Fall for fresh cranberries this holiday season! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FallforFresh #CollectiveBias. November is the season for Ocean Spray® Fresh Cranberries in the store, as I did at my local Walmart this week, I always buy at least two bags: one to use ...
Halloween Cheesecake Brownies
My family's favorite: cream cheese brownies dressed up for Halloween! Zuzu was all set to go to a Halloween party this weekend - her first high school party -- and it got canceled at the last minute because the host was sick. With tears in her eyes, Zuzu asked if she could have a few friends over to our house to salvage the night. What was ...
No Bake Lentil Energy Bites (Nut and Peanut Free)
No-bake lentil oat energy bites taste like an oatmeal cookie, but are packed with protein, fiber, and vitamins to keep you and your kids going all day! Nut and peanut-free to be allergy-friendly. In case my extra-nutritious banana bread -- high in protein from secret ingredient mashed red lentils -- were not enough to get my teenager to eat ...
Red Lentil Banana Bread
Sweet, moist banana bread with a secret ingredient for added nutrition and protein: mashed red lentils. Four kid taste-testers all loved it! Here is what I have learned recently: Teenagers don't like to eat breakfast. But they do like banana bread. Since she started high school, it has been well near impossible to get Zuzu to eat in the ...
Savory Baked Pumpkin Pastries (Pumpkin Bishak)
Get global inspiration for pumpkin season with these savory baked pumpkin pastries, known as pumpkin bishak -- a specialty of Jews from Central Asia! This fall, I want to introduce you all to some new ways to use pumpkin -- particularly in savory dishes because I think it is easy to use pumpkin in sweets. First, I shared a recipe for ...
Salmon Poke Dip
By posting this recipe for Salmon Poke Dip, I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time. Did you know that October is National Seafood Month? That makes October the perfect time to remember how healthy and ...
Halloween Cocktail: Mr. Howl
An elegant yet spooky cocktail perfect for Friday the 13th and Halloween: The Mr. Howl (based on the classic daiquiri variation, the Mr. Howell.) Are you in the Halloween spirit yet? Does it help that today is Friday the 13th? Halloween food and drinks are not usually my kind of thing. They tend to be long on gimmicks and gross-out humor ...
Apple Cranberry Cheese Blintzes
For autumn Jewish holidays like Sukkot and Simchat Torah, a festive and seasonal meal of traditional cheese blintzes smothered in sautéed apples and dried cranberries. This week marks the end of the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot and also the holiday of Simchat Torah, a celebration of ending one and beginning another annual cycle of ...
Chicken Tinga Pasta
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BarillaFusion #CollectiveBias Today I am rethinking one of my family's favorite recipes: Chicken Tinga. Quick and easy to make, Chicken Tinga is a classic dish of shredded chicken in a tomato and chipotle chile sauce. I usually serve ...
Parmigiano Reggiano Snack Mix
Today's post for an irresistible parmesan snack mix, perfect for fall parties and tailgates, is sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano. I am proud to be a 2017 Parmigiano Reggiano Brand Ambassador. Real Parmigiano Reggiano, imported from Italy, is the only parmesan for me! Fall sports season has arrived! Whether you are hosting super-fans to ...
Chershi Kara’a (Libyan Pumpkin Spread)
Shake up your pumpkin with chershi kara'a, a tangy, spicy pumpkin spread that comes from Libyan Jews and is now a favorite among Israelis. So easy to make! After making pumpkin pie last week, I had approximately three cups of pumpkin purée left over. I debated about what to do with it. Pumpkin bread? Pumpkin pancakes? Pumpkin whoopie pies? ...
How to Make Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Pumpkin
Curious about making pumpkin pie, a fall favorite, with fresh pumpkin instead of canned? It's easy and worth the extra effort! It's October, so we can talk about pumpkin pie, right? I didn't want to jump the gun, but once October hits, I think that all things fall are fair game. Thankfully, the unseasonal heat wave Chicago experienced at the ...
Break the Fast with a Semolina Cake
Break your Yom Kippur fast with basbousa, a simple, elegant semolina cake soaked in a sweet syrup, a tradtional favorite of Egyptian Jews. Yom Kippur begins this Friday at sundown. The most solemn day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur is marked by fasting, prayer and contemplation. At the end of the long day, during which observant Jews ...
Homemade Cranberry Applesauce
Take advantage of the fall harvest by making this ruby-red cranberry applesauce and canning it to enjoy all winter long! Hover over this image to shop the jars I used! Summer may be over, but at least the fall is apple season. Whether you visit an apple orchard to pick your own or stock up on heirloom varieties at a local farmers market, ...
Couscous with Seven Vegetables
A vegetarian entree for Rosh Hashanah and other fall holidays, Couscous with Seven Vegetables is colorful and healthy way to celebrate the harvest and usher in a new year! Seven is an especially lucky number in many cultures, including Judaism. The world was created in seven days. The seventh day is Shabbat. Together, there are seven ...
Pumpkin Challah with Cinnamon Honey Butter
Saffron-colored pumpkin challah with sweet cinnamon honey butter will be the hit of your Rosh Hashanah celebration! Fall is pumpkin season and Rosh Hashanah is a fall holiday. So pumpkin dishes on a Rosh Hashanah menu is a no-brainer. Indeed, pumpkin is a traditional food for Rosh Hashanah, especially among Sephardic Jews, but not only ...
Leek Patties for Rosh Hashanah
Leek patties, or keftes de prasa, are a classic Sephardic holiday dish. This vegetarian version is a perfect appetizer for your Rosh Hashanah table. Keftes de prasa, or leek fritters is one of those dishes that is beloved throughout the Sephardic world, especially Turkey, Greece and Romania, but little known in America, where most Jews are ...
Honey-Glazed Chicken Thighs for Rosh Hashanah
Quick-cooking chicken thighs in a sweet-tart honey and lime juice glaze. Easy enough for a weeknight but special enough for Rosh Hashanah. When planning the menu for your Jewish holiday meal, it's easy just to say "brisket" for the main course and be done with it. My family certainly expects me to serve brisket for Hanukkah...and ...
Roasted Beets and Carrots with Burrata
A striking fall salad of roasted carrots and beets with creamy burrata and hazelnuts. Perfect for entertaining, a light lunch or as part of your Rosh Hashanah celebration. The combination of roasted beets and burrata has got a hold on me and it won't let go. A few days ago, I posted a recipe for roasted beets, blackberries and burrata over ...
Fig Honey Galette
Fresh figs are such a gift! Here I place black and green figs atop a honey-sweetened mascarpone filling and fold them into a flaky galette. Perfect for early fall parties or Rosh Hashanah dinner! Every year, I feel a little giddy when I spy fresh figs in the grocery store because they are such a short-lived, seasonal treat. Did you know that ...
Beets, Burrata & Blackberry Salad for Rosh Hashanah
A beautiful and balanced early fall salad with earthy beets, creamy burrata and tart blackberries over arugula in a honey vinaigrette. Perfect for your Rosh Hashanah table! Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, begins at sundown on September 20. Like many new year celebrations, it is joyous and festive. All over the world, Jews will gather ...
Edamame Succotash
Sweet, crunchy succotash made with late-summer corn and a new twist: edamame instead of lima beans! It's "my supper dish/My succotash wish." Sing it, baby! Summer corn is a short-lived, seasonal treat. So while it lasts, I make the most of it. I never buy fewer than a dozen ears at the farmers market. At $5 a dozen, there is truly no reason ...
Stone Fruit Blueberry Pie
The perfect end-of-summer mashup pie: stone fruit mixed with berries. Don't let summer end without making this! I really love to make pie. My love for making pie probably exceeds my family's love for eating pie. My husband is all about a good fruit dessert, but given a choice between pie and cobbler, he will take the cobbler every time. He ...
Queen’s Jam (Raspberry and Blueberry)
Queen's Jam, a combination of raspberries and blueberries, is a classic Swedish preserve. It is also the perfect way to use the best summer berries. I write a lot about my Jewish heritage and how it influences my cooking. What I perhaps do not mention enough is that I am also part Swedish on my mother's side. My maternal grandmother was the ...
Great British Baking Show Victoria Sandwich
Make a classic British dessert from "The Great British Baking Show:" a Victoria Sandwich! Sponge cake sandwiched around layers of raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream. Do you love "The Great British Baking Show" as much as I do? Talented home bakers creating classic British desserts, expert assessment from the regal Mary Berry and the ...