My darling husband always encourages me to write. I never really know why. he's the talented one with words and thoughts in our family. I'm more creative, hand-crafty, free-spirited. Not the type who makes a good writer, which I believe requires a logical thought process that I genetically lack. However, I do love to think about food. I like to cook, too, and have always aspired to write a cook book of some kind. Again, lack of focus and accuracy will likely stymie any aspirations in that direction. However, my "big idea" is a good one, I think. the "Don't Panic!" cookbook. easy recipes suitable for Shabbat/entertaining, for people who host a lot, for people new to the idea of Shabbat guests, for folks (like me) who are eternally rushing around at the last minute with not everything done minutes before Shabbat has to come in. To this end, I have collected quite a number of recipes (and suitably altered them) that are either no-fail (even if you forget or don't have certain ingredients) very simple (5 ingredients or less), or simple and impressive.

On a personal note, soon I will be nailed to the couch for many hours a day, nursing our 4th child. My plan is to use this time to revive my blog and share some of these "winner!" recipes (as my mom noted in her recipe books). Hopefully someone out there can benefit from my hard-learned lessons (sometimes failures!) and be saved at the last second when they've discovered they're not hosting 2 but 10 guests on a Thursday night.

a post per week...maybe.

My DH decided he is doing a post a day on his blog and he challenged me to write a post per week. I think I can do it. I hope I can.

This week was dominated by my second daughter's second birthday. I did some balloon decor, which I think turned out pretty well.
And I made a cake, which always turns out well because it is an awesome recipe. Thanks to Hershey's for coming up with it!
Perfectly chocolate cake:
2 c sugar
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Whisk these ingredients together in a large bowl
then add:
1 c milk
1/2 c oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla.
mix until smooth.
then add:
1 c boiling water
stir until just mixed

pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans and bake at 375 F for 30-35 minutes. I also put rounds of baking paper into the bottom of each pan, as this is a very moist cake and sometimes sticks despite my best efforts at flouring.

I make a different frosting from the one in the recipe. you can use either, both are wonderful.

Chicken Cholent

So, this will be a combo-post. it will answer a common question and give you a fantastic recipe. So, the Sabbath. Everyone wonders what we can and can't do. well, one thing you can't do is cook. So, we get all our food ready the day before, and keep it warm all the next day. This has led to the development of a special kind of dish, called cholent, that will stand up to long, low cooking. Traditional cholents are kind of like beef and bean stew, but my ear Husband and I designed one based on rice, which we never fail to get compliments on! nd it's probably the easiest recipe ever.

You will need
1-3 lb boneless chicken thighs (depending on how many you feed)
1.5 c uncooked Persian rice
1 large jar of spaghetti sauce
2 T salt
Tabasco sauce
Heat your cholent pot (heavy pot, at least 2 quarts) and toss chicken in to lightly brown for a few minues (it doesn't have to be fully cooked) Pour in rice and salt, then dump spaghetti sauce over it all. Add half a jar of water and several dashes of tabasco. put over low heat for 12 hours or more. can also be made in a crock-pot.

kitchen adventures

I'm a bit of a foodie. Seriously. I love to cook, bake, create, etc. I love all cooking TV shows, food network, etc. Gordon Ramsay is my favorite Chef, despite his potty mouth (or maybe because of it...). So, I thought I'd share 3 things (one each of ingredient, tool, and technique) I'd never be in the kitchen without and a recipe that incorporates them all.

1. Salt. I've only recently come to love and understand salt, but I can't emphasize how important it is. Especially in baked goods.

2. Parchment paper. this is the secret to all beautiful baked goods, and has changed my world. Use it for everything from cookies to bread to candy, and you'll never be disappointed by stuck food ever again.

3. Mise en Place: French for everything in place (roughly) Your experiences in the kitchen will be ever so much more enjoyable if you begin with everything you nee for the recipe in front of you, just like a cooking show. It also makes things move a lot faster, and saves you from having to "improvise" when you've run out of that thing you swore you had some of but now can't locate.

I also believe in simple foods, easy prep. things taste better if you on't have too much going on. so, my crowd pleasing PB balls to the rescue!

You will need:
3 T margarine
1 c Peanut butter (not natural, the heavy kind like Jif)
about 1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
150 grams of coating chocolate or 1 pkg chocolate chips and 25 grams parafin

In a bowl, mix the PB, salt and Margarine. Slowly add the powdered sugar until you have a doughy consistency, like clay. Roll into 1 inch diameter balls. Melt chocolate over low heat in a small fry pan. place a large square of parchment paper over a standard cookie sheet and place near chocolate. a few balls at a time, add to the pan with chocolate, then fish out with a spoon and arrange on the parchment paper for cooling. for quick serving, place candy in the freezer. makes 3-4 dozen.
Pareve

Better than Bubbe's Matza Balls

I've been meaning to do this post for ages, but I really wanted to do it with photos, so you all had to wait until my camera finally arrived. This is the full recipe for my famous matza ball soup. If you want to learn ONLY matza balls, skip to the end.

You will need:
Heavy stock pot
Large bowl
Sieve that fits inside bowl

Ingredients:
Soup-
1 lb chicken parts (bones, wings, necks, whatever)
2 large onions
4 medium carrots
1 small bunch celery
handful of parsley
Salt
Hawaj (soup spice, a mixture of turmeric, cumin, and black pepper)

Place the pot on med-high flame. Once warm, add chicken parts and cook until brown on all sides
While chicken is browning, roughly chop onions.Add onions to pot once chicken is lightly browned. Cook until onions are limp and bottom of pot has a nice dark brown glaze.

Chop up carrots roughly and add to pot.Add Hawaj (I use 2 Tablespoons, you may want to use less until you know how much you like the flavor) and salt (to taste, about 3 T) to pot.

Now add water to the pot, until it is nearly full (the amount will depend on your pot). Then chop parsley and Celery (including the leaves) and drop into pot.
Lower heat and let simmer for several hours, up to 10 hours. The longer it goes, the better. I average about 6 hours. Keep adding water as necessary.
Later, your soup will look like this:

Not so yummy looking, but trust me it will taste wonderful! Put the strainer inside the bowl and pour the contents of the pot into the strainer. scrape the sides of the pot to get the gunk off.Pour the broth back into the pot and bring it back up to a gentle boil. Now is the time to add any veggies, barley, rice, noodles, whatever to the soup. My husband is a purist, so no veggies for us. Oh well.

Now, get ready to make the matza balls!!!


Matza balls-
Small bowl
mixing fork
2 eggs
1 T Oil (any kind)
1/2 c matza meal
1 tsp baking powder

Crack the eggs into the bowl and add oil. beat it...just beat it...
Put the matza Meal in and the baking soda. Beat...oh wait, no, just mix it all until just combined.
Put it aside for 15 minutes. In the fridge, if you're unusually worried about salmonella, but the counter works fine for me. Now, get ready to form balls by wetting your hands. take 1 Tbl or more of the mixture (depending on the size you want them) roll it into a soft ball (no perfection needed) and slide it into the boiling broth.Repeat until you run out of batter. Never, ever boil your matza balls in water. bland city. it also works best if you are going to serve them in the next hour or so after you make them. keeps them from being too mushy.

Now, sit down and enjoy your soup. It cures many ailments and keeps kids happy.

The best bread in Israel.

Or anywhere else for that matter. When We were dating, my husband made this bread, which was yards better than any Challah I'd ever made or tasted, but he refused to give me the recipe until we were married. Now I make the bread, and I can give the recipe out, and you don't even have to marry me to get it. The best part about this Challah is that it is moist and dense rather than bland and fluffy like many Challah recipes. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. If you'd rather I made it, stop by my house any Friday night.

Challah (mix it up on Thursday night!)
4 1/2 C warmish hot water
1 1/2 c sugar
7 tsp yeast
7 egg yolks
¾ c oil (olive is best, but any kind works)
4 Tb Salt
5 Lb flour
1 egg
3 Tb sesame or poppy seeds.

In a large bowl mix the water and sugar, then add the yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add egg yolks, oil, sugar, and salt and mix thoroughly. Slowly begin adding flour, mixing completely each time. After a while it will be impossible to stir, so turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading in the rest of the flour (it all has to go in for halachic reasons. If you find the dough is too dry, add more water.) Put dough ball into LARGE (really large) oiled bowl or pot, cover with plastic wrap (spray the top of the dough ball with pam or oil to keep it from sticking) and let rise overnight in a warm place, or at least 6 hours. The longer it rises, the better the flavor, punch it down a few times if you need to. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, separate challah with a bracha, and burn the portion. Cut the dough into the desired number of loaves (I make 12 loaves, but they are small. It makes 6 large loaves nicely), then cut the loaf section into 6 pieces and braid. (If you want to learn this, it is explained in the Spice and Spirit cookbook. It takes some practice to be fast at it, but the result is worth the effort.) Place braided loaves onflat pans lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and place in a warm spot for 40-60 minutes, until the loaves have approximately doubled in size (if you are pressed for time, you can put the loaves in to bake right away, but they won’t be as pretty or soft). Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375. Take the last whole egg and beat it with a little water to make an egg wash. Use a brush to coat each loaf with the egg wash, the sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds, or both. Place pans in the oven for about 35 minutes, until the tops are light brown and when you tap on the top of a loaf it is hollow sounding. If you have to use 2 racks because it is a small
oven, switch the pans from top to bottom to ensure even cooking. The secret to nice challah is to not over-cook it. Trust me. People prefer things slightly underdone, whether they realize it or not.


There's the big secret. It was worth marrying the guy just to get this fantastic recipe! If I get requests for them I'll put up some other Shabbat food. We make killer Matza Ball soup in this house.