Category: Recipes
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Perfectly Roasted and Seasoned Bok Choy
Bok choy is one of our favorite ingredients in leafy salads. It is a powerhouse of nutrition, and has a signature taste and bold texture, making it the perfect ingredient for salads that are dressed in advance. I have incorporated it into a number of salads already highlighted on the blog (see Simple, Colorful and Crunchy…
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Lemon Zinger Chicken
Sometimes the best flavors are simple ones. Lemon. Garlic. Chicken. Tea. Delicious food is simple food with no compromises in freshness, flavor, moistness and taste. Today, I prepared chicken that was tangy, flavorful and succulent. It took very little effort. It used natural ingredients. And its simplicity and taste made everyone take notice. INGREDIENTS…
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To Preheat or Not to Preheat?
I have a confession to make. I almost never preheat the oven. “I don’t want to take the extra time. I don’t like to stick my hands into a hot oven, unless absolutely necessary. I love shortcuts. I love to use the delay timed cook feature on the oven. I don’t want to waste the…
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Simple Superstar Roasted Onions
Onions are the ultimate team player. They are used to start soups and sautes, taking very little credit for the impactful favor that they impart. They are sprinkled atop salads or roasts, adding spiciness and satisfying juiciness wherever they are used. They are the utility player that can be used here or there, always…
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Chana’s Low-Carb Broccoli Kugel
Last Shabbos, we hosted my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and niece for Shabbos. We always look forward to their visits. Yisroel and Chana are some of my favorite guests, so helpful and appreciative. We had a wonderful Shabbos, sharing divrei torah (words of Torah) and my father-in-law’s a’h favorite zemiros (Shabbos melodies) at our Shabbos table. Don…
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Challah: Wrapping Up a Bit of Heaven
Traditionally, we bake braided challah for Shabbos. The Hebrew word, challah, actually means loaf of bread and alludes to the mitzvah (commandment) of challah, the blessing and setting aside of a small piece of bread dough during the bread preparation process. At our Shabbos meals, after we say the kiddush (blessing on wine), we recite a blessing over…
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Cheesy Cabbage Steaks
I used red cabbage for this recipe, but any cabbage may be used. In this simple recipe, the red cabbage creates a stunning purple backdrop to the velvety melted cheese on top. It may be used to Passover and is gluten free, too.
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Floating Gerber Daisies in Series
I am enchanted by simple floral arrangements that highlight the beauty, intricacy and detail of individual blossoms. From my very first blog post entitled It’s all about the arrangement (psst….even with last week’s roses)until now, I have advocated for using a few blossoms to create inexpensive and stunning floral arrangements.
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A Bottlebrush Arrangement
My favorite floral arrangements are those that bring the outdoors inside. This weekend, we are visiting the Upper Galilee and we are always amazed by the beautiful varieties of plants and trees that are native to this gorgeous part of Northern Israel. One of my favorite shrubs found is this part of the world is…
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The 17th of Tammuz: A Fast to Begin Three Weeks of Mourning
Why did the broken tablets find a resting place among the unbroken tablets and among the nation? Why did we not bury them as we bury those that no longer are living? Why do we force ourselves to remember the sin, the imperfection and the tragic misdeeds of our nation? Because our lives, personal and…
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Simple Chicken Vegetable Packets
I devone of those hot and humid days that were exhausting. I just had very little energy left at the end of the day to prepare dinner. I had defrosted chicken breasts earlier to use for dinner and needed inspiration to create a simple and delicious meal. I wanted no fuss and very little effort.…
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The Perfect Grilled Salmon Wrap
One of my favorite lunches is a grilled salmon wrap. It is portable, delicious and very satisfying. It is so simple to prepare once you know the way to roll the perfect wrap.
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Kaitlyn’s Simple and Delicious Chili Recipe
Kaitlyn loves to make chili for her family. Her husband, Aaron, has some Texas roots and that may account for her family’s penchant for chili. Aaron loves his chili with plenty of cayenne pepper and Avigail and Yehuda don’t seem to mind the heat in their chili, either. Kaitlyn refers to their chili as…
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Davida’s Awesome Potato Kugel
It is so wonderful to have Davida back from Israel. The house is a more joyful abode and Davida and her friends fill our house with laughter, music and good food. No matter how chaotic things are, Davida seems to have just the right lighthearted joke and is always willing and able to prepare delicious…
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Pastrami Sandwich Chicken Rolls
This morning, I looked at the thin cut chicken breasts that I bought for Shabbos and thought, “How about deli sandwich chicken rolls for Friday night dinner?”. Here it is!
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Watermelon Jicama Salad
A few weeks ago, we had very hot weather on Shabbos. It was one of those weeks that boasted a potpourri of weather patterns. We had rain, cold, overcast skies, bursts of sunshine and then a 40 degree rise in temperatures from Friday to Shabbos. We just did not have enough time for our bodies to…
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Firecracker Cauliflower
Every once in a while, I want to serve something that surprises everyone. Cauliflower is one of those side dishes that everyone enjoys and is simply good for you. When roasted, it has both delicious flavor and texture (see Rockstar Roasted Cauliflower). This week, I decided to wake everyone’s taste buds up by adding some heat…
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A Vinegar Pantry Tutorial
For centuries, vinegar has been valued for its health benefits. Vinegar comes in many different tastes and colors and has a wide variety of uses beyond the salad bowl.
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Simple and Colorful Rainbow Carrot Salad
Many unusual color vegetable varieties lose their vivid color when heated, so I prefer to use these in salads and in fresh preparations…This salad is hearty, satisfying and simple to prepare. It can be made with orange carrots instead of rainbow carrots and will be equally tasty with just a few less colors of the rainbow…
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Simple Jalapeño Dip
This dip recipe has become a family favorite. I prepare it before Shabbos as a delicious dip for challah. I often serve it with salmon and grilled chicken, too. Both my sons-in-law, Aaron and Scotty, look forward to this jalapeño dip at our Shabbos table. It is simple to prepare and lasts in the refrigerator for about…
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Showstopper Soup Combinations
Sometimes the wow factor is just in the plating. Pureed soups are simple, fresh and delicious. They are easily prepared in a crockpot and then simply pureed using a stick blender. Some excellent pureed crockpot soups are Carrot Soup, spring pea soup, Crockpot Mushroom Soup, Orange Root Vegetable Soup and Low-Carb Zucchini Soup. Soups can be garnished beautifully with…
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Nutty Barley Edamame Salad
I’m always looking for salads that can be prepared when the vegetable bins are empty. This one is simple to prepare and can be made using simple pantry and freezer items. The nuttiness of the barley in concert with the varied colors and textures of the other ingredients makes this salad unique and delicious. This salad is…
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Simple 15 Minute Spring Pea Soup
I have been known to define spring as the seasonal period of time when neither heat nor air conditioning is necessary. There were many days within the past few weeks that definitely fit that definition. Although we have had some rain, we have had some lovely days filled with cool, breezy weather and intermittent sunshine.…
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Fresh and Bright Carrot Soup
Cool weather is soup weather. When the weather is cool, my crockpot does not leave my counter. This carrot soup is bright and fresh, simple to prepare and delicious. The gorgeous color and silky texture will make this a go-to recipe. INGREDIENTS 1 container chicken broth 2 pounds of carrots, peeled and cut into chunks…
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Simply Perfect and Healthier Cheesecake
Shavuos is the holiday that we literally count the days toward its arrival. We count 49 days (seven weeks) from Pesach (Passover) to Shavuos, blessing the sefira (counting) every evening from the second night of Pesach until Shavuos begins. From a culinary perspective, many of us count the days until we can enjoy the delicious…
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Individual Sushi Salads
Sushi salads eliminate most of the fussiness of rolling sushi. I can choose the proportions of each element in the sushi salad, favoring more vegetables and fish than rice and nori.
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Perfectly Moist Baked Stuffed Chicken
For the Purim seuda (feast) this year, Don did almost all of the shopping for ingredients. My mother had emergency surgery shortly before Purim and I spent the week with her in Cleveland. That meant that I would not have the time to shop and fully prepare for the seuda. Don offered to help by doing…
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Lattice Chicken Pie
I’ve always suggested that we start a leftovers club. After all, your leftovers would be like new to me and my leftovers may be palatable to you. As long as our families subscribe to the same dietary laws, allergy restrictions, likes and dislikes, a leftovers club would be perfect. There are times that I repurpose…
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An Endless Row of Roses
For a recent dinner party, I constructed arrangements of single roses on gold wooden planks (see An arrangement of Single Roses: Simple, Upcycled and Breathtaking). For that original arrangement, I used 6 roses for each 6-foot section of gilded wood. This arrangement takes inspiration from that one, but uses 10 single rose blossoms for each 6…
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Zucchini Mushroom Kugel
Although I favor keeping my vegetables raw and simply prepared, this kugel has become one of my favorites. It highlights a simple list of fresh ingredients and this kugel is perfect for freezing in advance of a busy Yom Tov (holiday, lit: good day) like Pesach (Passover). Although zucchini squash has a high water content…
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Charoset Ices
Last year in Israel, we discovered that Ben and Jerry’s manufactures Charoset ice cream for Pesach (Passover). We bought it at the Israel supermarket for its Passover-themed value but we devoured it for its delicious taste. After all, charoset is a traditional dip consumed at the Passover Seder. It is typically prepared with chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon…