Posts filed under 'Holidays'
This week was a bust. My little guy was sick with a fever for a couple of days, and all he wanted to do was be in my arms on the couch. I indulged him of course, but it meant everything else went by the wayside. We ate a lot of pasta, and muffins from a mix. I did manage a tuna noodle casserole one day, scrounged out of the pantry, which of course no one ate but me. Then we had a snow storm Friday and another Sunday. I thought it might be relaxing to be off-plan and just winging every meal, but honestly it made me feel like a slacker. I wouldn’t have chosen to cook over taking care of my sick child, but it was bad timing in that I had a relatively bare pantry and freezer. For instance, I had none of my homemade chicken soup frozen, and we ran out of pasta at lunch today.
I’m struggling a little with keeping our vegetable intake up now that my farm share has ended. It’s so much easier when someone hands you a big pile of food each week and my job is to figure out what to do with it. Somehow, doing it the other way around — first figuring out what I want to do and then buying the produce — is harder for me.
Just two days of school this week, and then winter break begins. This week I’m yearning to get back into my cooking, so I’m trying out several new recipes.
Monday: Boys are eating at a Hanukkah party, J. & I will grab something from the fridge
Tuesday: Mushroom Not-Potpies with Cheesy Parmesan Crust, carrot sticks, egg noodles on the side for the boys
Wednesday: Steak Chili and cornbread, roasted broccoli
Thursday: Winter Lentil Soup (last quart from my freezer), Cheddar Biscuits
Friday: Sweet & Savory Beef Stew, egg noodles
Saturday: Take out
Sunday: Hanukkah Party, Take 2: latkes with applesauce and sour cream, Poppy’s Borscht with black bread, Mediterranean Chopped Salad, donuts & fruit salad for dessert
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
December 21st, 2008
Earlier in the week another mom and I led a little Hanukkah party in A.’s class, which included a craft that doubled as the snack: edible dreidels. Apparently I’m the last one on earth to have heard of making these cute dreidels out of marshmallows, Hershey Kisses, pretzels, and frosting — everyone I’ve told about them has made them before! Putting them together is as easy as can be, perfect for a class of 5 and 6 year olds — just stick the pretzel into the top of the marshmallow to make the dreidel stem, and then glue the Kiss with frosting to the other side to make the dreidel’s point.
A. enjoyed making them at school so much that he asked me to pick up more supplies for home. It was a perfect craft for a snowy Saturday. In the dreidels above, I used some diluted food coloring and a toothpick to paint on the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hey, and shin.
Hanukkah begins at sundown tonight. Although we had to postpone our family party until next weekend (due to snow and three of us being less-than-healthy), I’m looking forward to lighting our menorahs tonight.
December 21st, 2008
I love eggnog. Really, really love it. This year I saw Horizon’s Lowfat Eggnog for the first time, and I think it is truly one of the best commercial eggnogs around, and with all-natural ingredients as well. It’s thick but fluffy and not cloying, just the right amount of sweet and no artificial liquor flavor. Some eggnogs leave a coating on your tongue after you drink them — blech. Not this one. It’s a good thing it’s only available for a limited time, or I may have to override my one-quart-per-season rule. I had intended to try a soy nog this year (like the one from Silk) but couldn’t find it anywhere. If you’ve seen it locally let me know — I may apply my one-quart rule to dairy only, and make an exception for soy.
December 17th, 2008
Borscht-making is J.’s job, and this is his grandpa’s recipe. I have a copy of an email Poppy sent me in 2002, passing this recipe on to us. I love that we have this email from him preserved as part of our cooking and family history.
The problem with making borscht is that it can be very, very messy. We were lucky this time — nothing dropped, splattered, or otherwise altered our very white kitchen from its natural state. We also use the recipe just as a guide: we wanted to use up all the beets from our farm share, which was probably about double what the recipe called for (I had two almost melon-sized beets from a couple of weeks ago, plus this week’s share). With that quantity of beets, three fresh lemons provided the right amount of zing.
We served this soup tonight with pumpernickel bread my parents brought from Rockland Bakery, plus boiled potatoes from our farm share and plenty of sour cream. It was delicious, as always. We’re freezing the rest to serve at our Hanukkah party later this month.
Poppy’s Borscht
Attributed to Mama Grossinger of the Borscht Belt
10 large beets, peeled and grated
2½ quarts water
1 onion, minced
2½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 eggs
boiled potatoes and sour cream (optional, to serve with it)
Combine the beets, water, onion, and salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over low heat for about an hour. Using an immersion blender, puree beet mixture until almost smooth. Add sugar and lemon juice. Cook an additional 10 minutes and adjust seasoning.
Beat eggs in a small bowl, and temper with the hot borscht to prevent curdling. Then add egg mixture to the pot of borscht, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and allow soup to cool. Chill thoroughly before serving (overnight is best).
Serve with cold, boiled potatoes and sour cream.
December 7th, 2008
This recipe comes from one of my oldest and dearest friends, Rachel. Since our mutual friend Susanna vouched for its deliciousness, I decided to make it, untested, for Thanksgiving this year. It was definitely the best-received dish amongst those that tried it out of our whole meal. I wound up cooking mine in a saute pan on the stove top because I was out of room in my oven. Unfortunately, the color suffered — instead of the still bright-green sprouts you get when they’re roasted, my dish was muddy-looking and not terribly appealing visually. It was still yummy, though!
Chestnuts can be pricey unless you roast and shell them yourself. (J. and I tried this one year when we were making chestnut soup — I will never do it again in a quantity for anything other than a light snack. It’s a lot of work, and we cut our fingers on the tough shells.) Last year my mom had luck finding roasted, shelled chestnuts for a very low price at an Asian market near her — I think they were less than $3 a bag! They were available at one of my local supermarkets, too. This year I could only find the more expensive, jarred variety. But to me, the cost is worth it for all the labor saved.
I was too busy getting Thanksgiving dinner on the table to take a photo!
Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts & Dried Cranberries
Slightly adapted from Rachel’s recipe
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 10-oz. cups fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1/2 c. unsweetened dried cranberries
1 jar roasted, shelled chestnuts (about 14 oz.)
Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly coat an 8″ x 8″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Whisk together first group of ingredients to make a sauce, set aside. In a separate bowl, toss second group of ingredients together until well-mixed, and then place in the greased baking dish. Pour sauce over Brussels sprouts mixture. Bake 30 minutes or more until sprouts are tender and caramelized.
December 1st, 2008
This recipe, from the December 2008 issue of Real Simple, caught my eye because my mom loves ginger. I thought they’d be a nice twist on a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but unfortunately I think the spice combination was just enough so that they tasted different, but not distinctly spiced. It just made you wonder if something was off.
Of course, they were packed with chocolate chips, so the boys ate them happily (though they never asked for extras when they saw them out on the counter). Otherwise they garnered zero response when served as part of Thanksgiving dessert, so these go squarely in the “fine, but not again” file.
November 30th, 2008
I tasted these bar cookies at a fundraiser a few weeks ago thanks to my friend Alison, who donated her significant baking talents to the dessert table that night. The original recipe is from Fine Cooking (December 2006), but if you don’t have a subscription you can find it reprinted in its entirety on rachelleb.com.
I followed the recipe exactly except I subbed an equal amount of Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks instead of butter. This was solely to make the dessert pareve — the bars will be served after our Thanksgiving dinner. I did do a small taste test (just to make sure they turned out OK!) and while they’re not as good as a butter version, they are still yummy and definitely Thanksgiving-worthy. I think the Earth Balance also gives a bit of a greasy appearance and feel to the topping, which isn’t desirable but is an OK trade-off for me to make them go with a meat meal. Still, butter is better.
The recipe is a bit fussy in that it has several steps (make and chill dough, bake once, then add filling and streusel, bake again) but they’re easy to accomplish. Hopefully the rest of my Thanksgiving guests will enjoy them, too.
November 25th, 2008
There were no really highlights this past week — I loved the Mushroom, Barley & Lentil Stew the first night we ate it, but I liked it less as leftovers and J. was way less enamored of it than I was. We’ll see how it is this week, defrosted from the freezer and reheated. I also tried a yeast bread for the first time, with modest results. The Pumpkin Dinner Rolls were just OK, and would have been better if I’d made them with all-purpose flour rather than whole wheat (my own fault, not the recipe’s). Finally, my Unstuffed Cabbage this time around was also just alright. It was definitely a week that reminded me it’s not about making some gourmet, delectable feast every night — my success is just in providing a homemade, healthy meal to my family.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and this whole week leading up to Thursday will be special — my sister is in town, the boys are having special holiday events at their schools, and I am sure to hear more renditions of “Aren’t You Glad You’re Not a Turkey?” than ever before. We’re having 17 family members here this Thanksgiving, which makes me feel honored and blessed.
To make my pre-Thanksgiving preparation a little easier and to clear out some space in my tiny fridge, we’re eating from our stock of frozen meals this week (I’ve built up quite a bit of variety in there!).
Monday: Mushroom, Barley & Lentil Stew (freezer), Pumpkin Dinner Rolls (freezer), steamed carrots
Tuesday: Vegetarian Navy Bean & Kale Soup (freezer), cheese, French rolls (Alexia brand)
Wednesday: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos (freezer), garden salad, rice
Thursday: Thanksgiving! (here is our menu)
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: We’re having friends over during the day, but I haven’t figured out what to cook yet. Lasagna? Enchiladas? Or just assorted finger food?
Sunday: Take out
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
November 23rd, 2008
In the middle of an otherwise is-it-tomorrow-yet? kind of a day, I was happy to receive news that I’d won second place in The Jew and the Carrot’s Rosh Hashanah Dinner Challenge. The contest asked readers to report on how they made their holiday greener and more locally-inspired. The three dishes I made for Rosh Hashanah — Maple-Glazed Delicata Squash Rings, Vegetarian Collard Greens, and Honey Cookies — all included locally-sourced ingredients, most of it organic.
I actually made one additional dish for the second night of the holiday that I forgot to mention in my entry; a chopped salad that included mixed lettuce and tomatoes from our farm share.
Special thanks goes out to Lauren, for being the laid-back kind of hostess who didn’t mind not knowing what I’d bring until the last minute!
October 6th, 2008
My last Rosh Hashanah post for 2008! I have been making these cookies since I was a child. The recipe comes from the “Junior Jewish Cook Book,” published as far as I can tell in its first and only edition in 1956.
The original recipe calls for butter, but since I only make the cookies for a post-Rosh Hashanah meat meal, I needed a pareve version. Normally I use margarine, but this year I tried Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks instead, and they worked beautifully. My brother-in-law was surprised they were not made with real butter!
I will be honest and let you know that to me, these cookies are special because they are a family tradition, not because they’re mind-blowingly delicious. Although, my family seems to like them more than I do. Also, refrigerator cookies are just too fussy for me to make — I’d rather bake a drop cookie any day.
This year G. rolled out the dough with me and helped cut out the circles (using a shot glass!). Perhaps next year I’ll finally remember to buy cute cookie cutters.
Honey Cookies
Adapted from Junior Jewish Cook Book
2 sticks Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, room temperature
1/2 c. white sugar
4 Tbsp. honey
2½ c. white whole wheat flour
With a hand mixer, cream butter, sugar, and honey in a large bowl. (If you spray your measuring spoon lightly with non-stick spray first, the honey will slide right out.)
Slowly add flour, continuing to mix, until dough is smooth. Form into a large ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 300° F.
Cut dough into thirds, and work with each piece individually. Roll out to 1/2-inch thick on top of waxed paper or foil. Cut out cookies with a glass or cookie cutter, and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cookies are golden and edges have just begun to dark. Allow cookies to cool — they will harden as they do so. Use a flat, stiff spatula to remove them from the baking sheet.
October 2nd, 2008
Previous Posts
I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .