Category: Recipes
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A Rare Treat: Simply Perfect Seared Ahi Tuna
Leah recently prepared dinner for us. It was simple, luxurious and beautiful…and one of my favorite dishes. She created perfectly seared Ahi tuna, rare and delicious. Ahi tuna preparation must start with a fresh piece of sushi-grade fish and must be seared carefully until just rare. If done right, it takes almost no time and…
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Simple Cabbage Kugel
Most Pesach (Passover) recipes are heavy on the potatoes and eggs. I have been trying to discover new ingredients that fit within my low-carb diet that can be used for Pesach (Passover). Cabbage is one of those simple, inexpensive and delicious ingredients that was right under my nose all the time. This cabbage kugel recipe…
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Blackened Atkins Low-Carb Tilapia Fillets
I wanted to develop a delicious low-carb tilapia recipe for our Friday night appetizer as an alternative to the salmon fillets that we have been eating on our new diet. Don will only eat tilapia if is fried and with our new low-carb high-protein diet, there are so few choices for fry coatings. This recipe is simple, delicious,…
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Simple and Passover-Ready Individual Mushroom Onion Quiches
My friend’s daughter, Gila, is getting married and her friends planned a shower for her. I volunteered to make a dairy Onion-Mushroom Quiche. Since the shower guests may be arriving at different times, I thought that it would be best to prepare individual mini-quiches. That way, the platters would look complete all evening and the individual quiches could…
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Simple and Vegetarian: Beet-Stuffed Peppers
I have begun preparing for Pesach (Passover) and I have been trying to create recipes that are simple, nutritious, delicious and beautiful. I think that this one is a winner. I have remarked for years that beets are an under-appreciated ingredient. Many people are turned off by its texture and have only been exposed to canned…
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Simply the Best Potato Kugel Ever
This week, I have started compiling my favorite simple Pesach recipes. Here is one that I plan to make for Pesach this year. My daughter, Michelle, was married last June and moved to California. While growing up, Michelle never really showed much interest in cooking, but was always quite a baker. Since getting married, though, Michelle…
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Simple and Wow Recipes..reinvented for Passover
I find that my best Pesach (Passover) recipes are the ones that I use year round. They use simple and reliable ingredients and taste just as good (and sometimes even better) for Passover. I try to stay away from special for Passover shelf-ready dressings. Salad dressings are simple to make for Pesach and extra virgin olive…
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BowTie Napkins: Folded with DIY Napkin Rings
Our grandson, Yehuda, also known as JuJu, just celebrated his first birthday. Whenever family members would meet him, they would remark that he looks like a “little man.” Those that knew his namesake, Yehuda (Leo) Schlusselberg a’H, would consider JuJu a pint-size clone of him. For his birthday, therefore, we chose a vintage Little Man theme. For…
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Low-Carb Snacks: Simply Made with Love
Now that Don and I are on this low-carb, high-protein diet, we have encountered some challenges. We realize that having snacks prepared and measured out in advance is key. Knowing that the snack is ready to eat at responsible intervals helps curb cravings and satiate our appetites. We had hoped to find some ready-made protein…
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Daffodils: Simply and Artfully Arranged
Daffodils are in season and they are inexpensive and beautiful. I like to buy bunches with blossoms that are mostly closed, so that they will last the longest. I usually look for bunches that have only one or two blossoms showing and the rest are still tight buds. My favorite arrangements are ones where…
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Simple and Spiralized Salami Slinky: Three Ways
For our Purim seuda (festive meal), I wanted to prepare something that would be original, interesting to serve and fun enough for the kids. I set up a dinner buffet with a carving station. I wanted something that could be baked right in the oven with the other meats. I came up with this simple and spiralized…
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A Purim to Remember
Tzippy Respler Purim 5776 In memory of Chaya Sharona bas Shraga Feivel a’H There are people and events in your life that transform the way you view things. Sometimes you recognize the enormity of the influence while you are engaged with that person or at the time that you experience the event. Sometimes you don’t realize how…
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Simple Forsythia Arrangement: Bringing the Outside Inside
Our forsythia hedges are blossoming. Their yellow flowers are a burst of sunshine to announce the coming of spring. The forsythia hedges are rather ordinary in the summer, but create gorgeous, showy yellow blossoms on bare branches in early spring. To decorate our Shabbos table last week, I snipped a few branches and arranged them in a simple silver vase.…
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Mason Jar Salad with Purim Croutons: A Simple Purim Mishloach Manos Wow
Purim is coming! One of the mitzvos (commandments) unique to the Jewish holiday of Purim is to deliver gifts of food, called Mishloach Manos, to friends and family. The parameters of this mitzvah require each Jewish adult to send a minimum of two ready-to-eat-foods to at least one person. I like to send Mishloach Manos…
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Homemade Iced Tea, a True Gift
I always loved tea. Tea offers so many different varieties and flavors and can really warm your soul. I find sipping a cup of tea to be deliciously relaxing and comforting. When my kids were little, they wanted to drink tea just like me. When I offered it to them, they asked for…
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Simple Baby Arugula Salad with Red Peppers, Tomatoes and Avocado
I love the dark green color, peppery taste and crisp texture of baby arugula. It is one of those ingredients that has its own audacious personality and must be bought as fresh as possible. It is one of those love-hate greens: some love it and others cannot tolerate its assertive flavor. I embrace it…
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Simply the Best Low-Carb Zucchini Soup
On my low-carb diet, I often eat soup for lunch. They are filling, hearty and warm the soul. One of the things that I am enjoying and hope to retain once I complete the diet is the idea of making regular times for meals and snacks. I find that I am more satiated by meals…
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Robot Mishloach Manos: a Robot-Themed Purim with Printables
My daughter, Kaitlyn, created a Robot-themed Purim. Each member of the family dressed up as a robot and she created Mishloach Manos to fit the theme. It was simple and it was a wow. I asked her to share a picture of the robot-themed bags and the printable designs. One of the mitzvos (commandments) unique…
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You Say Tomato…I Say Heirloom Tomato Salad
Leafy salads are fresh and delicious, but take quite a bit of prep time. Soaking, rinsing and drying lettuce just seems to take forever. Here is one salad that go from the refrigerator to the table in record time. It uses an assortment of tomatoes and optional scallions. Rinse, slice, dice, halve or leave small tomatoes…
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Sunny Yellow Floral Arrangements
Cut daffodils are for sale and that signals that spring is near. I was so excited to see the sunny daffodil blossoms. I decided to create a grouping of yellow floral arrangements to welcome and complement the gorgeous daffodils. Creating several smaller arrangements, rather than one large floral arrangement offers versatility. This allows me to spread the…
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Rainbow Carrot Curls: A Wow Garnish
Trader Joe’s sells bags of organic rainbow carrots. The carrots come in all hues of the rainbow: dark red, white, bright yellow and the “ordinary” orange carrots. It is a small splurge, but well worth it in the “wow” factor. These carrots are low in calories and powerful in vitamin A and antioxidants. Rainbow carrot…
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Davida’s Simple Roasted Corn Salad
This simple salad is one that you can prepare when you think you have no salad ingredients at hand because it uses simple ingredients including…wait for it….canned corn. This recipe was developed by my youngest daughter, Davida. We had an ongoing friendly disagreement. I was certain that a good corn salad recipe required fresh…
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Wow Waffles: A Recipe Simple Enough for Papa
Avigail (age 2) and JuJu (age 11 months) are here to visit. Avigail announced that she would like “eggies” for dinner and that JuJu would like waffles. We all know that JuJu enjoys anything that Avigail decides for him and will even finish Avigail’s omelet, if given the chance. JuJu loves to eat, especially when his…
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A Contemporary Tied Stem Tulip Arrangement
I get excited once I start to see tulips appear because it signals that spring is not far away. Tulips come in such an extraordinary variety of colors and petal edges. Amazingly, most tulip varieties are perfectly symmetrical. Tulips are from the lily family and are beautiful when closed as buds and when fully open.…
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Simply the best chicken soup…ever!
What would a kosher blog be without a recipe for chicken soup? I have been making chicken soup for the past nearly thirty years of marriage. I serve chicken soup at just about every Friday night Shabbos dinner in my home. It is on my Shabbos menu whether the weather is frightfully cold or unbearably hot.…
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When Crayons Must Learn Boundaries: Simple Ways to Clean Crayon Marks on Walls
Our daughter, Kaitlyn, recently called me in a panic. “Help! Avigail colored with her crayons on the wall in the play area. How in the world do I clean it up? For Kaitlyn, this is a first occurrence and the mess seemed to be isolated to a small unnoticeable part of the wall. Most mothers have encountered…
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Kale and Cabbage Kugel: a Pareve Souffle
I grew up believing that spinach was the most powerful vegetable in the universe (remember Popeye?) I have raised kids in a generation that views kale the same way that we viewed spinach. Kale is the new spinach. My daughter, Leah, loves kale. To keep her happy (and healthy), I try to always have a…
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Crockpot Lentil Soup with Optional Parsnip and Kale
My daughter, Michelle, moved to California after getting married last June. She is a newly-inspired cook and it is so exciting for me to learn new recipes and plating ideas from her. A few weeks ago, when the weather was very cold on both coasts, she asked me to share some crockpot soup recipes with…
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Low Carb Waffles: Simple and Delicious
Since I started my high-protein, low-carb diet, I have been enjoying vegetable omelets for breakfast. Today, I decided to try something different. I made some low-carb waffles. It was simple. It was dietetic. Unbelievably, it was quite delicious (at least to carb-craving me.) This diet requires fat like butter and buttermilk You can easily replace…
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Crunchy Arugula and Jicama Salad
This recipe will wow your taste buds and your eyes with the peppery flavor of arugula, the crunch of jicama, the rainbow colors of baby heirloom tomatoes, the spiciness of the red onions and scallions, and the salty nuttiness of macadamia nuts.
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Low-Carb Cajun Salmon Fillets in Foil Packets
For me, the easiest part of my new low-carb, high protein diet is preparing the main dishes. I have just adjusted some of my basic recipes to fit the parameters of the diet, using spices and lo-carb vegetables to wow my palate. Since most sauces contain sugar and are therefore not allowed on my diet, I…