily Spud there too. Spud is not just a fabulous blogger, but as I can now attest, a fabulous person as well.  We had a great lunch at Zuni Café. I also met all the cool kids at FoodBuzz. Talk about a plum job!

But most importantly, I also finally experienced a proper Vietnamese banh mi (pronounced BUN-mee) sandwich. I bought one for Spud too. Which is sorta funny because we had just had a long lunch but we could not help ourselves from stopping in at Saigon Sandwiches on the way back to our hotels. There’s nothing wrong with 2 lunches is there?

Too many people are afraid to cook fish at home. This is a subject I’ve spoken on before in a very general way. But today I thought I should give a specific, simple example of what I mean.

Because, sometimes simple really is best.

Especially when it comes to a tender and delicate fillet of fish. It takes a light hand a few simple ingredients, but a pan sautéed fish is a beautiful thing to behold.

It’s a method you should master.

In this case tilapia, which is a very delicious and sustainable fish. The Seafood Watch rates it a “best choice” if it is tilapia grown and farmed in the U.S. But please “avoid farmed tilapia from China and Taiwan, where pollution and weak management are common.”

Tilapia is a delicate, white (to pinky rose) fleshed fish. It is a very good choice for pan sautéing because it is easy to overcook and benefits from a quick hot pan and all of your attention.

Like I said simple is best.