Tag: Parve

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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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” →

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” →

Homemade Harissa and a Pepper Blog Hop

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Harissa Ingredients

This is one of those things that’s been on my list to make for a long time: homemade harissa. The fiery, vibrant red, North African pepper hot sauce is completely addictive and revs up anything you add it to. Stews take on new depth, dips get kick, and tagines will never be the same. Popular in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, harissa has also become a hip flavor in the States where you will find harissa aioli, harissa-marinated steak, harissa grilled shrimp, and harissa oil. Continue reading “Homemade Harissa and a Pepper Blog Hop” →

Southwestern Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries

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Southwestern Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries

If you think you don’t like black bean burgers, then consider this a challenge. These are so much better than any veggie burger has business being. Forget the dried out hockey pucks you’ve had before, the strangely spiced, frozen, sad excuses for burgers. These are everything you’d want any burger to be: flavorful, moist, cohesive, filling. What makes them Southwestern? Black beans, corn, chipotles in adobo, and cilantro of course! Sounds pretty Southwestern to me. Served with slices of avocado and smoky-spicy chipotle sweet potato fries, I was seriously in heaven. Continue reading “Southwestern Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries” →

Halibut with Zucchini en Papillote and a Fish Blog Hop

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Halibut en Papillote

If your new year’s resolution had anything to do with a healthier diet, then this simple, elegant dish is a good place to start. I absolutely adore halibut for its delicate, clean flavor and firm texture. And its nutritional benefits are through the roof – super low in fat and calories, halibut is an excellent source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, vitamin b12, and more. Cooking en papillote – or in a parchment paper bundle – is a great way to seal in these nutrients without introducing a lot of extra fats to your meal. You simply put whatever you’d like to cook, along with a bit of liquid and flavor if you like, into a pack made of parchment, seal it, and bake. The result is a healthy meal that is more flavorful than simply steaming but just as healthy. Continue reading “Halibut with Zucchini en Papillote and a Fish Blog Hop” →

Miso Butternut Squash Ramen

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Miso Butternut Squash Ramen

One of my favorite things to eat in New York come winter is a big, steaming bowl of ramen (and not the package stuff that you subsisted on in college). A few years ago ramen became the trendy food du jour and, lucky for us, ramen spots popped up all over the city. In Israel it’s one of the foods that I find myself missing, especially when the weather gets chilly (yes, that happens here) or when I have a cold. Although I have yet to visit Japan, from what I understand every region of the country has its own version of this comforting noodle soup. Continue reading “Miso Butternut Squash Ramen” →

Tofu Tacos and a Tofu Blog Hop

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Tofu Tacos
Tofu Tacos

I know, tofu can be a sensitive subject. Every time I’ve posted a tofu recipe I’ve had multiple comments saying “looks good but I/my spouse/my children don’t like tofu.” Here’s the thing: tofu is what you make of it. It doesn’t have all that much flavor on its own, but is great at absorbing the flavors of whatever it’s cooked in. If it’s a texture thing, tofu comes in a variety of textures from silky to extra firm so you should be able to find one that suits your mood. I’m just saying, give tofu a chance. This coming from a meat eater. An avid one, in fact. But I think we all know that we should be cutting down on our meat intake for a variety of reasons, which will help the environment and our health. Continue reading “Tofu Tacos and a Tofu Blog Hop” →

Homemade Marshmallows

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Homemade Marshmallows
Homemade Marshmallows

Monday I brought you homemade graham crackers. Well, nothing goes better with graham crackers than marshmallows. That’s right. I made marshmallows, a food DIY project I’ve been meaning to attempt for some time. This is another recipe from Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it and Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon, which I can’t say enough good things about. Marshmallows are one of those things that that are hard to imagine homemade – they come in a bag and you use them to make s’mores, or to go with hot chocolate. But what are they actually made of? I never put much thought into it. Now I can tell you that marshmallows are made from corn syrup, sugar, and gelatin. Yup. How does that combination yield something that is light and fluffy and delicious? Magic is the only answer. Making them really is a kind of alchemy. Continue reading “Homemade Marshmallows” →

Pomegranate Mojito and a Cocktail Blog Hop

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Pomegranate Mojito
Pomegranate Mojito

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and that means I have cocktails on the brain. One of my favorite cocktail discoveries as of late is this refreshing Pomegranate Mojito that was concocted by my friend Ben Brewer of Israel Food Tours. I came upon it while doing research on Jewish cocktails for an article in the Jewish Daily Forward and simply fell in love. Although in the article I proposed it as a Sukkot-appropriate drink, the truth is I could sip on this all year long. Continue reading “Pomegranate Mojito and a Cocktail Blog Hop” →