Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Our Action-Packed November! Pt 1. CEJE Catering




Well it's almost the end of the month and boy have we kept super busy bringing Slow Food to the community! To start off we catered a fantastic lunch for CEJE, a non-profit organization at UH Manoa. The lunch for 100, facilitated by Slow Food KCC member Monica Onoe, was a delicious success and included a menu of mostly vegan mostly locally grown foods from some of our favorite farmers. Event Organizer Eri Oura wrote a recap of the event for us:

"Healing from the Center: Decolonizing the Self and Our Communities was a conference organized by the Collective for Equality, Justice & Empowerment (CEJE) on Saturday, November 14th. The conference was a gathering of community and student activists, in which discussion of decolonization as part of the healing process was engaged.
SLOW FOOD KCC catered lunch with a menu filled with locally grown and organic products, nourishing freedom fighters from around the world.
Through this partnership with SLOW FOOD KCC, CEJE hopes to encourage more people to eat local and eat fresh by eating SLOW FOOD - locally grown and organic foods."


The menu:
Borlotti Beans and Wilted Kale
Misoyaki Eggplant
Grilled Opah with Citrus Salsa
Hearts of Palm Salad
Sassy Greens Salad
Roasted Vegetable "Un-fried" Rice
Coconut Tapioca
Pumpkin Mousse Tartlets

The Farmers:
Heirloom Borlotti Beans – North Shore Farms, Oahu
Tomatoes & Cucumbers – Ho Farms, Oahu
Kale & Eggplant – North Shore Value Wagon, Oahu
Sassy Salad Greens – Ma’o Farms, Oahu
Heart of Palm & Avocado – Wailea Agriculture, Big Island
Ka’u Oranges – Big Island
Opah – Local wild caught
Eggs- Ka Lei Eggs

Here's a recipe for the Heirloom Bean and Wilted Kale Salad. Feel free to email us with questions! slowfoodkcc@gmail.com

Heirloom Bean and Wilted Kale Salad Yield 6-10 servings

Kale fresh 1 lb
White beans in shell 2 lb
Garlic cloves 3
Tomatoes, baby teardrop ½ pint
Basil, fresh 6-10 leaves
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Sherry vinegar 2 tsp or To Taste
Kosher salt To Taste
Cracked pepper To Taste
(optional)
Parmesan cheese, shaved 1oz
1. Oven dried tomatoes:
Chop tomatoes in half lengthwise. Toss with a little olive oil salt and pepper and place on parchment lined baking sheets in a 250 degree oven for about 2 hours. Check them frequently to make sure they aren’t burning. When they are mostly dry remove from oven. Cover with a thin layer of olive oil and refrigerate if not using right away. Tomatoes will keep for about a week.
2. Bean preparation:
Shell beans (will yield about 1 lb) and bring to a boil in unsalted water. Drain water. Refill with cold water, a bay leaf and a whole peeled onion. Allow to simmer until beans are soft but not mushy about 1 hour. Drain and salt beans. Set aside.
3. Salad Preparation
1.Wash and chop kale into bite size pieces. Dry in salad spinner. Set aside.
2.Chiffonade basil. Set aside.
3.Cut garlic cloves into paper thin slices. Heat olive oil until just below smoking and add garlic, stir constantly until garlic slices just start to brown. Remove garlic from oil. Drain on paper towels.
4. Add chopped kale to hot oil. Toss in oil until kale is bright green and just wilted. Remove from heat. Transfer to large salad bowl.
5. Gently toss in beans and roasted tomatoes.
6. Dress with sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss in basil chiffonade.
7. Finish with a drizzle of fresh olive oil and sprinkle with fried garlic chips.
If desired, garnish each serving with curls of shaved parmesan.