Aunt Dot's Chocolate Cake

Many years ago, I gave up on making homemade cakes. I discovered that it wasn't worth my time, particularly since Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines mixes always produced a product far superior to my own.

This is the exception.

My wife got this recipe from her mother, who got it from her sister-in-law Dot, who got it from her own mother-in-law, who probably found it in an old cookbook. However, this is and will always be "Aunt Dot's Chocolate Cake."

Ingredients

• Cake
• 1 stick melted butter or margarine
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• Frosting
• ½ stick melted butter or margarine
• ½ pound powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bring to boil one stick of melted butter or margarine, 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, and water. Mix together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix melted butter mixture into flour mixture. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until batter is smooth.

Poor into ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

While baking, mix together frosting ingredients. Frost cake when cake is cool.

Hummus

Hummus is a Middle-Eastern dish made with chick peas, tahini, oil, and lemon juice. It is a staple dish throughout the Middle East, especially in Israel, where it is dolloped on falafel or served separately with fluffy warm pita bread. When done right, it is one of my all time favorite foods.

Some old family friends who had spent many years in Israel first introduced me to hummus back when I was in middle school. They made their own, and I still remember all the dinners at their house with the plate of hummus and pita. They once told me the secret to good hummus is to keep pureeing it until it was absolutely smooth. In fact, they said, it took them a while to find a food processor that wouldn't burn out after a couple of batches.

This is my own recipe, a result of many years of trial and error, and many burned out food processors.

Although in my youth, hummus was relatively unknown, it has since become a staple American food, along with tacos, pizza, spaghetti, and bagels. Gotta love that old American melting pot. I just wish we could get Americans to pronounce it correctly. The word is properly pronounced "hoo-moos", not "huh-muss". This is important, and hearing it mispronounced makes the hairs stand up on my arm, just the way it bothers me when I hear the 'l's pronounced in tortilla, or when I hear phrases like "good morning" mispronounced as "get up you idiot, you're late for work."

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked, strained chickpeas (2 15-oz cans)
• ⅔ cup tahini
• 2 pressed cloves garlic
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• additional water as needed

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Replace food processor as needed.

Winicur Pancakes

When I was a young lad, my father made pancakes once or twice a month, typically on a Saturday morning. This recipe came from some tome called "The Father's Breakfast Cookbook" (or something like that), and he modified it by using half whole wheat flour and separating the egg whites. This was his own signature dish, complete with his own ritual. First, he put on his LP of Jethro Tull "Songs from the Woods". Then, as the music boomed through the bottom half of the house, he mixed and stirred, whisked and fried, and made pancakes that are now the gold standard for all pancakes.

I now make these pancakes in my own home, although I don't typically put on Jethro Tull. However, my wife absolutely loves them and also considers my pancakes the gold standard comparator for all pancakes domestic and international, which is probably why we never go to IHOP.

I should also mention that every time I hear Ian Anderson sing "Songs from the Wood," I get the taste of maple syrup in my mouth. Weird.

Ingredients 1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

1 egg, separated

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup sugar

1½ cups milk

oil for frying

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat egg white until stiff peaks form and set aside. Mix egg yolk, oil, and sugar in a large bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk into egg yolk mixture until blended. Fold in egg white. Batter should be thin relatively thin.

Heat a thin layer of oil in the skillet. When hot, poor about ¼ to ½ cup of batter per pancake, depending on desired size. Cook on medium heat until bubbles form in the middle of the pancake. Flip and cook other side.

Skillet Bread

My wife brought this recipe from her own family which probably came from a Better Homes and Gardens (or some such) cookbook. Whatever the origin, it is a wonderfully simple recipe that is sheer comfort food on a dreary day.

This recipe can be made vegan by substituting margarine (or other butter substitute) for the butter and substituting soy milk for the milk.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Add milk. Blend with wooden spoon until it forms a moist biscuit-like spongy texture.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a medium-sized skillet. Keep heat low and spread butter around evenly.Pour in batter and spread evenly around the skillet.

Cook for 15 minutes or until underside is golden brown. Slide onto plate, add remaining butter to skillet, and flip bread over onto skillet. Cook the other side for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Orange Date Charoset

My wife had difficulty eating apples for much of her life, so years ago we hunted for a non-apple charoset to serve at our Pesach seders. We hit upon this Sephardic recipe that I have modified slightly. She loves it so much that even though she could probably tolerate a traditional Ashkenazic apple charoset, the orange version has become our stand-by. More importantly, it works pretty well with bitters herbs on a Hillel sandwich.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup dark raisins
• 2 cups pitted dates
• grated peel and juice of 2 oranges
• ¾ cup almonds or walnuts
• ⅓ cup sweet wine or red grape juice

Process all the ingredients in a food processor to make a chunky paste.

Walnut Onion Spread

It is not Pesach at our house without the Walnut Onion Spread. I would never dream of hosting a seder without this dish on the table, particularly because my family would never let me live it down. This dish serves as a mock chopped liver and actually goes better on matzah than it does on bread. Go figure.

Ingredients

• 2 onions, chopped
• 6 tablespoons oil
• 1½ cups chopped walnuts
• 5 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Fry the onions in the oil with the sugar until golden brown. Remove the onions from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside. Fry the walnuts in the remaining oil for 1 minute, adding more oil if necessary. Remove the walnuts with a slotted spoon.

In a food processor, grind the onions and walnuts to a moderately fine consistency. Add eggs and grind everything together to a coarse paste. Refrigerate before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Greek Spinach Pie

Let's be honest. Phyllo dough is a pain in the tush to work with. As much as I love to eat spanikopita, strudel, and baklava, sometimes I just don't FEEL like trying to separate and negotiate the paper-thin sheets. For just those days, I invented Greek Spinach Pie, essentially spanikopita in a pie shell. As it turns out, this dish became an absolute favorite of my youngest son. And I didn't even have to hide the vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening or butter
• 4-6 tablespoons ice cold water
• 12-16 oz. frozen spinach
• 1/2 pound feta cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Prepare pie crust by mixing flour and salt together and cutting in the shortening/butter to make tiny crumbs. Sprinkle with water and toss together flour mixture with fork until the dough is just moist enough to hold together on its own. Wrap dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll ball of dough into flat circle and place in pie plate. Crimp edges.

Thaw spinach and squeeze out water. Add other filling ingredients and mix together. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 450°F for 5 to 10 minutes to set crust, then reduce heat to 350° and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until just set. Cool before serving.

Winicur Stuffed Mushrooms

It all started with my wife’s brilliant culinary epiphany from her inner voice known as “The Chef”. The Chef gave her a recipe with portabella mushrooms cut in strips, and it involved butter, lemon juice, sage, thyme, five-color ground peppercorns, and pink Himalayan salt. “Why pink Himalayan salt? I don’t know. I don’t even know what it is. But the voice tells me it is needed. And worse than that, I DON’T EVEN LIKE MUSHROOMS!”

So, after playing around with The Chef’s recipe, I went in a different direction and used it to create a new stuffed mushroom recipe. My mother used to make stuffed mushrooms for fancy parties, and she probably swatted my hands a few times because I absolutely loved them and would take them straight from the pan. I think she would have loved my recipe as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound baby bella mushrooms
• 2 shallots, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoons ground sage
• 1 teaspoons ground thyme
• ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
• ¼ teaspoon multicolor peppercorns, fresh ground

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems finely and sauté them in butter with chopped shallots and garlic until lightly browned. Add onions and garlic to remaining ingredients and mix together. Place mushroom caps facing up on a cooking sheet and fill each cap with 2-3 teaspoons of stuffing. Cook for 10-15 minutes until mushrooms are soft and stuffing browns

Makes 16-20.

Veggie Breadsticks

For years, my children would whine, negotiate, and stall whenever their dinner consisted of non-processed plant matter not on their “favorites” list. You would think I was raising a family of carnivores and not vegetarians. I finally came up with a way to disguise, I mean incorporate, vegetables into a snack food. This is my recipe for veggie breadsticks. When paired with a good tomato marinara dipping sauce, these sticks provide a wide variety of vitamins and phytonutrients.

Ingredients:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• ½ cup warm water
• 2 ½ cups unbleached white flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 small carrot
• ½ cup packed volume of frozen spinach (thawed and water squeezed out)
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon basil
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• garlic salt

Grind the spinach, carrot, and spices in a food processor until they form a thick paste. In a large bowl, combine the veggies, yeast, warm water, and 1 ½ cups of the flour. Mix well to blend. Add oil, salt, and remaining flour and stir until the dough sticks together.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about five minutes. If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle it with a little flour. If the dough gets too dry, sprinkle water 1 teaspoon at a time and knead in.

Roll the dough in a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and set in a warm but not hot place to rise until doubled in volume, 30 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven to 450oF.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal. When the dough has risen, punch it down, knead it a couple more times, and roll it out with a rolling pin onto a baking sheet until it forms a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

Using a knife or other sharp edge, cut the dough into strips 1 inch wide by pressing straight down on the dough with the edge. Spray the breadsticks lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle them with garlic salt. Bake in the center of the oven for about 10 minutes.

Makes 8-10 breadsticks.

Tu B’Shevat Bars

One of my traditions every year for Tu B'Shevat (the new year of the trees) is making Tu B'Shevat Bars. This recipe contains fruits from all three 'species': hard outer shell (orange, nuts), hard inner pit (dates), and entirely edible (carob, raisins, figs). The recipe uses fruits primarily found in Israel.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped dates
• ½ cup chopped figs
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup carob powder
• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground clove
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

In a small bowl, combine the raisins, dates, figs, orange juice, and orange zest. Set this aside.

n a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, and sugar on a medium speed with an electric mixer. Add the honey slowly while continuing to beat on a medium speed. Beat in vanilla and carob powder until creamy. Stir in flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well mixed. Stir in nuts and fruit mixture by hand.

Spoon into a well-greased and floured 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 325˚F for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely and cut into bars.

Note: this recipe contains honey, which means that it will overbake if not watched carefully. Check the bars after 25 minutes, and then check every 4-5 minutes after that.

Yields about 40 bars.

Tofu Bacon

Freezing and thawing the tofu changes the texture, allows you to squeeze out more water, and makes the tofu almost instantly absorb a marinade. It also makes the tofu more delicate, so handle carefully.

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu (12-16 ounces)
• 2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 clove garlic
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoon canola oil + 2 tablespoons for the baking sheet
• 3 teaspoons liquid smoke

Slice tofu into quarter-inch thick strips. Place strips on a piece of waxed paper, with a piece of waxed paper between each layer. Freeze overnight or until completely frozen.

Thaw tofu in a microwave oven in 1 minute increments until just thawed. Place tofu strips on a couple of sheets of paper towel and press gently to remove liquid.

Preheat oven to 375oF. Make marinade by combining additional ingredients. Poor marinade in a glass 9 x 12” glass dish and spread marinade evenly over the dish. Place pressed tofu in the marinade until each piece has absorbed the marinade.

Place tofu slices on a slightly oiled baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until tofu is crispy.

Makes 12-16 strips.

Grilled Teriyaki Tofu Packets

I originally came up with this recipe as a sneaky way to grill tofu without it sticking to the grate. It turns out that grilling the nori both crisps it and brings out its flavor. Serve these packets at your next outdoor grilling, along with your roasted fruits, vegetables, and meat analogs. You will raise the bar on your summer meal tremendously.

Notes: This can also be done in an conventional oven under the broiler if an outdoor grill is not available. Rice vinegar can be substituted for rice wine if you can’t have alcohol or sulfites.

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu (12-16 ounces)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine or rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground ginger or ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 4-5 sheets of nori
• Canola oil

Slice the tofu into cross sections each ½ inch thick and drain excess liquid from each piece on a couple of layers of paper towel.

Make the teriyaki sauce by mixing together soy sauce, rice wine/vinegar, sugar, ginger, and garlic, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Marinate the tofu in a single layer in the teriyaki sauce for at 30 minutes at room temperature. For longer marinating times, place the tofu in the refrigerator. Turn the slabs over halfway through the marinating process.

Drain excess marinade from each slab of tofu. Wrap each slab in half a sheet of nori. The moisture on the tofu should adhere the nori to the slab.

Grill on a charcoal or gas grill for 10-15 minutes, turning over halfway through the grilling. The nori should be darkened but not burnt.

Serves 4

Tatooine Coconut Curry with Cous Cous

Originally invented to celebrate Star Wars Day, May the Fourth, 2013, this recipe was an attempt to represent the sand and exotic culture of the Tatooine desert. It worked particularly well paired with Hoth Smoothies (frozen bananas, coconut, and frozen yoghurt). I find this to be a versatile recipe that can serve as a side dish or main dish for any feast, either as is or with the addition of tofu, paneer, or other exotic vegetables. I recommend it at your next Purim dinner, complemented by lots and lots of hamantaschen.

Ingredients

• 3 green onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2–4 carrots (about 1 cup chopped)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 15-ounce can coconut milk
• 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 15-ounce can chick peas
• ½ cup dark raisins
• 1–2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
• 1 cup dried couscous
• 1 cup water

Chop the onions and press the garlic. Sauté both in large frying pan in the oil about 1 minute, then add the carrots and sauté a couple more minutes till the carrots are just tender. Drain and rinse the chick peas. Stir into the pan the curry powder, cumin, coconut milk, tomato sauce, chick peas, and Tabasco sauce (or other hot sauce) and simmer over low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook couscous to directions separately and fluff with fork.

Serves 6–8.

Gluten-Free Tamale Pie

I catered the lunch for my oldest son’s bar mitzvah. It was an interesting experience that I can only compare to my own bar mitzvah many years ago: fun, exciting, harrowing, and with no desire to do it a second time. One of the most successful dishes at the bar mitzvah lunch was my Tamale Pie. I am very proud of this recipe; it is both vegetarian and gluten-free, which was necessary because we had friends with Celiac disease attending the lunch. I know the dish was successful because no one said to me, "You know, this isn't bad for gluten-free vegetarian food."

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup carrot
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup prepared picante
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 3 cups cooked pinto beans
• 1 cup masa flour
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby or Cojack cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Finely chop the onion, green pepper, and carrot. Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Mix in the tomato sauce, picante, chili powder, and beans and cook for another 5 minutes on low to medium heat. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, mix together masa flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, oil, and milk. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix together.

Spray a 9” x 14” glass baking dish with cooking spray and spread 1/3 of the corn meal mixture to make a thin layer that covers the entire bottom of the baking dish. Bake the thin layer for 3-5 minutes, just until firm.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle the shredded cheese on the bottom crust, add the beans, and spread the remaining corn meal mixture over the beans. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cornbread covering is firm. Serves 12.

Smoked Cheese Flatbreads

One of the things I miss the most about living in Minnesota is being close to Wisconsin cheese. The highlight of the drive from the Twin Cities to Terre Haute, Indiana, was always stopping at the Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet in Tomah. It was there that I learned the joys of 5- and 7-year old cheddar, squeaky fresh cheese curds, and smoked cheeses. In fact, just a couple of months ago, while driving back from Milwaukee, I stopped at a “last chance” cheese shop and reminded myself of the heavenly joys of Wisconsin smoked string cheese. This is cheese that requires me to sit down and have some quiet time.

The following flatbreads are made with smoked gouda and smoked swiss, although one could just as easily mix in some smoked cheddar for a different flavor profile. Just do not add in smoked string cheese. That is meant to be eaten by itself. While seated.

Ingredients:

• Dough
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 ¼ cups unbleached white flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• Cornmeal

• Toppings
• 2 cups shredded smoked cheese (swiss/gouda mix)
• 2 teaspoons ground sage
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• Fig topping
• Balsamic vinegar (preferably fig balsamic)
• 1 cup thinly sliced dried figs
• 1 cup slivered, blanched almonds
• BBQ topping
• Fresh green beans, chopped into ½-inch long pieces

Place a pizza stone in an oven, and preheat to 450oF.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, and white flour. Mix well to blend. Add the oil, salt, and whole wheat flour and stir until the dough sticks together. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface or in a large sturdy bowl. Dust hands with flour, and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about five minutes. If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle it with a little more flour.

Roll the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and set in a warm, but not hot, place to rise until double in volume, about one hour.

When the dough has risen, punch down the dough, and separate the dough into two balls to make two flatbreads. Let the dough rest 20 minutes before rolling out.

Sprinkle the working area with corn meal, and roll out each ball of dough into an elongated rectangle, about 9 x 12 inches. Mix together the cheese, sage, and rosemary. Baste the flatbread crust with either balsamic vinegar or BBQ sauce, depending on the recipe. Top with the cheese mixture. Add either the fig topping or the BBQ topping, depending on the recipe. Bake on a hot stone for 7-10 minutes until crust is lightly browned.

Makes two 9x12-inch flatbreads

Potato Leek Pocket Pies

The first version of this recipe was not an unmitigated success. My family agreed that I had a good idea going, but the mix of whole wheat and white flours in the crust was all wrong, the filling was missing a vital flavor component, and the overall texture was just too bland. So, back to the laboratory I went.

My second (or possibly fifth) attempt was met with much, much higher reviews. It all goes to show that the creative spirit, no matter how innovative, ingenious, or insightful, is NOTHING without a good editor.

Ingredients

• 3 cups white flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ pound cold butter
• 6 to 10 Tablespoons of ice water, as needed
• 2 leeks
• 4 medium sized red potatoes
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 4-6 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoons white flour
• 1 teaspoon of bouillon (enough for 1 cup liquid)
• ½ cup Swiss cheese, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg beaten with 1-2 teaspoons of water

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Make the dough for the crust. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until it resembles coarse meal. Lightly stir in the water a tablespoon at a time until you can bring the dough together in a ball. Cover and let the dough rest while you make the filling.

Thinly slice the white parts and about half of the green parts of the leeks. Thinly slice the red potatoes into half-inch pieces. Melt one to two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and sauté the leeks briefly, two to three minutes, with the rice wine. Remove from pan, add another one to two tablespoons butter, and sauté potatoes until they are lightly brown and just tender. Remove from heat.

In a saucepan, melt one tablespoon butter. Whisk in one tablespoons of white flour and bouillon. Make a roux by slowly whisking in milk over low flame until mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together leeks, potatoes, and white sauce.

Roll out dough into six to eight inch circles about one-quarter inch thick on a floured board. Add two to four tablespoons of filling to the middle leaving at least one inch of space between the filling and the edge of the pie dough. Add one layer of sliced cheese over the top. Fold the dough over and press the dough closed by crimping the edges. Baste egg wash over each pie.

Poke holes in the top to let air escape. Bake pies at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes until brown, turning pies over midway in the cooking process.

Orzo Ruach Pasta Salad

I came up with this pasta salad one day on the drive home from work. I was tasked with preparing a dish for a potluck dinner, and I was looking for a pasta dish that was just a bit different from my usual takes on rotini and sauce. Also, I think I had a bunch of orzo pasta in the pantry just waiting to be used. Since orzo pasta is not a normal staple in my house, the pressure to do something creative with it was strong. The recipe makes quite a bit as you would expect for a potluck dish, but it can easily be halved or made in full amount and parceled out for lunch every day for the following week. Your choice. The name of the recipe is a Hebrew-English pun based on Psalm 97 from the Tanach. “Or Zarua LaTzadik ul’Yishrei Lev Simcha”/”Light is sown for the righteous, and for the upright of heart”. The Hebrew word “Ruach”, on the other hand, means “spirit” or “breath of life”. So, taken together the dish means, “light is sown for the righteous and for those who eat small pasta in a spirited fashion.” Maybe I ought to just stick to cooking.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups dry orzo
• 2 cups cooked chick peas
• 1 medium-size cucumber
• 1 large tomato
• ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
• ¼ cup kalamata olives
• ¼ cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 2 cloves pressed garlic

Cook the orzo according to package directions to al dente consistency. Do not overcook. Drain the pasta.

Coarsely chop the cucumber, tomato, and olives and mix into the orzo.

Blend together tahini, lemon juice, cumin, and garlic. Mix the dressing into the orzo.

Serves a bunch.

Moscardini de Pesach a la Winicur

Moscardini are almond cookies typically made for Purim. I have modified the recipe for this almond cookie to make it kosher for Passover. You can replace the matzah cake meal with flour and make it decidedly non-Pesadic for Purim. You can also replace the carob powder with cocoa powder, but I like the roasty flavor imparted by carob. As a child, I was allergic to chocolate, and carob was my special companion in cookies, cakes, and Tiger’s Milk bars. If my mother had only had this recipe, I’m sure she would have made it for me.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup almonds, toasted then finely ground
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ cup matzah cake meal
• 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2–3 teaspoons orange zest (½ an orange)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a baking sheet and coat it with matzah cake meal.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the egg and egg yolk into the dry ingredients and stir well.

Press the dough firmly into a long mound, about 3 inches wide by 9 inches long by 1 inch high. Taper the edges so that when you slice the loaf, you get moon-shaped cookies.

With a sharp knife or a pastry scraper (a pastry scraper works very well), cut the mound into segments, each about 3/4 inch thick. Place the segments cut side down on the baking sheet, each about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–

12 minutes till just firm. Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Yields about 1 1/2 dozen.

Moroccan-Style Chickpea Stew

This recipe came to me one evening when I needed to throw together a North African meal, and I promised my youngest son that I would write it down to increase the chances that I would make it again the same way. The stew can be served over couscous or rice, or it can be paired with socca, a vegan, gluten-free flatbread made of chickpea flour and olive oil.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup onion, chopped
• ½ cup bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger root
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2-3 medium sized red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 cup raw baby spinach leaves
• 2 x 15 ounce cans of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon allspice

In a large frying pan, sauté the onion, bell pepper, and ginger root in the oil until the onions are just translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, and potatoes and sauté a couple minutes more. Stir in the tomato sauce, chick peas, and spices. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve over rice or couscous.

Serves six.

Hoth Smoothies

Originally invented to celebrate Star Wars Day, May the Fourth, 2013, this recipe attempted to combine the barren snowy wasteland of Hoth with the shaggy physique of the tauntauns and wampa (luckily smelling much, much better). The drink works by itself as a hot weather treat, or it can add a sweet cooling complement to your favorite spicy Mediterranean or Caribbean dinner.

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen bananas
• ¼ cup finely shredded coconut
• 2 cups soy milk
• 2 cups vanilla frozen yoghurt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in blender till smooth but not melted.

Serves 4.

Honey Cake

Honey cake, a staple of Ashkenazic Jewish High Holiday tradition, is one of the most unforgiving cakes in the world. I have tried a variety of recipes, and they all follow the same theme. If you overbake this cake by 5 seconds, you might as well use it as a door stop or perhaps as some piece of minimalistic public art. How ironic that we celebrate a holiday about forgiveness with one of the more unforgiving delicacies. I have spent years hunting for a recipe that doesn’t prompt people to say, “Wow…that tastes…um...exotic. Especially the roasted flavor.” After years of searching and experimenting, I present Zev’s Honey Cake recipe. I stole most of the recipe from online sources, but I have made enough changes that I now choose to claim it as my own. Mind altering drugs (coffee and brandy) have been removed and exotic flavors (carob powder and clove) have been added. It is the perfect cake to serve to friends and family with alcohol or caffeine intolerances. Of course, I eat my honey cake with a big cup of Irish coffee—but that’s just me.

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon clove
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup honey
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon carob powder mixed in ½ cup hot water
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar

Prepare a 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pan by oiling the pan well, dusting it with flour, and knocking out the excess. Preheat oven to 350oF.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, clove, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together honey, oil, and carob water in another bowl until well combined. Beat together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed 3 minutes. Add honey mixture and mix just until blended at a medium speed, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until just combined. Finish mixing the batter with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the bowl.

Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cover the top loosely with foil and continue to bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack 1 hour. Run a knife around side of the cake, then invert plate over cake and invert cake onto plate. Turn cake right side up on cooling rack and cool completely.

Additional Notes:

1. Cake keeps at room temperature 1 week if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
2. Resist the urge to cut into the cake to taste it while it is still warm. This will release the steam, and the cake will dry out sooner.
3. Let the cake sit at least one day before serving. The cake gets moister after a few days—or at least that’s what I’ve read. I usually can’t wait that long.
4. Remember to err on the side of underbaking rather than overbaking. Once the cake has baked 45 minutes, check it ever 3 minutes or so. YOU CAN NOT UNDO AN OVERBAKED HONEYCAKE.

Shirah's Goat Cheese Pecan Salad

Shirah came up with this recipe in a dream, or perhaps in a divine inspiration of insight. She knew what she wanted in the salad, and working together, we fleshed out the full recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 cup sugared pecans (recipe follows)
• 4 ounces chevre goat cheese
• ½ cup dried cherries
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fruity balsamic vinegar (e.g. fig)
• Sugared pecans
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 lb. pecans
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250°F. Grease one baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let nuts cool.

Rinse, drain, and chop the lettuce. Toss together pecans, small pieces of chevre, and dried cherries with lettuce. Mix olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add to salad.

Garden Link Sausage

These sausages are incredibly versatile. Char them on the grill and serve them on a bun with mustard and ketchup. Slice them on the bias, sauté them, and add them to a pasta arrabiata dish. Grind them up and add them to your favorite chili recipe. They are a health source of protein; certainly better than any over-processed food chemistry set found in the freezer aisle.

I adopted and mutated my recipe from an internet recipe that contained nutritional yeast. After experimenting with smaller and smaller amounts of yeast, I finally decided that I just didn’t particularly like nutritional yeast and removed it altogether. Feel free to add some back in and jack up the vitamin B12 content. I won’t take it personally.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno (or 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes)
• 1 cup mixed raw vegetables (e.g. spinach leaves, carrot, celery)
• 1 ½ cups cooked red or pinto beans, rinsed and well-drained
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 4 teaspoons ground sage
• 2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
• 2 cups vital wheat gluten
• 2/3 cup oatmeal (rolled or quick oats, uncooked)
• 2 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Coarsely chop onion, garlic, and jalapeno and sauté with 1 tablespoon olive oil until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to food processor along with raw vegetables and chop until finely ground.

Add the beans, olive oil, soy sauce, tomato paste, and all the seasonings to the food processor. Blend to a medium paste.

Combine remaining ingredients (gluten, oatmeal, and flax seed) in a large mixing bowl. Add the contents of the food processor and stir until combined. Add water or more gluten flour to adjust the texture to a thick paste and knead in the bowl for about two minutes until a heavy gluten “dough” is formed. Dough should be a little softer than standard pre-cooked gluten.

Set up a steamer and bring water to a boil. Cut off 16 pieces of aluminum foil or parchment paper, each about 8 inches long. Divide the gluten into 16 equal pieces. Place a piece of foil or parchment on the counter. Roll a piece of gluten between the palms of your hands until it’s about the size and shape of a hot dog. Place on the foil and roll up. Roll the tube back and forth, pressing lightly with your hands to give it an even shape, and then twist the ends closed. Repeat with the remaining gluten to form 8 veggie sausage links.

Steam all the sausage links in the steamer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool before unwrapping. Store garden sausage links covered in the refrigerator. Links will firm up in the refrigerator.

Makes 16 sausage links.

Egg Nog Kugel

This has become my go-to multicultural dish for either Chanukah or Christmas potlucks. ‘Nuff said.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. wide egg noodles
• 4 oz. butter or margarine
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup egg nog
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup raisins

Topping:

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbs. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350oF. Cook noodles in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and add butter. Set aside. Beat together eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, egg nog, and sugar. Add raisins. Add mixture to noodles. Pour into greased 8 x 12-inch baking dish. Mix together topping ingredients. Sprinkle over kugel. Bake for one hour.

Serves 10-12.

Curry Lentil Wontons

These appetizers are truly pan-Asian, bridging the cuisines of India and China. Plus lentils. Serve them at your next World Cup party.

Ingredients

• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root
• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 teaspoons madras curry powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 package wonton wrappers
• Enough canola or peanut oil to deep fry

Sort through the lentils to remove any stones, and rinse and drain the lentils. Sauté the onions, tomato, and ginger in 1 tablespoon of oil until the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of lentils. Return to medium heat and cook for about 30 minutes or just until the water is absorbed and the lentils are soft. In the last five to ten minutes of cooking, add the curry powder, cinnamon, and salt. While the lentils are cooking, cook the brown rice in a separate pot in two cups of water. When both rice and lentils are fully cooked, mix the two together.

Heat a couple of inches of oil in a small pot to 350oF. Dampen two edges of the square wonton wrapper with water. Place one tablespoon of filling in the center of the wonton wrapper and fold diagonally, sealing the edges.

Fold the corners of the triangle over and press down gently to maintain the shape. Fry each wonton in the oil just until the skin is light brown. Transfer to a rack or paper towels to drain. Serve with tamarind sauce.

NOTE: I'm sure my way of folding the wontons is nowhere near traditional, but it works for me. If you have a better way to fold, go for it. We are melding cultures here anyway, so nothing is sacrosanct.

Coconut Lime Rum Cake

My mother, of blessed memory, used to make rum cakes for special occasions when I was a young boy. This buttery cake with the warm alcoholic kick became one of my very, very favorite cakes, and I lamented that she only made them on rare occasions. Many decades later, while vacationing in the American Virgin Islands, I tasted an authentic island rum cake and discovered that my mother’s Midwest version held up pretty well in comparison. Points to my mother.

I’d like to think that she would have loved my new take on this Caribbean favorite, especially since I think she also introduced me to key lime pie. Which, coincidently, is one of my very, very favorite pies.

Cake

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• ¾ cup well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut such as Coco López
• 2 tablespoons rum

Rum Syrup

• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• juice of one lime
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup shredded coconut
• ½ cup rum

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter cake pan, coat pan with flour, and tap out excess flour.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer, Mix together whole eggs and yolks, sugar, vanilla, rum, and Coco López in a large bowl. Gradually mix in flour mixture until combined, then mix in butter until just combined. Pour into cake pan and rap pan on counter to expel air bubbles.

Bake until golden brown and cake starts to pull away from side of pan, about 45 minutes. While cake is baking, prepare the rum syrup. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once it is melted, add the sugar, water, lime juice, coconut, and pinch of salt. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and stir in the rum. Once it is mixed in, return the pan to medium heat for about 30 seconds.

When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour about one-third of the rum syrup over the bottom of the cake. Pour slowly so the sauce has time to seep into the cake. Cool the cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Invert cake onto rack and cool 10 minutes more. Once cool, carefully remove bundt pan from cake. Using a fork or skewer, poke holes all over the top and sides of the cake. Slowly pour the remaining syrup over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. If any of the syrup pools at the bottom, scoop it up with a small spoon and repour over top of cake.

Black Beans and Dirty Green Rice

I tried coming up with a simpler, more benign sounding name for this dish, such as “Jade Rice,” but in the end, I thought “Black Beans and Dirty Green Rice” was much more fun. And by addressing the fact that it does look like dirty green rice from the get go, I can say to my dinner guests, “well, what did you EXPECT it to look like?” The avocado adds a creamy texture to the rice while providing healthy monounsaturated fats and fiber. The brown rice, spinach, and black beans add B vitamins, especially folate, making this dish one of the tastiest vitamin pills you will ever eat.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw spinach leaves
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup long grain brown rice
• 15-oz can (3/4 cup) black beans, rinsed
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• ½ ripe avocado
• ½ teaspoon chili powder

In a blender, mix the spinach, broth, and water to make a slurry. Add the rice to the liquid, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Although the rice may take 40-50 minutes to cook, check after 30 minutes to make sure rice is not burning. Remove rice from heat and let stand uncovered for about five minutes.

In a small frying pan, sauté the onions and garlic until slightly brown. Set aside.

Smash avocado with the back of a fork or a potato masher until smooth. Stir avocado, onions, garlic, and chili powder into rice with a fork until just blended. Add black beans and stir gently.

Vegan BBQ Jerky

This vegan jerky is primarily a tofu jerky, but I have added a couple more ingredients to create a chewier, more textured jerky that doesn't taste like a piece of bullet-proof leather. The recipe only creates about 10-12 pieces of jerky, but this recipe can be multiplied up as needed.

Ingredients

• 6 oz tofu
• 2 whole dates
• 2 to 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 3 button mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons gluten flour
• 3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
• 1 teaspoons soy sauce

Preheat conventional oven to 250°F.

Drain tofu on multiple layers of paper towels. Coursely chop dates and place them in boiling water or microwave dates and water in a bowl for 30 seconds. Let dates cool and chop very finely. Chop mushrooms very finely and mix with dates and water. Add dates and mushrooms to tofu and mash with a potato masher until tofu resembles a fine crumb. Mix in gluten flour and knead tofu mixture to activate gluten.

Mix in BBQ sauce and soy sauce.

Spread tofu mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment or non-stick baking mat in rectangles about 1 inch by 5 inches by 0.25 inches. Bake in oven for 2-3 hours, turning each piece over halfway through the baking. Each piece of jerky should be completely dry but not brittle. Makes 10 – 12 pieces of jerky.

Almond Chipotle Burgers

Almonds have an exalted place among the "superfoods" foods that go beyond basic nutrition to help fight disease or improve health. Almonds provide a nutrient-dense source of vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, fiber, riboflavin, monounsaturated fatty acids, and protein, and studies have shown that they reduce low-density lipoproteins (the bad, naughty, evil cholesterol often portrayed with a pencil-thin mustache and a black cloak, nyeh heh heh). Almonds have a low glycemic index and do not adversely impact insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, almonds can be an effective part of a weight loss strategy even though the nut is 50% fat by weight. According to a 2006 scientific review, "habitual almond consumption does not lead to weight gain, and their inclusion in low-calorie diets appears to promote more weight loss than a comparable carbohydrate-based low-calorie diet.” (Chen et al., Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 86(14), 2245-2250. Go look it up yourself.) Is it no wonder that the California almond industry had a total state impact of about $21.5 billion? This is some major wicked food stuffs. Like most of my recipes, this one came to me in a flash of inspiration and desperation. It is a good summer recipe that can be cooked on a charcoal grill or under a broiler. The recipe can also be made vegan by substituting 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal mixed in 2.5 tablespoons of water for the egg.

Ingredients

• 2 cups almonds
• 1/2 small onion
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 medium stick of celery
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 6 ounces tomato paste (1 small can)
• 1 egg (or 1 tablespoon flaxseed in 2.5 tablespoons water)
• 1–2 teasoons dried chipotle pepper, ground in a mortar and pestle
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven on the broiler setting. Grind the almonds, onion, bell pepper, carrot, and celery in a food processor. Mix in by hand the rolled oats, tomato paste, egg, and dried chipotle pepper. Add salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 10 burger-sized patties and cook under a broiler for 2–4 minutes per side.

This burger is best served on a bun with a slice of tomato. The cool of the tomato perfectly balances the spicy burger. Serves 10