Black-eyed peas, and chickpeas, too. Please eat your black-eyed peas, but try some roasted chickpeas, too. We southerners need to eat extra black-eyed peas for some 2021 luck. That’s understood. But save room for something I finally tried: roasted chickpeas. I suppose I tried to roast some from a can many years ago and they weren’t crunchy. This time I succeeded. Crispy and sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, they were a satisfying snack. I ate the whole can’s worth, which I do not recommend. I certainly do not suggest that you open another can, roast some more and eat that, too. That was a bit too filling. So the process is simply to drain the liquid and pat them dry and roast them in olive oil for about 350 degrees for roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with your spices after they are baked. You may shake the pan every 10 minutes and they will pop. I’ll be doing this again. Churros. Say it again… If even saying the word “churros” gives you a comforting feeling, you’re not alone. In Southeast Texas we puff our dough and cover it in powdered sugar like the Cajuns do in New Orleans. We also love our Mexican flavors and they shape their dough into churros with sugar then add cinnamon for extra spice. San Diablo does churros of Utah and ships them everywhere. Scott Porter got his artisan flair in Mexico City while on mission work, so don’t be alarmed by the little devil logo and the red plastic pokey pitchfork that comes with an order. There’s an angel on there, too and she’s probably trying to tell you to not eat so many and save some for your husband. A batch arrived and it was easy as churros for me to heat them up 6 minutes and serve with included sauces. Their big news is they can ship you a churro maker, so you have the power to create in your own home. Are you and the angel ready for this power? I’m also considering La Muerte, a cinnamon sugar blend with ghoste pepper. Now that will spice up your day. Sandiablochurros.com

For ‘Starters’ Have you wondered how to get your sourdough more sour? Felt your batard was less than perfect? Craved homemade oat crackers? Elaine Boddy is there for you with confidence your loaves will look as rustic, hearty and tempting as hers pictured in “Whole Grain Sourdough at Home: The Simple Way to Bake Artisan Bread with Whole Wheat, Einkorn, Spelt, Rye and Other Ancient Grains.” It’s doable, Boddy, founder of “foodbod Sourdough” blog says. You can learn to score your ovals (batards) and sprinkle them with raw pumpkin seeds to make them photo worthy. Sure, snap photos to make folks jealous, but these ancient grain breads of for eating. The author is funny and talented and also makes this process easy to understand. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who will join everyone else in resolving to eat more healthy in the new year. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Dreams Aren’t This Good has Port Neches Ties Is branding Dreams Aren’t This Good a tad arrogant? Is it “the most addicting salsa in the world” that makes me ask myself questions I can’t answer? I was attracted to Just Dance Jalapeno Salsa before I connected Matt Bennet, founder, to Port Neches. He dreamed the Mexican and Cajun spice blended into his youth could go New York City style, combine with energetic branding and hit the bigtime. First, it’s really, really good, with a kicking original another fave being Now or Never, the avocado pepper blend and Girls Girls Girls with blueberry and coconut. then the marketing is fantasy/funny and to top it off, you can wear the DATG fashion line and know you’re helping makers support good causes. No wonder it’s billed as “The World’s First Lifestyle Salsa Brand.” But wait, there’s over-the-top chips in the line, too. Bennett has ties to Bogalusa, La., the “super small town of Port Neches” that’s “pretty much almost Louisiana,” and LSU. He makes salsa. Give yourself a treat and go to dreamsarentthisgood.com to get the story better than I can tell you. I have to go cultivate my salsa lifestyle. * * * Inspired by DATG, I’ve woven an American Dream Theme into the following reports on holiday indulgences below: Cranberries go chutney I wouldn’t dream of holidays without cranberries and my family always went above the squeezed out of a can model. Mom made a tangy relish that makes a turkey feel naked without it. Circle B Ranch of Missouri came to my rescue now that Mom’s gone. They’re in the humane pork business, so it’s no wonder they suggest their fruit chutneys, such as Pear Ginger, served with their quality chops. But this is the season for Cranberry Apple Jalapeno Chutney and Cranberry Chutney to shine. Once my husband tasted one jar, he asked that all three be put out at each meal until they were done. Circlebranchpork.com will set you up with all this and more. Gluten-free bloody Mary mix anyone? Sparkle What’s a unicorn’s dream breakfast? Waffles or whatever, it would come topped with Runamok Maple’s limited Sparkle Syrup, glimmering with pearlescent mica, a mineral that will also create radiant cocktails. Eye-catching and creative flavors are this Vermont-based company’s specialty and they’re always packaged in memorable bottles. As the sun comes up, light is catching my Sugarmaker’s Cut filling my workspace with amber glow. Mini bottles of Markut Lime-Leaf Infused and Cinnamon + Vanilla Infused versions look like the big mama bottle’s babies. Runamokmaple.com offers gift ideas and recipes tap your creativity, so remember to gift yourself. Cashews can be “buttered” The humble peanut does not need my promotion. Americans are in love with peanut butter and I encourage them to expand their horizons with awareness that there are other nut butters. The cute little Once Again raccoon mascot knows it. A family’s “dream” business model has come to fruition here. The little rascal adorns bottles of Creamy Cashew butter, which also comes in an organic blend. Copper, folate, protein and fiber are some of the “shiny things” inside what is a super-creamy and rich experience. I already consider cashews one of the more “elite” nuts. Once Again is proud of their nut source and the product is has a similar but different mouth feel to peanut butter. I consider it a more special/subtle brunch thing, but hey, cashew butter can certainly glam up an everyday lunch. Of course onceagainnutbutter.com has the line’s many nut options and recipes, which include pumpkin pairings. My batch will probably go down by the spoonful, straight from the jar. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie dreaming everyone can have the option of eating better and actually choosing that path. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Salt, Vanilla, Tea & Coffee

Basic pantry stock gets elevated with these picks. Each have a proud backstory that’s worth looking up. SALTVERK Salt of the earth? As rarely as I use it, I can go for the good stuff. Saltverk is the good, good stuff, hand-harvested from Iceland. Did you know that was a thing? The umami comes from pristine sea water of Iceland’s remote Westfjords. Saltverks refived a 17th-century process powered by geothermal energy, leaving zero carbon footprint. So I did Google saltverk.com and those people are sure having fun leaving zero carbon footprints. Flaky Sea Salt is one of the sustainable varieties and it just tastes pure. Lava Salt is a sparkly black and Birch Smoked Salt is my favorite of those I tried. There’s a body in it and the pleasure of knowing where your food came from. If my eye catches the jar, I’ve been known to stop and take a little transporting whiff of the stuff. I also looked up images of the area and the beauty is breathtaking. I have a great sense of pleasure imagining all this when I pinch a bit of salt to sprinkle over a simple meal.

Native Vanilla I’m sure your baking deserves ethically sourced, naturally gown Native Vanilla in extract or powder form. Or mixed with sugar. Into DIY? Order some whole beans, submerge them in vodka or rum, and check in on those pods chilling in a beautiful glass jar. They’ll become homemade elixir over time. Micro-farmers in New Guinea are sorting through premium beans for this company and a little tour at nativevanilla.com will help bakers understand the wonder of how these pods get from nature to our kitchens. Try a tiny spoonful of that dark, crystallized sugar with specks of bean. It’s aromatic and heavenly. Let me know your top uses for vanilla in Southeast Texas. I might say bread pudding gets my vote. I’ve got big plans for the “pet” jar aging in my pantry. Tea Drunk Tea Drunk is in New Jersey and of course, online. You can stay home with a red packet of Qui Hong #3, because they’ve already “done” the elevated provinces of China to bring you the best of loose teas. A little brown paper packet of Bai Mu Dan (or Fu Ding, or white peony, silver needle) is at my side with hints of sun-soaked cotton, mead and herbaceous is at my side. I’m watching the leaves unfold in a clear vessel like a little live-action ballet. This is one more site that makes a product come alive: tea-drunk.com helps a body understand how the many names for teas came about and shares images of collection and presentation. Some folks already “get” tea. Others “oolong” to. In these quiet times of winter, accept this opportunity to slow down and get Tea Drunk. Biodynamic Coffee “Great coffee comes from healthy soil” is a trademarked thought on the Biodynamic Coffee by Holistic Roasters site. Just because they proudly show you a handful of soil on their website, don’t think they don’t use state-of-the art farming and machinery to bring you a back-to-basics experience. The French Roast note asks why anyone would mess with a classic, so you get smoky, bitter chocolate and “comforting” notes in whole beans that come in a package that goes with that “brown paper packages tied up in string” favorite things theme that’s hot this season. Rise & Shine is called balanced, bold and straight to the point. Get yours from biodynamic.coffee, a site that informed me that we’re hard-wired through DNA to assess nutritional value through flavor. So that’s why it’s good. The soil helped make it so. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie getting her holiday vibe. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Are Those for me? How sweet is that?

Sugar Plum Chocolates You may feel like you’ve spent a greater portion of 2020 in front of a computer screen. Make sure you take a break. White chocolate anything is my holiday treat and The Signature Chocolate-Covered Cookie Sampler from Sugar Plum, a monther-and-son team making the world sweet for us. Nine milk, dark and white chocolate-covered super crunchy sandwich cookies come in a simply elegant golden tin with a chocolate-colored ribbon. There are peanut butter blends and this family also knows its way around bars and pumpkin spice. From all their offerings, this is the box that will get you hints of coconut, cranberry, toffee and drizzles that make your screen time break memorable. They’re on Dilley Street in Forty Fort, PA, but go ahead to www.sugar-plum.com to get yours.

Missing your Beignet? If you know what it means to miss New Orleans, you may get a longing for that aroma, flavor and puff of powdered sugar in your head. Heidi and Micha Stampley have launched authentic beignet mix through Orleans Foods and Walmart is offering it. No standing in line in the French Quarter for a long wait. I thoroughly enjoyed the batch I made at home though they didn’t come out like the picture. How could they when I subbed oils and cooking methods using a wee skillet instead of a fryer, etc. I never claimed to possess frying skills, but I turned out a lovely batch of warm batter on a cool December morning and sprinkled on that mandatory sugar. The process is easy, as the bag claims. Just add water and let that dough proof a bit. But make sure you have the powdered sugar, too! Milk ‘N Berries Rosa Porto’s original Tres Leches Recipe is the basis for more than a million of Porto’s Bake At Home Milk ‘N Berries cake, which can arrive at your door seemingly too beautiful to eat, It’s not. Do it. Eat those sweet berries, moist cake and rich, sweet cream but know your shipment is designed to thaw a day in the fridge. Can you resist? Some of the excess may collect and in a funny prep note, consumers are told to feel free to scoop it up for added richness or to “pour excess out before serving.” Guess which one I did? If this LA bakery’s creation is your one treat on the way out of 2020, please indulge. Porto’sbakery.com will guide you. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie getting her holiday vibe. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

The Salty Set

Salty set If I said I don’t cook with salt, you may think I’d be exaggerating, right? But it’s darned near true that I don’t have a regular salt and pepper set. I’ve got Himalayan pink sea salt and a dozen kinds of pepper. But I do add salt to gumbo. Now I’ve got reason to go beyond. I’ve just never enjoyed playing with salt so much as with the products I’m sharing below. The range of brownish to mauve colors look like crystals sparkling on an exotic beach and the aroma is fantastic. The packaging is just… special. SaltWorks offers salt-of-the-earth flavors from Porcini Mushroom Seas Salt to Vintage Merlot Sea Salt. The most adorable squared off boutique glass jars with walnut wood lids come in enticing packaging and scream “stocking suffer.” A larger set is like a patterned little filing box for larger packets of salt with recipe cards. I’m trying smoked salts in Applewood, Hearty Wood, Mesquite (in my okra gumbo) and Hickory (on popcorn). El Dorado Crispy Sizzling Chicken Wings and Salmon and Corn Chowder are two of the included recipes. Seasalt.com

Chanukah House – When the sample Chanukah House cookie decorating kit came from Manischewitz, I knew I had to get it to Bryan and Linda Reising. This couple loves to create in the kitchen and also loves learning about different cultures. Cookies, icing, sanding sugar and a candy menorah come in a box to bring families together and raise awareness for PJ Library, an organization sending more than 225,000 free Jewish children’s books every month to households in the U.S. and Canada. www.manischewitz.com Highclere Castle Gin - Victorian Orangery, botanicals grown on an ancient English estate, Highclere’s famous oats to soften the finish and the “real Downton Abbey” tie in: These are crazy notes from the press release alone. I’m in love without even tasting. Wait. Must taste. Of course. It’s lovely. Smooth and clear with botanicals of juniper, lime flower, orange and lavender. I have a gin mentor and he enjoyed it, too. A blue bottle with the castle etched into it just adds to the whole experience. Highcastlespirits.com PortoVino Scarf Mask – Could you just imagine a face mask “review” in this space a year ago? I didn’t even really know what a wine purse was for real back then. PortoVino has purses to not just carry wine, but to dispense it, right out of the stylish flap. Sneaky, huh? But you’ll want everyone to see their scarf mask collection. Magnolias cover my slinky mask that has received many compliments. It goes over the nose and drapes down around the neck. How Southern, to look good and protect others. Porto-vino.com * Atoria’s Family Bakery - Their grandmother would have loved my grandmother. Mine would make a sandwich with bread on the bottom and top it with a piece of lettuce, instead of another slice of bread, for a lighter meal. At Atoriasfamilybakery.com, read how this family’s grandma inspired Altoria’s Family Bakery in 1992. We get amazing 50-calorie flatbreads still with thoughts of her “cherished lavish recipe. These versatile Mini Lavish Flatbreads are music to her legacy,” packaging on the whole grain and flax seeds version reads. The Cauliflower and Coconut version has 60 calories and are my breakfast favorite. Traditional will also make you happy. These are great as wraps and pizzas but I enjoy just crisping them up and spreading them with jam or breaking off a piece and dipping them in to a yogurt sauce. Consider them canvas for creativity. Atoria’s Folios - Where have these been all my life? My choosing to eat more healthy and not miss a thing life? These rounds of cheddar, Jarlesberg and Parmesan are “just the cheese” with none of the starch, wheat, lactose and gluten you may want to avoid. It seems convenient, (yet perhaps a little insulting?) to consider this like a tortilla, but I do want you to imagine that whatever you roll into one of those, you can roll into one of these, and perhaps enjoy more of whatever that is. Bring refrigerated Folios to room temp and roll, wrap, crisp or melt. That’s it. More packaging messaging: “Creativity Awaits.”n lotitofoods.com Darragh Castillo is a Port Arthur area foodie giving thanks for what IS great about 2020. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Queen of Kebababs

Get to know your veggies A checker a line over summoned a manager because she couldn’t tell if the long, green vegetables were cucumbers or zucchini. Stick around, I’m thinking, because I could have the same issue. My checker asked if my bundle was cucumber or zucchini and I told her it was the latter. She said she doesn’t eat any vegetabe but corn. Heavy sigh inserted here, but I didn’t eat so many at her age either. Now I seek them and Veggies Made Great makes it easy. Plant Powered Protein is what these muffin-shaped bites are labeled. Very handy for the breakfast-on-the-go crowd, I’ve decided I like to break them up, brown them and fold it all into an egg. Then comes a sprinkle of cayenne. The new additions to this line are Sausage Egg & Cheese Frittata and Sausage & Pepper Frittata and they sure do taste like they have meat in them. They’re made with Beyond Meat Plant Protein, cage-free eggs and real cheddar.

Queen of Kebabs A week ago I’d never have imagined I’d have made skewered kebabs three times. And dealing with whole chickens is not my thing. But I had to go and get another bird. Onions, zucchini and mushrooms are not safe around me. They are getting “pinned” and set in the radiating O-Yaki Skewer and Sish Kebab base. You don’t have to keep turning these babies and they go from grill or oven to table to impress yourself or any guests lucky enough to dine with you. Americans have spent the summer grilling outside as they distance. The stand keeps kebobs tilted up from the circular grid. You can add a chicken to the middle or just stick with whatever you have skewered. Flavor as you desire and get them on the heat. A little bag keeps the skewers and base neatly together until you grill again. Stocking stuffer? You decide at www.oyakiproducts.com Pumpkin Spice Update: It’s in cheese now I must be 12 because Cello’s new Pumpkin Spice Rubbed Fontal has a funny ring to the name, but I’m smiling – not laughing – over this fall treat. Imagine cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and a touch of honey hand-rubbed onto a creamy fontal wheel and imagine the orange-toned accoutrement to highlight its 60-day aging process. The flavors of fall signal me to relax and entertain. This season, I may be entertaining only myself, so I’ll flavor it well with a wedge of this creamy, gluten-free indulgence. Cello does cheese Old World style and know pumpkin spice is not a “trend.” It’s here to stay. www.cellocheese.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie eating her veggies now in anticipation of holiday treats. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

PieCaken PieCaken at Rao’s Bakery is a slice of holiday indulgence that is the talk of holiday tables. The local bakery gets both a pumpkin and pecan pie between layers of spice cake and tops it with cream cheese Icing and a sprinkle of pecans. Can you handle it? The billboards made me inquire and yes, you can get this all-in-one by the slice. Mine was over-the-top fun with plenty to share. Be a part of one of the better 2020 trends. When Italy comes in a box Trying to pronounce “gnocchi” was the trickiest part of the meal. Cooking the Pastene brand for the first time was super easy. Boil the little potato dumplings until they float to the top and douse them with Pastene’s thick Kitchen Ready Spaghetti Sauce and a first-time gnocchi maker acquired skill with a dish he couldn’t pronounce. Mafaldine and Trivella are other new-to-me pasta cuts that come in gift boxes such as tonno (fancy solid light tuna in olive oil), tomato basil sauce, roasted peppers, Kalamata olives, etc. I made my own rules as I enjoyed this company’s Ultimate Foodie Pasta Lover Specialty Gift Box. For years I’ve just kept one pasta shape on the shelves because it was so easy to prepare. Turns out, there’s a lot to love that is just as easy. Pastene has been importing since 1874 and I’m catching up with their times. www.pastene.com Euphonious results Wrap up an winter’s evening with serious chamber music by and for accomplished musicians, “Three Tributes.” Brothers James and Robert Freeman released this CD and booklet to honor parents Henry and Florence. Three commissioned works from award-winning composers and world-class musicians fill the air with music. I’m immersed in the family story, beginning in England with a failed tavern, debtor’s prison and seafaring exile to Australia, with three of five children buried at sea. Then there is success in Boston for Bob on bass and Florence on violin, and much success for their sons. Texas ties include Jack Brannon’s poem to the red snapper – shimmering vermilion orb – and recording at UT in Austin. All this to absorb, then the music… Sunshine Energy Water A can of Sunshine could be just what you need. It’s not just that it was the first cool thing I tasted after the no-power days of Hurricane Delta. As the label indicates, I got “good energy” from a can of Ginger Berry. But Clementine Twist was my fave over Blueberry Lemonade and my go-to, Citrus Lime. Vitamins, electrolytes and 70 mg of natural caffeine are in these tall cans that are just 60 calories a can and are full of B12 and other “good” stuff. Lotus Pear and Pomegranate Acai are also in the Sunshine line that I’ll be looking for. Hydration ROAR They had me at 10 calories. Big bottles of ROAR Organics come in Cucumber Watermelon, Mango Clementine, Georgia Peach and Blueberry Acai and taste great. They support stay-safe advice from “get a flu shot” to “wear a mask” and come with electrolytes, antioxidants and vitamins. I truly like this one, found at www.drinkroar.com . Snickerdoodle for the health conscience You can eat better all-year round, but Good Dee’s low-carb and vegan-friendly baking mixes have seasonal options. I’m not known for baking, so hear this success story. Saturday morning I quickly mixed up Snickerdoodle Cookie with almond flour and followed Sunday with Chocolate Brownie with sunflower seeds. It was, as Mompreneur Texan-turned-New Yorker Deana Karim says, “easy as pie” to mix up and bake. I’ll wager Double Chocolate Chip Cookie and Butter Pecan Cookie are just as tempting. My mixes had no grain, sugar, gluten or wheat, which are things people watch for these days. You don’t have to avoid anything but a third helping with these babies that came together in no time. www.gooddees.com Lehi Mills The eggless brownie is here, Lehi Mills of Lehi, Utah announces, and their first ingredient is quality, the back of the box reads. Plant-based brownie mix with High Mountain flour mixed and baked easily for a holiday season breakfast with plenty left over to gift a newly-plant based friend. My batch resulted in the best combo of moist and crispy. I just added water to Lehi Mills plant-based Pancake Mix and again successfully created cakes that looked like the ones on the box. I confess I’m not usually to good at this so I was pretty proud of my flavorful presentation. Both of these are whole grain, dairy free and vegan and behave as you intended. Lehimills.com was established in 1906 and boxes mixes for muffins (raspberry, yes! Also easy and good), waffles and desserts. Pumpkin alert: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie sounds like a winner. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie getting her holiday vibe. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

New flavors, products tempt foodies

No bowl, no spoon, all crunch Cereal never seems to go out of style. From colorful pops with marshmallows to the crunchy fiber for mature tastes, it’s either a retro craving or daily routine. The Crunch Cup has well for your milk and an inside section for your dry cereal, and you kind of just tilt back and get the whole sensation in your mouth at once. No more soggy stuff? Cereal on the morning commute? You in? Everybody who sees you with it will want one. Thecrunchcup.com Eat Makhana Vegan Cheddar Lily Seed Pops: Free of major allergens and school safe are notes that you wouldn’t have dreamed of seeing on snack packs in the ‘70s. It’s the note that reads “50 % more protein, 20% less calories, Better than Popcorn” that’s a bit of a challenge. Himalayan Pink Salt version is kind of addictive, but I can share. Chili-lime cravers will also be satisfied. This is one of the snacks I binged while watching the Hurricane Delta Elite Line gets strawberry It’s a creamy “bam” of flavor. Core-Power Elite high protein shakes are fueled by “fairlife.” Newsflash: They taste great, like ingulgent fast-food shake. The 230 calories in a 14-ounce bottle offer 42 grams of “compete protein,” which mean more to power builders than to foodies like me, who are interested in trying new flavors like the strawberry, with nine essentials, amino acids and 7-8 grams of sugar. I also loved chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. They’re a quick grab in the morning and pair well with cereal. I like having these around. Corepower.com Jinka Vegan Tuna Spread Back in the ‘70s, I doubt I’d consider tuna salad as a blank canvas for Insta-worth luncheons. Now that Jinka Vegan Tuna Spread offers a meat-free, plant-based blend that’s filling and very good, I’m all about playing with my food. It’s the spread that wants to go on an adventure with you, as in take some on a hike, as www.jinka.store suggests. Original, Dill & Lemon and Spicy were very good with crackers or bread or mixed in with cucumbers. Makers show us that rolling it into a ball and sprinkling on black sesame seeds, a side of avocado or a radish topping with take Jinka over the top. Add colors, textures and healthy choices to a serving of conveniently-packaged Jinka. I thought I’d like Jinka, and I actually love it twice as much as I anticipated. Did I mention the product name enough? Jinka is as fun to say as it is to eat. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie eating as fast as she can to share holiday finds with readers. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

"Deep Flavors" gets you into Pecan mode

Coconut-Pecan-Caramel filling cause for a Groves-style celebration Perhaps you like your pecans solo, as in right-from-the-shell, just-picked from a Groves back yards. Kenneth M. Horwitz shares how to toast them up a notch in “Deep Flavors.” This lawyer and CPA writes lovingly on foods from pickled jalapeno peppers to mushroom soup with roux. Let’s focus on his pecan love, which in this book includes: Baklava, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake and Sweet Potato Souffle or Pudding. The book is subtitled “A Celebration of Recipes For Foodies in a Kosher Style.” The following cake has ties to a 1950s letter to the Dallas Morning News and President Johnson reportedly served it to the chancellor of Germany at his ranch on the Pedernales River. See if you think we’d enjoy it in Southeast Texas. German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan-Caramel Filling This recipe makes 16 servings Cake: 1 4-ounce package Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate One half cup filtered water 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda One fourth teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 2 cups sugar 4 eggs, separated 1 teaspoon or so quality vanilla extract One half cup buttermilk An additional 4 ounces of a quality bittersweet chocolate, with an additional 3 tablespoons of water (optional – if you go with this option, add an additional one fourth cup of flour Coconut-Pecan-Caramel Filling 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk One and one half cups sugar Three fourths cup unsalted butter 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten One and one half teaspoons vanilla 1 (7-ounce) package Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut, toasted (about two thirds of a cup) One and one half cups pecans, chopped and toasted Making the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line the bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment or wax paper; butter the sides of the pans and the paper. Break up the chocolate. Melt the chocolate in the filtered water either in a double boiler or by microwaving the chocolate and water in a large, covered microwavable bowl on high for 45 seconds, then stirring, or until chocolate is almost melted. You have to stir because the chocolate may not look melted, even though it is. Stir until melted. If you are using the microwave, restart for another 30 seconds, and stir again as necessary, being careful to not burn the chocolate. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Then beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with the with the beater attachment, not the whisk, in an electric mixer such as a KitchenAid. Use the medium speed until light and fluffy – a couple of minutes. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well until combined after each addition. Stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add the flour mixture slowly, alternating with buttermilk and beating until well blended after each addition. Beat egg whites in another large bowl with the electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently stir into the batter. Pour evenly into the prepared pans. (This is a perfect time to use a kitchen scale.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Immediately run a knife or spatula between each cake and the sides of each pan. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake layers from the pans by placing on a flat board or a plate over the cake pan and quickly inverting. The cakes should slip out of the pans. Remove the paper from the now exposed bottoms of the cakes. Cool completely on wire racks. Spread coconut-pecan filling and frosting between the layers and on top of the cake. This cake can be frozen when finished or before filling and frosting. In fact, you can make the cakes weeks ahead and freeze them for later use. Simply make the frosting the day you will be serving the cake, take the cakes out of the freezer, frost them, and let the now completed cake come to room temperature. Making the Coconut-Pecan-Caramel Filling Mix the milk, sugar, butter and egg yolk sin a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 12 minutes or until just thickening and turning golden. Remove from heat. While cooking longer does not ruin the frosting, it makes it much harder to spread, and the cooled result can be firmer, resulting in a less luxuriant cake-and-frosting combination. Add the coconut, pecans and vanilla, and mix well. Cool to room temperature, checking to make sure it is of a desired spreading consistency. This recipe makes about 4 and one half cups or enough to fill and frost the top of a 3-layer cake, or frost tops of 13- by 9-inch cakes or 24 cupcakes. The sides to not need to be frosted, but if you desire to do so, double the frosting recipe, although the result would be very sweet. Darragh Doiron writes Culinary Thrill Seeking for Port Arthur News.

Try a Year-Round Sauce and all this other stuff

Gindo’s Year –Round Sauces I’m still not 100 percent about why Gindo’s Spice of Life Hot Sauces are called “Year-Round Sauces,” when in Texas we tend to think of morning-noon-night heat that goes from breakfast tacos to Cajun gumbo. But let it be known that in Batavia, Ill., there’s a couple who has put their pepper love to the test, and passed. I love heat, but these tall, 4-sided bottles packaged like red, green and orange jewels, do more than heat your meal. They inspire creativity with flavor, aroma, color, texture and nutrients, just like the makers intended. So Honey Habanero, “lusciously sweet with a fiery finish,” was perfect to jazz up some chicken while Jalapeno Poblano, “vibrant and zesty with a mid spicy finish,” glazed some salmon in style. I could rotate these with “original” until I have to go shopping again and start over. My husband also took notice that his plates had a little something special about them. Check out this couple who www.gindos.com Wayne Farms Chef’s Craft Gourmet Sometimes you just deserve to have it good and quick, and to feel confident in the people who helped you get it. Wayne’s Farms Chef’s Craft Gourmet came to me as a package of Flame Grilled Chicken Breast Fillets and cooked bite-sized Grilled Chicken Breast Chunks. The chunks are ready in minutes to add to salads, rice bows and kebobs and I’m very glad these survived the Hurricane Delta power outage. These are 100 percent vegetarian fed, gluten-free chickens with no antibiotics or artificial ingredients. I always like to do things myself, but I’m very happy to let Wayne Farms folk help me out a bunch. Get recipe ideas at www.chefscraftgourmet.com Georgia Native Cattle Co. The Wells family operates an independent farm on a mission to preserve the historic Pineywoods breed at Georgia Native Cattle Co. They’re justifiably proud of all their “high-welfare” Hickory Smoked Beef Sticks that I have tried and enjoyed. Thank you for the jalapeno version. A Greener World is a nonprofit farm certifier who has their own press about this well-meaning Georgia Native Cattle Company. There are pages of merits and I’d like to meet some of this beef with a “true supply chain sustainability and ultimate farm-to-fork traceability. You can actually “get involved” with this program beyond eating some good food. Impressive. Vegg We have a growing number of friends who are eschewing meat for health and other reasons. It was with them in mind that I procured Vegg, egg-free cooking powders for breakfast fare and baking. “The Veg Cookbook” offers Egg-Free Cooking Uncaged ideas that are deemed 100 percent vegan and100 percent delish. I confess I haven’t mastered the product for straight up eating, but I have found it useful as a binder for my husband’s French toast. Recipes do look delish and with some work and calcium chloride beads, you can spherify a yolk and create ecipes such as “World’s Best (& Most Realistic) Vegan Fried Egg. Looks like the real thing, and there’s myriad reasons why people are willing to take on a pantry with sodium alginate, kala namak and other ingredients I’m not yet familiar with. Tofu and Pajeaon (Scallion) Pancake? Looks great. Vegg Carbonara is one made with stock we’re all likely to lay our hands on and it does look like a welcome plate of comfort food. Cookbook contributors and makers seem a very sincere lot of Culinary Thrill Seekers. www.thevegg.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie eating as fast as she can to share holiday finds with readers. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Will pumpkin spice cut it in 2020?

Here come the pumpkins and cookbooks If a dusting of chai, nutmeg or pumpkin spice signals Autumn in steamy Southeast Texas, bring it on. Readers have been sharing pumpkin spice alerts here for years, so let’s make the rest of 2020 a fragrant one. It’s also cookbook season, so keep checking here for holiday gift-giving ideas and festive spreads. Pumpkin Spice Alert The demands of 2020 are surely to up the pumpkin spice factor this year. Sugar Plum Chocolates is doing its part by releasing Pumpkin Spice Almonds coated in comforting cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Simple as that and much better for you than other seasonal treats. Keep some in your bag through the season. Just a few will be really satisfying. Sugar Plum Chocolates has a white chocolate option that is unwrapping an artwork of culinary angularity. Each corner you snap offers a melt-in-your-mouth Pumpkin Spice Latte experience with natural pumpkin spice and espresso flavors. It’s packaged for fall fun with little leaves, boots, acorns, etc. adorning the package. Try to make it last all week long. I dare you. www.sugar-plum.com RED “Wowza” is a word I saw on Red, one of those seductive big gourmet bars sold away from the regular candies. You deserve good chocolate, and Red was a welcome taste in my week. Labeling of 50 percent less calories in the dark chocolate and 40 percent less in the extra dark chocolate are other lures to these no-sugar added recipes. A diamond is part of branding and the finest Cote d’Ivoire cocoa beans shine in facets as you break off scores made with a company mission to “guiltlessly deliver perfectly sweet moments to those who strive to live an active, healthy lifestyle as well as those who appreciate losing themselves within decadent moments.” See, you don’t have to sign a contract or anything to go to the gym afterwards, though we may not all resemble the shapely silhouette stamped among the gluten-free/no-GMO announcements. It’s commendable to check our your chocolate’s stance and info@chocolette.com tells of “Earth-happy processes.” There’s milk chocolate, too and I crave every level of cocoa these makers offer. CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK IDEA: Forks Over Knives Family Health has got to be a family affair these days. No more Moms nibbling on rabbit food while appeasing everyone else with greasy fare. If everyone can’t come together with joy for the slicing and dicing of meal prep, then let them simply rejoice when served Chinese Noodles in Ginger Garlic Sauce and Avocado Toast-ada. Times have changed and they are delicious. The Forks Over Knives movement is plant based and believers would prefer to lift their forks for healthy foods over surgeons lifting scalpels over sick bodies. Learn to nourish everyone you love from pregnancy on with this book subtitled “Every Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy Kinds on a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet.” Alona Pulde, MD and Matthew Lederman, MD have complied research, tips and really fun recipes I wouldn’t hesitate to order on a menu. Now I can make them myself. Savoy Cabbage with Mushrooms and Sesame Seeds, Polenta Tempeh Casserole and much ado about lentils are within these pages. Also, much dessert. Chocolate Bliss Balls is one of many uses for date paste, so here’s the recipe for that: Some cooks use dates as a main sweetener and it saves time to have it ready as a paste. Keep half of the batch in the fridge and freeze the other half in a mason jar to keep it at the ready: Date Paste 1 pound pitted dates (about 4 cups) 1 and one half cups boiling water Place the dates in a wide, flat-bottomed container such as a saucepan and add the water (the dates should be partially to completely submerged). Cover the container and soak for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours. Transfer the dates and the soaking water to a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Storage: Transfer the paste to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or in the freezer for 4 to 5 months. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie pumpkin spicing everything within reach. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Kathy's Mermaid Lounge

Kathy’s Mermaid Lounge

The great outdoors has been our refuge in this season of distancing. We crave connections and our porches, patios and backyard spreads have enabled us to visit friends and relatives, a few at a time. Have you styled your outside this season? One beach-loving woman I visited has a name for her poolside space: Kathy’s Mermaid Lounge. This covered area is surrounded by vines and comfy seating and artwork depicting alluring mermaids. I have no doubt that once a guest has experienced this hospitable lounge, Kathy receives sea-themed décor that goes right into the mix. Kathy’s beach scene fairy garden for a friend made a big hit. Mermaids obviously attract other mermaids. My mother hung up two souvenir signs proclaiming our patio French Quarter/Bourbon Street. Passersby sometimes wave and ask how things are in the Quarter. Maybe we’ll refer to it as Jeannette on the Quarter. One more thing: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were served at the lounge, with tasters weighing in on how hot these actually are. That spicy orange dust covers one of my favorite snacks in a bag, but they’re mild on the heat for me. Others steered away, recalling past attempts. If you have a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos experience, please share it with other Culinary Thrill Seekers. Delta dining I barely lost a bag of green beans over Laura’s power outage, but Delta took most of us by surprise. “Sweet Chaos“ is handmade kettle corn and a fitting title for the trepidation of our outer-rim Delta experience. This was my first time to eat my way through the wind, visible from the window. We ate through losing power and forced ourselves to stop and go to bed at night fall, lest we begin to trip over our empty bags and bowls. We felt we were going to be pretty OK in the end and like so many, we knew we would be trying to save food from the freezer to eat later. Here’s some of what went down, from the freezer and otherwise: When bags of Sweet Chaos, kettle corn arrived, I had literally planned to budget the calories of each bag as a meal. That’s how much I love popcorn. Vanilla Chai and Maple Brown Sugar were the flavors and they were good as you can imagine with their real cane sugar background and popped in coconut oil. Delta had me eating these in public so I did have to share with my husband. He claims he doesn’t go for popcorn like I do, but no one could refuse these. www.sweetchaos.com Mushroom Jerky by VEGKY “Vegan ain’t boring!!” reads the label on mushroom jerky flavored with wasabi, curry, etc., and I’m loving what they call a “minimally processed and bursting with flavor” product. It does have a meaty texture but is easier on the teeth than beef. It’s called an umami-rich snack high in fiber. I would for sure buy these again. www.vegky.com Pop Bitties are like thin little rice cakes but with actual flavor. Air popped ancient grains such as whole grain sorghum and brown rice are corn and gluten-free. I was supposed to share them with my gluten-free friend. I saved a few for her the bag though so give me a little credit. They came in flavors such as vegan white cheddar and they certainly satisfy you as a snack and a base for something more substantial, like a yogurt dip. Absolutely Gluten Free gives us Raw Coconut Chews in time to give all your nutty friends holiday pleasure. Are chocolate and cacao nibs my fave, or is it the cranberry option? I’ll have to finish both bags before making a decision. My gluten-free friend did get to sample these and got back to me with thumbs up. www.Absolutelygf.com We weren’t hinting at all when a friend posted that he had power but we wound up on his patio to charge phones and he made us avocado toast and another family brought muffins. It was kind of a stone soup sharing that we can all use at times like this. I ended up at Kathy’s Mermaid lounge for the third time wish salmon from my freezer that she was going to cook on the grill. We couldn’t start the grill, but we ended up full of good vegetables anyway. The top mermaid requested we bring a little something to mix with strawberry flavor and duplicate a beverage she enjoyed in Myrtle Beach. Mionetto Prosecco was a good choice bringing a welcome, bubbly atmosphere to the gathering. It seems endless summer here – perhaps because of hurricane season? – but note that Mionetto Prestige Brut and Mionetto Prestige Rose Extra Dry are also light but fancy and festive choices that will carry you through the holidays. Mix it up or enjoy it from the bottle. Just promise to enjoy the rest of 2020. https://usa.mionetto.com/us My faithful childhood friend offered carport pasta in Delta’s aftermath and ice packs to-go, in addition to a friendly face. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who wonders what else 2020 will bring. Share your Flamin’ Hot Cheetos experience with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com. Happy 31st Anniversary, Chris.

Share your culinary blessings

Share your blessings While “the times” have made gatherings difficult, celebrations should continue. Friends have “distantly” made my husband’s birthday special, like when the religious study group showed up on the patio with a basket of wine. We had been on video meetings for weeks, but Linda and Bryan Reising’s hospitality goes beyond the screen. They also set up asparagus tart, eggplant/basil bites and a blueberry crumble with a hint of cardamom. The weekend also included a veggie burger on Ezekial sprouted bread and gin with ginger concoction on another patio that I call “An Evening with Paul Thomas.” The musician concluded with a classical guitar bit of “messing around.” Friends are a blessing, and culinary/musical friends can’t be beat. If you have any of these skills, please share them with friends and multiply the blessings! Unbelievabowl Paleo If kale could marry anyone, it would be bacon, Kelsey Preciado writes in the cookbook she wants you to love. Garlic-Bacon-Kale Bowl is how she sees these soul mates in the book she basically asks us to fall in love with. I have obliged. “Unbeliveabowl Paleo: 60 Wholesome One-Dish Recipes You Won’t Believe Are Dairy- and Gluten-Free gives us Chicken Egg Roll Meatball Bowl and plenty of stuff she says makes her husband’s eyes roll back in his head because they are soooo good. If we can’t sit at her table, we can duplicate the dishes from her fun book. She’s founder of “Little Bits of Real Food” and her book is “Unbelievabowl.” Here’s a colorful quickie: Creamy Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Hummus 1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped 2 cups cauliflower florets one fourth cup tahini 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon minced garlic Salt For serving: Sliced vegetables Paleo crackers Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and cauliflower florets to the pot and cook for 8 minutes, or until both are fork tender. Drain the veggies , then add them to a food processor. Add the tahini, oil, lemon juice and garlic to the food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt to taste. Scoop the dip into a bowl. Serve with veggies and Paleo crackers. Prep ahead: Make this dip up to 5 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge. PBFIT Chocolate Peanut Powder I know you can get beyond smoothies and French toast batter with PBFit Chocolate. But it’s just so easy to get in a delicious “rut.” This powder has less fat and fewer calories than peanut butter straight up. When you look at the pbfit.com for recipes with oatmeal and pancakes, you’ll mosey over to sections using the original version in dishes such as Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad, jar lunches, cobblers and even a bacon and cheese burger. You can go through a few jars without ever duplicating an idea and coming up with your own in the process. This week: Overnight oats; pb balls. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie chilling out at a social distance. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Products to help you 'get over' 2020

Products to help you “get over” 2020 Gray Whale Gin Remember the time we went to Big Sur and the gray whale’s 12,000-mile journey inspired us so much we developed a gin perfected with six Californian botanicals to celebrate its journey? No? Oh, that was Marsh and Jan, who are out wild harvesting Mendocino Coast sea kelp to enhance this fabulous gin in a beautiful sea blue bottle. Mint from Santa Cruz and Almonds from Central Valley are mixed in and even the lines of the whale tale are a tracking map on this lovely bottle. There’s quite a whale’s tale at graywhalegin.com and I sure want to recreate that trip in the whale van pictured on the site. A gin aficionado I know gave this a nod at a distanced patio tasting and I’m all about the flavor as well as the story. Now, are you ready for the other three botanicals? Give it up for Juniper from Big Sur, limes from Temecula and fir tree from Sonoma. Those whales don’t know what they’re missing. They’re in the water and not dealing with the no-funness of 2020. Komuso If I’d been out more this social distancing season, I know I’d have received even more compliments/inquiries on my Komuso necklace. But if ever there was a time when a beautiful necklace could foster your well being, it’s time to put it on. The Shift looks like a little golden whistle, but it’s a nearly silent tube designed to let you exhale a long breath, and oh, what that can do for calming anxiety, releasing lung toxins, loosening muscles and decreasing blood pressure. That’s a lot for tiny gold/silver/slate tubes, but I formed an instant impression of this item when it started showing up on my Pinterest feed. I imagined the weight of it around my neck and just glancing at it all day putting me in a slow-down frame and recalling what it feels like to breathe better. And you know, the night I stayed up reading hundreds of customer reviews, all those folks thought the same thing. I ordered, it arrived and I breathed. I was just-right about it all. And the critics were right on as well, praising the superior packaging, loving the tale of the couple who met a flute guy who told them about Japanese Komuso monks who breathed through their instruments and how everybody feels better when they pay attention to the most simple detail of breathing. If you wish everything was this simple, shift to a deep breath. www.komusodesign.com A Feast of Serendib: Recipes from Sri Lanka Family gatherings, even over Zoom, relax us with flavors, aromas and stories. When people ask Mary Ann Mohanraj the difference between Indian food and Sri Lanka’s food, it’s difficult, because she figures we’ve probably had Americanized versions of Indian food. Her land’s curries tend to have more vinegar, though. I’d easily try everything in her book, an achingly beautiful tribute to her family with photos and illustrations and even poetry. Each page even feels good in your fingers as you turn to the next treat. Ribbon sandwiches are layers of color for parties, deviled shrimp gets black mustard seed and many other things you find in your pantry, but it sure doesn’t turn out Cajun! Seasonal Pumpkin alert: You can add it to your curry. I love the discussion on Bombay Toast/Bombatoast, which is much like a more sugary version of French Toast with lots of butter. Here’s a quickie to spice up just bout anything: Chili Onion Sambol This classic Sri Lankan Sambol is a simple way to add heat and tang to any meal. The author says it goes with “whatever you like” and is great on sandwiches. 1 onion, chopped coarslely 3 dried red chilies 1-2 teaspoons cayenne 1-2 teaspoons lime juice 1 teaspoon salt Combine ingredients in a food processor (alternatively, mince onions fine and then combine ingredients with mortar and pestle). The Happy Labs The Chill Pill is a real thing with passionflower and valerian root. Read up on The Happy Labs’ description of the sense of relaxation and calmness desgined for letting one “enjoy the moment.” It’s another one of those CBD deals that people of all walks are trying and these come in a tin with a customer 5-star rating. I’d advise getting all sorts of advice before trying these and then, proceeding with calm caution. I tried a sample as instructed and “got over” what was taking up some brain space pretty quickly. The company’s myriad products are at thehappylabs.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie chilling out at a social distance. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Fischer & Wieser I sure regretted leaving behind some Fischer & Wieser grilling products when I left for Laura. The Sweet & Savory Onion Glaze with super-sweet onions and jalapenos is designed for grilled meats and seafoods. I was sousing it on sheet pan vegetables every night for a week. Peaches & Whiskey BBQ Sauce went on my husband’s favorite weekend treat lunch, ribs. Smoky Plum Chipotle Sauce is a personal favorite of mine because I associate this very F&W line for convincing me that sweet berries and sweet heat are an entirely compatible taste sensation before the rest of America got hold of it. I love everything they make nearly just as much. Grill up, Texans. Adam’s Apple Take a “Bourbon Bath” with Adam’s Apple’s best seller, a bold and tad spicy marinade and grilling sauce from Adam’s Apple. I never met a sauce I didn’t like, but this one I love. But let’s go on to Spicy Blackberry Pepper Jam. A big yes to follow Apple Pie Jam. They’ve got a catalogue of stuff we like down south, like chow chow and cider slaw and salad dressing. Don’t worry that Theresa Adams grew up in Illinois cooking apple butter, which is something we don’t often see, but we can get hers. I even mixed that pepper jam into some fried rice as the sweet of sweet and sour. Here are more ideas for Adams Apple Gourmet Jams: • Top vanilla ice cream with a few tablespoons of hot jam (My Aunt Stella Belle did this!) • Top a plain cheesecake • Pour over cream cheese and serve with salty crackers (an easy appetizer for those who think they can’t cook) • Fill pastry with jam and make turnovers • Grilled cheese with sharp white cheddar and gourmet jam. • Top toast rounds with goat cheese and jam • Get creative with turkey, croissant and brie sandwiches and a spread of jam • Hot biscuits anyone? Let’s tell Theresa to come join us for some of our own creations with her products. Adamsappleco.com No Sweat Been out there tending your vegetable garden? Fishing Port Arthur? Golfing? It’s Southeast Texas hot and we’re used to it, but maybe we didn’t realize No Sweat was out there. Now that we’ve added masks to our everyday wear, check out this American-made thin hat liner that reduces sweat stains, keeps it out of your eyes, promotes healthy skin hygiene and locks in odor and face oils, keeping your hat looking good. Learn about their patented Dri-Lid technology at www.NoSweatCo.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie always looking for something new. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

What did you freezer-grab when running from Laura?

What did you save from the freezer on your run from Laura? I can’t be the only one who worries about saving the fridge/freezer contents when it’s time for an all-too-familiar evacuation. With all the decisions that must be made quickly, I was pondering a fresh zucchini in my hand and imagining how I could use it on the road. We were headed to a North Texas relative’s home and the owners would not even be there. What a blessing to be offered this in the midst of pandemic. I packed what I could with frozen bags of spinach acting like ice packs. This season makes me nervous so I didn’t have a full freezer, but some of that food was sentimental. There were items my mother had prepared. She recently died and I was saving them to share when my sister could visit. Halfway there I took out some gyros meat and set it to warm on the dashboard. I thought I was pretty clever, but my daughter told me to enjoy my food poisoning. It was NOT there long and it was very good in a similarly-warmed tortilla. Strawberry yogurt became frozen yogurt with fruit and it was also good. A variety of unusual combinations, such as a hamburger patty “short stack” came from our stock we stashed in the cousin’s outside freezer. She repeatedly texted we were welcome to their stock, but we simply could not let this food go. Glued to Weather Channel updates, we prayed and saw what our neighbors in Louisiana will be dealing with for months. Now’s a time for me to amp up the gratitude and pay good things forward. Some of those still-frozen vegetables came home and were added to a soup that my daughter made with chicken and vegetables her mother-in-law brought from Buna when she left for Laura. I’ve heard stories of families who hauled frozen shrimp across Texas when they were evacuating. What is the craziest thing you’ve taken, eaten or heard of when running from a storm? I’m grateful to all those working to help the area recover. It’s a 2020 heartache, but I’m confident we will all come out fine. That’s my prayer. Figs My evacuation refuge had a fig tree and the hosts were not around so I indulged in some fruit so good it is mentioned in the Bible. Better I enjoy them than the birds, and I love birds. This bush was not very old and laden with fruits. Harvesting a few of these in North Texas was very different than my memories of picking with my grandma in Texas and Louisiana. Those trees covered more space than a small house, or so it seemed to little me. I was sent in under the canopy to harvest and I remember this “chore” to be scratchy, sticky and very hot. But, it was worth grandma’s fig preserves on her homemade biscuits. I didn’t know then you could eat them fresh. They probably didn’t tell me so there would be more in the bucket at the end of picking. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who may have seen you on the road while evacuating. Hey, Genie. Share your crazy evacuation stores with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Fish You were Here to try all this:

Fish You Were Here, to try some of these fun new spice blends and other new foods with me. Keep your social distance and keep bonding however you can as these new flavors and products roll out: Build Your Own Edible Playlist Hit the Roast Jack, You’re so Spain, Moroccan ‘Round the clock and Lavender Fields Forever should get you cooking. Healthy On You’s sustainable keepsake bamboo box of blends with an olive wood spoon just “spice” things up even more for those who didn’t think they could play kitchen. Samantha Binkley is into flavor as much as she’s into health and humor. Organic spices season your world and you can crank up the volume as you create themed dinners. I love the fragrance of Middle Eastern Spice dubbed while My Za’atar Gently Weeps” and how it elevated my rice salad with sesame seeds, oregano, coriander, etc. Let the Good Thymes Roll made the whole house smell like an Italian restaurant. Fish You Were Here, trying this flavor. You’ve got to love it when you can combine so many senses at once: taste, hearing, smell…. Thanks Ms. Binkley! Healthyonyou.com Kitchen Crafted This brand is so focused on leaving out stuff such as gluten and GMO, that they’ve even left out some letters from their globally-inspired BLND and Sprd spices and blends. Living on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast, I’d say they got Bayou Catch Seafood Seasoning good enough to make you want to cast a pole, but the Sriracha Lime Spice has been my top pick of a batch of samples. It’s a breakfast-to-dinner spice for me. I like their story and 8 signature flavors that include Chimichurri Seasoning (a fan fave) and Kansas City Smoker BBQ Rub. These are flavors are in their new category and are Kosher-certified. We love to play with our spices here and I’ve enjoyed the company of these versatile bottles. Kitchencrafted.com A Couple of Outlaws Did you ever have a crush on the couple who makes your soaps? I want to hang out with Russ and Danielle Vincent, who pose with guitars and cooking utensils, wear funky glasses and make cowboy boots look a little punk. They live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I bet you thought I was gonna say Austin, because they are keeping it weird. They actually do have ties to Austin and have noted the city’s favorite scent of their line is The Mountain Hideout. Their soaps come in packaging both masculine and humorous, with hidden John Wayne quotes. The products are very fine and have components such as whiskey and leather and sage. I feel as though their soaps, handwashes and colognes will just naturally make you feel better from seeing them online at LiveOutlaw.com and holding them in your hand once they arrive and that’s all before you put them on your body. Their giant campfire mug has the call to “Wake up. Kick Ass. Repeat.” You can even get a car scent that shows you are living Outlaw. Hey Russ and Danielle, call me! Liveoutlaw.com Shrewd Keto When you puff something and it crunches and the calorie count is conceivable, you feel pretty smart. “The Smartest Way to Keto” is actually how Shrewd Keto markets such 90-calorie packets of balls that keep in the flavor of much more junkier food. But in this case, Baked Cheddar, Brick Oven Pizza, and Nacho Cheese Protein Puffs will leave you with crunch, 2 grams of carbs and 14 grams of protein. You doing this? Then your later reward can be Shrewd Keto Dippers in both dark and milk chocolate. It’s snack, dessert and a shot of protein as well. I love crunching my chocolate. Shrewdfood.com will get through crunch time. Shrewdfood.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie always looking for something new. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

A quick hot sauce check

Hot sauce check A spicy gentleman I know posted that he was in a culinary pinch, without his favorite hot sauce. This lead me to dash to my own kitchen and do a pepper sauce check of my own. There was enough Tabasco bottles and other blends to last many households a lifetime. They are used at nearly every meal that fresh or powdered peppers are not. I rounded up a few for my own posting and then a Port Arthur friend became concerned there was a shortage in the stores, but not to worry! That’s how rumors get started. This anecdote is to indicate just how much I love my hot sauce and to tease about a brand appropriately named Hellfire, that I am not quite ready to discuss. Wow, that was hot. At this juncture I will simply say a drop of this stuff was one of the three top heat rushes of my life. Until we meet again, please, season responsibly. Harvest Snaps What if popping a crunchy, cheesy snack was not a guilty pleasure? Popper Duos, out form Harvest Snaps, has a Salsa & Cheddar ball boasting two flavors in one bite, and if I close my eyes I get the taste of the melty bowl of cheese depicted on the bag. The bag of Yellow & White Cheddar is just as good and I’m truly trying to share it. The cheesy flavor made them a great side for morning eggs, a mid-morning snack, a luncheon salad topper and an afternoon snack. By share, I meant share it with my whole day. The secret? These are green pea crisps and they won’t set you back in the guilt department. Veggie-based snacking has its perks. Sprout Living It was the Coffee Mushroom that intrigued me. It turned out to be my favorite flavor in the Epic Protein line from Sprout Living. I imagined myself curled up on a log bench enjoying a mug of this concoction with a gnome. The mythical creature and I would talk about the Chocolate Maca and Vanilla Lucuma, too. Those were my top picks of superfood powders to mix with water or blend into a smoothie. It’s filling “food” on the go and the info booklet labels it “cleaner plant nutrition that tastes better too.” I do say it is several steps above other offerings that come out green in your cup. Other varieties are Green Kingdom, Original, Pro Collagen and Real Sport. If you’re already into this, you should already be sold. If this is a gateway mix for you, go in: care@sproutliving.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who is one of the “some” who like it hot. Share your culinary advetures with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Fish makes Taco Tuesday list

                             My niece has been doing Taco Tuesdays for years in Rhode Island and North Carolina, and I often think of her when I see a crispy taco. I can’t say why it didn’t occur to me to have a standing Taco Tuesday in Texas. Who doesn’t have tortillas in their home stock around here? They keep forever. There are so many options, if you can get around the corn or flour thing. My husband likes flour only and I’d pick the corn based on health alone. When I do flour, I crave them fried up a little so that adds even more calories.

                             But for insides, there’s beans and rice and peppers and cheese and varieties within those varieties.

                             Turns out we had another debate the first time I announced the Castillos would be indulging in Taco Tuesday on a regular basis. I rolled out fish tacos and Mr. Castillo proclaimed a fish does not make a real taco.

                             Really? Immediately I texted the niece.

                             She took my side.

                             Fish will remain in the rotation.

Shrewd Keto

When you puff something and it crunches and the calorie count is conceivable, you feel pretty smart. “The Smartest Way to Keto” is actually how Shrewd Keto markets such 90-calorie packets of balls that keep in the flavor of much more junkier food. But in this case, Baked Cheddar, Brick Oven Pizza, and Nacho Cheese Protein Puffs will leave you with crunch, 2 grams of carbs and 14 grams of protein. You doing this? Then  your later reward can be Shrewd Keto Dippers in both dark and milk chocolate. It’s snack, dessert and a shot of protein as well. I love crunching my chocolate. Shrewdfood.com will get through crunch time.

                  A Couple of Outlaws

                  Did you ever have a crush on the couple who makes your soaps? I want to hang out with Russ and Danielle Vincent, who pose with guitars and cooking utensils, wear funky glasses and make cowboy boots look a little punk. They live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I bet you thought I was gonna say Austin, because they are keeping it weird. They actually do have ties to Austin and have noted the city’s favorite scent of their line is The Mountain Hideout. Their soaps come in packaging both masculine and humorous, with hidden John Wayne quotes. The products are very fine and have components such as whiskey and leather and sage. I feel as though their soaps, handwashes and colognes will just naturally make you feel better from seeing them online at LiveOutlaw.com and holding them in your hand once they arrive and that’s all before you put them on your body. Their giant campfire mug has the call to “Wake up. Kick Ass. Repeat.” You can even get a car scent that shows you are living Outlaw. Hey Russ and Danielle, call me! 

                  Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie counting down the days until the next Taco Tuesday. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

A world of flavors in new products.

Not everyone who sees it’s Hatch pepper season immediately thinks, “I have some Maple Craft Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup at home, and that would pair so well.” You see what you’re dealing with, here. I love so many things. The Southwestern flavor got some caramelized sweetness seared into them on my stove, and it was a winner. But hey, this little flask of flavor features drawings of both barrels and a maple leaf. The aged Vermont maple syrup has hints of smoke, fruit, oak and buttery vanilla. Makers suggest it to elevate your pancakes and bacon and my husband has confirmed it’s a natural win on French toast. Fans are also encouraged to use it as a dessert drizzle, marinade or in beverages, but Hatch peppers are not mentioned by name.

Mesa de Vida
Back in college Bennigan’s announced a new product we servers were to promote: Jerk Chicken. Say what? That was new. We got a paragraph full of background on this layered flavor profile and years later I got to experience it in Jamaica. This summer, I got a flashback with the Caribbean Mesa de Vida, Healthy Global Gourmet Cooking & Seasoning Sauces. One jar has flavored chicken, beans and rice for several servings. How easy was that? Their jars of easy “vacations in a jar” come in Creole, Smoky Latin, Mediterranean and North African, so you can travel the globe this year after all. Simmer, braise and roast or marinate, grill and glaze with sauces that go from instant pot to slow cooker. I’m pretty sure they’d mix into cream cheese for one of those spreads that we’re missing from potlucks. I love the versatility and inspiration that are part of this line. They are Whole30 approved and extremely low in sodium. My little brush with the islands was a much-needed experience.

Tidbits
It’s possible that a notice that there’s less than 2 calories per piece splashed across the Tidbits package is the first thing to catch your eye. These are little, tiny Meringues, which are on the extremely low-cal side and a personal crunchy favorite of mine. Tidbits come in Vanilla, Chocolate, Cappucino, Strawberry and many other flavors and I’m a very big fan. Make sure you seal the bag well so they stay crispy. And don’t let any concern about that be an excuse to eat the whole bag. That would be an easy temptation for these bites free of gluten, soy, sugar, lactose and cholesterol. They are from North, Texas. Oatsome To anyone else in your family, it’s chocolate milk.

Oatsome
Organic Oat Drink is whole grain, gluten and dairy free, also non-GMO. Keep going? It’s sooo good that I got a craving for some in the middle of the day. The box says you can mix it into shakes and smoothies. I usually go for embellishment, but Oatsome needs nothing, but a tall glass. Better Body Foods is who you can thank for winsome Oatsome, from BetterBody Foods from Utah. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie experiencing the world in flavors. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Why you need tinned seafood, even in Southeast Texas

"The Tinned Fish Cookbook" by Bart Van Olphen What can you do with tinned fish? It’s telling that my daughter requests tinned eel for her Christmas stocking. Eyeing neatly stacked cans of smoked oysters in my pantry is reassuring. Sardines remind me of lunch with Grandma. “The Tinned Fish Cookbook” reminds us we can do a lot more with that can of tuna. We have either evolved from potato-chip topped casseroles or reverted back to natural ingredients. Bart Van Olphen’s book is subtitled “Easy-to-Make Meals from Ocean to Plate Sustainably Canned, 100 percent Delicious.” Readers get lessons, history and photography of fleets headed out for catches that will make a traveler pine. Did you know sardines have been tinned for more than 200 years and were considered a treat for the wealthy? If you are a culinary thrill seeker, each page will inspire. If you are a wary taster, this could read like a horror story, combining flavors that finicky eaters eschew. Listen to these titles: Cod Liver with Miso and Herring, Smoked Mackerel Lentil Salad and Quinoa Tabbouleh with Sardines. Maybe just start with Sardine Hummus or Tuna and Ricotta Pasta Salad. Peeling back ring on a can of silvery, oily, spicy little sea creatures is adventure enough. That’s how easy it is to get to the main focus of a plate that could come to life with the vegetables, sauces and methods from around the world outlined in this book. One easy starter here is Tuna and Caper Butter. A tin of drained tuna in olive oil is processed with minced shallot, butter, capers and salt and pepper to taste. There. I feel like I’m at a café with an ocean view somewhere far, far away. . 

 

 Inbru 

Inbru sounds like an edgy Icelandic chill band or a cool place to enjoy your coffee. I’m part right. Your own, comfy home is the place to savor 24 Inbru flavors to add to your own favorite coffee without adding calories, fat, carbs, gluten, etc. So how does my morning brew perfume the house with a Blueberry Muffin or Cookie Butter aroma? Were you expecting me to say California Rice Hulls? Well I did and on my third flavor, Cinnamon Hazelnut, I’m predicting you’ll be wanting some intensely flavored hulls that dissolve into your cup, too. It’s as easy as adding a scoop of Inbru Coffee Flavors to your own coffee grounds before you brew. In my case, it’s added to my French Press before adding the hot water. And the scoop… that’s a funny story. I read the directions and thought they must have forgotten my scoop. It says it’s inside the little jar. Sure enough, when I gently shook it, the hulls shifted to reveal a wee scoop that would hold a big pea or a little bean. Sooo cute. A jar will flavor 80 cups of coffee and help you, as they say in Inbru country: Flavor your coffee, flavor your day. 

A different kind of yogurt

Ayo Yogurt comes in a variety of thicknesses, so don’t think it’s all about that sugary stuff. Ayo is in the dairy-free yogurt business bringing us flavored creations fashioned from organic almonds. How cool is that? I’m not surprised by how good the blueberry, strawberry, peach and vanilla flavors are. I was happily surprised that the makers’ description of a “light, refreshing texture similar to traditional French yogurt,” translated into a silky, liquid texture. It’s a plant-based treat that feels like a rich indulgence. Ayo will play well with anyone’s culinary thrill seeking. 

  Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie socially distancing and still enjoying great company and flavors. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Finding Sacred Sauce and how to Keto

                  “The Ultimate Keto Cookbook”

                             Tempting photo spreads may sell this book on going keto because not everyone can imagine parsnip rosemary fries. I’m not on this particular lifestyle diet but I’m on board with the creativity of recipes in this thick and beautiful paperback by Brittany Angell, creator of BrittanyAngell.com. Just imagine rolling out menus featuring these dishes:

                             * Smoky Cracklin Pork Belly seasonings include that include maple, Himalayan salt and cumin.

                             * Dublin Coddle Stew, with thick-cut bacon and cauliflower rice will be your next St. Pat’s Day go-to.

                             * Pumpkin alert at this time of year? Plan ahead for Creamy Pumpkin Chicken Noodle Soup. The Noodles are from shirataki, a plant fiber.

                             * Taco Tuesday? Try Taco Spaghetti with Cilantro-Lime Avocado Pasta. I will.

                             What I tried first was Sweet and Salty Peanut Granola Bars that are said to taste like a Payday candy bar. But I actually had walnuts and pecans and sesame seeds instead of the suggested peanuts and sunflower seeds. It’s the coconut oil and honey or syrup  and peanut butter method of letting it all set in the freezer that turned out so well for me. The author says her recipe tastes “ahh-mazing” and mine did, too.

                 

              Mama Geraldine’s

                      Cheese straws are a southern thing to me. Childhood memories of my mom’s fancy club tables set with spicy, crunchy morsels fill me. I ate more than my share of this “grown-up” appetizer and I loved Ms. Outlaw’s recipe that had a spicy kick.

                      Wisconsin cheese is in Mama Geraldine’s boxes of Aged Cheddar, Parmesan Herb, Pimento Cheese and Chipotle Cheddar, but the taste is all southern. “Snack on, Y’all” is the call of this Bodacious Food Co.  in Jasper, Georgia. If you know someone who used to make cheese straws, be assured these little crunches will taste like their saught-after batches.

                      “It’s how we entertain,” is what Mama Geraldine’s people say, and mean. Geraldine’s has boxes key lime, Italian wedding and cinnamon mini cookies, all decked in powdered sugar. Pecan Cini-Minis are billed thusly: “Simple Ingredients  Purely Bodacious!” Baked with pride in the mountains of North Georgia, these little cookies with Korintji cinnamon made an excellent breakfast with fruit and coffee. I’m proud to say I made sure to savor the nickel-sized treats by making each last for two bites. If I had to pick one, I confess I favor the key lime. Ya’ll snack, like Mama says.

              Sacred Sauce

                      Sacred Sauce creators want tasters of their sweet heat spark memories of their own “see the world” moments. Okay. My mouth-on-fire makes me think of a beach-side bowl of lime soup I savored on spring break in Mexico. It was the ‘80s. Well done.

                      Makers are all about travel and adventure and proceeds for Rainforest Trust and natural flavors such as Serrano chili, prickly pear cactus, garlic, tangerine juice, mango, blood orange and habanero. With #Visionsineverydrop, they’ve created a Sacred Salad Sauce, which confuses some diners. Not me. They just understand that some of us heat seekers want to spice up our salads, especially if they are fruit based. Be creative, like the loyal fans on www.sacred.site. You’ll be “naturally wild” for it. 

                            Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie socially distancing and still enjoying great company and flavors. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com