Cauliflower has gone from “steamed punishment” to being the “It” vegetable. I’m late to the party, but completely on board.

I join millions of kids and some previously uninformed adults in a crunchy, textured THANK YOU to Lindsay Grimes Freedman. She takes cauliflower from happy hour to deserts in a cute little book where in image of this ever-appealing vegetable is raised and bumpy to the touch with a pink background. This publication, “Cauliflower Power: 75 Feel-Good, Gluten-Free Recipes Made With the World’s Most Versatile Vegetable” puts you in the mind of bunnies and unicorns and pajamas with feet. Never has this veg been so approachable.

Freedman puts cauliflower in strawberry ice cream, everything bagels, serves them with kale pesto and coffee cake and bacon-like bits and…. I’m crazy for it . Who makes Tropical Kale and Cauliflower Popsicles? This Lady. To my big thank you, I think I hear her whispering, “You’re welcome.” 

                  Harvest Snaps

                             Say the kids are in the back seat and want a snack. Green Snack Crisps anyone? The world has changed, snack wise anyway. Harvest Snaps has new stuff and new looks for other stuff, all crunchy and flavorful. Farm direct baked peas are going into crunches flavored as sharp and creamy white cheddar. Black Bean Snack Crisps come in a smoky and spicy southern style barbecue. I’m all about that spice. Red Lentil Snack Crisps go tangy and zesty tomato basil.

                             Salad Toppers crisps are calling to me with chipotle and garlic butter flavors. Imagine that topping an on-the-go bowl of eating the rainbow. Crunch, baby.

                 

Luckybars           

What has more protein than two large eggs and cute little Paw Patrol pups on the label? It’s Luckbars, one of those all the good stuff and not the rotten stuff “crunchy moms” avoid. The deal is, they’re very much like the adult version, only little for little hands and sweeter tasting (though called low in sugar) and more like the “kid stuff” they’re used to. I sampled flavors such as Pirate Peanut Butter Chocolate and Strawberry Sandcastle. These are protein bars that won’t get sent back in the lunch box.

                  Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who – as an adult – loves cauliflower. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

January is soup month, but pasta could be your 2020 thing

                             Soup’s not really my thing.

                             Don’t hate.

                             Maybe the word soup conjures leftover vegetables I didn’t like in a too-thin red liquid with little flavor beyond salt.

                             I know. I know. Soup is also potato and cheese, French onion, thick chowder and, in some circles, our beloved Cajun gumbo. Those are all different stories. If the soup is like that, count me in.

                             Bone broth and vegetable broth are trendy again and help develop your flavor. Every culture has a soup. Too often American soup is uninspired vegetable or chicken noodle from a can. If we’re branching out, I’m in.

                             January is National Soup Month. I’m headed to the kitchen for egg drop.

                            

                             Pasta night could be your 2020 thing

                             If you don’t already have a weekly pasta night, start it up  2020. You’ll want to both cook and eat one of everything in this new book. Locally-sourced ingredients help Nikkki Marie “elevate” the way we think of pasta. Nothing at all wrong with red sauce, white sauce and olive oil toppings, but it’s easy to create a low-cost version of some pasta dish that would have people standing in line and spending whole paychecks at a restaurant. Are you ready for this? “Simple, Elegant Pasta Dinners” offers 75 dishes with “inspired” sauces.

                             Toasted pasta with fried egg is easy for real. Lentils absorb flavor of garlic and wine and ending it all with a serving of rigatoni with dark cocoa and red wine short rib ragu is within your reach. Tip: Save that pasta water to finish a sauce or reconstitute pasta that has been left out too long.

                             This might sound like crazy talk to some, but stick with her. Photo spreads with convince you. Recipes are arranged seasonally for freshest ingredients.

                             Your first Pumpkin Update of 2020 I’m getting from this book: Fresh Pumpkin Pappardelle with Browned Rosemary Butter sounds “different” but great (based on my own holiday experiment with a 25 cent post-Thanksgiving pumpkin and some chipotle cream sauce that came into my possession).

                             Some other ingredients you may have overlooked with thinking of a simple and elegant pasta dish? Nikki Marie gives you license to play with:

                  * roasted red grapes

                  * purple cabbage

                  * apples

                  * caramelized blood oranges

                  * parsnips

                  * salami

                  * fave beans

                  * peas and mint

                  * strawberries, blackberries and plums

                             Let’s go pasta with Marie, who is creator of the food blog Chasing the Seasons.

                  Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready for a bowl of soup, gumbo, pasta, ice cream…. Keep it coming. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Christmas/Advent/Winter Solstice Omelet celebration

You’ve got to love the mystique of a man skilled at tossing up an omelet to feed/impress all his friends. It’s such a ‘70s thing that entwines company, nutrition, showmanship and the appreciation of a simple egg. I’ll bet James Bond can whisk up a good one.

                Of course, a good pan must be involved, as well as the freshest ingredients. Wine helps.

                All this came together in front of my eyes when musician Paul Thomas brought not his guitar, but a cast iron skillet into my presence and cooked for friends. It was an Advent/Christmas/Solstice affair that made lemonade of lemons.

                I’d originally been invited to a vegetarian gathering that night and had already made “puppy chow” from seed butter (chia, flax, pumpkin, hemp and sunflower from Beyond Equator) for that event, but the host had to cancel. So what to do on that dark December Saturday when I was feeling so festive?

                A man we’ve know for years had been talking about his large-production omelets and how he should make one for us. Then he went vegetarian and I wonder if he still worked with eggs. He’d said he would make one,  but was engaged that night. That’s when Mr. Thomas said that he made a pretty good omelet and agreed to come round and do this thing, with additional guests.

                What an adventure. I asked him to text me the needed ingredients so I’d have them at his disposal and the list began with 2 dozen brown, cage-free eggs. There were tomatoes, black olives, fresh parsley and spinach, shredded cheese, mushrooms, red and green onions, etc. And of course, olive oil.

                Even bigger treat: my husband went shopping for it all. Here I’ll note that my husband, Chris, is a fantastic omelet maker in his own right, though he typically makes small batches. We went for more than a  year’s stretch dining on his omelets every Friday evening.

                So back to Saturday morning. I got a text asking what sort of stove our celebrity chef be using. I wasn’t even sure how to answer. Oh, I thought, the answer is “electric.”

                His next query: Coil or glass top?

                Glass top.

                When the time came, he’d also brought avocado oil to heat in his skillet while we prepped the ingredients.

                His one big tip: Keep it colorful.

                Paul’ giant red and green creation sliced smoothly into tall triangles and impressed as expected.

                I’d like to thank all the men I know who are proud to work with eggs. May many more opportunities for them to crack open their hearts and scramble up some joy be in their 2020.

                And guess what? I just visited with a family I know who loves their house chicken named Nugget. Nugget just learned how to lay eggs…..

                Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who appreciates a good omelet and wishes you “a dozen” great holiday wishes. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Is your cabbage still lucky?

           

Take That Chicken and Throw it on Top of a Beer. It’s a recipe title that says it all.

                             All About that Bisque, Dutch Oven Bread and Deep Fried Bread Pudding are more temptations from “Low & Slow Cooking: 60 Hands-Off Recipes That are Worth the Wait.” Robyn Almodovar, winner of  “Chopped” and “Cutthroat Kitchen,” used to help Grandma with meatballs and Sunday Gravy, which I’m happy to report is a tomato-based richness included in the book.

                             This author has a sense of humor and a sense of what tastes amazing. Pork Belly is a big thing in this book. It’s like bacon at its core and it is actually versatile.

                             Slow down and appreciate these “early” evenings as a time to reflect before the season changes.

                 

                             Cabbage still lucky?

                             Did you buy up a bunch of  lucky New Year’s cabbage that’s still green in the fridge? If you are all “slawed” out with your regular recipe, give it a twist with ingredients like these:

                  * Soy sauce for an Asian flavor

                  * Cranberry sauce mixed with a little mayonnaise for zing

                  * Pecans, toasted. If you’ve purchased a bunch of pecans, or any nuts, to support a local fundraiser, crunch up you slaw.

                             And once you have your new slaw, consider trying it like you have always been meaning to. People put that on sandwiches or tacos. A big bowl can make an attractive main dish with some protein adorning the top.

                             Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie willing to tone down from holiday indulgences without sacrificing flavor. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Squash is the new spaghetti

                  I’ve dealt with spaghetti squash 4 times in my life, and I’m so glad the first time it was presented to me ready-to-dine, or else I might have given up.

                             The take-away is that this is that the texture and adaptability of this big, yellow thing is quite good and somewhat of a conversation piece. Perhaps I’ll never convince you it would sub for grandmother’s homemade fettuccini, and it should not. But on a typical weekend, I can enjoy a much larger serving of this delicious squash than I can of a pure pasta.

                             This fall I got one on special and the clerk was curious about it. I quickly told her my experience: The skin is tough so you must decide if you want to struggle to cut it first and easily scoop out the seeds or bake first for an easy cut then work harder to get the seeds untangled from glorious strands of golden squash.

                             It’s remarkable what that vegetable is hiding in there.

                             I just learned to cut it into circles to get longer threads. Just shred them out with a fork. Now you have this plate of strands and you can do anything with it.

                  I tend toward white cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, but my husband requested a red sauce and I was easily sold. Because you can get several servings from one of these giants. I enjoyed spaghetti squash in several flavors over the holidays.

                             Don’t fear the squash. Just dress it up with Italian flair, or even make it cinnamon sweet.

                             So you forgot to thaw?

                            Lobster rolls on sweet potatoes and a recipe called Barbacoa for Days drew me to “No-Thaw Paleo Cooking in Your Instant Pot.”  I’m not on that diet and I don’t have a pot like that. But I couldn’t resist chapters with titles like Fins and Shells and Slurping Noodles.

                             The “modern” part of this appliance-based book is that it features many cultures with photos of finger-licking Cajun shrimp and adult sloppy Joes with a kick. Many Asian dishes look restaurant-quality. If you compare these offerings with a “vintage” cookbook, I’m tickled by the promise of simplicity in the names, such as “Dump and Forget Chicken Cacciatore” and Easy Peasy Coq au Vin.”

                            Dr. Karen S. Lee, a retired holistic practitioner, is the author who was a busy mom who still wanted to create healthy menus for her family. “Forgetting” to thaw the meat is still an issue for home cooks. Time is precious and we now are more willing to be culinary thrill seekers at home. Doesn’t chicken potpie soup sound fun?

                             I love this book and can still create these flavors with out that famous pot, but that’s not to say a pot isn’t in my future. Read this book to find out how she makes her turkey curry chili “nightshade free.”

                 

                             “Hunt” down some Hi Mountain

                             Sporting people who enjoy the bounty of Southeast Texas in regards to catching their own dinner are in tune to Hi Mountain Seasonings, bringing “Authentic Wyoming” to the table.

                             Jerky kit? They’re on it.

                             Need brine? What flavors?

                             So far, my most favorite quickie transformer is the blue cheese dressing and dip mix. The directions are easy enough, but I just like keeping the powder handy to sprinkle into salads, eggs, etc. It dissolves into whatever you’re working with to create a great tang.

                             But hey, some people like following directions. Easy enough. Creamy Chipotle Dip mix requires you blend the product with sour cream, water  and cream cheese and refrigerate for an hour. Can you do that? Thought so. Let the party begin. Oil and vinegar with a bag of Sweet Honey Marinade is all you need to make beef, wild game, fish, chicken or vegetables the talk of Sunday dinner. 

                             Get outdoors (or to the market) and bring home your base. Go to www.himtnjerky.com to make your find your meal. Hunters gotta love that you can shop by categories such as beef and venison and poultry and game birds. Don’t worry Port Arthur, seafood is a category, too.

                 

                  Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie ready for a 2020 full of Culinary Thrill Seeking. Tell her what’s new at darraghcastillo@Icloud.com