The process at work: okra and pepper stew (is it Turkish)

Annalena gets asked, with some frequency, a variation of "how do you plan your meals?" Well, "plan" may be far too kind and organized a word for what goes on when Annalena cooks. This entry is dedicated to what is definitely a "process," but is far from planning.

You all know the situations when you know what you SHOULD be thinking about, and what you SHOULD be doing, but for whatever reason, you aren't doing it. It does not indicate a failing on your part (certainly not on Annalena's), it just "is." And so it has been this week.

And it was against that background that today, at 3, I realized that I have very little idea of what I was going to serve for dinner. I knew what the protein was going to be, because I had defrosted some very expensive, beautiful veal chops. But for the rest... I had begun to think Israeli couscous - and then realized there was corn on the cob in the fridge. Then, for vegetables, I knew I had braised a bunch of artichokes over the weekend, and artichokes go beautifully with veal.

Which probably explains why I bought peppers at the farmers market today, and then thought "OH SHIT. The artichokes."

And, of course, I had forgotten the okra that was also in the fridge, sitting there since Sunday.

Now, the ORIGINAL plan had been to take the corn off the cob and make creamy okra corn saute'. Nothing wrong with that, except I planned to make it the same night I was serving pasta with flounder sauce.

OK, plan "B." Put them in the refirgerator and forget about them. I COULD have made them on Tuesday, when we had spicy lamb chops, except I forgot and made fregola.

So, here we were, with corn on the cob and okra, already in the house, and gorgeous red and yellow peppers coming home with me. And heirloom tomatoes, in addition to the ones that were already at home that I forgot about. And a package of La Quercia prosciutto, that had cost a queen's ransom and would go bad, soon.

And I had no idea what to make. And then, little by little, it came to me, literally between 3pm, and entering the apartment, at 6:30. I would cut a pocket in the veal chops and fill them with prosciutto and fontina cheese, and reduce marsala to make a sauce. Tomatoes: yes, tomato salad. With basil. Now to the vegetable. SHIT. Still no ideas. Peppers, yes.... with basil.

Oh, wait. Basil in the salad already. What else goes with peppers? Hmmm. Maybe oregano. I could taste it. Yes... But what of the okra.

I convinced myself that there is a Turkish dish that involves peppers and okra, although after the fact, I find that there is absolutely no such thing. But you know what? If I'm the first person to make this, I will take credit for it. It was good. It went well with the simple boiled corn on the cob (at this time of year, all you need to do is boil it in salted water), the stuffed chops, and the tomato salad. This is maybe the most difficult dish I made tonight, and it ain't too hard. And now I want you to make it. And I want you to play with different vegetables and seasonings.

You start with four medium sized peppers. Try to vary the colors, which should be a snap this time of year. Cut them into inch sized strips and put them aside, while you prepare about 3/4 pound of okra. Remember, you do it very easily: just cut the tip off: the end that looks like the top of an acorn, and leave them whole. If you happen to be able to get purple and green okra, go ahead. Three whole cloves of garlic, smashed, and a nice hefty handful of fresh oregano, still on the stem.

Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil, and add everything at once. Put a nice amount of salt in, because peppers tend to need a lot of it. Bring the heat to medium high. When the veggies begin to sizzle, turn them once or twice, and then lower the heat, and turn the heat to medium low.

Both the peppers and okra will give up water, and you will be "smothering" the vegetables just like you did with the peppers and onions. You may find the peppers picking up some carmelization and there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong if they don't either. Look at them every few minutes and give them a stir. Then, after ten minutes, take the pot off the heat, and let it sit, covered for five minutes.

The veggies will continue to cook when they're off the heat, getting nice and soft. I found that the garlic really disappeared into the vegetables, and the oregano softened to the point where there were really very few tough stems in the dish.

It was, simply , delicious. And I'm thinking that those eggplants in the fridge that aren't gonna cook themselves, might very well get used in something along these lines. Perhaps then, the basil will go in, because I won't make a tomato salad this time.

Folks, if I haven't convinced you to give okra another try yet, there ain't too much more I can do other than to say, Annalena WANTS you to try it, and whatever Annalena wants....