Recipes

Davida’s Simple Roasted Corn Salad

roasted corn salad-finished

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 or grilled corn and she was determined that she could create a recipe with canned corn that was just as good.

I was wrong and she was right.

Davida developed a roasted corn recipe that uses canned corn and is even better than any grilled corn salads we have enjoyed in the past.  It has excellent texture and taste.  It is simple and it is delicious. Best of all, it can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.
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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 sister has been involved in the food decision.

Sure enough, Avigail ate most of her omelet and then fed the rest to JuJu.  Once finished, she announced,”so when are we making the waffles for JuJu?”.  I was thinking that she was ready for bedtime, but my husband, Don (“Papa” to the grandchildren), took the request as the opportunity to start a cooking adventure with his two year-old granddaughter, Avigail (at close to 9 P.M.!).

Don asked questions like “where do I find your waffle recipe?”, “what does vanilla look like?” and “where do you store the waffle iron?”

I was scared.  Avigail and  “Papa” were delighted. (more…)

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.

I bought a bouquet of tulips for Shabbos.    I took them home and laid them out on the counter before deciding how to arrange them.  Since they have such straight stems, I thought that I would arrange them so that both the stems and the blossoms are arranged in an interesting manner. (more…)

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.  It is one of those recipes that I almost never make during the week, except for a special occasion or weekday holiday.

My first chicken soup in the eighties used whole vegetables and chicken parts.  Over the past decades, I made changes to suit my family and their different tastes.

When the kids were little, I started cutting the vegetables into chunks so that I could easily measure out what each one wanted.  I replaced  chicken parts with boneless chicken breasts because it yielded too much of the gray nastiness on the sides of the pot  and required me to skim the soup.  There were phases when I used cheesecloth packets for the chicken and herbs and phases where I made a more rustic soup.

Now that the dust has settled, here is where I am: (more…)

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 this messy problem, not always successfully.  In raising my own children, this was something that happened repeatedly.  My daughter, Leah’s art never learned boundaries.  She colored on walls, she colored on tables, she colored on desks and even decided to transform her favorite grey dress into a rainbow-colored garment using markers.

There are several options for cleaning crayon off a surface.  It is always best to start with the gentlest technique, one that will cause the least amount of collateral damage. I listed them to Kaitlyn, cautioning her to start with a small hidden area first to determine if the technique worked.  If that technique did not work, I explained to her to try the next technique until she found one that cleaned the crayon drawings. (more…)

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 large bag of kale available for her in the freezer. I buy a large package of fresh kale, clean it and store it in the freezer. Then, it is available for all her favorite kale recipes. She uses kale in smoothies and pesto and she has tried to convince the rest of the family to love it, too. Some of us will eat it and others are just not there…yet.

Leah developed this kale and cabbage kugel recipe using some of her favorite ingredients. It is bright, green and healthy.

If you prefer spinach, you may substitute spinach for some or all of the kale.

kale and cabbage

INGREDIENTS

Oil for sauteing
2 cups cabbage
1 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic (optional)
2 cups of kale or spinach (see kosher notes below)
4-5 eggs
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1-2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste

kale cabbage kugels in oven

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a large baking dish.  Saute onions, garlic and cabbage until soft and golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).  Puree kale with eggs, vinegar and seasonings in food processor or blender.

Combine cabbage mixture with kale and egg mixture.  Pour mixture into Pyrex or baking pan.  Bake kugel 30-40 minutes.

 

VARIATIONS

Sprinkle nuts, crumbs or crispy fried onions on top of mixture before baking for an extra bit of texture and crunch.

 

KOSHER NOTES

Kosher laws disallow the eating of  any whole insects and therefore most greens require a process of soaking, rinsing and in some cases, pureeing.  I have found that flat-leafed greens like baby spinach and flat-leaf  kale are much easier to check for insects than their curly-leaf counterparts.  Kashrut authorities differ on the proper checking of leafy vegetables and some disallow the use of spinach and kale altogether.  This blog was not designed to be your  kosher authority, so please consult your local rabbinic authority regarding using and preparing greens such as spinach and kale.

kale cabbage kugel x2

kale cabbage kugel with onions

Recipe, Baking and Photo Credits: Leah Respler

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 her. A crockpot soup would allow her to quickly start the soup before leaving to school in the morning and enjoy it for dinner with her husband, Scotty. (more…)

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 the buttermilk with any kind of milk and the butter with olive oil.

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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 find that I must use spice combinations effectively in place of sauce. (more…)

Simple Crockpot Mushroom Soup: Low Carb

Don and I just started a high-protein, low carb diet.  I have to admit that I’ve never been on an official diet before and I’m excited for the challenge. I visited my local market today and spent hours perusing the aisles for ingredients that will work for this new diet. I bought items that I never thought that I would use, items like soy flour and sugar-free caramel syrup. Now the challenge will be to create exceptional flavor with new ingredients. I thought that I would start by modifying some of my favorite recipes to meet the parameters of this new diet. To keep the blog updated with these diet-friendly recipes, I have created a new category on the blog menu for low-carb recipes. (more…)

Simply the best salad…ever!
I try to serve a salad at every meal.  Our go-to salad is prepared with hearts of romaine and a variety of whatever fresh vegetables we have on hand.   I love tomatoes and often add tomatoes in a variety of different shapes, sizes and colors.  In my geographic area, Trader Joe’s and Costco sell a medley of heirloom tomatoes in various size packages.  They are my favorite salad ingredient.
I usually try to eliminate or reduce the oil in salad dressings.  I find that the spices and acid components of dressings are essential for flavor and most of the time, the oil is unnecessary or can be greatly reduced.
The dressing for this salad is best made by sprinkling the spices and drizzling the liquid ingredients directly on the vegetables right before serving. That way, the salad remains light, fresh and not weighed down by the dressing.  Any additional toppings (see variations) should be sprinkled on after the dressing and then tossed right before serving.

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Meat and Potatoes Cupcakes for Every Child at Heart

Tzippy Respler

I’m always looking for interesting, nutritious, kid-friendly and delicious recipes for my grandchildren, Avigail (age 2+) and Judah (9 months old).

They are hearty eaters and they will have quite a surprise when I serve these protein cupcakes.  I have taken my favorite meatloaf and mashed potatoes recipes and have combined them into these easy and irresistible meat and potatoes cupcakes.   Best of all, the leftover cupcakes can be frozen in freezer bags for their next visit. (more…)

Curly Scallion Garnish: Simple and Wow

scallionsVegetable garnishes can take a plated appetizer or serving platter from simple to wow.  I like to create garnishes with ordinary ingredients and tools.  There are so many garnishes that can be created using simple tools that you already own.

This garnish elevates a simple scallion (green onion) to a wow garnish with the use of a regular paring knife and ice water. Try it!

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Kaitlyn’s Berry “Fresh” Muffins

Last week, Kaitlyn sent two-year old Avigail to playgroup with a muffin in her lunch bag. The muffin looked and smelled so delicious that Avigail’s teacher asked Kaitlyn for the recipe.

After school that afternoon, Kaitlyn and Avigail made another batch of muffins, wrapped a couple of them for the teacher along with the recipe.  Avigail arrived to playgroup the next morning and before anything else, she announced to her teacher.  “We made these fresh for you!”

Well, here is Avigail and Kaitlyn’s “fresh” recipe: (more…)

Crockpot Split Pea Soup..Simple and Hearty
Crockpot soups are hearty, delicious and really warm you up on those cold, winter days.  I love to start my soup in the morning and have it ready at the end of the day.  These soups are simple and flexible. Best of all, they freeze beautifully.

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Simply the Best Challah Recipe…ever!

 

I bake Challah for Shabbos.  It is a real treat for our Shabbos table and it makes the house smell heavenly as it bakes.

The mitzvah (commandment) of Challah is especially designed for women and is a privilege and opportunity for special prayer.

I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for kneading the dough.  Since it cannot accommodate the full five pounds  of flour, I use two bowls, each with half of the ingredients of the final dough. Once kneaded, I combine the dough for rising.  After the dough has finished rising, a small piece of the challah is separated.  If the dough has been fashioned from at least five pounds of flour, a brocha (blessing) is recited before separating the challah piece.  A personal prayer may be inserted at this point.

Baking challah nourishes the body and the soul.

 

challah pull-apart baked

INGREDIENTS FOR EACH KITCHEN AID BOWL
(I use two bowls for a total of  five pounds of flour)

1 pkg  or 2 tablespoons yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons for yeast
2 eggs
pinch of salt
2 1/2 pounds (6 cups) of bread or high-gluten flour
optional egg wash (a bit of egg mixed with a few drops of warm water)
sesame and  poppy seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS (more…)

Simple Rainbow Roasted Vegetables


For as long as I can remember, I have been making roasted vegetables for Friday night dinner. Years ago when our local pediatrician asked my kids what their favorite food was, they answered without hesitation, “roasted vegetables!”. (more…)

Colorful Red Cabbage Quinoa Salad, no oil necessary
Salads should be creative, colorful and fresh.  My family loves a salad at each meal and I am always on the hunt for new combinations and variations.
I usually try to eliminate or reduce the oil in salad dressings.  I find that the spices and acid components of dressings are essential for flavor and most of the time, the oil is unnecessary or can be greatly reduced.

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Simply the best pareve cholent…ever (with optional pulled beef brisket)

Tzippy Respler

Cholent is a traditional Jewish dish served on Shabbos.  Since cooking is prohibited on Shabbos, the cholent is prepared before the Shabbos and left to cook on an even temperature during Shabbos.

Over the past twenty plus years of marriage, I have tweaked my cholent recipe.  It started out as my father’s recipe and it still has the basic flavor of his cholent.  I have simplified and enhanced the recipe to suit the tastes of the ones closest to me.

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