Meshuga

Sour Cream, Potato and Scallion BreadI’d be lying if I said that...

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:54:16 -0400

Sour Cream, Potato and Scallion Bread

I’d be lying if I said that this bread was the first thing I made when we moved in. Wouldn’t that…

Backyard

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:50:25 -0400

I write to you from a new perspective today. I’ve come down, quite literally twenty seven stories and now sit a mere three feet from the ground in my new home and my own backyard. Many years ago, when I was an extremly percosious teenager, we were reading…

View Post

Mediterranean Kale Kamut Orzo with Roasted Brussels SproutsI...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:53:36 -0400

Mediterranean Kale Kamut Orzo with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I write this with a sense of hesitation, as I fear the moment I mention the word, the snow…

View Post

Waist Deep Wednesdays - Kimchi BootcampSo it’s not exactly...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:08:15 -0400

Waist Deep Wednesdays - Kimchi Bootcamp

So it’s not exactly Wednesday, but I have good reason as to why this blog has fallen weigh side to…

View Post

Feta Cauliflower Croquettes with Zaatar Honey Greek Yogurt &...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:47:33 -0500

Feta Cauliflower Croquettes with Zaatar Honey Greek Yogurt & Pomegranate Arils

I don’t think there’s anything worse than a mid-night awakening, that leaves you tossing and…

View Post

Granola – The kind you can eat a whole bag of and not feel...

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:00:36 -0500

Granola – The kind you can eat a whole bag of and not feel too guilty

View Post

Roll up…Rice Paper Rolls (a.k.a Cold Rolls)View Post

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:57:11 -0500

Roll up…Rice Paper Rolls (a.k.a Cold Rolls)

View Post

The Dairy Free Mustache – Blending 101View Post

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:48:24 -0500

The Dairy Free Mustache – Blending 101

View Post

Hands-Down Wednesdays - SK’s Ethereal Hummus Get ready to...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:31:26 -0500

Hands-Down Wednesdays - SK’s Ethereal Hummus

Get ready to MEOW for this hummus.

What is “Hands-down” Wednesday? Well…I just made it up. As Is…

View Post

The Triple P Wintery SaladThis time of the year for some is the...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:39:58 -0500

The Triple P Wintery Salad

This time of the year for some is the worst. The abrasive cold weather, the soppy salty boot marks…

View Post

Super Foods on a Bed of Warm Quinoa

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:52:47 -0500

For the past two weeks I have been locked out of my kitchen. Take out meal, after take out meal, I stare at my gleaming kitchen, imagining myself at full speed; chopping on the counter, simmering a sauce on the stove top and roasting something in the oven. Of course, my romantic kitchen fantasy doesn’t include: the chopped veggies that have fallen way side on the floor; the sauce that’s splattered against the walls and the sugary stickiness from the roasted potatoes all over the sides of the oven.

It’s true. I’m a mess in the kitchen. Hopefully said partner doesn’t hold this against me in future moments when he’s wondering why there’s pomegranate juice on the ceiling. I am just not the kind of cook that can operate without leaving crumbs behind. Thankfully my obsessive compulsiveness has started to bully out the slob in me - so it’s getting better.

So why am I being locked out of the kitchen and forced to endure nightly take out. It’s within good reason. We decided to put the place up on the market after many deliberations over two years. It’s very exciting as it could mean a larger sink and more counter space, but it means that I’ve had to live like a squatter, leaving no sign that I exist in that apartment. For those that know me, I’m sure they will find it hard to believe that my past bad habits can survive this kind of environment. I’m happy to report that we’re two weeks in and you won’t be able to find a pair of panties anywhere.

Being that this is my current predicament, I’m finding myself fantasizing about new recipes or past ones I’ve made and counting down the metaphorical days to when I can cook again. [CAUTION: Friends, I may be coming to a kitchen near you]

I’m salavating right now about a dish I made two weeks ago. It was probably one of the most well rounded satisfying bowls I’ve ever made. It’s gluten and dairy free, packed with protein, antioxidants and high in fiber. Not to mention it’s seriously delicious. You can serve it warm or cold depending on your mood.

It’s called “Super Foods on a Bed of Warm Quinoa”. I was inspired by Green Kitchen Stories once again. I can’t quite you!

Yields 6 servings

|Recipe|

· 2 cups of quinoa

· 1 large butternut squash (chopped into cubes and roasted) 

· 2 avocados, diced in to medium size chunks 

· 1 broccoli, broke into bite-size florets 

· 2-3 handfuls of spinach and kale chopped into smaller pieces (half size of your palm)

·  1 pomegranate, seeds

|Chunky Herb Dressing|

·  1.5 handful basil, finely chopped 

· 1 handful parsley, finely chopped 

· 1.5 handful of cilantro

· 2 large cloves garlic, very finely chopped 

· whole lemon, juice and some rind

· 2 tsp of agave nectar

· 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

· salt & pepper

|Directions|

Half butternut squash. Scoop out the seeds and remove the tough peel with a sharp knife or a peeler. Cut into 1 x 1-inch (2 x 2 cm) dices. Place on an oven tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt. Bake on 400 F° (200°C) for 20-30 minutes or until soft and slightly brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Cook quinoa as directed, making sure to rinse first. Let cool slightly before combining other ingredients.

Cut avocados in cubes, chop spinach in half and kale into chunks and seed pomegranate.

Prepare Herb Dressing in a food processor or hand mixer.

Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl, add the herb dressing (reserve a quarter) and mix with your hands or spoon to make sure everything is coated with dressing. Add all ingredients to quinoa, remaining dressing and gently fold to combine. Now put some in a bowl, grab a fork, put your favorite record on or TV show and enjoy!

The Creative Blank Canvas of a Cold Roll

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:34:00 -0400

On the few nights a week I end up not cooking, my partner and I spend more time than necessary deliberating on what we can pick up. We go through the large pile of take out menus, spend countless minutes browsing the forums on yelp and try to decipher what we’re craving by calling out different food groups.

About 1/3 times I blurt-out that I’m craving one thing and one thing only. This usually sends him pulling at his hair, as there’s very few places to order it from, resulting in many more wasted minutes of no food on the dinner table. Sorry love.

What is this mystery food you ask? We’ll I’ve written about it before and I could literally eat it everyday. Bonus: Sirachi is a great flavor companion, but most importantly this dish is incredibly healthy and diversible.

I’m talking about the COLD ROLL. The food that lets you open your fridge, take whatever you have in it, and stuff it in a rice wrapper. Well, with some sense of precision and thought of course. I don’t recommend a casserole leftover or sandwich meats (I’m hoping you don’t have sandwich meats), but rather some fresh veggies, some kind of a protein and an herb to bring an added taste experience.

I was having just that kind of, ‘craving a cold roll’ night not too long ago, but too the amazement of my partner, I was prepared to make it at home. I had a whole bunch of fresh goodies waiting to be used: sweet potato, avocado, cucumber, radicchio, yellow pepper, vermicelli, basil, mint and pumpkin seeds. I’ve never made a cold roll with a cooked root vegetable, so I thought that adding the pumpkin seeds would make for a nice fall dish. Just in time for pumpkin season! The cold roll doesn’t need this many ingredients. They’re even just as delicious with some slivers of cucumber, shreds of carrot, a wedge of tofu, sprouts, coriander and noodles.

RECIPE:

Yields - as many as you want, I made nine.

| Ingredients |

Nine rice paper wraps (any brand will do)
½ a yellow pepper cut into thin pieces
½ a radicchio cut into thin pieces
One avocado
1 quarter of a cucumber cut into thin triangle slivers
3 cups of cooked vermicelli
One large sweet potato cut into small cubes and baked until crispy
Bunch of basil
Bunch of mint
½ cup of pumpkin seeds

Sirachi or Hoisin or both for dipping

| Preparation |

Preheat oven to 450 d and cut large sweet potato into small cubes. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes or until crispy. Wait until they cool to wrap.

Lay out a working table with a hot bowl of water (large enough to fit a rice wrapper in it) and all of your ingredients. It’s easier to maneuver quickly with everything laid out in front of you.

You want to use your ingredients sparingly as it’s difficult to close these if you they are too stuffed. Whatever you do though, do not stinge on the ingredients. My method is as follows.

Dip wrapper into hot water until softens but still slightly stiff on edges (if will soften up out of water).
Lay out on a clean kitchen cloth.
Place the vermicelli on the bottom (small handful), on the right side two slits of yellow pepper and some radicchio, on the right side two pieces of avocado.
Layer the sweet potato on top in addition to the mint and basil leafs
Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top
Wrap and seal.

I have included a video that walks you through the step-by-step guide to wrapping cold rolls.

Eventually you’ll get the hang of wrapping these and then find yourself at odds when choosing the perfect sauce to dip into: peanut, sirachi, sweet sour, hoisin, tahini…the list goes on and on. I love them all.

Your body, pocket book, time and your taste buds will be thanking you for making these a monthly or even weekly staple to your eating routine.

Spicy Cashew Pineapple Quinoa Stir Fry

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 11:38:00 -0400

When I first started cooking and perusing online for recipes, I used to get serious food blog envy. The innovation on recipes, the incorporation of an array of colors and the pornographic food photography that induces one into a perverse sexual food act. Ahhh.. the prowess of an SLR and a photographer with a high aptitude of sensuality….rear!

Although, my photography skills have only approved slightly, my experimenting through trial and error in the kitchen has enriched my ingredient knowledge and skill. I now handle my spice cabinet with more finesse, playing around with the flavors and colors of my fridge and pantry. It feels like a huge accomplishment when you can begin to grasp the chemistry of how flavors work together. It’s one thing to be passionate about cooking, but another to taste and deliberate on whether your dish is missing something sweet, savory, hot, salty, nutty etc…

Speaking of color, I wanted to make a meal that not only spoke to me in flavor but also in color. The pineapple sitting smack middle in my kitchen had been asking to be fondled for a few days now. I was craving something Asian, and decided I’d turn pineapple-fried rice on its head, going leaner and cleaner with a Spicy Cashew Pineapple Quinoa Stir Fry - That’s a mouthful!

My pantry was bursting at the seams with quinoa; as a super food it would be a great stand in for rice. I was inspired by Veganomicon similar recipe, but changed the ingredients and functionality of the dish. Their interpretation was on the salty side. I wanted to entice a savory taste experience to imitate the sensory experience of fried rice, so I used coconut milk as my base. To top it off, I added an extra color dimension by spooning the stir-fry into royal purple radicchio cups.

| Ingredients |

Quinoa:

2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup pineapple juice (if you have)
3.5 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon tamari or soy

Stir Fry:

1 cup of raw unsalted cashews
2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 scallions, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 hot Serrano, chopped into small pieces
1 inch piece gingerroot, peeled and minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, deiced
1 cup edamame, cooked
1/2 cup fresh basil, sliced into thin shreds
1/2 cup of fresh mint, sliced into thin shreds
2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks
6 Radicchio cups for serving

Sauce:

3/4 can of coconut milk (light)
1.5 whole lime juice squeezed and half zest
1.5 tsp of agave nectar
1.5 tsp of soy or tamari
1 tbsp of mirin
1 tsp of garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

| Preparation |

Measure quinoa and rinse with cold water. Place on stove top with water, pineapple and tamari bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 25 minutes until soft and water has evaporated. Chill in fridge.

Using your largest skillet, toast cashews dry until golden in hue – 8-10 minutes, Remove

Make sure to have all ingredients for stir-fry chopped. Add the sesame oil, scallions, and garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle, add the sliced Serrano and ginger. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes, and then add the yellow and red pepper and edamame. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until the bell pepper is softened and edamame is bright green. Cook until softens, 5 minutes.

Add the basil and mint, and stir for another minute before adding the pineapple and quinoa.

In a measuring cup, combine the coconut milk, tamari (or soy), mirin, lime juice with zest, garlic powder and agave.

Add quinoa and pineapple folding into ingredients. Mix for three minutes. Add sauce and continue to mix for another five minutes.

Lower to medium heat, add cashews and let sit for another 5 minutes to get crispy pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon into radicchio cups or bowl and serve.

You can't beat this "Easy Beet Salad"

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:18:00 -0400

Time and time again, I’ve tried to beat the odds - wear a shirt without getting something on it. My clothes typically have a one-to-two wear life span, dodging a variety of sticky, greasy or colorful messes. Whether I’m bibbed up or strapped into a face funnel, something ugly, loud and rude always rears its face on my clothes. I fear that one day, I’ll end up in a predicament like this GUY

Hundreds on dry cleaning bills and irritated friends, who swear they’ll never lend me a shirt again, has given me a complex when it comes to handling the worst kinds of staining foods. I see them in the grocery aisle, glance at them on the menu, but the knee jerking psycho semantic complex keeps me looking the other way. Beets are one of those foods. It’s purpley red flesh, once broken, can paint everything from your hands, clothes, walls, counters and dishes. It’s up there next two red wine and oily fish on the DANGER STAINING SCALE.

A couple days ago I was craving something fresh and colorful. I had received a bundle of beets from a farmers market and they’d been staring me down for a week. I couldn’t take it any longer. I stripped down, put on some blacks and covered the kitchen a la’ Dexter Morgan, preparing myself for the inevitable mess. I knew I could do it. Beets had been a popular fix for the past year and I’ve yet to see anyone with stained hands and clothes where it was prepared. It’s likely that these people aren’t prone to being a n’th degree klutz, but regardless, I was ready to conquer the beet and succeed, sans stain.

Tri-Color Beet Salad

| Ingredients |

Salad:

Three large beets (I used two red and one golden)
Package of tri-color heirloom baby tomatoes
Bunch of Basil (cut into strips)
Stalk of Green onion (chopped)

Dressing:

3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of agave nectar
1 clove of roasted garlic
1 tbsp of lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

| Preparation |

Preheat oven to 475ºF. Cut ends off of beets, drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly in tin foil. Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Wrap clove of garlic and leave in for 20 minutes. Check with a fork to see if beets are soft, as some oven temperatures vary. Once beats are ready, take them out of oven and let cool. Then using gloves, Ziploc bag or paper towel rub the skins off of the beets. [You can also try peeling in cold water, then reserve the liquid to make a drink. YUM.]

Cut beets into cubes or quarters. Cut the heirloom tomatoes in half and combine both in bowel. Add chopped green onion and basil.

Mix dressing ingredients together and whisk. Adding salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing on top of salad, mix then serve alone or with a crunchy warm baguette.

Plum Almond Cake - Dairy Free!

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:12:00 -0400

It’s the moment when slivers turn into eating half a cake. Yes, it happened to me. I pulled a Miranda from Sex and the City; except I wouldn’t dare to toss this heavenly moist almond goodness into my garbage. That’s like committing fresh baked goods crime. After the first hour post bake, I knew I was going to be in trouble, so I quickly turned to my phone, dialed my brother and made a date to drop some cake off to him. My brother is a great cook and now and then, we’ll combine forces. We don’t do it as often, as it usually results in a kitchen mess that would make Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout look like a clean freak. Not to mention, arguments on who gets to play chef and sous-chef (yes, we’re in our late twenty’s..) makes everyone in close vicinity want to toss us out of the house.

Morning of, I looked at my half eaten cake and no longer wanted to part. As shameful as it is to admit this, I spent five minutes deliberating on how much I would give; re- positioning the knife as if it had it’s own schizophrenic personality. I know what you’re thinking - this is becoming a pure gluttonous greedy moment. I guess the point I’m getting at is this cake was so good, I almost considered hiding it under my bed, like a pre teen on a hunger binge, with over fluctuating hormones. I grabbed hold of my hand, forcing the knife down into the moist centre and released.

Needless to say, my brother almost ate the whole piece I brought over, not able to control his itch for more. I think I’ll be making a second tomorrow.

So I’m going to keep this post short and get right to the point because you have to try this cake.

What’s so great about an almond cake is that it’s versatile, but also bold enough to hold it’s own. Almond cake is dense, but the almonds and moisture from the coconut milk in this cake give the illusion of an airy texture. I chose to use plums for my almond cake, as they were in the plenty at this past weekends farmers market. Perfectly ripe and ready for baking. Plums don’t tend to be overly sweet and have a strong tart note. I thought that would be an interesting flavor combination to the nutty note of the almond. What you’ll find surprising is this recipe is actually dairy free. I find that coconut milk is much more useful for creating long lasting moisture than butter and milk.

| Ingredients |

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup of ground almonds (either pre bought or self grounded)
1 cup of sugar
½ cup room temperature coconut milk (from the can, use fat that is reserved at the top)
½ cup room temperature brown rice milk
3 large eggs room temperature
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp of pure almond extract
1 pint (10-12) small plums

| Preparation | Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a round pie pan or 8x8 pan. In a bowl, combine eggs, milks, sugar, extracts and whisk until smooth. In another bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk together until incorporated. Pour flour mixture slowly into the wet mixture and whisk until very smooth and well incorporated. No clumps. Pour batter into pan and arrange fruit as desired (PLS READ IMPORTANT TIPS BELOW) Place in oven and bake for 45 - 55 min depending on oven strength. Use a tooth pick to determine whether finished. It should come out dry, but if there’s a bit of moisture after 50 minutes, that’s okay, as long as there’s other dry areas in the cake.

| IMPORTANT TIPS |

** Since my dish was a bit deep and the almond cake had a lot of spring in the oven, I learned a very valuable lesson on making sure your fruits are still on display. Here are a few tips.

Pour a little bit of batter and then layer fruits.
Pour remaining batter and layer fruits as desired. If you find your fruits are sinking, when crust has just started to change to a golden hue (15-20 minutes in), put a final layer of fruit on top. This way you get the indentation of the original top layer and still get to see your fruit. Looks very pretty.
If you don’t want to layer twice on top (part way through bake) use larger plums or use larger fruits.

| To Serve | Once cooled for 20 minutes, sift icing sugar on top. This is optional.

WARNING: Meshuga can not be held responsible if user eats whole cake. Proceed with caution and with stand by knife for slivers.

Vegan Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:29:00 -0400

My favorite meal of the year is a bitter sweet experience. The bitter, I have to fast for an entire day; the sweet, I’m privy to a glorious buffet of homemade dairy goods by Jewish moms. The bitter, my digestive system screams at the top of its lungs all night, post dairy fix, causing me to live through the consequences of a dairy overload; the sweet, I get to indulge in lasagna, lox, Mediterranean dips, eggplant parmesan and three types of quiche all loaded onto one, relentless paper plate. It seems like a lot of grief for one meal, but it’s worth it. This year just ended up being particularly hard because of my mostly in the home vegan cooking…my digestive walls had not built up the immunity required for such a feast. Despite the recent war with my digestive track, my love for the breaking of the fast meal has not wavered. It still stands strong.

Cooking my way through my new vegan cookbooks I decided that I’d bring a special vegan treat to the breaking of the fast, that could be a good offload from the dairy feed. I ventured into the world of vegan baking and decided my food offering for the meal would be “Green Tea Matcha Vegan Cupcakes”. A bunch of conservative Jewish eaters, who find Italian food a foreign culinary experience…Serving green cupcakes next to the usual fruit tray and cheesecake would be risky. I pictured myself like “Sam I am” insisting to try my dish – perhaps in a house, or in a boat or on a train. Would anyone go for one? Would it take creative poetic manipulating? Would they be left a shore with the always ignored bland honey cake?

They loved it. People were hesitant at first. Gawking and doing the back and forth jaunt until they finally picked one up and shoved the bite size green treat in their mouth. Shock was painted on all of their faces – how could something green, be so tasty? They were grabbing more than one, probing for the recipe and I saw the host sneak some into her fridge before they were gone.

I find vegan cooking so liberating. I love that you can enjoy many of the same flavors and dishes, but without the unhealthy ingredients and the bonus of getting your daily vegetables and vitamins. Watching people gasp as they shake their head in disbelief of no diary, “how could it be so moist…no eggs…no milk…?” It’s possible. You can enjoy some of your favorite sweet treats without sacrificing your digestive system or your animal rights beliefs.

Courtesy of Color me Vegan, I was inspired by her Matcha Cupcake recipe. I changed only one thing but for the most part stuck to her advice. Best to do that with any baking recipe, until you’ve become a savant in the science of baking.

For the green tea powder, I spent a lot of time deciding on whether I go with something high end or bottom shelf. I decided to stick with the Japanese variety instead of the Korean and Chinese. I bought mine from Davids. It was mid range price. I was mostly concerned with the color, as I wanted a bright green cupcake. Since green tea is strong, the flavor breaks through, so don’t be too concerned if you don’t spend a fortune. It’s for baking so you really shouldn’t be spending more than $15 for 50 grams, and that slightly on the higher end.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
½ to ¾ cup (100 to 150 g) granulated sugar
2 Tbsp (18 g) plus 1 tsp matcha green tea power (or similar green tea powder)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup (235 ml) of coconut milk (top liquid from coconut milk can
½ nondairy milk I used brown rice milk (you can use almond, soy, rice, hazelnut, hemp or oat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil (you can use canola if you don’t want the flavor)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Green Tea Frosting

½ cup (112 g) nonhydrogenated, nondairy butter (such as Earth Balance)
1½ cups (150 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp powdered green tea (such as matcha)
3 to 4 Tbsp (45 to 60 ml) nondairy milk (I used brown rice milk (you can use almond, soy, rice, hazelnut, hemp or oat)
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
½ cup (63 g) coarsely ground pistachio nuts, for topping

| Preparation - Cupcakes | Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a muffin tin or fill with cupcake liners. I used the mini cupcake tins. It made 36 mini cupcakes. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine flour, sugar, green tea powder, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in milk, oil and vanilla. Stir to combine, making sure to break up any large clumps and being careful not to overstir.

Divide batter among the 36 mini or 12 prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.

| Preparation - Frosting | With an electric hand mixer or using a fork, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and mix until well incorporated and smooth. Once thoroughly combined and smooth add green tea powder, 2 Tbsp milk, vanilla extract and almond extract. Beat for a few minutes, until the frosting is light and fluffy, adding 1 or 2 Tbsp more milk, if needed. Cover frosting with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1 hour

| To Serve | When ready to use, frost each cupcake and top with ground pistachios.

Two new #vegan cookbooks I picked up at the #wordonthestreet...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:10:20 -0400

Two new #vegan cookbooks I picked up at the #wordonthestreet book fair. Let the vegan cooking ensue!

The Kind of Challah you Can't Quit

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:46:00 -0400

When I was younger, “star wipe” – Friday nights epitomized my childhood, pre-divorce. Not only was it the one time a week the whole family came together for a meal, but it also meant a good meal, by a very special guest. The bus would stop at the corner of the street and as I took that first step out, my yid senses went off – Bubbie was at home. I swear I could smell that Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup from down the street. Like Pepe Le Pew, on a mission for love, my body would float blissfully towards imaginary scent lines. Swinging the door with such force, almost knocking it off its hinges, I’d enter the source of the taunting sweet smell. Looking up from my untied shoelaces, there would be Bubbie. Sitting across the hall at the kitchen table, cigarette in hand. The smell of smoke melding with that of the smell of chicken soup – this smell etched in my memory for life. She’d be chatting up a storm with the babysitter, her blond bob oscillating as she waved to me from down the hall.

Her passion for food and family is truly at the core of my inspiration to cook. I have such warm feelings when I think of the occasions where Bubbie catered our meals. Whatever this woman touched, turned to Jewish ‘soul food’ gold. I remember watching her in her kitchen: limited appliances, recipes written on the back of whatever scrap paper she could find, and her swaying to and throw from cabinet to cabinet, making magic on the stove top.

This past weekend was Rosh Hashanah and I decided to bake the Challah for our dinner. I’ve made a few challah’s before, but something felt different about this one. I thought of my Bubbie the whole time, trying to imitate the same kind of passion she put into her meals. On Rosh Hashanah instead of your typical braided loaf, you make a crown, to represent the crown of The New Year. I found a great demonstration for braiding a crown loaf, that was very easy and turned out beautiful, with it’s rounded layered texture.

Check out the link to learn how to make a 6 Braid Crown Challah

I fused a traditional challah recipe, with ingredients that don’t jeopardize my whole, clean health approach to eating. But, who am I kidding. A challah without butter - ain’t your traditional bubbie’s challah. The three proofs are very important in this recipe as is a warm place to allow it to rise. I didn’t allow enough time for my final bench proof, so it came out a bit small. But, it’s not about the size, it’s about the flavor. Ushering the challah to the table, after some prayers and apples dipped in honey, the challah had a life span of 8 minutes.

9 People - 1 Challah - 8 Minutes. That’s got to be some kind of record.

This recipe births a full bodied challah, with deep sweet undertones and a salty finish. The extra egg yolk helps give the challah the traditional yellow look. With some patience, attention to detail and lots of love from the soul, you won’t be able to quit this Challah.

Quantity: Yields one loaf.

Ingredients:

2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast (or 1 package)
3-1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour (approx) - first use 3 cups then add to eye
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp liquid wild flower honey
3 tbsp of agave nectar
1/4 cup butter, melted (or vegetable oil, but I’d stick with butter for this)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 egg yolks

Topping:
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 - 2 tbsp of sesame seeds and poppy seeds

Directions:

In large mixing bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of the flour. Add honey, butter, eggs and egg yolks. Mix to incorporate, then add salt. Stir on stand mixer or with hand until dough forms.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk and indentation remains when dough is poked with 2 fingers, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough; and let rest for another 20 minutes.
If making a six strand as I did, divide dough into 6 equal pieces, roll up and let rest for another 20 minutes. If you have a scale its easy to first divide the dough into two pieces and then divide those into three. The total weight should be around 430 grams a piece.
Roll out dough into 30-inch (76 cm) long rope, or as long as it will go. Lest rest for 10 minutes. After rest, roll out again and prepare to make challah crown. I’ve included a how to video below for the Challah I made. How to make a 6 Braid Crown Challah

It should look like this:

6. Cover crown loaf or braid loaf with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

7. Topping: Stir egg with 1 tsp water; brush over loaf. Sprinkle with seeds.

8. Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until golden brown and loaf has an internal temperature of 88°C, 35 to 45 minutes. You can also tap the bottom to listen for hollow sound. Let cool on rack.

Roasted Vegetable Empanadas

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:24:12 -0400

Have you ever had the question posed to you, “If you were on death row, what would your last meal be”?

I find it to be a defining question into someone’s personality and its come up in most conversations with friends. This is one of the last tangible choices you have. If you’ve never had anyone ask you what your last meal would be, think about it; what would it be? Some people like to enforce rules like: has to be realistic to your location, you only get one choice of cuisine, one item etc… I play with no rules. Let your imagination run wild, you’re about to have the plug pulled; have whatever you want! You want Chef Ramsey - we can do that. You want an unusual beach slug from Japan - we can do that too. In the world of “imagination death row’”,anything is possible.

I’ve thought long and hard about my last meal. Spent a few years jumping from cuisine to cuisine or focusing on my flavor of the month. As my food child matured, I decided that I better start having conviction in my last meal, and be prepared for the next time I was asked that vital question.

My last meal would be a Mexican Smörgåsbord. A long wooden table, stretching to the very end of the room, carpeted with a variety of my Mexican favorites: swordfish ceviche, tuna ceviche, shrimp ceviche; a taco stand with all of the fixings; four types of empanadas; an oversized bowl of guacamole, that if I so choose, I could swim in; tamales stuffed with the most succulent fish; hand made corn tortilla chips; arepas; a tray of serano’s, habanero’s, limes, coriander and a tall pitcher of rock sugar mint mojito. To top it off, I’d request the presence of the patriarch of Mexican cuisine, from a small village outside of Mexico City; who would cook in front of me, sharing his secrets to the cuisine and the stories from his childhood of cooking with his grandmother. You may think it’s a bit excessive, especially if I’ve committed some heinous crime, but I like to see my story as being similar to that of ‘The Life of David Gale”: wrongfully accused with poetic undertones, justifying the need to milk the people’s taxes to pacify my betrayal through my palette.

So, this brings me to the empanada. It’s not often I get to indulge in an empanada chow down, since most available options are meat centric or extremely heavy and gas inducing (so people have told me…) I was flipping through one of my new baking cook books and came upon a recipe for empanada dough. I knew I had a ripe eggplant, red peppers, onion, chickpeas, heirloom tomatoes and fresh herbs. I could make Roasted Vegetable Empanadas, playing around with the dough, so it wouldn’t be too heavy.

RECIPE:

Empanada Dough

Ingredients:

450 grams (3 cups) of all purpose flour
7 g (1.5 teaspoons) of salt
210 ml of water (chilled)
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1 egg
1 tbsp of brown rice miso (replacement for suet)

Directions:

Put flour and salt in bowl. Add miso to measured water and mix throughly. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the water (with miso), vinegar and egg. Mix until well incorporated. [You can use a stand mixer for this, but best results come from wooden spoon and hand]
Lightly flour your work surface and start working the dough, kneading for 3 minutes. Let dough rest for a couple of minutes and knead again until dough it smooth and elastic. Cover in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours. [you can leave the dough for longer, just allow it to warm a little before rolling out]
Roll out dough to 12x29 inch rectangle. It should be around 2mm (1/16 inch) thick. Using a pastry cutter or a similar sized round plate/lid, cut ten circles from the pastry 5 1/2 inch diameter. Roll up and roll out remaining dough and use to cut out additional pieces. The dough is now ready for filling.

Filling:

Ingredients:

1 whole eggplant (roasted)
1 whole red pepper (roasted)
½ Red Onion (roasted)
½ a can of chickpeas
10 heirloom baby tomatoes (roasted)
2 garlic gloves (chopped very fine)
Feta
Coriander
Salt & Pep to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Dash of cinnamon
1 egg for wash

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 475F. Cut all vegetables into small cubes and season with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast until soft.
Remove dough from fridge and allow it to warm, near room temperature but still cold to touch. It’s easier to roll out this way.
Mash chickpeas with olive oil in a bowl. Add fresh herbs, feta, and spices. Once roasted vegetables are cooled, combine with chickpeas and lightly mix to incorporate all of the ingredients.
Saute garlic on stove top with olive oil and add to bowl.
Turn oven temperature down 450F.
See Empanada Recipe for rolling out pastry.
Use a tbsp of filling and then fold seam to seam, using a fork to close seams. If seams open, dry drying the area, or put flour/cornmeal on your hands and fork.
Place empanadas on a greased cookie sheet or on parchment paper, cover with egg wash and put in oven. Empanadas will be ready when they are golden in color. Average time: 20 minutes. But use your eyes as oven strength varies.

It’s tempting to want to eat these all to yourself, but thankfully my roommate called three as they came hot out of the oven. We enjoyed it with a tomatoe chutney I had made and some Italian hot peppers in oil. Empanadas are like a blank canvas, you can literately stuff anything in them. I encourage fresh ingredients, creative flavor combos and not last nights left over dinner of pizza and wings.

Stopped in at Hibiscus in Kenssignton for a vegan soup/salad...

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:31:11 -0400

Stopped in at Hibiscus in Kenssignton for a vegan soup/salad lunch combo.