Zucchini Carrot Muffins - No Sugar Added

I just went to take pictures of my moist, delicious muffins, but they're all gone!  I usually make my muffins with some ground dates or prunes and some brown or white sugar, but this is the fist time I've attempted to make muffins with no sugar.  I don't know if these are technically diabetic approved, but you can surely eat them and feed them to your family with less guilt.  I am no expert, but my understanding is that the fiber in the fruits, vegetables, and whole wheat flour, as well as the beneficial effects of cinnamon, should slow the body's conversion of the ingredients into simple sugars (needing insulin) making them low-glycemic.  I welcome anyone who can comment on this.

Here's what you need to make about 2 dozen small/medium muffins:

3 zucchini - grated

3 carrots - grated

8-10 prunes - blended

8-10 dates - blended

2 or 3 eggs

1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil (or some combination with natural apple sauce)

2-3 Tbsp agave syrup (optional)

1/4 tsp vanilla or 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (depending on your taste)
1 tsp cinnamon

1 teaspoon or 5 grams (1/2 packet) baking powder (I couldn't find baking soda, but you could use a combination.)

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup raisens, more to taste

Tiramisu Cupcakes

My friend Yael Schuster, of Haifa, Israel, posted this mouthwatering photo on Facebook and I asked her to write a post about it.  Yael is clearly a natural blogger, but has her hands full with two beutiful boys.  She also just completed her PhD in Chemistry from the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.  What caught my attention about this dessert, was the pairing of the ultra-trendy cupcake with the ever-classy tiramisu.  Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people and holiday traditions include eating dairy and staying up all night learning Torah.  Visit Yael's Sweet Shop on Facebook to see her beautiful confections or order treats!

Shavuot has got to be my favorite holiday. It's the one time I don't have to be ashamed of my intense relationship with butter and 38 % milkfat cream. Heck, it's even on sale! It's fun to teach the kids about something that doesn't involve plagues or fasting. I don't even mind the staying up all night- somebody else, of course. Not me- I stay home to "watch" the kiddies. BUT, I am sorry to say, I do not like cheesecake. I don't like the soft, soggy Israeli excuse for cream cheese. I don't like paying 60 shekels [$18 today] to make one cake with said pathetic cream cheese. I don't like making crumb crusts. I don't like carting around ten pounds (sorry, 4.5 kilos) of dessert in one pan. And I just don't like the taste of bland sugary cheese.

This year, when I was asked to bring dessert to a friend's house, I decided that the drown-yourself-in-dairy holiday needed to take a different approach. Tiramisu. In cupcake form. Genius.

Tarragon Salmon

I just read that Tarragon likes a hot sunny spot and is very tolerant of drought and poor soil.  That must be why it's doing so well under my inconsistent care!  My mother-in-law actually turned me on to salmon and tarragon.  She makes a delicious simple dish by painting the salmon with mayonnaise, and seasoning generously with dry tarragon.  Fresh tarragon leaves can also be added to green salad and used in tea (said to cure insomnia.)  I'd like to share two ways I have made salmon with tarragon. 

Tehina Health Cookies

My friend, Tzippy, gave me the recipe for these delicious cookies.  She sent me the marvelous pictures below from the last time she made the cookies.  Tzippy notes that she always makes a double batch, so I assume that is what the pictures are showing.

Tehina is sesame paste most commonly used to make a mild or savory dip by the same name.  Make sure you buy pure sesame paste (there may be oil on top like natural peanut butter), and not the dip mixed with water, lemon, garlic, etc.  In the U.S you may need to look in the kosher, ethnic, or health food aisle.  Sesame paste is also used to make the dessert halva.  If you appreciate good halva, you will enjoy these cookies.

Basil and Guest-Worthy Pesto

First, I have some personal news to share.  There is a reason I have not felt like thinking or writing about food for the past few months.  We're expecting a new member of our family in October, G-d willing!  Now I'm back on my feet and feeling creative.  I look forward to sharing some fresh summer ideas with you. 

Today I'd like to tell you about the three types of basil I have hanging out my window and share a dish I made a couple months ago that I can't stop thinking about.

 Sweet basil (left) is one of the most popular, for good reason.  It grows easily, is easy to cut, prune, and cook with, and tastes great.  It has bright shiny leaves and little white flowers (if you don't keep it cut).

Update on My Pots and Pans, PLUS Recommendations.

I started writing a little update to my post “To Stick or Not to Stick: Alternatives to Teflon” and I decided it was worthy of a separate post.  If you haven’t already read the first post, please do.

At the store, I couldn't lift any of the cast iron cookware I had been romanticizing.  I think I am finally over my craving for a cast iron pot or pan, unless I take up weight-lifting.

After writing the above article I decided that it was worth having a little non-stick pan just for cooking eggs.  I don't use oil or heat the pan above medium, and it heats in the time it takes me to crack and scramble two eggs.  They take about two minutes to cook.  When the pan cools, I just wipe it clean with a dry rag.  I never leave the pan in the sink where it could soak or someone might drop silverware in it.  I use a silicone spatula to scramble the eggs. 

Asado / Mangal: Argentine-Israeli Fusion

In honor of the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, I took out our tiny charcoal grill and played with matches until I had something I thought might cook some bits of meat and veggies.  Israelis take their barbecue, called "Mangal," very seriously.  On Independence Day, "Yom Ha'atzmaut," the parks are so full of smoke from everyone's little grills you can hardly see a couple meters ahead.  On Lag B'Omer the predominant tradition is building bonfires.  

Growing up in Florida, we often went to my grandparents' house for "asado," Argentine barbecue involving a variety of meats.  I remember a lot of eating as things cooked on the grill, and then more eating when we all sat down to eat.  At the table a jar of chimichurri was always passed around to put on the bread and top the meats.  As I write this, my Aunt is preparing to have my grandparents over for asado this evening.  

Passover Brownies (Gluten-free)

I like to make a variety of goodies before Passover begins: walnut brittle, meringues, chocolate nut meringue-type cookies, brownies, and sometimes ginger candy.  This year I got strep throat right before Pesach, and in the interest of simplicity I had my husband whip up two pans of these very easy brownies.  Based on the "Pesach Brownies" recipe on page 199 of the Spice and Spirit Kosher for Passover Cookbook.   Multiply by two for two 9"x13" pans - "half pans".

Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C.

Beat together:
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup potato starch

Optional, but highly recommended, add:
1 cup whole, chopped, or ground walnuts
 I like LOTS of nuts, and I add extra on top. 

Bake in a greased 9" by 13" pan, 30 minutes or until the batter is firm.

You may also like other Passover Ideas.

Gluten-Free Passover Crepes

One of my favorite things to make on Pesach are crepes.  Once you learn to eye the ingredients they are easy to whip up for breakfast or lunch.  In the morning, I make about 3 from 2 eggs without measuring.  Before Shabbat, I use a recipe and make 9-12 eggs worth.  During the year we don't eat much dairy, but on Pesach, I love to melt cheese in crepes, make pizza wraps with homeade tomato sauce, or make tuna melts (pictured.)  Sometimes I spread them with my thick, sweet stewed tomatoes and add leftover chicken from soup, lettuce, and fresh herbs. 

Matzoh Ball Soup

Kneidalach or matzah balls are a traditional soup accompaniment year round, but for many, Pesach, or Passover, is when they expect this treat. 

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1.5 Tbsps cold water, seltzer/soda water, or cold broth
• 2 Tbsps oil or chicken fat (you could scrape it off the top of cold soup if you make it a day ahead)
• 1/2 cup matzoh meal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper
• wide pot with top and minimum 5 inches of broth

Directions:

1. Beat together with a fork eggs, oil, liquid.
2. Mix in matzoh meal, salt, and pepper.
3. Refrigerate for about an hour. The matzoh meal needs time to absorb the liquid and chill well.
4. Bring broth the a boil.
5. Wet hands with cold water and form small balls.
6. Simmer covered 20-35 minutes.

For matzoh ball tips and soup recipe see How to make great Chicken Soup.



You can make matzoh meal in your food processor from machine or hand-made shmura matzoh, or you can buy it plain or seasoned in little packets made by Manishevitz, Osem, etc.  How do you like your matzoh balls? Firm or fluffy? Small or soft-ball sized?

Please comment with your maztoh ball memories!

For more on making broth, see
How to make great Chicken Soup
Stock Pile - or - What I Learned from My Snails.