Kosher Blog

Kosher on the Cheap: Week One, Day 2

Lunch was a cheap rehash of a favorite Friday Night dish, The Kosher Pallette’s “Salmon-Tuna Twists.”

The original recipe, which yields 3 dozen twists:

• 1 (3 oz.) can of drained tuna
• 1 (3 oz.) can of drained salmon
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish, drained
• pepper
• 1 (17.3 oz.) package frozen puff pastry, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 400oF.
2. Combine tuna, salmon, mayonnaise, onion, garlic, lemon juice, horseradish and pepper in the container of a large food processor fitted with knife blade. Process until smooth.
3. Roll pastry on a lightly flowered surface. Spread tuna mixture over dough.
4. Cut into 2½ x 1½ inch rectangles. Fold top left corner of rectangle into center; fold bottom right corner of rectangle into center. Place on baking sheets.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. (Dough may puff open a little.)

Instead of preparing the fish salad in puff pastry, I usually serve if with whole wheat crackers and yesterday’s cucumber salad.

The version I had for lunch:

• 1 (3 oz.) can of drained tuna
• just enough mayonnaise to coat the tuna
• garlic powder to taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon of my generous roommate’s horseradish sauce
• pepper to taste

1. Combine ingredients in the bowl you plan to eat lunch out of.
2. Serve with whole wheat matzah and eliminate the need to wash an extra utensil.

Don’t skimp on the lemon juice. It’s flavor is what separates this dish from your regular ho-hum can of tuna.

Dinner was a yummy tomato vegetable soup prepared al yadei my old roommate. Here’s a frugal variant:

• one can of Campbell’s vegetarian vegetable soup
• vegetables in the back of your fridge that are about to go bad but not quite there yet
• salt and pepper to taste

I’ll bet sheqalim to sufganiot that you can figure out the rest.

Enjoy!

Coffee Shop Kashrus

For me, collapsing in bed past midnight and hauling myself out of bed before daybreak is pretty much par for the course. Long time fans may remember the Hillel mass emails that I?d send out at a bright-eyed and bushytailed 4:30am. Needless to say, caffeine?s more or less replaced at least two of the four food groups in my diet. Bad for my formerly pearly whites but fabulous for Starbucks

Coffee is one of the few beverages (and by few I mean the only one besides water and certain alcohols) that, if you do it right, doesn?t require a hekhsher. Just follow the Star-K?s guidelines when shmoozing up your barista:

• All unflavored, roasted coffees (both regular and decaffeinated) may be purchased in a disposable cup. Sugar may be added. Milk (not creamer) may be added for those not maqpid (stringent) on (cholov Yisroel
• Creamers and flavors may be added separately (i.e., mixed in by hand and not added/stirred in via a machine) after the consumer verifies that the label on the original container bears reliable certification.
• Frapuccino, whipped toppings and other beverages are not recommended since they are made in carafes/pump pots that are not exclusively used for kosher beverages.
• Only packaged food items bearing reliable certification may be purchased.
• Starbucks bottled beverages bearking a “KD” are certified kosher, dairy, chalav stam (i.e. not cholov Yisroel) by Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (Yeshiva Univeristy?s semikha program, which has schooled more ex-boyfriends than I care to admit).

Bonus blogosphere tie-in: Rabbi Charlop?s right-hand man in micromanaging RIETS is Rabbi Chaim Bronstein, whose oldest son Avraham is one of the most well-reputed Jewish bloggers of our time. Of course, by “our time” I mean the past 18 months. I know Avraham, Avraham knows his father, his father knows Rabbi Charlop, Rabbi Charlop deals with Starbucks recipe and production departments in administering their bottled beverages’ hashgachah and the recipe and production departments must have a solid working relationship with Starbucks CEO and MOT Howard Schultz.

I smell a shiddukh! Oh no wait, it?s just spilled espresso.

Kosher on the Cheap: Week 1, Day 1

Having already polished off the aforementioned bag of Double Stuf Oreos (2,100 calories and 105 grams of fat, can you say “Heellllloo control top tights?”) it’s not surprising that I wasn’t too hungry when lunchtime rolled around. Realizing that I’d need energy to get me through today’s move but feeling too lazy to put in a real effort, I decided that eggs were the way to go.

Lunch: Two-egg tomato and mushroom omelet, cucumber dill salad

If I’d had a dairy frying pan available (all my worldly goods are packed safely away to be shuttled two blocks west) I’d probably have mixed a bit of yogurt in with the eggs and then scrambled the mixture sans vegetables for a light, fluffy entrée. To go all-out country club, stir some orange juice into your old Kedem champagne for a twist on the mimosa.

The cucumber salad is a cinch to make and always a crowd pleaser. Combine white wine vinegar with vegetable oil, lemon juice, sugar and a healthy dash of McCormick’s “It’s a dilly: Blend of dill, lemon and seasonings, tailoring the proportions to your personal taste. Pour dressing over paper-thin slices of cucumber, mix, and you’re good to go. This dish tastes best when left overnight to marinate, allowing the cucumbers to soak in some of the dressing. Ideal for tossing together on a rushed Thursday evening, to serve with either of your Shabbos meals.

You’ll note many of the dressing’s ingredients — vinegar, oil, sugar and dill-blend spice — didn’t appear on yesterday’s grocery list. I’ve decided to permit myself use of pre-owned kitchen staples (spices, oils, some instant rice, tuna and the oddball potato) during my exercise in frugality.

Come dinner time, I opted to commit the Kosher pauper’s greatest faux pas: Eating out.

Kosher on the Cheap: Week 1

Just got back from the bodega (Spanish grocery store), where $20.64 snagged me:

-one box of whole wheat matzos
-one dozen eggs
-227 oz. of mushrooms
-five kiwis
-four apples
-four tomatoes
-four cucumbers
-six heads of garlic
-two cans of Campbell’s vegetarian vegetable soup
-one 16 oz. can of baked beans
-one 9 oz. can of sweet potatoes
-one 4.5 oz. can of lemon juice
-one bag of Double Stuf Oreos (couldn’t resist)

Not bad for a neighborhood where there’s absolutely no competition between grocers.

Look for the first “Kosher on the Cheap” meal tomorrow afternoon. Can you feel the burn, baby? You know I can.

Edited to add, “I used most of my remaining $3.36 to buy some plain vanilla yogurt. We’ll see what comes of it.” Feb. 17, 3:42pm

Abbetts agree on Abigael’s

Like ColumbiaAuds mentioned below, we’re in New York City for Danny and Devora’s wedding. Given our schedules, we weren’t able to sample the city’s many Kosher options until last night, when we hit Abigael’s on Broadway. Sarah and I have been there before, so the true test was from my parents, who haven’t always enjoyed the Boston Kosher experience. To Abigael’s merit, the service, decor, and food passed the muster of non-Kosher palettes with flying colors.

Run-down of our meals: we started with two soup specials. I had the “Italian Lentil Soup”, made with a mixture of vegetables, orzo, and veal sausage. The women had roasted pepper and potato soup. Both were delicious and served in a creative manner: the soup remained in a small metal cup, presumably to keep it very warm, before being poured, at our table, into large soup bowls.

For entrees, we enjoyed Skirt Steak San Pedro (Dad), Yakatori Tasting plate (Mom), Chicken Rouladen (Sarah), and the Boneless Rib Eye Steak (me). While my Rib Eye was cooked perfectly and delicious, my father’s Skirt Steak was a real treat with much more flavor, an exciting presentation (on a grilled nan-style flatbread with three sauces, and slightly sweet, roasted white potatoes). Mom’s Yakatori platter was from the appetizer menu, since she wanted a smaller portion; it was presented elegantly and offered small tastes of skewered chicken, sausage, and beef. I felt the sausage could have been more intense; it almost seemed like a thick-skinned hot dog. Sarah’s Chicken Rouladen was delicious: a large portion of chicken breast stuffed with a sourdough/sausage mixture, sliced, and served alongside roasted vegetables (all of which could have been a bit warmer). My Rib Eye was probably the simplest of the four meals: topped with caramelized onions (a great touch), and served with steak fries.

My father enjoyed his meal with a Baron Herzog California Merlot, which was soft, fruity and with no detectable aftertaste.

We capped our meal with tea, Glenlivet scotch, and Abigael’s wonderful molten chocolate cake. One cake and four spoons was just enough for each of us, and we were all impressed by the quality of the non-dairy dessert. (I hope to find/engineer a similar pareve cake recipe. Stay tuned.)

What I find most magnificent about Abigael’s is its true maturity in the Kosher world. Chef Jeff Nathan isn’t trying to be “not your grandmother’s” this-or-that. He just creates great food, with a heksher. The elegant ambience and astute service are such that religiously-observant patrons don’t have to make excuses, as in other restaurants, for Kosher, but lesser-quality experiences.

Though the Abbetts have New York’s many other Kosher destinations to explore in the future, we’ll certainly return to Abigael’s again and again.

Cinnabon at Shabbat lunch? Amazing!

As the religious person’s fairy tale often begins, “Last night I was stranded in Kew Garden Hills” — and I discovered the most amazing pre-made (as in, not from a bakery but from a package) babka ever. (Sidenote, I’m somewhat against the spelling “babka” because I always say “bubkie” but I’m not sure how I would feel about purchasing a snack with said title revision… anyway…) From Stern’s brand, this was “baked by 15th Avenue Food Corp, Brooklyn NY 11219, tel 718-633-5850″ — it’s amazing. Tastes like Cinnabon, for all those treyf-ies out there. (Thus my categorization.) Pareve and moist, so many layers… I need to throw out the rest of it so I don’t eat it! (Plus today is Danny’s wedding, where we’ll all be eating for like ten hours straight… oy…)

And you shall affix them to your doorposts…

HebrewNational.com exclusive: your very own Kosher hot dog mezuzah, complete with mustard “shin”. Twenty-five dollars, one size fits all.

Bistro Apple Pizza

This “Bistro Apple Pizza” was a big hit at our little dinner party last night. The recipe comes, with slight modification, courtesy of our friends at Cappiello Cheese, and puts Kirkeby’s Kosher blue cheese to great use.

Note: we were a little pressed for time, so I skipped the sauteed-garlic step and just used some garlic powder. I wouldn’t advise doing so if you have time for fresh garlic, but it works.

BISTRO APPLE PIZZA

2 teaspoons garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups fresh, chopped spinach
1 1/2 cups of apple, cored, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
pizza dough, rolled into a 12″ round

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F, with your pizza stone or tiles inside, for 30 minutes to an hour. Sautee garlic in olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Brush olive oil blend over crust. Distribute spinach evenly over crust. Sprinkle on apples. Blend cheeses together and sprinkle evenly over apples. Sprinkle on oregano. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese and crust are browned.

Serves 4

Kosher On The Cheap

As part of my never ending quest to turn this ghetto-fabulous life of mine into award winning blog content, next week I’ll be launching a new feature-series entitled “Kosher on the Cheap.” The goal is to spend $25- or less on groceries per week but still eat two gourmet-quality meals a day. (If you think I am cooking myself a five-star breakfast when there is Instant Oatmeal close at hand, you are very sorely mistaken.)

Suggestions for the first shopping run, which will take place on Monday bli neder, are welcome below.

home cookin’ in the homeland

Hopefully everyone has already experienced the wide world of eLuna, filled with everything from chesed projects to cookbook reviews and tons of other goodies. Plus, if you’re planning a vacation / to make aliyah / a “business trip” to ha’aretz, you can’t beat eLuna for all the kosher hookups in Israel. Plus you can sign up for their e-newsletter with announcements about auctions, discounts, and other news. B’teavon!