Book Review: Kosher By Design Lightens Up

As you most likely know, I am selecting a cookbook, each week, to cook from, as often as possible.  My first selection was Kosher by Design Lightens Up.  You might wonder how I came to this decision.  I have several cookbooks by Susie Fishbein and I don’t know any of them, that well, because I flit back and forth from one to the other.  I like to have a feel for each cook book and Susie’s book are unique which you can tell from the titles.                                         

 I found this a wonderful resource even though it has the goal of lightening up.  I was not constricted by the types of recipes, because Susie was sharing a healthier course of eating.  The only area, that was slightly problematic, was desserts.  Desserts were covered from pages 282 through 324 and included 23 recipes.  You might be limited on the kinds of cakes you could make but the desserts included are scrumptious sounding, fudge brownie torte, frozen pumpkinpie, ginger-molasses biscotti, baklava bites, and apple-blueberry cake as starrters.  It is not lacking in variety and the photos will sell you, immediately.

 

I loved the salad, in particular.  Here are just a few and you will understand. Mile High Chinese Chicken Salad, Salmon Salad with Carrot=Ginger Dressing, Sunshine Salad, Deli Salad and Creamy Garlic Salad.

 

I could name tons of great recipes but I am afraid I would bore you or make you very hungry.

  The photos in all the books are beautiful.  Many or most are full pages so you know what you will end up with, something I appreciate.  Although, these photos are foodie artistic, they do not lose their clarity with shadows or blurry images, as some cookbooks do.  These are for you to see and utilize.

The pages are set up with clarity.  Usually, you will f ind a three column spread over two pages.  The first being a list of ingredients.  The second are comments, notes and the recipe while the third is that beautiful photo. 

There is another aspect to this book that makes it easy to use.  Plain talk……When Susie, mentioned mirin, she also explained what it is.  It is not that this book is written for beginners.  It is that it is written for all of us.  The ingredients are not difficult to get and I can make most of her recipes without going to the store unless I need a fruit or vegetable for it.  I did not know that we could get kosher miso but I know it now.  I have not only eaten well with this book but I have learned a lot.

So what did I make?

Caribe Island Stir Fry which was the biggest hit.  Everyone loved it, not liked it, but loved it.  It was easy to make and it was delicious.  Found at My Sweet and Savory.

Blueberry Pancakes which should not be special but were.  They were not overly sweet, a selling point for us, especially when adding maple syrup.  They plumped up nicely and also came out, a hit.  Also found at My Sweet and Savory…..

Apple Nut Cake - This is a winner.  Hubby loves it and I love it and everyone else loves it.  I added blueberries to the recipe, and if I say so myself, that was a good choice but that cake is a stand alone.  Found here at Comfy Cook.

Sweet Potato Salad (Side) – Hubby gave it an A+ which tells you a lot.  It was meant to be a salad but I served it warm as a side dish.  Use it either way.  Comfy Cook

Ultimate Veggie Burger which was a surprise for me.  I did not think, I was going to like it but I certainly did and so did the man.  It did not have what I consider that vegetable burger taste of beans.  It was lighter and pleasanter and it did have beans in it.  Comfy Cook

These have not been blogged yet.  Bok Choy Slaw…..Summer Harvest Quinoa turned into Black Beans and Tomato Quinoa….Wasabi Pea Crusted Salmon.  I also have made other recipes from this book which I plan to list, even though I did not make them, this past week.

Would you like to know what the next cookbook is going to be?  Southern Living 2005 Annual Recipes.  I am excited about using this.  I love Southern Living recipes and so far, have had success with it.  Let’s see what next week brings.

I hope you are enjoying this because I am.  It is giving me, the opportunity to really use my cookbooks and eat great meals.

Swoon for this easy chicken by Mark Bittman

Herb Garden is the topic for this week cooking with Mark Bittman at IHCC.  I usually attempt to take the recipe, I am going to use and make sure, it fits into one of our meals, rather than make it and plan around it, which I do all too often.  Mark has recipes for everything so I can easily find what I need.  For the Sabbath, I had not decided what kind of chicken to make but I had defrosted cutlets, so I was limited by that, which is not at all limiting.  As I looked through Mark’s recipes, I checked out those for drumsticks, thighs and breast and then I found IT.  It is the recipe, I wanted to make.  I usually do not like “frilly” chicken recipes.  That comes in the sides.  A plain but tasty treat is what Iwas looking for, and this week, I found it in Herb Roasted Cutlets.  Note that, with all my looking at different chicken parts, Mr.Bittman even had the perfect recipe with cutlets. What did I like about this recipe? 

 As usual, we are given choices: of spices; of  fat element; of stock or water.  I like choices, simply because, I don’t have every item, that may be needed. 

 This chicken is fried for a moment and then roasted  in the oven. 

 The ease of making this. 

 Herb Roasted Chicken Cutlets – adapted from Mark Bittman 

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon or summer savory, dill, parsley, or chervil leaves 1/8 cup minced fresh parsley leaves, plus a little more for garnish  (garden grown) 1/4 cup flour  (I used soy flour because it was handy.)     salt and black pepper to taste  1 tablespoon butter, olive oil, or a combination   (olive oil for me) 2 boneless, skinless, chicken cutlets , rinsed and patted dry with paper towels 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock, or water, plus a little more of needed  (I needed more water – about another 1/ cup)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Mix together the tarragon, flour, salt, and pepper. Heat a flame proof baking dish over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the butter and/or olive oil. (cast iron) When it is hot, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, add it to the pan, and brown for a minute or so on each side.    Add the stock or water and place the pan in the oven.  Roast the chicken, turning once or twice, until it is cooked through, about 6 to 10 minutes (if you are unsure about whether the cutlets are done, cut into one with a thin-bladed knife; the center should be white or light pink).    Remove the pan from the oven transfer the chicken to a plate. If the juices remaining in the pan are thin, return the pan to the stove and cook over high heat for a minute or two to thicken them if they’re too thick, add a little more stock or water and cook over medium heat for a minute or two. (Again I needed additional water – 1/2 cup) Garnish the chicken with some parsley and serve with some of the sauce poured over it, and pass the remaining sauce at the table.

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