Day 136:Stuffed Potatoes & Salad with Mushrooms

Recipes coming soon

Day 135: Roasted Ratatouille over Quinoa & Salad with Beets

Recipes coming soon

Day 135: Second Seder

We were guests at a friends Seder -
we brought
Turkish Leek patties - dairy & gluten free - recipe coming soon
Sweet & Sour Celery
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
no pictures - sorry
recipe post coming soon

Day 134: Passover Seder on the road

The Locale: 

The Clinton Carriage House in Clinton, NY - down the hill from Hamilton College.

A wonderful place with a full kitchen, a nice table and lots of room..

 The Equipment:

I bought a cutting board, mixing bowls, dinner & salad plates and soup bowls from Preserve

http://www.preserveproducts.com/products/tableware.html

They are made from 100% recycled #6 plastic

I packed the plastic Seder plate Dan made in Hebrew school many years ago, our Elijah's cup and our Miriam's cup,and the charoset bowl, the matzoh cover that Sarah made in Hebrew School and the Afikomen bag that Dan made, a table cloth and napkins, and a set of small silver candlesticks (+candles). I also packed my cheesecake pan, my skillet and my vegetable steamer.

 I followed the Rabbi's directions to Kasher their flatware and we used the wine glasses that were there.

The Menu*

Eggplant Dip with Celery

Spiced Honey Nuts

Steamed Asparagus & Hard Boiled Eggs with Horseradish Sauce

"Not" Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls

Spring Mix with Strawberries, Blueberries, Pecans, Olive oil & Balsamic vinegar

Spring Vegetable Risotto

Passover Cheesecake

Chocolate Matzoh Crunch

*Warning & Disclaimer: As vegetarians, with no family traditions to follow, we eat rice & beans on Passover

Some Pre-Passover Cooking

Roasted Eggplant Dip

Roasted eggplant, red peppers & onions - which will soon become a dip. I peeled and cut a small eggplant into a 1 inch dice, cut 4 small onions into quarters, and 1 1/2 red peppers into 2 inch pieces. I tossed the veggies with 2 tablespoons olive oil, then roasted them at 400 F until they were browned and very soft. Next time - I will add several cloves of garlic to the mix.

I let the veggies cool, then zapped them in the food processor with a little salt & pepper. This makes a great dip with celery for the beginning of the Seder, or with matzoh or "Tam Tams" during the week. It can be served warm or at room temperature.

  - Another treat to nibble on while we tell the story:

Sweet & Spicy Nuts (almonds & cashews)

This is actually made from a a Weight Watchers recipe.

Ingredients
	1/4 cup(s) honey
	3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes   (I used only 1/4 tsp in the ones I made - because S. doesn't like things hot - so add according to your taste)
	3 cup(s) almonds, whole (I used 2 cups almonds and 1 cup cashews - raw nuts work best in this recipe)
	3 Tbsp sugar  (I use organic sugar or turbinado sugar - the granules seem larger and they coat the nuts nicely)
	1 tsp table salt   (I use organic Kosher sea salt - kind of pink with large grains)
	1/2 tsp chili powder   (if you do not have KFP chili powder - you can use any combination of chili powder spices - like paprika, cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper, etc)

Preheat oven to 325°F.

• Warm honey and crushed red pepper in a heavy skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir in the nuts. Remove from heat and spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10-18 minutes; - CHECK THEM EVERY 5-10 MINUTES - DO NOT LET THEM BURN - they are done when they look nicely browned - cool 2 to 3 minutes. (Honey mixture will still be slightly sticky.) 
• 
  
• Don't let them cool too long or the sugar mixture will not stick to them.
• 
  
• Combine sugar, salt and chili powder in a medium bowl. Add the nuts to the bowl and toss gently. Spread nuts on parchment paper or wax paper to cool completely. Store in an airtight container (I use canning jars) until ready to use. 

Passover Special: Roasted Vegetable Wraps

Roasted Vegetable Wraps

First, roast your vegetables. I usually do eggplant, zucchini, red onion and red pepper. This time I didn't have any eggplant. I slice everything approximately the same size, toss the vegetables with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and roast them at 400 until they are browned. I usually toss them with some balsamic vinegar after they cool, you can also add fresh or dried herbs. I have also made these wraps with steamed broccoli, onion and cheddar cheese

Step 1: Prepare the Matzoh

The preparation method I use is from this book

I recommend preparing a couple more than you plan to use - in case of breakage.

Place dry paper towels on a counter or baking pan. Run each matzoh under cool water (both sides), then lay it on the paper towel. 

 Cover each matzoh with a sopping wet paper towel (I use paper towels made from re-cycled paper and they are a little thin - so I used a double sheet. they should be really wet.

 Wet the next matzoh and place it on top of the wet paper towel, then cover with a wet towel - and repeat for as many wraps as you plan to make.

 Let them sit, then check on them every 10 minutes or so. When they bend easily but do not break, they are done. You may have to re-wet the paper towels. Also, the ones on the bottom will be done first. If you are making a few, turn the whole stack over once or twice while they are softening.

 The cookbook authors say to wait 10 minutes after they are ready - as in above picture - but I do not always do that.
CAUTION: from here on, you must handle the prepared matzoh carfully. They break easily. You can repair a small break with olive oil and smoothing with your fingers.

Step 2: Fill the wraps

Gather your cheese (I used yogurt & herb cheese today, but I have also used mozzarella, cheddar, and feta with good results) and some olive oil in a small dish with a brush.

 Place the cheese in the center of the prepared matzoh

 Top with the vegetables

 Fold up the "wrap"

 Brush generously with olive oil

Step 3: Bake the Wraps

Brush some olive oil on the pan under each wrap. Bake them at 400 F for 7-10 minutes, until the cheese melts and they are a little crisp.

Let them cool a bit before removing them - carefully,  from the pan.

These will keep, wrapped in plastic or foil, or in a tight container, in the fridge for a few days. If they get soggy, reheat them at 400F for a few minutes.

Step 4: Enjoy!

Day 133: Ziti with Mushrooms, Onions and Olives

In case you haven't notices, I could live on pasta, and since Passover is almost here and I will have to go eight whole days without it, I made it again tonight.
This dish was created especially for S.- who loves mushrooms.

Chopped 1/2 a red onion - into the pot with 1-2 tsp olive oil
Sliced about half an 8 ox box of white button mushrooms
cooked them together over med-high heat until they were nice and brown and soft

 added a handful of quartered Calamata olives and a big handful of chopped parsley

Meanwhile, cooked the ziti, saved some cooking water and drained the pasta - saved some pasta cooking water (about a cup - ALWAYS save some pasta cooking water - you might need it).
Added the pasta to the veggies, with the cup of cookling water and 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese - heated and stirred until the cooking water and veggie juices melded into a nice sauce.
While the onions and mushrooms were cooking - I made a salad of canned chick peas, cherry tomatoes and green Israeli olives, dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper

And that was dinner.

Day 132: Kale & White Bean Soup over Grilled Ciabatta

S. and I stopped at Alstede's Farm Market today and they had a table with a sign on it that said "First New Jersey Harvested Vegetables of the season" or something like that, and on that table was some beautiful Kale - so we bought a bunch. What to do with it? Soup!

I used a variation of the recipe from Day ? when we made this soup with Swiss chard and cannelloni beans.
I made a broth from about 5 cups water, 2 carrots, 1 small potato, 1/2 turnip, 1 stalk celery. some parsley, 2 scallions, 1 onion, salt & pepper
Sauteed a chopped onion in 1 tablespoon butter - cooked 5 min or so
Chopped the Kale (small chop)  - added and cooked down
Added the broth and 1 can of rinsed and drained navy beans cooked for about a half an hour while I made the grilled bread and set the table

I sliced up a beautiful, fresh ciabatta roll

Sprayed each side with olive oil cooking spray, and grilled the slices on the George Foreman grill, until they got nice grill marks

Those who like garlic - rubbed garlic on the grilled bread & placed 2 slices in a bowl

Then we poured over some soup and grated a little Parmesan over the top

This was a perfect supper for me, and for S. L.was still hungry - so he had a second course of a chopped apple with walnuts, plain Greek yogurt and honey.

Day 131: Polenta, Veggies & Feta

I find polenta very comforting. When I am not feeling well, I want to be comforted, hence, polenta for dinner tonight.

 I haven't been to the grocery store in a while, but when I looked in the vegetable keeper, here is what I found:
1 broccoli stalk
1 small zucchini
1/2 a large green pepper
a little bit (maybe 2 c) of fresh baby spinach leaves
So I put a chopped onion, 2 cloves of chopped garlic and about a teaspoon of Israeli olive oil (what else?) in a pot, let it cook a few minutes, while I chopped the other vegetables, then put them in too

 I added a handful of quartered Calamata olives - of course!

 Then 2/3 of a container of crumbled Feta cheese

 I boiled some water and cooked up some instant polenta, added 1 tablespoon of butter and about 1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan

 I put some polenta on the plate, topped it with the veggies and served it with a side of canned chick peas heated up with some leftover pasta sauce.  Result: quick, comforting and tasty - all food groups covered - relatively low fat - some fiber - complimentary proteins - dinner.