Salmon Croquettes

As children and teenagers we all had moments where we promised, "in my house it will be different".  As a child I was really not a very big fan of leftovers. The food we ate always tasted good, but for some reason the Margolin clan (that would be me and my 6 brothers) wasn't very fond of leftovers. As a matter of fact, my brothers and I were known to purposefully not put foods away so that we wouldn't be able to eat them the next day. Back then we thought we were quite smart  - looking back I'm not sure how wise that plan was :)

Being a wife and mother and the primary cook in my home, I have come to embrace leftovers. Sometimes the leftovers get eaten for lunch, other times I serve them again for dinner and there are times where the foods in my fridge get repurposed and turned into something else. When I happily serve that chicken soup another night I sometimes chuckle to myself at how the tables have turned. When they make my life easier, leftovers can seem miraculous!

This past Friday I baked a beautiful side of salmon for Shabbat dinner. After Shabbat there was still a fair amount of fish resting in the refrigerator. On Sunday evening I pulled the fish from the fridge and quickly turned it into salmon croquettes. The salmon got used and we ate a completely different dish - what could be better than that? I have to say they were delicious, and I was pleased that my kids ate them - and liked them - after I said they were salmon latkes. 

So the next time you find yourself with leftovers, do a little thinking and see what you can create with them.

Salmon Croquettes

10 oz baked salmon (skin and bones removed)

2 eggs

6 tablespoons cornflake crumbs

1 tablespoon chopped onion flakes

2 teaspoons canola oil

Salt, pepper and garlic if needed (when I made them my fish already had enough seasoning)

Place fish in a bowl and mash up with a fork. Add chopped onion flakes, eggs and cornflake crumbs. Mix well. Heat the canola oil in a non-stick skillet. Form the fish mixture into patties and place in the skillet. Allow to fry for about 5 minutes on medium. Flip and cook for another few minutes. Remove and serve. 

(We dipped ours in ketchup, but you can also do a mayo-dill dip.)

Perfection In A Slice Of Cake

A few months ago I noticed that my cousin Rashi in Alpharetta had posted a beautiful picture of a blackberry cake on her Facebook page. She had baked this beauty for her weekly Torah and Tea class (I have borrowed the concept and now host my own Torah and Tea on Wednesday nights!).

Being a big lover of cake -as most of us are, and a big lover of blackberries, I asked her for the recipe. I was delighted to find that she was using a recipe from a Kosher By Design cookbook for a lemon bundt cake, and was simply adding blackberries. It is a super simple - and super delicious recipe. 

After baking the cake once or twice, I decided to make some changes. I played around with the recipe until I got it to be exactly what I wanted. After seeing Rashi add the blackberries, I decided to give it a whirl. The results were amazing. I served it for dessert that Friday night and it was gobbled up. I made the cake again this week since I had an abundance of blackberries. In the words of one of my guests, "it was the best pareve dessert I've ever tasted". By some miracle I managed to hold on to a piece of the cake until Shabbos was over so I could snap a picture - and then it was promptly finished by yours truly :)

Here is the recipe the way I have been making it for years (it loses some ingredients and gains some new ones which aren't in the original)

Blackberry Cake

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs (best if room temperature)

2 cups blackberries

Preheat oven to 350.  (I baked mine on convection - makes it even better!)

Add all of the ingredients except the blackberries into a mixing bowl and mix well. Wash blackberries and add to the bowl. Using a spatula or spoon, gently fold the berries into the cake batter.  Pour into a cake pan coated with Pam and bake for about 45 minutes - or until a toothpick comes out clear.

Enjoy!

A Tropical Shabbat Dinner

As you may know, we host a Shabbat dinner at Chabad House each month. We switch off between doing a traditional Shabbat dinner menu and a themed Shabbat dinner menu.

After having tons of people throughout Pesach we sailed straight into our Shabbat dinner of 50 people.

Back in the summer when I designed the postcard for Shabbat with Chabad we included all the dates and themes for the entire year. So when I looked at my records I saw that this past Shabbat was to be a tropical themed Shabbat dinner.

To be honest I wasn't totally sure what should be served at a tropical themed Shabbat dinner - after all there are a good number of tropical places in this world - each with its own cuisine.  After doing lots of research I finally came up with what I thought would be a good menu. We started with a carrot salad based on a recipe I saw for Caribbean carrot salad, avocado dip, tomato-mango salad, a garden salad with carrot-ginger dressing and pineapple-teriyaki gefilte fish. Then we had chicken soup with matzah balls - I am fairly certain that Jewish people in tropical places still eat chicken soup with matzah balls! The third course brought pineapple-mango chicken, sweet potato kugel and green beans with toasted almonds. Dessert was brownies and fresh strawberries and pineapple.

All in all I believe it was a very colorful and tasty Shabbat dinner! (next month we will have a traditional menu - May 27 @ 8:00 PM)

Here is the recipe for the carrot salad

Tropical Carrot Slaw


Carrots, grated
Craisins
Scallions
Canola oil
Rice vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Sugar
Lemon juice
Lime juice


Grate carrots and place in a bowl. Add chopped scallions and a handful of Craisins. Dress with canola oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, sugar, lemon juice and lime juice. I happened to discover that it tastes better after it has been refrigerated for a bit. Enjoy!

Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing

What an incredible first days of Pesach! As the sun set on Monday we set up the tables for the 100+ people who would be attending our first Seder. While the table set up was very plain and simple, it was beautiful to know that 105 Jewish souls would soon be filling those seats and taking part in a Seder like millions of Jewish people before them.

We were busy in the kitchen getting everything ready for this large Seder and then 15 minutes before "go time" the room started to fill up. I would venture to say I had never met about 40% of the people in attendance - but it still felt like a giant room filled with a giant family. We are all one, and at this Seder you could feel it. It was a beautiful holiday filled with lots of people, lots of cooking and of course lots of eating.

Below is the "recipe" for the Carrot-Ginger salad dressing served with our vegetable salad.



Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing


Carrots
Fresh ginger
Fresh garlic
Cottonseed oil
Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Fresh squuezed lime juice
Sugar syrup
Salt


Peel carrots, ginger and garlic and process in food processor fitted with chopping blade. Add oil, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar syrup and salt.


This dressing can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge, just make sure to stir before serving.

Seders in Every Corner of the Globe

109 years ago, on the 11th of Nissan, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson was born in the city of Nikolaev in Russia. Today is the 11th day of Nissan on the Hebrew calendar and it marks the 109th birthday of the Rebbe.

The Rebbe was a visionary - and the Rebbe had an incredible impact on the world. The Rebbe knew that there were Jewish people all over the globe that were searching for ways to feed the fire burning in their Jewish souls. He knew that people from all walks of life were in need of Jewish education, were in need of a place to call their Jewish home. The need was so great to the Rebbe that he enlisted his own army of "Shluchim" (emissaries) to move to places near and far to provide for Jewish communities large and small. 

The Rebbe set up a system that allows Jewish people to connect with G-d in any part of the world in which they may find themselves.

Having been privileged to meet the Rebbe, and receive his blessings, numerous times, I am honored to be a part of the Rebbe's vision and be one of those thousands of emissaries. 

As I write, one of my six brothers is preparing to have Seders with the Jews in South Korea, and another is in the Ukraine for Pesach, and a third is in Montreal providing Seders for Jewish students at the McGill University. Along with my brothers, there are countless others leading Seders in a wide variety of interesting places. The Rebbe in his infinite wisdom set up this system to allow Jewish people everywhere to participate in a Seder. 

The Rebbe taught the world at large that through acts of goodness and kindness we can have an immense impact on the world - why not do something good for someone else today in honor of the Rebbe's birthday!

Speaking of Seders around the globe, I am sharing a recipe from our Seder menus this year. 

(PS: If you, or someone you know, is still need of a Seder make sure to visit www.Passover.net to find a Seder in almost any part of the world.)

And with that I wish you a wonderful Pesach. 

Cucumber Salad

(Yes, this is a SUPER simple recipe -  but tastes really good!)

Cucumbers

Sweet onions

Canola oil

Fresh lemon juice

Fresh lime juice

Sugar

Kosher salt

Peel and slice cucumbers and onions (I do half moons). Dress with canola oil, fresh lemon juice, a little fresh lime juice, sugar and Kosher salt. Mix well. Allow salad to sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to blend.

Pre-Pesach Dinner

You know that feeling of "the calm before the storm"? That is sort of how my life feels at the moment. While it is pretty serene in my home at the moment, I know that Pesach and all that it entails is right around the bend. Luckily, this year we have been able to get our early Peasch preps done in a timely fashion without too much chaos. Yet, knowing that there will be around 170 people between the two Seders at Chabad House, and lots of people for the other meals, I know that the "storm" is coming.

(PS...if you don't have Seder plans yet, you are more than welcome to join us at Chabad House..you can visit www.ChabadofTidewater.com to RSVP)

One of the ways I managed to keep things relatively calm in my home this week is by switching my dinner style for the week. While I am normally the person who makes elaborate dinners, this week it occurred to me that I better just let dinner slide and go with some really easy and simple foods. Less work, less mess, less stress.

So what have we been eating? We've had lots of pasta, lots of eggs, salad and even some pancakes. Tonight I made spaghetti with a homemade vegetable sauce (It's a simplified version of the tomato veggie sauce I make regularly.)  Super delicious and super easy. 

So whether you still need a quick idea for a pre-Pesach dinner, or if you will need something easy when you are relaxing when Pesach is over....this sauce will make your day a little easier.

Easy Tomato-Vegetable Sauce

Canola oil

1 onion

1 red pepper

2 cans Hunt's Tomato Sauce

1 can Hunt's Diced Tomatoes

4 fresh basil leaves

Garlic powder

Sugar

Oregano

Place diced onion, diced pepper and a small amount of canola oil in a pot. Sauté vegetables until they are somewhat browned and soft. Add cans of tomato sauce and the can of diced tomatoes. Season with chopped basil, garlic powder, a little sugar and some oregano. 

Bring to a boil and then lower and let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

Pesach Is Just Around The Bend...

Many people complain and kvetch as Passover rolls around. They grumble about cleaning their homes, they whine about all the cooking and they fuss about the lack of their favorite foods. While I don’t like cleaning anymore than the next person, I truly love Passover. 

Each year when Passover comes to visit, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the great miracles G-d performed for the Jewish nation in Egypt and throughout history. When I read about the slavery of the Jewish people, it is a good reminder to be thankful for our freedom. 

When the Passover story took place, G-d commanded the Jewish people to clean their homes of Chametz (leavened foods). He also commanded that forever after Jewish people should eat no Chametz and of course eat Matzah during the Passover holiday. 

While it is true that our regular diets contain lots of Chametz, Passover foods don’t need to be boring or tasteless. In my family we use very few prepared products and primarily use eggs, fish, meat, chicken and lots of fruits of vegetables. With all of the restrictions we still manage to find foods we love and eat more than necessary.

One of our favorite Passover foods is brisket....here is the recipe...Happy Pesach!

Traditional Brisket

1 whole brisket

2 onions, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Place brisket into a large pan. Chop onions and add to the pan. Drizzle the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice onto the brisket. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. 

Bake on 325 for 4 1/2 hours