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Colorado Salmon in an Omelet Maker
Don and I are in Colorado for a medical conference. The Nine Days (nine sad days leading to Tisha B’av, day the Jewish Holy Temple was destroyed) have begun and it is customary not to eat meat products or drink wine during this period of national mourning. Since we are not in close proximity to a…
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Savta’s Favorite Breaded Tilapia
Recently, my parents came to visit. I prepared dinner for them upon their arrival. Deciding what to prepare was simple. My mother loves fried tilapia and she cannot find kosher fresh tilapia in her hometown. It is one of dishes that my mother looks forward to when she comes to visit. For me, it is one…
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A Dozen Red Roses Split Up: Contemporary Arrangements
Don brings home roses most every Erev Shabbos (Shabbos eve). I try to find different ways to arrange the roses every Friday so that the Shabbos table setup is unique. As you know, most recently, I have begun to break the dozen roses up into several arrangements. I love the flexibility of moving the arrangements into…
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Oil in Squirt Bottles with Free Printable Labels
For most recipes, I use one of two types of oil: extra virgin olive oil and/or canola oil. I like to buy these oils in large quantities and the containers tends to be large and unwieldy with a way-too-large pouring spout. I find it easiest to decant the oil into a small squirt bottle for easy…
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Grilled Salami Slices: Netanel’s Simple and Humble Delicacy
A few weeks ago, my son, Aaron went fishing with his uncle, his cousins and two of his cousins’ friends. Aaron loves to fish and wherever we go on vacation, Aaron usually schedules a fishing trip. As a mother, I have learned that a fishing outing is so exhilarating when the fish are biting and so…
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Simple Kiwi Flower Garnish
A simple, yet beautiful garnish adds elegance and whimsy. This one is so simple and only takes 30 seconds to prepare. It uses the whole kiwi with no waste and needs only a small paring knife as a kitchen tool. It would make a gorgeous centerpiece for a fruit platter, fruit pie or as a…
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Roses and Lanterns: A Simple and Stunning Centerpiece
It all started with It’s all about the arrangement (psst….even with last week’s roses), my first blog post. This original blog post was one of those ideas born out of an upcycling strategy and week-old roses. The idea was to take last week’s open but slightly wilted roses and enjoy the blossoms in another arrangement, floating…
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Leah’s Simple Pasta Saute
Leah prepared the most heavenly pasta dish last night. It is one of those dishes that can be made pareve or with additional melted cheese for a dairy dinner. It uses simple ingredients and creates a heavenly combination of pasta, onions, garlic and vegetables. Leah prefers whole wheat pasta, but it can be made with any…
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A Summer Version of Simply the Best Chicken Soup
Many of my friends stop making chicken soup for their Friday night Shabbos (the Jewish sabbath) meal when the weather gets too hot. Not me. My children would tell me that it doesn’t feel like Shabbos without the chicken soup. So, chicken soup graces our Shabbos table, rain or shine, winter or summer. Somehow, our Shabbos…
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Simply the Best Marinade: A Science Lesson
My friend, Lori, is known for her delicious chicken cutlets. She marinates boneless chicken breasts overnight and then grills them to perfection. Lori’s marinade is legendary. As with most great recipes, Lori’s marinade recipe did not start or end with Lori. Lori received the recipe from her friend, Marcia, and Lori shared this awesome marinade recipe with me and so…
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Cowboy Caviar: Fashioned from Barbecue Leftovers
I recently posted a wonderful recipe for Cowboy Caviar: A Simple and Hearty Salad with Attitude. It has become one of my favorite go-to salads when I have a limited assortment of vegetables in my refrigerator. It really is a simple and hearty salad that can be fashioned from pantry staples, yet with enough fresh ingredients to…
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Farro: A Simple, Ancient and Fabulous Grain
I walk most days with my friend, Linda. Linda is a wealth of information and I always learn so much from her on our walks. We often share recipes, tips and plating ideas. A few weeks ago, Linda asked if I ever prepared farro. As I never had prepared farro, she offered to drop off a bag…
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Magic Tip: Keeping the Lid on a Pot of Chicken Soup
Leah decided to spend Shabbos at Kaitlyn’s. Avigail was barely able to contain her excitement, telling everyone that “Tante Reah” was coming to visit her and would be sleeping in the bed right next to hers. Don and I were empty-nesters for Shabbos. Although it is not the first time this summer that Don and I…
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Fruit Salad: It’s All About that Boat
I recently sent over fruit salad for a refreshing summer dessert in honor of our friends’ simcha (happy occasion). The fruit salad was so simple to prepare. I just sliced the pineapple, using an all-metal pineapple corer and slicer and I used a melon baller to create uniform spheres of watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. For a contemporary twist, I often opt…
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Colorful Farm to Table Confetti Salad
This week, we visited a wonderful U-pick farm in Fishkill, New York. It was a glorious day, the sun was shining and the fields were lush and overflowing with produce. Don and I really enjoyed picking vegetables directly from the fields and the produce was extraordinary. We picked all types of summer squash, yellow tomatoes, green peppers…
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Simple and Perfect Spicy Mayo
I love the spicy mayo that comes with sushi rolls. It adds that delicious spicy flavor, smooth texture and appealing drizzle to sushi, sandwiches, fish, grilled chicken and meat. It is expensive to purchase ready-made and oh, so simple to prepare yourself. I was determined to discover a recipe for spicy mayo. It was simpler than…
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Low-Carb Summer Squash/Zucchini Kugel
The McCarthys just delivered another enormous batch of home-grown produce (see A Salad of Bounty and Inspiration), among which were some beautiful yellow and green squash. Dorothy sent me an Ina Garten recipe for zucchini pancakes, which looked delicious, but a bit too labor-intensive for my carefree summer frame of mind. Instead, I just used…
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When Pancakes Meet Sprinkles…
When Avigail and JuJu (the grandchildren) come to visit Bobby (that’s me), they look forward to breakfast. Usually, I bring them downstairs and serve breakfast before Kaitlyn wakes up. Avigail likes to watch the birds at the bird feeders eating “birdie food”. JuJu just barks at the birds. Both grandchildren’s favorite breakfast is pancakes. When time is short,…
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A Trio of Magenta Flowers in Vintage Silver Vases
My local supermarket had some beautiful magenta peonies for sale. I thought that the vintage quality of these fluffy peonies would look gorgeous in series with some other magenta flowers arranged in different types of silver vases. I used the same inspiration that I described in Three’s a Crowd? A Trio of Floral Arrangements by arranging three…
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Growing Lettuce in TopSoil Bags
When Aaron was a little boy, he loved to join me in shopping for our summer annuals and vegetable plants. We would peruse the aisles of the local garden center, looking for unusual plants and interesting planting combinations and techniques. We discovered that our local nursery started some of their lettuce and leafy vegetables right…
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Simple Corn Grilled in the Husk
There are certain things that are best cooked in their natural packaging. Corn on the cob falls into that category. The perfect natural packaging for corn on the cob takes my breath away. I find it miraculous that corn grows so perfectly in the husk with a protective layer of corn silk to cushion the tender…
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Patriotic Chocolate Bark: Simple and Pareve
Chocolate bark is one of the easiest dessert creations. It takes moments to prepare, is a canvas for creativity and can be served in a myriad of different ways. This one is perfect for a patriotic July 4th celebration. It is a combination of chocolate, nuts, sprinkles and colorful fruit. It can be served whole to…
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A Simple Fluffy Arrangement of Peonies and Hyndrangea
For Shavuos, Davida’s friend, Chava, brought us a gorgeous new vase. It is rectangular with a narrow opening, perfect for arranging so many different types of flowers. It is unique in its narrow but long shape, and it is stunning with a floral motif designed into the glass. Since Shavuos, I have tried so many types of…
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Cauliflower Personal Pizza: Simple and Low-Carb
Davida has been my lunch-time cook and she made this delicious cauliflower pizza for me today for lunch. She used cauliflower couscous to create the crust and then just layered sauce and cheese atop the crust. It was relatively simple to prepare and delicious to eat. Thanks, Davida! INGREDIENTS 1/2 head of cauliflower, grated…
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A Gallery Wall of Playgroup Art
Kaitlyn created a gallery wall for Avigail’s art. Two-year old Avigail is a budding artist with so many art projects and pictures to display. The gallery wall allows Kaitlyn a way to rotate all the different playgroup art that Avigail brings home from playgroup. Kaitlyn used empty old frames and sprayed them all the same color…
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A Salad of Bounty and Inspiration
There are friends who transform your life. They may not be the friends you see regularly. They may not be the friends that are your neighbors or even part of your community . They are people who have entered your orbit and make you see the world differently. They are people who live their…
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Cowboy Caviar: A Simple and Hearty Salad with Attitude
Cowboy caviar is one of those salads that is prepared mostly with items that you already have on hand in the pantry. It is a hearty bean salad that really packs a spicy bite. It is the perfect salad to serve at a barbecue because it stands up well and pairs so beautifully with grilled food. Cowboy caviar…
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Simple Tips to Enjoy Kosher Zurich in a Day
Don and I traveled to Israel recently. On the way from Newark to Tel Aviv, we worked in a 14 hour layover in Zurich, Switzerland. Over the past many years, we have toured a number of cities in Europe this way. We have found that this is an excellent way to tour a city without…
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Delicious Banana Muffins: Approved by Leah
As a Shabbos gift, one of my friends recently sent over some delicious banana muffins. They were so banana-ey, moist and delicious, that my daughter, Leah, asked me to get the recipe. Leah rarely eats baked goods, so I knew that these muffins were special. I vividly remember that as a two-year old toddler, Leah took…
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Simple and Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
For Shabbos and Yom Tov, I always like to have some delicious and beautiful baked goods sitting under the dome of my pastry platters on my kitchen counter. Since I am still on the low-carb diet, I must discipline myself to enjoy my tea without the sweets. Davida is our resident baker. She has an…
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Simple Tips to the Perfect Kosher Skirt Steak
On Sunday, we hosted a barbecue for our immediate family. We grilled all the regulars: hot dogs, burgers and ribs. The star of the show, though, were the skirt steaks. Skirt steaks are meaty, flavorful, tender, inexpensive and simple to prepare. They are long and thin, versatile and take practically no time on the grill.…