Tag: quick

Just Nuts

Simple pleasures are what feel like genuine luxuries to me. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m not a fancy person; I don’t crave fine dining and I’d rather go foraging for food than shop at Erewhon, any day of the week.

Along those lines, I think about Marcona almonds as an attainable indulgence, but only once in a while. After all, the “queen of almonds” wouldn’t taste as royal if they became a daily habit, right? Skinless, buttery, with a soft yet crisp bite, they’re just nuts like any others, yet somehow so much more. When I see a neat little bowl of these tawny gems on display, I know we’re talking real money here.

As such, I don’t make Marcona almond money. I do, however, always have a stash of standard nonpareil almonds on hand, which are easily elevated to a level of greater opulence with just a touch of olive oil. What separates these nuts from the rest of the bushel is a higher fat content, so why not give them a little boost? Briefly frying the kernels in grassy, peppery olive oil gently cracks through their thin skins to infuse the meat inside.

Sizzling and popping in the pan, they unleash a cacophony of joyful sounds as their toasted, nutty scent fills the air. Merely the act of cooking them is a pleasure, long before they ever cross your lips. The whole experience of it never fails to brighten my day.

Seasoned gently with herbaceous rosemary, sweet orange, and delicate flaky salt, there’s no secret ingredient here. No crazy technique, no surprise twist. What you see is what you get, and what you get is even better than the combination sounds on paper. Yes, you need to use a generous amount of oil, which is worth it for this snack and beyond. Save the excess for cooking later to instantly boost the flavor of your next dish!

It doesn’t take great sums of money to feel rich. The simplest things, treated with love and respect, will get you there, too.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments

Garlic Breath

Be it a delicate broth or thick stew, nothing completes a steaming bowlful like a hearty slice of bread. Crackling crust giving way to a spongy matrix of soft crumbs, each bite melts into submission when dipped into the soup of the day. Sometimes the soup is merely a thinly veiled excuse to reach for another helping of bread, so compellingly that fresh loaf does beckon.

Garlic Bread Soup: Quick Comfort In A Bowl

Let’s just cut to the chase here and turn the bread into the soup itself, with a powerful blast of fresh garlic to up the ante. Save yourself the hassle of peeling the cloves by grabbing a bag of prepped garlic in advance, or going straight for a jar of minced, but don’t cut back on the full measure. Garlic bread lives or dies on the pungency of that stinking rose, and once lightly caramelized in peppery olive oil, all the harsh edges will soften.

Perhaps it’s not fodder for a first date, but this velvety smooth base is just the beginning to a whole different sort of love affair.

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Rice, Rice, Baby

Young vegans today don’t even know how good they’ve got it. Back in my day, dairy-free milk was still a rarity, available only in niche health food stores. Even there, your choices were limited to only soy or rice. Oat? Almond? Cashew? Forget about it! Who knew there were so many potential sources of creamy liquid back then?

Shelf stockers at mainstream markets would either scratch their heads, dumbfounded by the request, or haplessly led you to the lactose-free cartons. For a compassionate eater living in the suburbs, without a driver’s license, that meant stocking up and paying obscene prices for the luxury of access, or getting a bit more creative.

Guess which path I chose?

When sold in watered down cartons, rice milk was usually my least favorite option, but at home, I found a crafty loophole to create a thicker, richer blend. Creating a dense rice milk concentrate, not entirely dissimilar to wallpaper paste, I could better control the viscosity, flavor, and sweetness, all while building up a stockpile to easily whip up another cup, quart, or gallon at a time if I so desired. It was cheap, effective, and highly satisfying to beat the system.

Over time, my own means of access improved along with a boom in widespread availability. Once an essential staple, that formula that served me so well fell to the back of the digital recipe box. Collecting virtual dust, forgotten until an unfortunate computer crash forced me back onto an old laptop, it suddenly popped up like a long lost friend.

Today in 2021, I don’t need to make my own rice milk in bulk (thank the stars) but the concept spoke to me in a whole new way this time around. With a few little tweaks, a little polish, and some modern upgrades, I had a beautiful, brilliant instant horchata concentrate on my hands.

Perfect for sweltering summer heat when all you need is a tall, icy drink to keep your cool, horchata is the ultimate agua fresca. Creamy but not thick or rich, subtle notes of cinnamon and almond play in the background with in delicate, balanced harmony.

By skipping the time-consuming step of soaking whole grains of rice, prep time is slashed by an eighth or more, and it’s ready to reconstitute whenever a profound thirst strikes. Whether you’re serving a solo drinker or making a pitcher for a party, this stuff is like liquid gold for a quick fix.

We may not need bulk rice milk anymore, but you can never have too much horchata.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Cacio-22

How do you make cacio e pepe, without butter, cheese, or cream? Just add joy.

No wait, that’s actually Joi, your new best friend for creamy comfort food. Though these bases are essentially condensed plant milks, I’ve found them most useful for creating quick cream sauces and soups for savory dishes, or heavy cream for desserts.

Turning nut butter into milk is one of my favorite thrifty tricks. When you’re in the middle of a recipe, burners blazing with the dials cranked up to 11, it’s the worst feeling to discover that you’re missing a critical ingredient. I tend to guzzle non-dairy milk by the gallon, despite the fact that it only goes into my coffee, which can lead to a terrible disappointment if I don’t double up at the store.

Typically, it takes just 1 – 2 tablespoons of raw nut butter, be it almond, cashew, or even peanut, blended with 1 cup of water, to fill the gaps. It’s not the most elegant solution; naturally, it separates if it sits around too long, curdles in coffee, and comes with a heavier nut flavor than something specifically formulated for cooking or drinking straight.

Enter: Joi, your new shelf-stable, bulk milk best friend. I’m IN LOVE, full stop, with the cashew version for its rich yet neutral flavor to meld seamlessly with absolutely anything. Don’t believe me? Fine, don’t take my word for you; taste it for yourself! Use the code “BITTERSWEET” for 10% off of their website, or click straight through the link to have it applied automatically.

Once you’ve stocked up, hurry back here to make this easy winner. You could still use my old trick in a pinch, employing raw, pure cashew butter in times of need (and untenable cravings.) The name may translate to “cheese and pepper,” but in common parlance, it means creamy, cheesy pasta sparkling with freshly cracked black pepper. It’s the original mac and cheese from ancient Rome, polished up with modern methods. Who needs the blue box when you can start from scratch with equally gratifying instant results?

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Broadly Speaking

What’s in a name? Broad beans are a confounding classification that encompasses a whole swath of the legume population. Some use the term interchangeably, referring to butter beans and lima beans as if they were the same thing. Defying all rational definition, in a sense, they are! Why is it that lima beans tend to get the short end of the stick, the bane of many picky childrens’ existence, while butter beans come with an air of whole luxury? Words do matter, more than one might want to admit.

Different varieties for each title exist, but the whole naming convention is further complicated by location and appearance. In the south, you’re more likely to see butter beans on the menu, but if they’re younger and thus greener, they’re the spitting image of what one might otherwise refer to as lima beans. It’s the same, but different.

If we could forget about names for a minute, I truly believe that the smaller, greener subspecies would have a fighting chance at mainstream acceptance. Tender, but with the same toothsome bite as edamame, they’re textually unparalleled in the bean kingdom. That’s especially true if you treat them properly; canned or over-boiled beans are likely the root of cause of such historical disregard, but fresh or frozen, you’re talking about a whole different hill of beans.

Pan-fried with a generous glug of fresh pressed olive oil, they finally live up to the promise of buttery taste, too. Blistered over scorching hot temperatures, a literal flash in the pan, their skins become crisp, adding a whole new dimension of texture to the plate. Simply prepared, with a touch of garlic, salt, and pepper, you could easily eat them straight, as an entree over mashed potatoes, sprinkled over salads, or served up with bar nuts as a hot new beer snack.

This same treatment works for just about any bean, including but not limited to chickpeas, fava beans, and even lentils. Now, don’t even get me started about the additional complication of the terms “pole beans” and “butter peas.”

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Roll with the Punches

I received free samples of California Walnuts mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by California Walnuts and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

Bob and weave, parry and block; keep on dancing around obstacles and don’t let anything stop you. We’ve all suffered setbacks in recent weeks, to put it lightly, and even on the brightest of days, it’s easier said than done. How can one keep on going, keeping on rolling, in the face of such daunting odds?

There’s no easy answer, certainly no snappy, one-size-fits-all solution, but it all starts with you. That means nourishing your mind and body, which comes together quite nicely for me in the form of healthy, fun, and light meals. This one is literally how I roll.

California Walnuts, rich in plant-based omega-3, are a solid staple for versatile snacks both sweet and savory. Blended with umami miso and savory herbs, they turn into a stunningly creamy, unbelievably cheesy take on dairy-free ricotta. Spread lavishly across tender planks of grilled zucchini and twisted into tidy pinwheels, I’d be willing to call it the new power lunch.

Complementing the Italian-leaning seasoning, simple marinara sauce is a velvety tomato blanket to cradle these bundles, although it could just as easily be served alongside as a dip, turning each pinwheel into two-bite canapes for a crowd. One day, hopefully soon, those garden parties will blossom with friends, family, and good food once again.

Just keep on rolling, friends.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)8 Comments