[1] Beet tartare with walnuts. The recipe is below (photo © Carlos Garcia | styling by Peg Blackley and Bree Williams).

[2] Two types of tuna poke dressed with coconut aminos (photo © Better Body Foods).

[3] Walnuts and baby bella mushrooms (photo © California Walnuts).

[4] If you’re sautèing vegetables, meat or fish, splash some coconut aminos into the butter or oil (photo © Noble Made | The New Primal).

When we first read the words “coconut aminos,” we thought it was about the amino acids in coconuts.

Well, it is. Coconuts laden with and amino acids are how the product got its name. But it’s not a health product per se; coconut aminos is a liquid sauce condiment.
 
 
WHAT ARE COCONUT AMINOS

We looked it up and discovered that coconut aminos is a salty, savory seasoning sauce made from the fermented sap of the coconut palm, plus a bit of sea salt.

The name comes from the 17 amino acids (plus potassium, vitamins B and C) in the coconut palm sap.

The product has become prominent recently thanks to the desire by many to reduce the sodium in salt and soy sauce and tamari, for those with soy sensitivities.

Coconut aminos have a milder, sweeter flavor than light soy sauce, with a similar in color and consistency.

And it has zero coconut taste.

In addition to the plain variety, you can also find flavored versions in garlic, teriyaki and wasabi.
 
 
THE BENEFITS OF COCONUT AMINOS

 
 
THE SODIUM COUNT

Coconut Aminos have up to 73% less sodium than traditional soy sauce.

 
 
COOKING WITH COCONUT AMINOS

Coconut aminos is a delicious seasoning that you can use exactly like soy sauce:.

This impressive-but-easy recipe is from Chef Stephen Toevs, Director of Culinary Development, Luxury Brands, Marriott International.

In developing this dish (photo #1), Chef Toevs wanted to give the beets a balance of sweet, salty and umami flavors that are found in steak tartare.

His “secret ingredient” for umami flavor: coconut aminos.

The condiment gives umami flavor to the nuts while keeping them relatively crunchy. The nuts deliver omega 3s fatty acid, too.

Chef Toevs serves the tartare with grilled slices of baguette, a jammy egg (see photo #1), and gherkins.

You can serve this dish as an impressive first course, or as a light vegetarian main dish with a side salad.

Although the recipe looks complicated because of the number of ingredients, they’re mostly condiments and seasonings you already have. Just look at the preparation directions to see how easy it is.

Prep time is 20 minutes; total time is 10 hours, 35 minutes. The serving size is 1/3 cup tartare, 1 egg, 4 baguette slices and 3 gherkins.

Ingredients For 8 Servings

For The Garnishes

 
For The Tartare

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the walnuts in a medium bowl and cover with water. Stir in 1 tablespoon coconut aminos; cover and let stand overnight. Drain well.

2. HEAT the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes to soften.

3. TRANSFER to a food processor with the walnuts, beets, parsley, shallots, mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise. Pulse to finely chop; then season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. BRING a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop in the eggs and cook for exactly 6 minutes. Remove and chill, then carefully peel the eggs and cut in half.

5. LIGHTLY BRUSH the baguette slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.

6. SERVE: Pack about 1/2 cup tartare on each plate. Add 4 baguette slices, 2 egg halves and 3 gherkins.

________________

*To make a stir-fry sauce, just mix the coconut aminos with ginger, garlic, and cornstarch or arrowroot to thicken.

†Make a 3:1 vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon, vinegar (split the :1 measure in two), and a splash of coconut aminos.

How do you make big, fluffy marshmallow even better? Stuff them with soft milk chocolate.

August 30th is National Marshmallow Day, but don’t wait until then to try Stuffed Puffs.

S’mores around the campfire is a yummy tradition: a stick, a fire, a toasted marshmallow, a square of chocolate and two graham crackers turn into a delicious chocolate marshmallow sandwich (photo #2).

(No campfire? A grill, a gas stove, a even a candle will work to heat the marshmallow. Or, make the entire cookie sandwich in a toaster oven or microwave (unlike a conventional marshmallow, Stuffed Puffs don’t explode in the microwave).

While there have been numerous creative uses of S’mores (see our recipe list), as well as flavored marshmallows and chocolate-covered marshmallows, last year a true innovation debuted: Stuffed Puffs.

All you need are graham crackers, a Stuffed Puff, and a heat source to make a gooey, chocolaty cookie sandwich.

Stuffed Puffs were a game changer. They solved the problem that marshmallows often do not get hot enough to really melt the chocolate.

With soft chocolate inside the marshmallow, Stuffed Puffs has ingeniously solved the problem: The chocolate melts while the marshmallow toasts. It’s fail-safe.

Whether for roasting, baking, melting in hot chocolate, or snacking from the bag, the vanilla marshmallows filled with milk chocolate were an instant hit.

A larger plant was needed; and even then, sales grew so quickly that thoughts turned to an even larger plant!

While it may seem like a simple idea, it’s very hard to execute Stuffed Puffs. Mike Tierney, the creator, made his first sample by hand in 2012, but didn’t launch Stuffed Puffs into the market place until 2019.

Oh: Necessity is the mother of invention.

Tierney came up with the idea while sitting around the campfire making S’mores. He was 18 years old.
 
 
NEW CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE STUFFED PUFFS

Now, a line extension adds more excitement: chocolate marshmallows with milk chocolate filling. Chocolate-on-chocolate!

Like the vanilla original, Chocolate Stuffed Puffs (photo #1) can be used for all of your toasting, roasting, baking and melting (in hot chocolate) needs.

Most people are likely to eat them straight from the bag. Still others turn them into edible crafts, like the example in photo #3.

Stuffed Puffs are a great addition to outdoor cooking, including Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day—not to mention National Marshmallow Day.

But they’re also a treat that requires no holiday.

Whether toasted over the grill or munched out of the bag, just enjoy them (we know you will!).
 
 
BUY STUFFED PUFFS

 
 
> MORE INFORMATION VISIT STUFFEDPUFFS.COM
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF MARSHMALLOWS

[1] Lots of Chocolate Stuffed Puffs (all photos © Stuffed PuffsStuffed Puffs).

[2] Chocolate Stuffed Puffs S’mores.

[3] Fun project: Chocolate Stuffed Puffs, a graham cracker rim and a Teddy Graham on top!

[4] Chile-dusted hot chocolate with a graham cracker rim and a side of Stuffed Puffs.

[1] Spring salad with sugar snap peas, arugula and burrata (photo © DeLallo).

[2] Sugar snap peas. The pod can be eaten whole (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Burrata, a thin mozzarella shell filled with creamy, ricotta-like cheese. The piece in photo #1 is torn by hand, but if you’re more comfortable, cut it with a knife (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[4] Golden balsamic vinegar. You can get it from DeLallo (photo © DeLallo).

The third spring greens recipe this series is a spring salad, snap pea and arugula salad with a pesto vinaigrette.

It joins:

 
Loaded with crispy snap peas, arugula and fresh basil leaves, the salad is topped off with creamy burrata cheese and a pesto golden balsamic vinaigrette.

It’s a taste of spring! Thanks to DeLallo for the recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: SPRING SALAD WITH BURRATA

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

For The Salad

 
For The Salad

 
Preparation

1. SLICE the pea pods in half lengthwise, leaving some peas on each side of pods.

2. COMBINE the peas, arugula and basil leaves in a large bowl.

3. MAKE the dressing: Whisk together the vinegar and pesto in a small bowl. Once combined, whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream. Continue to whisk for an additional 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

4. POUR the dressing on the salad and toss to coat. Distribute onto individual plates and top with torn burrata, salt and pepper.
 

GOLDEN (WHITE) BALSAMIC & TRADITIONAL BALSAMIC VINEGAR: THE DIFFERENCE

Traditional balsamic vinegar, a dark and slightly sweet syrupy vinegar (here’s more about it).

The authentic balsamics come from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and can be aged for 12 to 150 years. They are costly.

The older the bottle, the costlier. A 12-year-old bottle on the shelf can be $40; the vinegars over 75 years old can cost hundreds of dollars. That’s because the older, more intense and more syrupy/concentrated balsamics get so by evaporating over time, so there is a longer holding cost and less vinegar to sell.

Not surprisingly, counterfeit balsamics abound. Here’s the scoop on fake balsamic vinegar).

Supermarket balsamics that cost $5-$10 a bottle are regular wine vinegar colored a deep dark brown with caramel. They’re not magnificent like authentic ones, but can be fine for salad dressings.

The one problem with dark balsamic vinegar is that, whether in a dressing or a sauce, it can turn light-colored ingredients—fish, chicken breast, white cheeses like feta—a bit brownish.

Thus, golden balsamic vinegar was born. It’s also called white balsamic.

Golden balsamic vinegar originates from the same region of Italy as traditional balsamic vinegar.

Instead of being made from an assortment of local grapes, it is made only from trebbiano grapes. It is cooked for many hours into a caramelized syrup, which is then aged to create the vinegar.

The result is sweeter and simpler than traditional balsamic, but welcome when you don’t want your light ingredients to take on color—or when you want a naturally sweet vinegar for drizzles, fruit salads and other dishes.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VINEGAR <

We love Katie’s Mustard Slaw so much, that we’re reprising our 2013 article in order to introduce it to every NIBBLE reader.

Prior to the beginning of Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day cookout events, we want everyone to experience it. At $4.99 a jar, you can even give it as party favors and stocking stuffers, down the road.

It’s longer name is Katie’s Home Style, Old-Fashioned, Pool-Room Mustard Slaw, but that’s a mouthful.

Speaking of mouthfuls, we eat it from the jar before we get to slather it on our favorite mustard-friendly foods.

We taste a lot of products, and this blend of mustard with bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, onions and vinegar, spices, jalapeños and a bit of salt and sugar is a winner (and very low-calorie to eat from the jar).

Katie’s mustard slaw a complex layering of flavors, with a beautiful texture and a spicy kick. It’s a riff on chow-chow*, a Nova Scotian and American pickle relish made from a combination of vegetables; and a relative of British piccalilli (which has a cauliflower base).

In Alabama and Tennessee, the condiment is called chow-chow, mustard slaw or pool room slaw. It has been made and sold by southern Tennessee Amish for some 100 years (source).

Get yours here. You’ll be very happy! (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)
 
 
HOW TO ENJOY KATIE’S MUSTARD SLAW

It’s a wonderfully versatile condiment, zingy and satisfying. Use it:

 
…and with countless other foods. Don’t hesitate to dip a spoon into the jar for a mini snack.

[1] Katie’s Original Mustard Slaw (all photos © Katie’s).

[2] Jalapeño Mustard Slaw.

[3] Hot dogs are just the beginning.

A tablespoon is just 10 calories, with zero calories from fat, 40mg sodium and 1 mg sugar. It’s a caloric bargain, waiting to add great flavor to your meals. All of the vegetables that Katie’s uses are bought fresh from a local farmers market.

Now the challenge: How to get it. Distribution is limited.

To order, head to KatiesSlaw.comand scroll to the bottom of the page.

If you have to order a case, don’t worry: You’ll go through it quickly, and be happy to have jars for house gifts and stocking stuffers.

Katie is Katie Kilburn of Florence, Alabama. She began to make slaw and relish products for her family and the local high school football concession stand, using her mother-in-law’s recipe.

With the help of the Shoals Commercial Culinary Center, fortuitously located in her hometown, she was able to tap into resources to make more slaw and relish for commercial sale.

The business is now owned by Katie’s daughter Teresa and husband Derek.

Anyone who tastes it will love it. Hand this review to your favorite retailer and ask that they bring in a few cases—and watch them fly off the shelves.

________________
*According to Wikipedia, chow-chow is “regionally associated” with the Southern United States, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, the Appalachian Mountains and soul food. The recipes vary greatly; some are sweeter, others more savory. The name is said to derive from the French word for cabbage, chou (pronounced “shoe”). It was popular with the Acadians of Nova Scotia, descendants of the 17th-century French colonists, who emigrated to Louisiana.

Cooking dinner every day during quarantine, we’ve found spring pasta and pizza recipes that are a delightful break between the standards.

We’ve been making “Spring Pizza”” once a week. It has spring peas and tendrils, sugar snap peas and watercress.

When we have them in the fridge, we add asparagus, too.

Now for a tandem recipe from Delallo: Fettuccine Alfredo “primavera.”

Although it isn’t part of the original Fettuccine Alfredo recipe, we add green peas and garnish with snipped chives or parsley to add a bit of color and flavor to the super-rich sauce.

(Fettuccine Alfredo was created by a restaurateur to give his pregnant-and-not-hungry wife a bland dish that she could eat. Here’s the story)

There are approximately 350 pasta shapes in Italy and more than four times the different names for them (source).

Each region had its own dialect; and while flat cuts like spaghetti and linguine were pretty universal, different regions developed some unique cuts as well.

In the days before mass communication, few people knew what other regions were making.

Gemelli are are related to fusilli as another complex helix. In this case, always with two blades, but the blades are curved until they almost enclose themselves to make tubes – somewhat like twisted casarecce.

Gemelli pairs nicely with light tomato sauces, dairy-based sauces, oil-based sauces, and in pasta salads (source).

Similar shapes are caserecce, rotini, strozzapreti and trofie.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

[1] Pasta Primavera Alfredo, made with gemelli pasta twists, below (photo © DeLallo).

[2] Gemelli (“twins”) pasta: One strand twisted into an S-shape (photo © J. Irkaejc | iStock photoiStock photo).

[3] Alfredo sauce ((photo © DeLallo).

1. BRING a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Meanwhile…

2. HEAT the alfredo sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

3. PREPARE 2 bowls with ice baths. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the asparagus in the boiling water for 2 minutes; then transfer to an ice bath using a slotted spoon. Add the sugar snap peas to the water and cook for 2 minutes; then transfer to the other ice bath using a slotted spoon.

4 COMBINE the pasta, asparagus, sugar snap peas, artichokes and sauce in a large bowl. Toss well to combine and season with salt and pepper.

5. DIVIDE the mixture among the plates and top with the lemon zest and pine nuts.