just beyond my own backyard

Deborah
The weekly email newsletter from The Queens Botanical Garden proudly announced the opening of their new farmer's market. Yippee, I am there! The timing could not be better. Not only have I been yearning for a farmer's market in the hood, but I also had to prepare a tasting for a vegan hors d'oeuvres party this afternoon and could really use some fresh produce for inspiration.

A happy sign! 

The market is located on the corner on Main Street and Dahlia Street (what a great street name!) just outside the gates of the gardens. There were only a few vendors but they had plenty of beautiful things to choose from. 

The surprise hit for me was Tierra Farm from Valatie, NY selling organic nut butters and toasted seasoned organic nuts that were insanely fresh and flavorful. I bought some of their Roasted Cajun Cashews, immediatly opened the container and began eating, much to the amusement of the young vendor. Be forewarned- they are ADDICTIVE!

Back to the vegan hors party. Yes all vegan. And the 100 plus guests will be mostly non-vegan eaters which means they will need some convincing. Black bean cakes with fresh corn relish seems like a crowd pleaser. The corn at the market was so appealing, the husks still pale green and tender- not grey and papery like the corn I am still seeing at the supermarket.

The relish was easy to make and really delish. I didn't need a lot for my sample tasting so I ate the rest myself (!) piling it on top of some roasted vegetables. The  kernels were bursting with sweet corny juice. The relish added a lively bright note to the deeper woodsy flavor of the vegetables and is a perfect foil for the black bean cakes. 

Black Bean Cakes with Corn Relish

for the black bean cakes:

2 cups cooked black beans

1 small red onion finely chopped

2 jalapeño peppers finely chopped

4 cloves garlic finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped

1/2 lime zest

1/2 cup gluten free flour

1 cup canola oil

Mash the beans in a large bowl and add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro and lime zest. Mix well. If this were not vegan I would add an egg. Just saying. Form the mash into 1 Tbs. sized little buttons and press a little depression into the center of each one to form a little cup. Dust each one with the gluten free flour. Refridgerate for 1/2 hour so the cakes don't fall apart (too much) when frying.

Heat the oil in a large skillet till very hot and almost smoking. Fry the cakes in the hot oil in batches so that you don't crowd them and have room to turn them over (carefully). The oil should come to about half way up the side of the cakes. Fry on one side for about 6-8 minutes, then flip and fry on the other side for 5 more minutes. The idea is to get a light crust on the cakes which will act as a seal to hold them together (hopefully)- there will be casualties, don't fret, even the mangled ones taste good.

Carefully remove the cooked cakes from pan and allow to drain on a paper towel.

for the corn relish:

1 cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar 

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 clove garlic, peeled 
• 1" ginger cut into rounds
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small red pepper finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper finely chopped
• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 
  

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and add garlic, ginger, and thyme. Simmer 10 minutes, until mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup. Remove pot from heat and strain, reserving the reduced liquid. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper and jalapeño. Cook, stirring, until pepper softens. Stir in corn. Cook 2 minutes longer. Add vinegar mixture to corn mixture; simmer 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature in fridge. Stir in chives.

Amanda
Hmmmm. A Vegan Hors d'oeuvres party for mostly non-vegan people. Interesting challenge for which to prepare. I would be at a total loss of course. Would love to hear what else was on the menu!  This particular recipe sounds great. It's similar to the black bean burgers I make (which do have egg). I think the corn relish would be the perfect addition to my burgers! Can't wait to try it.

For an hors d'oeuvres party, it is easiest to just pick wines that are very food-friendly in general, and will pair with a large variety of flavors. This is not a type of event where you really have to be too particular about the wines you choose. However, I would typically opt for wines that are familiar to most people. Most are not wine connoisseurs, and I just want the attendees to feel comfortable looking at whatever choices are available. Recognizable varietals are always a safe way to go.

I recommend "crowd-pleasing" wines - wines that will be enjoyable to everyone, whether they are a novice or expert.  Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are always good options for whites. I choose these for their crisp, light, fresh qualities.  For reds, I suggest Cabernet Sauvignon or a Pinot Noir. Choose simple, straight-forward wines. The crowd is not there to assess the characteristics and complexities of the wines. They are there to mingle, enjoy good food, and have a good time! The wine will certainly not be the focal point of the party. Deb, let us know how it goes!

who ya calling obsessed?

Deborah
A while back I wrote a post about a raw kale salad that Amanda had sampled at a wine tasting dinner. I tried (unsuccesfully) to recreate that dish and wondered if anyone else has ever made one. It turns out my dear friend Olga makes a raw kale salad. In fact, she considers it her specialty. Olga is someone I would consider a VERY healthy eater. She is a massage therapist and is in great shape. Here is what she has to say on the topic of RAW KALE SALAD:

Olga

I am the queen of raw kale salad, a kale ceviche, as I have monikered it. Making some right now with lots of vinegar, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, sun dried tomatoes, Persian cukes and, I think this is very important: Lacinato kale, it's more tender and sweeter. It's the non-curly kind, deep dark emerald green.

Some good things to put in your raw kale salad

I've got die-hard non-salad eaters slurping up the kale with this recipe! I chop the lacinato kale into large pieces and let it sit in much vinegar and pomegranate molasses, plus I chop up Persian cukes nice and thin and they marinate and pickle in the "brine" -- YUM!  Also sun dried tomatoes add a nice saltiness; sprinkle walnuts on top as a last addition to maintain the crunch. 


The best batch I've made so far is when I used the pickling water from a giant jar of Russian pickled cherry tomatoes -- why? Probably the sugar in the "brine!" So, adding a sweet thing helps, like sweet peppers. The pomegranate molasses adds the sweet. I also throw in pomegranate kernels. The trick is letting the whole thing "cook" and sit in the vinegar bath for at least a day. I'm telling you, I've got folks who don't eat salad slurping this up and the folks that do eat salad are in heaven cause it tastes so goooooooood. I'm a bit into it myself. Been using sweeter greens like collards and bok choy, too. The collards start out by looking really ugly as they get marinated (wilted and rather sickly looking), but then they mix in and you can't tell which green is which.
Anyway, I'm proud of this cause I created this recipe myself! I really did, I did! in my quest for raw "cooking," which BTW, has gotten me into vinegars lately. I saw at my co-op a raw coconut sap vinegar!!! gonna try it this week.

Back to Deborah

Yeah Olga! Genius! Can't wait to try this at home. Hey and did you say you are into vinegars? Well, me too! I read somewhere a while back some snarky writer describe an overly food-obsessed person as someone who has lots of different vinegars in their pantry. Oh yeah?

I love vinegar and I love having lots of different kinds and I CAN tell the difference and they DO have different uses. Here is a random sample of the vinegars I currently have in my pantry:

These Asian vinegars each have a distinctive flavor. The rice vinegar is one I use in my typical stir-frys. The plum juice vinegar in the middle has a sweet and salty tatse. It is almost like an Asian balsamic in that it has some body and complexity. The Eden Selected ume plum vinegar is an acquired taste- VERY salty. I really only use it when it is specified in a recipe.

These balsamics are great for marinades, salad dressings and to finish a dish. I use them when I want a subltle sweetness. The two fruit infused white balsamics on the right I use specifically when I dont want the dark color of traditional balsamic. The fig infused vinegar has a bit deeper fruit flavor than the pear. The classic balsamic here on the left is really just a cheapy fake of the more expensive aged balsamics that I only buy on very special occasions.

These are my basic go to vinegars when I am making salad dressing. I love the straight up acidity of red wine vinegar. The Capriete sherry vinegar is my current all time favorite and so far I have only found it sold at Fairways. It has a really nice balance of sweet and sour and it is a lovely amber brown color- not pitch black like balsamic, with that inky color I always hesitate to put it on salads.

The white vinegar I use to clean the floors, counters and pour into the dish washer for a cleansing rinse. The vinegar on the right is homemade purple-ruffle basil in cider vinegar. Purple-ruffle basil makes a great vinegar with a bright distinctive taste and an insane scarlet color.

Ok, perhaps I have more vinegar than I need, but it makes me happy and everyone should have a little happiness, right?

Amanda, we finally have a kale salad! What should we drink with it?

Amanda

Yay! Sounds terrific! But first, I have a few questions. One - is it difficult to find lacinato kale? Sounds like it might be. Deb, I believe that was the type of kale in the amazing kale salad I enjoyed at Cafe Panache in NJ. I just googled lacinato kale, which I discovered is also called "black kale". That is what was in my salad! I'm so excited to try Olga's salad. Two - Since there are so many vinegars in the market today, I was curious what type of vinegar Olga uses for this salad. Three - should the salad be "drained" before serving? And finally, four - is it difficult to find Pomegranate molasses? Maybe Fairway?

I'm a little stumped as to which wine to pair with this particular salad. Salad typically is extremely hard to pair with wine to begin with. I've been considering all the different flavors in the salad, specifically the acidity and tartness of the vinegar and lemon juice. Then there is the sweetness of the pomegranate molasses. The saltiness of the sundried tomatoes adds yet another element. The kale salad I enjoyed at Cafe Panache sounds very similar to this recipe, but instead of the sundried tomatoes, it included something that looked like raisins on steroids. Not sure what they were. But getting back to the wine...I am thinking something a little off-dry (meaning there will be just a touch of sweetness), but with plenty of acidity. A slightly sweet Riesling first comes to mind. German Rieslings have different levels of sweetness, with Kabinett being the dryest.  The next level of sweetness is Spatlese. This word refers to the "late picking" of the grapes - they are picked after harvest. This results in the grapes being riper with more sugar content, which in turn produces wines which are more sweet. The wines tend to be bright with lively acidity. I think the sweetness of the wine combined with the wonderful acidity will work well in conjunction with the different flavors of the salad.

Another option would be an off-dry sparkling wine. Here at Wine & Spirit World over the holidays, we had great success with the Mumm "Cuvee M" sparkling wine from Napa Valley. It is a crisp, clean sparkler with good acidity and just a touch of sweetness. Something like this might be a fun accompaniment to Olga's salad as well, especially if enjoyed in the afternoon. The Mumm "Cuvee M" retails for around $20. Olga, thanks for sharing your salad with us. I can't wait to try it!