Tag: raw

A Close Shave

Cauliflower can be many things, but rarely is it allowed to be itself these days. While grabbing a bite with friends, seeing it appear on a pizza—not blended into the crust, but perched right on top in all its snowy white, raw glory—was such a shock, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Everything about it sounds questionable, like biting into a chunk of impenetrable starch, but the cut made all the difference. Slicing it paper thin, as I had never seen before, was a revelation. Cool and crisp against the warm, gooey base, it was like an entirely new vegetable.

Mon Petit Chou-Fleur

Rather than pulling apart the clustered budding stems, considering the head as a whole completely changes the vegetable. Elegant yet understated, distinctive and still versatile, shaved cauliflower is now my favorite salad starter. Leave the lettuce at home for a more substantial, sturdy salad.

In this particular blend, thinly sliced cauliflower provides a delicate crunch that pairs perfectly with the tender edamame and cool cucumber. Crumbled vegan feta adds a creamy twang, while toasted pepitas finish with a nutty bite. Tossed in a silky, lemony tahini dressing, the salad is both refreshing and full of depth, with a hint of sweetness to balance the otherwise disparate elements.

The key to this cauliflower revelry? A mandoline.

Mandoline Tune-Up

Mandoline slicers are the most dangerous tools found in a kitchen. Otherwise known as a finger guillotine, digit decapitator, or the one-swipe skin remover, mandolines are notorious for their ability to quickly and efficiently cut through everything in their path. More often than not, that means those pitched razor blades mow through more than just carrots or potatoes. A moment of distraction or a slip of the hand can leave even experienced cooks seeing red. If you’re not afraid of your mandoline, you haven’t used it enough.

Looking Sharp

Why recommend such a hazardous appliance, even after numerous experiences that left a mark? There’s simply no other tool for the job. While a properly honed knife is essential, the sharpest edge can’t compete with the precision and consistency of a mandoline. That’s especially true when making delicate, thin shavings of cauliflower, rather than coarsely crumbled florets. So yes, despite those dire warnings, I’m telling you to put yourself in peril and use this modern torture device. If you’d like to keep all ten fingers, I have three easy tips for you:

  1. USE
  2. THE
  3. HAND GUARD

That’s it, that’s the secret to success. If you’ve lost the hand guard, don’t make this recipe. I won’t be held responsible for your hospital bill.

As visually stunning as it is delicious, each bite of cauliflower is paper-thin, creating a light, crisp, and satisfying texture. The result is a refreshing, bright salad that showcases the simplicity of raw cauliflower. Suspend your disbelief, watch your fingers, and give it a shot. Cauliflower is best when it can be itself, front and center.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Straight Fire

I’m not crazy about kale. This might be my most controversial unpopular opinion given the meteoric rise in popularity its seen over the years. When it comes to dark leafy greens, kale is hard to beat; it can be eaten raw or cooked, comes in a variety of colors and shapes, offers a potential array of vitamins and minerals, and is readily available at a reasonable price, even if you splurge on organic. That’s an incredible claim to fame for a vegetable previously used only as decoration in deli cases.

Despite all that, kale is never the first type of greenery I’ll reach for in the produce section, or the second, or even the third. I don’t outright dislike it, but I feel like so many other options just suit particular dishes better. Arugula gives me the peppery bitterness I crave in a salad. Collard greens melt into tender ribbons in stews and braises. Spinach is better for adding green color to baked goods since it has a fairly neutral flavor. Boston or Bibb lettuce are ideal on burgers or sandwiches for a juicy crunch. Given such a wealth of choices, kale tends to fall towards the bottom of my list.

Obviously, I’m not an arbiter of taste. Kale remains king on menus across the US, from fast food to five-star, low brow to high end. I can’t fully understand it but don’t begrudge kale’s success one bit. If anything, that repeated exposure has proven its value in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced. Case in point: The Fire Kale Salad from Daily Juice.

It lingered in my memory long after my first visit to Austin despite being a rushed grab-and-go meal at the time. Prepacked in a plastic clam shell, it fit the bill for something fresh and healthy after days of indulging, as one does while traveling. While I quietly wished it was made with romaine or mesclun or just about anything else, I forgot about the kale entirely after one bite.

This kale was tender but still held up to the creamy cashew dressing, standing firm where other weaker greens would have wilted into a watery lump. The whole thing glows red from a final dusting of paprika on top so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. The warm heat from blended jalapeños is apparent up front, growing stronger and brighter over time. Crisp cucumbers provide a cooling foil, a refreshing relief right when it’s needed most. That added layer of crunchy texture harmonizes beautifully with the handful of toasted cashews tumbling between the frilly leaves. Such a simple combination simply works.

Normally, I’d rattle off a list of alternate greens to swap in, but kale is really the one for the job here. You could go with purple kale instead of plain green, but that’s about it. Everything that usually disqualifies it from my other recipes is exactly what makes it perfect in this one. Whether you love it or hate it, this kale salad is straight fire.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Deep-Freeze Delights

Given my extreme aversion to even the slightest hint of cold temperatures, it can be quite challenging to placate the daily cravings for ice cream when the dark ages of winter arrive. Usually, it’s a battle of mind over matter, ignoring the chills that go down my spine, shivering through every sweet lick. Particularly bad cases will send me straight to the tea kettle for sips to thaw out of the inevitable brain freeze. The pain is always worth the pleasure, but surely, there must be a better way to sooth the more sensitive sweet tooth.

Not only is there a way to stay toasty and warm while snacking, but there’s an even healthier way to indulge, too. Froozer is a great tasting frozen snack made with 100%fruit – all the goodness and great taste of perfectly ripened fruits, with no added sugar, juice or concentrate. The moment I first tried these wholesome treats, I knew it would shake up my whole winter routine. First of all, these are not mere popsicles flavored with juice or concentrate, but fully blended fruits with nothing added nor taken away. Stunningly creamy and sweet without any sugar, each slow-churned flavor tastes as bright and fresh as a summer’s day. Before I knew it, I was even tossing them into smoothies for instant morning fuel, delicious enough to qualify as milkshakes.

Still, as the frigid winds howled with increasing volume outside, I found myself on the verge of a seriously hangry meltdown… When I realized that’s exactly what I should do. Since they’re made of simply whole fruits, each stick is like an instant flavor infusion for any recipe, ready in your freezer whenever you are. Thinking quickly and pulling ingredients from the pantry, it was a matter of minutes before a brand new cookie creation came to be.

An edible island escape, the sprightly combination of pineapple, mango, and banana found within each Tropical Sunset frozen fruit snack transforms a pile of shredded coconut into an nutritious and delicious bite of paradise. These coconut macaroons couldn’t be more simple to craft, which is why they suit this no-nonsense source of inspiration so well.

It might be tough to sacrifice that perfectly churned, creamy consistency by bringing up the temperature a bit, but once you taste these new, equally satisfying healthy confections, you won’t regret taking the risk.

Yield: Makes 12 – 15 Cookies

Tropical Sunset Coconut Macaroons

Tropical Sunset Coconut Macaroons

An edible island escape, the sprightly combination of pineapple, mango, and banana found within each Tropical Sunset frozen fruit snack transforms a pile of shredded coconut into an nutritious and delicious bite of paradise. These coconut macaroons couldn’t be more simple to craft, which is why they suit this no-nonsense source of inspiration so well.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
  • 6 Froozer Tropical Sunset Frozen Snacks, Thawed (or 1 1/2 Cups Prepared Pineapple, Mango, and Banana Smoothie)
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 1/2 Cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Instructions

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the melted coconut oil, thawed Froozer snacks or prepared smoothie, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Add in the shredded coconut and stir thoroughly to combine.
  2. Once the whole mixture is homogeneous, scoop out cookies with a small ice cream scoop and place on a small sheet pan. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour, or expedite the process by stashing them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  3. Store in an air-tight container either in the fridge or in a cool, dark place. The cookies will keep for 5 – 7 days.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 89Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 20mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies and Bars
This post was made possible thanks to Froozer and Mambo Sprouts.

Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Mac Daddy

Passover has mercifully passed on by without incident, the week without leavened bread already a distant memory. Jumping right back into the typical glutenous routine as quickly as pizza crust can crisp and brown back to life, the cupboards miraculously refill with wheated treats, and boards of matzo just as suddenly disappear. Still, its influence lingers, the drive to create kosher eats still strong and the inspiration of past successes just as compelling.

One of my strongest food associations with the holiday, right after matzo ball soup, of course, is coconut macaroons. Sad to say, it’s a regrettable negative mental link, once correlated to the stale, mummified nuggets found at the bottom of an ancient tin can, likely the very same guest invited to a decade of celebrations. Sinewy, overly sweetened strings of processed coconut were woven throughout, like sugary balls of yarn, obliterating any genuine flavor, natural or otherwise.

It needn’t be this way. Coconut macaroons are effortless to make from scratch, suitable for all diets and palates, but many prepared options exist that can deftly carry the torch, too. Coco-Roons first hit the market years ago with a modest selection of standard flavors. Since then, the family has expanded to include more innovative offerings.

Chocolate and vanilla, the mandatory classics, are presented with a bit more flare as Brownie and Vanilla Maple. While such fanciful monikers may be a bit more hype than truth, there’s no arguing that these macaroons are far and away a huge upgrade over the sad leaden lumps that haunt my childhood memories. Vanilla Maple tastes surprisingly more of rum than maple; subtle, unexpected alcoholic notes play among the tropical coconut flavor, surprising but not unwelcome. Brownie offers adds a nicely rounded, robust cocoa taste to the mix, although I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s equivalent to a decadent fudgy square. For some slightly more avant-garde options, Salted Caramel is a standout, dazzling with warm, toasted notes, heightened by that extra bit of seasoning. Lemon Pie does indeed bear an impressively creamy, custard-like lemon flavor; bright but not tangy, it falls firmly into the sweet camp, rather than sour.

More importantly than the individual flavors though, each tiny morsel is moist, soft, and sweet. Very fresh, full coconut flavor, they employ short strands of flaked coconut to create a more pleasing texture, while still remaining relatively faithful to the original script. Traditionalists would undoubtedly enjoy the modern upgrade, and the fact that they happen to be gluten-free, vegan, and raw are just added bonuses.

Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Neither Fish Nor Fowl

Contrary to popular belief, ceviche needn’t include any seafood to be considered “authentic,” or more importantly, to be considered delicious. One of many dishes with murky origins, it’s largely credited to the Peruvians, but it made its mark on cultures across all continents. If one were to look at the Latin etymology, it would simply mean “food for men and animals;” an ambiguous free-for-all with very little meaning other than the fact that it was, indeed, edible. Turning to Arabic, we see the foundation for “cooking in vinegar.” Persian would agree, going further to suggest that it was a “vinegar soup.” Sure, fish or meat was almost always invited to the party, but that doesn’t mean it was essential to the soul of the dish.

Scores of creative ceviches abound, plant-based and seasoned with a wide palate of different cultural perspectives. The most successful ones that I’ve come across take texture into account even before the flavor is considered, as backwards as that may sound. Few people realize just how much of the eating experience comes down to texture, which is why ceviche is a particularly fascinating preparation to experiment with. As long as it has a somewhat meaty yet springy texture that approximates something like shrimp or calamari, accompanied by a brightly acidic twang, you can craft a highly satisfying vegan rendition, no questions asked. Thus, upon biting into a fresh, juicy lychee, inspiration for a new approach struck me like lightning.

As the rest of the country starts hunting through their closets for long-forgotten sweaters and scarves, predictably, the bay area is forced to start shedding layers. The heat continues to skyrocket and the only thing I want to eat is something quick, cold, and satisfying. Ceviche fits neatly into that definition, no matter what else you consider essential. Packing it with buttery avocados and young coconut meat adds richness to this otherwise very lean preparation, fit for either a light meal or a good snack. Packed with crisp vegetables, everything is open to interpretation based on your personal tastes and accessibility. Want to mix it up? Consider ripe tomatoes, cubed watermelon, fresh corn, marinated mushrooms, chunks of fried plantain, or even steamed sweet potatoes, just for starters. Borrow from as many different cultures as you like; for ceviche, as long as it’s cold and raw, pretty much anything goes.

The only inviolable rule is to use ONLY fresh lychees, and I must be adamant about that. Canned can never compare, possessing both an unnatural sweetness and unpleasantly sour, metallic aftertaste. If you can’t find fresh, just double up on the coconut, and choose your own vegetable adventure from there.

Yield: Makes 4 – 6 Servings

Island Breeze Lychee Ceviche

Island Breeze Lychee Ceviche

Buttery avocados and young coconut meat adds richness to this otherwise very lean plant-based preparation, fit for either a light meal or a good snack. Packed with crisp vegetables, everything is open to interpretation based on your personal tastes and accessibility. Want to mix it up? Consider ripe tomatoes, cubed watermelon, fresh corn, marinated mushrooms, chunks of fried plantain, or even steamed sweet potatoes, just for starters. Borrow from as many different cultures as you like; for ceviche, as long as it’s cold and raw, pretty much anything goes.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 10 – 12 Fresh Lychees, Peeled, Pitted, and Quartered (About 2/3 Cup)
  • 1 Fresh Young Thai Coconut, Meat Removed and Diced
  • 1/2 Large Cucumber, Peeled and Seeded
  • 1 Small Avocado, Diced
  • 3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Pineapple Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Vegan Fish Sauce or Soy Sauce
  • 1 Red Jalapeno, Seeded and Finely Minced
  • 2 Scallions, Thinly Sliced
  • 1/4 Cup Packed Fresh Cilantro, Roughly Chopped
  • Salt, to Taste

Instructions

  1. To prepare ceviche, you shouldn’t really need written instructions to break it down, but here goes: Toss everything together in a large bowl except for the salt, cover, and let marinate in the refrigerator for 15 – 30 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve thoroughly chilled, with crackers if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 99Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g
© Hannah Kaminsky
Cuisine: Spanish / Category: Starters and Snacks

Hannah (BitterSweet)15 Comments