Three Years Later...

This past week marked three years since the day that darkness descended on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India. Though I never met Gavi and Rivky HY"D, I felt like I knew them - and their absence was sorely felt. While darkness entered the world that day - it only brought forth an abundance of light, with the addition of more and more Mitzvot by individuals around the globe.

The post below was written a few months back - and somehow never got posted. Now seemed like a good time to post..

The birth of a child is always a special occasion. Two weeks ago my friends Hallie and Yehoshua  were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. 

Last Sunday the Chabad House was filled with family and friends who came to celebrate with them at their son's Bris. Of course like everyone else in the room I was curious to know which name had been chosen for this little cutie.

When his name, Gavriel Noach, was announced, I was a little surprised to feel my eyes well up with tears. I was totally moved and turned to Hallie and said, "I love the name, good choice!" (as if they need my approval) ;)

I was so taken by this little boy's name because he was named for the incredible Shliach (Chabad emissary) who was tragically killed in Mumbai, India. The baby's father explained that they wanted their son to grow up in the footsteps of this wonderful Shliach. He continued that they wanted their son to evolve into someone who would do his best to help fellow Jews get in touch with their special roots, just as Gavriel and Rivky Holtzberg did - and as Chabad Shluchim around the globe continue to do.

I am truly excited to watch little Gavriel Noach as he grows up and it is my wish for Hallie and Yehoshua that they get much nachas from their little boy.

So of course being that this is a food blog I will share a recipe:)

As part of the menu we served egg salad. I wasn't actually the one who made the egg salad as I was busy putting together flowers in vases, but I will share my recipe for delicious (I think!) egg salad.

Rashi's Egg Salad

Hard boiled eggs (boiled to the perfect yellow color)

Mayonnaise

Salt 

Black pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

This is how I boil eggs.

Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Place the lid on the pot. Place on stove with burner turned to high. When the water starts to boil, remove the pot from the fire and let sit covered for 15 minutes. At 15 minutes, rinse eggs in cold running water for a couple of minutes to stop them from continuing to cook. 

Peel eggs (it is much easier to do right after they are cooked) and place in a bowl. Mash eggs (I usually put on gloves and mush the eggs with my hands.) Mix in some mayonnaise (I actually make my own - but that is for another day!) - I try not to put too much mayo (I feel that the mashed eggs shouldn't be swallowed up by the mayonnaise and lose their identity.) Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. 

Purple Cabbage - Green Grapes

Being the big fan of food that I am, I love to look through food magazines. A few months back I came across the The Food Network Magazine - and I love reading it. I always find some cool tips, ideas or recipes - and of course I just love to read about food.

Looking at their pretty pictures I always say that I am going to try some of the recipes, but of course I am usually in a hurry and fall back on my tried and true foods.

This past Friday I was flipping through the magazine while Levi drove us to BJs to shop for our Shabbat dinner at Chabad House. I came across a pretty picture of a recipe for a red cabbage and grapes salad  - my first reaction was, "who would eat that?". When I described the recipe to Levi he decided we should try it at our kiddush at Chabad House - so I agreed that we would give it a whirl.

I quickly glanced at the recipe to see what the dressing was made of. Not being a huge fan of some of the ingredients I made a mental note to use certain substitutions. In the end, I realized on Shabbat morning that I had left the recipe in my car before Shabbat. I pretty much only remembered that the recipe called for red cabbage, green grapes and dijon mustard (I used regular mustard), and so I made up the dressing as I went along.

When it was time for lunch we placed the salad on the table and hoped for the best. (I must say that the green grapes mixed in with the purple cabbage really did look beautiful.) The salad pretty much vanished and the few people I asked said it tasted good. I finally tasted it myself and was surprised to find that I loved it!

Purple Cabbage and Green Grapes Salad

Purple cabbage
Green grapes, sliced lengthwise
Scallions
Canola oil
Mustard
Rice vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Sugar

Slice purple cabbage and place in a bowl. Slice grapes and add to cabbage. Slice scallions and add to bowl. To dress the salad pour in a little bit of canola oil and rice vinegar. Then add a few squirts of mustard, salt, pepper, garlic and sugar. Mix well and serve.

Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Salmon

On Monday I decided I was in the mood for some fish. Being that nice husband that he is, Levi went off to the fish store to see what they had gotten in fresh. He came home with a super fresh, beautiful pink salmon that had come in just that morning.

When Levi brought the fish home he let me know that they said it was a sushi grade fish - so he proceeded to have some some sashimi with soy sauce. Having never tasted sushi or sashimi (I've always been terrified to try raw fish) I decided to give it a go - and ate my first piece of sashimi :)

Then I got to work on making dinner. I wanted to have dinner in the oven within about 30 minutes so that I could head out to take my kids bowling.  I quickly washed potatoes and put them in the oven to bake. Then I got to work on slicing mushrooms and onions for a mushroom sauce for the potatoes. Sauce made I quickly created a honey-mustard dressing for the salmon and popped it in the oven. Then I grabbed a bag of washed and ready to cook green beans from the fridge, seasoned them and set them to cook in the microwave. Everything in place I asked Levi to please "babysit" dinner and make the salad.

When we got back from bowling we sat down to dinner - and then I discovered that the honey-mustard mix I put together was the perfect match for the salmon. So...here's the "recipe" for the honey-mustard salmon.

Honey Mustard Salmon

Salmon fillets
Salt
French's mustard
Honey
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder

Preheat oven to 375. Rinse fish and place in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle fish with salt. In a bowl, mix equal parts mustard and honey. Add pepper, garlic and onion powder to the honey-mustard mixture. Mix well. Spoon sauce onto fish. Place fish, uncovered, into the oven. Bake for about 20 or so minutes, until fish flakes easily.

Enjoy!

A Wild Friday

There are Fridays, and there are Fridays. As least week headed towards Shabbat I knew that I was having a few guests in my home for dinner and began to plan accordingly. Then I found out that a friend was headed out of town to be with her mother because her grandmother had passed away. I immediately asked what I could do to help her out. She mentioned that she really needed someone to drop off Shabbat dinner for her hubby and three of her children who would remain at home - I quickly told her that I was on it and that she need not worry. Now I knew I was cooking for 15 people.

Then on Thursday afternoon we found out that another friend was going to be in the hospital for Shabbat to give birth to her first child - and her husband and mother would be joining her too. We of course offered to deliver Shabbat dinner and lunch for the next day. Now we were up to 18.

I made my menu and shopped accordingly. The menu was pretty simple and so I didn't see any great need to get started too early. Luckily I ended up with a great kitchen helper, because little did I know my day was about to just get crazier.

I spent my morning and a nice part of my afternoon dropping someone off for a dr's appt and then waiting for quite some time for him to be ready. By the time I got home and really got to my cooking it was about 3:00 pm. Then I got home and started to cook.

At about 5:00 my husband told me that he had just received a phone call that a couple from NY and their daughter were going to be in Norfolk for Shabbos as their flight to NY had landed here due to weather. They would be staying in a hotel and would love to have food prepared to go. Now I was cooking for 21. I took a deep breath in and asked Levi if he could please go buy some takeout containers because at this point I was prepping food to go for 12 people (my parents had also asked for food to be packed up because they planned to stay home Friday night). So Levi ran to buy the containers and then he called me to say that another plane had been grounded in Norfolk and that two girls from Monsey would be spending Shabbat with us. Now I had a grand total of 23 Shabbat guests - some in my home and some eating in homes, hotels and hospitals.

I looked at the food I had prepared and was still preparing and starting to panic and decided that maybe I should add some foods to my menu. I quickly looked through my fridge and found a giant bag of broccoli that I proceeded to stir fry and then I remembered that I had a container of mushroom-zucchini kugel I had frozen a few months back. I quickly defrosted the kugel and warmed it up and finally had a rounded out menu with enough food for everyone. (Lesson learned - sometimes freezing those leftovers can be a really good idea!)

The day spun out of control as Levi stopped at the airport to pick up the two girls and then brought me the containers which I quickly started to fill. Then he dashed back out the door with boxes of food for my friend's family and then off to the hospital 20 minutes away to deliver food to my other friend. Luckily my mom and the guests staying at the hotel were able to come pick up their dinners.

Levi returned with a few minutes to spare before Shabbat. I checked that everything was ready and then lit my Shabbat candles. I opened my eyes and marveled at how lighting my candles and bringing in Shabbat suddenly brought peace and tranquility into what had been a wild and hectic home just a few minutes earlier.

Here is the recipe for the Mushroom-Zucchini Kugel which I was able to just grab out of my freezer :) This original recipe comes from the Bina Cookbook: Spice It Right by Estee Kafra, I make the recipe with a few small changes  - which is the way I am posting it.


Mushroom Zucchini Kugel


3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 zucchini
1 onion
24 button mushrooms
1 clove garlic
Pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, mix eggs, oil, sugar, salt, baking powder and flour. The batter will be sort of stiff. Grate the onions, zucchinis, mushrooms and garlic in a food processor fitted with a grating disc.  Add grated veggies to the mixture in the bowl. Sprinkle in black pepper. Mix well. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with Pam and pour the batter in. 
Bake for at least two hours  - the top will start to get crispy. The kugel will cset after it is removed from the oven and has cooled. This kugel takes a really long time to bake but is well worth it! 

Time to start cooking

It has been ages since I have last posted - and there is a good reason for it too! Generally speaking my posts are inspired by the goings on in my kitchen - and as hard as it may be to believe, I have spent only a few hours in my kitchen in the past few weeks.  I just returned from an incredible 11 days in Israel and had every single meal prepared for me! While I love to cook, I have to say I loved every minute I spent out of the kitchen. This past Shabbat was really a treat! We enjoyed delicious meals at two different hotels and were thrilled to let someone else do cooking and cleaning while we just chilled out. We realized that it was the first time in our 9 years together (we celebrated our anniversary in Israel!) that we spent a Shabbat together on our own. The food was amazing and the people watching in the dining room was loads of fun. After a much needed break, we are back and I am getting right back to creating yummy foods in my kitchen:) So I promise I'll be posting some new recipes for you shortly!

Potato Blintzes and Mushroom Sauce

3,323 years ago, the Jewish nation gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai to receive a special gift from G-d - the Torah! Every single year since then, the Jewish people gather on the 6th day of Sivan to hear the Ten Commandments being read from the Torah.

Each year at Chabad House we host an ice cream and Ten Commandments party. Our annual ice cream party took place in the evening yesterday. A few minutes before 5:30 people started to come in and then before I knew it the Chabad House was filled with people. While the Torah reading got started with the adults, I lead a special program for the children. A little while later it was time to read the Aseret HaDibrot - the Ten Commandments, and so all the children headed downstairs and into the main room. Describing the scene, my father told me today, "it was incredible to watch the kids come into the room, they just kept on coming and coming, more and more kids". As we got read the Torah I looked around the room and saw well over 100 people from all over Hampton Roads. I saw people of all ages from little babies to bubbies and zaidies. People from all walks of life - yet standing there together we all something very much in common - we were the Jewish nation standing once again to receive the Torah from Hashem, and it was heart warming.

Of course along with the reading of the Torah we get to eat lots of food on Shavuot (as on any Jewish holiday!) It is customary to eat blintzes on Shavuot - though in most cases they are filled with cheese. While I couldn't include any dairy in my menu, I still wanted to have blintzes, and so I spent quite some time creating my potato blintzes. In the afternoon when everything was cooked and baked I noticed a container of mushrooms in my fridge so I decided to try my hand at making a mushroom sauce for the blintzes...what a yummy combination that was!

So while most foods I blog about are quick and easy, these recipes are more time consuming - but well worth it. (If you are wondering what you need the recipe for now, I have to say that my kids finished off the last blintzes tonight and let me know they would be a good dinner food.)

Potato Blintzes


Make some crepes:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Oil for frying


Mix the eggs, flour, water and salt until smooth. Heat a small amount of oil in a small frying pan (I think non-stick works best) on medium-high. When oil is hot drop a small ladle of batter into the pan and quickly swirl around to make a very thin pancake. When the crepe starts to bubble it is time to flip it over and quickly cook the second side. Remove finished crepes to a plate line with a paper towel.


Mashed potatoes:
(This "recipe" comes from my father. He was the mashed potato maker in our house and they were always my favorite. So I learned his tricks and now make it myself:)


The amounts listed here filled 24 blintzes and I still had leftover mashed potatoes.


7 large russet potatoes
2 eggs
2 yellow onions
Oil for frying
Salt 
Pepper
Garlic


Peel and cube potatoes. Place in a pot and cover with water. Sprinkle some salt into the pot. Boil and then lower the flame and allow potatoes to cook until they are soft. When soft, drain the potatoes. While potatoes are piping hot add two raw eggs to the potatoes and mash. (I mash mine with my hand mixer!) The heat in the potatoes will ensure that the eggs get cooked while making the potatoes nice and smooth. 
Peel and dice the onions and sauté until very soft. Add the onions to the potatoes and season with salt, pepper and garlic. 


To make the blintzes:
I fried mine in an electric skillet to ensure an even oil temperature. I set the temp to 350. 


Place a small amount of mashed potatoes in the crepes, fold up and then fry until golden colored on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.


Mushroom Sauce


Canola oil
1 lb button mushrooms
2 yellow onions
Dried thyme
Dried marjoram
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Flour
Water


Place oil in a frying pan and heat on medium-high. Add sliced mushrooms and diced onions. Saute mushrooms and onions until very, very soft. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, marjoram and thyme. Mix some flour and water together in a bowl and then pour into the very soft mushrooms and onions. Mix continuously until the sauce has thickened and has an even texture. Serve hot over blintzes

Strawberry-Spinach Salad

Today I had four lovely families over at my home for lunch. We had a full house, but it was a house full of happily playing kids and laughing adults. The perfect addition to all the great company was a super yummy feast for lunch. I must've been hungry when I planned my menu because there was SO much food to eat today.

I baked two styles of focaccia bread, garlic-basil and black olives with sage, and made croutons from left over Challah to put in the garden salad. I Used beautiful strawberries and baby spinach leaves to put together a delicious salad. Pasta was mixed with soy sauce and spices and salmon was baked with simple seasoning. A variety of veggies were marinated and grilled alongside a bright yellow pineapple. For dessert we had oatmeal-craisn cookies and cupcakes topped with whipped cream and strawberries. A great time was had by all and my family barely ate dinner after having a feast for lunch:)

The strawberry-spinach salad was a big hit and there was only about a spoonful left by the time the afternoon was over. With Shavuot around the bend, I think it is a perfect recipe to serve at your holiday meals. (Speaking of Shavuot - if you are in the Hampton Roads area, why not bring your family and friends to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments and relive the giving of the Torah...there will be lots of fun and games for the kids and a yummy ice cream party too!!)

Strawberry-Spinach Salad


Baby spinach 
Strawberries
Red onion

Canola oil

Rice vinegar

Poppy seeds
Sugar 
Salt
Pepper
Garlic


Wash and check spinach leaves for insects and then place in bowl. Wash and slice strawberries and add to spinach. Dice a red onion and to the rest of the salad. Dress with canola oil, rice vinegar, sugar (I used Splenda), poppy seeds, salt, pepper and garlic. Yummy!!!