MY FAVORITE PEOPLE, MY FAVORITE RECIPES: Hannah Kaminsky

Hannah Kaminsky is:

1. Prolific, with five, count ‘em five, bestselling cookbooks including her newest, Real Food, Really Fast.
2. Persevering, with over a decade blogging at BitterSweet .
3. Talented, not just in recipe development and food photography, but in knitting, crocheting and crafting adorable things —activities requiring so much patience and precision, they just strike me as punishing.
4. Petite, professional and demure.

About item #4 — it’s true, but that’s not all of it. Hannah possesses hidden depths.  There’s a reason she named her blog BitterSweet.  Though sweet-natured, she harbors the occasional dark impulse. Take this recipe headnote from Real Food, Really Fast:  “Ever have such a frustrating day that you just feel as though you could just beat someone up?”

This part of Hannah does not come out much in her blog, but I like her for it.  I also like that she channels such dark impulses into positive energy. Rather whale on some unfortunate person, she crushes cukes.  It takes only minutes (and we mean less than 10), gives this mild, quenching vegetable incredible texture and is a safe and effective way to take out your aggression, too.  Hannah goes even further, adding za’atar, a soulful Middle Eastern spice blend of sesame, thyme and sumac.  Za’atar graces everything it touches, including this salad. It’s the ticket for summer.

Other things to like about Hannah:

1. the way she dotes on her new puppy, Luka.
2. Her recipes work. That scored points me with from the get-go.
3. Self-taught in the kitchen, Hannah is generous about sharing the kitchen hacks she’s discovered through experience. She puts the real in Real Food, Really Fast.

From Real Food, Really Fast
by Hannah Kaminsky, copyright 2018.  Used with permission by Skyhorse Publishing.

“Quick and easy” recipes are a dime a dozen, or perhaps a penny a dozen is more accurate at the current exchange rate, and yet our recipe files still come up empty when dinnertime rolls around.  Delve into those stacks of cookbooks and troll the Internet for something simple and you’ll be rewarded with an avalanche of options.  Why seek out even more?  Quite simply, it’s rare that these recipes live up to their lofty promises.  Flavor and nutrition suffer in the name of speed, yielding to the temptations of modern convenience foods pale in comparison to something a bit fresher.  Go the more wholesome route, and suddenly you’re tacking on 20 extra minutes of prep time the recipe author conveniently failed to mention.  Adding insult to injury, for every hundred formulas floating about in various formats, only one might have any culinary merit — and that’s being generous.  What could be worse than going through the work of cooking from scratch after an already exhausting day of work to sit down to a flavorless meal?

End the madness here and now.  These recipes are guaranteed to pull no punches, won’t leave a bad taste in your mouth, or force you to walk away hungry.  Fussy foods have no place on my plate:  I’d rather pour myself a bowl of cereal at night than go through any greater hassle to feed myself so I’d never ask more of anyone I care about.  Every option, from breakfast to dessert, has been put through the gantlet, torture tested to make sure the recipe can hold up to tight deadlines and even shorter tempers.  Ten minutes or less is the magic number.  With a few of the tips and tricks scattered throughout the book, you can handily whip up a feast in less time than it takes to put in a delivery order online.

Though this seemingly crazy, self-imposed time limit may be the inspiration, it’s far from the most important guiding factor to the collection of plant-based treats that await you.  Flavor always comes first.  If it doesn’t make your kitchen smell irresistible and your palate sing, it doesn’t make the cut, no questions asked. After all, food should do more than fill your stomach!  Cut the crappy ingredients, dump the same old standbys, and start dancing to a new culinary rhythm, no matter how busy the daily grind gets.

Za’atar Smashed Cucumbers

Ever have such a frustrating day that you feel as though you could just beat someone up? Before things get too violent, head into the kitchen to take that aggression on your food, instead of your coworkers! Roughly bashing cucumbers rather than merely slicing them actually serves a very flavorful purpose, rather than just being a satisfying way to blow off some steam. The uneven nooks and crannies created by forcing them to split open allows them to more readily absorb dressing, whereas smooth cuts yield slick surfaces that let it roll right off. This technique is typically seen in Asian cuisine, paired with hot spices to contrast with the cooling effect of chilled cucumbers, but I love going a more Mediterranean route and hitting an herbal, savory note with fresh za’atar instead. That said, consider this a template for any sort of seasoning blend you’d prefer, from Creole seasoning to yellow curry powder. I have yet to find anything in my spice rack that clashes with the humble cucurbit!

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Ingredients

  

• 1 pound Persian cucumbers
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme minced, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves minced or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground sumac
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Take a few cucumbers at a time and lay them on your cutting board. Place the blade of a wide knife (a butcher’s knife is especially well suited to the task) on top and use your palm to carefully whack at it, much as you would smash garlic into paste. Continue hitting until the cucumbers split their skins. If you’re worried about cutting yourself on the blade, you can use the bottom of a heavy pot or a rolling pin instead. Use your fingers to roughly tear the crushed cucumbers into bite-sized pieces, working through the pile until all the vegetables have received a proper beat-down.
• In a medium-sized dish, mix together all the remaining ingredients and add the cucumbers. Toss thoroughly to coat, and serve immediately.

Notes

Quick Tip: Reach into the pantry if you don’t want to stop and chop; use half the measurements of dried herbs as you would use fresh. Alternatively, put this recipe on warp speed by using about 2-3 tablespoons of a ready-made za’atar blend instead of the sesame seeds, thyme, oregano, and sumac

Thank you for reading my vegan stories and plant-based recipes. I sincerely love to connect with listeners and would like to hear your feedback, takeaways, “ah-ha!” moments, etc in the comments.

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