Tag: cooking

Soup To Nuts: All About Powdered Peanut Butter

Running the entire gamut of sweet to savory, decadent to healthy, peanut butter powder is an essential ingredient that belongs in every nut-loving kitchen. Once a rare curiosity, it now sits prominently in mainstream markets, positioned as a baking staple, protein powder, or both all at once.

Given the sudden abundance of accessible options, I can’t help but wonder: Why is everything so sweet? A casual search will pull up a fair number of results, but the hits quickly become redundant. Another powdered peanut butter cookie, another peanut butter powder truffle, another powdered peanut butter energy bar, another peanut butter powder protein shake; where’s the creativity? Where’s the spice and salt?

Naked Nutrition: Peanut Butter Powder With Nothing To Hide

Coming in to help fuel all new culinary inspiration, Naked Nutrition has just launched a new line of flavors for their best-selling Powdered Peanut Butter, including Organic, Chocolate, and Sugar & Salt. My focus immediately landed squarely on the Organic option for its brilliantly simple one-ingredient label. All you get are fresh, dry, finely powdered, roasted peanuts. Less is more here, giving you more protein and fiber per tablespoon than the conventional nutty spread.

The Basics: What Is Peanut Butter Powder?

Let’s take a step back here to better understand what we’re working with. Peanut butter powder is made by removing most of the oils from roasted peanuts and then grinding them into a fine powder. The result is a versatile and concentrated form of peanut butter that packs a punch of flavor without the typical high fat content. All that’s left is pure, nutty goodness that can be reconstituted with water or other liquids to create a spreadable, creamy texture. The best part? It’s a great alternative for those looking to reduce fat and calories in their diet while still savoring the unmistakable taste of peanut butter.

Peanut butter protein powder is a term that can be used interchangeably. The same thing goes for peanut butter flour, but only if there are no other added sweeteners, stabilizers, or flavors.

Peanut Butter Powder In The Kitchen

While most existing recipes for peanut butter powder focus on the sweeter aspects, I prefer to bring out the savory notes, especially with Naked Nutrition’s Organic Powdered Peanut Butter that has zero added sugar. In fact, there’s zero added anything; it’s just peanuts, period. When you want a versatile ingredient that can quell any cravings, kick-start a healthy meal, or help you explore new cuisines, this one will never disappoint.

Peanut Soups and Stews

Soup is always in season, which is why it’s always at the top of my list when I don’t know what to make for dinner. There’s a rich history of traditional peanut soups and stews in many cultures, too. Consider:

Peanut Sauces

Don’t forget about all the saucy options that use peanut butter as a rich and creamy base.

Peanut Coatings and Binding

I’ve used powdered peanut butter to make some of the crispiest peanut-crusted tofu you could ever dream of, and that same trick could be just as easily applied to any of your favorite proteins or veggies.

In baking, it’s an excellent gluten-free binder and emulsifier, keeping dough cohesive and batters smooth.

How To Substitute Powdered Peanut Butter

Any recipe that calls for standard peanut butter can be upgraded with peanut powder. For every tablespoon of standard peanut butter, simply use 2 tablespoons of powdered peanut butter plus 1 tablespoon of water or other liquid. This is a great opportunity to add more flavor, too. You could amp up the umami with mushroom stock, enhance the creaminess with coconut milk, or add a splash of acid with fresh lemon or lime juice.

The benefit of using peanut butter powder is that it’s much easier to incorporate, blending in effortlessly whereas conventional paste tends to clump if you just drop in a spoonful. Additionally, it’s an excellent way to thicken a thin broth instead of adding nutritionally vapid white flour or starch.

If you get stuck in a meal planning rut and have a hard time incorporating new dishes with peanut butter powder into your life, try creating a menu that you can print out and keep in your kitchen. Check GS-JJ.com for lots of user-friendly options and custom stickers.

Nuts for Peanut Powder

It’s a good thing that Naked Nutrition’s Organic Powdered Peanut Butter comes in such generous containers; as soon as you break the seal, you’ll want to add it to every snack and meal. Trust me, you’ll have no trouble powering through the first pack, so stock up when you get a chance!

This post was made possible as a collaboration with Naked Nutrition. My opinions cannot be bought and all content is original. This page may contain affiliate links; thank you for supporting my blog!

Hannah (BitterSweet)10 Comments

White Hot

Color is a critical indicator for how we approach food.

Color Psychology in Food

  • Green typically signals vitamins and nutrients, a healthy choice, and possibly grassy flavors.
  • Red often tells us what we’re about to eat is sweet, or ripe and rich in umami.
  • White, perceived as the absence of color, suggests a lack of taste altogether.

Bland, boring, devoid of notable nutritional value, white fails to elicit the same sort of instant hunger that a bold, brilliantly colored dish can.

Such a shame for what is actually a reflection of every color in the spectrum. White is the ultimate shapeshifter, concealing a world of different spices. That’s why curry, found in every brilliant hue under the sun, is a particularly dangerous dish to cloak in bright white.

Consider this recipe your newest painful pleasure. Introducing, curry of another color.

What Is White Curry?

Creamy coconut milk is a common base for curry, smoothing out the harsh edges of hot spices with a rich and cooling finish. Most are tinted with yellow turmeric, and/or red or green chilies, but there’s more than one way to add a fiery bite to your food. My unconventional white curry uses pale Hungarian wax peppers to bring the heat, along with tiny but mighty bird’s eye chilies, small enough to disappear into the stew without any visual impact. From there, only white vegetables and plant protein join the party. White button mushrooms add umami richness and Asian pears contribute a subtle sweetness that’s essential to the nuanced, balanced flavor profile, but there’s plenty of room for adaptation.

Ideas For Additions

Make this recipe your own and try all sorts of different vegetables instead! Think there aren’t enough white produce picks to keep things exciting? Think again. Consider the following:

  • Jicama
  • Potatoes
  • Daikon
  • Parsnips
  • Cabbage
  • Fennel
  • Kohlrabi
  • Lotus root
  • White corn
  • Navy or cannelini beans
  • White asparagus
  • Hearts of palm

Don’t count the “lack” of color on this dish as a red flag. The amount of heat concealed in that creamy sauce could set off alarm bells for the unprepared. Don’t forget to serve with plenty of white rice to soak it all in!

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Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Mucho Matzo

You know what’s the worst part about buying matzo meal for Passover?

Having it sit in the pantry for the rest of your life.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit over-dramatic. Maybe you’re more organized than I am and would clear the shelves without needing to include all the contents in your final will.

The thing is, I just don’t love matzo in any form, aside from matzo toffee, perhaps. If we’re being honest, it tastes stale from the moment it comes off the factory line, with a gritty, chalky taste and texture that would be rejected by taste testers if Moses ever held a focus group on his new product.

Unfortunately, matzo meal is a necessary evil to enjoy the one redeeming dish of Passover: Matzo ball soup. If not for those tender, fluffy dumplings, I’d happily forget that the stuff even exists. Instead, I’ll do my Jewish duty of preparing the culinary highlight of the holiday, end up with a mostly full box of excess matzo meal, and either give it away via the Buy Nothing Project or unceremoniously dumping it out of frustration a few months later. Next year, like clockwork, the cycle will begin anew.

How To Use Leftover Matzo Meal

It’s time to stop wasting a potentially serviceable staple! This is more a reminder for myself, but if you’re in a similar situation, these are my best suggestions for using up matzo meal, beyond the predictable matzo ball soup.

  • Add it to plant-based meatballs, meat loaves, or burger patties for bulk, texture, and binding power.
  • Mix in herbs and spices to act as a seasoned breading for fried tofu or cauliflower.
  • Sweeten with granulated sugar and drizzle in melted vegan butter until it holds together when pressed; transfer to a springform pan and bake into a crust for cheesecake.
  • Create a pesadik version of cream of wheat by simmering 1 part matzo meal with 2 parts water for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Serve hot with maple syrup and cinnamon.
  • Toast in a dry skillet and use instead of pine nuts in pesto.

How To Make Matzo Meal

Save yourself from the dilemma of excess in the first place by making your own matzo meal from scratch, yielding just enough for its intended purpose.

  1. One sheet of matzo will create roughly 1/4 cup of matzo meal.
  2. Break up as many sheets as you need into smaller pieces and place them in your food processor with the “S” blade installed.
  3. Pulse until finely ground to about the consistency of coarse almond meal.
  4. Store in an airtight container in a cool place until ready to use.

With a little bit of creativity and craftiness, anything can be delicious. You could be a matzo lover or hater and still enjoy any of these alternate uses that give it a whole new life beyond the seder plate!

Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Axe Me Anything

Bestsellers on Black Friday are typically high-end electronics, kid’s toys, luxury fragrances, and jewelry. Of course, blissfully oblivious to conventional door busters, this past holiday season, I ended up walking away with a kitchen axe.

Kitchen axe with an open acorn squash and seeds

What does one do with a kitchen axe?

Did I need a kitchen axe? Absolutely not. The most important function of a kitchen axe is that it could scare off potential intruders and makes you look like a badass. Practically though, I had no idea what I would use it for.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that this is a blade meant for heavy-duty butchery, like a cleaver on steroids, but that’s a misconception. It’s actually an entirely unique and very useful tool*

  • The long handle is designed for an arcing swing to channel a lot of power into a single strike, which is ideal for cracking open whole coconuts.
  • The gently curved blade is ideal for rocking over fresh herbs for a consistent, fine mince.
  • The wide metal head is excellent for slicing through large, hard vegetables, like winter squash, jicama, or celery root.
  • The small size is compact and great for travel. It fits easily into any purse so you’ll always be properly equipped on the go.
  • The razor-sharp edge will do the job in case of emergency dismemberment, decapitation, or disembowelment needs.

Kitchen Axe in a log outside

Important Note

*A kitchen axe is in fact, poorly suited for all culinary tasks compared to comparable butcher’s knives or simply blunt objects, such as bricks or rocks. It’s only a good gift for someone you think would look better with fewer fingers. Proceed with extreme caution and many bandages on hand, literally.

April Fool’s!

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Do As You Peas

Standing in the kitchen, hands full of half-peeled zucchini in the dark of night, I’m trying to channel my grandmother circa 1984. Five years before I was born, President Ronald Reagan was in office, astronauts went on the first untethered space walk on the moon, and Apple made a splash with its infamous “1984” Macintosh commercial. It was also the year that Bon Appétit magazine published a recipe for Zucchini Cups Stuffed with Peas.

Zucchini Cups Stuffed With Peas - Recipe Card from Bon Appetit Magazine, December 1984

I know this because my grandmother so carefully clipped and preserved this relic of the past. It survived nearly four decades, multiple moves, deaths and births, whole lifetimes. Not once did I ever see zucchini cups with peas grace our table, and I can’t help but wonder…Zucchini cups, cored

Why? Why zucchini cups?

  • Why was this recipe run in December, for starters, when neither zucchini nor peas would be in season?
  • Why was this the standout dish my grandmother kept, of things?
  • Why couldn’t I stop thinking about it, from the minute my mom unearthed it?

Stuffing baked zucchini cups with peas.

These questions have no answers.

My grandmother doesn’t remember the zucchini cups or what inspired her to file the recipe away. I’m okay with not knowing; some things just are that way, and I’m happy to have this taste of the past, maybe even better than what my grandmother had envisioned during her years of entertaining.

Zucchini cups stuffed with peas on a silver platter.

Small changes were necessary, of course, to veganize and enhance the original stuffed zucchini recipe with modern ingredients and technology.

  • Butter is traded for peppery extra virgin olive oil.
  • Dried tarragon gets axed in favor of verdant fresh herbs.
  • Melon ballers belong only in museums at this point, so I reached for my trusty zucchini reamer instead (yes, that’s a thing)- Though you could very happily use a regular pairing knife here.
  • Boiled zucchini sound downright dreadful, which is why the dry heat of the oven, which concentrates flavors and gently browns the surface, had much greater appeal.

The real beauty of the concept, however, is that it doesn’t take much to assemble or enjoy. I suppose they were intended to serve as appetizers or snacks for guests, as every good housewife should be ready to entertain at the drop of a hat, but I happen to think they make a fantastic side dish for any random weekday dinner, too.

Green pea stuffing.

If you have extra peas, those alone are brilliant to pair with just about any protein, such as a meatless loaf, balls, or cutlet, especially with creamy mashed potatoes or al dente pasta as a base. Beyond that, consider using them to top avocado toast, puree to use as a dip, or mash roughly to stuff into sandwiches.

Zucchini cups stuffed with peas on a silver platter.

I’m certain my grandmother never made the original recipe, but I hope I could still do her proud with my rendition. We don’t have many memories together, at least in recent years, so I’m grateful to keep making new ones now.

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