Breakfast Trouble

Breakfast...
It has become SUCH a problem in my house lately.

What do you eat for breakfast? What about your kids?

I have one family member who has decided that cholent is the ideal breakfast.

One who wants to eat pasta or pizza.

Some eat oatmeal or granola...

HELP!

The cholent request was actually easy. I made a larger than usual vegetarian cholent for Shabbat and kept it pareve. I packaged it up into individual servings and those are frozen. They are in ovenproof containers. The cholent can be popped into the toaster oven before shul and should be steaming hot when shul is over. At least in theory.

I basically nixed the pasta and pizza request, but maybe I can accommodate that in the same way as the cholent request. Maybe I should make individual size baked ziti and freeze them -or something like that - for THAT person to pop in the toaster oven before davening!

I can handle oatmeal and granola requests. Those are normal...

I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with breakfast right now, though, since it takes so long to negotiate what each person will eat. And then get them to clean up when they are done... And my kids still think I should just buy cereal. They have this obsession with junky cereal they had at someone's house. The kind that looks like little chocolate chip cookies. That's their constant request. Sigh.

I try so hard to make sure they have healthy and delicious and frugal food. And they just want junk that won't help build strong bones, muscles, or brains.

What's an Eema to do?

Shabbat Menu

I can't believe it's almost Shabbat again!
The week really flew.

It's pretty incredible how that happens - on Monday you're thinking, "how will I EVER get through this week?" and by Thursday night, you just can't believe how quickly it went!

But that means it's time to cook for Shabbat again!

Here's my plan, I'm hoping that it will keep everyone happy.

Homemade Challah (I'm really low on flour so for the first time in a LONG time I will only make a small batch)

Vegetable soup (found some cheap cabbage this week, so I threw that in the pot to saute with the onions, also used garlic, celery, carrots, and kishuim/summer squash)

Vegetarian Cholent for lunch (DO soak that barley overnight first, it makes such a difference. I don't know why, but it does!)

Chicken - haven't figured out how I'm preparing it yet.

Rice (as usual)

Roasted potatoes (old standby too)

Honey-Cinnamon Oranges

Israeli Salad

Apple Crisp

Are my menus too boring and predictable? I keep coming back to the same old things, because that way I know my kids will eat the food I make! Last week I made roasted red peppers and no one touched them! What can I do?

Printable Coupons (Israel)

SuperPharm has a HUGE new batch of coupons up on their website!

Just click on the coupons you want, and then click the icon at the top of the page to print them.

Be sure to print them that way, as the ones on the regular coupon page do not have barcodes!

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dish detergent (750ml) for 5.99

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Huggies diapers for 37.99

Shkidei Marak (Soup nuts) for 4.99

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Lilly pastel toilet paper for 12.99

Food Recall (Israeli products)

The Foodlee (פודלי) Company, together with the Ministry of Health, announced a recall of the following products:

Soy Sauce, 750 ml bottle
Sweet Soy Sauce, 720 ml bottle
Teriyaki Sauce, 720 ml bottle

Due to a problem with the bottling equipment, ALL production dates through 19.10.2012/all expiration dates through 19.10.2013 are being recalled.
Consumers are requested to return the product to the store where purchased, to receive a credit for the purchase.

FYI, The Foodlee Company can be reached at: 050-8942832

Shopping Sales Tomorrow? (12/25)

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 Get $5 discount by giving a Better World Books Gift Certificate during December.

5.90/kg for Organic Vegetables!

Eden Teva Market is STILL offering a selection of organic vegetables for 5.90/kg! This offer is valid thru their online store only.

In addition, if you've never taken advantage of a Paypal discount before, right now, pay using Paypal and you'll get a 40 shekel discount!

They also have other sales going  on - like Buy 2, get one free for organic baby care products.

Menu Plan for the Week

We've been back from our trip for 5 days now. We're trying really hard to get back to normal. SOME of us had to jump right back into a work-a-day schedule (poor hubby, that was hard), and some of us have been taking our sweet time getting our body clocks back in sync with Israeli time (hello 5 yr old, sleeping at all hours of the day)... the rest of us are trying valiantly, but somehow 4 a.m. seems to be an awake time! (Sigh. I'd rather be sleeping and back on schedule.)

So instead of tossing and turning, I may as well be productive.

Here's my (supper) menu plan for the week, assuming I don't do a shuk day or other major shopping run:

Sunday (break the fast): Green Lentil Stew with Rice and Potatoes, Whole Wheat-Oatmeal-Flaxseed Bread (with butter), Fruit Salad

Monday: Shabbat Leftovers

Tuesday: Tomato Soup with Black Beans and Rice. Homemade Flatbreads with spreads (chumus, avocado) and roasted vegetables, scrambled eggs

Wednesday: Crock Pot Soup (not sure yet what kind, depends what's left in the house), flatbread pizzas

Thursday: Clean out the Fridge supper

Guest Post - Lachuch Recipe

 Laurie Rappeport has lived in Safed for over 25 years and worked at the Tourist Information Center in the Old Jewish Quarter for 13 years. She continues to be involved in a wide range of projects which are aimed at bringing visitors to Safed to enjoy the religious, historical, cultural and artistic sites and experiences that the city has to offer.

Safed has never been known for its fine cuisine but things may be changing.

The small northern town is recognized as the area where the study of Kabbalah flourished in the Middle Ages, earning Safed the title of the "City of Kabbalah" by which it is still identified today. It is a growing tourist center where people wander the lanes and alleyways of the Old Jewish Quarter and the Artists Quarter, visiting the ancient synagogues, cemetery and mikveh as well as the dozens of art galleries which display Judaica and other types of Israeli art.

But until recently, the eateries in the city were relatively mundane. There are several nice coffee houses in the
center of town, a bagel shop with REAL American bagels and toppings, a vegetarian health food eatery and some meat restaurants which generally serve a typical Israeli meal of salads, meats and chips.

Several years ago a new resident, Ronen, decided to open a restaurant that would offer the kind of Yemenite
food that he loved to eat in his own home growing up. Ronen's "Lachuch" can now be found in the center of the Old Jewish Quarter, along Alkabetz Street directly across from the Tzfat Tourist Information Center.

Ronen started out by serving a number of different dishes at his restaurant. He experimented with jachnun and sahlab and even served gat -- the Yemenite chewing plant -- but in the end, his lachuchs were so popular that he built his eatery around the hot, savory pancake-like dish.

Ronen's lachuchs are a work of art which he creates while standing in the restaurant's open window as he allows customers to watch while he makes each lachuch individually, according to the customer's order. Lachuchs can be rolled up and eaten on-the-go or can be served on a dish with an accompaniment of vegetables and olives.

It may not be possible to duplicate the exact texture of Ronen's lachuchs which he cooks in a cast-iron frying
pan at a very high heat but lachuchs are a healthy, low fat option for breakfast, lunch or dinner and can be easily prepared at home.



Lachuch Recipe:

Yeast mixture
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
Warm water
Proof the yeast by mixing the yeast and sugar in a cup of warm water. When it starts to
bubble, it's ready to use.

Batter

1 cup whole wheat flour (or half whole wheat and half white)
1 tbsp salt
2 cups of warm water
Mix these ingredients together. You want to end up with a runny mixture that's roughly the
consistency of eshel -- runny yogurt -- so if you need to add more warm water, do so.

Pancake

1 tbsp olive oil
Batter
Grated cheese or egg
Slices of tomato, purple onion, mushrooms and chopped parsley
Zaatar spice (hyssop) and Hawaj spice (Yemenite spice)

Heat the pan and add olive oil. The pan should be hot but not so hot that the pancake will
immediately cook when it's poured into the pan. Once the batter has been poured you're going to
need a minute to "set it up." Pour approximately ¼ cup of the batter into the pan and spread it around the pan.

Lay slices of tomato, onion and mushroom around the batter as it cooks. Use any or all of these
vegetables as you wish. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.
Sprinkle the zaytar and hawaj over the vegetables. If you don't have either of these spices, it's fine,
but they do add a nice taste to the lachuch.

Sprinkle grated cheese (Ronen uses grated goat cheese in his lachuch for a nice salty taste) over
the cooking pancake or spill in a scrambled egg and spread it over the pancake so that it will cook
on top of the pancake and the vegetables/spices. You can also leave it to cook without any cheese
or egg.

Cover the pan with a lid to allow it to cook evenly.

When the pancake is firm, turn it over. (Ronen flips it...go ahead and try it if you have a good stick-
free pan)

Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top (optional)

Cook the second side for a minute or two.

Lay it on a plate and eat it rolled, in a napkin, or with a fork and knife.

Quick and Easy

I owe you all an apology for not posting for so long. I was traveling for the past 3 weeks, and things were really busy.

But now it's back to reality. We are home, and our house is in it's usual winter state - a bit colder than I would like it. And after a trip to South Florida, where it was 80F most of the time... well, we'll just leave it at that.

So we're back to making warming food, with an emphasis on quick and easy, as we're not quite back into routine yet!

First meal after getting home:

Red lentil soup
1 onion, diced (luckily had some diced onion in the freezer)
2 cloves garlic, diced (these lasted in the fridge while we were away)
1/2 red pepper, diced (also had some in the freezer)
1 carrot, diced (these lasted in the fridge while we were away. Yay for root vegetables!)
1/2 kg red lentils, rinsed
water to fill the pot (I used a small pot, makes about 8 servings)
seasonings - salt, black pepper, oregano
olive oil (1-2 Tablespoons)

Heat oil in pot and saute onion, garlic, peppers, and carrots. Add water, seasonings, and lentils, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer until the lentils are fully cooked, usually about 12-15 min.

Pizza Baguettes
(I will make these more frugally when the kitchen is stocked. If you load up on veggies, you can use less cheese but still have great flavor!) - spread homemade tomato sauce on baguette halves, sprinkle cheese on top, bake till hot! (10 min at 425F in my toaster oven did the trick)

Free sufganiyah

Want a free sufganiyah?

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Valid thru Dec 16.

Printable Coupons (Israel)

Altman Products has printable coupons available for Facebook fans!

Make sure to like their Facebook page, and then use the coupon app to choose up to 3 products you'd like to get a discount for.

The app will generate your personal coupons! The app is available thru Dec 31, 2012.

Happy Savings!

(You can get products like Probiotic Supplements, Vitamin C, Traumeel, and various other Altman products)

up to 25% off Skirts from Style J

My favorite skirt company has a great sale code for 20% or 25% off, valid thru December 17, 2012

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If your order totals $100 or more, use code CE25K for 25% off your order from Style J!

Happy skirt shopping...

Organic Produce Sale

Just wanted to give everyone a heads' up about Eden Teva's Chanuka sale.

Right now, you can get organic produce for 5.90/kg from Eden Teva Market Online.

Included in the sale:

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Cabbage
Potatoes
Eggplant
Pumpkin
Butternut Squash
Red Peppers
Yellow Peppers
Beets
Cherry Tomatoes
Zucchini

Check if they deliver to your area!
(Delivery charges usually apply, minimum order for delivery usually applies)

Style J coupon code

My favorite skirt company has a great sale code for 20%-60% off, valid December 7-17

Use code NW20R to get your great discount from Style J!

Happy skirt shopping...

Winter food!

I hear a storm is brewing.

Time to make sure there will be soup for supper!

Even if you don't have time for a long-cooking soup, you can still have a quick lentil soup ready!

Here's one of my favorites (scroll down a bit to get to the recipe).

What are your favorite soups?

Printable Coupon (Israel)

Free sufganiyot (Israeli jelly donuts) from Shufersal!

Personally not a huge sufganiyah fan, but they seem obligatory for the season.

Check out Shufersal's Facebook page and print your coupon!





Coupon is good for 3 free mini sufganiyot (jelly filled only) and is valid Dec 2-7, 2012

Happy Chanukah!