Category: Reviews

Baking a Difference

You wouldn’t know it at a glance or from the taste, but there’s a lot more than meets the tongue baked into every immaculate mahogany and tawny brown square from Greyston Bakery. If you can temper your appetite long enough to examine the label, you’ll know there’s something different about these treats beyond the essential formula. Raising up people within the community is just as important as raising dough, literally and figuratively, which their Open Hiring Model especially admiral. It should come as no surprise that this progressive company would partner with fellow corporate radicals, Ben & Jerry’s, to supply the infamous brownies in their game-changing vegan pints. My first taste of those darkly decadent, fudgy chunks came smothered in rapidly melting chocolate ice cream, but it wasn’t long before they compelled me to seek out a whole, bare bite.

Genuinely baked bars of soft dark chocolate, they’re the platonic ideal of any brownie, making the case for vegan desserts on a grand new scale. Very sweet, undeniably indulgent, super chewy, and complete with gently crackled top, I dare you to find a single flaw along those edible fault lines.

Now, after 36 years, achieving such lofty goals with unprecedented success has encouraged these bold bakers to expand their offerings with that same spirit of inclusivity in mind. For their second act in vegan baking activism, at long last, a blondie has been born.

The Vegan Cinnamon Roll Blondie is so soft and tender, each sweet morsel practically melts in your mouth. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar for a light crunch and extra pop, they could be alternately called “snickerdoodle bars” to suit the simplistic approach. No nuts, no fruits, no nonsense, they’re sure to please the pickiest of eaters. Every bit as dense and satisfying as their cocoa counterparts, it’s a victory for all of us to celebrate, right down to the factory line, alongside the workers themselves.

Though it’s hard to beat a fresh blondie straight out of the box, they really come alive when served slightly warm… And, it should come as no surprise, with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

A Fresh Approach to Fast Casual

Chain restaurants have come to represent the slow erosion of all that is held dear by discerning diners the world over. Homogenized, mass-produced, oversimplified menus designed for consistency and volume proliferate, muting bold flavors in favor of simplicity. Quality isn’t the first, nor second or third, consideration, with more focus placed on cost than true value. Small businesses are edged out, putting the endangered mom and pop shop around the corner at even greater risk than ever.

Surely you’ve heard this tale of woe before. It’s not a new story, and no happy ending seems to lie ahead in the yet unwritten pages. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. “Franchise” doesn’t have to be a dirty word when it represents the spread of better corporate values. Veggie Grill is bucking the trend as the largest 100% vegan chain in the country, bringing real food that “celebrates the veggie, the fruit, the grain, and the nut” to the people. Veggie Grill has over 30 locations spread across the west coast and is soon to begin their east coast invasion, taking root in Cambridge, MA before spreading to NYC in 2019. If you haven’t yet heard about their infamous B-Wing Salad or sat down to a towering Beyond Burger, you’re in for a treat.

My first taste of Veggie Grill was many years ago when it was still a fledgling eatery based in Portland, OR. Although I’ve dabbled with the bay area locations once a year or so, they still remained just a bit beyond easy access… Until now. Planting themselves right in the heart of downtown Berkeley, it’s dangerously easy to pop in whenever the craving for Tempura Green Beans strikes, or worse yet, simply order $1 delivery through the app.

Meatless mains feature prominently through partnerships with Beyond Meat, Gardein and Hodo, appealing to the staunch omnivore and old-school vegan alike. Many reviews come from confused patrons who realize only after plowing through their entree that it was entirely plant-based. This is exactly the kind of accessibility that the industry needs now; not dumbed-down flavors, but a level playing field to unite eaters of all stripes. You can still get your spicy Buffalo Wings with creamy ranch dressing; your soulful Southern Fried Chicken plate piled high with mashed potatoes and gravy; your bright and zesty Mediterranean Super greens Salad, if you so choose.

My personal favorite of the moment is the Rustic Farm Bowl for its deeply umami grilled mushrooms, roasted yams, braised white beans, broccoli pesto, roasted tomatoes, and red pepper sauce. Every element would be a fine bite by itself, but in concert, creates a symphony of carefully tuned tastes, in perfect proportion. It’s a grounding meal that always leaves me feeling satisfied, energized rather than weighed down, easy to grab and just keep going. That’s what fast casual dining should really be about, right? Fuss-free, wholly satisfying fare that fits into the existing social fabric, rather than tearing a hole through it. If you haven’t yet tried Veggie Grill, prepare yourself. You may just see one opening up near you soon.

Don’t forget to download the app before you go and use my code HannahKa8145 for $5 off when you sign up!

Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Follow Your Bliss

Fading sunlight highlights the bumpy gravel road, still slick from a quick cloud burst earlier in the day. Humidity hangs in the air like a thick cloud, plastering my hair against my sticky temples. Cavorting around with a pack of kids, we roam the streets, going nowhere but moving forward with youthful ambition. It’s getting late, but the day is just getting started for us, only a few hours out of bed, now growing hungry for something more than iced coffee. The siren song of an ice cream truck fails to lure us in; too juvenile for us sophisticated, independent teens. Marching out to the first mini-mart bearing a freezer chest by the register, we found our far more valuable plunder. Ice cream novelties sheathed in a simple chocolate coating, perched on short wooden sticks to grab and go, the impression of opulence shone from the ice-encrusted wrappers. One bite and the heat of the day was forgotten; it was a taste of pure bliss.

The Vanilla​ ​Island​ ​in​ ​Chocolate Bars by Coconut Bliss are not the ice cream treats of my childhood.​​ Immediately those joyful memories flood back to overwhelm my senses when reunited with this classic combination, but the experience is easily surpassed. Gone is the comparatively waxy exterior, replaced by a shatteringly crisp dark chocolate shell, which gives way to a silky frozen custard filling. Madagascan​ ​vanilla​ ​provides​ ​a​ depth of ​flavor​ ​which ​is​ ​simultaneously rich,​ ​warm,​ ​and​ ​comforting​ ​when​ ​blended​ ​with​ ​the delicate​ ​sweetness​ ​of​ ​coconut​ ​milk. So smooth, so luxurious, just calling it an ice cream bar doesn’t do justice to its full splendor.

It feels like a crime to do anything but slowly savor that moment of bliss, to risk ruining something that’s already pretty much perfect. The good news is that with such a strong base, you truly can’t go wrong whether you choose to dress these treats up or keep it sweet and simple. Finding just the right balance between the two approaches, I was inspired by these new treasures, all grown up yet so nostalgic, to elevate another old-school favorite. This is not a plain old vanilla smoothie, but a legitimate drinkable dessert. Fine chunks of chocolate flakes swirl throughout every sip, instantly dissolving upon contact with the tongue, exploding with bittersweet flavor while relenting long enough for the vanilla base to shine, like the sun peeking out after a summer storm.

Trust me, it’s not a sacrifice to deviate from the original dessert… It’s a genuine upgrade that you owe to your taste buds.

Yield: 1 Serving

Stracciatella Milkshakes

Stracciatella Milkshakes

This is not a plain old vanilla smoothie, but a legitimate drinkable dessert. Fine chunks of chocolate flakes swirl throughout every sip, instantly dissolving upon contact with the tongue, exploding with bittersweet flavor while relenting long enough for the vanilla base to shine, like the sun peeking out after a summer storm.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Toppings (Optional):

Instructions

  1. Simply pull the ice cream bars off their sticks and pop them into the blender along with the yogurt and coconut milk. Blend on low speed until creamy and thoroughly combined, but not completely smooth. Stop when there’s just a fine mix of chocolate chunks remaining in the mix, making sure that they’re all small enough to fit through a straw.
  2. Divide between two glasses and top with coconut whipped cream and chocolate shavings, if desired. Follow your bliss and start sipping!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 347Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 113mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 0gSugar: 38gProtein: 9g
© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Beverages
This post was made possible thanks to the support of Coconut Bliss and Women’s Choice Award. All content and opinions are unbiased and entirely my own.

Hannah (BitterSweet)2 Comments

Primed and Polished

Right alongside clothing concerns, from ethical production to actual components, cosmetics are often one of the last things that one considers when choosing a vegan lifestyle. In our food-obsessed culture, the focus is almost entirely on diet, while the remainder of our vast purchasing habits go largely unquestioned. It’s confusing, too, discerning the difference between cruelty-free certifications and pledges to avoid animal testing.

Then there’s the considerations towards personal health. Just finding something off the shelf that’s non-toxic is surprisingly difficult, with many mainstream labels boasting genuinely harmful chemicals like dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, and camphor. When brands say that they’re five-free, it’s these bad apples that don’t make the cut. Now, many are taking it a step further to go “seven-free,” excluding triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) and xylene. That’s before we even start talking about shades and shimmers.

Based in Australia, Sienna Byron Bay has made the decision an easy one. Completely sustainable, vegan, and genuinely beneficial for your nails with breathable, water permeable polishes, each dazzling hue offers smart beauty in a bottle. Considering the disturbing number of landmines one must avoid when making an informed purchase, I was delighted to learn of this new brand, jumping at the opportunity to adorn my own fingertips.

That said, after years of grabbing hot pans out of the oven and washing dishes with scalding water, my hands are not very pretty to look at. To do these gorgeous lacquers proper justice AND enjoy them for longer than the average lifespan of a manicure, I decided to get a bit crafty.

Turning just a few drops of Sundance and Grace into genuine paints, plain white bowls became marbleized masterpieces in minutes. The idea is not a new one, but timelessly brilliant for any fellow photographers looking to jazz up their prop closet, or crafty kids who want to give personalized gifts this holiday season (because it’s never too early to start planning!)

Just fill a large bucket with enough water to submerge your dishes and drizzle your polishes of choice randomly over the top. The colors will float! Dip carefully, in one slow plunge, covering the surface smoothly. Let dry, but if you’re not happy with the results, just hit it with some nail polish remover and try again. Add more polish to the water if needed. Use with care, avoiding both the dishwasher and microwave to preserve the pattern.

Greater awareness of issues with cosmetics is building, which is very exciting to see, even as a fair-weather beauty enthusiast. Do you have any hot tips on brands to seek out, or surprising labels to avoid? It’s time to clean the shelves; no matter how you use lacquer, no one wants an evil genie to come out of those bottles.

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Beets Me

This blog post is sponsored by iHerb but as always,the opinions and experiences expressed in this post are my own.

Blood red, murky liquid filled the glass, dark and menacing, yet impossibly, inexplicably appealing. Touted as an everyday superfood, hidden in plain sight on the supermarket shelves yet locked away just beyond reach, beet juice is both laughably commonplace and frustratingly difficult to get a hold of all at once. Brimming with nutrients shown to improve stamina, improve blood flow, and help lower blood pressure, vitamins and minerals are all locked away within the tough, fibrous exterior of these hard root vegetables. Drinking straight beet juice cuts out the middleman to make this rich source of folate, potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants, far more accessible for instant absorption. Call it the new energy drink; no caffeine need apply.

What of the flavor, you ask? Some people can’t get past that deep, earthy taste, but all I get is subtle, natural sweetness. It helps that I’ve taken to mixing up Nature’s Way Beet Root Powder lately, which is far easier than fumbling with a messy juicer and consistently palatable. Mixing up instantly with plain water, you couldn’t find a better source of instant vegetative goodness.

Idly browsing the pages of iHerb as I’m apt to do, powdered beets stood out as a specialty item that should really be a mainstream staple. I’ve never encountered this powerful new ingredient before, which makes it particularly fortunate that iHerb is fully stocked, carrying this and over 400 Nature’s Way products that can be shipped to over 160 countries, and representatives that offer support in 10 languages.

For those of you still balking at the idea of chugging a tall glass of beet juice, no matter how mild, fear not. I have three different ideas here for refreshing, revitalizing drinks you will genuinely enjoy.

Popularized by Starbucks but improved by real ingredients, the famous pink drink blushes a bit more boldly with an infusion of not only Wilderness Poets Freeze Dried Dragon Fruit Powder for flavor, but our hero, the beet mixed in for backup support. Stash Mango Passionfruit Tea brews up a tropical base for both the colorful swirl and rich cream contrast, thanks to Earth Circle Organics Coconut Cream Powder, creating a far more flavorful blend than anything coming plain out of a can.

Yield: 1 – 2 Servings

Pink Ombre Drink

Pink Ombre Drink

Popularized by Starbucks but improved by real ingredients, the famous pink drink blushes a bit more boldly with an infusion of freeze dried dragonfruit powder for flavor with beet powder for color.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Add a few drops of stevia to the brewed tea according to taste and divide it into two parts. To the first, whisk in the coconut milk powder. To the second, whisk in the beet root powder and pitaya powder.
  2. To serve, fill one or two glasses with ice. Pour a layer of the coconut mixture in first, and then gently pour an equal amount of the pitaya mixture on top, allowing the two to slowly swirl together. Enjoy immediately.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 18Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 16mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g
© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Beverages

For a quick sip on a hot summer’s day, nothing can beat a zesty glass of fresh lemonade. Nothing, except for lemonade infused with the vitality of beets and fruitiness of blueberries. Mingling together in a harmonious purple blend, this is an easy way to introduce the pickiest of eaters and drinkers to the idea of liquefied root vegetables. Dynamic Health Laboratories Pure Blueberry Juice Concentrate is so powerful that just a tiny drop add volumes of fresh berry essence in an instant. Since whipping up this drink, I’ve used it as an utterly luscious glaze over baked tempeh and rich finishing drizzle over many salads, too.

Yield: 3 - 5 Servings

Purple Lemonade

Purple Lemonade

For a quick sip on a hot summer’s day, nothing can beat a zesty glass of fresh lemonade. Nothing, except for lemonade infused with the vitality of beets and fruitiness of blueberries. Mingling together in a harmonious purple blend, this is an easy way to introduce the pickiest of eaters and drinkers to the idea of liquefied root vegetables.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Simply mix together the water, lemon juice, blueberry juice concentrate, and beet powder in a large pitcher. Sweeten to taste with stevia, adding just a few drops at a time. Serve over ice with a few fresh blueberries on top, if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

5

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 8Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 7mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g
© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Beverages

Finally, because this is the 21st century and we CAN have our cake and drink it, too, red velvet gets a nutritious boost from these beets, plus a powerful punch of Sunwarrior Vanilla Warrior Blend Protein. Thick and creamy, it’s good enough to call dessert, but healthy enough to throw down for breakfast.

Yield: 1 Serving

Red Velvet Protein Shake

Red Velvet Protein Shake

We CAN have our cake and drink it, too. Red velvet gets a nutritious boost from these beets, plus a powerful punch of protein powder. Thick and creamy, it’s good enough to call dessert, but healthy enough to throw down for breakfast.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Toss everything into your blender and puree on high speed, crushing the ice into a completely smooth mixture. Pause to scrape down the sides of the canister as needed to make sure the powder is full incorporated. Pour into a tall glass and top with an extra swirl of vanilla yogurt, if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 160Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 264mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 1gSugar: 64gProtein: 18g
© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Beverages
Beet powder is poised for culinary and nutritional domination as more people discover the benefits this humble root has to offer. Though still somewhat of a rarity, iHerb has you covered with this and thousands of other specialty goods to give your beverages an extra boost.

Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Yo, Soy

Though still a rare delicacy outside of most Asian cultures, yuba has slowly developed a foothold here in North America thanks largely to one shining example produced right in my backyard. Hodo, better known for their contributions to Chipotle’s popular tofu sofritas and now their ready-to-eat line of seasoned savories still pushes eaters to expand their culinary boundaries. Yuba, the gossamer-thin skin that forms on top of soymilk as it’s heated is very closely related to tofu, but bears a few distinct differences. Tofu-making takes soymilk and immediately mixes it with either calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, or magnesium sulfate to curdle, whereas yuba requires no coagulant whatsoever. Fragile, quick to spoil, it’s a treat that few have an opportunity to experience fresh. Most options are sold dried, to be rehydrated on demand, which obviously loses a good deal of flavor and texture in the process.

This isn’t the first I’ve shared about Hodo nor extolled the virtues of Yuba, but it’s a delicious declaration that bears repetition. There’s no need to be redundant, however, since Hodo has begun sharing the softer side of yuba that only a privileged few have ever had access to before. In the stages just prior to coagulating into consolidated, solidified sheets, there are actually a number of stages that the soybean slurry goes through, each one uniquely delectable in its own right. I was lucky enough to experience these earliest phases right when production was just barely getting underway, photographing some of the first batches for easy reference to the uninitiated.

If you should be so as lucky to get your hands on an ingredient of such superlative quality, the best (and most difficult) thing to do is not mess it up. Little is needed to enjoy the naturally rich, luscious character of young yuba. The very earliest harvest, Kumiage, is the style I savored the most, being completely unique from anything currently on the market, or available in restaurants, for that matter. Given a pinch of black salt, you would swear you were eating the creamiest scrambled eggs on the planet, yet no shells will be broken for this plant-based luxury. My favorite approach was to simply scoop out a tender mound into a bowl, drizzle with light soy sauce, and finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and scallions. Nothing more, nothing less. Working in concert to bring out the nutty, umami notes of the whole bean, it’s unlike any other tofu experience to which I can compare.

Deeply savory yet just as versatile as the familiar beige bricks we’re all familiar with, I was delighted to try my hand at a sweet Philippine snack otherwise well out of reach: Taho. Made of soft soybean curds and lavished with tender tapioca pearls soaked in a sugary syrup, it’s a classic street food perfectly suited for the brutal heat of summer. Glittering in the sunlight, cherry- and mango-flavored popping boba sparkle atop this unconventional take on the concept, yet it’s truly the yuba beneath that shines.

These softer stages of soy supremacy can be purchased by the general public only online, not in stores, but it’s worth going all in for a big batch and sharing the riches with friends.

Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments