Black Bean Fritters with Three Sauces (oh and a pickled radish or two)

Parties are a lot of work...but a lot of fun too. Food for a party should be easy for everyone - the host and the guests. It's also nice when after a party you feel satisfied by all the lovely little morsels without feeling over full or that the food was too heavy. This is especially true now that it's summertime. These black bean fritters are quite versatile, substantial and can be made ahead of time.

BLACK BEAN FRITTERS

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup black beans (Don't rinse the beans if you are using canned. If fresh beans don't drain off the liquid)

1/4-1/2 Cup of a red onion chopped fine, depending on how much you like

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBSP fresh cilantro chopped

1/2 TBSP cumin

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 TBSP chickpea flour

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP olive oil for frying (You could probably use coconut oil or even spread mixture onto a baking sheet, bake, cool, and then slice up into cakes)

DIRECTIONS:

- In a pan sautee the onions in olive oil until softened. Should take about 5 minutes if stove is set to medium flame/setting.

- Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Keep an eye on the garlic to make sure it doesn't burn.

- In a bowl mix the beans, cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper and cooked onions and garlic. Mash, food process, or puree 1/2 the mixture and mix it back in with the rest

- Add chickpea flour & mix

- Add remaining oil to pan. Drop in 'batter' by 1 or 2 tbsp depending on

what size you want your fritters. Fry for 4 minutes on each side. Don't flip

until you see the edges brown. The crust that will form will hold the cakes together.

- Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Allow them to cool as they will firm up even more.

Serve with any of the three sauces below or simply a pickled radish (we used a very basic recipe from a canning and pickling book titled, "Put 'Em Up!") and a bit more cilantro (or not).

Makes 8-10 appetizer cakes

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TZITZIKI SAUCE

Fresh and light with a kick of garlic. Pretty traditional, but pretty awesome!

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of silken tofu

1 cucumber

juice of 1/2 lemon (approx. 2 TBSP)

4 small garlic cloves

1 tsp dill

1 tsp sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

- Place tofu into high speed blender or food processor.

- Peel and seed cucumber. Rough chop 1/2 the cucumber and put into blender. Set aside other 1/2.

- Juice lemon into blender (don't forget to strain the pits with a sieve or your hand)

- Add garlic and salt to blender

- Blend until smooth consistency

- Chop dill. (Can use more dill if you like, but avoid putting dill in the blender as it can turn your entire sauce a pale shade of green).

- Cube remaining 1/2 of cucumber

- Stir both dill and cucumber into blended mixture.

- Taste and adjust seasoning if it is needed.

Makes about 1 pint

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CURRIED CASHEW DIP

Mellow and creamy, but with just a bit of heat and curry flavor thanks to the Garam Masala! The black bean fritters with chickpea flour stand up nicely to this thicker sauce.

Curried Cashew Dip on the left and Tzitziki Sauce on the right.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 Cup cashews, soaked 1-3 hours

1/2 Cup filtered water

2 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp sea salt (add more to taste)

1 tsp garam masala curry (add more to taste)

- Drain the cashews.

- Blend all ingredients except Garam Masala curry in food processor or high speed blender. Check the consistency. You can add more water a little at a time for a thinner consistency.

- Add garam masala curry spices.

- Taste and add seasoning depending on what you like.

Did you know you can make your own Garam Masala? In India Garam Masala is a very personal thing - families tend to have a recipe that gets handed down from generation to generation. Experiment with what you like and check out this link to learn more about variations. The blend above was based on these basic ingredients: ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric.

Makes about 1 pint

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MANGO TARRAGON SALSA

1 medium/large ripe mango cubed (approx. 2 Cups)

2 small tomatoes seeded and chopped (approx. 1 Cup)

1 shallot chopped finely (approx. 1/4 Cup)

1 clove of garlic minced (a nice fat one should yeild about 1 TBSP)

1/2 jalapeno seeded and minced (approx. 1 TBSP)

1 1/2 medium/large limes juiced (approx. 3 TBSP)

1/2 tsp of sea salt

few cranks of pepper mill

1 tsp of olive oil

1/4 tsp of fresh tarragon roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Throw everything in a bowl as you work through the ingredient list. Stir and let sit for about 5 or 10 minutes. Give a taste and adjust to your taste.

Makes about 1 pint

To cheat or not the cheat? - Polenta Bruschetta

Do you find that you go nuts on certain vegetables and fruits when they're in season? I do. In the Spring it's all about the asparagus. In the Fall I'm making apple-everything. And the Summer? The bountiful Summer is a very happy time for me, but I find I can only truly fall in love with a tomato during the height of summer tomato season, so they hold a special place in my heart during this time. This is especially true when my basil plants are gigantic and just begging to be used in every dish possible. Even desserts!

It's still hot round these here parts, so I'm not in the mood to slave over a vat of garden vegetable marinara, tempting as the outcome might be. No. I want something easy to prepare and easy to eat. Something refreshing yet savory for a hot summer afternoon. So I think instead I'll completely contradict what I just said and make a vat of polenta, which is even more laborious than red sauce simply because you have to be standing right there at the hot stove for most of it, stirring your little heart out to make the perfect polenta. Good idea.

Lucky for me, and you, there is a cheat for this. This is not to say I don't recommend that you make your own polenta, because I do. But if you happen to be pressed for time, having a lazy day, or have a broken A/C like I do right now, you can always get a tube of pre-made polenta at most grocery stores and skip straight to the grilling, chopping, and, oh yes, chomping. Grilled Polenta Bruschetta, here we come:

POLENTA BRUSCHETTA

POLENTA (makes enough for about 1 dozen cakes)

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups fresh water
2 cups polenta
1-2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot, bring water and salt to a boil. Stir in polenta slowly.

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring a little more than occasionally for about 20 minutes or until your polenta is nice and thick. Seriously, a spoon basically should be able to stand up in the polenta.

Spread mixture in a lightly oiled or parchment-lined baking pan and refrigerate until firm.
Cut into squares.
Brush each square with olive oil and grill each side for 3-4 minutes until you see grill marks. Or you can bake them until they're lightly crispy. Then top with tomato mixture below.

If you're using store-bought pre made polenta, simply slice the tube into rounds, brush each with olive oil and grill each side for 3-4 minutes until you see grill marks. Or you can bake them until they're lightly crispy. Then top with tomato mixture below.

BRUSCHETTA TOPPING [makes enough for about 1 dozen]

INGREDIENTS:
2 organic tomatoes washed, seeded & diced
1/2 small onion, chopped small [red or white works]
8 leaves of backyard basil, chiffonade
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
fresh cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Remove core & seeds from washed tomatoes and dice. Sprinkle salt over tomatoes and let sit 15 minutes to a half hour. Meanwhile you can do all the rest of your slicing and dicing.

Add the chopped onion, garlic, and basil to the salted tomatoes and stir. Drizzle the olive oil over the topping mixture and mix it in.

Spoon the mixture onto your polenta cakes and finish up with a bit of fresh cracked pepper on top of each one. Devour! You probably won't have a problem getting your friends to help you eat all this, trust me, but if you do have extra polenta and topping around, they can be saved in the refrigerator separately. Assemble when you're ready to eat.