August 14, 2021

There's something about the month of August that has me craving fish cakes. It's not always easy to find fresh crab (and you really want to use fresh crab) for crab cakes so it's worth finding a recipe for fish cakes that you love since they can be made with the more common catch, like cod or pollock.

The above recipe calls for store-bought tartar sauce enhanced with fresh herbs... but why buy when you can make your own? We went straight to Mary Berry, the grande dame of the Great British Bake-Off for this tartar sauce recipe, which she uses for her fish and chips, natch. Of course, You can still make the enhancements suggested in the fish cake recipe.

Mary Berry's Sauce Tartare

90g (3½oz) mayonnaise
2 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp sweet gherkins,
very finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped capers
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp snipped chives
1 tbsp chopped parsley
A pinch of sugar

Serve your fishcakes with sweet bi-color corn, and a simple heirloom tomato salad and a glass of Rosé and you're set.

I always love learning a new word, especially a culinary one.
I was trying to find some good summer bean salad recipes and came across this bean salad with a "potlikker" vinaigrette. According to Food & Wine magazine, potlikker (or pot likker or pot liquor as it's sometimes spelled) is 'the savory, starchy liquid left over after cooking beans or greens. You can use it as a base for your vinaigrette, but you can also incorporate it into soups and pasta sauces, or thicken it with butter and drizzle it over fish." And maybe even fish cakes?

Anyway, here's the recipe for the bean salad that led me down the path of potlikker which is a GREAT Scrabble word, btw. Serve it in a pretty wooden bowl... The Misshapened Bowl is here this Saturday with some new hand-turned beauties.

KAS Spirits is here and won't be back for a few weeks so make sure to pick up some of their Krupnikas for cocktails with a hint or honey. Or to mix with herbal iced tea for a refreshing cocktail, to celebrate the end of a heat wave perhaps? Manor Sangria, served in pretty Mason jars, can also be of service.

Hand pies are all the rage right now and why not? They are pies you can easily take on a picnic or to the beach or to a party that also have a higher crust to filling ratio. Plus, they are super easy to freeze. What's not to love? Try this recipe for peach hand pies also from Food & Wine.

Wildcraft Bake Shop is back with their vegetal granolas, as unusual as they are addictive, and other gluten-free treats.

The Richard Cortez Jazz Band is taking over the music tent...and you know how much fun they are....

See you at the market!