Free Downloadable cookbooks

Looking for new recipes?
You can download some free cookbooks for your Kindle (or your e-reader on your PC. I don't have a Kindle, either...)!






E-cookbooks.net offers a variety of PDF files with recipes

Here's a free 5-ingredient cookbook!

Note: many of these cookbooks contain recipes that are not kosher. If you want help with a recipe makeover, comment on this post - giving me the recipe (or link to it) and I'll see what I can do!

Printable Coupon! (well, sort of)

I have been SEARCHING and SEARCHING for printable coupons for you. I do often find some. They are for products I would never buy in a million years - like fabric softener. Or scented detergent. Or potions to stop your hair from thinning. Do you want me to post them?

This time, I found a deal from a baby product website. It's not really a coupon. It's just an offer to buy their "seconds" at a reduced price. For 99 NIS, you will get a silicone bib, one of those funky "magic bowls" that doesn't spill, 4 baby spoons, and a toddler sippy cup with handles. And it will all be delivered to you, with no additional charge for delivery. Personally, I can't decide if it's a good deal or not. I'm not in the market for baby items right now, so I'm not so well versed on the prices for baby products in Israel. Let me know what you think!

Click here for the offer!

Tomato Soup with Roasted Red Peppers, Fennel, and Rice

I bought lots of fennel last week. I used up a bunch of bulbs grilling them, and even adding them to my potato soup, but I still had those stalks hanging around. I was determined to use them. After all, fennel is a really healthy food.

I planned to make tomato soup for supper. It was supposed to be a sort of chunky soup, with lots of diced onion, red and green peppers, garlic, and rice thrown in. As I was preparing the onion, I remembered those lonely fennel stalks. I grabbed a few. Chopped them. Added them to the onion that was in my pot... And the result was delicious.

Here's the recipe:


1-2 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 fennel stalks, diced
1 red pepper, diced (I actually used 1/2 a red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper this time)
olive oil
tomato paste (I used about 500 g. It depends on the size of your pot)
water or soup stock
1/2 c. brown rice (or more, if you want)
salt, pepper, basil, oregano, or whatever herbs and seasonings you like best. Maybe one day I'll pick some rosemary from our yard and try that!

Saute the vegetables in olive oil, till the onion is soft and the garlic and pepper are very fragrant and softened as well. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and bring to a boil. Simmer for at least 30 min - make sure your rice is fully cooked before serving. Enjoy!


This post was linked up to the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop on 11/29/2011

Healthy cupcakes?!

Nope. Cupcakes are not health food. Cupcakes are never going to be health food - at least not if they are going to taste good at all!
So my daughter wanted to share cupcakes with friends for her birthday. I don't have a ton of junk in the house - no powdered sugar, margarine, white flour... so I made cupcakes with what I have around! They are not healthy. They are not low-sugar. They are not low fat. But they ARE slightly less guilt-inducing than your standard cupcakes, and they went over very well!

Here's the recipe - I adapted a very unhealthy recipe and came up with this:

4 T. ground flaxseed + 1 1/4 c. boiling water
1 cup oil (I used canola, use what you want)
2 cups raw sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. soy milk
1.5 c. whole wheat flour
1.5 c. cocoa
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder

First combine the ground flaxseed with boiling water. Mix it well and let it rest 5-10 min. Add other liquid ingredients (+ sugar) and mix really well. Then add the dry ingredients. Mix well.
Fill up 24 muffin/cupcake cups (I use silicone muffin cups. works perfectly). Bake at 350 F for about 25-30 min. When done (test with a toothpick), remove from the oven and dot the top of each cupcake with a square of chocolate. Tent the pan with foil, and allow the chocolate to get soft. Spread it around the top of each cupcake. Allow to cool and serve!
Enjoy, and don't feel so guilty about serving them. They are whole wheat, after all. Just NOT health food.

Tuesday, November 28, 2011

It's bound to be a busy day, so I need a supper plan early so I don't get stuck.  I would love to use up some of the odds and ends around the house... (I'm doing a sort-of pantry challenge this week. Only sort of because I'm unwilling to commit to not going to the store. But I'll try not to. Does that work? Is anyone joining me?)

Here's the plan:

Tomato soup with rice

Fake quesadillas (made with pitot instead)

Avocados, Carrots, Green Peppers

Money Saving Tip

Sometimes, even frugal families need to get out and DO SOMETHING. While there is a lot to do that is free (more on that some other time), some things just aren't free.

My kids have been asking to go ice skating. I'm not a big fan of being cold, but they find something about ice skating alluring. I have been trying to plan an outing for them, so I figured I'd share the discount coupon with all of you!

Click here for a discount to "Merkaz Canada". For those of us who live up in the Northern part of Israel, it's not THAT unreasonable a drive. On the other hand, if you live in Eilat, you may need a coupon for a Tzimmer to go with it!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Tonight's menu was a little too starchy, but just helped me use up things we had around the house. I'm wondering if I can get by this week with only buying milk. What are the chances?!


Potato soup (with fennel hidden inside of it. Too late, family who is reading this after the fact, you ALREADY ATE IT!) - dice and saute large amounts of onion, garlic, fennel bulb, and potato. When the onions are translucent, add water, salt, and pepper. Bring it all to a boil and cook till the potatoes are soft. Puree the whole thing and serve with croutons or your favorite soup addition.

Pasta with cheese sauce / Pasta with tomato sauce

Cucumbers, Avocados, Purple Cabbage

What to do with Fennel

Last week, fennel was one of those super-sale vegetables. I bought some, figuring I'll experiment with it.

Here are some ideas:

Grill it, and eat it plain

Grill it, and eat it tossed with a citrus-based dressing (really delicious!)

Cut into cubes and toss with olive oil and salt, and roast in your oven till nicely browned

Saute in olive oil

Slice thinly, soak in ice water, and use in fresh salads (the ice water makes it really crisp) (seems to go well with citrus)

Use in soups

Use in quiche (saute or roast it first!)

Cook in tomato sauce and serve over rice or similar

Here's a list of a wide variety of recipes that use fennel (note: not all the recipes in this link are kosher)

Here's another interesting list of fennel recipes (note: not all the recipes in this link are kosher)

Personally, I think I'm up to trying a creamy fennel soup! sounds great!

What will you be making with your fennel?

Free samples!

Wissotsky Tea is giving away free samples of their new green tea flavors.

Click here to choose your 3 favorites, fill out some information, (make sure to click on the tab on the page that says "טעמי הסדרה והזמנת דוגמיות") and some free tea samples will be on their way to you in the mail!

Stay warm and let me know what flavors you get!

Free samples!

Wissotsky Tea is giving away free samples of their new green tea flavors.

Click here to choose your 3 favorites, fill out some information, (make sure to click on the tab on the page that says "טעמי הסגרה והזמנת דוגמיות") and some free tea samples will be on their way to you in the mail!

Stay warm and let me know what flavors you get!

Shabbat Parashat Toldot, Nov 25-26, 2011

Shabbat is so early this week! I kind of already posted my Shabbat menu when I posted my Thanksgiving menu but I'll give a quick recap and a few adjustments!

Here's what I made:

Fresh Challot

Lentil-vegetable soup (Fri. nite)

Lentil stew (in the crock pot, for lunch)

Turkey legs

Pomegranate chicken

Rice

Stuffed peppers

Grilled Fennel

Roast Potatoes

Breaded eggplant with tomato sauce

Avocados

Citrus Fruit salad

Chocolate Chip Cake

Want recipes? Leave me a note.
Shabbat Shalom!

Printable Coupon!

Here is a coupon for Achla brand Hummus!

My Thanksgiving Menu

I'm really serving my Thanksgiving menu on Friday night, instead of Thursday. Pretty standard practice here among the ex-pats, I think!

Here's what I think I'm making:

Vegetable soup (heavy on the carrots, since they are 2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Roasted Turkey Legs

Pomegranate Chicken

Grilled fennel (in my stove top grill pan) (2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Roasted potatoes (2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Stuffed peppers (green peppers are on sale for 2 NIS/kg at mega!) - stuffed with rice and vegetable pilaf

Breaded Eggplant with tomato sauce (eggplant is on sale for 2 NIS/kg at mega!)

Avocado - my kids like them plain, and all the ones that were left from that sale a couple of weeks ago are suddenly ripe!

So - in short, our Thanksgiving dinner is a celebration of all the local in season produce I can find!

Printable Coupon!

Here is a printable coupon for Yogurt



I'm not really sure what Yoplait Shtuzim are. Can someone tell me?
Anyhow, this coupon is good at Mega until the middle of next year.
Enjoy!