Travel to Zichron Yaakov and review of Nili Restaurant

My mother is visiting from Florida for 10 days - yay! Yesterday we had a lovely day trip to the scenic and relaxing Zichron Yaakov and Ramat Hanadiv. If you are staying in Tel Aviv, or anywhere along Israel's train route, Zichron Yaakov is easy to get to. The train ride is surprisingly pleasant and the system is easy to use without any of the hassles of air travel or the uncertainty of buses. From the Binyamina train station, cross the street and take the #70 bus to the last stop.

In Zichron Moshe, we went to the First Aliya Museum, about the Jewish immigrants of the 1880's, and we walked along the pedestrian mall section of Hameyasdim Street. We had an outstanding lunch at Nili (kosher mehadrin). The presentation, atmosphere, food, and service was all excellent. I wasn't terribly excited by the sushi menu until my mom brought my attention to the Special Vegetarian - tamago, shitake, kampyo takuan wrapped in sweet potato and avocado. It turned out to be the surprise highlight of the meal - sweet, soft, and fresh. We also ordered the portobello mushroom appetizer with roasted pepper and goat cheese. I loved the gentle crispness formed around the circles of lightly roasted goat cheese. I splurged on tagliattele alfredo with fresh salmon.

Turn Failed Meringues into Killer Cookies PLUS Passover Dessert Link-up

NOTE: Feel free to skip trying to make meringues and go straight to the super easy cookie recipes below.

Other Passover Desserts (all gluten-free, non-gebroks):
Blintzes
Fudgy Brownies
Banana Ice Cream
Fruit Compote

I've had a rough relationship with meringues. For years I would try making meringues and encounter one of several problems:

• My cheap hand mixer was insufficient or the motor would overheat before I had "stiff peaks."
• My own hand with whisk got tired before I reached "stiff peaks."
• I added the sugar too fast.
• I tried to make too big of a batch.
• My "stiff peaks" collapsed when I added cocoa powder.
• I got too creative "folding in" other ingredients and my meringues collapsed or turned to soup.

There's no reason to dump perfectly good egg whites just because they didn't 'peak'. With just a little encouragement and support, those whites can grow up into some very unique cookies that your family and guests will go NUTS over!

Chocolate Walnut Cookies

If you haven't already added cocoa powder to your whites, do it now. I usually start with about:

Non-Dairy Stinging Nettle and Garlic Quiche

Winter is over and the nettles are not looking so hot. Now is your last chance! Find a shady spot with some spunky looking nettles and (carefully) rescue them. I've heard they have health benefits, but I think of them as a free alternative to spinach.

I got the idea for this dish while listening to the February 1, 2013 episode of the Good Food Market Report. My husband and I enjoy listening to the show together and chuckling at all the different varieties of a vegetable or terms like source - "You mean buy?" In this episode Ria Wilson, Sous Chef at Sqirl Cafe, was discussing how she 'sources' the greens for her Green Garlic & Nettle Frittata. But buying stinging nettles? This gave me quite a laugh. I've cooked with nettles before, but never really valued them until I heard about a chef paying good money for them. I was also happy to hear that my sprouted garlic could have a bright future. 

Pre-Pesach Kosher Cooking Carnival

Chodesh tov! I've been hearing people mentioning Pesach for over a month, and until recently, it hadn't quite clicked why. According to my daughter, the families of all her friends in our building are already done cleaning for Pesach! When she interrogated me about my Pesach cleaning, I assured her that I had begun... by cleaning out a couple boxes of cookies.

Well, the month of Nisan has arrived! I now give you all permission to begin your Pesach preparations, and even mention the 'P' word without me growling in return.

This week I am giddy with excitement to welcome a new member into our home, specifically, my kitchen - a Magimix food processor. It only cost half a years worth of diapers! I just can't stop thinking about it. It actually makes me want to clean faster so I'll have more time in the kitchen to chop and whip  things up like Pesach brownies, Homemade Gefilte fish, Cauliflower Tabouleh, Banana Ice Cream, quick tomato sauce for Shakshouka (pictured), and "Fresh" Sriracha - Homemade Hot Sauce.

I'm also going to make lots more of Faye Levy’s Almond Macaroons posted by Miriyummy.


Then after Pesach I hope to make more bread, like Easy Awesome Onion Challah (where I can use the Magimix to chop the onions and knead the dough) and stuffed focaccia like the Focaccia Hamentashen I made for Purim.

I love the idea of Schlissel Challah, Key Shaped Bread Baked After Passover (pictured) made by Creative Jewish Mom Sarah Rivka.

I could whip up Chaviva's No-bake Peanut Butter Mousse Pie or make a giant batch of Lavash/Laffa Bread posted on Challah Maidel.

Or maybe I'll mix up a giant batch of cookies and freeze some! Batya shared a simple cookie "nonrecipe" in Not Exactly The Recipe, But....

How to make great Chicken Soup

When my friend, Tammy, was sick last month, I whipped up some Matzoh Ball Soup for her and her family. I received the following response:
"My dearest,I want to tell you,that your chicken soup was one of the best I ever tasted in all my life! The chicken was sooo....succulent...and juicy! I don't know how you did it,but it was THE BEST!!!!"

Chicken soup is one of those things that can seem intimidating, but once you do it a few times, it's at least as easy as making pasta salad.

Cook time: 20 minutes in a pressure cooker or 1 hour simmering in a regular pot

Basic ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• 2-4 carrots - peeled, whole
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, cut into a few pieces
• 1-2 onions, washed or peeled, quartered
• 1-2 bay leaves
• water
• salt to taste - maybe 1 tsp for kosher chicken, more for a non-kosher bird (kosher chickens are salted to remove the blood.) 

Extra ingredients or alternatives:
NOTE: don't overdo leafy things or you will have a soup that looks and tastes more green than meaty.

• whole peppercorns
• fresh or dry parsley
• celery seed (I only tried it because I didn't have parsley last time, but It was GREAT!)

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

''Fresh'' Sriracha - homemade hot sauce

I recently made "fresh" (unfermented) sriracha after hearing about the popular "Rooster Sauce" or "Hipster Ketchup" on a couple of my favorite podcasts. I based my sauce on the technique from Food52, with some changes for my palette.

0. Before you begin handling the chilis, put on gloves and do not remove them until you have washed the cutting board and knife after step 2.

1. Coarsely chop:

• 3/4 lb (1/3 kg) red chili peppers
• 4 cloves of garlic

2. Soak overnight in:

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar (or enough to just barely cover the chilis after you squeeze them down)
• 1 tsp sea salt

3. The next day add:

• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp tamari or good soy sauce (optional)
• a few drops of mushroom sauce or fish sauce (optional)

4. Simmer for 5-15 minutes. Blend well. (I used a hand-held stick blender.)

5. Pour the sauce through a mesh strainer. Use a spatula to squeeze out every last drop. Scrape the bottom of the strainer.

Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags Tutorial

To cut back on our use of plastic, I 'upcycled' these bags from ripped jeans. I began collecting post-wearable jeans for the aprons I was making. This is a great way to use smaller pieces of material.

Why these are better than the alternatives:

• Put food in while hot - it won't get soggy or melt the bag
• No worries about BPA's and the like leaking into your food
• Sanitary - machine washable in HOT water, unlike plastic-lined alternatives
• Cute and stylish
• Easy to make
• No 'Velcro' means they last much longer, however you wash them.

You will need:
Denim - You can usually make at least 8 bags from one pair of old jeans. (Note - stretch denim is more difficult to sew on a machine.)
Strong thread - a contrasting color is nice.

Food Rescue in Israel

This Saturday is Tu B'Shvat, the birthday of the trees. On Tu B'Shvat we eat fruits and nuts, plant trees, discuss mitzvot (Jewish laws or good deeds) related to trees, and other environmental issues.

A Mitzva Primer:
There are several Jewish laws prohibiting food waste, for instance you can not simply throw food away because something got in it that you think would make it un-kosher. A rabbi must be consulted, and in most cases, the food is permitted. (This applies after the fact; it does not make it permissible to purposely add something not kosher.) 

It is generally prohibited to throw away or ruin good food. This can include rendering food inedible by doing craft projects from food (bread, pasta, seeds) that would otherwise be edible.

There are also agricultural laws that relate to helping the needy. Farmers in Israel must leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and any produce that drops or is missed in the process of harvesting must be left for the needy. 

There is a wonderful organization that takes care of these important mitzvot while protecting the dignity of the needy. Leket Israel, Israel's National Food Bank, is an exceptional organization. Unlike other food banks and charities, it provides nutritional food like fresh produce (not canned and packaged foods) and it helps other businesses fulfill the mitzvah of avoiding food waste. Win-win! Leket Israel also has some new projects that use their organizational scale to help other non-profits improve efficiency.

Stained Glass Craft Tutorial

This week I took over a craft class for elementary school girls in our neighborhood. The craft is supposed to relate to the Torah portion of the week. This week's portion is "Shemot" the first portion in the book of Exodus, where Moses encounters G-d in the form of a burning bush.  

I've been itching to join the fun of "Craft Schooling Sunday" over at Creative Jewish Mom, and I already wrote the instructions out for my mom, I though I might as well share with all of you! This project was inspired by a project my mom used to do with acetate  as well as numerous other projects around the blogosphere. It was designed to be done in one hour with supplies I already had in the house.


I showed the girls (and a couple moms) pictures of other burning bush inspired stained glass. Then I asked them to draw what they thought the burning bush looked like.