This week we invited two couples each of whom have been so present in my kids' lives that I think of them as being aunt and uncle to my kids. There is something so dear when people choose to become so involved with your children.
I decided to go with the Chinese way of of adding more food to a meal , by adding more dishes to the meal. One of our guests is a vegetarian . Early this morning my oven was full. Two pans full of chicken with pomegranate molasses was on the top shelf. A pan of rice with mushrooms, chestnuts and cardamom was baking on the same shelf with the
broccoli in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Herbes de Provence. On a regular Shabbat my job would have been done.
I needed to make sure that there was enough for our vegetarian guest to eat. Tofu in spicy peanut sauce is baking in the oven. I also thought that an additional vegetable would be a good thing.
I roasted an eggplant right on the gas.
A food processor made the rest of the job easy. The spread has a nice smoky taste. I used the rest of a bunch of cilantro in the mix. My daughter isn’t eating with us this Shabbat, so I can go wild with the cilantro.
I also needed to make a dessert.
I made a plum tart with a oil crust. My father in law once found a cook book on the street and gave it to me. It was mostly a terrible cook book, but with one exception. There were terrific directions for making an oil based pie crust in a food processor. to make this crust I added white flour, corn meal and some Grape-nuts( a cup in total) to the food processor bowl. I also added a bit of sugar, cinnamon and ginger and mixed. I added a bit of oil through the top of the machine and mixed a bit more finally I added a couple of teaspoons of cold water. I patted the mixture into the pan and baked it for 15 minutes before filling it with the plums.
I sliced the plums into a bowl, and added a bit of ginger brandy to the fruit to keep it from oxidizing. I tossed a tablespoon of flour over the fruit and a few tablespoons of brown sugar and mixed. I had assumed that I would arrange the plums in concentric circles…but I soon realized that the pie would just look cuter with the fruit in a friendly heap.
I realized that I needed a bit more dessert. My son and I went back and forth over the sorbet flavor that would go best with the plum tart. We finally decided on lemon sorbet. I made the basic ( non dairy) custard, which still has to go into the ice-cream freezer.
I hope our guests will see how much they mean to us.
Shabbat Shalom!!!
I decided to go with the Chinese way of of adding more food to a meal , by adding more dishes to the meal. One of our guests is a vegetarian . Early this morning my oven was full. Two pans full of chicken with pomegranate molasses was on the top shelf. A pan of rice with mushrooms, chestnuts and cardamom was baking on the same shelf with the
broccoli in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Herbes de Provence. On a regular Shabbat my job would have been done. I needed to make sure that there was enough for our vegetarian guest to eat. Tofu in spicy peanut sauce is baking in the oven. I also thought that an additional vegetable would be a good thing.
I roasted an eggplant right on the gas.
A food processor made the rest of the job easy. The spread has a nice smoky taste. I used the rest of a bunch of cilantro in the mix. My daughter isn’t eating with us this Shabbat, so I can go wild with the cilantro.
I also needed to make a dessert.
I made a plum tart with a oil crust. My father in law once found a cook book on the street and gave it to me. It was mostly a terrible cook book, but with one exception. There were terrific directions for making an oil based pie crust in a food processor. to make this crust I added white flour, corn meal and some Grape-nuts( a cup in total) to the food processor bowl. I also added a bit of sugar, cinnamon and ginger and mixed. I added a bit of oil through the top of the machine and mixed a bit more finally I added a couple of teaspoons of cold water. I patted the mixture into the pan and baked it for 15 minutes before filling it with the plums.
I sliced the plums into a bowl, and added a bit of ginger brandy to the fruit to keep it from oxidizing. I tossed a tablespoon of flour over the fruit and a few tablespoons of brown sugar and mixed. I had assumed that I would arrange the plums in concentric circles…but I soon realized that the pie would just look cuter with the fruit in a friendly heap.
I realized that I needed a bit more dessert. My son and I went back and forth over the sorbet flavor that would go best with the plum tart. We finally decided on lemon sorbet. I made the basic ( non dairy) custard, which still has to go into the ice-cream freezer.
I hope our guests will see how much they mean to us.
Shabbat Shalom!!!
Yum. I have an eggplant I am going to roast; my brisket(never sweet) is done and my chicken with pomegranate, cilantro, and tamarind is in the fridge(haven't made this before). This is all for Rosh Hashanah dinner. Oh, and artichoke hearts with oranges (also new to me). I was going to make challah but last time I did, my kids preferred the store-bought.
ReplyDeleteShabbat shalom and L'shana tova. Glad I found your blog.
Rayna
I do enjoy your cooking tips and have one for stuffed cabbage- I am from Pgh.where a Polish friend gave me her recipe- if you put the cabbage in the freezer the leaves will get limp and very easy to remove and roll_works every time.
ReplyDeleteRayna - your Rosh Ha Shanah meals sound wonderful. I tend to go for the traditional for Rosh HaShanah. My kids get cranky if they have to eat store challah. I'm glad you found your way here .
ReplyDeleteMargie - I feel so slow.. it took me a day to figure out that Pgh is Pittsburgh. I'm sure you have lots of great traditional eastern European cooks in your neck of the woods. I tried the cabbage in the freezer trick one. It was a bust. I think that was the year I ended up serving un-stuffed cabbage, that is the meatballs I make for stuffed cabbage cooked on top of shredded cabbage and with the same thin sweet and sour tomato sauce..