I've been baking, and baking! I have made three kinds of macaroons -
one with almonds/cocoa, one with chocolate and coconut and another
very simple, but delicious, kind with cream cheese and coconut. The
last ones I was able to make (even though it has been very wet) as they
have no eggs. Lemon bars are done and suitably tart.

The cooked haroses is finished - modified charoses of joy. I made it
this yearwith dates, figs, raisins, coconut, almonds, wine, homemade
peach brandy, and apples. There are two more kinds to be made - Janos Wilder's one with mango and pecans and the other more standard Ashkenazi with apples and hazelnuts.

The gefillte fish came out very well, I think. I abandoned tradition
totally and made an Asian inspired variation - I used toasted sesame seeds, cilantro and chopped green scallions and freshly ground
Szechuan pepper in the mix of salmon, whitefish and walleye (along
with egg and matzoh to bind). I then poached them in homemade stock
and then reduced the stock and added more herbs to put the poached gefillte balls in.T said it tasted very good - enough to make even
a non-gefillte fish fan hungry! Horseradish we bought on Essex St. on
the Lower East Side when we were there. Soup is also on the list for
tomorrow - I'll probably make the soup and then put the chicken into a
Greek egg/lemon sauce. Then we'd have another dinner off the list.

Chopped liver is still to be made, and I want to get one of the minas made for the second or third day. I plan to make the spinach and cheese kind.
Also tomorrow I'll make a chopped heart of palm and artichoke heart salad and a sweet-sour artichoke dish. I've also got plans for your nut torte, but that may fall by the wayside if the rain doesn't abate. On the other hand they say it will snow again on Tuesday. Can you believe we are only 4 people for dinner?!? My old classmate from Cal is coming up from Madison where he's in law school. DH would be up for it
being just the two of us, I think. We are also inviting a former colleague of T's. Three guys and me. I hope they are good eaters.

Actually, most of the sweets - and half of the charoses - will be
given away. But I am genetically incapable of cooking for just a small number of people. Know thatproblem?

Pesach Notes

Assorted recipes for Passover:

Skordalia

One of our family's faves at Pesach is Skordalia, the Greek potato-garlic spread. It's not intuitive for the holiday - and I know some people have a family custom of not eating garlic at Passover - but we aren't allowed to visit our "mythpocha" in Los Angeles without bringing at least two quarts!

This is more or less how I make it - I've done it with and without the almonds and both variants are good. You can substitute potato starch or matzoh meal, too:

Skordalia

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
Kosher salt, as needed,
8 -10 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1-2 lemons, freshly squeezed
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook potatoes until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly. Rub the skins off the potatoes and discard them. Coarsely chop the potatoes and puree them.

Sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of the salt and smash it into a fine paste with the side of a knife.

In a food processor, combine the garlic, almonds, and oil and puree into a paste. Mix the oil mixture into the potatoes until incorporated; then mix in the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, water, lemon juice, and season with pepper, to taste. Keep refrigerated until needed and let come to room temperature before serving. Great on matzoh or with brisket.

Passover Pumpkin Soup

This is a strange but nice recipe I first tried at a friend's in San Francisco. This is my version. Be sure to use a green-skinned so-called "Japanese" pumpkin or buttercup squash, as you can use the skin and flesh. You could use a regular squash, but then you have to steam and remove the skin.

1 Japanese pumpkin or 1 large buttercup squash
3-5 cloves garlic
2-3 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp fresh grated galanga root (optional)
1 tsp turmeric (optional, but suggested)
1 tsp Madras curry powder (optional)
2 cups sliced white or wild mushrooms
Enough water, soy milk, vegetable stock or milk (if you are having a milchig meal) to thin to desired consistency
Salt/Pepper as desired

Quarter the pumpkin or squash and remove seeds and stringy fibers. Steam for 45 min or until tender. Sautee the garlic, spices and mushrooms until just brown. Put all ingredients into a bowl and mash together, or blend in a food processor or blender, until smooth. Add liquid to desired thinness. Adjust seasonings and either chill until needed or reheat. Best if allowed to stand for a day in the fridge to allow flavors to blend.

These are not my favorite almond-chocolate macaroon recipes, but will have to do until I can dig the book out:

CHOCOLATE -ALMOND MACAROONS

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole or slivered blanched almonds
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
3 egg whites
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
Whole natural or blanched almonds

Directions:

Grind almonds stop-and-go fashion in electric blender. Grate chocolate in blender similarly. Beat egg whites with salt until barely stiff. Gradually beat in sugar; continue beating until very stiff. Fold in ground almonds, chocolate and vanilla. Drop by mounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Top each with an almond. Bake at 300 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned but still moist in center. Gently transfer to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 32 macaroons.
(Per serving for 32 servings: Calories 47, Carb 6 g, Protein 1 g)


CHOCOLATE ALMOND MACAROONS

Adapted from "Mama Leah's Jewish Kitchen" by Leah Loeb Fisher. These are fluffy and chewy.

Yield: 30 to 40 macaroons

8 egg whites, at room temperature
2/3 cup cocoa
2/3 cup confectioners sugar (To be kosher for Passover, you will need to make own, by grinding sugar extrafine.)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (KLP) or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla & 1/4 tsp almond (I used graed bitter almond)
1 1/3 cups (8 oz.) coarsely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Gradually sift in and beat the cocoa, confectioners sugar, salt, into the eggs. Carefully add vanilla. Gently cut in the ground almonds. Drop the mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the paper covered baking sheet, leaving a 2-inch space between each macaroon. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until macaroons are very lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet until macaroons are firm. Make sure you make these on a dry day or one with the humidity less than 50% or these will never dry out and stay sticky.

2 Vegetable Recipes for Pesach

Here follow two vegetable recipes, also suitable for vegetarians or vegans. We make them for Passover.

I have learned both of them from Turkish Jews, though they are probably found in Greece as well.

The first is Apio - Sweet and Sour Celery. I make it with celeriac (celery root), but you can make it with a bunch of stalk celery too. Save the celery leaves for soup or matzoh balls. It doubles pretty easily.

Apio

1 large celery root, or two smaller ones
4 carrots
4-5 tblsp olive oil - or other veg oil
3 tblsp fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon (if desired)
1/2 c. water
1 tblsp soup mix or 2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tblsp sugar (I suppose you could use splenda).

Wash and slice the celery root into roughly 1/4" - 1 cm slices. Unless you enjoy cut fingers, don't peel them before you slice the root. Scrape and slice the carrots, slightly on an angle, to look nice.

Put all the ingredients except the salt or soup mix in a heavy sauce pan. Add 1/2 c (about 1 1/4 dl) water, and cover. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until tender.

Remove the vegetables and pour the thickened sauce over them. If the sauce is too thick, thin with water. If it is too thin, cook uncovered without the vegetables, but be carful not to let it burn.

Serve hot as a side dish or at room temperature/cold as a side or appetizer.

Garnish with dill if desired.

I have no idea what this is called in Turkish or Ladino.

Braised Turkish Leeks

6 medium-sized leeks
1 med onion, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tblsp tomato paste
1 -2 tblsp sugar
1/2 cup water or vegetable stock
Juice of 1/2 lemon - more if desired
Zest of half lemon, if desired
1/4 - 1/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill
Salt
Freshly ground black or white pepper
Lemon slices to garnish

Remove outer leaves from leeks and trim roots even with base. Cut off most of the green tops and save for soup. Halve lengthwise and wash well to remove ALL soil and sand. Fry onion in oil until transparent. Add tomato paste, thinned with the water or stock, half of the parsley, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add leeks and lemon juice, spooning liquid over the leeks. Simmer covered 15-20 minutes. Remove to glass serving dish - because it looks quite pretty - garnish with parsley, dill and lemon slices, if desired. May be served warm or cold.

Oddest Jewish Cookbooks?

Two come to mind: one is A Russian Jew Cooks in Peru, by the charmingly named Violeta Autumn. This book has a lot of Asheknazi recipes viewed through a South American lens. It makes no bones about being "treyfe", proudly culturally Jewish, but little else. However the author seldom strays so far from her roots that a kosher variation of a recipe can't be found.

The second is weird because of the cover and where I got it. I don't seem to have it in my library here yet, which I will try to amend. The cover is a "re-enactment" - and, boy, am I being generous with that - of a Jewish wedding with some of the fakest, glued on beards this side of a grade school play. The "bride" looks like she's worried that the "rabbi's" beard is going to drop off into the wine. And what's the deal with the three guys on the left, who all look like they picked out their beards during a black out at "Moishe's Discount Weird Beard Hut".

It was published in Warsaw in 1983 and was given to me as part of what I assume to have been a very misguided carnal bribe or declaration of some intent, in the Jewish graveyard in Warsaw. On the up-side, it has a great recipe for gefüllte fish!

Easy Chesed

Women helping Women through Tamponification

From the ever fab Ms. Lucinda and the good folks at Seventh Generation:

"Women’s shelters in the U.S. go through thousands of tampons and pads monthly, and, while agencies generally assist with everyday necessities such as toilet paper, diapers, and clothing, this most basic need is often overlooked. You and I may take our monthly trips down the feminine care aisle for granted, but, for women in shelters, a box of tampons is five dollars they can’t spare. Here’s some good news: you can help us contribute to rectifying this situation by making a virtual donation . For each virtual donation, Seventh Generation will send a pack of organic cotton tampons or chlorine-free pads to a shelter in your state or province."

Nice to see that they include Canada as well here.


http://www.tampontification.com/donate.php

Hamentashen doughs

Ok, I'll fess up off the bat. I do not like yeast hamentaschen doughs one little bit. They are the ubiquitous treats on the Finnish Purim table but they never cut it for me. Either they were too hard or they tasted like wannabe danish. If you like them, you should hie yourself to Moishe's Bakery in New York. Their yeast hamentashen are said to be delish. I wouldn't know from this.

Myself, I grew up with the cookie kind and am partial to apricot, lekvar (prune or "dried plums" as they are now marketed) and mohn (poppyseed) in terms of the traditional fillings and in that order. I am open to innovation including, but not limited to, wild plum (the best), mango and coconut/chocolate.

Here are two cookie-type doughs with which I've had some success. The first is milchig, the second parve. Do not refrigerate the oil dough unless you want a big mess and some hamantaschen you could use to crack nuts.

The first is my version of an old recipe that originally appeared in Women's Day, when bubbeh was a bocher (i.e. so long ago that it can't be remembered). If you roll the dough out, it will give a thinner, crispier cooky. If you make balls and smash them, you get the kind of hamentashen that my husband, he should live and be well, likes. Generally speaking, the less you can handle this dough, the better, as you won't need to add as much flour to keep it from sticking. Yes, you could make this parve with parve margarine and soy milk or Rich's non-dairy stuff, but it's not worth it, tastewise. Also, I hate recipes that tell you to "sift x, y, and z together, blah blah, then make a well and beat from there." Hey, it's my kitchen, I've been baking for longer than your average bear, I'll do it my way! In this particular recipe, method matters. Yes, it's potchkeyey. Yes, you have to hunt down the sifter or improvise with a strainer. But it makes a difference in how quickly the dough comes together and how little you have to work it, which in turn gives a more tender result. Ultimately, you'll do what you like. Such is life. Just don't come kvetching to me about it!


Butter Hamentaschen Dough

2 1/2 c. sifted unbleached flour
1 tblsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. milk or milk/cream mixture
1/3 c. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional)

Sift flour with baking powder, salt, and sugar. Beat egg with milk and vanilla
then mix with melted butter and pour into center of dry ingredients. Stir until a soft dough is formed. Knead a few times on a lightly floured marble slab or other work surface. Roll or pat to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch circles, fill, etc. If you hate rolling, take about a tablespoon of dough, roll it between your hands into a ball and flatten with a glass. Fill with between a half teaspoon and a teaspoon of your desired filling and pinch corners into a triangle. Bake on a silicone sheet or baking parchment at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 min or until slightly golden. They should not turn brown. Makes 15 to 18.


Parve Hamentaschen


3/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch salt
2 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream together the shortening and sugar.

Add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing. Add the baking powder,
salt and about 1 1/2 cups of flour. Slowly add enough flour
to the dough until the dough is soft and smooth, but not greasy or
sticky - between 2 and 2 1/2 cups of flour.


Cut the dough into thirds and roll out one section, about 1/8" thick
on a well-floured slab or baking board. Use a cup or a can to cut approximately
3" circles. Bake on a silpat (silicone baking sheet) or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place in a preheated 350º oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 32-38 cookies.