SOUTHWESTERN SALAD WITH STIR-FRIED TOFU
Serves 2-4

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium-high. While it’s getting hot, slice the tofu in half lengthwise and drain. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Bonus points if you do this in advance, because it takes less time in the skillet. Sprinkle with sea salt or garlic salt and add to pan. Let the tofu cook until it’s brown on both sides, and season with cumin and a splash of lime juice. Tobasco optional (or if you’re like me, use half a bottle). Set aside on a towel to rest and drain.

Chop up all your veggies and herbs (corn, cucumber, bell pepper, jalapeno, green onion, cilantro) and mix in a big bowl. Add drained and rinsed beans and the juice from a whole lime. Ground fresh pepper, sea salt, and add Tabasco to taste. Toss the salad and slice the tofu, and chow down!

Optional: a delish frosty Dominican rum with pineapple juice, just because it’s been taunting you from the freezer for eight months. Reddddd rummmmm. Reddddddddd RUMMMMMMM.

More than one person pointed me to this great article over at ReadyMade. Alex Hopson, a producer at InTheMO, wrote to share his work as well. Check out the beautiful video below or over at InTheMo!

Check out more of Adam’s great photographs from the shoot here – I would love to know more about his story!

But on another recent weekend, we checked out Flatbush Farm for a Saturday brunch and loved the light airy space and local / seasonal comfort food with a twist. Now looking back, I sure could use another one of their pumpkin pancakes. Yum. Did you check out a new brunch spot this weekend? We’d love to hear your recommendations!

[a mild bloody mary hit the spot.]

[their vegetarian cast-iron frittata was packed with potatoes, peppers, and cheese and topped with some sort of... veggie mousse? still not 100% sure and was too busy chowing down to ask, apparently.]

[the giant pumpkin pancake had cubes of sweet butter, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a playful sprinkle of powdered sugar.]

[and the star of the show, the gigantic farm burger with a sunny side egg, thick sliced bacon, and fontina cheese. wow.]

While the German beer steins were indeed the size of my head — so were the soft Bavarian pretzels with their homemade spicy mustard and pickles on the side. My friends sampled a couple of the sausages from the grill in the back to glowing reviews, and I watched in jealousy until I ordered one of my own.

My only complaint? That we had to leave for the show. I must go back in a snowstorm. With furry boots on, and hours to spare. No, really.

Anna invited me into her sparkly new commercial kitchen on the waterfront in Carroll Gardens to answer a few of my questions and sample some of her newest treats. Obviously, I couldn’t pass that up!

Check out below for her thoughts about the Flea and her future plans — and the Cliffs Notes? The Flea truly is an awesome incubator for new Brooklyn businesses.

For the Love of Brooklyn: First of all, congrats to you for surviving an outdoor season at the Brooklyn Flea! What’s it like, being a part of the vendor community there? How has this vibrant market, with its reputation as an artisan incubator, impacted The Good Batch, and you personally?

Anna Gordon, The Good Batch: Being a vendor at the Flea this year has been an incredibly rewarding and unique experience. The crowd is always excited about food and eager to try out and support new food vendors. And they love sharing their stories, particularly about their first stroopwafel experience. It was fun meeting new people every week, and growing a handful of regular customers was pretty awesome. A lot of business opportunities also came from being a vendor — it seems that shops from all around come to the Flea to get ideas and recruit vendors, and we were fortunate to gain some good business from that. We are now selling our products at almost twenty retail stores, many of which originated from conversations at our booth, including the Bedford Cheese Shop, The Greene Grape Provisions, and the new W Hotel downtown.

I think my favorite part of the season was making friends with other vendors. It’s amazing how encouraging it is to be surrounded by peers who are in the same boat as you. Running a company from the ground up is incredibly challenging, so it’s comforting to be a part of a community of people who are doing the same thing. We all share stories and advice about the never-ending list of things that need to get done!

FTLOB: You’ve mentioned before that the Flea has provided a good opportunity to experiment with your craft. How has that worked out? What about challenges? What’s been the toughest part of getting The Good Batch up and running?
AG: I have never been short on taste-testers, but taking my goods to a public audience has really been eye-opening. From day one at the Flea I have received instant feedback from our customers, which has helped me craft new ideas for products and the brand. Every week or so I featured a new cookie, which was generally inspired by what I picked up at the farmer’s market. The ice cream sandwiches this summer were a huge hit – we would sell out within two hours of wheeling in the cooler. The Bonfire also became really popular, and gained a bit of a following. I love that cookie! And perhaps most exciting has been the stroopwafel itself. Over the past couple months I came up with a couple techniques and minor adjustments in the recipe that have resulted in a much thinner and chewier cookie from where it began.

A challenge has definitely been keeping up with production. We went from selling a couple hundred stroopwafels a week in April to selling thousands. I purchased an industrial stroopwafel press from Amsterdam, and I have a second one on the way. I’ve also brought on three fantastic assistants. Very exciting, but a ton of work!

FTLOB: So what’s next for you? What plans do you have for the upcoming winter?
AG: We will be starting at the indoor Flea this Saturday, December 11th, which I think will be a fun change of pace and scenery. I am also really excited about our holiday gift boxes, which are available to buy from our website. (ed. note: There’s even a gift box called The Brooklyn. Awesome!) I put a lot of thought into the treats and packaging, and I am really happy with them!

Overall I am just so happy to be running my own company, and I look forward to seeing where it goes next. I love that I use every part of my brain to keep the business going – it’s such an exciting challenge. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else!

Many congrats to Anna and all the other Flea vendors for a smashing outdoor season, and warm wishes for their continued success through this holiday season!

Thank you so much for all your support over the past year — but now, for some apple pie!

Originally built in the mid-1800′s, the Public House hosted a candy store during Prohibition, and its current owners now display a number of historical artifacts to admire while you chow down: original tin ceilings, vintage newspapers and posters, beautiful vintage mirrors, and more. So charming to this vintage-loving Brooklyn fan!

Only next time, I will skip the knife and fork. But DEFINITELY not the frosty glass of beer.

1 really simple homemade pizza crust from Smitten Kitchen
1 ball of fresh mozz from Russo’s
a few ounces of freshly-made ricotta from Salvatore Bklyn
1 link of spicy pepperoni from GRAB
1 sprig of fire escape basil
sauce, to taste from these guys in Jersey [found at Union Market or Fairway]
garlic salt and hot sauce or red pepper flakes, to taste

The outstanding woman behind GRAB Specialty Foods is one Laura Nuter, who has been serving the Park Slope food community for years – she joined Blue Apron Foods in north Park Slope in 2005 after stints at Artisanal and the Tribeca Grill before settling her roots at her current shop in the South Slope.

In celebration of NY Craft Beer Week, Laura has been paying homage to New York State brewers by offering a huge line-up of their seasonal beers on tap. She’s continuing the free beer tasting tradition, and will wrap up Beer Week with selections from Southampton (Imperial Pumpkin, IPA, Altbier) and Keegan’s (Four Philosopher’s Tripel, Hurricane Kitty) this Saturday from 4-7pm.

I recently caught up with Laura to pick her brain about living in the Slope, what’s up her sleeve for the NY Craft Beer Week, and a very cool new project she’s got going at Chelsea Market. Check out the interview below, and hope to see you at the tasting!

For the Love of Brooklyn: First of all, congratulations on GRAB’s three-year anniversary!
Laura Nuter: Thank, you, thank you! I must say – it feels wonderful to be a part of such an amazing, supportive and fun community!

FTLOB: You’ve done a great job of addicting the South Slope to your delicious growlers of beer, decadent cheeses, and smoky charcuterie. Plus, you’ve recently brought back your popular Saturday afternoon beer tastings after a sweltering summer — how’s that going?
LN: It’s going well – we’re glad to be back after such an unbearable summer, and our customers have let us know on no uncertain terms that they’re glad we’re back to tasting the good stuff!

FTLOB: The good stuff, huh? So what breweries do you have lined up for us?
LN: Some to look forward to for sure! Sixpoint is tasting out a Pilsner and their Pumpkin Brewster next weekend. Fire Island will be here the following weekend with their new Pumpkin, and then we’ll be finishing up the month with a bang with Great Divide. Also coming this fall: Dogfish Head, Founders, and Unibroue!

FTLOB: Though your store is in the south part of Park Slope, you live further north near Grand Army Plaza, right? What originally attracted you to the neighborhood?
LN: I just love the vibe down on the south end. While the north end is beautiful from an architectural perspective, I found the South Slope speaks to me a bit more in terms of the demographic as well as the food options available here.

FTLOB:If you could do anything you wanted, what would be your ideal way to spend a sunny fall day here?
LN: I’m going to include the whole Slope since I think we’ll need to since we are a bit small-town and I get up early!

Out of bed early. (In my mind, it’s Sunday since I never have Sundays off!) Big bike ride alone in the park — 5 loops — trees are changing color and it’s 68 degrees. Leaves a-changing, good music playing on the pod. Shower, grab my lady friend Paula and it’s off to Stone Park Cafe for brunch. I’ll be having the short-rib hash with eggs, please!

We head over towards Flatbush to shop at the many cute boutiques – perhaps I shall buy myself something special? Loop up to our house to drop off all the bags, head over to say hello to our friends at Cafe Martin for a delicious cappuccino, then across the street to say hi to our friends at Zuzu’s Petals!

I believe it’s time for a cocktail?! We’ll meet our friends Pam and Alister at our neighbors over at Fonda for margaritas. When we’re done, we’ll grab a bunch of cheese, charcuterie, olives, duck rillette, fresh bread and beer from that cheese shop next door, and a bottle of our favorite Spanish red Camino de Navaherreros from our buddies next door at Slope Cellars. Stop by and grab some hummus and pita from Divine Taste, then it’s off to the park again with my girl. Blanket, magazines, cool breeze, good food, and a bit of a nap as the sun falls below the tree-line.

Head home, finish catching up on Modern Family, The Good Wife, and old seasons of Friday Night Lights. I’ll get a foot rub, haha.

FTLOB: Sounds heavenly! Also heavenly – FRESH LOCAL BEER. As you well know, we are currently celebrating NY Craft Beer Week and GRAB is one of the participating venues. How are you celebrating at the store and on your own?
LN: We’re having as many local brewers as possible — check out the lineup over at BeerMenus.com! No time for me to celebrate other than making sure I taste each and every beer coming through GRAB this week and continuing to spread the word about our incredibly talented New York State brewers and their staffs. Speaking of staff, Josh Green is doing all the buying at GRAB these days. I must say, I’m quite pleased!!

FTLOB: I also hear you’ve had quite the busy summer, and have started another shop in Chelsea Market! What can you tell us about your new project?
LN: Yeah! My business partner, Megan Cariola and I started The Filling Station, a company in that specializes in extra virgin olive oils, specialty oils, balsamic vinegars, salts, and soon — craft beer, both local and imported! You can taste everything before purchasing, and since we strive to be environmentally friendly, we encourage our customers to reuse our bottles to get a 10% discount! We’ve had an amazing response so far and we’re incredibly excited and humbled to be a part of Chelsea Market — a lot of talent under one roof! Plus, it doesn’t hurt to be on the cusp of the Meatpacking District in case we decide to get a little crazy after work…

Thanks so much to Laura for the interview! Happy Beer Week and hope you get to toast a frosty cold one this weekend!