Corn and Quinoa Cakes

I can't think of a better time to buy a couple of bags of corn than Local Foods Week.  Two weeks ago Mary Ann and I made a commitment to eat better. With an emphasis on eating local this week it's been fun finding new recipes that feature great local produce.  I discovered a recipe for Corn and Quinoa Burgers that I couldn't wait to try.  Saturday morning we made our way to the Farmer's Festival at The North Market and found beautiful ears of corn from The Wishwell Farms in Bellefontaine, OH.  I found quinoa from Stutzman Farms at The Greener Grocer and the rest of the items from my pantry and garden.

I made a few changes to the original recipe.  I added a fresh poblano pepper from our garden instead of crushed red pepper.  I also baked them in the oven using a little cooking spray instead of frying them in oil.  As you can see below it still came out golden brown and crunchy.  There are endless possibilities of what condiment you can eat with these.  I made a little sour cream sauce with cilantro and lime.  They were great leftover with salsa.  As soon as I have enough New Mexico chilies I am going to make another batch of green chili sauce.  I think the combination will taste amazing.

It's rare in our house that we fight for leftovers, but this one is definitely worth fighting for!

CORN AND QUINOA CAKES
adapted from Tales From a Kitchen Misfit

2 cups corn cut off of the cob
1/4 cup quinoa, uncooked
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup dices poblano pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T olive oil
4-6 T panko bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

-Soak 1/4 cup of quinoa in cold water for 15 minutes.  Drain and rinse well.  Place in a sauce pan with 1/2 cup of warm water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 14 minutes. Take off of the heat and keep covered for another 5 minutes.
-Saute onions, garlic, and peppers with olive oil until the onions are opaque. Add the corn and cook until it starts to caramelize.
-Add quinoa, corn mixture and bread crumbs in mixing bowl.  Let cool for a few minutes and add the eggs and salt and pepper.  Mix well.  This is where you can adjust the amount of bread crumbs you use.  I started with 4T but usually end up adding the additional 2T.
-Spray a sheet pan with non stick cooking spray. Fill a 3" ring mold and lightly pack. You should have 5 cakes.
-Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Pull out of the oven and lightly spray the tops of the cakes with the non stick oil and flip the cakes to brown the other side.
-Cook 10 more minutes and enjoy!

Rain!

This summer has been a rough one for the garden.  The lack of rain has taken it's toll on all of the vegetation. My favorite crop is the red raspberries I planted 7 years ago.  I started with 20 starters and only 1 survived the first year.  Then they took off and I am usually able to make two batches of jam and 2 or 3 pies with them.  Last year we had too much rain and I only had enough to make a bottle of raspberry infused vodka. This year we haven't had any rain and I think I may have enough to make one pie.  But this weekend we've had some rain, and it might have come just in time to save the second run.  Below is a picture I took this morning.  You can really notice the difference a few days and some rain makes on the plant.

Spaghetti and Beet Balls

I felt inspired to try a new recipe after checking out the Local Matters Local Food Week website.  Saturday I hit the North Market  early and found exactly what I was searching for.  I was able to purchase a bunch of beets from one of the local farmers, organic brown rice from Stutzman Farms, and Keema Curry blend from North Market Spices Ltd.  The recipe is for beet burgers.  But I had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs so I turned the burgers into beet balls.

The first step is grating the beets.  Squeeze out the liquid.

Saute the onion over medium heat with half of the olive oil and let brown. Add the curry, pepper and salt.  Toast for a minute.  The nuts I used were already salted so I didn't add salt at this point.  You can add later if it is needed.

In a food processor, puree half of the grated beets and all of the cooked rice. You want this to be a smooth puree as it will be the binder for the balls.

Add the onions and the nuts and just pulse a couple of times.  You want to add some texture and a little crunch.  Put this mixture in a bowl and add the rest of the grated beets.  You can check it now to see if you would like more salt.

Make them into balls and roll them lightly in cornstarch.  

Heat a saute pan with olive oil and place the balls in the hot oil.  I flattened the balls out a little so they would cook more evenly.   Cook 3-4 minutes on each side and enjoy!

I cut the recipe below in half and it made 12 beet balls.

Beet Balls

1/4 cup of EACH: sunflower seeds, flax seeds and almonds

2 cups grated beets

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1 large onion sliced

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 t Keema Curry blend

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon salt

Joy!

One of my favorite vegetables provides me with one of my favorite flowers...

OKRA!

Living with an Artist-Kitchen Sink View

Most of my readers know that my partner is a fantastic artist.  No, I am not biased.  I've been trying to think of a subject for my next blog post, and as I was washing the breakfast dishes it came to me.  Two images that may seem strange in some homes, but perfectly normal in ours.

There are usually clean paint brushes drying by the sink.

From left to right, a Pat Summitt bobble head, my bracelet I take off before washing dishes, a Weck jar filled with clips, a Weck jar filled with bottle caps and a chicken wishbone, and another Weck jar with used vanilla beans that I dry to put in sugar to make vanilla sugar.  

That is all I have for now.  Mary Ann and I are headed to The Ohio State Fair this morning in search of another idea for a blog post.

Hilltop Garden Hash

This past weekend I spent 3 days in the Hocking Hills at Lily Fest.  I look forward to it every year and this year was the best one yet.  As much as I enjoy the weekend I also look forward to taking the day after off of work and enjoy being at home with the family.  This morning I wanted to make a breakfast that reminded us how wonderful the place we call home is.  So I went to the garden and gathered potatoes, corn, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, and chives and made Hilltop Garden Hash.  It was yummy.  Now I am ready for a nap!

We Have Corn!

Some of you may remember our problem with Corn Vandals.   Today we got to reap the benefits of our work and vigilance.  Two ears were ready for a 4th of July lunch.