The Ballfields

On Saturdays and Sundays, one of the Red Hook ballfields in Brooklyn, NY, at the corner of Clinton and Bay Streets, is lined with food carts serving up a variety of Central and South American food. Below are two papusas, one bean and cheese, the other loroco flower and cheese, accompanied by pickled cabbage. The loroco flower is native to Central America and is edible. It tastes like asparagus-brocolli, or maybe chicken.Pickled cabbage, which I know involves at least salt and vinegar, is a truly altered product. It requires a handful of spices to reach its transformed state. I'm still more interested in the raw, but the purple stuff was good, still crunchy, and then tangy and salty. It's a good way to hold on to fluids on a hot summer day.