Category: Baking / Cooking

Healing With Charoset

Can we repair the world with charoset? Considering the lack of success we’ve seen with actual peace treaties and cease fire deals, I have to answer that question with a resounding, “no, obviously not.” However, the point of charoset, and Passover itself, draws more strength from symbolism and intention that concrete action. Every component of the Seder plate has a specific purpose, which is the start of any meaningful change, so maybe we’re closer to healing than we think.

What is Charoset?

Let’s back up a step. Charoset is classically made from chopped apples, walnuts, wine, and cinnamon. There are naturally many variations found throughout different cultures, with some adding dates, figs, or pomegranate seeds, just for starters. Sephardic Jews like theirs more like a paste or spread, while Ashkenazi Jews keep theirs coarse like a nutty fruit salsa. Regardless of the specifics, they’re all made to symbolize the mortar used by the Israelites during their enslavement in Egypt. It’s a reminder of the their hardships but also a means to balance the bitterness of maror (horseradish) as an act of resilience and the pursuit of justice against seemingly insurmountable suffering.

Tikkun Olam

In the midst of these trying times, I felt moved to make an even more meaningful, modern take on this essential staple. I’m calling this modern twist “Tikkun Charoset,” drawing from the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that means “repair the world.” Though it sounds radical, the concept has been a pillar of the community since at least the 1st millennium CE.

What Does This Have To Do With Charoset?

I’m glad you asked, dear reader! With each passing year, more optional symbols have been suggested to join the essentials on the seder plate, representing various social justice movements. I’d like to propose making them mandatory, front and center, by incorporating them right into the charoset.

The only additional unofficial amendments to the original set of symbols that I couldn’t find a way to incorporate were Miriam’s cup and acorns. Each piece of the puzzle has an inspiring origin story which I highly recommend you take a moment to read.

Healing With Charoset

Beyond what it represents, this unconventional foil to sweeten the bitterness of our affliction is simply a satisfying change of pace. Apples remain a constant at the foundation, forever reliable and accessible. Buttery sweet potatoes contrast with the crunch of toasted cashews, spiked with the bright citrus hit of orange juice and a hint of heady banana liqueur. Rich, earthy cacao nibs round out the experience with both substance and style. Though I have no illusions that it could actually fix all the world’s problems, I hope it might spread more awareness and that, at least, is a start.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Debunking The Detox

I’m vehemently against the entire concept of a detox. Our bodies are quite good at detoxifying themselves naturally, thank you very much. Even if there was some need for an assist, you’d better believe that a brief regime of liquefied vegetables wouldn’t be the cure. Despite that, I’m willing to make peace with the Green Detox Broth from The Soup Peddler on the grounds of improper naming.

It strikes me as one big mistake. For starters, it’s no mere broth, but a thick bowlful of hearty soup, given body from an abundance of pureed zucchini and broccoli. The only thing true about the moniker is that it’s green. Simple, soothing, and undeniably nutritious, I’m not mad at the savory brew itself. I’d just like to see the peer-reviewed studies that show its efficacy in cleansing.

Intoxicating Flavors

Whatever imagined impurities it’s meant to banish aside, the greatest asset of all is that The Soup Peddler has made this recipe available online. Though I refuse to call it by its original name, the basic concept is an essential staple here. I’ve made just a few small tweaks and offer additional options for adaptation, if you’re a detox deviant like me, too.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Hot Stuff

When I want to get stuffed, I’m not talking about eating so much I feel like bursting. Rather, I’m craving morsels of that are stuffed within edible wrappers, bundles of sweet and savory surprises that unfurl themself on the palate. Understated or elaborate, celebratory or simply making ends meet, stuffed foods manage to transform everyday ingredients into something extraordinary. Merely taking one component and putting it inside of another makes it far more special than the equivalent laying side by side.

Those thin leaves of limp cabbage aren’t swampy greens the moment you discover they contain multitudes within. Suddenly, you have stuffed cabbage, packed with flavor, warmth, and comfort. Everything from tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, and more become edible vessels for culinary creativity. Whether it’s a quick fix snack or a holiday entree, stuffed foods bring an element of joy, like delivering tiny gifts at every meal.

The category of “stuffed foods” is so vast and diverse, it’s hard to define the group as a classification altogether. Paring it down to just stuffed vegetables and fruits, the following recipes are a few of my favorite examples, created and collected over the past couple years. Clearly, I need to get stuffed much more often, too.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Trash Talk

Sometimes you just feel like hot garbage. Other times, you feel like eating hot garbage.

Wait, stay with me here!

Good Garbage

Though I’ve long been an outspoken proponent of eating trash, salvaging scraps and otherwise wasted food, I’m talking about something else entirely here. “Garbage” is a term used more liberally in this case, as a flippant descriptor of such an unapologetically messy, overloaded pile of fried potatoes. Not every meal needs to be gorgeous to have instant appeal. It’s perfect for when comfort food cravings become increasingly urgent, overriding any concerns about sticky fingers or hot sauce stains.

My hot garbage fries were inspired by the silly little plastic trash can vessel, to be perfectly honest, but probably work even better on a plate. Every crispy plank of fluffy fried potato should be saturated with the mess on top; a creamy, spicy sauce, meatless steak, crunchy onions, and sliced jalapeños for a final fiery bite. The combination is so simple, so obvious, that it feels redundant to write out a full recipe… And yet, it does serve as a helpful reminder that yes, it is precisely that simple and obvious.

Make Your Own Mess

Use this blueprint to build your own French fry dumpster fire upon. A few quick and easy swaps include:

  • Vegan Steak: As a luxury item, this isn’t one I often have on hand either. Any beef-like plant-based protein works beautifully (or sloppily?) here, such as crumbled veggie burgers, chopped seitan, meatless grounds, or even old fashioned TVP chunks.
  • Yellow Onion: Some people don’t appreciate the raw edge of an uncooked onion, and while they’re wrong, that’s okay. Use sliced scallions or chives for the same allium essence, minus the harsh sinus stinging.
  • Cilantro: Similarly, some poor souls process the flavor of cilantro as being akin to soap. My condolences. Either omit it or try using fresh basil for a flavorful change of pace.
  • Jalapeños: If you want to really pump up the heat, opt for peppers that fall high on the Scoville scale, such as serranos, habaneros, or scotch bonnets. Proceed with caution!

Trash is Cash

Next time you’re having a trashy day, don’t fight it. Lean into the hot mess with an equally chaotic, disorderly, and satisfyingly sloppy pile of hot garbage fries. If it’s so bad that you need a good cry, you can always blame the hot peppers, too.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Parboiled and Hard Luck

It was an innocent mistake. Shopping hurriedly with one eye on the clock and the other on increasingly menacing crowds blocking the aisles, I just wanted to get in an out as quickly as possible. Having accomplished that, I discovered my folly once I was back in the safety of my home. Instead of plain, pedestrian, nothing special long grain white rice, what tumbled out of my canvas bag was a pouch of parboiled rice. Not a travesty by any means, but an oddity to be sure. Having never encountered it before, I was surprised to learn that it wasn’t the cheap, nutrient-stripped, processed food I had imagined, but in fact, an even more wholesome and robust alternative to regular white rice.

The Rice Is Right

The visual difference are subtle; easy to miss at first. Parboiled rice has a subtly translucent quality and slightly more yellow color when dry. After cooking, these differences disappear with the water they take on.

To Be Or Not To Be…

Parboiled rice is NOT the same as instant rice or quick-cooking rice. In fact, I find it takes longer to cook that standard long grain white rice; anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes simmering on the stove top, versus 12 minutes for the conventional option. This is because it’s not actually half-cooked, but soaked, steamed, and then dried before piling into packages. That makes the exterior more impervious to liquid infusion, taking longer to rehydrate, and then hold its shape better when cooked as a result. The texture turns out more toothsome and robust, with beautifully separate, discrete grains that won’t clump together.

Trust The Process

Before anyone starts decrying the “unnatural” manufacturing process to bring parboiled rice to the table, take a look at the alternative. White rice has the husk and bran stripped away, removing essential vitamins and minerals, not to mention most of the fiber and protein. Parboiled rice is steamed while still inside the husk, infusing many more of those nutrients right into the kernel, without giving you the same darker, earthier flavor of brown rice that some picky eaters find objectionable. What’s especially noteworthy about this process is that it creates resistant starch, which can act as a prebiotic, improving overall digestion.

Use Case Scenarios

At the end of the day, it’s just rice, which means it works perfectly in any recipe that you would pick long grain rice of any variety. To best leverage is unique properties that make it resistant to getting mushy, my top recommendations for uses include:

  • Fried rice – No need to let the cooked rice cool before throwing it into the wok! The starch is already gelatinized, which means it won’t continue to degrade or break apart in the pan.
  • Rice soup – While it will still continue to absorb the broth as it sits, it will do so at a much slower rate. If you cool the soup completely, add the cooked parboiled rice, and then store it in the fridge, the leftovers will reheat beautifully, without a giant ball of overcooked rice at the bottom.
  • Rice salad – Toss cooked and cooled parboiled rice with your favorite vegetables and vinaigrette, and you’ve got a picnic party stater that will keep all day, no matter the weather.
  • Stuffing – Shake up the usual wild rice affair next Thanksgiving with a crowd-pleasing parboiled rice base. In this case, it will cook much faster than the 50 to 60 minutes required for the semi-aquatic grass.

Par-Boiling Point

While I adore sticky rice, clumping together in chewy mouthfuls, the unique structure and discrete individual grains of parboiled rice turned out to be a surprisingly satisfying change of pace. Not all mistakes are bad, and this is one I’ll likely repeat on future shopping trips—albeit more intentionally.

Hannah (BitterSweet)10 Comments