Matcha made in heaven, a reason to be bitter and books to get you thinking

Matcha Gelatin The two long forgotten packets of Knox Gelatin from my mom’s pantry beckoned me. Opening the fridge door to have the light shine on cool blocks of refreshment sounded like an afternoon delight. I didn’t have fruit or juice as suggested on the package, then my eye scanned a blue bottle of matcha green tea powder and it was Culinary Thrill Seeking time. I did the one cup hot, one cup cold deal with some powdered tea and honey mixed in. When I set it to chill, Runamok Maple’s Strawberry Rose Infused organic syrup looked to make the perfect “topping.” A drizzle over the formed gelatin presented itself like a very fancy, and pricy, bistro dessert for a few cents a serving. What a “cool” idea. More running amok: Go ahead and be bitter What if you saved a step making a simple syrup and maple came to save the day. Runamok must have a huge Vermont fan base with beautifully packaged and creatively named spread of syrups. It’s not as cold here in Texas, and we gravitate toward frozen ‘ritas. Yet we don’t mind sitting by a fire with friends with a “hint of smokiness.” Try it in a whiskey with the flavor of real orange essence. That’s the Maple Old Fashioned, one of several in their line of cocktail syrups. This bottle will help you elevate both your beverage and your creativity. Our gin friend will love experimenting with the “aroma of citrus atop an elixir of complex aromatics and a subtle maple base.” That’s from adding a dash of Orange Maple from the bitters collection. It’s a “fine addition to vodka and gin, but a particularly good friend to bourbon. The sweetness has a burst of several flavors that will make you ask for the bottle to peruse or ask your host to elaborate. Dried lemon and orange peel, dried juniper berries and angelica root flavor these bitters. Again, www.runamokmaple.com will show you the whole, enticing line. “Whole Person Integrative Eating” You may be consuming “foodish” substances instead of the fresh, real food your body deserves. Ditch the preservatives, slow down and enjoy, authors Deborah Kesten, M.P.H. and Larry Scherwitz, Ph.D., write in this book, offering “A Breakthrough Dietary Lifestyle to Treat the Root Causes of Overeating, Overweight and Obesity.” Easy to read and easy to follow advices includes the “raisin meditation,” where you pause to think the feel and flavor of your food and also appreciate how it got to you. What’s your best meal memory? Probably not a cold bite over the sink or a burger while stuck in traffic. The WPIE method asks us to enjoy food with family, collect relatives’ recipes, experiment with cultural traditions and even include your pets in dining time. Some of us don’t even know how to eat real food so recipes for wild spinach omelet, Thai basil rice, and fig fruit salad can help in a journey that should change us for the better. “Naked Grace” Lucas Kitchen is funny guy, and regrets he found that nekkid lady photo in the mystic woods behind his house. Humor, sincerity and conviction accent this book, subtitled “A Quest for Clarity in a World of Confusion.” Kitchen still looks young, but this story starts when he was a kid in East Texas and wanting to be strong about his religion. It’s a good Easter season read. He takes the question “What do I have to do to be saved?” and sets on a life’s journey to get it answered. If you’ve been involved in teen ministry and music, you’ll be familiar with some of his emotions. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who wakes up ready for more Culinary Thrill Seeking. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Oysters get the Port Arthur treatment Everybody associates Port Arthur with seafood. As the Texas Outdoor Writers Association planned a February conference in Port Arthur, Vizi Caldwell styled a Port Arthur Oyster/Bacon Portabella Stew to set the mood. Knowing Cajuns live here, her “Port A” seasonings included red pepper, paprika and a dash of Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce. Area outdoors writer Chester Moore earned many accolades at the Excellence in Craft writing awards at Museum of the Gulf Coast. Visitors enjoyed Museum exhibits and artist/writer Sam Caldwell, Vizi’s husband, called the experience a “stunning treat.” The Portabella stew recipe ran in a Coastal Conservation of America newsletter and is reprinted here by Caldwell permission: Port Arthur Oyster/Bacon Portabella Stew Ingredients: 1.5 pint fresh, raw oysters, undrained 4 slices bacon, cooked & chopped 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted 8 ounces portabella mushrooms, sliced One half red bell pepper, diced 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 1 teaspoon fresh dill One fourth cup celery with tops, chopped 1 and one half tablespoon parsley, chopped 1 small red onion, chopped 1 and one half quart half and half Port A Seasoning to taste: Suggestion: Salt, pepper, cumin, crushed red pepper, paprika, dash of Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce Preparation: Get your oysters ready— reserve liquor, rinse oysters gently. Fry your bacon crispy, remove bacon and saute onions and celery in rendered bacon fat and butter until translucent. Remove from pot. Saute mushrooms with thyme until golden brown. Add half and half to the pot with reserved oyster liquor. Simmer a moment, then add all the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for an additional 5-7 minutes until oyster ends begin to curl. Ladle stew in bowls and garnish with chopped green onion. Serve with oyster crackers, or crisped flour tortillas. Who ordered pizza? Don’t fret if you missed National Pizza Day in February. There’s a National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies Day) coming up on Nov. 12 this year. My husband has famously said he could eat pizza every day for a month and I challenged him by making variations for a couple of weeks straight. He never wavered. There are soooo many variations, and you may as well dress the part for them: Bring Me Some Pizza Socks For the price of a slice or two, these non-slip comfort babies have a message for friends and family. Prop up your feet and the non-slip ink announces: “If You Can Read This, Bring Me Some Pizza.” A saucy pizza design goes up the legs of these Lavley socks are designed years of wear and slovenly days to remain bright, soft and well fitting. Husband won’t take them off. Little GF Chefs The one time my husband helped me make pizza, it was from this kit designed for little kids. Little, fun, adventurous cooks I might say. Bonus: Ingredients made this very tasty pizza safe for those with diet restrictions like Celiac or other allergies without sacrificing “savory pizza-liciousness flavors.”Little GF Chefs is a subscription with all sorts of ways and cultures to go. The pizza came with wee spice packets a cool rolling cutter and a checkered table cover. We felt like a couple of kids having fun with this box goodies. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie always looking for culinary adventures. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com.

Lenty things Does Lent make you want to pop open a can? Of fish? Safe Catch’s Wild Mackerel is a North Atlantic catch in olive oil that makes me feel healthy with just a nibble. A pristine white can’s tab pulls back to reveal a neat little steak soaking in very delicious oil that I consider a treat. Even if the spring/Lenten season calls for fasting, you can still have very healthy and very good food. Safe Catch is very into fishing our waters in the right way. Read on:

Safe Catch Do wild sardines sound wild to you? Who made them so fancy? Would you think of opening a little can of fish as your birthday meal? Care and consciousness has elevated the noble tuna fish to gourmet status, even when it comes in a little round can. Learn how Safe Catch tests every tuna and salmon for mercury at safecatch.com.You can also sort for recipes based on gluten-free, keto and other diets and those friendly to pregnancy and kids. Bone up on their precautions and you’ll feel good about eating these products. Wild Pacific Pink Salmon looked so fetching in a pink/salmon toned can that I based my birthday meal around this luxuriant fish. Seafood always says celebration to my family and these are easy staples to stock. The company promoted salmon poppers with cranberry for the holidays and this fish, the official salmon of the American Pregnancy Association, could be my official seafood stock up of the Culinary Thrill Seeking pantry. Also, I’m upcycling the cute little can for succulent plantings. Spicy Spin Do you know your harissa? I knew enough to know I love it, but a new offering explains the spice. Mighty Sesame Harissa Tahini squeezes right out of a bottle to elevate your eggs, tortillas, meats and vegetables. So handy and so flavorful at any time of the day. Mighty Sesame Co. calls it the first-ever harissa flavored tahini. (Epicurious anointed original Mighty Sesame Tahini The Best Tahini You Can Buy). Look for this paste of roasted hot red peppers with other spices and herbs on Israeli, Moroccan, and Tunisian tables. The chili paste is often combined with garlic, olive oil, cumin, coriander, caraway and the combinations are as varied as grandmas’ gumbos around these parts. Gluten-free glee Are you ever tempted by the foods your gluten-free friends are enjoying? One of mine noted it is not a “choice” for her, though she’s managed to find products to adapt to her already-fabulous cooking style. I continue to point my finds to her. Absolutely! Gluten-Free offers new blueberry and key lime flavors in their line of grain free coconut chews that I’m savoring in real time. I’m enjoying as I write this very sentence. It’s moist and flavorful and they transport me to Florida for a breezy taste of Key Lime. Also to wherever blueberries are their best. These little individually-wrapped goodies are billed as real, wholesome and delicious and are also vegan, with no eggs and dairy. www.absolutelyGF.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie working to live simply and love large this Lenten season. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Drive Through for Seafarers

Drive-through for Seafarers The first time I heard of Mexican Street Corn in a cup, I was intrigued. But I never imagined it would rise to cocktail fare status. Carly Andrews Oubre did her chef magic with this dish in the name of good works. Sabine Pilots hosted the Port Arthur International Seafarers’ Center Drive Through Cocktail Party this past week at the Pilots’ new home on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard. But guests got mainly an outside glance as they drove past hospitality tents. The food came in a sweet little box and the libations where in wee bottles designed to take home. This socially distanced affair benefitted seafarer programs and got some of Oubre’s cooking to appreciative supporters. Her menu included Apple Pie Oat Truffles; Mini Croissant with Smoked Salmon, Dill Cream Cheese, Capers & Red Onions; Bacon, Jalapeno & Cheese Quiche: and French Onion Stuffed Mushrooms. Lemonette Gourmet Lemon Dressing I was too young in the ‘70s to arrange a trendy brunch, I sure recall the few “grownup” experiences I enjoyed at fern-adorned establishments in Houston. Remember crepes were a thing? Now Lemonette takes me back in style and flavor with a line of lemon-based salad dressings and marinades such as Zesty Cumin. I’ve tried Lemon Garlic and Mediterranean Herb over fresh vegetables and every bite is just… special. The California product is Non GMO and vegan so it’s great on grains, but also good on poultry and fish. I say these kids today get fancy fare more readily than I had back then, so hey, the modern crowd should take to Lemonette with equal gusto. It doesn’t taste better just because it has the word “gourmet” in it. It’s just got better, flavorful and natural ingredients. Jar Goods This one is all about the tomato. The Jar Goods creator knows you’re busy and her father-in-law has a great sauce. Melissa Vitelli and her sister-in-law became “inner-aisle disruptors” by producing Jar Goods. It’s simply good, beginning with Classic Red. We went to Classic Spicy first and worked our way through Classic Vodka and Vegan Vodka-Style, too. WE sure get the makers’ concept that it’s smart to have something good on hand in the pantry and there’s zero-guilt in using someone else’s sauce to feed your family. Also, they make the point of wondering why people tend to use jarred pasta sauce for pasta only? There are dozens of easy meal ideas when you have Jar Goods this good. www.jargoods.com

Get to the Hi Mountain for party to field dressing flavors

Hi Mountain’s for home cooks/field dressers Riverton, Wyoming is a far piece from the Gulf Coast of Texas. While I’m surveying the pantry for the never-ending hurricane/rare snow/whatever’s next season, I’m grateful for some shelf-stable dip mixes on the shelf. Hi Mountain Seasonings caters to the briners, smokers and field dressers who go for beef, venison and fish. A lightweight like me can go to town with Cucumber Dip Mix and Sun Dried Tomato Dip Mix. These powders mix into cream cheese and sour cream, but I’ve found that a sprinkle into Greek yogurt gets you flavor with fewer calories. Don’t be afraid to blend up the richer version for celebrations. Ready for that? I especially enjoyed the cucumber taste so late into the season and dipped with colorful bell pepper slices. Buffalo Wings Burger Seasoning – I worked at Bennigan’s in the ‘80s when this area got a buffalo wings introduction. Now the flavor is known to all and Hi Mountain’s blend lets you shake it on any sort of meat, so some flank steak got the treatment. I’m dreaming of tinting a giant, steaming baked potato with Greek yogurt and a shake of the orange seasoning. Satisfying for cooler weather meals, this can also go onto the cauliflower version popular for air frying. * Half my last turkey got Emeril’s seasoning found in my late mom’s stash. Hi Mountain Garlic Pepper Rub got patted onto the other side with great results. This is the kind of spice you may walk by in your pantry and just open the bottle to get a rich whiff. When I told friends about my Garlic Pepper turkey, one said she hoped I had enough left to try this spice on potatoes. A big old “yes” to that idea. Note to Southeast Texas has anglers and hunters enjoying the bounty of Sabine Lake, The Big Thicket and other points of our great outdoor: If you’re the kind to make your own sausages, visit www.himtnjerky.com for ideas on how to care for your catch.

Coffee in bourbon, woke style Coffee with a cause is kind of a new thing. Coffee with flavor has always been a thing. Serve yourself up some of these blends to make mornings meaningful: Don Pablo Coffee Growers & Roasters began as a love story. Darron and Eliana fell in love and traveled around Columbia and Latin America to learn the trade. How romantic. And that’s just from the single-serving cup version of Bourbon-Infused Coffee. Wait until you see the old barrel-style packaging on the whole beans. You’ll be grinding that aroma all over your house. My first cup did, as promised, knock my socks off. This is presented as an after-dinner, special occasion flavor. Don’t be afraid to wake up to it. www.donpablocoffee.com Caribbrew is Haitian direct trade coffee and hot chocolate and even coffee scrub. Aside from fulfilling aroma and flavor, it’s hard to pick my favorite thing about these products, but I’ll begin with colorful artwork on the bags, from a woman brewing a rustic coffee outside her yellow home to a couple gazing out on the fertile mountains of their homeland. See for yourself at caribbrew.com and find out why their whole beans are not shiny. It’s so much fun to read about your product. The Arabica coffees are intense and the drinking hot chocolate is a thick powder that makes a memorable sweet tonic for these winter months. What comfort. If you love to smell coffee, consider taking it to another room with coconut rum moisturizing body butter and coffee scrub. You can get “coffeed up” inside and outside. What is no-mess scrub? You’ve got to feel it to experience it. When these coffees are over (booo!), I’ll console myself over their loss by making something crafty from the bags, until more arrive. www.carribrew.com. This one is def coffee for a cause.

The Sweet Life

Ever hear someone declare to be a sweet or a salty person? Wonder how they’ve taken to the salted caramel trend. Hopefully Culinary Thrill Seekers are still reveling in improved health from recent New Year resolutions, but you’ve got to get some sweet stuff now and then. Try these options:

Sweet Chaos Movie theatre butter popcorn was once the epitome of aromatic heaven and it’s still a classic crave. At what year in American history do you think jalapeno blue cheese popcorn stopped sounding “out there” and became a must have? Sweet Chaos offers both of those to suit your mood and I’m a very huge fan. This is not to snub honey chipotle, sea salt or the other sweet kettle guys. No way. I’m giving love to all these flavors, some of which got me through the first area hurricane of 2020. These flavors have come with me into 2021 with benefits of non-GMO kernels popped in coconut oil for a memorable snack that is “delightfully disruptive.” Pop over to www.sweetchaos.com to rank your choices. Hungry Buddha Nutrient- and flavor-dense, Hungry Buddha is “Keto Done Clean” as a trade-marked thing. Espresso Brownie and Triple Chocolate really tastes gooey and good is “enlightening.” I had to go there. Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cocoa are also little bars of plant-based healthy fats that can go everywhere you are. Long, distanced lines? You have Hungry Buddha to look forward to. Sunflower seed butter and coconut oil contributes to 11 grams of healthy fats for a lasting boost of energy. They’re also dessert-worthy. There are other fun lifestyle examples and products at www.buddhabrands.page.link/barsUSA This Saves Lives Hey honey? Would you like a Madagascar Vanilla Almond & Honey bar? It saves lives… This Saves Lives is actually a line of healthy – and very good – snack bars and crispy treats flavored for adults and packaged for kids as well. Each purchase helps gets food to hungry people and you’ll feel good about what you are serving to your family. Talk about diverse. There are 10 classic snack bar flavors alone including Dark Chocolate Caramel (a personal fave), Almond Mocha and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt. I love the kid stuff with fun characters and flavors with a full serving of fruits and veggies. Now here’s another fun fact. Actress Kristen Bell is a cofounder, along with Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel. Let’s go snack and know you are helping promote RUTF (ready-to-use therapeutic food). We eat together with these purchases. www.thissaveslives.com Rancho La Gloria Rancho La Gloria hotel in Tijuana is still giving us the Margarita. What began in 1938 is still popular and is now extremely convenient. Experience 100 percent Blue Weber Agave in every little plastic bottle of Rancho LaGloria ready-to-drink margarita in original (as we are most used to it), peach or strawberry. Real lime juice keeps it bright. On the rocks or blended, this is the pick-me-up many of us are seeking as the weather warms for the season. This offering keeps Margarita both classic and evolving. Easy and delicious and just right for social distancing. www.ranchogloria.com Take Five Are you a full spectrum chocolate lover? Five is named for the commitment to offer a 5:1 ratio of CBD to minor hemp compounds. Made in the U.S.A., this line offers a range of products in bottles and gummies and some delicious Original Milk Chocolate Squares and Sea Salt Dark Chocolate. As if adults don’t already lock up their favorite goodies from little ones, this alluring pouch of squares is designed to keep away from minors. I think even the individual serving is intentionally challenging to open. It’s worth the wait. This full-spectrum CBD chocolate square is scored into four smaller squares so you can pace yourself and maybe save some for later. Read up on this product. I can say I love the flavor the first time I tried it. Another evening I finally sat down to a hot tea, movie and a square and 30 minutes later I was nudged awake. I’d relaxed that much. “We do it differently and you’re going to feel the difference,” is the message on their website at www.fivecbd.com Killer Creamery When did ice cream get so funny? Now we can “shop guilt-free pints of keto ice cream” in flavors of Peanut Blubber, which was my family’s pick of a sampling weekend. We tried fun flavors in very creative titles such as Jam Session, a raspberry flavor with dark chocolate chips. Other creative monikers: Chilla in Vanilla; Caramel Back, Salted Caramel flavor; Lemon Squeeze, lemon poppyseed flavor; and Got Buns, cinnamon bun flavor with dough pieces. Can you eat all you want? Never. But you can dish a smaller portion of guilt when you want some cool rewards. The folks at www.killercreamery.com can tell you all about the keto part. Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie living the sweet life. Reach her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Get set phoTet with cultural flavors

Dried baby sardines make Taiwanese bar snacks and ramen stacks make burger buns. If you like a little rap with your marbled eggs, Canadian Trevor Lui will set you up. He’s so fusion his Chinese history has gotten Nashville hot. “The Double Happiness Cookbook offers “88 Feel-Good Recipes and Food Stories” that can help flavor your lunar new year season. Stories and flavors sound so good you’ll want to hang out with this tattooed globe trotter who seems to have a different sassy T-shirt for every global market he shops. I’m so endeared to his “food saved my life” concepts that I’ll forgive him the one think in this book I could pass on: NOLA-Style Vegan Gumbo. In Texas, we’re too close to NOLA. It’s too soon, Mr. Lui. But I still want to hang with you.

TET Time Friday, Feb. 12 is the new year with Port Arthur’s Vietnamese shops prepping for the year of the ox/buffalo, said to bring prosperity and wellness. Bring it. Here are some other flavors the spark your senses: Noods A couple of self-proclaimed dorks and their friends are inviting you to shop their noods at viteramen.com They’re a mix of chefs, gamers and fun folk who think paying a fare wage and producing good ramen noodles is a good thing, because sometimes “everything you eat can have everything you need.” The future of food is nutritionally complete, says their entertaining site offering mixtures such as Vegan White Miso and Garlic Pork Tonkotsu. This means quick noodles in a packet that takes just as long as those famously cheap and highly processed versions. But these taste fresh and do have some essential vitamins, minerals and protein without artificial preservatives or frying. In a few minutes you can be slurping your noodles, just as these dorks invite you to. A friend of mine cooked some up and his guest proclaimed, “It’s like eating health.” Ricante Everything Sauce Is noting three times over the course of a meal now good the pineapple sauce is normal? For me, yes, but my husband also could not stop saying it. Ricante’s new line of Everything Sauce got him going in the Tropical Pineapple Habanero-Infused version. The thick sauce from a bottle dressed up some leftover turkey like you wouldn’t believe. It's actually from Costa Rica but the sweet and spicy of it all fits in with this Culinary Thrill Seeking theme. In addition to the flavor, I loved the yellow colors with colorful red and green specs that celebrate Costa Rican paradise. New flavor profiles let you “come to the rescue in a variety of culinary situations.” Yes! Tropical Guanabana ChimiChurri will likely be my favorite. I feel like I’m on the beach. Everything means dipping, marinating, salad dressing, reducing, etc. How freeing that word can be. I’m using the “approachable spice” and it does leave you wanting more. While New Year’s cabbage was priced right, I used the Mango Cocoa version in a slaw. Tamarindo went on eggs. Guanabana Chimi Churri went on “everything” like the makers suggest. Look for ricante.com products at Whole Foods. They are Keto-friendy and Whole30 approved. It’s like Tex-Joy with the local steak seasoning. We do use it on “everything.” Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves to experience other cultures. Tell her about yours at darraghcastillo@icloud.com