Cinnamon Buns

For as far back as I can remember, Thanksgiving has always been that day that I sleep in for as long as I possibly can and then spend the day relaxing and eventually having dinner with my family. This Thanksgiving began a little differently....

This year I decided that I was going to run the Turkey Trot 10K race (that's 6.2 miles!) Truth is, I had never actually run farther than 5 miles, but I decided that I was up for a challenge...and so from bright and early I had a whole new list of things to be thankful for...

-Many thanks to my mother for agreeing to wake up at 7 am on her day to sleep in and drive out to Virginia Beach with me, and hold my keys and phone while I ran off to run a race.

-Big thanks to my husband who took the kids with him to shul early this morning and then brought them to see me cross the finish line!

-Must thank my running coach who did an excellent job of preparing me for this race!

- And I am most certainly very grateful that I was able to run the entire race and finish!!

Of course I am also plenty grateful for the  many blessings that make my life so wonderful each and every day!!

Being that we were headed to my parents for dinner I was only left in charge of making the potato dishes...but then I remembered that I had frozen my leftover Challah dough on Friday afternoon...and the next thing I knew, I was making cinnamon buns! They were sooo easy to make..and soooo delicious to eat!!

Cinnamon Buns

Challah dough 
Canola oil
Vanilla sugar
Cinnamon
Sugar


Roll the challah dough out as thinly as you can. Rub some canola oil over the entire piece of dough. Sprinkle on some vanilla sugar, and lots and lots of sugar and cinnamon. Rub it all in. Roll the dough as tightly as you can. I then coated the top with a little oil and more vanilla sugar, cinnamon and sugar. Slice the big roll of dough into buns. Lay the buns down side by side on a greased baking sheet (swirl side up!). Sprinkle just a little more sugar. Bake on 350 for about 30 minutes. Glaze and enjoy!!

Glaze (Drizzle glaze on while cinnamon buns are still hot!!)

1 1/2 cups confection sugar
1/4 cup water
Sprinkle of vanilla extract
Sprinkle of lemon juice

Salmon in the Sukkah

It is a good thing I like to cook because there was ALOT of cooking happening at Chabad House in the last few days. We ended up having our Yom Tov meals at the Chabad House Sukkah because our Sukkah at home is simply too small. We averaged 40-50 people for each of the two dinners and lunches during the first two days of Sukkot.

I was over the moon excited that Levi (along with the help of my brother) did the bulk of the shopping and just left me to create yummy foods!

This Sukkot, we decided to get Shalom his very own Lulav and Etrog set. Watching the glimmer in his eyes when he used his Lulav and Etrog during Tefillah was incredible. I loved watching him take such immense joy in performing a Mitzvah!

So what did we eat this Sukkot? We had zucchini soup one night and sweet potato- carrot soup the other, brisket one night and rosemary chicken the other. We had a wide variety of salads including garden salads, purple cabbage, spinach-portobello and many others :) We also enjoyed roasted carrots and orzo with sauteed veggies, chicken stir fry, fried rice and who knows how many other foods.
One of my favorites was the salmon I baked for the first night of Sukkot. The fish was created based on what I thought my father had told me he put in the salmon I had at my parents' home a little while ago - I called him at the end to make sure I hadn't missed any ingredients :)

Chag Sameach!

Balsamic Salmon

Salmon
Kosher salt
Balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic
Pepper
Onion soup  mix

Preheat oven to 400. Place salmon in a pan and sprinkle with kosher salt - allow to sit for a few minutes. Drizzle on a small amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle a good amount of garlic and pepper. Add a small amount of onion soup mix (Goodman's is my favorite). Rub everything into the fish and bake until fish flakes easily.

G'mar Chatima Tova

Yom Kippur is on the way...my family and I will be joining my parents for the Seudah HaMafseket (meal before the fast), meaning that I don't have to spend all that much time in the kitchen. I was simply asked to bake honey cake and make Israeli couscous (yum!!).

May it be the will of Hashem that we should all be sealed in the book of life and experience a myriad of blessings in the coming year.

Personally, I am like my honey cake to be light and fluffy, however Levi is a big fan of the classic, traditional, heavier honey cake - so that is what I made today!

G'mar Chatima Tova!!

Classic Honey Cake

3 eggs
1 1/3 cups honey
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup coffee
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons oil
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.  Beat eggs and honey. Add sugar and mix again. Mix coffee with baking powder and add to the mixture  -add the oil and then mix. Combine baking soda, flour and cinnamon (I used a whole bunch) and then add to the cake batter and mix well. Bake for about an hour. 

Shana Tova!!

On this last day of 5772, my alarm clock rang before it was even light outside. As the night sky slowly turned into a morning sky, I laced up my running shoes and headed out the door to meet a friend. Yes, I was fully aware of the fact that we have 50 people joining us for each meal of Rosh Hashanah, I also knew that I had to put the finishing touches on our awesome children's programming to be held during services and I even remembered that I need to take my two kids shopping for new dress shoes. That being said, I also knew that getting out for a run was going to help me keep me centered and ready to accept whatever the day may bring my way! As we crossed over the bridge into downtown, we saw this beautiful view, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture. Looking at the serene and beautiful water with the sun rising, I couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of G-d. At that moment I asked Hashem to please bless my family with a beautiful, peaceful and serene year. I asked for a year that doesn't come with choppy waves to overcome, but rather a year that is smooth and flows nicely. I asked for a year filled with blessings that are easily recognizable as blessings. As Rosh Hashanah quickly approaches, I wish each and every one of you a Shana Tova U'Mituka! May all of your Tefillot (prayers) be answered and may 5773 only bring you peace, health and happiness!! Of course Rosh Hashanah wouldn't be complete with plenty of delicious meals - and so while I better get myself started on the cooking and baking, I will share the recipe for the couscous and veggies we will be eating tonight:)

(I learned how to make this "recipe" from our friend Sara who graciously made it for us for a good number of Rosh Hashanahs before moving away. I have zero measurements - and I change up the ratios of veggies each time I make it.)

Couscous and Vegetables

Olive oil

Onions

Carrots

Zucchini

Celery

Yellow squash 

Canned chick peas

Fresh parsley

Chicken stock

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Couscous

To make the veggies:

Prep all veggies by cutting into big chunks. Heat olive oil in a large pot, add onions and sauté. When onions start to get soft, add in carrots, zucchini, celery and yellow squash. Saute these veggies for a few minutes. Add enough chicken stock to cover all of the vegetable by about 2 inches. Chop up parsley and add to the pot along with the canned chickpeas. Season with salt, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer until all of the veggies are soft. 

To make the couscous:

Bring the pot of vegetables to a boil. Place desired amount of couscous in a pan or pot. Ladle the hot soup from the vegetables over the couscous. You want to put enough liquid, to the point where it looks soupy over the couscous. Cover the dish with the couscous with a towel and allow the couscous to absorb all of the liquid - this will cook the couscous. When ready to serve, place the couscous in the middle of a big platter, place the vegetables all around the couscous. Enjoy!!

Torah and Tea Tries to Return

My apologies for not posting anything since July...It was an incredibly fun and busy summer! We went to both North Carolina and NY and had loads and loads of relatives come visit. Along with that I spent quite a bit of time running (never thought I would do that in the summer!) and exercising in the gym! Last, but certainly not least, I ran an incredible summer camp for 4 weeks which kept me more than busy!


Today we started to settle back into our normal (?) lives, with the first day of school. My kids were excited to pack up their supplies and head off to school this morning, and I was excited to embark on a new school year with new students.

After a 4 week break from Torah and Tea during camp, today was the day Torah and Tea was set to restart. I happily baked cookies and got ready for my friends to arrive..and then the sky opened up, improving the value of our house, because we are suddenly living on the waterfront;)

So unfortunately Torah and Tea had to be pushed off since nobody wanted to swim to my house...but I still have the cookies...and they still taste good! So here is the recipe...

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies (Adapted from the Quaker Oats container)

3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups raw, old fashioned oats
1 cup Craisins

Preheat oven to 350. Beat oil and both sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, baking powder and cinnamon, mix again. Add in oats and Craisins and mix well. Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet. (I actually found it easier to roll cookies into small balls and place on the cookie sheet.)
Bake until light golden brown for about 10 minutes. 

A Broccoli Brunch

Every now and then I get a lazy Sunday morning...today was one of those days! Got up late and finally decided to head down the stairs at about 10:00 :) Decided to lace up my running shoes and head outside to run to  my daily mile while the temperature was still about 86 (yea - factor in the heat index..and it was HOT!!) My kids saw me gearing up and decided that they wanted to join me too...so we did a 5 minute walk for a warm up and then they ran around the block with me before I finished off my mile. I love getting my workout in first thing in the morning...leaves me feeling energized for the rest of my day! Back at home, after I had finally cooled off, I decided to make mix broccoli into my scrambled eggs for brunch...was delish.

Broccoli Scambled Eggs

Canola oil

Fresh broccoli florets - cut into smaller pieces

Eggs

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan. When oil is hot, add the cut up broccoli to the frying pan and sauté until almost soft. While broccoli is cooking, mix up the eggs with some salt, pepper and garlic. Add eggs too broccoli and stir frequently until cooked as desired. Enjoy!

Grilled Veggies and Visitors

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to have two of my cousins and their families come for a visit. I have spent soooo many hours with these cousins - as children we visited their family in NY often, they came to visit us here in VA a couple of times over the years - and I lived in their house for two years while I was in school in Brooklyn.  While we spent tons of time together in the past, neither of them had been to Norfolk since my wedding ten years ago.  

A while back we decided that it was prime time for them to visit..and I was thrilled when they picked a date and made plans to bring their families for a visit. The 5 days they spent with us made for an incredible time. The kids (there were 7 in total!) spent hours playing together, while the adults spent time catching up. (My cousins and I took a good number of trips down memory lane - lots of good laughs!!!) We spent plenty of time on the porch having popsicle parties to cool off in the big time heat we've been having down here and spent lots of time lingering over delicious meals. We also made time to visit the beach, botanical gardens and the children's museum. I truly enjoyed every minute of their time here - it was truly relaxing and I loved watching my kids get to know their cousins. Here's to hoping they don't wait another ten years to visit!! (I shared a few pics at the bottom of this post.)

I decided to go with grilled veggies for dinner on the first night of the visit. I normally stick to mushrooms, onions and peppers when I am grilling veggies in a basket. This time I found a bag of fresh green beans in my refrigerator and decided to add them to the mix. Everyone loved the addition of the green beans - they were soft and crunchy and had a great grilled taste!

Grilled Mixed Vegetables

Your choice of veggies (I used peppers, onions and green beans this time)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Oregano

Rice vinegar

Wash and cut veggies and place in a bowl. Season with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano and rice vinegar. Mix well. Place veggies in a grilling basket and set on hot grill. I grilled them on high at first and mixed them pretty often. After a little while I lowered the flame to low and closed the grill to finish them off. Enjoy!

Fearless cutie enjoys the beach!

The girls spent hours playing with Mushky's American Girl Dolls

The whole clan LOVED the Play Do party on the porch

While anxious to go near the water at first, this cutie was super brave
 and filled his bucket on his own!

Tomato Basil Pasta

This past Shabbat, Levi and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!! It seems like just yesterday that we celebrated our marriage together with about 700+ of our friends and family. (I guess you could say it was a big wedding - so big that we found ourselves on the cover of the Daily Break in the Sunday paper - and if you were there, you know it was BIG time fun too!) Marriage is no simple feat - for two people to create a life together and stick with each other  certainly requires plenty of love, hard work and dedication. I am so grateful to have found such an incredible man to share my life with. Levi has been by my side every step of the way - cheering me on in the great moments and helping me through the challenges we have faced. It is my wish that we should continue to have many, many more happy years together!

Last night we had family and friends over for a little dinner to celebrate :) Decided to keep things simple in the kitchen - but turned out a delicious meal if I may say so myself. We had honey-mustard grilled chicken breast (thanks for grilling in the heat Levi!), tomato-basil rotini and a garden salad. We finished it all of with delicious crepes filled with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Today I'll share the recipe for the pasta - and the chicken recipe will follow in a few days:)

Tomato Basil Pasta

1 lb cooked rotini

Olive oil

6 big leaves fresh basil, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes, drained well

Granulated garlic

Black pepper

Salt

Heat a little olive oil in a pot on a medium-high. Coat pasta in olive oil and then add chopped basil and tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic (usually I use fresh garlic, but alas I didn't have any yesterday.) Stir all ingredients periodically for about 8 minutes. Remove from pot and enjoy!

Grilled Pineapple

Finally! 5 out of 6 kids on the back of the couch! Took forever to get this shot - each time one kid would balance themselves..another would fall back into the pillows :) They LOVED this activity!

Made this sandcastle with the girls!

BEACH!

Wright Brothers place in Kitty Hawk

The sand was blowing all over the place when we went down to check out the monster waves!

LOVED watching the huge waves crashing against the sand

Sunset from the back porch 

Sunset almost over

A few  months back, Levi and I spent two days in Nags Head. On the way home I was busy on my iPad, checking out what it would entail to rent a home in Nags Head for a week in the summer. Levi shook his head at me and let me know that it was a pipe dream. I love dreaming and wishing - and I absolutely hate putting a great idea to rest. So I continued to search through tons and tons of rental homes until I finally found the perfect house for my family and our friends to call home for a week.

Having always been the "need to do things on vacation type" I was curious to see how I would enjoy spending a lazy week on the beach. The minute we arrived in our big, green house I knew I was going to love every minute of our vacation.

Mushky LOVED riding the waves

There were 11 of us in a great big house just across the street from the beach and we all had a BLAST! I loved hitting the sand for a barefoot runs in the morning and biking down the beach road with my hubby too. I loved seeing the thrill in my kids eyes as we spent hour upon hour playing in the sand and ocean. I loved seeing dolphins frolicking in the beautiful water. I loved spending quiet time looking at the waves and reading on our porch. I loved watching the kids enjoy playing with each other and doing crafts in the evenings and I loved our little spontaneous outings to a lighthouse, playground on the calm waters of the sound and a huge sand dune - and of course we all loved eating!

Keeping Kosher meant bringing along all of our food! Our van looked like we had packed everything but the kitchen sink - but believe me we had exactly the right tools to make sure we had yummy eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner for almost 6 days. We grilled and we made fries, popped popcorn and roasted plenty of veggies too!

My absolute favorite was the grilled pineapple! If you have never tried grilling pineapple - it is about time you do. Sometimes I season it it with a little lemon juice and salt and pepper - but this time we simply through the pineapple slices on the cute little charcoal grill and waited for it to get nice and soft. Grilling pineapple brings out an incredible sweetness and turns it into a fabulous treat!

Soooo....this recipe is super short....slice up a pineapple, throw it on the grill - enjoy!

Recipes to be posted soon:)

I can hardly believe I have let 6 weeks go by without posting any recipes. I assure that my family has indeed been eating during this time - but it has been a very busy 6 weeks and so I pretty much stuck to preparing the absolute easiest foods, the ones I can do in my sleep:) -which I have posted the majority of in the past. We just got back from an awesome vacation in Nags Head and I most certainly have some fun things to post from our eating experiences on our trip. Stay tuned, as I have a couple of posts planned for this week!

Race Day for the Brashevitzky Family

(I've had plans to post this since Sunday....finally got around to it!)

This past Sunday was a super busy day - with two exciting opportunities for our family to exercise together.

In the morning we all raced at the oceanfront, and then we celebrated Mushky's 9th birthday at my gym.

We got up bright and early on Sunday, pinned our race numbers to our shirts and headed out to the oceanfront for the JFS "Run, Roll or Stroll" My kids were all ready to run their mile - and I was a little nervous as I got ready to run my first 5k! Yes! You read that correctly, this person who could barely run down the block a few months ago ran a 5k (that's 3.1 miles)!

Learning to run has  been one of the most challenging things I have set out to accomplish. With the help of a super motivating running coach, I learned how to dig really deep and push myself and then push myself harder (nice little less for everyone - even the non runners out there!) until I was able to run a full 3 miles without stopping for any walking breaks.

A few weeks before race day, I managed to acquire a pain in my leg that ended up sidelining me for a few weeks. According to the doctor, I would have to sit this race out. This didn't sit well with me at all - I am one of those people who will do whatever it takes to complete what I have set out to accomplish. As the race drew closer and closer I got more and more upset about the prospect of watching everyone else run. I ultimately made the decision to run/walk the race. (I ran more than 2/3 of the race - even though I hadn't hit the pavement in about 4 weeks!)

As I ran, I managed to pretty much tune out the world around me (ok - the crazy wind on the boardwalk was a little hard to ignore) and give it my best shot. 43 minutes and 23 seconds later, I crossed the finish line. It's hard to describe the rush you get from finishing your first race - but let me just say I was mighty proud of myself.

Next my kids and hubby got ready to run the mile race! I was sooo proud of them as they all finished with their best times ever!

After the race we had a few hours to rest and then it was off to the birthday party at the gym. Mushky and her friends had an absolute blast completing a super fun obstacle course and participating in other gym related races and games. Watching the kids was proof that kids can exercise and have a blast at the same time! Before the party came to an end, we sang happy birthday and of course I provided yummy cupcakes for the occasion :)

While I rarely bake with chocolate (strange, I know!), Mushky wanted chocolate cupcakes with purple icing - and so today I will share the recipe with you. (It is the recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa container, with a few tiny modifications.)

Hershey's Cocoa Chocolate Cake


2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup boiling water


Preheat oven to 350. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add in remaining ingredients with the exception of the boiling water. Mix well. Add the boiling water and mix again. Use a small ladle to fill cupcake cups and bake for about 20 minutes.

Super Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

It makes me laugh to think of the foods that I hated as a child and love now! There were certain foods that my mother would always tell me were delicious, and I would always let her know just what I thought of those foods. I could never understand why people would eat sweet potatoes - and now I adore sweet potatoes. I couldn't fathom eating the dark meat of chicken - and now I am happy to. Amongst the foods on my "do not eat" list was peanut butter. I remember my mother telling me that I should try eating a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich and I also remember tasting it. I have this memory of standing at the sink drinking cups and cups of water after taking one little bite - because I couldn't stand the taste of peanut butter.

Well, fast forward a good number of years, and I am now in love with peanut butter! 

My father is the Kosher certifying rabbi at a peanut butter factory and the other day he brought me a bucket of peanut butter - fresh off the production line! Having a tub of super fresh peanut butter could only mean one thing for last night's Torah and Tea snack - peanut butter cookies! The cookies turned out great - and we even tried some with a little strawberry jelly:)

Super Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

White sugar for top of cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350. (I put my oven on convection for these cookies.)

Place peanut butter and both sugars in a bowl. Mix well using a hand mixer. Add the egg and baking powder. Mix well again. 

Using your hands, roll the dough into little balls and then gently push them down. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Dip a fork in sugar and then proceed to create criss cross marks on each cookie. (You will have to dip the fork in the sugar for each cookie.)

A Trip to Nags Head

Last week, Levi and I headed out for a little trip to Nags Head for a little, mini vacation. After a good number of very hectic weeks, we decided to catch a little calm before the next storm of activity begins. Nags Head seemed like the perfect place to chill (literally too - it was freezing!!) and relax. Having never been to to the Outer Banks before, I quickly fell in love with the area. I loved that we were on a little strip of land with water on both sides, I loved the sound of the ocean roaring as I fell asleep at night, and I loved the relaxation that comes with being on a very empty beach. We walked the beach, climbed the sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park and then flew our newly purchased kite at the top! (I was just a little annoyed with our kite which within seconds of getting up in the air the first time, took a sharp nose dive straight into the back of my head.) It was truly an enjoyable two days.

When we arrived at home on Friday afternoon, we had to create Shabbat dinner for about 18 people. Knowing that we would have limited time, I fell back on my easiest recipes that require very little hands on time.  My menu consisted of, homemade Challah, chicken soup with noodles, brisket (that I took out of the freezer!), spiced potatoes, roasted baby peppers, a garden salad, hearts of palm-avocado salad and a corn salad. (I even baked a cake - but there is a first time for everything - and my cake didn't bake properly, and so we had to manage without dessert.)

The menu was super easy to prepare and I didn't have to spend hours in the kitchen :)

Here is the recipe for the potatoes - super easy and super delish!

Spiced Potatoes

Red potatoes (leave skin on)
Canola oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Paprika
A small amount of Osem Consomme

Preheat oven to 425. Scrub potatoes well and cut into small chunks. Place potatoes in a glass baking dish. Add a little canola oil and all of the spices and the consommé. Mix well and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place in oven and allow to cook until potatoes are very soft. Enjoy!

Strawberry Sorbet

In case you didn't already know, I love dessert. Sometimes I will figure out what we will have for dessert before I even come up with the Shabbat dinner menu :)

So it shouldn't surprise you that I needed a Pesach friendly dessert :) In our home we use only a select few processed foods, so this makes desserts a little more complicated for Pesach - making sorbet the perfect solution.

Luckily for me, sorbet happens to be VERY easy to make - because as you can imagine there isn't all that much spare time when trying to pull off two large Seders.

As we get ready to celebrate our freedom from Egypt so many years ago, I would like to wish you a wonderful Pesach!!



Strawberry Sorbet


A quick note about making sorbet...the best way to make sorbet is to use a sorbet maker. I have the Cuisinart one and LOVE it! It is my understanding that sorbet can be made without the machine, you would just need to keep taking the sorbet out of the freezer and stirring it as it freezes.


Fresh strawberries
Sugar syrup (1 cup water to 1 cup sugar)


Puree strawberries in a food processor.  Pour the pureed strawberries into a frozen sorbet maker bowl. Add the sugar syrup. Allow the mixture to spin in the machine for about 20 minutes. Transfer to a container and freeze. Enjoy!

110 Years Since the Birth of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

One hundred and ten years ago, on the 11th day of Nissan (which was today) a visionary was born into this world. With the birth of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the world was given an incredible gift.

The Rebbe was truly a visionary with an incredible mission. The Rebbe knew that there were Jewish souls all around the world with a thirst to connect with their heritage. The Rebbe knew that Judaism would need to be spread all over the globe, to places near and far. The Rebbe sent Shluchim (emissaries) all over the world who set up Chabad Houses to help accomplish this important goal. With Shluchim all around the world, people can now attend Seders in some very remote places - like Ghana for example, where one of my brother's will be leading Seders!

As a child I grew up being able to visit  the Rebbe and receive his blessings many times over the years. These special occasions have remained with me throughout the years and I feel  privileged to have been able to meet such an inspiring leader.

As I run our Chabad House together with my parents and my husband, I am honored that we are able to do our part to bring Judaism to life for so many people in the Tidewater area. It is our hope that our work will make our Rebbe proud!

In order to celebrate this special day in our home, I decided that I would make a great dinner - even with all of the hustle and bustle of Pesach preps. I created a new baked salmon dish and served it with green beans and roasted potatoes. My family and I had took a few moments during dinner to say "L'chaim!" and speak about the Rebbe.

Tomato-Basil Salmon


Salmon fillets
Lemon juice
Campari tomatoes (or tomatoes of your choice)
Fresh garlic
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt
Oregano


Preheat oven to 375. 
Place salmon fillets in a glass baking dish and sprinkle a little lemon juice on each one. 
In a food processor (fitted with a chopping blade) blend the tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, salt and oregano. When mixture is a fine puree, spoon over then salmon. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Soup

Somewhere along the line I became the family cook. Along with this position comes the job of cooking birthday dinners for family members celebrating their special day. (Luckily I like to cook!) As you may know, the Hebrew date changes each day when the stars come out - meaning we get to celebrate our Jewish birthdays for a night and a day! 

As the sky turned dark last night, the date changed to the 27th day of Adar - also known as my hubby's birthday - and this was certainly a cause for celebration. It was certainly a busy day as I got to work  on preparing Levi's birthday dinner. I made dinner, wrapped presents, had the kids make cards, set the table with birthday decor and of course decorated cupcakes! 

My parents and one of my brothers came over to join us, and it was a fun and yummy evening for all. We began our dinner with a sweet and sour red cabbage soup, then moved onto steaks, roasted sweet potatoes, stir fried green beans and a garden salad. As the party drew to an end, we sang happy birthday, offered birthday wishes, gave Tzeddakah and then finished it all of with the super cute funny face cupcakes I decorated. (Thanks for baking the cupcakes Yisroly!)

Now let's talk about the soup! I found a red cabbage sitting in my fridge and knowing that Levi loves red cabbage I decided to turn it into a soup.  I have to say, I have experimented with this soup a number of times - and I am happy to report that yesterday's finished product was the best yet!

Here's the "recipe"...

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Soup

Olive oil

3 sweet onions, thinly sliced

3 cloves  fresh garlic

1 medium sized red cabbage, thinly sliced

4 ribs celery, sliced

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

Water

Balsamic vinegar

Brown sugar

Salt

Pepper

Sautee onions and garlic in a little olive oil until soft. Add sliced cabbage and stir occasionaly as cabbage begins to get soft. Add celery.  Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover veggies with water (about an inch above the veggies). Pour in some balsamic vinegar and then add a little brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer until all of the vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Zucchini Soup

As many of you may know, getting in good amounts of exercise has become my new favorite thing to do. I started running and wake up at the crack of dawn to get to a 6 am workout class twice a week. Some people look at me like I am crazy - but most think it's great and then start to think about how they can start adding more exercise into their lives. Along with this new love comes a great desire for my children to be excited about exercise and keeping their bodies healthy.

Today was sunny and warm and absolutely gorgeous - and so I most certainly wanted to spend as much of my day outside as I could. I was certain that my kids should head outside right after completing their homework so they could have some healthy fun! Being the cook in the family, I knew that I would need to make sure that dinner was ready before their homework was done so that we could play outside until dinner time :)

While I love to cook - today was a day that I was thrilled to be able to make good use of the leftovers in my fridge. (As children, my brothers and I HATED leftovers, funny what becoming the cook of the house can do to you!) I had plenty of the hamburgers I made yesterday in the refrigerator and then I realized that I also had a whole container of the roasted zucchini I made the other day. I quickly sauteed some onions and then added the roasted zukes to the pot along with some fresh parsley and basil. I filled the pot with water - brought it all to a boil and then pureed it with my handy dandy immersion blender and presto - roasted zucchini soup! I created a salad and voila - dinner was done! (Yes - it is VERY similar to the first zucchini recipe I posted, but has somewhat of a different flavor because the zucchinis have been roasted.)

Dinner and homework completed, my kids grabbed their helmets, scooters and a big ball and we headed outside. For well over an hour my scooted happily and then joined me in a little running and then we had loads of fun playing monkey in the middle, kicking the ball and practicing volleyball serves. We all had a blast - and got our heart rates up too! 

Soo..as the winter turns into spring...why not make it a habit to make some easy dinners so you too can have time to play outside with your kids!!

Roasted Zucchini Soup

3 sweet onions

A handful of fresh basil

A handful of fresh parsley

Roasted zucchini

Water

Roast the zucchini: Preheat oven to 425. Wash and cut zucchinis in to half moons and then place on a roasting pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and oregano. Roast for about 20 minutes or until soft. 

For the soup: Cut onions into chunks and sautee in a little olive oil. Add in the basil and parsley. Add the zucchini and allow to cook together for a few minutes. Add enough water to cover the veggies, plus a little more. Bring to a boil and then puree. (Please note, you may have to add additional seasoning after you have pureed the soup. I found that mine needed a little more salt added at the end.)

A Twist On Tradition

Don't you love Purim? I LOVE Purim!  I love eating Hamentashen (who doesnt!!), I love checking out the cool costumes people put together and I love the opportunity to celebrate happy times with my family and friends! Along with all the fun and games, I also LOVE the Purim story! I think it is a great story  - with a great lesson too! In the Megillah we read all about how the Jewish nation escaped destruction with the help of Queen Esther - and of course with G-d working the story from behind the scenes. As one reads the story of Purim, it may seem as if the Jewish people were headed toward a horrific fate - we of course see in the end of the story that everything was turned around - with Haman facing his own demise instead of that of the Jewish people. Lesson learned? When things look gloomy, we must not despair - Hashem is always listening to our prayers!

Being the cookie lover that I am - I almost always get out my rolling pin and bake a whole bunch of Hamentashen! This year was no different - but this time I opted to try an experiment. In recent months, I have decided that I LOVE peanut butter! (My mother laughs every time I say this because as a child I wouldn't go near peanut butter.) Last night I decided to put a little twist on tradition and make some peanut butter and jelly Hamentashen.

After making a good number of regular Hamentashen, using my regular dough - I went ahead and added a good amount of peanut butter to my dough. I found that the dough really changed with the addition of the peanut butter. I also found that I had to mix extra flour into the dough before I rolled it out. While the dough was certainly more crumbly than the regular Hamentashen, with a little patience (ok - a LOT!) I was able to roll out and fill my cookies! I have to say, the pb Hamentashen, filled with jelly, were awesome!

Here is the "recipe". (It is my regular Hamentash recipe - with the addition of peanut butter.)

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 cups flour (you will need to add more when rolling out the dough)

2 tsps. baking powder.

Peanut butter

Strawberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350

Grease cookie sheet.

Beat eggs and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 

Roll out dough, cut out circles and fill with strawberry preserves.. 

Fold in dough to create Hamentashen (3 corners)

Brush corners with water and pinch together. 

Bake for 20 minutes.

The International Conference of Chabad Shluchos

Last week my family joined me in visiting NY as I attended the International Conference of Chabad Shluchos (the women Chabad emissaries).  This conference is held each year during the weekend of the 22nd day of the month of Shvat as this is the day of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka's (the Rebbe's wife) passing. 

My husband was thrilled to be able to spend some time with his family and my kids loved having hours to play with their cousins. Shabbat was really lovely at my brother's home - and I was lucky enough to have 3  visitors from my Birthright trip last  January join us for dinner. 

During the conference on Thursday and Friday I had the opportunity to see cousins and friends whom I hadn't seen in ages - while listening to interesting speakers and checking out new resources for Chabad House across the globe. Interacting with "Shluchos" from all over gave me the opportunity to share ideas and arm myself with some new ones too!

The highlight of the conference was surely the banquet at the Hilton in NYC on Sunday night. Imagine if you can for a moment, a ballroom filled with 2,000 women who run Chabad Houses all around the world. It was an awesome sight - at my table alone there were women from the Georgia, Florida, Sao Paolo, Brazil, and the Netherlands to name a few. The speakers did a phenomenal job and were truly inspiring. It was a true reminder of how Chabad is available for every Jewish soul, no matter where on this earth he or she may be. It was a reminder for of how incredible this path I have chosen for my life is - and a reminder of the incredible things each and every individual can accomplish. 

As I listened to the "roll call" at the end of the evening when each and every Chabad House location was named, I was awestruck by the span of Chabad Lubavitch. It filled me with pride to be a part of this incredible network of people who have dedicated their lives to helping people around the globe in a multitude of ways. 

Of course an "Un-Recipes" post would not be complete without a recipe and so I will share a recipe for a salad I enjoyed during my Shabbat meal at my brother's home. This recipe is not mine, but rather that of my sister in law Zlata :)

Hearts of Palm - Avocado Salad

1 can hearts of palm, sliced

2 avocados, cut into chunks

Grape tomatoes, halved

Canola oil

Lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

Grilled Flatbread

Like the rest of the world, I can usually have some pretty crazy, hectic days.  Delicious, but easy and quick to prepare recipes are a must for busy days! Knowing that I was heading out to run with a friend at 5:30 I decided to get cracking on dinner at about 4 so that everything would pretty much be ready to go when I got back. I quickly peeled and chopped veggies and created a vegetable soup. Next up was to put together the beef chili and let that start simmering.

 I decided that instead of making pasta or rice to go with the chili - we would be eating it on grilled flatbreads. (I found the recipe in a great new cookbook -  "Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking.) So I mixed up the dough for the flatbreads - it took less than 5 minutes - and set it to rise.

At 5:30 my hubby walked in the door and headed out to run with my friend. Just under an hour later I returned and after catching my breath I went to finish up the flatbreads. The dough had plenty of time to rise and I worked fast to get them onto my Griddler to grill them so we could eat!! A few minutes later all 6 flatbreads had taken a turn on my "grill" and we were ready to eat. The flatbreads were PERFECT and finished to every last drop!

This recipe came from the Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking cookbook...I have modified the amount of flour and the selection of spices. Enjoy!

Grilled Flatbread

1 tsp sugar
2 3/4 tsp dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
Dried oregano
Granulated garlic

Oil for brushing

Place sugar and yeast in a bowl and then add the water. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes to allow the yeast to proof. Add the flour, salt and some sprinklings of oregano and garlic. Mix well. Allow to rise for at least one hour.

Heat Griddler (or grill pan or any indoor grilling thingy) to high. Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Flatten out each piece as best as you can. (The recipe calls for rolling it out - but being that I was in a hurry and my rolling pin is way higher than I can reach - I just opted to flatten it to the best of my ability.) Brush both sides with oil and place on the grill. Grill for a few minutes on each side - happy eating!!

Pineapple Salsa

Wow! It has been ages since I have posted a "recipe". I have certainly thought about posting many times, and I have even sat in front of my computer to type...but each time something got in my way. So today I will post a recipe that I had planned on writing about two weeks ago.

While deciding what to make for dinner I noticed a lonely pineapple sitting in my spare fridge in  my garage. (I had bought the pineapple because I was certain I would cut it up and eat it - but of course it got totally forgotten about. This happens to things in everyone's refrigerators - right??) So I decided that the pineapple would be lonely no more and would star in that night's dinner. (Luckily only a tiny part of the pineapple needed to be cut off and discarded from its long life in my fridge.) I quickly cut that pineapple up into little pieces, added some fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, diced a red pepper and a red onion - added some seasoning and presto - pineapple salsa!  I placed the salsa in the fridge so the flavors could mingle (looks like people don't have a monopoly on the mingling) and headed to the fish store where I purchased super fresh salmon.  I baked the salmon with very light seasoning and then served it with the salsa - delicious!   Who knew that healthy food could be soooo easy AND delicious!!

Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple

Red bell pepper

Red onion

Italian flat leaf parsley

Rice vinegar

Lime juice

Garlic

Salt

A tiny bit of cumin

Dice up the pineapple, red pepper, onion and parsley and place in a bowl. Season with rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, salt and a little bit of cumin. Place in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with chicken, fish or anything that makes you happy!

Vanilla Rugelach

I know time machines don't really exist -  but yesterday I really felt like I took a ride in one. As you know by now, I do a weekly baking session for the Torah and Tea ladies that meet at my home on Tuesday night (coming soon...Torah and Tea in Va Beach - email me for details!) and I every week I need to decide what our treat is going to be.

This week I decided to make vanilla rugelach and this is where the trip down memory lane comes in...

As I have mentioned in the past, I attended a Jewish high school in Montreal and lived with my aunt and uncle, Berel and Breindy. My aunt Breindy is an incredible baker!!  (I'll admit it I put on a few pounds living in their house.) Breindy baked and baked and then baked some more. There were always freshly baked babkes and rugelach and cakes and cookies. I always took some of her yummy treats with me to school for snacks - and my friends quickly learned that her treats were incredible - so sharing was a must :)

One of my favorites was her vanilla rugelach - so I set to work on making some yesterday.  After mixing the dough, and filling and rolling up 112 rugelach I can say I was wiped - but tasting the first delicious  pastry quickly transported me to some wonderful times in Montreal.

So...today I will share the recipe for these yummy treats. (The recipe is slightly different than the one my aunt sent me due to a missing ingredient.)

Vanilla Rugelach


Dough


16 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 oz. yeast
1 1/2 cups oil
2 whole eggs
8 egg yolks
Pinch of salt 
2 cups orange juice
3 cups water


Filling:
Oil for brushing dough
1 cup sugar
1 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar


Mix all of the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Divide the dough into smaller pieces to make rugelach (or divide by 8 to make babkes - I actually broke my dough down to 112 pieces.) Roll out dough as thinly as you can (I was lazy and just smushed the pieces of dough down using my hands). 


Mix the sugars together to create the filling.


Brush a small amount of oil onto each rugelah - and then sprinkle filling onto each one.  Roll the rugelach up and place on a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise for an hour and then bake on until they start to brown very slightly. (Mine only rose for about 25 minutes.) 


Enjoy!!

Coleslaw With Celery Seed

About two weeks ago, my husband and I were walking down the spice aisle in a local grocery store. Looking at the rows and rows of spice bottles and jars I decided it was time to purchase something that didn't already have a home in my spice cabinet.

Generally speaking, the foods I prepare rely on a pretty basic list of seasonings - and I decided it was time to spice things up and purchase some new little bottles to put in my already overstuff cabinet.

That night I decided I was going to try and use a new spice at least once a week for the next couple of weeks. I purchased a bottle of celery seed for the first week and ground mustard for the second week. Sadly, the spices sat patiently waiting for about two weeks before I got to work on the experiment.

Last Thursday I finally got out the bottle of celery seed. (You could it breathe a sigh of relief at finally getting some air!) I decided to give it a try in my regular, basic coleslaw to check out how it would change up the flavor. I got out the bag of shredded cabbage and got right to work on the dressing - and shortly thereafter everyone was trying the "new coleslaw".

After tasting the coleslaw I decided that I liked the new twist on my regular coleslaw dressing. According to my taste buds, the addition of the celery seeds gave a slight tang and taste of bread and butter pickles (which I love). Levi agreed that it tasted great and my two kids happily ate it without comment - which believe me is a sign that they like it.

Up next is the ground mustard....we shall see how that goes.

Coleslaw With Celery Seed

Shredded cabbage
Canola oil
Rice vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
a little sugar or splenda
Celery seed

Place cabbage in a bowl, add seasonings, mix and enjoy!

Spinach Pesto Pasta

Every now and then I make the decision to try to incorporate some dishes into my family's meals. Usually what ends up happening is that I'll sit down with a stack of cookbooks and look for something new to make - but then I just end up falling back on my regular go to foods. 

Last week was one of those "let's eat something new" weeks. On Sunday I looked through two cookbooks and a food magazine and came across a pasta with spinach recipe. 

I made a note to use that for an idea during the week - in the end, things got busy and sure enough we were eating our regular dinner foods. 

This week I decided to roll over last week's pasta with spinach idea to be used this week and what do you know, it actually got done!

I love pasta - and a super fast, healthy and delicious sauce makes it even better!

This sauce can be made in less than five minutes - and I found it to be very tasty.

Spinach Pesto Pasta

Fresh baby spinach (I used a few handfulls)

A few cloves fresh garlic (I used two)

4 big basil leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

Place spinach (don't forget to check for bugs!) in a food processor and pulse until all of the leaves are finely chopped. Add in basil leaves and garlic. Pulse a few times and then drizzle in the olive oil. Process once  more for just a few seconds and presto - your sauce is all done!

Toss with warm pasta and stir over a high fire for just a few minutes. Enjoy!

Zucchini Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze

While grabbing some salad veggies from my "spare fridge" in the garage - I noticed some lonely zucchinis sitting in the bottom drawer. I checked them out and found that they were still fit for consumption. (Sometimes there are surprises - I am sure this happens to you too!) Wondering what to do with them I decided I would bake some zucchini cupcakes for my Tuesday night Torah and Tea class. (Not really sure if it's a class - more like a girl chat night with the added bonus of Torah study!)

A few years back my friend Linda came by to bake some zucchini bread with me. I'll admit it, at first I was pretty skeptical - zucchini? in my dessert? She assured me it would be delicious...and I was not disappointed - as a matter of fact I loved it!

Yesterday the Torah and Tea ladies were treated to some zucchini bread cupcakes with the addition of a lemon glaze - they were hit! One friend even asked if I was joking when I mentioned there was zucchini hiding in her cupcake:)

I got this recipe from Linda a good number of years ago and have only made  a few tweaks to match my personal tastes.

Here is the recipe - and happy baking!

Zucchini Cupcakes


3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini (I used my food processor for this part.)
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


Yield: 25 cupcakes


Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs with sugar. Add oil, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Using a small ladle, fill cupcake wrappers in a muffin tin and bake for about 45 minutes. 


When cupcakes are done, use a fork to poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes. Drizzle the glaze over the hot cupcakes and then allow to cool.


Lemon Glaze


3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 cup of lemon juice


Mix sugar and lemon juice well.