Tag: food

Special Delivery: Mailbox Lasagna

If you can make cookies in the car, why can’t you make lasagna in the mailbox?

This was the thought that propelled me forward on my next wild experiment. If global warming is going to get worse, I can only get weirder in response.

Why Lasagna In A Mailbox?

Many news stations like to offer this tantalizing idea as a quirky way to lighten the mood when oppressive summer heat sets in. The earliest reference I can find to it is from 2019, attributing it to the Nation Weather Service, but I can’t find that original reference. What’s more alarming is that despite being re-posted and shared thousands of times, I couldn’t find evidence that anyone had actually tried it. That’s where I come in.

The idea is that by prepping your meal in advance, stuffing it in a hot mailbox all day, it would bake though pure solar power, keeping the kitchen cool and saving electricity. I’m dubious that the actual cost savings would add up to a full cent, but given how prone my state is to rolling blackouts, I’ll do everything I can to conserve.

How To Make Mailbox Lasagna

The procedure is pretty much as you’d imagine, starting with your favorite lasagna recipe.

  • Use any lasagna recipe you prefer, scaled down accordingly to fit your pan. Use only fully cooked components (no raw proteins) to prevent potential food poisoning. While unlikely, it’s better to be safe than sick.
  • Make sure you use no-boil noodles, no matter what the recipe originally calls for.
  • Cover with foil to seal in the heat before placing it in the mailbox. Close the door and lock it if possible. This is to keep both nosy neighbors and hungry critters out.
  • Go about your day and let the lasagna “bake” for 6 to 10 hours.
  • Handle carefully, with potholders, because it will be hot! Remove the foil to check that the cheese has melted and your pasta is al dente. It won’t brown due to the lack of intense direct heat. The Maillard reaction only occurs at 149°C/300°F and higher.

Tips and Tricks

There are a lot more variables to contend with when using a mailbox instead of an actual oven. Bear in mind these factors before writing it into your dinner menu:

  • Ideally, plan this experiment for a Sunday or federal holiday so there’s no mail delivery that might end up in your meal.
  • Start by cleaning out your mailbox. If it’s anything like mine, it’s also full of dust, dirt, and the occasional spiderweb. None of those are great seasonings, so you’ll want to give the interior a good rinse before adding food.
  • Select a metal pan to better conduct heat, and make sure it fits inside your mailbox. I’d recommend a loaf pan in most cases, unless you have a giant mailbox equal in size to a conventional oven.
  • Start around late morning (10 or 11am) when the mailbox is in direct sunlight. There needs to be a high of at least 105℉ (40°C) outside to attempt this with any level of success. Sorry if it’s not as brutally hot in your neck of the woods; it simply won’t work otherwise.

What Does Lasagna Cooked In A Mailbox Taste Like?

Here’s the thing: It’s fine. Edible, for sure. The cheese comes out melt-y-ish if not fully melted (though your mileage may vary depending on your brand), the pasta is soft enough after sitting and soaking in sauce for a few hours, and if you started with flavorful sauce and filling ingredients, it tastes as good as those did to begin with.

It’s not as good as lasagna baked in the oven because it lacks the textural contrast of crispy edges, the caramelized bits and browned surfaces. It’s a novelty that can amuse your friends and scare your neighbors, not a culinary treasure.

Honest Thoughts On Mailbox Lasagna

Is it the best lasagna you’ve ever eaten? No.

Is it the easiest lasagna you’ve ever made? Also no.

But is it the silliest and most fun lasagna you’ve ever tried? Absolutely a strong contender. I’d love to hear if you’ve come up with something wackier, because that would be a must-make for me.

Hannah (BitterSweet)18 Comments

Talk Of Tomatoes: 10 Best Fresh Tomato Recipes For Summer

Nothing in the world compares to a ripe summer tomato. Taut skin gleaming in the dappled midday sunshine, it beckons with a ruby red blush. Firm, meaty, and substantial, it needs only a pinch of salt to erupt with savory flavor, naturally sweet, acidic, and subtly peppery. If you’re really lucky, it will still be warm, straight from the garden, the green aroma of its twisted vines still lingering like fading perfume.

For a fruit that’s been around for over 80,000 years, you’d think the novelty would have worn off by now, but humans and animals like simply can’t get enough. At least, I know that’s true for me, especially if we’re talking about heirloom varieties. The more gnarled, colorful, and bulbous, the better. Those beauties never see the heat of the kitchen, too perfect to bear cooking. For the rest, however, I have more than a few winning recipes to make the most of the season.

Maximize your own fresh tomato intake with a few of my favorite recipes:

Continue reading “Talk Of Tomatoes: 10 Best Fresh Tomato Recipes For Summer” →

Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Noodles You Should Know: Áp Chảo Chay

No matter how many noodles you know and love, there’s always more to discover. It’s a distinct joy and benefit to eating out; exploring global flavors without hopping on a plane, using your vacation days, or even coordinating a babysitter to watch the kids. Ordinary days are transformed into unforgettable ones with a single bite. That’s the story of how I first found out about Áp Chảo Chay.

What Is Áp Chảo Chay?

Áp Chảo means both pan-fried and sauteed, so what you get are sheets of fused noodles that are chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. It’s a multidimensional textural experience, and every bite is a bit different. Some pieces have a resounding crunch like a deep-fried wonton, while others have more of an al dente give. It’s unlike any other straight-forward stir fry and something everyone should have in their lives.

Chay, of course, simply means vegetarian, so you get an assortment of tender-crisp fresh veggies and tofu, rounding out the meal.

Where Can You Find Áp Chảo Chay?

This Vietnamese specialty is surprisingly hard to come by in the states, which is why it took me so long to get my first, completely revolutionary taste. It’s not something you can simply order if it’s not on the menu, given the difficulty and time involved, but it’s worth asking around if restaurant owners know another place that could accommodate.

Many versions on the concept exist, of course, the most popular of which being Áp Chảo Bo, with beef. If you happen to find this, you can easily request it without meat; the rest of the dish is usually “accidentally” vegan without eggs or dairy, but you will want to specify in case fish sauce or oyster sauce come into play.

The specific noodles can vary as well. Some use wide, flat rice noodles (as seen here) while others use thinner pho noodles or even vermicelli.

How To Make Áp Chảo Chay

Though simple in concept, success rests solely on technique for this dish. To be honest, I haven’t been able to get it right yet, but there are plenty of people much more experienced in the art that can help guide you.

  • Wandering Chopsticks is truly the online authority on Vietnamese cooking, so I’d trust this version of Pho Ap Chao Bo implicitly. To veganize, replace the fish sauce with soy sauce, and use your favorite plant-based protein instead of beef.
  • Cooking Off The Cuff takes a more soupy approach, filling a bowl for this Phở Áp Chảo with hot broth to finish. Same notes for veganizing, though you could use vegetarian oyster sauce here if you can find it.

Not everything needs to be spicy, but if you’re a heat-seeker, stock up on hot chili oil to lavish on top. That bright finishing touch makes an already excellent dish utterly unassailable.

Try a new noodle tonight. There’s still so many more out there, waiting to be savored.

Hannah (BitterSweet)4 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

Make A Beeline For Biquinho Peppers

An open olive bar is a very dangerous place for me to be. I’m not talking about the potential for cross-contamination with messy cubes of marinated feta, always carelessly crumbling beyond their containers, or germs from those who resist the shield of the sneeze guard. For me, the peril is in knowing when to stop. I have yet to meet a pickle I didn’t like, from mild to hot, and I always want to try more. One impulsive glance over the chilled chafing dishes could result in a pound of two of impulse pickles, and a correspondingly hefty bill.

That’s where I met my current pickle fixation, Brazilian biquinho (pronounced bee-keen-yo) peppers.

What Are Biquinho (Sweety Drop) Peppers?

Also known as sweety drops, they’re tiny tear drop-shaped peppers about the size of a nickel. Their name means “little beak,” owing to their pointed ends. Though most commonly red, you might get lucky and find yellow peppers too.

Think of them as concentrated red bell peppers; all sweet, no heat. For a touch of instant whimsy and elegance, these are the ultimate topper. No prep is needed since you eat them whole, seeds and all, which means they’re always ready to go straight out of the fridge.

What Can You Do with Biquinho Peppers?

If you crave the salty, briny bite of pickles like I do, it’s hard to resist popping them in your mouth straight away. Soft, tender flesh gives way to crunchy seeds for a wholly satisfying bite. Of course, if you can delay that gratification, there’s no end to their use in everyday and special occasion dishes alike. Here’s a few ideas to get you started:

Anywhere a cucumber pickle works, these pickled sweety drop peppers will, too. Soon, they’ll be come an indispensable staple on your grocery list, not just a sporadic lucky find. For that, you’re welcome and I’m sorry.

Hannah (BitterSweet)2 Comments