The Boston Globe - 07.08.2019

G2 The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019

Insider

Biena brought snackable baked chickpeas

in savory flavors to store shelvesseven years

ago. Several yearslater, a line of chickpeascov-

ered in chocolate appeared.Now the Boston-

based company gives cheesy puffs a makeover

and recently launched Chickpea Puffs in three

varieties — Aged WhiteCheddar, Vegan

Ranch,and Blazin’ Hot. Made withchickpea

and lentil flours,gluten and grain-free, they de-

liver seven grams of plant protein and almost

half the carbsthanmost other airy puffs. One

variety is very cheesy; the vegan has onion

and garlicky flavors;and the spicy choice,

a bit fiery, gets its red colorfrombeets,

black currants, and tomatoes. Founder Poorvi

Patodiahad her own children in mindwhen

she was inspiredto create the crunchy little

rounds.“I have two growing kidswholove

cheesepuffs and I foundthat otherhealthy op-

tions don’t taste great or don’t offer real nutri-

tion,” she says. “So we remade them — putting

taste at the forefrontand usingonly nutritious

ingredients.”Availableat Good Health Natural

Foods, 1630 Hancock St., Quincy,

617-773-4925; Crosby’s Market-

place; Wegmans;and Roche

Bros.; or go to bienasnacks.com.

ANNTRIEGER KURLAND

CHICKPEA PUFFS GIVE CHEESY PUFFS

A MAKEOVER

Wasa turns 100 this year. The Swed-

ish company, named for the king Gustav

Vasa, and the world’s largest baker of

crispbreads, celebrates its triple-digit

birthday with a new cracker — Wasa 100

Rye & Poppeyseed.The new crispyvariety,

at 35 calories, is made with wholegrain rye and sprinkled with

blue poppy seeds and sea salt, and is slimmerthan Wasa’s hearti-

erandtoast likewhole-grain andmultigraincra ckers(about

$3.19 for 8.6 ounces). Often a staple for dieters, the crackers have

functioned throughout the years as an accompaniment to soups

and as a platformfor almost any topping. Also in honorof its

birthday, the company says operations are now 100 percent car-

bon neutral, the result of working for almost a decadeto reduce

its carbonfootprint from field to shelf. The anniversary cracker is

available at Stop & Shop locations.

ANNTRIEGER KURLAND

Wasa turns 100 this year.

Have a cracker.

Brush for glassware

mounts in your sink

Hand washing glassware,

cups, and mugsjust got easier

with Joseph Joseph’s handy

Brush-up($8),a 6-inch-tall

brushwith a siliconevacuum

cup that attaches firmly to the

surface of a bowl or sink. To use,

fill the bowl or sink with soapy

water to cover half the height of

the brush and push the suction

cup firmly onto the bottom. Turn

the glasses upside-down onto the

brushand scrub clean. The dura-

ble bristles are designed to reach

the bottom and all sides of the

glass, placeswhere your hand

mightnot fit. Brush-up comesin

green and gray. In green, it looks

surprisingly like a pop art Christ-

mas tree.Available at Kitchen

Outfitters, Acton Woods Plaza,

342 Great Road, Acton, 978-263-

1955.

JEANKRESSY

Beef skirt steak has gone fromoverlooked to wildly popular in the last decade. It’s

one of the flat cuts — the others are flank and hanger — all leanerthan traditional

steaks, but more flavorful with a little chew to the meat. Because it’s thin, skirt grills

very quickly.

Flavor the steak with a punchy marinade based on Asian fish sauce. Let it sit with

the meat for at least two hours. Then grill the steak alongside ears of freshly shucked

corn and scallions,which both take on a little smoky taste. The steaks take only min-

utes; cook them slightly longer on the first side to ensure good grill marks and a nice

char. While the meat rests, remove the kernels from the cobs and mix a corn salad

with the grilled scallions, ginger, chile pepper, lime juice, and basil. Your ovennever

went on and you’ve made a beautiful summerdinner.

KAROLINEBOEHMGOODNICK

Grilled skirt steak withsmokycorn salad

SALAD

4ears fresh corn, shucked

4scallions

1piece (2 inches) ginger,

finely chopped

½small chile peppersuch as

Fresno, finely chopped

Juice of 3 limes

Salt, to taste

¼cup choppedfresh basil

1.Lighta charcoalgrill or turn

a gas grill to high.Brushthe

grill rack to cleanit. Witha

waddedpapertowel,quickly

brushthe grill grates withoil.

Set a coolingrack insidea

rimmedbakingsheet (thiswill

holdthe steaks later).

2.Placethe steaks on the grill

in a hot spot. Grillfor 3 to 4

minutesor untilthe first side is

slightlycharred.Turn and con-

tinuecookingfor 2 minutes

more,or untila meat thermom-

A smoky corn salad

tops slices of lean, tasty

grilled skirt steak

Serves 4

STEAK

3cloves garlic,finely

chopped

4tablespoonsAsianfish

sauce

Juice of 1 lime

2tablespoonsbrown sugar

2tablespoonscanola oil

Black pepper, to taste

2tablespoonschile-garlic

sauce, such as Sriracha

2poundsskirt steak, cut in-

to 4 portions

1.In a bowl,combinethe gar-

lic, fish sauce,lime juice,

brownsugar, canolaoil, black

pepper, and chile-garlicsauce.

2.Placethe skirt steaks in a

large, shallowdish.Pour the

marinadeover the top, and

turn gently to coat. Refrigerate

for 2 hours.

THE CONFIDENTCOOK

GOODFOOD AND KITCHENKNOW-HOW

KAROLINE BOEHM GOODNICK FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

eter registers 125 degreesin the thickest

part of the meat (for mediumrare; cook

a few minuteslonger for medium).

Transferthe steaks to the coolingrack

and let themrest for at least 5 minutes.

3.Placethe cornand the scallionson

the grill.Cook for 5 to 7 minutesor until

the scallionsare tenderwhenpierced

witha skewer and the cornis beginning

to char, turningthemhalfway through

cooking.

4.In a bowl,combineginger, chilepep-

per, lime juice,salt, and basil.

5.Set an ear of cornon a cutting board

and workingfromthe thickto the nar-

row end, cut off 2 rowsof kernels.Turn

and cut off 2 or 3 morerows.Continue

in this way untilall the kernelsare off

all the cobs.Transferto the bowlwith

the ginger mixture.

6.Chop the scallionsand add themto

the corn;toss well.

7.Slicethe steaks thinlyand top with

the cornsalad.Karoline Boehm Good-

nick