Shabbat!

I had cooking overload on Pesach, so today I am trying to make a super simple Shabbat menu.

Here's the plan:

I have an abundance of peppers!

Homemade Challot
Soup of some sort (thinking of roasted peppers and red lentil soup?)
Oven-fried chicken
Brown Rice
Pan fried tofu for the vegetarian
Roasted Kishuim
Garlicky Roasted Potatoes
Salad - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, pickles, olives - whatever I can find!
Black Bean Cholent (even though it's hot)
For dessert, we'll have chocolate chip cookies and fresh peaches

Suedah Shlishit will be random sandwich fixings and more salad and an apple crisp

If I work quickly in the late afternoon, I can get most of this food into the oven at the same time an hour before Shabbat and all will be fresh and ready for meal tonight...

What's your Shabbat plan? I'd love to hear!

 

More Post-Pesach Wrap-Up

Things I learned about Pesach shopping:

I bought too much potato starch and shredded coconut and chocolate and chocolate chips.
See, I had visions of making TONS of baking experiments and turning my kitchen into Pesach Pastry Central, BUT two things got in my way - life, and a lack of flaxseed. I did not check enough flaxseeds to fuel all my eggless baking experiments!

So for next year, I plan to check a whole lot more flaxseed. And perhaps buy a little less chocolate and potato starch and coconut. Or not.

And next year, I'm going to kasher the little kitchen long before the big kitchen, and get pesach baking and cooking underway very early! 

I'm just warning you now.
Or asking you to remind me to change my little kitchen over a week after Purim...
:-)

Getting back on track after Pesach

I hope you all enjoyed your Pesach! Ours was a whirlwind of guests - friends and family - and activity. It was great!
Now that the Pesach stuff in my house is packed away, I figured it's time to do a Post-Pesach get back on track "exercise".

I'm going to try to figure out if there is anything we learned about our food consumption from Pesach - either about foods we can live easily without, or foods we can easily substitute with homemade versions...

So I've decided to focus on Ketchup this morning.

My kids love ketchup. My husband does too. I eat it with a few random foods.

I almost always buy ketchup on sale, but this Pesach I went back to an old practice of mine, and I made my own ketchup! And you know, everyone loved the homemade version, as they used to. But sometimes they like the squeeze bottle convenience, as do I, but right now, I think I have to toss that "convenience" thing out the window!

And it's easy (if you take the shortcut and use prepared tomato paste), and costs a lot less than buying processed ketchup.

I know, Ketchup is just a drop in the bucket, but I'd love to hear what kinds of things you find you can live without or make yourself!

This is what's left of our Pesach ketchup. The container started out FULL.

Homemade Ketchup:

Tomato paste ( a can of 28 Bx - cost me about 4 shekels for 560?g)
sugar or honey (just a little)
vinegar (maybe 1/4 cup? I use either apple cider or balsamic)
salt, pepper, onion powder (when I'm out of that, I use a pinch of granulated garlic)
water as needed

I just guess and mix it all together till it tastes right and add water till I get the consistency we like best. Next time I make some, I'll measure it out!

Of course, you can make it with fresh tomatoes and onions and cook it for many hours, but I'm being realistic here - I don't usually have time for that. Plus this way, I don't have dirty pots. I just mix it together in a container I can store in the fridge. Only thing to wash is a spoon!

Pesach Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are being a little cookie crazy here in my house.

The cookies keep flying and after Pesach we can reduce our sugar intake again, I hope!

Anyhow, my latest is chocolate chocolate chip cookies...

Here's what you do:

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies for Pesach

2 T. ground flaxseed + 1/2 cup almost boiling water ( or 2 eggs)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup oil 
1 1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cake meal (finely ground matzah meal)
1 cup potato starch
1 cup ground coconut or ground nuts
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Mix flaxseed with hot water and let stand 10 min OR beat the eggs.
Add vanilla, oil, and sugar and mix very well.
Add dry ingredients and then stir well
Fold in chocolate chips
With wet hands, form balls and FLATTEN them into cookie shape, and place on lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 min (12 if you use eggs instead of flaxseed)
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Allow to cool fully before serving
THEN - enjoy!
Perfect with coffee...

If you try these, please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Pesach Chocolate Chip Cookies

We needed cookies BIG time.

See, my cousin came over and she said "it's not worth it to eat Pesachdik cookies, just go straight for the chocolate so you're not disappointed".

Well, that was a challenge. I said, "just wait 20 minutes and then tell me if it's really not worth it..."

And this is what I made:
Preheat oven to 175 C
Line a cookie sheet with parchment/baking paper

2 T. ground flaxseed + 1/2 c. hot water OR 2 eggs
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 - 2 c. sugar (yes, that's a lot. you can cut back if you like)
1 cup "cake meal" (finely ground matzah meal)
1 cup potato starch
1 cup ground coconut
1/2 cup ground nuts
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips (I splurged and used almost a whole bag)

Mix flaxseed and water and let stand 10 min, or beat the eggs together.
Add oil, vanilla and sugar, and mix really well
Add dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon. 
Fold in chocolate chips

Form cookies and place on cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 min if you've made them with flaxseed. You'll need a few more minutes if you make them with eggs, I assume 12-14 minutes... (I wet my hands so the dough wouldn't stick to my fingers)

Makes about 3.5 dozen cookies

before baking

ready to eat!

Let cool for a few minutes before serving

Enjoy!





Everyone here loved these cookies! Please tell me what you think of them!

Mislabeled Cookies!

This recall is SUPER important for people who are allergic to peanuts.

Packages of Peanut Cookies for Pesach were mislabeled as Coconut Cookies for Pesach.

The product in question is produced by "Tvuot Bar Mazon" and the affected product are their "Chagigat Ha'Aviv Peanut Cookies" in 400g containers, with an expiration date of 21.09.2014. Some are mislabeled as "Chagigat Ha'Aviv Coconut Cookies."

If you've purchased a package of these cookies, thinking they are coconut cookies, they may in fact be peanut cookies.

The product is being recalled, but consumers who have purchased these cookies can return them to the store where purchased for a refund, and can call 03-906-8621 with any questions.

If you haven't already, please like my Facebook page so you don't miss out on more updates!