Ingredients:

• 6 cups vegetable stock (I used water – I’m not one to make stock for a stew)
• 12-16 baby carrots (or 6 big carrots, cut up)
• 1 large onion, sauteed (the original recipe says 3 onions and doesn’t say sautee)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 stick of cinnamon (original recipe said 3)
• 1 Tbsp. turmeric (the original recipe said only 1/2 teaspoon)
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut up into pieces (or use butternut squash)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro
• 2 turnips, peeled and quartered (they look like potatoes in the finished dish)
• 3 zucchini, cut into chunks
• 2 cups cooked beans (original recipe said chickpeas – I used white Northern beans)

If you use dried beans, soak the beans overnight the night before you prepare the recipe. If you use a can of beans, add the can towards the end of the recipe. Cook the beans in your crockpot for a few hours until soft. Add carrots, sauteed onions, sweet potatoes and turnips and cook for another hour in the crockpot. Add spices, the zucchini and cooked beans (if you used canned beans – if you started with dried beans, they should already be in their cooking). Cook until zucchini is tender, about twenty minutes. Sprinkle the parsley on top at the end.

The original recipe says serve on couscous, but I served it on brown rice. Drizzle the liquid on top like it’s gravy.

Gil Marks suggests this stew as a dish to serve on Rosh Hashana (yes, the Jewish New Year is the next holiday on the Jewish calendar, unless you count Tu B’Av). I think of it as a summer stew, because you can get delightful fresh garden vegetables to include in the stew at this time of year.

I’ve made millet like rice: two parts water to one part millet. It was OK, kind of grainy, and when it was warm, and I stuck in a bit of cheese, I liked it better (but cheese is supposedly acidic, so that sort of defeats the alkalizing part). Recipes, anyone? Here are some I found online:

• Steamed Millet
• Millet Patties
• Mexican Millet
• Olive, Tomato, and Millet-Stuffed Zucchini
• Millet Cakes
• Millet Cauliflower Mash
• Sheperd’s Pie

I haven’t tried any of these recipes. Which one should I try? Would you try any?

On a related topic, Batya will be hosting the next Kosher Cooking Carnival. She would like you to submit a post and to be a host.

In topics related to blog carnivals, JPIX (Jewish Photographers Blog Carnival) will appear on this blog at the end of June. So submit your favorite post with a great photo.

Upcoming on this blog (tomorrow): How to Pay a Shiva Call: A Guide for Non-Jews, non-observant Jews, Jews who need to brush up on the tradition of shiva, and people who find the idea of comforting a mourner a bit scary

Upcoming is the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and it is customary on this holiday to eat dairy. However, there are those that insist on eating meat with every holiday meal, and so they have a bit of dairy first and then meat. There are others who insist on never, ever, ever having any animal products, and so they eat vegan food as usual. Finally, there are those like myself who are lactose-intolerant or allergic to dairy, so we avoid it, too. Thus the name of this KCC edition.

Perfect for Shavuot

First, our newest Kosher cooking blogger, BookishIma, presents Olive Cheese Pie with Spelt Crust. Wow, does that sound good.

Mrs. S. teaches a Shavuot classic: Milchig Lukshen Kugel (translation= dairy noodle casserole).

Cooking Manager (don’t you love the header on that blog?) suggests a Greek Salad with Feta Cheese and Olives, recipe by Michelle, for Shavuot.

For those of us who want pareve dishes to serve with either meat or dairy, try Japanese Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce.

Batya talks about how Shavuot used to equal cheesecake, but some her neighbors grill meat for the holiday.

Ilana-Davita describes an Algerian custom of eating fromage blanc, a date and matzah ashira on Shavuot.

Every Day Meals

This could dress up a simple steamed vegetable: Sweet and Tangy Dressing, by Ilana-Davita.

Batya gives recipes that are more than mashed potatoes.

You can learn more about your food processor by reading Cooking Manager’s interview with cookbook author Norene Gilletz.

L’Kvod Shabbat – In honor of the Sabbath

David Tzohar shows how to prepare Shabbos Gedempte Hin (boiled shabbat meal).

GetReadyDad has a recipe for Artichoke Beef Sliders.

If you want a Mediterranean style chicken, here’s one by Gloria Kobrin with currants, pine nuts and olives.

Cooking Manager says Chickpea Casserole with Rice and Tomatoes could be for Shabbat or an every day meal.

Instead of chulent, try Westbankmama’s Quinoa Salad.

You may want to make these peanut butter balls by G6 for dessert.

Baking Ideas

Ilana-Davita teaches cottage cheese bread: One Basic Recipe, Two Different Loaves.

Devo bakes these cheese-filled spinach rolls. Serve them right out of the oven for the best “gooi-ness.”

Restaurant News

Batya recommends the Club Sandwich at HaGov in Jerusalem.

Kashrut Issues

A Mother in Israel found a worm in her avocado.

Dairy, Pareve and Meat

Or at least Pareve to Dairy: Ricky’s mom tells of the non-ending supply of milky spatulas.

•   •   •

To view previous editions, click on any of the following links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, KCC Meta Carnival, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, and 53.

The next edition will be on Rosh Chodesh Tamuz (June 13).

Thank you to Batya for managing the Kosher Cooking Carnival. Submit a post for an upcoming carnival. Offer to host an upcoming carnival by contacting Batya.

Adapted from Japanese Foods that Heal: Using Traditional Ingredients to Promote Health, Longevity, and Well-Being by John and Jan Belleme

Ingredients for the Salad

12 oz. udon or soba noodles (recipes called for soba and I used udon, in the hopes my kids would like this – no luck, but I loved it)
2 cups of small broccoli florets
1 cup of sliced cabbage (recipe said use napa cabbage; I used savoy cabbage)
1 large carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
3 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
optional: 1 kirby cucumber, peeled and sliced (I skipped this)

Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used olive oil and sesame oil instead)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
3 Tbsp. shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. rice vinegar (I skipped this)
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. fresh lime juice (I used fresh lemon juice)
1 Tbsp. mirin (Japanese rice wine – delicious condiment, if you can get some)
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes (I used hot pepper sauce instead)

How to Make the Noodle Vegetable Salad

Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water. Stir to prevent sticking. Cook until tender but firm. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Set aside in large bowl.

Steam the broccoli until bright green and tender-crisp. Remove, then steam the cabbage and carrot sticks. Add to noodles. Add the scallions and cucumber to noodles as well.

Mix all the peanut sauce ingredients in the food processor. Puree until smooth. Add to the noodles and toss gently. Serve.

Thursday’s Challenge is “FOOD” (Meals, Restaurants, Eating, Vegetables, Unusual Foods, Cooking, BBQs,…).

If you really like food shots, see the apple pie in the previous post.

Want more recipes? I will be hosting the Kosher Cooking Carnival on May 16, so be sure to visit on that day. If you are a blogging cook or a cooking blogger and have a kosher recipe to share, please submit the post. Kosher Cooking Carnival is a blog carnival about kosher food, halachot (laws), customs, reviews of restaurants and cookbooks. If you want to host a KCC or for more information, visit Batya.

Like food photos? I have another one for Thursday Challenge, to be posted some time after 8 pm Eastern Time this evening.

Mushroom Paté with onions and walnuts

• 1/2 lb. mushrooms
• 1 large onion
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• Sea salt
• Spices or dried herbs (I used dried thyme)

Suitable for Passover or any time of the year one wants a tasty, easy to make spread, this mushroom paté can be made in a short time. Chop then sauté the onion in olive oil. Add the mushroooms, chopped into pieces. Put the onions and mushrooms in the food processor, then add the salt and dried herbs. Turn on the food processor until the mixture is smooth. Add the walnuts – you can chop the nuts finely or in bigger chucks, as you prefer. Klara Levine, who gave me this recipe, suggested it should be the consistency of haroset.

Radishes in Beet Juice with Oranges and Parsley

Avdus L’Herus (Slavery to Freedom) Salad Revisited

Passover is a challenge even for vegetable salads – sometimes one cannot get a certain condiment with a Pesach hashgacha (approval) that adds flavor, so one gets creative. Last year I blogged about the Slavery to Freedom Salad. This year I became enamored of a macrobiotic dish of pickled radishes with umeboshi paste. Since I cannot get the umeboshi paste for Passover, I came up with this combination of the two salads:

Ingredients:

• 3 fresh beets – boiled and beet juice preserved
• 1 bag of red radishes, sliced
• 1 bunch chopped mint (or substitute parsley or cilantro)
• 3 navel oranges, cut into pieces
• 1 half chopped red onion

Cut the radishes into circles and cook them until slightly soft in the beet juice. Mix with oranges, chopped parsley and red onion. Serve at room temperature.

•    •    •

Beet Salad

Don’t know what to do with the cooked beets? Here is what I put together:

Peel the beets after boiling. Discard skins. Chop into circular pieces (and then cut in half again, if desired). Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Garnish with scallion and parsley. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice.

Sponge Cake 2008, watercolor by Leora Wenger

Esther G. Robfogel (1904-1997) was my mother. I ate her excellent sponge cakes on Pesach and throughout the year for many decades. I hope that my granddaughter, Esther F. Robfogel, will carry on the tradition.
- Nathan J. Robfogel

I’m Esther Robfogel’s daughter. Although I used to bake with my mom, baking was never my forte. As it happens, I was thinking about making mom’s cake this year. After reading your blog, I know I will. Thanks.
- Hanna

For more recipes, be sure to visit Phyllis’ aka Imabima’s latest posting of the Kosher Cooking Carnival, Rosh Chodesh Nisan edition.

Also see:

• Ilana-Davita: Kosher for Pesach Dishes – Meat and Fish
• Ilana-Davita: Kosher for Pesach Desserts
• Ilana-Davita: Kosher for Pesach Quick and Light
• Cooking Manager: Passover Recipes and Cooking Techniques
• Mrs. S: Cooking for Pesach in the J-Blogosphere
• On my blog: Recipes for Pesach

On a sad note, two men in Teaneck, New Jersey died walking home from shul at the end of Shabbat when a tree fell on them. I can’t imagine what Pesach is going to be like for those two mourning families.

Guest Recipe by Kira

The potato leek part is my older daughter’s favorite soup, and we make that quite often, and she prefers it without any milk or cream. Both kids love the novelty of having the green star in the middle, and they actually eat the spinach (swirling it with the soup to dilute the taste). I think the spinach purée alone makes a pretty tasty dairy-free “creamed spinach” side dish, but since I am the only one in the family who likes creamed spinach, I don’t make it unless I am making the soup.

If you don’t have a kosher for Passover cookie cutter, use a cup.

Potato Leek Soup

(makes 10 servings)

Ingredients
3 leeks
5 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds white potatoes, chopped
2 qts water
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup cream or milk (optional)

Cooking equipment
Cutting knife
Colander
Spatula
Measuring cup
Measuring spoon
Large pot
Cookie cutter or small plastic cup with the bottom cut off
Blender (stick blender works nicely)

To make the plain potato leek soup:
1. Discard tough part of green tops of leeks, then wash bottoms thoroughly
2. Cut leeks into thin slices and rinse in colander.
3. Cook in olive oil until leeks are soft – about 5 minutes.
4. Add potatoes and water and bring to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
6. Puree with a blender.

Add salt and pepper to taste. For a creamier variation, add ½ cup of cream or milk

Spinach Purée

1. Blanch 1 lb of baby spinach (Put in small colander and submerge briefly into boiling water until barely cooked. Then transfer to bowl of ice water.)
2. Drain spinach.
3. Puree with ¼ of batch of potato leek soup.

Assemble final soup by placing the cookie cutter in the bottom of a soup bowl. Spoon spinach puree into the cookie cutter to desired depth. Pour potato leek soup around cookie cutter to the same depth. Then remove cookie cutter and repeat in another bowl.

For more kosher for Passover recipes, visit:

• Pesach Recipes – a list compiled in 2009 by Leora
• Kosher for Passover – Meat and Fish by Ilana-Davita