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