kosherfood-blog

[kosherfood-blog]

Countdown to Shavuot: Easy Cheesy Pizza!

Everyone loves pizza. This easy recipe is a sure crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp instant yeast

3 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 cup water

2.5 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup flaxseed 

garlic powder, thyme, rosemary 

Toppings and sauce of choice (cheese, etc) 

Heat the water to lukewarm (if you heat it more, the yeast will die-- resist the urge!) and mix in the honey and yeast. 

Add the oil and 1 cup of the flour. Mix well. 

Add the herbs and garlic. Then, add the remaining 1.5 cups of flour and the flaxseed. Once mixture starts to thicken, flour up your hands and dive in: work dough into a ball. 

  *Let the dough rest, covered, for 2 hours in a warm sunny area (or on top of a hot oven-- just somewhere where the yeast can do it's magic. * 

  *After the dough rises, flour up your hands again and stretch it to the size of whatever baking utensil you're using.* 

    Top with sauce, cheese, and/or whatever toppings you'd like, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit  for 20-30 minutes, depending on how "done" you like your pizza. Enjoy! 

[kosherfood-blog]

Countdown to Shavuot: Lemon-Granola Dream Bowl

In the mood for something sweet, tart, and a cinch to make? 

Look no further. 

This can be made either pareve or dairy, but I made this one dairy.  Here's what you need: 

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp Butter or Oil

2 cups granola of your choice 

4 eggs 

1.5 cups granulated sugar 

1/2 cup lemon juice 

3 Tbsp soy milk (can use regular milk) 

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

enough powdered sugar for a dusting

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In the container you'd like to present your finish product in (I recommend a round glass pan), melt the butter. Stir in 2 cups granola. 

Press down into the bowl and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

While you're waiting, combine four eggs, 1.5 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 3 Tbsp milk, 1/4 cup flour, and salt. The mixture may be lumpy -- no worries!

Once your granola mixture is done baking, pour the lemon mixture on top of it-- the granola may separate a bit and will float to the top-- this is okay!

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350. Allow to cool completely if you want it to fully solidify (I would recommend sticking it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes) 

Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

[kosherfood-blog]

Countdown to Shavuot: Cheesy Pasta Bake!

Happy Lag B'Omer, everyone! You know what that means-- Shavuot is just around the corner, which means lots of dairy food! Here's a recipe for a quick, easy, and delicious cheesy pasta bake.

Ingredients: 

1 lb of your choice of pasta (I used Rotelle this time) 

4 tbs butter

4 tbs flour (I used oat flour for consistency) 

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk (I used soy milk) 

8 oz brie cheese with the rind removed (you could substitute almost any hard cheese of choice) 

salt and pepper to taste 

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used one package of shake-n-bake breadcrumbs) 

olive oil (to coat pan) 

1/2 jar of your favourite red sauce (optional-- I used Emril's vodka sauce) 

Directions: 

1) Bring a pot of water to a boil; cook pasta until al dente.

2) Once pasta has cooked, drain and add to a 9x12 lightly greased baking dish. 

3) Add 4 tbsp of butter to a saucepan. As soon as butter has melted, add 4 tbsp of flour and stir constantly until sauce turns golden brown (the flour burns easily, so make sure your flame is low enough!) 

4)As soon as flour/butter mixture has reached this golden brown color, add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup milk. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. 

5) Once the mixture of flour, butter, milk, and cream reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and add your cheese. Continue to stir constantly until cheese has melted. 

The finished sauce will look something like this. Mix in 1/2 tsp garlic and salt and pepper to taste. 

6) Pour sauce mixture over the pasta, and stir until well-combined. 

7) Optional: Add 1/2 jar of your favourite red sauce to the pasta and mix until well combined. 

8) Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of pasta. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 min. 

[kosherfood-blog]

The Easiest Dessert you will Ever Make: Rice Krispie Treats

A  good friend of mine asked for a quick and easy dessert recipe he could make in a dorm room kitchen, so here we go! You can use essentially any cereal in this recipe (I used Cocoa Krispies) and it will turn out just fine.

Ingredients: 

1 large (about16oz) container of marshmallow fluff 

1 box of your favourite cereal 

Directions: 

1) Microwave marshmallow fluff for approximately 1-2 min (depending on your particular microwave) until it softens to the consistency of cake batter. (Be careful-- marshmallow products have a tendency to expand in the microwave!

2) Pour melted marshmallow fluff into 9x12 pan. 

3) Add box of cereal to pan. 

4) Stir until well combined. 

Like I said-- easiest dessert ever, and pareve to beat! Enjoy! 

[kosherfood-blog]

Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Co. NYC-- Pareve Perfection

After a long week of catching up on work post-Pesach and spring break, a few friends and I decided that the time was ripe for a Sunday evening ice cream adventure. We were going to go to a local OU-approved fro-yo joint close to school, but a few of us were fleish-- what were we to do?

Not content to settle for a frozen confection-less gathering, I ran up to Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Co. in Union Square to pick up a few quarts of gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, certified pareve "soft serve fruit." 

Chloe's big sell is that their soft serve contains only three ingredients: "fruit, water, and a touch of organic cane sugar," according to their website. If you go into the store, you can purchase individual servings and add additional toppings. As we planned to be fabringing way into the night, I picked up a quart each to go of chocolate, blood orange, and strawberry for our group of 10 (About $35 in total).

The general consensus among the group was that the chocolate was by far the best, although we are still unsure what "fruit" comprises the main ingredient. My personal favorite was the blood orange, due to it's sweet yet tart flavour and overall consistency. 

Bottom line: If you're looking for a pareve and healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth or an easy addition to your next social gathering, look no further than Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Co.

[kosherfood-blog]

Kosher and Vegan Oh My! -- It's ... Potato Salad? Coleslaw? Edition

Kosher vegan cooking challenge adventure part two. This dish is incredibly easy, and so delicious that I had to take it to the friend's house where the shabbat lunch I'm attending is being served so that I wouldn't eat it all!

Here's what you need:

2 lbs golden yukon (or preferred kind of) potatoes 

1/2 cup Olive oil

1/2 red onion

a few cloves of garlic 

1 lb cooking greens (I used a mix of mustard, turnip, collard, and spinach greens from Trader Joe's)

1 can (standard 15 oz) sauerkraut  

Honey Mustard dressing to taste (I used approx 1/2 cup) 

Instructions:

Boil potatoes in water for approx 15-20 minutes until cooked all the way through. Cut into quarters (or smaller, depending on the size of potato you're using) and add to a big glass serving bowl (More ingredients will be mixed into this bowl later).

Once you've removed the potatoes from the pot, add approx 1/2 cup olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic.

 Add the greens and saurkraut, cooking and mixing constantly until greens are wilted. 

Once the greens and saurkraut are cooked, add everything to the pot with the potatoes. Mix well, and add honey mustard dressing to taste. 

Nutrition Facts

Serves 12 as a side dish; per serving:

Calories: 233

Fat: 13 g

Sodium: 84 g

Potassium: 418 mg

Carbs:  22 g

Protein: 2.4 g

Fiber: 2.3 g

Vitimin A: 27%

Vitimin C: 44%

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

[kosherfood-blog]

Kosher and Vegan Oh My! -- Pumpkin Chai Cupcakes

This shabbat, I'm going vegan-- well, sort of.

I've been an on-and-off vegetarian for most of my life, so I felt bad when one of my friends mentioned a guest of hers was attending that was a vegan. I decided to adapt a few recipes and give em a whirl! 

Here's my healthier, vegan, kosher, and deliciously modified version of a recipe I found here. 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

3 cups flour

1 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 can (15 oz.) pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup applesauce

2 Tbsp flaxseed + 4 Tbsp water 

1/2 cup brewed chai tea (as strong as you can make it!) 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

1/2 lb. (1/2 box) confectioners sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

4-5 tablespoons of that same cup o' tea

a dash of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg (to your personal tastes, really)

(If you want more than just a swirl of frosting per cupcake, add more sugar / tea.)

  Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a cupcake/muffin pan with oil of choice. 

Mix together the the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin, applesauce, water, flaxseed, chai tea concentrate, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low until smooth.

Divide the batter into the cupcake liners filling each one half way.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cupcakes spring back to the touch.

Allow to cool before frosting.

To Frost:

Pour the Confectioner's sugar into a medium sized glass bowl; add spices as desired.

Slowly add the chai tea concentrate, a tablespoon or two at a time, and mix until smooth and creamy. If you get it too thin, just add some more powdered sugar!  

Frost the cupcakes as desired.

Nutritional Facts:

(Approximate; calculated using this handy tool) 

Per Iced Cupcake 

Calories: 215

Fat: 1.0 g

Sodium: 405.2 g

Potassium: 176 g

Fiber: 1.8 g

Sugar: 22.6 g

Protein: 3.8 g

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

[kosherfood-blog]

Thai Treat, Miami -- Sushi Done Right

I spent this past week in sunny Miami, Florida with a few of my closest girlfriends. Our last night in the city, we decided to try out Thai Treat , a nice little asian fusion place recommended by a friend as "the best place for kosher sushi... ever!"

The prices were reasonable, the atmosphere was nice but not too stuffy. I had the 123rd street roll -- a delicious (and huge!) combination of tuna, avocado, salmon, cucumber, spicy mayo, and crispy noodles that is sure to satisfy. After some perfectly warm naan (an indian flatbread that tastes essentially like a pita), I tried their pad se eew, a chinese rice noodle dish that I'm a big fan of in general. It's not a complicated dish flavor-wise, at least at this place, but it was satisfying and filling. For dessert, I had their coconut sorbet, which impressively creamy for a pareve sorbet, and a perfect way to round off the meal. 

Bottom line: If you're in Miami, stop by Thai Treat for a wonderful sushi experience.