Category: Recipe

Asian Lettuce Wraps

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Asian Lettuce Wraps

This is a first for me: Two posts in one day! Ay-yay-yay. But hopefully you’ll have as much with both of them as I have! Although I usually have a tough time picking a recipe for the Secret Recipe Club, this month it was no contest. These Asian Lettuce Wraps called to me. Not that Veronica’s Cornucopia doesn’t have a million recipes that I want to try – I’ve bookmarked this Watermelon and Black Bean Salsa, Avocado Chocolate Pudding, and General Tso’s Chicken, to name a few. But I’ve had Asian Lettuce Wraps on the brain for a while and these looked just perfect. I was thrilled to be assigned Veronica’s Cornucopia this month – please stop by and check out her gorgeous blog if you haven’t already! Continue reading “Asian Lettuce Wraps” →

Freekeh Salad Recipe and a Grain Blog Hop

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freekeh

Have you tried freekeh? Also called farik, frikeh, and green wheat, it is wheat that is picked when young (i.e. green), and then dried and roasted. It looks a lot like bulgur or farro, and can be used in many of the same ways. While it is an ancient grain that has been popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa for centuries, I’ve noticed that it’s starting to get its due in the US as well. Living in Israel it is readily available in the bulk bins, and it has become one of my favorite ways to add a wholesome grain to my meal.

 

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Guest Post: Strawberry Tart and an Easter Blog Hop

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Strawberry BunnyTart from Cravings of a Lunatic

Oh do I have an exciting post for you. While I am in Istanbul (cue song: Istanbul not Constantinople) I have a very special guest: Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic! You may recall that I did a guest post for her back in December. If you read food blogs then chances are you know Kim, but if not head on over and check out her blog. I promise you will leave with a smile on your face. Not only does Kim come up with the best recipes (allow me to site this, this, and this as evidence), but she’s funny as all hell. And just the sweetest! Ok, enough gushing. I’ll allow Kim’s post to speak for itself: Continue reading “Guest Post: Strawberry Tart and an Easter Blog Hop” →

Matzo Ball Soup

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Homemade Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo ball soup may be one of the most quintessential Jewish recipes, but growing up in New York you didn’t have to be Jewish – and it didn’t have to be Passover – for you to consider this classic dish comfort food. Living in Israel Passover takes on new meaning as all chametz, or leavened foods, are cleared from supermarket shelves and restaurant menus. Even a week before the holiday begins, the chip aisle was replaced with matzo, matzo meal, and more matzo. Passover begins this Friday, but I started craving matzo ball soup weeks ago, and have been buying matzo just to snack on. Apparently I’m weird like that. Continue reading “Matzo Ball Soup” →

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Red Onion and Bacon

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

There isn’t much that I love more than Brussels sprouts. Ok, that may be exaggerating, but only a little. These adorable little veggies have gotten quite the PR treatment in recent years, shooting from America’s most hated vegetable to veggie darling of the foodie community. I always knew that Brussels sprouts resembled baby cabbages, but it wasn’t until recently that I learned that they are actually related (I always figured it was a corn/baby corn type scenario). As part of the brassica family, Brussels sprouts are also kin to broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and turnip. “Ooooohhhh,” replied my husband when I read him the Wikipedia entry. You see, a light had just gone off: these are all his favorite foods.

 

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Irish Beef Stew Recipe and a St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop

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Irish Beef Stew with Daikon Radish Puree

In case you couldn’t tell from my last name, I’m not Irish. But growing up in New York City, come St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish. It’s fun and festive, rowdy and chaotic. I know that drinking lots of beer is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition (an entirely made up one, by the way – but who’s to argue?!), but this weekend why not save some of that brew for your stew (watch out, I may break out into limericks at any moment…). Enter Irish Beef Stew, sometimes called Guiness Beef Stew, a hearty and delicious way to celebrate the luck of the Irish.

 

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Arugula Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Vinaigrette

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Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

It’s starting to warm up here in Israel. The rains are over (and what rains they were this year!), we had a proper sandstorm (not fun), and the temperature is rising every day. As soon as I get my first taste of spring I start to crave light, bright, fresh foods. That’s where this salad comes in. I got a beautiful bunch of fresh basil from my local produce market and the intoxicating smell followed me all the way home, planting the idea of this vinaigrette in my head. Continue reading "Arugula Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Vinaigrette" →

Ropa Vieja with Fried Plantains

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Ropa Vieja

Spotting plantains with Liz and Beth in Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market was one of our most exciting, unexpected finds of the year. Plantains, which are indigenous to South Asia but popular throughout Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, don’t come up much in Israeli and Middle Eastern cuisine. And, while you can find Libyan, Yemeni, and Iraqi food galore throughout the country, Cuban restaurants aren’t exactly commonplace. Excited to purchase the plantains I bought two (yes, only two – what was I thinking?!) with no distinct plan but thoughts of frying them. Beth made some super awesome plantain chips with hers. Continue reading “Ropa Vieja with Fried Plantains” →

Eggplant with Tahina and an Eggplant Blog Hop

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Eggplant with Tahina and Pomegranate Seeds

In the Middle East there’s a saying that a woman is not ready to wed until she can cook an eggplant (i.e. aubergine) 1,000 ways. Before you start huffing and puffing about the gendered implications of this adage, I think the New York Times explained it well: “The saying is less about preparing women for marriage, though, than it is about the amazing versatility of the eggplant.” Indeed, living in Israel my appreciation for these humble, purple-skinned vegetables has skyrocketed. On a single dinner table they can appear in countless forms. Usually it begins with flame roasted eggplants, but after that they can be pureed with tahina for baba ghanouj, mayo for an entirely different dip, or lemon juice and olive oil for eggplant “caviar.” Israelis make a convincing vegetarian chopped liver (devised in the 1940s when times were tough and meat was rare) using fried eggplant and hard boiled eggs. Continue reading “Eggplant with Tahina and an Eggplant Blog Hop” →

Parmesan-Stuffed Dates and Whisky Pairing

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Parmesan-Stuffed DatesA few weeks ago one of my best friends sent me an email with the subject “Fun question for you” and I knew I would be in for a treat. From thousands of miles away Julia told me about a whisky tasting club that she and her boyfriend have been participating in. This month they have the honor of hosting, and Julia asked for some appetizer suggestions to go with the Finger Lakes whisk(e)y they would be sampling. Julia knows me well, and rightly predicted that this would indeed excite me. Continue reading “Parmesan-Stuffed Dates and Whisky Pairing” →