hoe cakes with savory sour cherry chutney

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work, and was written by my darling boyfriend, Adam. 

Cherry season, in this area, is fleeting and fickle. Cherries are a delicate fruit, prone to weather damage,  and during their short peak period of ripeness (only a little more than two weeks!) they’re prized pickings for birds and other pests.  Any local cherries that make it to your fridge are a thing to be treasured. 

So now that all of us CSA members have them, let’s revel in cherry season. Let's wring every drop of local cherry possibility from these few short weeks. Of course, you can bake a cherry pie or make cherry ice cream. You can freeze them, can them, or dry them. Or you can do like we did and make a sour cherry chutney.

We began by slowly caramelizing Emanuel Stoltzfus's dashing candy onions, then added the cherries. To ballast their tartness we added a few spoonfuls of wildflower honey. We bolstered the savoriness with the copious addition of black pepper and fresh thyme.The result is a fruity spread that’s sweet and sour, and a perfect compliment to cheese.

To make a dish of it, we spread it atop old fashion hoe cakes. These quaint little corn meal pancakes are said to have originated in the rural South. Farmers, the story goes, would heat the flat metal ends of their hoes in a fire and grease them up as impromptu griddles.  They drizzled batter right on their searing farm tools to cook a quick lunch in the field.  We finished the hoe cakes with some creamy Camembert, but goat cheese or blue cheese would work just as well.

Savory Sour Cherry Chutney

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups of sour cherries

½ medium onion, chopped (about ¾ cup)

¼ cup honey

3 Tbl of thyme leaves

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

Begin with the hardest part: pitting the cherries.

Next, in a medium sauté pan, sweat the chopped onions in olive oil over medium heat until they begin to brown.

Add the pitted cherries and bring to a simmer. Then add the honey. Feel free to use more honey if necessary to balance out the sourness of the cherries.

Pick the thyme leaves from the stems and add them to the chutney. Crack a generous amount of black pepper into the sauce until it begins to taste rich and spicy.

Continue to simmer the chutney until it has reduced to a jam-like consistency.

Hoe Cakes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup course ground corn meal

½ cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup water

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly whisk in the water (you can use milk instead if you prefer) until it resembles thick pancake batter. Depending on the brand of flour and cornmeal you might have to add some extra liquid to get the right consistency.

Let the batter rest for a few minutes to activate the baking powder and hydrate the cornmeal. Meanwhile, place a 10” skillet (or large-sized hoe) on medium heat and lubricate it with a small pad of butter.

Ladle the batter into the hot skillet and spread around evenly with the bottom of the ladle. After bubbles begin to form around the hoe cake, flip it and cook the opposite side until brown. Repeat until all batter is used, this recipe should yield three large cakes.

Next, using a jar lid, cut perfectly round, finger-food-sized pieces from the larger pancakes. Spread the chutney around the cakes and melt your cheese of choice on top using an oven set 400 F for approx. 5 minutes.

fp me x brooklyn grange

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a party put on by our FP Me team at Brooklyn Grange. The place itself was beautiful - a rooftop urban farm situated in Brooklyn's Navy Yard. It was really inspiring to see a full working farm right in the city as this was. The Free People team did an amazing job making the venue come to life with decor touches. The long table embellished with hanging flowers, hand-dyed napkins, and bamboo service ware felt like a dream. Brightly colored and nutritious bites from Nourish Kitchen & Table topped it off for a perfect evening. That spicy beet humus was just...

picante watermelon salsa

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work.

This recipe has one foot in the Mediterranean and another in South America. It’s core is zesty with a spicy cilantro kick, but nuances are added with Greek feta and taming olive oil. The sweet flavor of watermelon shines against the tongue-tingling salty spicy flavor, and the chopped peppers and onion add a little crunch to keep the textural game balanced. Paired with blue corn chips, the dish makes a great party pleaser. 

Ingredients:

1/2 a small watermelon (or approx. 5 cups chopped)

1/2 cup feta 

1/4 medium red onion, chopped

5 shishito peppers, cut in half & sliced into small pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

juice from 1 lemon

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp red pepper flake

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. 

2. Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 min.

3. Serve with blue corn chips.

pickled cabbage spring rolls

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work.

I love spring rolls. They’re fun to make, they’re healthy, and they’re delicious. Half the fun is that you can fill them with whatever your heart desires. This particular combination was born when we received a giant head of cabbage in our CSA. It’s not something we eat a lot, so we took to chopping it down and throwing it in jars. A week later, our fridge was full of delicious pickled cabbage, and thus, this yummy hors d’oeuvre. I encourage you to get creative with your spring rolls down the line, but if you’re looking for a solid, fool-proof delicious recipe, here is the perfect one to get you started.

Ingredients:

Fixings:

1 cup brown rice

1 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sesame oil

2 tbs miso paste

1 package spring roll wrappers

1/2 block tofu

1 red pepper

1/2 avocado

Pickled cabbage:

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup salt

1 mason jar chopped cabbage

Directions:

1. At least a week before you want to make the spring rolls, throw chopped cabbage into a mason jar with the rest of the makings, and stick it in the fridge to begin the pickling process.

2. When you’re ready to make the spring rolls, cook off the one cup of brown rice.

3. Once the rice is cooked, stir in parsley, vinegar, sesame oil, and miso. Then let it sit and cool for at least 30 minutes.

4. While rice is cooling, thinly slice tofu and fry the pieces in some sesame oil over a hot flame. Remove and set on a piece of paper towel to absorb the extra grease. 

5. Thinly slice red pepper and avocado, set aside.

6. Now you’re ready to start making the rolls. Fill a bowl or tray with luke warm water. Immerse a rice paper wrapper for about five seconds, so that the entire thing gets wet. Lay the wrapper out on a flat surface, fill with makings (rice, tofu, pepper, avocado, and pickled cabbage), placing ingredients like an oblong mound in the center. To roll it up, first roll the top edge down, then fold in the sides, and roll it towards you, the rest of the way closed. Keep it tight as you do so.

7. Continue until ingredients run out.

baked lotus root chips with spicy avocado dip

That, up there ^, is a lotus root. If you're not familiar, try one. They are a staple in most Chinese and Taiwanese cooking, and they come in many forms. I've seen acidic lotus root salads, soups with lotus root pieces, drinks, and even chips. If you know what you're looking for, you can find them at most Asian grocery stores. 

Like everyone else, I want to kick off the new year with a healthy start, and so I'm going to do another Whole30 cleanse. The key to a successful cleanse is planning, and so I've been crafting up an arsenal of recipes to have on hand. This is the first that I will share with you all. It is completely dairy, meat, and carb free. The chips make a great side for dinners and lunches, or can be served as an appetizer if you wish. The spicy avocado dip makes a nice accompaniment, and is filled with plenty of good fat to keep you full while cleansing.

Ingredients:

1 Lotus Root

Peanut Oil

Salt & Pepper

1 Avocado

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Tbsp Mayo (Made with Olive Oil)

1 Tbs Rice Vinegar

1 Tbs Chili Oil (see picture above)

1 Tsp Salt

Chip Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Peel and thinly slice your lotus root. The thinner you get them, the better the texture will be. If you have mandolin it would be a good tool for this.

3. Spread your slices out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with peanut oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper,  and put in the oven to bake. Depending on how thing your slices are, the baking should take 30-45 minutes. Take the tray out when chips are crispy.

Dip Directions:

1. Lightly brown garlic cloves over low heat in a bit of peanut oil.

2. Throw all ingredients into a food processor and blend until creamy.

Serve!