Category: Baking / Cooking

Crunch Time

I love cabbage. I don’t care how weird or uncool that makes me; I will never hide my penchant for these leafy brassicas. Look, I get the stigma, having historically been the food of peasants, the tragically poor and déclassé. After centuries of disrespect, I’d like to think I’m seeing glimmers of hope on the horizon for the humble cabbage.

That’s where the Crunchy Cabbage Salad at Loro comes in. For a place that bills itself as an Asian smokehouse and bar, they sure do know their way around the produce department. I was instantly smitten with their oak grilled snap peas that graced the menu over the summer, but this salad turned out to be the real sleeper hit. Arriving at the table showered with lemon zest, fresh mint, and candied cashews, the interplay of sugar and salt, crunchy and creamy, is exactly what makes it so compelling.

Gossamer-thin strands of shredded red cabbage intertwine with lightly pickled cucumbers and bites of tender green cabbage, sweet and mild, crisp yet somehow juicy. Coated in a cashew-ginger vinaigrette, the dressing has body from just a roasted cashew butter, preventing it from becoming cloying or heavy. Brightened by the fresh, raw spice and citrus, it’s the kind of condiment you’ll want on hand at all times. Go ahead, start mentally doubling or tripling that recipe right now to save the rest for later.

Loro keeps their secrets well, so I couldn’t get the official formula out of them. No matter; nothing will stand in the way of my love for cabbage. This is my take on the concept, with the added benefit of making about four times as much for a quarter of the price. Going slightly off-script, I found that smoked cashews add an even more compelling dimension, but simple roasted cashews would be equally satisfying.

Above all else, the real star of the show is the cabbage. Standing tall like fragile, tender greens never could, it’s a salad that travels well, keeps well, and quite simply won’t let you down.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Hot Take

We all know what you’re supposed to do when life gives you lemons, but what about when life gives you jalapeños? Or, more specifically, when you need a single jalapeño for a photo shoot but can only buy them in 1-pound packages? Turns out there’s no cute proverb for that. Considering the number of times I’ve faced down exactly this conundrum, you’d think there would be a simple answer.

Turns out there is. Sriracha, one of the hottest exports to come from Thailand, is an essential condiment in my household. There must be no less than three bottles at any time, in case of emergencies. While most famously known as a bright red sauce made from fresh red chili peppers, there’s no reason why green jalapeños can’t enjoy the same treatment. In fact, there’s even yellow sriracha made from Thai burapa chiles, but that’s a story for another blog post.

Green Sriracha Heats Things Up

Both red and green sriracha start with the same basic formula, creating a garlicky, lightly sweet, and tangy base. Green jalapeños, being the unripe predecessors to red, have a sharper, grassier, brighter kick. As a result, green sriracha has a spicier bite that starts punching right away. Nuanced, but not subtle, this is the answer to anyone who thinks conventional sriracha is too mild.

Seasoned To Taste

The real benefit of making your own sriracha from scratch, aside from preventing food waste should you find yourself with a daunting pile of peppers, is getting to call the shots on what ingredients make the cut. Contrary to commercial options, my sriracha is…

  • Sugar-free, using pineapple juice for natural sweetness, plus a touch of acidity instead of harsh white vinegar
  • Free of preservatives and stabilizers, because it won’t be kicking around on a dusty shelf for years
  • Lower in salt, since whatever you’re using it on will be presumably be salted, too
  • Higher in garlic, because I’ve yet to find the limit

While store-bought sriracha may still have a place of honor in my fridge, homemade will always have the edge. With minimal effort and active time, you’ll be rewarded with a vibrant, flavorful condiment that elevates any dish. You don’t even need to accidentally over-purchase green jalapeños to give this recipe a try.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

10 Best Vegan Passover Recipes

For plant-based eaters, Passover can be one tough nut to crack. Fortunately, nuts are pesadik, so we’ve already got a running start at crafting a complete and kosher menu. What makes menu planning so difficult isn’t the lack of flour and leaveners most commonly associated with the holiday, but the avoidance of kitniyot. Conservative Ashkenazi Jews renounce beans, rice, corn, and peas for all seven days, but most would simply remove them from the Seder table. In any event, that’s the bulk of vegan protein sources right there, including tofu, tempeh, and most alternative meats.

Why Not Kitniyot?

The concern with these ingredients is not the foods themselves, but the fact that they look similar to and may possibly have the forbidden chametz grains accidentally mixed in. The especially strict would even forbid sugar snap peas, mustard, and poppy seeds, among many other curious and oddly specific selections. Many would also consider any derivatives of these ingredients verboten, such as aquafaba (brine from chickpeas), so those delicate meringue kisses are still off the table. Luckily, modern rabbis have ruled that quinoa gets the green light, so it’s wise to stock up and embrace the pseudo-cereal.

Best Bets For A Vegan Passover

Pay homage to the past without becoming a prisoner to tradition. From the festival meal to the less fanciful fare to follow, these recipes won’t let you down.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Pesach Parfait

Passover is one of the most joyous occasions on the Jewish calendar, commemorating and celebrating the perilous escape from slavery in Egypt, so why are the desserts so morose? Bearing some of the most strict dietary constraints, particularly for observant Ashkenazi Jews, it’s more like a modern take on that same subjugation. Flour, leaveners (baking soda, baking powder, yeast), and kitniyot (beans, rice, corn, peas) are all off the table for a full week. Regular plant-based meals are tough enough under these conditions, but try baking a cake without any of the above, while side-stepping the traditionally egg-laden alternatives, and you’ll quickly see where most pesadik sweets go awry.

Seder Satisfaction

Though I can’t claim to be so stringent in my own home, I do try to play along for at least the Seder. Having a good few years of experience under my belt now, it’s not so challenging to come up with something satisfying to close out the festive meal. It just takes a change in perspective, to stop thinking about what you can’t have, and to focus on what you can. It’s the same sort of challenge for anyone new to veganism, I’d imagine. Consider the following:

Naturally Vegan Desserts For Passover

Without any sort of modifications, you can easily whip up any of these treats to enjoy throughout the week of Passover. There are hundreds of thousands more when you start to consider easy swaps to make cobblers with almond meal toppings, pies with raw nut-and-date crusts, and beyond.

Mousse Without Compromise

Introducing these stunning parfaits as a Passover desserts does them a disservice, based on the baggage such a label would come with. Rather, the layers of rich dark chocolate, giving way to a lighter, fluffier raspberry cream, then finished with light yet decadent coconut whipped cream, belong in their own category of indulgence. Beautiful and delicious enough to serve all year round, with or without dietary restrictions, they’re crafted without compromise, as a good recipe should be.

Making A Perfect Parfait

Whereas most vegan mousses would start by using a base of tofu, this approach taps the fatty goodness of avocado to accentuate the buttery notes of bitter dark chocolate. On top, fresh berries contribute a jammy, tart, and tangy flavor, balancing out the sweetness with elegance. The whipped cream seals the deal, completing the strata with a cloud of velvety coconut foam.

Don’t Pass Over This Recipe

While the Passover Seder is a retelling of the story, full of sacrifice and strife, you’re not supposed to suffer through the meal. Finally, here’s a dessert that you’d actually want to eat, even after the plagues have passed by.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments

A Pretty Big Dill

Vegan cheese is booming. Long viewed as the final frontier for plant-based diets, the last holdout for hesitant omnivores, the choke-hold that Big Dairy has had on the industry is finally losing its grip. Still, the gap between accessible, everyday melting cheeses and gourmet cheeses fit for a charcuterie board is a wide, cavernous divide. When you want something nicer than generic cheddar-like shreds but not quite a triple cream brie, where’s there to turn?

Your own kitchen, of course.

Anyone who claims it’s impossible to make remarkable plant-based blocks and wedges at home clearly hasn’t even tried. There’s a hundred ways to go about it, but I happen to think that my latest approach especially is a pretty big dill. Dill Havarti, a soft, mild, and buttery cheese that originated in Denmark in the 19th century, is still a rare find in the dairy-free space. Distinctively fresh, herbal, and slightly tangy, it’s a timeless flavor combination and yet at the same time, an ideal option for celebrating spring.

It Slices! It Shreds! It Spreads! Yes, It Even MELTS!

When enjoyed within the first few hours, the texture is soft enough to use a schmear on bagels and toast. Once rested overnight, it solidifies into a proper soft block, fit to be sliced, shredded, and cubed at will.

Naturally, this beautiful block is 100% vegan and thus:

  • Dairy-free

But also made of pantry staples that make it affordable, accessible, and:

  • Oil-free
  • Nut-free
  • Seed-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Sugar-free

What About Carrageenan?

Don’t fall for the negative press surrounding this unnecessarily controversial ingredient. Carrageenan is derived from red seaweed, commonly used for its gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Despite some health myths circulating, scientific studies have shown that carrageenan is perfectly safe for consumption. Agar, beloved by the vegan community for decades, has a lot in common.

Kappa carrageenan specifically is unique in making a stable gel that can be melted again after being set, creating something much more similar to dairy cheese. The structure itself is softer and creamier, as opposed to an agar gel that has a short, stiff bite. There’s nothing I would recommend as a reasonable substitute; it’s worth buying a bag online, especially when you consider how much money it can save you compared to buying artisan vegan cheese.

Better, Healthier Cheese For All

After going through untold amounts of pricey cashews and coconut oil, I can’t imagine going back. There’s nothing wrong with craving a better plant-based cheese than what’s on the market, no matter how many choices already exist. Until someone else steps up their dill Havarti game to produce something dairy-free on a larger scale, this is the only game in town. Luckily, it’s a win-win every time.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

All Washed Up

If there’s one thing I’d like to hire someone to help me with, it would be washing dishes. After shopping, prepping, cooking, styling, shooting, and editing, the last thing I want to do is stare down the towering pile of dirty pots, pans, and plates teetering dangerously in the sink. Energy flagging, I’m mentally done with the work already, and then this tedious chore blindsides me right when I start to wind down. Yes, it’s my mess to clean up, and yes, I will still throw a tantrum like a spoiled child asked to pick up their toys, no matter how old I get.

Washing Dishes Is The Pits

Between the grease, baked-on grime, and shredding dish sponge, it’s just a textural nightmare. Getting an actual dishwasher was the holy grail, the surefire fix for all these horrors, but the reality was an even greater let down. It turns out it functions best is as overflow storage, not even aiding with a pre-rinse assist.

There’s only one way to I know to take down this daily task…

Eat it! At least, when it’s a sponge cake, half the work is done before you ever bring your plate to the sink! I don’t think this is April fooling anyone, but I’m more about silly puns than outright pranks. For a gentle trompe l’oeil, much like last year’s ramen cake, the punchline still pays off in spades. If you’re with me, grab a fork and start cleaning up your act.

What’s In A “Sponge” Cake?

The “Brillo” scrub is made from a olive oil matcha struesel, admittedly thicker than the genuine article, but we can all agree the crumb topping is the best part. For that, I’m willing to take a hit on realism. Underneath, a tender golden cake enriched with turmeric and pumpkin puree shines with bright lemon flavor.

Washing dishes is still a pain, but having the right supplies at hand definitely sweetens the deal.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments