Eggplants & Red Peppers

Homemade red pepper pesto & baba ganoush

The CSA box has had some nice big eggplants and red peppers recently.  I am always trying to find simple solutions to make the produce last longer.  Lately that has involved roasting an turning them into dips like red pepper pesto & baba ganoush.

First I cut the red peppers in 3rds, removing all the seeds and ribs.  I put them skin side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them under the broiler.  I could hear the skin popping and sizzling as it blackened and blistered.  I turned the pan about half way thru (about the 5 minute mark - will differ with the oven) to be sure all the skins got blistered and blackened.  After removing the peppers from the oven, grab the edges of the parchment paper and toss the still hot peppers in a plastic bag & tie up the opening.

While the pepper are cooling enough to handle, turn the oven down to 350F & put fresh parchment paper on the baking sheet.  I poke 2 eggplants with a knife - 3-4 stabs - lay them on the sheet and into the oven they go for about an hour.

Once the red peppers have cooled enough to handle, the skins slip off without much effort.  Any stubborn bits come off when scraped with the back of my knife.  The soft flesh and any liquid from the bag go into the food processor work bowl.  Next a pinch of kosher salt, a couple turns of the pepper mill, and a splash of olive oil.  I let the food processor do its thing and pulverize everything.  I add a little more olive oil and a couple tablespoons of water to thin it to the consistency I want (it will thicken in the fridge).

I have to give my former upstairs neighbor, Harry, the credit for this recipe.  We would have Shabbat dinners together most Fridays when he lived here in Philly.  It was always super convenient being he was just upstairs and it was a great relaxing ritual for us to reset from the week.  I don't have Shabbat as often anymore with Harry since he and his ever expanding family moved to DC, but when I do make it there it is still a great time with him, his wife, & his two great kids.

I use this pesto on everything!  I spread it on fresh warm malawach.  I toss pasta in it.  I spread it on chicken and bake.  I put it on a sandwich.  It's delicious!  You can store it in a jar in the fridge or you can freeze it.  When I freeze it, I like to do it in an ice tray so I have a few tablespoons to use at a time without having to defrost the whole batch.

Back to the eggplants, once they cooled I scoop the flesh out and drop it in the cleaned food processor work bowl.  I added in a handful of rough chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic, a generous drizzle of tehini, a squeeze if half a lime, a sprinkle of salt & pepper.  With the food processor running I drizzle in some olive oil to thin out the baba ganoush mixture.  I stop a couple time and taste it to make adjustments in seasoning.  Once it's smooth, it goes into the jar & into the fridge.

These are two of my favorite spreads for malawach and sometimes I just can't decide which one to have...

 

So I don't!

Ess Eppis!

Delicious Fast Easy Soup

Included in the CSA box this week were leeks & potatoes that just seemed to beg to become soup.  After checking out a couple recipes online, I check out what was already on hand in my kitchen and set to work.  I am sorry I forgot to take photos as I went along... and I ate all the soup really fast!

When I say this is easy... it is EASY!  Plus you'll be eating soup within the hour (including the time to prep the ingredients) - soup made from scratch.  I happen to have thyme, sorrel, & bay in the house.  I love the flavors of thyme & bay together (reminds me of France) & the French Sorrel was something new to me I got in this weeks CSA.  If these flavors don't appeal to you, experiment with others.

If you aren't familiar with leeks, they look like scallions on steroids.  They are the same family, but milder.  They also hold on to dirt like a bugger so you have to follow the instructions to clean them properly.  One bite down on a bit of grit can ruin the whole batch.

Olive oil
4 Leeks
2 lbs. potatoes
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme - leaves removed & stems discarded
4-5 stems of French Sorrel (from the CSA swap box this week) - stems removed and rough chopped
6-7 cups water
2 bay leaves
S&P

To clean your leeks:
First peel off the outer layer by just pulling down from the top.  Cut off the tough tops (right below where the leaves start to fan out) and the roots at the end.  Cut the leek in half lengthwise and turn the flat side of each half down against the cutting board.  You can cut each half separately if you are more comfortable with that, but I place them next to each other and slice down both stalks together - about 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.  Toss all the sliced leek pieces into a large bowl.  Fill the bowl with cold water so the leeks float to the top with room for the dirt to fall to the bottom away from the leeks.  Separate the rings of the leeks so all the dirt falls to the bottom.  Carefully scoop the leeks out and on to a clean dish towel to drain and dry.

After the leeks are prepped, prep the potatoes.  Peel and dice the potatoes (1/4-1/2 inch).  I use my big dutch oven, but any large pot will work.  Heat up some olive oil in the bottom of your pot (just enough to coat).  Add in your leeks.  Keep heat around medium - you want the leeks to soften and wilt, but not brown.  Add a bit of kosher salt to help them wilt down.  It will seem like a lot a first but as the heat up and you stir it occasionally it will wilt down.  It will take about 10 minutes.  Then add the herbs (I had thyme & French Sorrel) and some fresh ground pepper.  Add in 6 cups of the water.

Add the potatoes & bay leaves.  Cover and simmer the pot for 30 minutes.  Take off the lid and turn off the heat.  I use an immersion blender (but I am sure a regular blender will work, just be careful and don't fill too much and cover the top with a towel before turning on) to puree the whole thing right in the pot.  Make sure you take the bay leaves out first.  If it's too thick for you (it is never too thick for me!), add a some more water, a little at a time till it is at the consistency you like.  Taste and adjust s&p if it needs it.

If you want some potato chunks in your soup, first only add 1.5 lbs of the potatoes and follow the instructions.  Once the soup is pureed, turn back on the heat and add the half pound of diced potatoes left and let simmer for 30 mins.  You'll have a nice creamy soup with little bites of potatoes.

Ess Eppis!

Yom Kippur Menu Sneak Peek

...

Rosh Hashanah Sneak Peek

This year Rosh Hashanah falls on my grandmother's birthday.  For Rosh Hashanah, she usually has everyone over her house for a New Year's luncheon.  And for her birthday, she usually takes us all out to dinner.  This year I wanted to give her something special for her birthday and make Rosh Hashanah less stress for her.  This year to celebrate her 84th birthday and ring in the year 5771 I will be catering the family celebration at my grandmother's condo.

Here is a sneak peek at the menu for Rosh Hashanah/Grandma's Birthday

Carrot Soup

Moroccan Orange Salad
Vegetable Couscous Salad

Sole Rolled With Veggies (this was originally going to be a potato encrusted sole to use up the surplus potatoes I have, but I think this will stay moister during transport)
Soy Orange Glazed Chicken Legs

Roasted String Beans
Sweet Noodle Kugel
and/or
Salt & Pepper Kugel

Honey Apple Cake
Fresh Fruit

I am also going to make Steamy Kitchen's No Knead Challah (just plain because it has to be a nut free meal).

I think this will be my new Rosh Hashanah e-card...



Ess Eppis and Shana Tova!

SHANA TOVA (שנה טובה) means 'Good Year' in Hebrew.  It's a common greeting during Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year - following the Hebrew calendar.

Does Eating Local Really Make a Difference?

I am not going to spout data at you.

I am not going to lecture about the benefits to the farmers or the environment.

You only have to look at the news to see the strongest argument for eating local: The Egg Recall.

I have lost track of the number of eggs recalled when it started to mass hundreds of millions of eggs.  There was no reason for me to watch for the next batch of eggs being recalled, even though I eat eggs.  I eat a lot of eggs.  I even use them raw on almost weekly basis - making a batch of fresh mayo each week (not that I go thru it all, but I only keep it a week).  And even when I cook my eggs, they are nearly always soft boiled or poached.  I love a runny yolk!

Meatloaf topped with sauteed rainbow chard & a poached egg.

But I know where my eggs come from.  I have met & spoken with the farmers at the farmer markets.  I am not saying that you can ever be 100% any of your food is 100% safe.  I do things to avoid cross contamination in my kitchen even if the chance there is anything dangerous is low:

• washing hands after handling eggs, or any other kind of animal proteins before touching any other foods or surfaces.
• using separate & dedicated cutting boards for animal proteins and fruits & veggies.
• wash fruits and veggies before cutting just in case something is on the surface (who knows how many people at the market touched it before you?)

I still take chances - I have been known to eat fruit and vegetables right out of my CSA box without washing them.  But I know where that food is coming from and I know when it was picked (only 24 hours before I got my grubby lil hands on it!).

Buying local, eating local, and getting to know who is producing your food is good for you!  Even if you don't concern yourself with the environmental, social, economic impact of supporting your local farmers, it will lower the chances you will every have to be concerned with a spinach, tomato, egg, etc recall.  So for your own healthy piece of mind and wallet (how many other people had to dump the eggs they just bought 'just in case' while I was topping my meatloaf with a poached egg?), eat local... plus it makes you a mench.

A MENCH is used to describe a good person: He is a real mench!  It literally translates to 'a person', but is commonly used to call someone a good guy.

Ess Eppis!

CSA Brunch... or quick please eat this so I'll have room for more!

The bounty from the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA has been great & plentiful!  So plentiful in fact that my fridge seems to be bursting at the seams each week.  The other week it was already coming up on the weekend and soon it would be Tuesday & time for another CSA box.  I needed help, quick!  I decided to throw a last minute brunch for a few friends for a nosh and a schmooze.

NOSH is literally a snack, but if you have ever been invited over for a nosh, you know that the amount of food well exceeds what many would consider a nosh.  If you are NOSHIE, it usually means you are hungry but just looking for a nibble.  To SCHMOOZE is to chat and make small talk.  Nothing is better than a nosh while schmoozing on a lazy Saturday.

Tomatoes and potatoes seemed to be multiplying on their own so I needed to tackle them first.  I found this recipe for Spicy Tomato Chutney.  It seemed full of everything I like so I started that simmering on stove.  It needs about an additional hour simmering to get to a good consistency than is stated in the recipe.

Next I brought out one of my newest toys - the mandoline.  I love this thing!  I sliced down potatoes, red & yellow tomatoes, and onions.  Along with some spices, herbs, and half-and-half (I didn't have cream), I made Spiced Tomato Gratin from 101cookbooks.  This is not a quick recipe, but soooo worth it!  Do not rush thru the caramelizing & spicing the onions step.  This is what makes it amazing!

In addition to the gratin, I also roasted some burgundy beans - which are actual MAGIC BEANS!  My first thought when I got these dark purple string bean was that it would be great to make with kids because when you cook them they turn green!  How cool is that!?  Little did I know how excited my friends would go over this little trick.  All I needed was a lovely assistant as I put the burgundy beans coated lightly with extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper into the hot oven, only to remove *drum roll* GREEN BEANS!  It was shock & awe!

I rounded out the menu with some quickly whipped up hummus, a (store bought) baguette, a couple of NY Strip Steaks from my U.S. Wellness Meats prize box, and fresh cut cantaloupe - half of which I turned into aqua de melon.   This was very easy, even without a blender.

Hummus
1 cup cooked, cooled, drained chickpeas & reserved water from cooking
2-3 tablespoons of tahini
juice of one lemon
about 1/4 cup of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Put chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, s&p in the work bowl of a food processor with a generous splash of olive oil.  Start food processor and drizzle in the rest of the olive oil slowly.  Let in run 1-2 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and taste.  Add s&p as needed.  If consistency is too thick, start running the food processor again and slowly add the water from cooking the chickpeas (if you are using canned, use the water from the can) till you get the consistency you want.  Taste and adjust as needed.

Aqua de Melon
Half a cantaloupe cut into chunks
About 4 cups of water - divided
1/4 cup of sugar or to your taste

The cut up cantaloupe went into the food processor with about a cup of water and 1/4 cup sugar.  Let it whiz around till you have basically made cantaloupe juice concentrate.  Put it into a pitcher and add the rest of the water.  You can make it thicker or thinner depending on how much water you add.

We discovered that this aqua de melon makes an excellent replacement for orange juice in a mimosa thanks to one of my friends bringing a bottle of champagne.

Almost everything was gone by the end of brunching.  Everyone seemed very happy and full... and my fridge was empty (well, just not as full) and ready for the next week's CSA box of produce.  Looks like there maybe many brunches in my future.

Ess Eppis!

My New Trick - A Quick Post

TA DA!  I flipped my malawach without dropping it on the floor, stove, or myself!

Malawach isn't Yiddish, it is Hebrew מלווח.  It's a pan fried layer flat bread that is a staple of the Yemenite Jew.  It is very delicious and is a great base for hummus, baba ganoush and other dips and spreads that has made up many of my Shabbat dinners.

Ess Eppis!