Seas The Day

Succulent and briny from the kiss of salt water, fresh seafood is a distinct pleasure enjoyed best in the fading glow of a summer sunset. I’m not talking about scallops, shrimp, or lobster; my seafood is all plant-based. Mushrooms, to be specific, make some of the best seafaring foods this side of the shoreline.

Why Mushrooms?

Mushrooms are truly the future of food. They can imitate an incredible range of proteins, both in texture and flavor, from chicken to steak, and now all manner of fishy friends. The beauty of mushrooms lies in their delicate, umami flavor that can take on any type of seasonings. Marinate them with a bit of seaweed and you’ve got an instant oceanic infusion. Seared, baked, roasted, or kept raw, they have a similar sort of toothsome tenderness, juicy and even subtly sweet.

Best Mushrooms For Replacing Seafood

As an ardent mushroom lover and proponent, I will never turn down any type of ‘shroom. That said, some are better suited for this sort of application than others.

  • Oyster mushrooms: Chewy like calamari, battered and fried oyster mushrooms only give themselves away by their shape. This same quality makes them an excellent choice for making ceviche, too.
  • Lion’s mane mushrooms: Perfect for shredding to make crab cakes or lobster rolls, they can also be pressed to make meatier steaks or fried fish.
  • King trumpet mushrooms: Slice the stalks and pan-sear them to make incredible scallops. I like cutting crosshatches on top to soak in more marinade, and because it looks pretty darned fancy.
  • Maitake mushrooms: Feathery and soft, you’ve got a flaky white fish waiting to happen in every handful. They’re especially tasty when roasted to lightly crisp the edges.

Fishless And Fancy-Free

Unburdened by the plight of our oceans, mushrooms create an even lighter, brighter, and more vibrant pasta dish than anything you’d dredge up from the sea floor. Pan-fried wild mushrooms, seasoned with a touch of paprika and nori, add a delightful meaty element that beautifully complements the seafood vibe. Bursting with the sweetness of fresh corn and the tang of juicy tomatoes, it sings of summer’s bounty. Finish it all off with a splash of white wine, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and a sprinkle of scallions for an elegant entree that’s a real catch.

Plant-based seafood is a booming business, and mushrooms are leading the charge. Cutting-edge technology and fermentation techniques are creating increasingly authentic alternatives that mimic the exact texture of your favorite ocean treats, but simple home cooking can already come stunningly close. Indulge your cravings for seafood, but don’t be shellfish; just eat mushrooms instead!

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Cracking The Code: Cooking Vegan Eggs On The Sidewalk

“Hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk” is a common trope, repeated ad nauseam the moment temperatures climb every summer. Back when it was first printed in 1899, it was classic journalistic sensationalism. The world was a whole lot cooler back then, but now, it’s a perfectly reasonable prospect.

While we’ve gotten off easy this summer in Central Texas, bobbing around just under the 100-degree mark most days, I had the foresight to try this classic solar cooking challenge last year. After baking cookies in the car and lasagna in the mailbox, I felt unstoppable.

Cooking An Egg On The Sidewalk: Fact or Fiction?

Science has proven that a chicken egg needs to reach 158° F (70° C) to be considered fully cooked. At that temperature, the proteins inside begin to unfold, then coagulate. For vegan eggs, the same principle is true but different. I used JUST egg (not sponsored) for the sake of simplicity. Mung bean proteins, which are the base ingredient of the blend, reach the apex of this chemical transformation at 176° F (80° C). That means that plant-based eggs need more time in a hotter environment to achieve the same results.

While that may sound discouraging at first, that actually proves it’s possible on some of the hottest days of the year. If the air temperature clocks in at 115° F, you can easily expect the pavement outside to radiate anywhere from 165 – 180° F at midday in direct sun. Like all solar cooking, it will take longer than popping a pan onto the stove, but if you have the will, there is a way.

Tips For Cooking Vegan Eggs Outside

Perish the thought of cooking directly on the sidewalk; I’m not one to waste food like that! Besides, by choosing a more conductive material, we can further amplify the sun’s rays to do our bidding.

  1. Use a cast iron frying pan. The dark surface soaks in heat and holds onto it, retaining heat longer than other materials and distributing it evenly throughout the entire vessel.
  2. Start cooking early. Make the most of the sunlight and plan to get your pan outside and preheating by noon. Allow at least an hour in direct sun before adding any food.
  3. Asphalt is best. The dark blacktop will radiate more heat, but that’s not always an option nearby. Concrete is your next best bet; I tried to boost reflectivity with a metal baking sheet underneath,but I’m not convinced that made a tangible difference.
  4. Keep it covered. Use a glass frying pan lid (mine went with another pot, but fit nicely) both to protect your precious scramble from bugs, and to further concentrate the sun’s rays inside the pan.
  5. Use potholders. The pan and everything around it is HOT! You wouldn’t walk next to it with bare feet; you shouldn’t try to grab the handle with bare hands.
  6. Mind the forecast. Overcast? Under 105° F? Don’t waste your plant-based eggs.

Ready, Set, Slow

As we’ve established, it’s hot enough to cook a vegan eggless scramble outside, but the last missing ingredient is time. It takes a good while to build up enough ambient heat to form curds, meaning you should plan on having breakfast for dinner with this project. It took at least an hour for me to see any progress at all. Bear in mind that every time you uncover the pan and give it a stir, you’re letting all that built up heat to escape, further extending the necessary cooking time.

After two or three hours, I was questioning my sanity. Four to five, still crazy, but determined to see it through. At the six-hour mark, I had achieved a [very] soft scramble, and was ready to call it. Success never tasted so savory!

If you’re bored by the usual 5-minute procedure of making a scramble on the stove top, try 6 or more hours in the sun! Like all summertime solar cooking trials, it’s more about the experience than the results. Entertain the kids, bemuse the neighbors, and prove once and for all that you CAN scramble an egg on the sidewalk! That alone is more satisfying than the average meal.

Hannah (BitterSweet)1 Comment

Viennetta Vendetta

Majestic, mysterious, downright mythical; the legendary Viennetta loaf looms large in my childhood nostalgia.

Hearkening back to my earliest memories of Sunday brunch with my grandparents, there are many sights and sounds that I still hold dear. Without fail, my grandpa would burst through the garage door with great fanfare as we sat around a bowl of mixed nuts, snacking and sharing details of our lives. Brandishing brown paper bags from Gold’s, our old-school traditional deli, we all knew that this was the sign that mingling had concluded, and the meal was about to begin.

Plastic tubs of garlic pickles, both fresh and sour, cold cuts wrapped in butcher’s paper and twine, fluffy Kaiser rolls, showering avalanches of poppy seeds with every movement; these were all the essentials. My grandma would have already cut up vegetable crudités and mashed a vat of egg salad to serve alongside, raw onion still biting our eyes as the volatile oils lingered tenaciously in the air. No, none of it was vegan, but it was a simpler, unenlightened time.

After the sandwiches came my favorite part; the stunning chocolate and vanilla ice cream cake my grandma would keep hidden in the freezer, for just such an occasion. Impossibly thin shards of crisp chocolate layered across a hundred folds of soft vanilla frozen cream, straddling the line between pudding and whipped topping, there was nothing else I had ever experienced like it, and have yet to find a similar dessert.

Only later in life did I discover that the frozen confection of my childhood dreams was called “Viennetta” and lo, it’s still made to this day! After lurking overseas for decades, it was revived for sale in the US in 2020, but there’s nothing to celebrate here. Unsurprisingly, it’s the same dairy-filled gut-bomb that’s largely held together with questionable preservatives.

Recreating a memory is always tricky, but this shockingly simple homemade rendition quickly surpassed my expectations. Though it may not have quite as many paper-thin layers of chocolate, and my grandpa is no longer around to bring home the cold cuts, it reminds me of those sweet, simple days. If he could still join us for brunch, I’d like to think that he’d approve of my version, with a sly wink and a nod, and maybe even consider picking up a package of corned seitan for lunch, too.

Much of this story was cut when Super Vegan Scoops! went to print, so I’m happy to finally share the full piece here, along with the recipe.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)1 Comment

Back To School Lunch

For anyone with an eye on the school calendar, the carefree days of summer vacation are rapidly winding down. As the familiar rhythm of early mornings and packed lunches is about to commence, now is the time to start a new routine. This year, banish the dreaded lunchbox blues with homemade meals and snacks your young scholars will relish even more than recess.


Family-Friendly Lunch Box Pasta Salad

What Makes The Best Back-To-School Foods?

These creations are the secret weapon for conquering the chaos of Fall. They prioritize simplicity, packability, and versatility, making busy days a breeze.

  • Quick prep and assembly is critical for those pre-dawn dashes out the door.
  • No-fuss portability ensures these meals survive the journey in a backpack without getting soggy, crushed, or bruised.
  • Whole, plant-based foods pack in nutrition without a fight, making what’s nutritious truly delicious.
  • Make-ahead, batch cooking potential allows for easy doubling or tripling to fuel after school activities or pack lunches for multiple days.

Lunch and Learn

Start with a free download of my old e-book, Lunchbox Bites, then find fresh inspiration below. Don’t think of this list merely as the kid’s menu. They’re smart selections even if you’ve long since mastered mathematics, and you’re destined for a desk at work, not in the classroom.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments