October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, special features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food. Bon appetit!

Forget all of your preconceived notions about meat-free cuisine; this vegetarian gumbo recipe is a hearty, spicy, easy-as-pie take on the original from down south.

I discovered the recipe on the Whole Foods Market Web site last summer after returning home from El Rey with an abundance of okra (it was, like, 75 cents for about two pounds).

I immediately thought of Palomino's fried okra side dish, but realized I wouldn't be able to replicate its greasy glory without a deep fryer. My next thought was of Cajun food, and I took to Google to search for recipes.

Although I just randomly chose this recipe out of the hundreds Google returned, I'm glad I did. It has since become a household favorite and when I recently coupled it with homemade cornbread and mojitos for friends, they immediately wanted the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced into strips
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 tbsp. Blackened Cajun spice
1/2 lb. vegetarian sausage links, cut into 1-in. slices
3/4 cup rice
8 oz. frozen cut okra (I used fresh)
Hot sauce to taste

Directions:
Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot until warm. Add garlic and sauté briefly. Add pepper, stir well. Cook another four minutes, then add tomatoes, beans, seasoning and sausage. Bring to a boil and add rice. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add okra and simmer another 10 minutes or until rice is cooked.