A Go For Gochujang Gravy

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Garlic, ginger, mustard greens, and gochujang flavor this meaty, versatile gravy.
Garlic, ginger, mustard greens, and gochujang flavor this meaty, versatile gravy.

Italian Americans may have the tradition of Sunday gravy, that behemoth pot of long-cooked red sauce full of sausages and various cuts of meat that gets ladled over heaps of toothsome pasta.

For the rest of us who don’t have that many hours to devote nor such a sizeable army to feed, there is instead “Gochujang Gravy.”

It’s a meaty, saucy mixture that tastes long-simmered even if it’s not. And it gets an Asian bent with gochujang, the fermented Korean pepper paste.

This satisfying recipe is from “I Dream of Dinner (So You Don’t Have To)” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

It’s the first cookbook by Brooklyn recipe developer Ali Slagle, whose weeknight recipes are a fixture in the New York Times and Washington Post.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late: World Wrapps

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Furikake Salmon Bowl from World Wrapps.
Furikake Salmon Bowl from World Wrapps.

Way, way back in the mid-1990s, I set myself a goal to eat my way through the “specialty wraps” section of World Wrapps in downtown Palo Alto.

Alas, I was probably within a couple of orders of accomplishing that when the fast-casual cafe shuttered.

In early 2020 just before the pandemic hit, two of the original founders revived the brand with a location in San Francisco. It not only managed to survive the tumult of the past two years, but has expanded to five other Bay Area cities. A couple weeks ago, its newest debuted at The Pruneyard in Campbell, where I was invited in as a guest to try the menu.

Of course, my original plan was to dine outside there. But when a crazy heatwave sent temperatures soaring to 102 degrees, I decided to take the food to-go to eat at home with the A/C on. Can you blame me?

Inside the new location at The Pruneyard.
Inside the new location at The Pruneyard.

When co-founders Matthew Blair and Keith Cox (the latter also co-founded Pacific Catch) originally founded World Wrapps, it pioneered enfolding innovative, globally-inspired fillings of fresh ingredients inside a rainbow of burrito-sized tortillas.

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Cantaloupe & Fennel — Your New Favorite Summer Sip

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A fresh cantaloupe drink to cool off with this summer.
A fresh cantaloupe drink to cool off with this summer.

Sometimes you feel like a tipsy drink. Sometimes you don’t.

“Just A Spritz” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy, hits the spot when you crave a festive, fun, and fizzy drink, but one that’s low- or no-alcohol.

The fun little book is by my friend and colleague, James Beard Award-winning food writer Danielle Centoni of Portland, OR.

It includes 57 recipes that range from classic to creative that are sure to sate a thirst.

A spritz is generally composed of a bitter liqueur, sparkling wine, and bubbly water, all over ice for a light, refreshing beverage.

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Watermelon Seeds — Not Just For Spitting

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Forca Foods wants you to energize with watermelon seeds.
Forca Foods wants you to energize with watermelon seeds.

If all you’ve ever done with watermelon seeds is pile them off to the side of a plate or spit them with gusto to see how far they’d fly, Forca Foods wants to convince you to do something entirely different: Eat them.

Its Forca Foods Energy Bites are made from watermelon seeds. In fact, they’re the first of only five ingredients used to make these one-bite cubes. The other ingredients are dates, oats, maple syrup, and fruit or coffee, depending on the variety.

Company Founder Guilherme Maia Silva studied plant sciences at the University of California at Davis, where he wondered why we were making snacks out of such water-intensive crops and ingredients as almonds, walnuts, and dairy. It’s a question that’s only gotten more attention now that California is in yet another year of deep drought.

So, a year ago, he launched his snack that’s centered around watermelon seeds, which, he says, use 94 percent less water than pistachios, 78 percent less water than almonds, and 11 percent less water than dairy. Not only that, watermelon seeds also contain iron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium.

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What I’ve Been Drinking of Late, Part 20

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L'Apero les Trois' line of aperitifs comes in six flavors, including Blenheim Apricot.
L’Apero les Trois’ line of aperitifs comes in six flavors, including Blenheim Apricot.

L’Apero les Trois

Three women of three different generations in Winters, CA have joined forces to create a delicious new product that celebrates not only the agrarian bounty of Sonoma County, but a time-honored French tradition.

The result is L’Apero les Trois, a line of fruit-based, lower alcohol spirits known as aperitifs, which the French have enjoyed for generations as a pre-lunch or pre-dinner libation.

They are the brainchild of Georgeanne Brennan, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author who taught cooking classes in France for years; Corinne Martinez, co-owner of Berryessa Gap Vineyards; and Nicole Salengo, Berryessa Gap’s winemaker.

As with all aperitifs, they are meant to be served chilled, sometimes with a few ice cubes in the glass, and topped off with sparkling wine or fizzy water, if you so choose.

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