Tag: recipes

Corn-ucopia

If you haven’t yet gotten your fill of fresh summer corn, it’s time to start shucking and husking, pronto. While you could make the case that corn has become season-less, a perennial staple in both the freezer aisle and canned goods section, the most advanced preservation technology still can’t capture the full bouquet of flavors, nor the sheer sensory experience, of sinking your teeth into a fresh, crisp row of sunny yellow kernels.

How Long Does Fresh Corn Keep?

Don’t wait another minute. Aside from dwindling harvests, timing is critical once you bring your haul back home. Sugars begin converting to starch the moment each ear is picked, making it more bland with every passing day. That’s why “fresh” corn in December doesn’t have the same magic as August; it’s already been in transit for who knows how long, shipped in from warmer climates on a slow boat.

Need More Ideas For Fresh Corn?

Make the most of your haul with these fool-proof recipes. From appetizers to desserts, classic to unconventional, there’s nothing that quality corn can’t do.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)2 Comments

No Cook? No Sweat

When it gets hot enough to bake cookies in the car, a considerable portion of the day is devoted to simply staying cool. Just flipping on the AC will never be an effective line of defense against this unstoppable foe, finding every crack in the foundation to slip right through. That’s assuming the increasing demands on electricity don’t cause power outages in the first place. Each summer is only getting hotter than the last, so we need better ways to stay cool.

Step Away From The Stove

The key is to generate as little heat as possible. There’s no need to adopt a fully raw diet, but who wants to eat a boiling vat of thick stew right now anyway? Still kissed from the chill of the fridge, no-cook recipes are the refreshing, re-invigorating ways to beat the heat.

Eat Well With Ease

Stay far away from the oven, put away that saute pan, and embrace a fresher approach to summertime meals. Fortunately, with such a wealth of incredible produce waiting in the markets, they don’t need extensive prep work to be transformed into unforgettable seasonal treats.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Good Luck Potluck

Potlucks, both big and small, have the power to bring people together like nothing else. These communal feasts allow a true fusion of cultures, uniting culinary traditions to create a symphony of flavor on every plate. Unlike your average hosted dinner party or brunch gathering, it’s not just about the individual’s dining experience, but celebrating the full collective of flavors found within the community at large.

Beyond the food itself, potlucks allow an intangible magic to develop, fostering bonds and deepening relationships. These gatherings are not confined to rigid social structures or the formality of restaurant dining. Rather, they offer an intimate setting where the boundaries between host and guest blur into insignificance. It is within this egalitarian ambiance that strangers become friends, and acquaintances transform into confidants, all while savoring the fruits of their collective labor.

With that in mind, there are no wrong answers for the perennial question: What should I bring to a potluck? From the zesty chili that sets the palate ablaze to the velvety chocolate cake that seduces the sweet tooth, each dish tells a story, far more personal and revealing than a casual conversation. If you’re stumped, though, I do have a few foolproof suggestions.

What Makes a Good Potluck Dish?

To narrow down the options, my criteria for what goes on this list is more pragmatic than visionary. It’s always best to select a dish that:

  • Serves many, ideally 8 – 10 at minimum, or can be scaled up accordingly
  • Travels well, no matter the distance
  • Can sit at room temperature or is easy to reheat with minimal fuss
  • Quick and easy to prepare, because no one wants to spend any party stuck in the kitchen
  • Isn’t terribly messy to serve or eat

From snacks to desserts, here’s my cheat sheet for serving any group with style.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Mucho Matzo

You know what’s the worst part about buying matzo meal for Passover?

Having it sit in the pantry for the rest of your life.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit over-dramatic. Maybe you’re more organized than I am and would clear the shelves without needing to include all the contents in your final will.

The thing is, I just don’t love matzo in any form, aside from matzo toffee, perhaps. If we’re being honest, it tastes stale from the moment it comes off the factory line, with a gritty, chalky taste and texture that would be rejected by taste testers if Moses ever held a focus group on his new product.

Unfortunately, matzo meal is a necessary evil to enjoy the one redeeming dish of Passover: Matzo ball soup. If not for those tender, fluffy dumplings, I’d happily forget that the stuff even exists. Instead, I’ll do my Jewish duty of preparing the culinary highlight of the holiday, end up with a mostly full box of excess matzo meal, and either give it away via the Buy Nothing Project or unceremoniously dumping it out of frustration a few months later. Next year, like clockwork, the cycle will begin anew.

How To Use Leftover Matzo Meal

It’s time to stop wasting a potentially serviceable staple! This is more a reminder for myself, but if you’re in a similar situation, these are my best suggestions for using up matzo meal, beyond the predictable matzo ball soup.

  • Add it to plant-based meatballs, meat loaves, or burger patties for bulk, texture, and binding power.
  • Mix in herbs and spices to act as a seasoned breading for fried tofu or cauliflower.
  • Sweeten with granulated sugar and drizzle in melted vegan butter until it holds together when pressed; transfer to a springform pan and bake into a crust for cheesecake.
  • Create a pesadik version of cream of wheat by simmering 1 part matzo meal with 2 parts water for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Serve hot with maple syrup and cinnamon.
  • Toast in a dry skillet and use instead of pine nuts in pesto.

How To Make Matzo Meal

Save yourself from the dilemma of excess in the first place by making your own matzo meal from scratch, yielding just enough for its intended purpose.

  1. One sheet of matzo will create roughly 1/4 cup of matzo meal.
  2. Break up as many sheets as you need into smaller pieces and place them in your food processor with the “S” blade installed.
  3. Pulse until finely ground to about the consistency of coarse almond meal.
  4. Store in an airtight container in a cool place until ready to use.

With a little bit of creativity and craftiness, anything can be delicious. You could be a matzo lover or hater and still enjoy any of these alternate uses that give it a whole new life beyond the seder plate!

Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

Holy Sheet! It’s a Book Release!

From pandemic pet project to printed and published, it’s been quite a journey bringing my ninth cookbook into the world. Born at a time when life came to a screeching halt, when the very future of cookbooks in general was in jeopardy, it seemed like the absolute stupidest thing to pursue.

Between supply chain issues, shortages, and grocery delivery mishaps, I couldn’t even count on having adequate ingredients to follow a simple recipe, let alone develop another hundred of my own. Let’s not forget that dinner parties were off the table, so there was little need for large format meals generally set to feed anywhere from 6 – 12 at a time.

The Everyday Vegan Cheat Sheet: A Plant-Based Guide to One-Pan Wonders

Still, I persisted. Not out of optimism that things would get better or some greater vision of the future, but for a lack of it. In a time of unprecedented tragedies one after another, this was all I knew how to do, the only thing that provided any modicum of comfort. By cooking, crafting photos, creating my own narrative, I could escape that reality just outside my kitchen door.

Chickpea Pan Pie

The Everyday Vegan Cheat Sheet is a genuine pandemic baby, venturing forth into the wilderness of civilization for the first time with wide eyes. For all the delays, near misses, gambles, and standard publishing frustrations, I think the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Now that we’re gathering together again to break bread, these are the recipes I subconsciously created as a victory lap. This book could only exist in this particular moment.

Low-Country Broil

Getting down to the brass tacks here, The Everyday Vegan Cheat Sheet is a down to earth guide for turning out complete plant-based meals using a standard, no-frills sheet pan. Blending nostalgia with a taste for adventure, wholesome ingredients with indulgent flavors, easy prep with stunning results, it’s everything I craved but couldn’t otherwise find. Veganism is finally taking off as a mainstream movement and sheet pan cooking is all the rage, but why had no one combined the two yet? I took that personally.

Nacho Mamma Loaded Tortilla Chips

Thank you for everyone that made this possible. Book #9 is every bit as incredible as book #1, given the particularly volatile nature of the publishing industry these days. Who knows if this will indeed be the last, but even so, I’m proud of everything inside these pages. I hope they can bring comfort and joy to your table, too.

Hannah (BitterSweet)12 Comments