the art collective met with resources and budgets on the docket. So we cooked with money woo in mind and heart.
no shame in calling for riches, especially for your community, to create things, to sow a new world disorder. Pondering what we call on powers bigger than us for: love, fortune, health, maybe fame, maybe revenge if there’s been a wicked turn of events. We court the same in the kitchen: oysters and chocolate and champagne; dinner to impress the boss; chicken noodle soup…
To generate the energy of a successful venture, we created this summery, spicy, Caribbean inspired menu:
* Auspicious Feast *
Roasted Plantain Slices with Queso Fresco & Guava Paste
Dates with Rosewater Strawberries
Green Rice – basmati with minced basil, mint and cilantro
Black Eyed Peas simmered with onion, garlic, carrots, cumin and lime
Corn & Baked Potato Salad with cilantro and fresh corn cut off the cob
Yogurt with cucumber, mint & garlic, thickened as shown in the photo
Roasted Habanero Hot Sauce with mango & cilantro
Avocado chunked and tossed with lime & sea salt
Fried Paratha (frozen flatbreads from the corner store)
Pistachio Shortbread
Papaya and Strawberries turned with a bit of lemon juice & zest
Whipped Cream cut with a bit of plain yogurt and honey
black eyed peas promise good fortune as part of New Year’s feasts, a tradition in the American South, Guyana in South America (cook-up rice) and at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. One must have rice with black eyed peas, and a stripped down arroz verde with a gorgeous trio of bright green herbs and nothing more. All sorts of green foods felt appropriate: avocado, cilantro heavy salad, pistachios, mint & cucumber tinted yogurt.
an obsession with homemade yogurt cheese instigated by EveryDayTrash has us finding forever new and exciting combinations of good stuff to add into it. This thicken yogurt carried the cooling flavors of Indian raita and its kin around the world: cucumber, mint, and a sharp hit of raw garlic. It offset the mad fiery habanero sauce.
there needed to be real fire. Habanero peppers, roasted, whirred in the processor with mango and cilantro and a bit of olive oil and salt, delivered a burst of fruity fire. Just enough to make it all happen.
photo by Ethan
RECIPE IN BRIEF: YOGURT CHEESE
1 lb Plain Yogurt any yogurt works; greek yogurt makes a thicker “cheese”
2 small firm pickling cucumbers
2 cloves of garlic
big handful of mint leaves (washed and dried
peel and seed the cucumbers and peel the garlic. Throw all of this into a food processor if that’s your thing, or chop it all up fine together with a mezzaluna or big knife. If hand cutting then probably easier to do the mint and garlic first and then the cucumber. Combine the yogurt with the chopped goods in a bowl.
in another bowl, spread out a generous length of cheesecloth. Cross that piece of cheesecloth with another piece. Gently pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the corners together to make a little pouch. Twist closed and seal it off; we use a barrette like plastic clip. Hang your mesh bag of yogurt over the sink or a bowl. The faucet works as a hanging beam if you do not need to run the water. We hang it off a cabinet handle.
let hang until the desired consistency. This can hang over night or for the few hours leading up to a dinner. Cucumber adds a lot of liquid so this version will not likely reach a cream cheese like thickness. Do play with different add-ins, savory and sweet! Fruit yogurts can be delicious this way spread on toast… ❤
Glitter Sweets 