fried okra with aleppo pepper

i tried my hand at cooking okra two summers ago with great success when i made this super simple okra and miso marinara over soba noodles.  but i kept hearing that fried okra is one of the tastiest ways to prepare this veggie – which is often misunderstood as slimy and strange.  i started off with a light breading of mostly garbanzo bean flour and some aleppo pepper for taste, which is an amazingly flavorful but mild pepper i find similar... Read More

sesame-fried shishito peppers

like the daikon radish or momotaro tomatoes, shishito peppers are special japanese treats that – lucky for us – are easily grown in california.  and lucky for me, the local japanese family farm i work for carries them. most of these miniature peppers are very mild, almost like a bell pepper with just the tiniest bite of spice that is not at all hot.  one in every 20 or so might be spicier, but cooking helps reduce the heat of the... Read More

fried banana wontons

a few months ago i posted about using wonton wrappers to make chik’n and mushroom wontons, and since then i have been experimenting with all their possibilities.  i’ve tried little veggie spring rolls, pumpkin potstickers, mini apple pie wontons, and now, the simpilest of all, fried banana wontons. there’s very little prep work to make these little treats.  just slice up a banana, sprinkle it with some ground cloves, fold the... Read More

herb and corn meal onion rings

i appreciate a good onion ring when i taste one, but it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t fry them up in the same oil they cook the chicken fingers in.  similarly, the heavy all-flour batter typically used is way too thick, requiring a longer cooking, which results in an over-cooked onion inside. i took a stab at making my own with some delicious results – using corn meal instead of flour makes for a much lighter, fresher, crispier... Read More

sweet potato latkes with vegan sour cream

i know i’ve been going all out with christmas cookies this month, but the time has come to celebrate the other delicacies of the season.  and though i’m not jewish i can appreciate a good latke when i taste one. here, i toyed around with the recipe to come up with a not-so-traditional version of a holiday classic. traditional latkes, while delicious, can be somewhat dull – i substituted beautifully colored sweet potatoes for the... Read More

pickle chips

this recipe was completely inspired by my current favorite restaurant, pure luck cafe. these pickle chips aren’t quite the same but they tide me over during the hours they’re closed. Read More  Read More

review: pure luck cafe

i recently lived in portland for a few months, a beautiful green escape from the city, filled with clear air, trees, mountains, waterfalls and many smiling faces. now that i’m back in LA i am not often reminded of oregon, but it seems nearly every time i make my way over to the melrose and heliotrope neighborhood some magical force brings a subtle grayness to sky and crispness to the air. with all of the smiling vegans and bikers in the street,... Read More

chik’n and mushroom wontons

i was poking around at the grocery store and got to looking at the egg roll wraps. unfortunately they contain egg, but right next to them were wonton wrappers which didn’t. this got me thinking of all the tiny possibilities i could create with these: garden rolls, pot stickers, or even just cutting the wrappers into strips and frying them into crisps for a salad or stir fry. but i decided to start off simply with some fake chicken and mushroom... Read More