Author: Hannah (BitterSweet)

Author of My Sweet Vegan, Vegan Desserts, Vegan a la Mode, and Easy as Vegan Pie.

DO Try This At Home

Home cooking has taken on greater importance over the past few years. Rising interest in food overall had already tipped the scales in favor of more homemade meals, and then the pandemic hit, making it a beacon of hope amid dwindling choices. For those with demanding schedules, tight budgets, tricky dietary restrictions, or limited experience, the shift has been anything but palatable.

Go ahead, take it easy. Laura Theodore is revitalizing comfort food as we know it, giving everyone the tools to create healthy, hearty, home cooked meals on their own terms. That means accessible ingredients, user-friendly instructions, and even low-impact clean up when it’s all said and done. If you’re craving a bite of nostalgia with better nutrition, Easy Vegan Home Cooking has exactly what you need.

BBQ Tempeh Triangles (p. 136)

Everything prepared in your own kitchen qualifies as “home cooking,” but there’s deeper meaning to the concept than such a basic definition can allow. Traditionally, the term implies comfort food, something made with intention, love, and care. It’s not fancy, and sometimes even downright ugly, but each bite feeds more than just the basic need for fuel. Takeout can never rise to such heights.


Laura’s Blueberry-Banana Smoothie (p. 41)

Easy Vegan Home Cooking includes over 125 cozy, comforting recipes that transform minimal ingredients into deeply satisfying meals. Bucking the conventional notion that soulful, crave-worthy cooking needs to make nutritional compromises, these dishes are notably low in added oil, salt, and sugar. Removing such cheap crutches lets fresh flavors do the talking instead.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Butternut Squash Soup (p. 76)

You’ve gotta taste it to believe it. Easy Vegan Home Cooking by Laura Theodore may just redefine what your idea of what home cooking is.

Hannah (BitterSweet)19 Comments

King Me

Let’s get one thing straight: There’s nothing on this green earth that could compel me to hide coins, plastic babies, dried beans, or any other foreign objects in an otherwise edible food product. I have far too much dental trauma to inflict that kind of chaos on others.

Right off the bat, you can probably guess that my take on King Cake, the essential Mardi Gras staple, would be far from traditional.

Enchanted by the bold contrasting colors and over-the-top presentation, I’ve long admired this New Orleans staple. Though it’s not something I encountered before going vegan, it reminded me of many things I have more experience with. Cinnamon buns, brioche, and pound cake all twisted into one flamboyant tribute to the last day of Folly, there had to be some way to bridge this culinary gap. Suddenly it hit me: This was really like Creole challah.

Sweet, tender, buttery strands of pillow-soft bread wind themselves around one another in a brilliant explosion of color. Subtle notes of cinnamon infuse each bite with a gentle warmth, while each slice is just a little bit different. Some have a stronger floral flavor from ube extract, others bring more of turmeric’s sunny glow to the fore, while others balance the natural bitterness of matcha for a satisfying contrast. Together, they create a vibrant harmony in purple, gold, and green.

One fateful Mardi Gras parade in 1892 was dubbed “The Symbolism of Colors,” which forever set and attributed deep importance to this bold palate. Purple represents justice, gold stands for power, and green is for faith. For all the pageantry and costuming, it’s hard to imagine such a celebration decked out in any other hues.

Until I can enjoy the genuine article, let the good times roll with with this kaleidoscopic loaf that blurs the line between side dish and dessert. You could just as happily serve it alongside a festive dinner, slathered with soft vegan butter, or for a final course, toasted and topped with ice cream. If you can hold off until breakfast, it also makes for the most incredible French toast you’ve ever stuck a fork into.

Hey, they don’t call it “Fat Tuesday” for nothing. Might as well make it count!

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Kitchen Confidant

Don’t just veg out; veg UP your meals with Kitchen Pantry.

The only thing better than having a personal chef is having a personal sous chef. When someone else handles the arduous, repetitive, and time-consuming prep work, you’re free to simply create whenever inspiration (or hunger) strikes. That’s where Kitchen Pantry comes in, doing all the shopping, chopping, slicing, and dicing for you. Order raw, fresh ingredients that are ready to cook or eat right away, without any of the typical hassle. Pick from a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, sweet and savory, plus some kitchen staples and fully cooked snacks to satisfy the most urgent cravings.

Sometimes the ease of using such conveniences is the difference between eating a healthy dinner or resorting to a bag of potato chips. It’s one thing to buy four pounds of onions to make French onion soup, and another thing entirely to actually break them down, through tired, tear-filled eyes. There’s no shame in doing what it takes to get healthy food on the table.

It’s also a boon to those who have disabilities that would otherwise prevent them from cooking. Being able to nourish yourself should be a right, not a privilege. Having more options allows greater accessibility for everyone.

Let’s not forget how it helps prevent food waste, too! Cooking for one can be a barrier to investing in fresh produce. Buying a jumbo head of broccoli can be a daunting commitment when you only want a few florets. When you buy only what you need, you get exactly that, and nothing that you don’t. Plus, with all the prep work done for you, there are no unwanted peels, cores, stems, or seeds to contend with.

Make home cooking faster than ordering takeout by starting with perfectly diced mirepoix that’s ready when you are. No measuring needed for those who prefer to rely on instinct rather than written recipes, without any risk of going too far astray.

If you’re more of an all-day grazer, you’ve got lots of crudites and snackable options at your disposal, too. If you want more than immaculate cuts of carrots or cucumbers for dipping into your favorite creamy hummus, here’s another quick fix: Take two seconds to toss together a package of diced tomatoes and tri-color bell peppers, plus a spoonful of minced serranos and garlic. Top with scallions, and just like that, you’ve got instant salsa fresca, fresher and more flavorful that anything you’d find at the grocery store.

Don’t think that the snack selection ends with fresh produce. Kitchen Pantry really strives to fill your whole kitchen with quick, healthy, universally appealing options. Featuring local brands and their less common flavors that may not be widely available, this carefully curated selection is a great way to discover more small businesses. From gourmet popcorn to award-winning olive oil, small-batch tea blends to cocktail mixers, you can easily cut down trips to the store thanks to this expansive assortment.

Unlike other meal delivery solutions, there are no hidden fees and no subscription required for Kitchen Pantry. Additionally, the packaging is fully recyclable, with plans of switching to compostable materials with future funding. What you see is truly what you get: Produce is kept fresh by removing excess oxygen and overnight shipping, not with preservatives or any additives (like salt, acids, or chemicals.)

Kitchen Pantry partners with UPS to reach most of Texas, with plans to drastically expand distribution in response to growing demand. If you’re within range, jump in and start building your cart now. No one has ever regretted getting more fresh, healthy food in their lives.

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

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Best of the Worcestershire

It’s hard to pronounce, tough to describe, and even harder to find without animal products. Worcestershire sauce is a flavor enhancer that instantly boosts a wide range of dishes, but is still largely misunderstood.

Making a splash on the culinary scene in the mid-1800’s, this mysterious fermented condiment was invented in Worcestershire, England and debuted by the Lea & Perrins company. Still the leading brand on the market, few worthy competitors have stepped up to the plate. This leaves a gaping hole in the grocery aisle, especially for vegans and those with food sensitivities. That’s because the original formula uses anchovies as the not-so-secret ingredient. While plant-based alternatives do exist, they can still be elusive in mainstream markets.

It’s time we take Worcestershire back. For that distinctive, addictive umami flavor, nothing compares to the power of dried Sugimoto shiitake powder. Despite its earthy origin, this potent food booster doesn’t taste like mushrooms, so you don’t need to worry about your sauce tasting off-key. Enhancing the natural flavors already present rather than adding its own distinctive essence, it’s like magical fairy dust that you really should be using in all of your favorite recipes.

The full power of that umami dynamo is unlocked over time, which makes it especially well-suited for this sauce. Aged and lightly fermented, the savory qualities become even more robust over the course of a few weeks. Though you could very happily enjoy this sauce after just a day or two, your patience will be rewarded in a world of rich umami later on.

How can you you use your homemade awesome sauce? Some of the most classic examples include:

Commercial Worcestershire sauce tends to be much sweeter and more flat, whereas this homemade version is carefully balanced, tangy and tart, punchy and deeply nuanced. Once you give it a try, you’ll never want to go without it again. Luckily, it keeps almost indefinitely in the fridge, stored in an airtight glass bottle. Double or triple the recipe to stay stocked up at all times.

With the right pantry staples on hand, it’s easier, cheaper, and tastier to just do it yourself.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments