Holiday Challah

This is not the challah you are making your family so you can eat healthier. This is the sweet yellow challah you make for special occasions where everyone around the table leans back and rolls their eyes in ecstasy.

While challah has come to mean the Jewish egg-bread traditionally eaten on Shabbat and holidays (or "challah-days" ;-) pun intended) the name comes from the piece of challah that is required to be separated as an offering or sacrifice to G-d. This "mitzva" or Jewish commandment is required anytime someone bakes with a substantial portion of flour. Baking and taking challah is a mitzvah special to women, and it is also a special time for women to ask for extra blessings - to ask G-d for what they need or want. Women often use this time to ask for peace, healing and blessings for members of the community. I put this recipe together in order to use enough flour to "take challah" or separate a piece of challah and make a blessing on this holy act.

It is traditional to eat round sweet raisin challah for Rosh Hashana, in the merit of having a sweet new year.

Makes approximately 6 substantial loaves (see images).

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz or 45 grams or 3 Tablespoons yeast
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 3.5 cups warm water (just below body temperature)
• 5 whole large eggs plus 2 additional yolks in the dough 
• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (warm enough to be liquid)
• Heaping Tablespoon honey or more to taste
• 1.5 Tbsp salt
• optional - raisins (or chocolate chips, if you're feeling extra fun)
• 1700 grams all-purpose flour or bread flour (approximately 12-14 cups) (the proportions of the above ingredients do not translate well to whole wheat or other flours)

• some flour for rolling and braiding
• 1 additional egg yolk with water for tops
• optional - poppy seeds or sesame seeds for top

Note: save the 3 extra egg whites for the egg-white omelet you'll make yourself while waiting for the dough to rise. Or make meringues for dessert.

Method (can all be done by hand in one large bowl)

1. Mix water, sugar, and yeast.
2. Gently beat eggs.
3. Add eggs, oils, honey and (optional) raisins. Mix well. Leave the salt sitting out so you don't forget it later.
4. Slowly add approximately 2/3 of the flour mixing constantly.
5. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth and let this "sponge" rise approximately 1 hour. (Skip this step if dough will sit overnight.)
6. Add salt.
7. Slowly add the rest of the flour while kneading, stretching, and folding the dough to develop the gluten. The dough should loose most of its stickiness and be dense enough to hold the shape of a ball or snake.
8. Let the dough rise in a warm place for another couple hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
9. Now would be the time to separate "challah," as mentioned above. HERE are details.
10. Fold and roll the dough into separate balls in preparation for braiding or making rolls or knots. If you're not the braiding type, roll twelve balls a bit bigger than a golf ball and place in a round pan. We call this "pull-apart challah" (see image).
11. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
12. Shape dough as desired. Ideas and videos HERE.
13. Beat egg yolk with a spoonful of water and brush liberally on challah with a pastry brush or paper towel.
14. Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C while dough rests and rises a bit.
15. Bake 20-40 minutes until interior temperate measures 190 F or 88 C.

Send me pictures of your Challah! Happy holidays! 

Passover List Making

I love lists. I need lists. Passover is THE list holiday.

For me, it starts the previous year. While I'm cooking and while I'm putting things away I make lists:
- Buy next year - Food (so I don't have to guess how much matzah, eggs, and cheese we actually ate)
- Buy next year - tools/appliances wish list
- Don't buy/what I have already

The tricky part here is remembering where I put the list. If you don't type up your lists, I recommend scanning them and emailing them to myself. (You hear that future self!? Email me my lists! Or where I put my lists!)

Keep your menus and shopping lists from year to year. Keep a list of links to recipes. No need to reinvent the wheel!
I start here: http://nonrecipe.blogspot.co.il/search/label/Passover
And here: http://nonrecipe.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/passover-pesach-preperation-menu-recipes.html

The problem is, I think I skipped all this list making last year. And this year I was very busy with work (I'm a tax accountant.) and I was a bit lazy about inviting guests anyway, so, I was thinking - I've done this a few times. I'll just wing it. Walk up and down the aisles, buy whatever I think we need. Start cooking a day and a half before Passover and don't stop until the holiday comes in.

Just because I'm living dangerously, doesn't mean you have to! I'd like to refer you to my friend and fellow Israeli entrepreneur, Rebekah Saltzman, CEO of Balagan Be Gone.

Rebekah says, "Most people think  Pesach is a pain but it doesn't have to be, you can get it all done and still arrive at the Seder calm and collected.  Use my guide to help you get there.  It takes a little time to populate but the payoff for years to come is so helpful and time-saving.  Keep a list of all your supplies, recipes, menus and guests all in one place for all the holidays!  I raise my glasses, all four of them, to a PAINLESS Pesach!"

Rebekah designed a spreadsheet to get you started AND made a video to walk you through it! It's free for the tiny price of your email address. You still need to personalize it, but the structure is all there! I'm going to start personalizing mine as soon as I hit "post".

Check out Rebekah's "Painless Pesach"!

If you use Gmail and Google Drive:
1. Enter your name and email address.
2. Click "DOWNLOAD NOW"
3. In the Google Sheet, select File > Make a copy...
4. Watch Rebekah's video and start organizing your Pesach

If you don't use Google Drive, for step #3 above, select File > Download as > [Microsoft Excel]. But remember where you saved it!!

Live Hummus with Fermented foods

This is how I make hummus. All the fermented things add natural probiotics to the diet and act as a natural preservative. I recognize you might not have all these things in the house, so feel free to substitute, and tell me what happens!

*Try this with white beans, black beans, fava beans, and other legumes.

Into a food processor, add:

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic (I use pickeled garlic from making cucumber pickers)

Chop garlic with seasoning.

Add:

• 4 cups cooked or sprouted chickpeas, a.k.a. garbanzo beans, that's two cans -
  SAVE THE WATER/cooking liquid, save a few chickpeas for garnish.
• About 1/16 (1"x1" piece) of a preserved lemon
• 1.5 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about half a small lemon)
• 1 Tablespoon live pickle juice (optional)

Blend until smooth.

Add:

• About 1/4 cup (2-3 oz) water from chickpeas
• 2 Tablespoons Tahini paste
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Garnish with with extra chickpeas, a drizzle of olive oil, and a little fresh, quality cumin or zaatar.

Chickpeas are high in fiber and iron, and have been shown to help regulate blood sugar. Hummus is an excellent way to turn some raw vegetables into a hearty snack.

Rich Mocha Fudge Brownies (Dairy Free)

Trigger warning:
My family has been eating a lot more wheat-free, no sugar added, raw, nutrient-rich things. This is NOT one of those things.

This recipe is based on a well tested recipe from America's Test Kitchen for chewy brownies. I've adjusted to make them with available, dairy free, ingredients, and more rich chocolate and fudgy.

These brownies are a real show-stopper, and they are relatively easy to make in that they don't require a mixer, separate mixing bowls, or whipping anything into "peaks."

YIELD: at least 24 very rich brownies, or one 9x13 pan or "half pan"

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3-1/2 cup (100 ml) cocoa powder (depending on your taste) (I use about 1.2 oz by weight) 
• 3/4 cup strong coffee
• 2 oz finely chopped unsweetened chocolate (I start with 7/8 of a 100 gram bar of 100% cocoa "Holy Cacoa")
• 4 Tablespoons (about 1.8 oz by weight) coconut oil
• 5/8 cup (5 liquid oz) olive oil
• 2 eggs (whole)
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups sugar (use a little less for a deeper bitter-sweet flavor, but significantly decreasing or substituting sugar will alter the structure of the brownie
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt (less if your salt is extra fine, more for kosher salt)
• 8 oz (250 grams) cold, high quality bittersweet chocolate chips or large chocolate chunks

1. Have all ingredients ready, except coffee.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C. Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper (or foil) and a light coating of oil or cooking spray.
3. Brew strong coffee, add to large mixing bowl (must still be hot).
4. Whisk in cocoa powder, followed by chopped unsweetened chocolate. Whisk until smooth and melted. Mixture looks like ganache. Resist the urge to taste this bitter mixture.
5. Wisk in oils, then eggs, yolks, and vanilla.
6. Wisk in sugar until everything is homogeneous. Until this step, you don't need to worry about mixing too much.
7. Switch to a spatula and mix in flour and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
8. Scrape into oiled paper- or foil-lined pan.
9. Cook 20-30 minutes. Checking frequently after 20 minutes or as soon as you smell them. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with sticky chocolatey crumbs, but the brownies are not "soapy" or very jiggly. Remember these have a lot of chocolate and other ingredients that are liquid when hot and will cool to a solid. Do not leave them in until solid.
10. Let cool at least 1 hour, preferably several hours in the fridge before cutting.

Tips:
* Pull out as soon as you smell it.
* Double the recipe, slice into small squares, and freeze small portions. WRAP WELL because high fat foods absorb other smells/flavors. Plastic wrap just doesn't cut it.
* Serve hot with ice cream, or cold. I like them when they've been out of the freezer for about 10 minutes.
* Try adding pecans.
* For chewy, less gooey brownies, add an extra 1/4 cup flour and cook an extra 4-5 minutes.
* Try adding caramels and rock salt on top in the last 7 minutes of cooking. (Reduce salt in batter.)

"Live" Tahini with Preserved Lemon and Garlic

Healthy tehina/tahina/tachina/tahini dressing or dip or sauce

I make this dip most weeks. We dip bread in it on Sabbath and I use it as salad dressing during the week. It would also be excellent drizzled over eggplant.

I do all this with my stick blender, so you will want a tall cup that fits a stick blender.

You CAN do this by hand, but you will need to finely chop all the solids.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup tahini paste (I use Ethiopian or sprouted Tahini)
• 3/4 cup water (less for thicker dip)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1, 2, or 3 cloves of garlic - preferably fermented (I use the cloves that are left after we eat all the pickles. Fresh or frozen are fine, but adjust for the potency.)
• 1/8 of a preserved lemon, seeds removed
• juice from 1/4 lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt

* If you don't have preserved lemon, use the juice from half a lemon or more to taste and 1/2 tsp salt in place of 3 ingredients above.

Add all ingredients to cup. Blend or mix until tahini turns white and smooth.
Add

• 1 small bunch of parsley leaves, optional

If using a blender, pulse to chop parsley. You may want to keep a couple leaves for garnish.

Now here's the tough part: Transfer to a closed container without eating it all.

Pi Day 3.14.15: Classic American Apple Pie

In honor of the most pi pie day for the next hundred years, I'm making pie! I don't cook many things that require measuring. But Saturday is a special day... at least by the American calendar and any other math geeks using the MM-DD-YY format!

For more options on some simpler crumbles, see the original post Thansgiving: Crust and Crumbles.

And, I had my daughter take a video of me creating the lattice work.

Food Processor Crust RECIPE:
Makes 5 single crusts (enough for two double crusts plus 'security'.)

1. Chop together in a food processor:
- 4.5 cups pastry flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1.5 sticks of butter-flavored margarine

Add more flour if necessary to form a slightly crumbly mixture.

2. Mix with fork in a separate bowl or cup:
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 vodka (Inspired by America's test kitchen, made the dough so easy to work with!)

3. Slowly add liquid mixture to food processor,

4. Wrap dough in plastic or wax paper and refrigerate for at least half an hour (up to two days, or freeze for longer.)


Here is your NONrecipe filling:

1. Peel, core, and thinly slice 8-15 apples. Enough to fill your pie(s) in a heaping mound. I use a variety of apples - mostly green Granny Smiths, come pink crisps, all crunchy. Start with the green ones. Toss the red ones with a drop of lemon juice.

2. Season to taste: Mix all the sliced apples in a big zip-top bag or bowl with
 - brown sugar
 - cinnamon
 - nutmeg, prefferably fresh ground
 - butter or margarine
 - salt, ginger, allspice, and whatever else you want...
 - a little corn starch or flour depending on the amount of juice generated by the apples

Put it together:

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.

1. Oil and flour your pie pan(s).

2. Roll out 1/4 of the dough, I use a Silpat mat or canvas pastry cloth.

3. Gently transfer to the pan. Cut off excess, but leave about half an inch all the way around.

4. Fill with apple mixture in a big hill.

5. Cover with second crust. If your design does not have holes (like my lattice work demo), make slits for the steam to escape.

6. Bake 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender (stab them with a toothpick.)

Sourdough Pita - Great Blog Swap PLUS Giveaway

Chef Alison of AliBabka

In honor of the first anniversary of the Kosher Connection I have been randomly assigned a fellow kosher blogger to be inspired by. It my my great pleasure to introduce my muse this week, AliBabka. The author is Chef Alison (Barnett) Gütwaks, is a recent graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in NY. It was important to her to get a well rounded culinary education and not limit herself to kosher culinary colleges. I enjoyed reading about the challenges she faced as a torah-observant Jew cooking in a non-kosher environment.

While reading through AliBabka in search of a recipe I would like to make my own, I enjoyed the creativity, wit, and professional experience that Chef Alison brings to the table. (No pun intended.)

Pita in a pan from AliBabka

In the post "Mo-Rockin In Your Kitchen", guest blogger Elisheva Avital writes about two Moroccan flat breads I have been wanting to try my hand at, pita and moufletta. With the easy access to fresh pita I enjoy in Israel, it's not often I find time to make my own, even if it is healthier and/or tastier. But I thought my blog was in need of both a sourdough entry and a pita recipe. In order to make the recipe my own, I converted her recipe to 90% Whole Wheat Sourdough Pita.

Rice paper wraps = Leftover Heaven

wraps with baby greens, roasted bell pepper, sprouted lentils, and fermented cauliflower

How did I not know about these before?? Now that I've become friendly with my local Asian grocer, I can finally ask, "What is this?" And boy have I learned a lot!  When I used to see rice paper wrappers, they looked like too much work for me. I assumed getting these plasticy looking sheets into an edible form must involve soaking, cooking, steaming, or some other processing. Not so!

1. Dip the rice paper sheet in water for about 5 seconds, then brush the sheet over a tea towel to remove excess water.
2. Lay the sheet, still rigid, on a plate or cutting board. The sheet will absorb the water and soften in the time it takes to fill it.
3. Pile your fillings  near one side and roll up like an egg roll, blintz, or burrito.

translucent wrap with wild mushrooms, wakame, and homemade kimchi-kraut

Make Tri-colored Freezer Pops with Disposable Popsicle Sticks

Today I want to teach you how to do two things: 
A. Make striped posicles, which are just more fun for kids and adults.
B. Get craft sticks right in the middle if the homemade pops.

Why would you want to use craft sticks?

• Maybe you lost the sticks that came with your ice pop molds.
• Maybe you don't have ice pop molds.
• Maybe you want to make a lot of popsicles.
• Maybe you want to share your homemade pops without worrying about the sticks being returned.

You will need:
- Juice, or another liquid like flavored yogurt or chocolate milk -preferably 3 colors/flavors
- Ice pop molds or small cups
- Clean, un-died craft sticks or tongue depressors

How to Make Kosher Dill Pickles

I'd like to tell you about the method I use to make naturally fermented cucumber pickles. The same technique can be used for many different fruits and vegetables by varying the spices and the time. If you read no further, this is what you need to know:

 A. Use an appropriate amount of salt. Too little and unwanted molds and bacteria can develop and the cucumbers will become soft. Too much and you will retard the growth of good yeasts and bacteria, the pickling will take an unnecessarily long time, be unpalatably salty, and the cucumbers could get too sour, or too soft before they're ever really tasty.
B. Keep everything submerged. As long as your cucumbers (or other veggies) are safely deep in the brine, you can skim off whatever scum forms on top.

Too Easy Chocolate Chip Peach Cake

I don't bake much. It just doesn't get my creative juices flowing quite like stringing together a healthy, balanced, and economical meal that most of my family might eat. But when I ask a friend if there's something I can do to help, I mean it. And if the response is that I should bring cake... Well by golly, I'll bake a cake! Here's the thing, my one go-to easy cake is the Apple Sauce Cake recipe given to me by the same person to whose house I would be bringing the cake! 

Focaccia Hamentashen

I've been wanting to make these for Purim for the past couple years, but something always comes up. Today I finally tested my concept, and I intend to put a couple in each Purim basket for mishloach manot/shalach manos I give my friends and neighbors. In Hebrew - פוקצ'ה אוזני המן

Start with your favorite pizza or focaccia dough recipe. I used my dad's pizza dough recipe. I think this one from Anne Burrell also looks good. The following proportions will make 8 hamentashen (enough for a test batch or family appetizer):

Dough:

• 3/4 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (NOT hot)
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 egg (optional)
• 2 cups flour (I used whole wheat for this test, but I plan to use all-purpose for the mishloah manot.)
• 1 tsp salt

Easy Peasy "Pashtida" - Dairy free

You can call this a quiche, pie, casserole, or pashtida. I call it yummy.

Ingredients:

• Something sweet and starchy (butternut squash), cooked to soft
• Something green (frozen peas and corn)
• bread crumbs (preferably Panko Japanese bread crumbs)
• About 5 eggs
• About 1 cup of soy milk
• salt
• garlic powder (optional)
• nutritional yeast (optional)

1. It starts with something you need to use up. I had two butternut squash that I peeled and steamed/boiled in my pressure cooker. Mash well.
2. Then look in the freezer and add something green. I mixed about two cups of peas and corn into the hot squash. Baby peas, broccoli, and spinach would all be good choices.

Very Easy Apple Sauce Cake

My husband's birthday is on Thursday, but we're expecting a crazy week, so we had a little surprise celebration today. I had just over an hour until he would be home, in which time I hoped to clean the whole house, start dinner, and bake a cake. All with four kids at home. Thankfully, I had the perfect cake recipe for the occasion! It's a recipe I posted previously, Leah's Easy Applesauce Cake, but with a few changes of my own (in bold).
      

   Ingredients

• 2 cups (260 grams) whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) demerara sugar
• 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 2 tsp cinnamon (I used freshly grated)
• pinch of fresh nutmeg
• 2 tsp aluminum-free Baking Powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (237 ml) olive oil
• 1 cup (237 ml) natural, unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 - 3/4 bag of chocolate chips (save some to put on top in the last 15 minutes of baking)

Mix all ingredients very well. Bake at 180C / 350F for about 45 minutes.

Vegan "Eggplant Parmesan" Baked, Not Fried

Thanks to the kind man at a local photo shop, my Sony DSC-S750 is temporarily back in commission. But now I have camera envy from all my recent camera shopping! I'm so glad I can show the delicious, simple, and perfectly rewarm-able dish.

You will need:
2 eggplants
a lot of salt (preferably the flaky kosher variety)
tomato sauce (that's another post)
nutritional yeast
bread crumbs (or your favorite healthier/gluten-free alternative)
cherry tomatoes (optional)

Fruit Compote Intuition

Last month my husband requested that I make fruit compote for dinner on the first night of Passover. It was a tradition in his house growing up. I emailed his mom for the recipe, but her version had too many packaged foods that we don't use on Passover. I'm not a huge fan of fruit compote, but I threw some things together in a simmering pot and it was delicious!

Enjoy it on it's own or use it as a filling for Pesach Crepes.

I used:

• Pitted prunes (dried plums), coarsely chopped
• Dried apricots,  coarsely chopped
• Chopped fresh apples
• Sweet red wine
• Fresh orange juice
• Orange zest
• Freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon
• a pinch of salt
• (optional) fresh or crystallized ginger

Instant Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cupcake-Muffins

If you're looking for healthy muffins try my popular carrot-zucchini muffins or the no sugar added variety.  The following "recipe" is a quick technique you can tweak to make lots of varieties: Peanut butter and jelly, white chocolate macadamia  nut, dulce de leche, carob or butterscotch chip... None of which are healthy, of course, but you can whip them up in a jiffy!  And, boy, are they good!  



1. Preheat oven to 350 F/ 180 C.

2. Fold together:

• One box of pancake mix (whole wheat is fine)
• The specified amount of water
• About half a bag of chocolate chips (you can use more or even a different kind of chip)
• About 3 large spoonfuls of peanut butter

Do not over mix!

3. Spoon batter into a muffin tray to fill up each cup about halfway.

4. Bake about 10-12 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Potato Kugel

I just got this email from my mom: "The friends who are hosting the Passover seder we are going to attend requested that I make a potato kugal. I really loved the kugal that I've eaten at your house (made by Aaron last Passover). Could I please get the recipe from you?"


Pesach is one time of year where I use recipes, at least as a starting point. I highly recommend The Spice and Spirit Kosher Passover Cookbook. It goes beyond recipes and tackles every practical aspect of Passover. It's also great for gluten-free cooking, because most of the recipes don't use matzah meal or any manufactured products.

My Spice and Spirit Passover Cookbook is my Passover hub. Every year as I put away my passover things, I make lists: "What I have," "Buy next year," and tips like what not to make, and what to buy more or less of... more eggs and bananas, no more than 2 kg of matzoh. I stick my lists in my cookbook so they're all ready when I'm ready to shop and plan the next year.

Make your own "Ferrero Rocher"

In honor of my Mom's birthday today I want to share this delicious chocolaty recipe. My friend Tzippy made these knock-off Ferrero Rocher truffles and my mom and I got to try them a couple weeks ago.  Amazing!

Makes 25 balls of nutty, creamy, goodness.

Ingrediants
150 gr (5.3 oz) nut cream filled "gliliyot" Pirouline/Pirouette style rolled wafers with hazelnut creme filling
50 gr (1.8 oz) roasted and peeled hazelnuts
200 gr (7 oz) nougat spread
25 whole hazelnuts - optional

topping:
150 gr (5.3 oz) dark chocolate
"krookant" crushed pralines/chopped, toasted and candied nuts (see image) - optional

1. In a food processor, finely chop "gliliyot" rolled wafers and 50 grams of nuts. Add nougat spread and mix well.
2. Cool in the refrigerator for about three hours.
3. Create balls and place on baking paper. You can leave them in the freezer for 10 minutes if the balls are too messy.
4. Place whole hazelnuts in the center of each ball, if you want.
5. Melt chocolate
6. Dip each ball in chocolate and roll in krookant crushed nut topping.

Have a lovely spring to all and... Happy birthday Mom!!

Baked Apples with Oatmeal Streusel Topping

This is a super easy, healthy dessert, and great for guests. I like to double or triple the recipe to make several batches on different days/weeks, or freeze the topping in portions. It's best served warm, but makes a fine cold midnight snack. It can also be made a day ahead.

1. Slice 3-4 apples in half with a large knife, then scoop out the seeds and stem parts with a melon baller.

2. Mix together:
a little over half stick/quarter cup melted butter or margarine or fat of your choice (I've used part olive oil or coconut oil.)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat) or gluten-free 'flour' of your choice
1/2 cup brown sugar (or white sugar with date syrup or molasses or agave syrup)
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of salt

3. Fill and top apple halves with the mixture.

4. Bake at 350 F/180 C until tops are golden brown and apples swell, about 30 minutes.

Also see -  "Apple Crisp - No sugar added"
- a compilation of "Crusts and Crumbles".
- Upside-Down Stuffed Peppers Vegetarian Stuffing

UPDATES: The last couple times I made this I included ground walnuts or hazelnuts. You can tweak the recipe to your tastes. The leftover topping is also a real treat in yogurt.