Bake the squash in the oven for at least an hour or until tender. Cut it in half. Take out the seeds. Scoop pieces of the squash to mix with the stuffing (I didn’t do this, but I wish I did). Saute the onion until translucent. Add chopped mushroom and celery; continue cooking until soft. Mix in matza, thyme and bits of squash. Stuff it in the squash. At this point, you can bake it in the oven. However, what I did was put it on the warming tray for 3 hours. Serves two.
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In other news, please enjoy this week’s edition of Haveil Havalim, brought to you by the Real Shaliach. Mother in Israel will be hosting the Kosher Cooking Carnival on her blog this coming Wednesday, April 22. That is why I am taking out the time late on Sunday night to type all this up instead of relaxing downstairs with my husband. When I hit Publish, that’s where I am headed. Have a good night!
Jew Wishes: Potato Pancakes
(you can probably leave out the baking powder on Pesach, or you can buy special for Pesach baking powder)
Mrs. S: Potato Kugel
Mother in Israel: Potato Kugel Secrets
Do you know that you can make blintzes/crepes on Pesach? Mix potato starch, eggs and water (or milk, but I can’t tolerate milk, so I don’t use it). I can’t tell you the exact amounts, so you will have to experiment. You can fill with potatoes, cheese, potatoes and cheese, sauteed vegetables, fruit, whatever you would ordinarily put in a blintz. My kids love these.
For this sauteed mushroom salad, I used two kinds of mushrooms: baby bella and shiitake. You can choose any two types that are available to you. Shiitake mushrooms in particular have healing properties.
Ingredients:
2 boxes of mushrooms, 2 different types (shiitake and baby bella, for example)
1 tsp. olive oil
lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 head of bok choy, chopped (optional – you can substitute other greens)
Sauté the mushrooms in the olive oil for about 15 minutes and until the juices of the mushrooms begin to flow. Add bok choy or other greens (chopped kale, chopped collards, parsley or cabbage are all possibilities to try). Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook until the bok choy softens. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I rewrote the recipe for tekka such that the only required ingredient is ginger root. For every other ingredient, a possible substitute is given (or you can just opt out of that ingredient). However, if you do not include cabbage, you probably can’t call it a “slaw.”
1 orange: use juice and grated rind (or substitute another citrus fruit, but if you use a lemon, you may want to add something to sweeten the recipe)
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water (optional, but it does add a lot to the flavor)
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order: onion, carrot and/or parsnip, cabbages.
Squeeze juice from the orange over the vegetables. Add the ginger.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for about 15 minutes.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the orange rind and stir gently.
This is nice warm, but I can easily gobble it up at room temperature, too. Great flavor.
Here are some ideas on how to bake hamantaschen, the delicious pastries served on the upcoming holiday of Purim. These three-cornered baked goods can be filled with sweets, jam, prune, chocolate chips or even savories like spinach. Hamantaschen are Eastern European in origin; Jews of Sephardic origin (originally from Spain) make Orejas de Haman, (Oznei Haman in Hebrew) or Haman’s ears. Hamantaschen are supposed to resemble Haman’s hat (he was the bad guy in the Book of Esther).
Quinoa Bread with Oatmeal, camera color setting = neutral
I made two loaves of Mimi’s delicious Quinoa Bread with Oatmeal on Monday. I had fun playing with the different color settings on my camera.
Quinoa Bread with Oatmeal, camera setting = sepiaQuinoa Bread with Oatmeal, camera setting = AutoHappy girl who later eats the bread, camera setting = sepia
Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced burdock
1/2 cup minced lotus root
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 cup spring water
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order, onion, carrot, lotus root and burdock.
Add enough water to cover the vegetables.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for at least 1 hour or until soft.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger and orange rind and stir gently.
Remove from heat and serve over hot brown rice.
Comment from the recipe writer: You could use any of these veggies instead – parsnip, turnip, cabbage or squash – failing that use carrots and onions on their own. The relish changes every time we make it and even more so with different veggies – how splendid and wonderful a few simple adjustments can be!
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Ever make a recipe where you are not sure how the finished result should taste? I made the tekka with sweet onion, parsnip, carrot, and a bit of nappa cabbage. After twenty minutes the vegetables were tender; I didn’t need to wait an hour. Also, “minced” is vague: I grated the parsnip and carrot (both were large) in my food processor. In any case, it was absolutely delicious. It tasted good without the brown rice, a bit like a cole slaw. I have a little left, which I will serve with Shabbat lunch. I wonder how it will taste cold? I’m sure I will enjoy it.
I might buy some burdock seeds, as I can get them for $2.95 for a little packet from Johhny’s Selected Seeds. After I buy a love trap for my neighborhood ground hog. Because I’m not planting dill again until he lives elsewhere.
Newbie asks: What to do about challah on a Friday night (or the lack thereof)?
Some responses:
As for challlah Friday night. I have two thoughts. First is the difference between the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. I think the blessing say thanks for the bread etc. So, I have no problem saying the blessing over a piece of whole grain, or sprouted bread. Extending even further, why not substitute one grain for another. Why just wheat, why not rice. I have said the “ chamotzie” over rice, quinoa, hato mugi etc. many times. The other thought, is that even though challah isn’t remotely macrobiotic, if it makes you feel good, spiritually, physically, or in any other way. Have some. I’ve done that many times too. Macrobiotics is supposed to fit into your life, not the other way around
Klara’s response:
my compromise is I buy a very small unyeasted roll – and even then won’t eat it all – I have a friend who used to make rice kayu bread – which is half flour and half rice – and she would steam it. Steamed bread I was taught was easier to digest.
I was quite surprised by Michael Rossoff’s suggestion that it’s ok for me to have 1 – 2 slices of bread a day – so you see, I wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t go for counseling. As I said, each person had different needs.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced burdock
1/2 cup minced lotus root
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 cup spring water
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order, onion, carrot, lotus root and burdock.
Add enough water to cover the vegetables.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for at least 1 hour or until soft.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger and orange rind and stir gently.
Remove from heat and serve over hot brown rice.
Comment from the recipe writer: You could use any of these veggies instead – parsnip, turnip, cabbage or squash – failing that use carrots and onions on their own. The relish changes every time we make it and even more so with different veggies – how splendid and wonderful a few simple adjustments can be!
(Comment from me: I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ll print it and put it in my recipe book to try soon).
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Note: I only follow a bit of the macrobiotic diet myself, in that I try to eat many vegetables, brown rice and beans. Thus my title of “pick n choose”: perhaps you can find a part of the diet to adopt?
Another Note: if you just pick and choose a little of the diet, you aren’t going to experience its healing effects. However, many of us like to put a toe into a pool before diving in…
Ratatouille, a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish
Ilana-Davita has hosted her first Kosher Cooking Carnival, and she named it the “Green Edition” because it is mostly meatless recipes and because it is almost Tu B’Shevat, the holiday of the trees. I thank her for including my matzo ball recipe and my ratatouille.
Looks like Tu B’Shevat will occur this year on Monday, February 9th. Maybe I’ll do a little collage of tree photos in honor of the day. It was always strange to me, growing up in snowy cold New England, that one celebrating the planting of trees in February. But Israel has a much different schedule than here, so I suppose February is a good time there to plant a tree!
Speaking of matzo balls, my middle son (he’s twelve) made the matzo balls on Friday. I dictated the recipe to him by heart, as I was rushing off to take a shower about an hour before Shabbat. When he asked “how much oil,” I yelled, “some.” The matzo balls came out absolutely delicious. When I asked him how he did it, he claimed he “worked the balls a lot.” Which is sort of the opposite of conventional wisdom on how to make a good matzo ball. He also made a “chocolate chip pie” using a muffin recipe cooked in a round pie tin. That got devoured, too. And I had enough time to make my cole slaw with red and green cabbages, brussel sprouts and garlic spread.
Here are some 
Batya has “cooked up” a delicious 
