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Susan
Dorsey at the Rosendale Cafe
Photo by Carla Rozman
Susan Dorsey,
co-owner of the Rosendale Cafe, has worked in restaurants since the
age of 16, but she does not consider herself a chef. Although Dorsey
has no formal culinary training, she has run the kitchen in one of the
mid-Hudson Valley’s few vegetarian restaurants since the cafe opened
in 1993, serving, in Dorsey’s words, “simple, good, healthy
food.” The funky and eclectic atmosphere of the cafe—mismatched
chairs, non-uniformly-sized tables, mismatched tablecloths, variously-patterned
silverware—also reflects the laid-back, community center atmosphere
of the cafe. “We’re not fancy foods,” Dorsey said. “What
I’m doing you might do in your kitchen. I’m just doing it
for more people.”
One of the area’s premier venues for jazz, folk, blues and world
music (recent artists have included Graham Parker, Don Byron, Dar Williams
and Richard Shindell), the cafe serves a variety of inventive vegetarian
and vegan dishes—Tempeh Reuben, Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff—and
is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
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Vegetarian
Black Bean Chili
INGREDIENTS
For the Chili
9 cups Black Beans
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
½ head chopped Garlic
6 Tbsp. Cumin
6 Tbsp. Oregano
¼ cup Basil
½ Tsp. Cayenne
¼ cup Sea Salt
4 chopped Bell Peppers
2 28-oz cans whole peeled Tomatoes (crush with hands)
For the Pico de Gallo
2 Onions, chopped
2 Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
½ bunch Cilantro, chopped
METHOD
1. Rinse beans and soak beans overnight.
(Place beans in pot and cover with twice as much water.)
2. Boil beans for 1½ hours over medium heat.
Add more water if necessary.
3. In a separate, thick-bottomed pot, over medium-high
heat,
sauté garlic in olive oil one minute.
4. Add chopped peppers and sauté 10 minutes.
5. Add spices and sauté 10 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes (and juice), simmer 15 minutes.
7. Add beans to mixture and stir.
8. Combine ingredients for pico de gallo.
9. Serve chili over organic brown rice,
topped with pico de gallo.
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