Garlic Scapes Curry

I had never cooked with garlic scapes before but I recieved them in my CSA one week. I guess out of pure laziness, I decided to just stir fry them along with a bunch of other vegetables I received that week and it turned out quite well. I added broth, lemon and yogurt to make it a bit soupy and enjoyed just eating it on its own. This recipe is with collard greens, but I have also made it with kale and spinach.

If you have not cooked with garlic scapes, I highly recommend. Unfortunately, I think they are only in season for a short time though. They are really cool looking and are all curled up. They are not as pungent as garlic itself but have a really fresh and spicy taste to them. I learned that the scapes are shoots that grow on young garlic and are cut off as they prevent the garlic head from growing larger.

These are the collard greens from the recipe:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons ghee or canola oil
2 scallions, white and some of the green chopped

1/4 pound garlic scapes, cut off the bulb part and chop into 1/2 inch segments
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 pound snap peas, use whole or take peas out 1 bunch collards, chopped (can use spinach, kale, other greens in place of)

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons yogurt

salt to taste

cilantro for garnish

Method
Note: Depending on if you want to eat on its own as a side or with rice, you may want to add more broth or yogurt.

Take yogurt out of fridge so that it is at room temperature. Bring pot of water to boil and throw in collard greens. Boil for 5 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. (If using other greens, no need to boil).

In a frying pan, warm oil under medium heat. Throw in onion and garlic scapes and fry for a few minutes. Add spices and mix well. Mix in peas and fry for a couple minutes. Add in greens and mix well. Next add in broth (can add in more if seems too dry) and cook for about 5 minutes or longer, but just make sure the greens don't get overcooked. Add in lemon at the end.

Transfer to a bowl and cool for a couple minutes (this is so that the yogurt does not break from the heat). Mix in yogurt fast and well. Add salt and garnish with cilantro.

Saru Gazpacho

Last Sunday, I prepared a dish for the 4th Food Obstructions Cookoff. I was really excited for this event because it was also a fundraiser for Just Food, an organization I volunteer for. I made my recipe for saru gazpacho and it won!

Greenpoint Food Market Postponed

Photo by Kristin Luce for the New York Times

This week, the New York Times printed an article on the postponement of the Greenpoint Food Market (GFM) with a photo of me and Sabra selling our Masala Loca tacos at the last one. The original article by the Times on GFM stated that some of the vendors were not officially certified, resulting in sharp scrutiny of the market by city officials. The news is quite disheartening because what made this market really great was that it was undiscovered and was operating kind of in a gray zone - half a fundraiser for the church it was held in and half a marketplace for vendors making small batches of homemade foods you really couldn't find in any store or restaurant. It wasn't a surprise that the market got so popular, but the press that followed came at an expense.

Joann Kim, the market organizer, has been amazing about trying to find a solution for vendors to feasibly continue selling at the market. The main issue though is the cost of renting a commercial kitchen, buying insurance, and attaining permits and licenses from the city does not make it possible for many of the vendors to operate profitably as the quantities produced and sold are on such a small scale. For now the market is tentatively planned to reopen in September to give us vendors time to get paperwork in order and decide if we'd like to continue on this path.

In the meantime, Masala Loca will be working on an incubator kitchen project with GFM vendors and continue to sell our food at other small markets and events around the area. Will keep you posted on dates!

Tamarind Rice with Black Beans

Tamarind rice, also called puliogare (pully-oh-ga-ray), is a South Indian dish usually prepared with fried peanuts. Sabra and I came up with our own version of this rice by adding black beans, roasted pablano peppers, red onion and cotija cheese. So good!

Last weekend, we made this rice for the Think Tank Potluck, a meeting for Greenpoint Food Market vendors. The meeting was held to discuss the impact of the recent NY Times article press on the market. Although the article was favorable, it brought to light that many of us don't have permits, licenses or cook in commercial kitchens. The Greenpoint Food Market started as a small underground market where vendors could share homemade goods and test out recipes on the community in small quantities so this publicity kind of threw a wrench into the mix. As a result, the June market was cancelled and replaced by a panel of speakers from the Department of Health, City Council and owners of small food businesses.

What came about from the discussion was an idea for some of the vendors to open a cooperative incubator kitchen where we could offer cooking classes and sell some of our products in addition to having space in a commercial kitchen to prepare our foods. There was also talk of new legislation to make it easier and more affordable for vendors like us to sell at artisanal markets. It was encouraging to see individuals from different areas coming together to figure out how best to move forward, but it may take time for anything to change.

While you can't eat me and Sabra's tacos right now, make our rice! You could make your own puliogre mix, but MTR brand works just fine. It tastes really good and keeps for a while if you feel like making the rice from time to time.

Ingredients (serves 8):

2 cups basmati rice

MTR puliogare mix*

2 tablespoons oil

a pinch of red chili flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red onion, chopped

1 cup black beans

2 pablano peppers, roasted, char skinned off, chopped

cotija cheese, crumbled

salt to taste

Method:

Cook rice. Fry up MTR puliogre mix* according to directions and add cooked rice.

In separate pan, add oil and chili flakes and fry for a few seconds and then add and fry onion for 5 minutes under medium heat. Throw in and fry garlic for 30 seconds. Next add in the beans and peppers and fry for 5 minutes.

In a bowl combine rice with bean mixture. Add salt to taste.

Serve warm with cotija cheese and cilantro on top.

Also can add avocado or sour cream on top for a variation.

*MTR puliogare mix contains tamarind concentrate, sugar, salt, peanuts, coconut, coriander powder, red chili powder, curry leaves, sesame seeds, jaggery (sugarcane), black pepper, fenugreek powder, turmeric, chickpeas, blackgram, mustard, refined palm oil, asafoetida and cumin powder.