Sometimes when you don’t have a tradition of recipes and cooking, you have to start one yourself. Noone is a better example of that than Amy Davis. But she’s been blazing a trail of individualism for awhile now. Amy has many gigs. Musician. Film producer (her husband is filmmaker Jon Moritsugu). Fashionista. Artist. Cook. And today she’s gonna let us in on what she calls her best recipe ever. A recipe she invented, but of course I would expect no less. And if you are so inclined you can check out more of her trailblazing projects at: www.amydavis.com

Buffalo Girls’ Meatballs

Aine:  So cooking, how did you learn?

Amy:   I learned by trial and lotsa lotsa errors. I had no cooks in my family. I was raised on fast food and serious chemical crap. I had liver spots by age 27. Now I am all semi-healthy and organic and feeling groovy.

I have ruined recipes like Texas red chile. I made scratch broth and scratch spice mix. At the last minute I felt this twinge of MEAT GUILT so I added a big OLE MESS of BROCCOLI. I ruined it and we had to order crap pizza.  I learned that night…veggies on the side and to have NO MEAT GUILT.

Aine:  One of my favorite things is sitting in a kitchen while someone cooks and listening to them tell stories. Is there a story you would tell if you were cooking?

Amy:  I would tell you of my dad, jazz great Mel Davis. He opened a jazz club in Port Washington. At 15, I became a bus girl and was introduced to yummy continental cuisine. It was a step up from all the fast food I was weaned on. Plus they let me experiement with the deep fryer where I force fed the kitchen crew and band members my mock scallops…deep fried potatoes dipped in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs ala chicken cutlets. Damn good.

Aine:  Any tips on making your meatballs?

Amy:  Remember to stir them every 30 minutes.

Bufffalo Girls’ Meatballs

1 pound ground buffalo

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup hemp hearts (NOTE: Hemp hearts can be found at health food stores. They are an excellent source of protein and also contain plant sterols which are known to lower cholesterol)

1/4 cup amaranth flour (NOTE: Amaranth Flour can be found at health food stores. It is a gluten free flour that is recommended for people with celiac disease or those on a gluten-free diet)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup raw pumpkin sees ground to powder in a coffee grinder

1  14oz container of POMI tomatoes chopped

 

1  14oz container strained  POMI tomatoes-low sodium no salt added

1. Put all your tomatoes in a large Le Crueset or large pot.

2. Add 1/2 tsp salt

3. Bring tomatoes to a simmer.

4. In a big bowl add all the other ingredients EXCEPT egg and water.

5. Mix ingrediants with your hands in bowl.

6. Add egg and water.

7. Shape into golf ball sized balls.

8. Gently add meatballs to simmering tomato sauce.

9. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Stir every 30 minutes.

I took the meatballs and made myself a meatball sub sandwich using a crust loaf of French bread. Was worth the wait!