Monthly Archives: September 2010
Sweet Potato Goodness – Quick and Easy
Every time, I go to the store, I pick up, two generous sized sweet potatoes but I have not been using them. When, I looked in the hydrator, I found too many of them, filling it up, pushing out the zucchinis and bell peppers. Time for me to make something with sweet potatoes, something that looks good for company.
Sweet Potato Kugelettes
Ingredients:
3 large sweet potatoes, cooked (I peeled them and boiled them.)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup agave (this is really not necessary - the sweet potatoes have the flavor, already.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup soy flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice (Try lime…I think it would be even better.)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins.
Combine all ingredients after mashing sweet potatoes thoroughly.
Pour into muffin cups. (I used liners but that was a mistake. This is a soft dish and when I removed them from the tin, some took on an odd shape.) If you think that you can get them out intact, try them in the tins without the liner. If, like me, you don’t trust yourself, use the paper liners.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
I suggest a streusel topping. Since, we have not eaten these yet, I plan to make the topping with nuts, flour, cinnamon and a little sugar.
Linked to Pennywise Platter 
Apple Rice Curry
I made enough rice dishes, yesterday to fill a swimming pool. OK, I made four casseroles filled with different recipes. This one is my husband’s favorite. Mine was the fried rice. We will wait until the rest of the family gets to choose. The advantage of cooking is tasting, which I rarely do. For me, one taste leads to another. With rice, I feel safe. I like it, don’t love it so I can taste and stop. I heard, when I wasn’t looking, my youngest took three servings.
The last recipe, I made was this Apple Rice Curry, which is why I don’t have a final photo. I had cooked for hours on end, rushing from here to there, lifting, stretching and mixing. I
This is a more subtle flavored rice which is why my husband liked it more than the others which had more distinctive flavors. This is good with a strong flavored meat or fish dish.
Apple Rice Curry
1/2 cup dried blueberries, cherries and plums. Costco has the greatest combinations. 1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 cups cooked rice (cooked in chicken broth)
2 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- Add water to dried fruit; set aside.
- Cook onion, curry powder and pepper in butter in large skillet until onion is soft but not brown. Add rice and apples; heat thoroughly.
- Drain dried fruit and stir into rice.
Makes 6 servings .
Recipe provided courtesy of USA Rice Federation. 
Chock Full of Goodness Blondies
I adapted this recipe from Dorothy of Giddy Up Gluten Free. It is full of good stuff and I wanted to take a bite out of hers, Unfortunately, we have not progressed that far. Think of it, though. What if technology develops a way we can taste recipes so we can determine if we really want to make them.
I feel like soup so I visit a few blogs that have appetizing soups and I try a few and decide on the potato soup. I click a button and the recipe flies from the machine to my book rest, on my kitchen counter. Does it matter than I don’t have a book rest? I, then press a button on that fictional book rest and all my ingredients and tools, are in front of me.
I still have to make the recipe because the satisfaction comes from making the deliciousness. Of course, the stove sets itself and alters the temperature as it changes so you have a steady temperature, no matter what. Let that wind blow in the window and it will not have an effect. We have modern technology.
I actually, take the pot off the stove, by myself. Then, I push a button, a sprout jumps out of the pot and pours a set amount in each soup bowl. I do have to program in the number of bowls and amount for each. I am confident,this will be taken care of and I won’t have to do this laborious chore, in the near future.
We do eat the soup ourselves and we enjoy it, as well. Now, we will prepare to eat the blondies, by doing all the prep work, ourselves.
Chock Full of Goodness Blondies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened dried blueberries, cherries, plums mixed
Method:
1. Mix oil and brown sugar, then add eggs and mix well. Stir in vanilla.
3. Fold in mixed fruits and nuts. Press into greased 8×8 inch baking pan. Bake at 350º for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool; cut into bars.
Linked to Tailgating Time and Cocina’s Diary Homemaker Mondays 
Delicious Dishes
Coming Up
There are still 7 more days of Jewish holidays with at least two meals, each day and I mean full meals plus. They will take place over the next two weeks. I find that I don’t have time to type up the recipes which will have to wait, hopefully, right after the holidays, to be taken care of.
I plan to post photos here, as I make these dishes. It will serve as a reminder to me, what I did cook and it will give you a hint of what is to come. If I have time, I will get some of the recipes done. I am thinking of posting some of my first recipes from My Sweet and Savory here and post from Comfy Cook, at My Sweet and Savory. That should cut down the time and still, hopefully, keep you entertained or informed.
The holidays that are coming up come under the umbrella of Sukkot. At this time, we eat all our meals in a temporary dwelling. My husband put up three walls and covers the top with branches and bamboo. I plan to take some photos to post of different examples of these temporary dwellings.
We have other customs that, I am guessing are strange to many of you and I hope to share these. I think, they will be interesting, combined with the food, involved. I do not plan to make this religious, in nature. Rather, I would like to share customs. Below are pictures of Sukkahs from the Internet.
Linked to Menu Plan Monday and Remodelacholic
Caramel Rice Kugel — Sara Finkel
It is customary to eat sweet foods on Rosh Ha Shana, the Jewish New Year, symbolic of the sweet year, we pray for. It is also customary not to eat nuts on this holiday. The recipe title should read Caramel Pecan Rice Kugel and I plan to make it again, at another time with the pecans. That will be a winner, if the kugel, I made, was any kind of sample of it. I will include the recipe with the nuts because, I think, you would like that addition, unless you are not a nut eater.
My husband thought it was too sweet and I loved it, the way it was. If you do not like sweet foods, cut down on the sugar and that should make it likable to your taste.
This comes from the book, The Complete Yom Tov Cookbook by Sara Finkel. It is a wonderful little book. The recipes are clear and set up in a way, that you can follow, with ease. The photographs are attractive. I have only made this recipe from the book since, I just received it but by perusing it, the recipes look like they will be tasty.
For some odd reason, when I first looked at the recipe, it looked complicated but if you read the instructions, you will see it is one of the easier recipes, to be found.
“Pour margarine into a 2-quart casserole or a 9×13-inch baking pan. Spread pecans evenly on bottom. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Combine rice and eggs with remaining ingredients and spread evenly on top. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour.”
Caramel Pecan Rice Kugel
A side dish with a delicious caramel flavor to enliven a special meal.
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups rice, cooked
4 large eggs, well beaten
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pour margarine into a 2-quart casserole or a 9×13-inch baking pan. Spread pecans evenly on bottom. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Combine rice and eggs with remaining ingredients and spread evenly on top. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour.
Related Articles
- Joan Nathan on Rosh Hashana Cooking (dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Gayle’s Mothers’ Noodle Kugel (stacyknows.blogspot.com)
Linked to Menu Plan Monday 
Drink Up and Stay Sober – Susie Fishbein
I have shared this, already, in My Sweet and Savory BUT with ice cream. This is made with frozen yogurt. I am using new photos and some from the other post.
This recipe comes from Kosher Design, KIDS IN THE KITCHEN by Susie Fishbein. This children’s cook book is a gem. I wrote more about it, in My Sweet and Savory. In sum, all her books are attractive and in some cases, beautiful. The photos are inspirational. The recipes are diverse and up to date. In my humble opinion, any of her books, are worth having, whether you are kosher or not.
If you are like me, of a certain age, you probably remember creamsicles, orange pops that we craved for and indulged in. If my memory, serves me correctly, this drink tastes like those pops. If you liked them, I suggest, you try this.
Here is the recipe.
Creamsicle Shakes. The only change, I made was to quarter this recipe.
Ingredients:
4 cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt (2 cups orange juice
4 tablespoons milk
6 tablespoons sugar or agave
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I think this plays a part in recreating the flavor. I sensed its presence but very subtlety.)
Method:
Put all ingredients in a blender. Cover and run.
Blend until smooth. You guess the rest.
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| What did I do? Oy! |
Mac and Cheese – Robin Miller
School started today, although without the students. We had teacher meetings and it was one of the productive days, I have had. The principal did an outstanding job. We have a group of new teachers and they appear to be talented and caring. They jumped right in and it made for a productive day. After school, I went food shopping to get what was needed for the Jewish holidays. Round the clock, cooking, tomorrow.
I arrived home, unpacked the food and my husband called to say, he would be home in fifteen minutes. I didn’t have a clue what we were going to eat. Actually, I didn’t feel like eating. I just wanted to climb in bed and sleep through until the next morning.
Unfortunately, hubby looked more tired, than I felt and I sent him to his favorite chair (no pipe and slippers) and made macaroni and cheese. Foodies do not make mac and cheese the same way, more than once. One of the best, I have had was Paula Deen’s with tomatoes in the mac and cheese. That was delicious.
Tonight, I chose Robin Miller. I have never cooked anything by Robin so this was a first and it was a good first. I had no desire to play around. I did not even want to bake this. I simply wanted to throw some ingredients together and eat so I could go to sleep or rather, come here and share.
This did use two pots and a large bowl besides our utensils. One pot was for the pasta and the other was for the rest of the ingredients. The bowl was to add the sour cream to the pasta. This was all too much for me. I kept muttering how I did not want to scald the milk, like it was the biggest challenge, possible. I know, I am not alone. Please tell me, you have had those days when putting peanut butter on bread was too much.
To make a long story short, here is the recipe. You don’t want to hear me moaning and groaning. It is not nice to do to anyone.
Mac ‘N Cheese adapted from Robin Miller (I halved the recipe)
Ingredients:
- 1 pound uncooked spiral macaroni — Tinkyada
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free sour cream
12-ounce can evaporated skim milk (I did not have so I used low fat regular milk.)
4 ounces grated sharp Cheddar (about 1/2 cup)
4 ounces grated Monterey Jack (about 1/2 cup) (I usually do have Monterey Jack but not today so I subbed Smoked cheese and that was a good addition.)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 to 2 drops hot sauce, optional
Ground black pepper
Method:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. While pasta is still hot, stir in sour cream and set aside.
Scald milk by heating in a small saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles just appear around the edges.
Add Cheddar and smoked cheeses, mustard, nutmeg, hot sauce, pepper and salt to scalded milk. Simmer until cheese melts, stirring constantly.
Fold cheese mixture into pasta and transfer mixture to a serving platter.
Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan in a skillet over medium heat. Toast 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown. Sprinkle mixture over macaroni and cheese and serve
By all means, EAT. I did not want to. If you look at the photos, you will see, no effort went into them, and I do apologize. I feel truly accomplished. I made dinner for my husband and let him, get a little rest. I don’t work tomorrow. He does.
Linked to $5 Dinner Challenge What’s on the Menu Wednesdays? 
Honey Soy Chicken – Susie Fishbein
The other day, I had two packages of chicken cutlets and a few pounds of chopped turkey and chopped beef, to do something with, pronto. Cutlets are usually easy, for me, to work with. I have dozens of recipes just waiting to be made and none of them are particularly difficult.
Hubby told me what he would prefer for the chopped meat, meat loaf and meatballs. One of the chicken recipes is the Honey Soy Chicken. Susie calls it Honey Soy Wings and obviously makes it with wings.
I used her marinade and used it with the cutlets and it worked.
Honey Soy Chicken Cutlets — The Kosher Palette — Susie Fishbein
1 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger (now I have one – then I did not) I used dried ginger
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
garlic which I left out
5 chicken cutlets
Method:
Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a large bowl.
Add chicken and refrigerate up to one day, covered.
Preheat oven 375 degrees.
Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Remake the marinade and pour into a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and boil 4-5 minutes until slightly thickened.Pour into a serving bowl and use as a dipping sauce.
Stop by the new Sundays at One recipe group. I think you will love the whole site.
Blueberries and Cream Cake — Susie Fishbein
How a good recipe title grabs our attention! Something like the above, for me, was a look back several times, recipe name. It turned out the cake was nothing like, I expected, but it was a fabulous cake. It was interesting to make and better to eat.
Don’t stop, in your tracks, but this cake has no blueberries although it is made with sour cream which usually is a winner in cakes and was, this time. Smart Aleck me, thought I would add blueberries, anyway but as I found out how I was going to make it, I did not think, that was a good idea, at all.
Here goes.
Blueberries and Cream Cake – adapted from Susie Fishbein’s Kosher By Design
2 cups of flour mix (I used my brown rice mix which I make up, in quantity — 6 cups brown ric flour, 2 cups potato starch,1 cup tapioca flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks margarine or butter, softened I looked at that and almost did not make the cake. I used 4 ounces margarine, and 8 ounces Canola oil It came out just fine. In all fairness, Susie’s recipe is probably better but this one was just right for us. I have no regrets about cutting down the fat content.
a 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup parve sour cream (Tofutti – non dairy)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup strawberry/blueberry preserves plus another 3 tablespoons which is put aside
confectioner’s sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a ten inch bundt pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
In the electric mixer, beat the margarine until light and creamy.
Add the oil and combine with margarine.
Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
Slowly add in the flour mixture.
Remove 1 cup of the batter and put aside. Spread the rest in the prepared pan.
Using the back of a spoon, make a trough in the batter, all the way around. Mix the one cup of preserves with 1/2 cup of reserved batter.
Spoon it into the trough.
My trough was no more than a line. The batter would not stay pushed back. I simply followed the line and pushed gently down. It worked.
Bake for 1 hour. Let cool for ten minutes and then flip it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
In the microwave, melt the 3 tablespoons of preserves in its jar without the cover. I did it every twenty seconds until it was the right consistency. I used a teaspoon to test it.
Drizzle over cake. I just drizzled over the sides because hubby does not like frosted cakes, even with preserves. Dust the top with a sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar. You can use a sifter to accomplish this.
Eat and enjoy and thank Susie.
Linked to a Southern Fairy Tale 
Linked to Mommy’s Kitchen Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen Ultimate Recipe Swap
Spicy Sweet Potatoes
Friday, as I began my cooking for the Sabbath (Shabbos), I found four large sweet potatoes. We were going to have them for dinner but in what manner? Nothing came to mind until I found this recipe on Taste of Home. It was easy and looked good.
Too often, sweet potatoes become candied or in some way, sweetened. Whether they are mashed or in pieces, commonly we see that word, “candied” in front of it. Don’t get me wrong. I love candied sweet potatoes but I am attempting to stretch my repertoire of recipes to give me additional choices. A new recipe had to be found and when I found in, I got out the ingredients and happily went, on my way. Thank you Taste of Home.
adapted
- 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
- 2 tablespoons Canola oil 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Method:
- In a large resealable plastic bag, combine sweet potatoes and oil.
- Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat.
- Transfer to a greased baking dish.
- Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 40-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring
- every 15 minutes.
- Yield: 8 servings.
Eat and enjoy
Linked to Two for Tuesdays
