Now Streaming St. Patrick’s Day Guide: Beats & Eats

Image Credit: Redeyechicago.com

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In this installment of Beats & Eats with Samantha Grasso of The Homegrown Tomato, we have prepared the perfect guide for your pre-parade St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Cheers!

The Soundtrack: Mushroom Jazz Mixtape 18 – Mark Farina
The Dish: Veggie Stuffed Cabbage
The Drink: Death in the Afternoon

Music

I believe good party music leaves room for dancing and conversation. We can save the “No Talking on the Dance Floor” rule for the nightclubs. If you live where the winters are chilling, St Patrick’s Day marks the day that your friends who hid away in the colder months will come out of hibernation. With that in mind I could only think of one artist that can excite your soul, make you want to dance and reminisce at the same time – Mark Farina. He is most recognized for his raging house beats but the Chicago native is not just LED lights and disco balls.

In the 90s a new sub-genre called downtempo was emerging in electronic music. The atmospheric midtempo beats were a beautiful contrast to the high energy dance music. After moving to the west coast Mark Farina began experimenting with a sound that would change electronic music forever. He dismissed the house rhythms for a hip-hop and acid jazz blend he called, Mushroom Jazz.  The smooth electric jazz exploded and earned Farina a weekly series at a San Francisco nightclub. However, just when people were getting use to their weekly dose of drums, horns and good rap – the club closed. Nevertheless, the good vibes continued with the release of his Mushroom Jazz Series on Om Records in 1996. You can download the collection on the Mark Farina Soundcloud page, where he often releases vintage mixtapes for free.  Top off your celebration with any release of the Mushroom Jazz Series. It is guaranteed to start conversation with its flashback rap verses featuring artists like Common, The Notorious B.I.G and LL Cool J. You’ll dance and laugh your way to the parade in the streets!

Food & Drinks 

For your celebration keep the theme green and throw in an Irish St. Patrick’s Day favorite. Consider this Veggie Stuffed Cabbage dish provided by Samantha Grasso of The Homegrown Tomato. Make room for prep time and impress your hungry party guests with this tasty treat.

Veggie Stuffed Cabbage
Makes 8-10 servings
Total prep and cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

For sauce
2 med onions, peeled and diced
extra virgin olive oil
2 28oz or 2 quart jars whole peeled tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
sea salt and black pepper to taste
¼ cup brown sugar
juice of 1-1.5 fresh lemons

for filling
1 large head of green cabbage
1 whole onion, peeled and grated/food processed
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 whole egg, slightly beaten
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
sea salt and pepper to taste
optional twist: 1.5 lbs lean ground meat (beef, turkey and venison work great!)

First, get your cabbage cooking. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Score the cabbage around the stalk which will make it easier to remove the leaves later. Place the cabbage in boiling water and cook until soft, about 30-40 minutes. Rotate the cabbage a few times while cooking so that all sides are softened.

While that is cooking you can prepare a quick tomato sauce. Heat about ¼ inch of olive oil in a saucepan and brown your onions for 5-7 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Once the sauce is warm and simmering, add the lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. This makes for a slightly sweet and tangy sauce that goes perfectly with the cabbage! Cover sauce and keep it cooking on low heat while you prep everything else.

Next, mix the stuffing for your cabbage rolls. In a large bowl, combine grated onion, salt and pepper, egg, and garlic. If using meat add that in now. For some extra goodness grate in any veggies you have in the house! Add uncooked rice and mix together with your hands. Everything should be well mixed but only work the stuffing as much as you have to or it will become dense.

The final step is stuffing the cabbage leaves. Remove the cabbage from the pot and let it cool slightly. However, the leaves are most pliable when they are warm so don’t let them cool too much. If they get stiff you can always soak them in the hot water a bit more.

Peel off the leaves one by one. If they are very big, trim them or cut them in half.

Put a little stuffing on the bottom edge of the leaf (where it attaches to the stalk).

Carefully fold the leaf around the stuffing by folding in both sides and then rolling it tight from the bottom on.

Then place the role into the tomato sauce to simmer. You can layer them onto of each other and fill the pot. The sauce will cook up around them.

When all the rolls are added, make sure the sauce is simmering. Cover and boil for an additional hour. If you have extra cabbage left, dice it up and throw that in the sauce too. If you have extra meat mixture, roll into little meatballs add those also.

This dish freezes and reheats well so make extra. Enjoy!

Keeping It Green

It is not St. Patrick’s Day without the early green drinks! Check out your eco-friendly options with Kate Harrison of The Green Bride Guide and Kitchen Zinc in New Haven.

Food images were taken and provided by Samantha Grasso of The Homegrown Tomato. Featured Image Credit: NBC New York via Google

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