Friday, October 19, 2007

Black Eye Pea Cakes & Garden Update


I know, I know. I have not reviewed a wine for a few posts now. I do have a new one I will be tasting tonight so stay tuned for the review! In the meantime, I would like to show you what is happening in my garden. This is especially for Christina at A Thinking Stomach. She is a fantastic gardener in Southern California and I really enjoy her site as she writes and shows us how her garden is coming along. Her narratives and photos are lovely. So Christina, here is what is happening outside my doors now.


This is a quick shot of how I garden - in containers. They are lined up everywhere there is a space!


Yesterday, I checked on my pole beans and noticed that one of the shoots have emerged!



Today, look how much it has grown since yesterday!

Here is the bannana pepper in bloom!


Christina had a discussion on her blog regarding how we who live in very warm climates all year round tell the difference between seasons. Here in Key West it is always green, but I can tell the seasons by the different flowers that bloom at different times of the year. I know it is fall in my yard when the "Chalice" starts to bloom.



When you see these pods coming to life


The next day the flower is in full bloom. I think these are beautiful flowers and they do look just like a chalice! And what is really neat about this flower is that there is no aroma until the sun sets. Then the flowers give off the most beautiful scent that can only be detected in the evening. What a wonderful gift from Mother Nature.


When the weather starts getting a little cooler, temps in the low 80's, more of the dainty flowers seem to get happy.
So even though we do not have the beautiful leaf colors that the fall season brings up north, we do have the changing of the season here, just a different way. Christina, and everyone, hope you enjoyed the small tour of my fall garden!

Now let's talk Black Eye Pea Cakes! I adapted this recipe from one I saw in Gourmet Magazine last year.



These are a great side dish for fish, which we popped on the grill last evening.

Black Eye Pea Cakes With Green Tomato Salsa

1 can black eye peas rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 of red bell pepper minced
1/2 of green bell pepper minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup panko (breadcrumbs)
2 or 3 eggs yolks, depending on the size of the egg
2 teaspoons of Tabasco Sauce
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley chopped
2 tablespoons of green onions chopped
1 heaping teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup of cornmeal for dusting
1/2 cup olive oil

Put the drained peas in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher but leave sort of chunky.
In a skillet heat the butter and add the onions, garlic and bell peppers until soft. Add these to the peas along with the bread crumbs, egg yolks, Tabasco, parsley, green onions, cumin and salt and pepper. Mix together. If mixture does not hold together when squeezed, and another egg yolk. Chill, covered for 1 hour.
Remove from fridge and take about a 1/4 cup of mixture in hand to make a patty. Put patties on a plate. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet, dredge patties in cornmeal, add to skillet. Cook until nice and brown turning once. Cakes should be finished in about 8 minutes. (The white coating you see is some of the cornmeal.)
Serve with:


Green Tomato Salsa

I used a mixture of tomatillos and green tomatoes to make about 3-1/2 cups, chopped
1/4 minced red onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice from one lime
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional - 1 chopped jalapeno pepper

Put all in a bowl and mix well. I let it set in fridge for about an hour so the flavors would meld.

Serve the salsa with the pea cakes and grilled fish for a marvelous healthy dinner! And of course, do not forget the wine, which I will post about next!

Cheers!

11 comments:

Gloria Baker said...

Deb beautiful pictures so nice!!!! and the food looks so great, make me hungry!!!!nice weekend to you. Gloria

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Sounds absolutely delicious Deb. Also loved the tour of your garden. I loved Florida when I have visited. I have never been as far south as Key West though. As an aside...the photo taken on my blog was taken in the Spring...so the purple hedge is lilac.Ib had reposted that particular post because Sara had chosen that recipe for the event. Have a GREAT weekend.

Christina said...

Oh Deb! It's lovely!

I love the chalice flower, and the fact that it smells good only at night makes it even more special. And your seedling shots are so cute--it is amazing how they grow up so fast, isn't it? What do you use to trellis your beans?

Thanks for the recipe and the snapshot of your garden. Thank you also for the wonderful compliments.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Aimée said...

What beautiful photos of your garden, Deb! Very charming. That lunch looks pretty tasty, too!

Wendy said...

What a beautiful post, Deb. Loved everything about it. And am looking forward to trying out these cakes. :)

Katie Zeller said...

Those cakes look yummy! Loved the info about the seasons! When we lived in the Midwest we, naturally, spent a few weekends every winter in Florida. I was just so happy to be warm I never paid attention to what was growing!
We normally went to the gulf side...

Lucy said...

Your garden, Deb, is a lovely thing to see. The 'Chalice' plant is particularly divine.

On a wine note, I had a FANTASTIC wine in Spain and photographed the bottle and its spunky cork just for you. I'll post at some stage, but you were firmly in my thoughts when we drank it!

winedeb said...

Gloria, thank you. You would enjoy the cakes!

Hey Valli, I was thinking that hedge would be a lilac, so lovely and I bet the smell is wonderful.

Hi Christina, glad you enjoyed the garden. I was so happy that you wanted to take a peek! I have a couple of ideas for the trellis, I will get back to you on that.

Thanks Aimee! You should try the cakes with the salsa - yum!

Hi Wendy! Thank you!

Hi Katie, you sure are the traveler! I actually like the Gulf side also, a bit more calm!

Hey Lucy, you are back and I cannot wait to visit you and hear about your travels! That is so fun that you thought about me while having your wine in Spain!

Figs, Bay, Wine said...

How wonderful to mark the seasons by the flowers, Deb! Especially that one that gives off its gorgeous scent at night! Just magical. Gorgeous recipes too - the salsa is calling my name!

winedeb said...

Thanks Amanda, the salsa is great. Would be good with fish also!

Belinda said...

All of your garden photos are so lovely, Deb...and great recipes as well. Black Eye Pea Cakes sound wonderful, especially with the green tomato salsa. :-)