Making Mole with Ernestina

My friend, Ernestina, invited a few of us over to make Oaxaca-style mole. It's the first time I've made mole as a group activity, but it worked well. The mole recipe had 27 ingredients (not including making stock) and numerous steps. Ernestina (seen in top left) had us seeding and toasting three types of dried chilis (and then setting the browned chili seeds aflame prior to being ground into the sauce)

How did it taste?  Our immediate tastes were amazing with depths and layers of complex flavors. Ernestina, who originally hails from Texas and now lives in Northern California, says it tastes best after it rssts for a few days so th big dinner will be tomorrow night. 

Looking forward to the feast. 

My Spanish Kitchen, Well Actually Just One of Them

Gary and I are on the road again. This time we are combining 10 days in London (son's wedding) with  a wide-ranging itinerary by train, car, boat and bus. Along the way we have been renting apartments with kitchens so I can cook and take advantage of the wonderful, fresh ingredients we have been finding throughout Europe. I am determined to share a lot of that here in the blog, so watch for updates on food and markets from England, France and Spain. More later. 

Plum Good - Roasted Plum Compote Recipe. Sweet, Tart and Very Versatile Direct From My Neighbor's Tree

Roasted Plum Compote over Cake with Ice Cream

Nina gifted us with several bags of tart plums from her tree. I turned the fruit into a simple roasted compote that was delicious on its own or as a topping for cake, ice cream or both.

The quantities in the recipe below are based on how many plums I had left after noshing. Adapt for other amounts as needed. Recipe works well with the other stone fruits. Yield will vary depending on type of fruit and water content. The recipe will work with less than ripe fruit, but you may need to use more sugar. Very ripe fruit will work as well, but be sure to taste to adjust sugar. My plums were small. Larger plums or other stone fruit may require additional baking time.

Roasted Plum Compote 

Serves about 4 as a compote, 6-8 as topping

1 lb. 12 oz. ripe plums
2 Tbs. lemon-flavored olive oil
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste - use less with very sweet fruit, more with very tart)

Heat oven to 400 degree oven. Line rimmed baking tray(s) with parchment paper.

Slice fruit in half, remove pits and cut out any bruised sections. Mix fruit with oil and sugar. Pour out in single layer on tray(s). Bake. When top is browned (about 20 minutes), flip over fruit and stir in juices. Bake another 10-20 minutes until fruit is browned and juices are bubbly and reduced down. Let cool slightly and scrape fruit and juices into bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature as a compote or serve atop cake and or ice cream as a topping.

A Kitchen in London

Gary and I are in London for a month enjoying the international restaurants, food,stalls, street markets, and famed eating spots, but what we really like (some of the time) is coming home to our apartment rental and cooking dinner.

The stores and supermarkets here don't have some of the range of produce I'm used to but they have a lot, usually impeccably fresh and beautiful.  The markets are also full of intriguing local and international groceries and the dairy, oh, my goodness, the dairy, it's wonderful.  There is one whole refrigerator filled with varieties of clotted cream, marscopone and creme friache (full or low fat, French or English style).

Pictured above is a whole eggplant (aubergine), cut in half and scooped out.  The eggplant boats (shells) were partially baked then filled with a sautéed mixture of ground beef (mince) and chopped onions, garlic, bell pepper (capsicums) and eggplant innards. The mix was seasoned with cinnamon, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and sautéed in olive oil. The eggplant was baked until the top was browned and the eggplant shells cooked through. It was topped with hummus and chopped cilantro (coriander). I served it with couscous, a vacation standby since it is so versatile and quick cooking and can be made without a pot.

Cooking at a vacation rental can be tricky from lack of ingriendents and or equipment, but I like to treat it as my personal reality show and see how creative I can get with minimal effort. This dinner was a winner on both counts.

From Knish to Cheesesteak and Back Again. A Story of Diners, Delis and the Opposite of Dives

Well, this report has been a few months coming, but I'm finally taking a few minutes (when I'm off on another adventure, of course) to report on what Gary and I did on our Thanksgiving vacation.  (Note:  due to the limitations of Blogger aps and ipad interfaces I can't easily add the links to this report. I'll update with those as soon as I can. In the meantime, Google, bing or any other search engine should be able to find what you need. Nothing esoteric here. You can blame Blogger for the mishmash of fonts and odd photo handling as well.  Blogger doesn't seem to do mobile well.)

We spent two weeks on the East Coast, obsteniosuly to visit friends and celebrate Thanksgiving with family, but It was also about eating delicious things, seeing sights and riding public transit.  Below are some highlights. Watch for more analytical and recipe filled posts on some of the dishes and experiences I had.

Gary and I first flew into JFK and took the AirTrain and two subway trains to our hotel by Lincoln Center.   It was a fine hotel, especially since we picked it blind off Hotwire.  Great neighborhood with lots of nearby restaurants on 9th and 10th avenues (Hell's Kitchen) to choose from for reasonably priced ethnic food.  Our first night we had Turkish tapas (that's what the resto called what I'd call a mezze platter).

Next day we headed to my people's version of the Old Country -- the Lower East Side.  We had a late breakfast of Yonah Schimmel's knishes, a full afternoon of tours at the LES Tenament Musuem, and a late lunch of a Katz's pastrami sandwich which was big enough to share.  Yes, Katz's still has that sign posted about sending a salami to someone in the Army.  They also have a sign over the both where Harry Met Sally filmed the "I'll have what she's having" scene.

We also checked out the Essex Market and Russ and Daughters, but we were full, so we only looked and didn't taste.

Next up was the taping of the 13th to last Colbert Report ever with special guest Jon Stewart.  Between Steven Colbert and Stewart we couldn't stop screaming and laughing, although part of that might have been sheer terror the staff would do something to us if we didn't respond BIG.  (At least four staffers had us practice our screams, yells, claps and laughs before the show started.). They need not have worried, we the audience were so psyched on our own and so entertained we would have shouted ourselves hoarse without the pre-show encouragement. 

Dinner that night was back in Hell's Kitchen for more ethnic food, this time empanadas at Empanada Mama, open 24 hours for all your meat and veggie stuffed pastry needs.

The next day we headed to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  It was moving, affecting and extremely effective at making the stories of victims and their families come alive.  A somber but necessary high spot of our visit.

Dinner that night was with friends at the vegetarian Candle 79.  The company was great, the food tasty as well as beautifully presented and it's quiet white tablecloth ambiance  perfect for catching up with old friends.  Afterwards we took in as light but fun Broaway musical -- Honeymoon in Vegas.

Next up was a subway ride to Penn Station, a short jaunt on NJ Transit and AirTrain to Newark Airport to rent a car for a visit to friends in Philly.  Highlights included Independence Hall, the Barnes Collection, a great tapas meal with some college friends and lots opportunity to visit with other dear friends who also hosted us.

Of course and we had a cheesesteak, which we split.  I've eaten the classic Pat and Geno cheesesteaks before, so I was willing to try something new, Sonny's. It was good, but surprisingly NOT that much better than my local cheesesteak shop.

Then it was off to Long Island where my sisters made a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner and I got a chance to eat in a number of diners where I had my old standby soup and tuna melts. (Until they bring back automats, diners are my fave retro food destinations.)

A few days later we wrapped up our trip by returning our car at John F Kennedy airport and taking public transit to NYC.  We stayed at the Hyatt Herald Square, this time a Priceline find.  We ate breakfast and a few other meals at one of the city's amazing salad bars which was part steam table, part short order cook, part grill and part sandwich shop. 

We walked and walked.  Spent time at the Cloisters, New York's restored middle ages monastery, explored the Met museum, and saw the Tony-winning Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder.  

We also had dinner in the West Village with high school friends of our oldest son.  

Soon enough it was time to roll,our suitcases out and return to JFK for the trip home.

A Confession

It's been too long since I've posted.  I have lots to say, lots to share, a back up of posts written in my head but not typed out, recipes tried, photos that need to be cropped and more, but somehow the link between intent and actually doing something has been broken.

This is made worse by the longer it's been since I've posted.  I keep thinking I have to come back with something super, super special.  Which makes by blogger's block even worse.

I promise you I have been creating and thinking and recording and I will soon get back to sharing. (Maybe even later today).  But first off I needed to confess.

Low-Hanging Fruit --- Backyard Plums, Over-The-Fence Loquats and a Plum Clafoutis Recipe

Our neighbor's loquats

I cook, I don't garden.  I know with some bloggers you get a kind of two for one.  Not here, you don't.  To be honest, this column is about our accidental fruit.

We don't really do anything for the plums, they just grow and drop. The plums are about the size and color of a cherry tomato and they are sweet-tart. They are too small to do too much with so we occasionally snack on them, but usually they feed the birds. What I really love about them is the early Spring blooms, pale pink and white and just lovely.

The loquat branches drop over our side fence. The loquats taste like an apricot crossed with a lychee with a firmer texture and a slightly astringent skin. There is not a lot of flesh on each fruit.  Inside are two large seeds.  We don't get too many of these, since after all the tree is on the other side of the fence.

Unlike the plums, they are freestones so they are easier to eat or use in recipes.  The fruit bruises easily and you rarely see it commercially available.  I've had a great loquat vinegar (by Lulu, I think), other than that I don't know of any processed foods using them.

I have a soft spot for loquats because my sons attended a preschool with a loquat tree in the yard and they would come home splattered with loquat juice thrilled by the experience of picking and eating them.

Backyard plums swaying in breeze

If you are not fussy about pitting them, the plums would work well in a clafoutis,  just warn folks to watch for pits. Try this recipe, which is egg and dairy free, and which first appeared in the j weekly.  If you have small,  hard to pit plums like the ones at left, leave them whole and warn eaters to be aware.

The clafoutis (pronounced without the final s) recipe is very adaptable and can be made with any other fruit.  I frequently use cherries (easiest if you skip the pitting) or berries.

It's a nice brunch dish or dessert on it's own or try serving it with ice cream and or whipped cream (vegan or not).

Plum Clafoutis

Serves 6

2 Tbs. oil, plus extra for greasing pan

1 lb. fresh Italian prune plums or other small, sweet plums (about 20)

1 cup flour

3 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup unflavored, unsweetened almond milk

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8” x 12” baking pan. Halve and pit the prunes and place evenly, cut side up, on bottom of prepared baking pan.

Stir together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. In large bowl mix eggs, almond milk, almond extract and vanilla extract until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg one, whisking well until very smooth. Pour over plums. Bake for 50-60 minutes until firm and golden.  Let cool slightly before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Dinner for One -- A Confession, a Plan, and a Meal

I have a confession to make. As much as I love food I find I like to cook for an audience. Friends, family, and readers of my cooking columns (kind of a virtual audience) all count.  So when I am alone for extended periods of time (and not on deadline for creating recipes) I actually find it hard to make a real meal for myself.  Oh, I'll defrost leftovers, pour a bowl of cereal, heat a frozen ethnic meal, but it's nothing I look forward to (and usually it's not the best option in terms of calories, salt and or fat).

My lack of decent meals mirrors my issues of establishing some healthy routines while my husband (my best audience) is traveling for months with one of our sons. Today I had a kind of epiphany, I could plan and share some meals for one on Blog Appetit and begin to bring some expectations and planning into my life leading to more routine and better-for-me food.

So tonight's meal for one was pasta with steamed green beans tossed with prepared pesto (I like refrigerated bolani brand with lots of garlic and no cheese). I also have some strawberries for dessert later tonight.  If I need something more I'll add a dollop of yogurt. It feels good to be gaining some control over my evening meals. Next up getting to exercise class.  Watch for posts with suggestions and recipes for dinners for one.  

First post from new iPad and a Rhapsody over a Pear Almond tart

Truth be told, I was never happy trying to post from my iPhone, so here's hoping publishing from the tablet will work better. Photo is of a delicious pear tart my friend Judy Glick served us the other night.  The crust includes lemon peel and orange water, the filling was almond and it was superb.   Pear and almond together in desserts is a favorite combo for me and this tart sets the standard!

Update -- It worked well, better than the iPhone version I tried.  I was able to insert the photo where I wanted but not able to center and size it.  I was able to come back and edit the post and add labels (although I had to remember the exact name of the category).  All in all it will be great for travel but nothing beats the combo of blogger and desktop for now.

A Life Well Lived Inspires Falafel "Pizza



A tray of Falafel "Pizza" straight from the oven

For many years my husband and I worked with a man who was larger than life with a gusto for food, travel, people, design and a passion for creativity.  He also had a talent for looking at a person and seeing unexplored talents, particularly his employees, and giving them the trust, resources and space to grow.

Unfortunately, he passed away at a way too young age recently.  His memorial service was held at  his favorite local Mid-Eastern restaurant.  There were shared stories and lots of delicious appetizers that were said to be ones he was particularly fond of.

By the time we left, we were stuffed with good memories and the restaurant's tasty food.  One dish in particular stood out, a kind of "pizza" made with a crust of ground chickpeas and herbs. The menu called it a safeeha (sometimes spelled sfiha) which is a popular Arab and Lebanese  open-faced pie, usually topped with meat and having a more traditional bread crust.  These were vegetarian and used a falafel-like crust.  I knew I needed to recreate and adapt this.  In some ways I felt my friend was inspiring me still.

The result of this experience is the recipe below.  You can vary the toppings to your taste.  Try replacing the feta cheese with hummus and or tahini for a vegan version. 

Using falafel mix makes the Falafel “Pizza” an easy weeknight treat.  Falafel mix is available in boxes or by bulk in specialty and Middle Eastern stores and in some larger supermarkets.  Mixes vary so adjustments to yield and topping amounts may be needed.  Spicing also varies.  The mix I used was very spicy and needed no additional seasoning.  To test your mix, fry a tablespoon of batter before forming crust and taste.  If needed, add in cayenne pepper, salt, or other seasonings to taste.

Falafel “Pizza”
Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as an appetizer

Oil spray
12 oz. falafel mix
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. chopped parsley
3/4 cup cold water (see note below)
2 cups diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp. dried mint
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions (white and light green parts)
2 cups crumbled feta cheese (about 8 oz.)
2 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 11”x15” baking tray. Combine falafel mix with 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Stir in water. Let sit 30 minutes until water is absorbed and mix holds shape. Spread falafel mixture about 1/4" thick into a rectangle that’s about 10”x12”. Use a knife to score into 8 sections (for a main course serving) or 16 sections (for appetizers). Lightly spray oil on top. Bake 10 minutes until falafel crust is firm and slightly browned. Remove from oven and slide spatula under crust to loosen.

Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. Toss drained tomatoes with mint, oregano and black pepper. Scatter tomatoes, green onion and feta on top of crust. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake 10 minutes until heated through and cheese is lightly browned. Garnish with remaining parsley. Cut along scored lines and serve.

Note:  Mixes differ. Refer to directions on package for making patties and adjust water as directed.

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This recipe appeared in a different context in the j weekly.

Son Takes Granola & Goes, Leaves Parents in Empty Nest

Our youngest, once known as the Future Pastry Chef and the Future Architect and now known as the Future Technical Theater Arts Graduate, made a brief touchdown at Chez Blog Appetit recently after his return from his DisneyWorld college internship.

Before leaving to be a junior at University of California-Santa Cruz, Noah had time to sleep, visit friends, rent a house, get a job and watch a lot of television and make himself useful around the house (mowing the lawn, taking out the garbage, etc.).  He also made his own version of his dad's  tasty granola recipe.  He included dried mango, more sweetener and less nuts in his granola. He took the whole bag with him to his new digs, so I didn't get a chance to sample it, but I bet it was delicious. 

I hope he'll share with his roommates, but you can see from the photo above, he already has his granola stash labeled, so maybe not.

Here's Gary's Granola recipe in case you'd like to make your own customized batch.

Happy 25th of Elul! Celebrate the First Day of Creation with My Ground Beef, Kale, Olives, Raisins & Almonds Recipe

One of the unexpected bonuses of doing so much writing about Jewish food and the association between food and observance in the religion is that I learn so much about Judaism.

I had a fairly secular upbringing (although my grandmother kept kosher, fed a pushke and pooh-poohed the evil spirits) and I did not receive much of a formal Jewish education.  I did go to some youth services and belonged to the synagogue youth group, went to high holiday services with my father and was raised in a Jewish state of mind (well, a Brooklyn-Jewish-Flatbush-Long Island-Ashkenazi state of mind.  Oh, and did I ever mention my rabbi was comedian Jackie Mason's brother?)

But I digress, my main point here is that researching the recipes and foods associated with Jewish traditions has not just broadened my waist line (I wish that was a joke) but my knowledge about Judaism. 

The celebration of the 25th of Elul (a date in the Jewish lunar calendar) is a good example of this process.

I was looking for something to base one of my recipe columns in the j. weekly on and was searching for a topic other than the impending Jewish New Year celebration.  I looked on the the Jewish calendar and saw it was the month of Elul.  After a little sleuthing about Elul (okay I checked Wikipedia and the Chabad site), I found out that the 25th of Elul (this year that's the 12th of September) is considered the first day of Creation.

Wow. 
No idea.

I always figured  the first day of the New Year (Rosh Hashanah - which starts the evening of September 16th this year) had that honor.   Wrong.  Definitely didn't attend youth services during Elul.  I might have learned the first day of Rosh Hashanah is the day man was created, the sixth day of creation.  But the start, the start was the 25th of Elul.

I got a (big) bang out of that.

If you are wondering about how food fits into this all, I'm getting to that.

Turns out the religious authorities advise us to celebrate the day by having a nice meal, in fact two nice meals – one in the afternoon and one in the evening.   It is considered propitious to consume two meals that day that feature bread and meat. We are also directed to eat something sweet to celebrate the creation and as a wish for a sweet year.

Since there are so many wonderful resources for bread near my home, I rarely bake it, so I didn't have a special bread recipe for the 25th, so be sure to pick up some tender challah or crusty artisan bread to serve with the Ground Beef with Kale, Olives, Raisins and Almonds. The recipe comes together very fast and makes a good dinner for any weeknight, not just the 25th of Elul. It has flavors that remind me of many Sephardic and Cuban dishes.

For something sweet, use your favorite cereal to make my Not-Your-Kid’s Marshmallow Treat Bars. You can see the recipe here.  (Be sure to use kosher marshmallows and parve cereal if you need to make those subsitutions.)

Ground Beef with Kale, Olives, Raisins and Almonds
Serves 8

2 Tbs. canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 lbs. ground beef (lean or very lean)
6 cups chopped kale, packed
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1-14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
1/2 cup thinly sliced green olives stuffed with pimentos
1/2 cup blanched, silvered almonds
1/2 cup raisins

Heat oil in a very large fry or sauté pan. Sauté onions over medium high heat until beginning to soften and turn brown, add garlic and sauté until just golden. Add salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, red pepper and cinnamon. Stir for a minute and then add beef.

Brown beef, breaking up any clumps (work in batches if your pan is not large enough and combine when all the beef is browned). Add kale. Sauté until kale begins to wilt, add tomato paste and diced tomatoes with liquid, stirring often until beef and vegetables are cooked through. Lower heat to medium. Stir in olives with pimentos, almonds and raisins. Sauté for a few minutes. Taste and correct seasonings if needed. Serve with bread and over cooked rice, couscous, pasta, grains or mashed potatoes if desired.
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The original version of this post appeared in the j weekly.  You can see it here.
About the lack of photo. I apparently didn't take one of the ground beef dish. That happens sometimes. Oh Well.  Photo graphic from Microsoft Office clip art collection, my favorite source of royalty free art.   

A Carrot Cake for Mark -- A Remembrance and A Recipe

Today would be my good friend Mark Rutta’s 59th birthday. Mark passed away from a massive heart attack on April 16th so we won’t get to celebrate this birthday with him or anything else. That’s not the way it was supposed to be. We were supposed to grow old with Mark, cherishing his friendship, support and loyalty, chuckling at his foibles and occasional misadventures, appreciating his help with everything from choosing electronics and troubleshooting sound systems to dropping you off at the airport at 5 a.m. in the morning.

Instead of sharing his favorite carrot cake with him today, we – his sister, partner, family and friends – are still processing his death. This is not how it was supposed to be.

I wanted to write this post after his death and found I couldn’t. I wanted to write it after his memorial service and found I couldn’t and even now this post isn’t going how I planned. That was kind of the way it was with Mark, being with him was a journey that you’d never quite knew where you’d end up, but you knew he’d be there alongside you.

Mostly I am still angry that he is gone. I think many of us are. Mark met my husband, Gary, in college, and later they were roommates. He was one of the best men at our wedding. We’d call him to join us for dinner when I made too much or something special we wanted to share. He loved to hold our babies, never minding if they cried. He wouldn’t pass the screaming infant back to us; he just figured the child needed to cry and that was part of the experience of holding him. He babysat for my toddler son so we could go to Lamaze classes before the birth of my younger one. He was a beaming uncle as they grew up, taking time to really get to know each one. He was there for us during the good times and the bad no matter what else was happening in his life.

I like to think we were there for him, giving him support, guidance, love and friendship, but I don’t think we could ever accept him as unconditionally as he accepted us. That was really a gift. He was never critical, never impatient, never judgmental. How we are and how we wanted to be were one in the same to him. Knowing Mark made me a better person because, well, because that’s how he saw me.

I – we – feel so cheated that he left us just when he had found in Karen a life partner and when we felt we had years to have Mark’s companionship and love to savor. Mark died during a bike ride, a sport he dearly loved. Some sought to ease our souls by remarking that at least he died doing something that he loved, but, too me, that was scant comfort. Art, another ex-roommate, close friend and the other best man at our wedding, put it best at the memorial service.

“I rather Mark lived a long live and died doing something he hated,” Art said. “That way we’d still have him in our lives.”

Part of me still can’t believe I can’t invite Mark to dinner or see if he wants to go to a movie or concert or just call him up to talk. Every time I walk on the street where he used to work, see his photo or have a random memory of him, my eyes still tear up, my throat begins to ache and I feel the loss all over again. I guess I’m still sad. But I’m also so angry. Maybe in time I won’t be sad, won’t be angry, won’t feel cheated, but certain things will always be true. I’ll always love him, value the time we had and miss him.

Happy Birthday Mark. I love you.

About the carrot cake:

Mark didn’t cook many things, but the recipes he made he made well and often. He was famous for his carrot cake and justifiably proud of it. The recipe originated with his sister, Elaine. Mark would make it for his birthday, other’s birthdays, potlucks, office parties, pretty much whenever he felt it was appropriate or requested. It has become the standard all other carrot cakes must meet for quite a number of people. The recipe was even included on his memorial program.

After he passed, his sister, partner and the friends all agreed we need to make the cake for the reception after the memorial service. I not just volunteered, but pretty much demanded that I be the one to make that cake, but everyone asked me to please lighten it up and make it less sweet. I don’t know if we couldn’t bear to have Mark’s exact carrot cake without Mark or if we had all grown older and our taste buds, waistlines and cholesterol levels had changed and we needed the cake to change with them. Below is my adaptation of Mark’s carrot cake. If you make it, please don’t forget to season it with love, kindness, friendship, loyalty and a smidgen of amused exasperation. And share it with someone special.

A Carrot Cake for Mark
Serves a Lifetime of Friends

To know Mark was to eat his carrot cake. Here is a version of it. The original in his sister Elaine’s handwriting is in the photo below.

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves, optional
1 cup sugar (use 1 1/2 cups for sweeter cake)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup apple sauce
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated carrots
8 oz. can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x12 inch baking pan. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Mix well. Add sugar, oil, apple sauce and eggs. Mix well.

Add carrots, drained crushed pineapple and nuts. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake is firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and serve from the pan if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting

The cake is delicious without this frosting, but Mark traditionally served the cake with it. Be sure the cake is completely cool before frosting. Mark's recipe calls for the full pound of sugar.  I've found the recipe works fine with half that amount.

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. confectioner’s sugar

Have butter and cream cheese at room temperature. Cream together, gradually adding vanilla and sugar until smooth.

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Photo by Mark's friend from the Oakland Yellow Jacket's Club Steve Wedgwood

Gift of Apples II -- Roasted Apple Sauce with Warm Spices and a Childhood Memory



I've written before about the gift of the bag of apples from our friends the Gombergs.  The bounty they shared (it must have been more than 25 pounds) was astounding and I had several reactions.  The first was gratitude. I was so delighted that they thought to give us some. The next was a personal challenge -- how many ways I could I use the fruit and what recipes could I create.  The last and most surprising was the memory the apples stirred.

It is not even a real memory or my own memory. It is a memory of mother's.  She once told me that when I was about two she, dad, my grandparents and I went to an apple orchard in upstate New York.  Supposedly, I lifted up a full bushel of apples and hoisted it in the air. Perhaps I even walked a few steps with it.  There are no photos of me doing this, only this hazy memory from my mom, my memories of her in danger of going wispy around the edges as she left us much too young with her mind and senses slowly fogged by disease and dementia.

In my mind's eye it is a breezy but warm day.  The trees around us are filled with Macintoshes, the favored apple of my New York youth.  A small, dark-haired girl in a short white dress with browned arms and legs is lifting a bushel basket full of the apples up into the air, surprised at the attention the adults she loves are giving her for such a simple thing.  She is only trying to help. The basket, probably almost as big as her, is loosely woven out of thin slats of shaped wood and is worn and well used with bits of scuffed green and red paint in spots. The handles cut into the toddler's pump hands.  She takes a few steps towards the adults. Someone reaches to take the basket from her and she plops down on the ground as the weight suddenly shifts.  Before she can cry or even laugh as the grass tickles her thighs, her mom scoops her up and hands her an apple.

The bag of apples from the Gombergs

I can see it so well, it is like it is a snapshot in my mind but it isn't. It is only a story I heard once from my mother who used it as an example of how strong I was as a baby.   Everyone else in that scene is gone now, there is no way to corroborate or color in more details or correct wrong impressions.  I think I prefer it that way.  The story of being strong, being independent and wanting to help others has become part of my definition of myself.  When I think of my re-imagined memory and feel the swoop of feeling for my mother, young and slim, I remember how in kindergarten,  I used to feel sorry for other kids in my class that they did not have a mother like her.  She made me feel like I was the apple of her eye. 

Roasted Apple Sauce with Warm Spices

Serves 4-6

The apples in this sauce retain their shape and just receive a slight mashing.  If you want a more traditional texture, peel the apples before cooking or put the cooked apples through a ricer or food mill. 

By "warm spices" I mean that to me the spices in this recipe (which were inspired by a gift from the McCormick at BlogHer Food 2010 of jars of McCormick's roasted coriander, ginger, cumin and cinnamon) have an essential warming essence.  To substitute for the McCormick products, pan toast the seasonings in a small, hot, dry fry pan for about 20-30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the aroma is released.

The result of the roasting and spicing is a complex, not too sweet apple sauce that works well as a snack or dessert (topped with yogurt or whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon) or as a side dish for grilled or roasted meats or poultry or even a savory bean stew.

The Gombergs gifted us with apples of the Beverly Hills variety, which have a yellow-green skin and are slightly tart.  Pippins or Gravensteins would make a good substitute.

Oil to grease baking dish
3 lbs. apples, unpeeled and cut into 1"-2" chunks (about 8 cups)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. roasted ground coriander
1/4 tsp. roasted ground cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 10"x14" baking pan, set aside. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the apple cider vinegar, and then mix with the coriander, cumin, ginger and cinnamon.  Place in prepared pan and put in the oven. Bake uncovered for about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.  Cover with aluminum foil, stirring occasionally and bake until the apples are tender (about 1 hour or so more, timing will vary.) Mash lightly.  Taste, add sugar to taste if desired.
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For other recipes featuring the Gombergs' apples see:
Apple and Cranberry Pie with Granola Streusel

For a collection of other recipes featuring apples, click here -- including baked, salads, candied and caramel.

Teaser -- The Temporary Vegan in Las Vegas and More

From omnivore to herbivore with a stop for eating healthy in Sin City I take a gamble and give up all animal products in my diet to gain health, wellness and food justice and lose weight while still eating well. A memoir with menus.  A how-I-did it with recipes.  Watch for part 1 coming to Blog Appetit soon.

Learn how social pressure resulted in one of the best decisions I ever made for my health and about my early mistakes, my search for a meat substitute,snappy comebacks suitable for questioning friends, families and servers and my recipes for vegan mole, posole, Turkish greens, Thai specialties, and much much more.

Latkes Get a College Education

My son, the Theater Arts major (i.e., the youngest), is away at college and couldn't be home for Chanukah.  He asked for a copy of the Shortcut Latkes recipe and made the potato pancakes you see in the photo for him and some friends. (I think in the friend's kitchen, I don't recognize it. And since I don't want to be a helicopter parent I'm not going to tell him about the dangers of having a paper towel so close to the flame or ask him about the general state of that stovetop.)

They look so great and I'm so proud of him, he's never made anything like this before or even attempted any major frying.

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FYI - Did you know that there are 16 recognized spellings in English for the name of the Jewish winter holiday?

According to the BlogCatalog these are: Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Channukah, Chanukka, Hanukka, Hannuka,Hannukkah, Channuka, Xanuka, Hannukka, Channukka, and Chanuqa.

Care and Feeding of Picky Eaters

Erika, of the wonderful In Erika's Kitchen, tweeted today looking for suggestions on how to deal with children who are picky eaters.  I started listing out what worked with my picky eater and before I knew it I had gone from writing a tweet to writing an email to writing a lengthy blog post. 

Consider this a post-in-the-making.  I'm going to add and refine it and maybe add a recipe and photo as I think more about what worked with my two boys growing up. (I had one foodie and one picky eater).

If you have tips or other info to share, please leave a comment.
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Picky eaters can be born or made.
Those who are born that way are probably supertasters (like author and food guru Michael Pollan's kid). That is a whole another issue where what the children taste and smell is so intense that it overwhelms them.

My own picky eater (who at almost 23 is still relatively picky) was made. Unlike some (my mother for instance who was a notoriously picky eater in her childhood since her mother was always pushing food), he didn't become a picky eater from pressure from his parents to eat, but rather from an attempt to shape his own world and control his own life.

Before he was four he ate anything. Recipe after recipe with ingredients like chickpeas, eggplant, spices and other adult favorites is marked with "even the baby liked it." At four that all stopped. Confused we took him to the doctor. The doctor smiled and said: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is your son is very smart. The bad news is that he is manipulating you."

Our son needed a lot of limit setting (which he tested continually) to thrive back then. The doctor felt our oldest was finding a way to express some boundaries and limits of his own by what he would choose to eat. (Our youngest is whatever the opposite of a picky eater, he's open to new foods, and prefers fruits and vegetables to just about anything else.)

Relived our son was healthy we went from the pediatrician's office armed with only this advice: "Don't make him a separate meal."

I began not saucing the pasta so he could eat his plain, scraping the sauce off a piece of chicken before he was served it and looking for ways to make sure he'd eat healthy meals.

Here are some strategies that worked for us:

1. Asking questions. Why do you like this or not like that? It took us a while to figure out it was the texture of cooked vegetables he couldn't handle, but that he would eat and even ask for raw ones. (My non-picky eater stopped eating broccoli and artichokes for awhile. Finally we figured out he only liked the stems of the broccoli and the leaves of the artichokes. We were happy to accommodate his tastes and share with him.) Kids' taste buds are sensitive as well so overwhelmingly bitter foods can be a problem. If there was a low-fat salad dressing, ketchup, yogurt or salsa to dip them in, so much the better. (Watch portion sizes on the salad dressings). Look for similar foods and put them out to try. Mine went from eating raw carrots to nibbling on jicama, for example.

2. Instituting a three servings a day of fruit and vegetables (excluding juice) rule. Sliced bananas with cinnamon, dried fruits, veggies with dips, celery with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese and raisins, apple slices and other "fun" foods helped get the boys to their three a day. Luckily, they also liked green salads. If they accomplished three servings a day they could have a small cookie or small serving of non-fat pudding or other relatively healthy treat after dinner. (That helped keep their treat consumption down as well). Because juice was extra the boys almost always got their 5 servings a day. To be honest, in the beginning the picky eater's choices were very narrow (carrot sticks and fruits) but eventually he widened his list of acceptable foods.

3. Setting a good example. We always have a full fruit bowl that can be used for snacking at any time and the kids always saw us reaching for fruit as a snack.

4. Posting a list of suggestions on the fridge door of healthy snacks or foods. The kids used to love watching me change the "menu" and get excited by the new choices.

5. Offering no thank you portions. Our rule was you had to try new foods at least three times before you could officially say you didn't like it.

6. Making meal time interesting and compelling, not a time of judgement or criticism about the child's eating style or anything else. Conversation, asking questions, sharing, etc. all help. Dinner time was mandatory for my two even as teens. If you didn't feel like eating, you still had to sit with us until we were done.

Wild Animals in South Africa -- World Cup Photo

My guys at the U.S.-England game -- From Left to Right - Seth, Gary, Noah and nephew Asher.

Oven-Fried Chicken & Honey-Mustard Slaw With an Order of Memories on the Side

Long ago, in the life I led before I met and married my husband, I dated a man with whom I'd eat fried chicken (oddly enough I don't remember ever eating true fried chicken with Gary). Our favorite place to indulge was in an Israeli restaurant on the outskirts of Baltimore, which somehow specialized in fried chicken. The details on the restaurant are a bit fuzzy, but not my memory of that chicken. The fried chicken there was truly stupendous, the crust crackly, the chicken tender and juicy. It was Maryland style (dipped in egg, flour and bread crumbs) but Middle Eastern in its seasoning with lots of cumin and hot pepper. It was truly the best fried chicken I've ever had.

One night as we were coming home from the restaurant we put the white cardboard box of leftover chicken in the trunk of the car. I think we put it in the trunk since we knew the smell of the chicken would drive us to distraction if we had the chicken in the main compartment and that we would rip the box open and devour the chicken down to the bone before we got home and there would be no leftovers for lunch the next day.

We drove out of the parking lot and realized we were being followed by a small red car being driven by a tall man with a large red beard. We tried evasive measures, taking odd turns and u-turns, but our pursuer kept up with us and seemed to be intent on ramming our Japanese import with his. This was our turf though, we knew what to do, we drove into the parking lot of the nearest police station, screeched to a halt and began yelling for help. With the help of a friendly policeman we discovered that red beard was convinced we had just made a drug deal at the restaurant and the box of leftover fried chicken in our trunk was the stash we had just scored. Clearly our would-be vigilante was fueled by his own paranoia, but in one sense he was right, that chicken was addictive.

Eventually I moved away from Baltimore, broke up with that boyfriend and eliminated most fried foods from my diet, but I never forgot that chicken, so when I wanted to come up with some good picnic foods to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day on April 20) or just to celebrate Spring, I thought of that chicken. (You can read more about the holiday and see my j. weekly column here.)

My Oven-Fried Chicken adapts the concept a bit, removing the chicken’s skin and oven baking instead of frying. It is good hot from the oven for dinner or room temperature straight from the picnic basket at an outdoor get together. To accompany the chicken, try the Honey-Mustard Slaw with its shreds of crisp cabbage and tangy vinaigrette. Both dishes travel well if you are taking them to a picnic or potluck and the recipes multiply well if you are making them for a crowd.

Oven-Fried Chicken
Serves 4

Oil spray
1 egg
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Dash of hot pepper sauce
¾ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
¾ cup panko (Japanese tempura-style) bread crumbs
3 pounds of chicken breast halves or chicken thighs on the bone, skin removed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking tray with oil spray. Set aside. In a large, shallow bowl large enough to dip a piece of the chicken in, beat the egg with the lemon juice and hot pepper sauce. Mix the flour with the salt, cumin and black pepper and spread on a plate. Spread the bread crumbs on a plate as well. Rinse and dry skinned chicken. Dip one chicken piece at a time in the egg mixture, turning to coat. Shake off excess egg mixture. Dip into flour mixture, turning to coat and shaking off any excess. Place the chicken piece in the bread crumbs and turn to coat, pressing down or patting on if needed to cover with bread crumbs. Set chicken on prepared baking tray with what would have been the skin side up. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. Spray top of chicken pieces with oil spray. Put into oven, spraying the top of the chicken pieces again with the oil spray after about 25 minutes. Bake for about another 25 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. (Note: Timing will depend on thickness of the chicken pieces. Also, dark meat will take longer to cook than white.) Serve hot or at room temperature.

Honey-Mustard Slaw
Serves 6

2 lbs. green cabbage
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs. honey mustard
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Trim cabbage and remove and discard core. Cut or shred cabbage into ¼-inch shreds or slices. Place in large bowl and set aside. Mix oil, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined, pour over cabbage shreds and toss to mix thoroughly.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Sea U II -- A Tale of the Deep Sea, Big Fish, Sisters and a Deconstructed Seared Tuna Cassoulet

In the video, my brother-in-law John looks determined and weary but gleeful. A 260-pound big-eye tuna was on the other end of his fishing rod line. For two hours or so he and the fish had battled until they were both were exhausted. When John and his buddies were finally able to haul the creature through the fish door of his boat, the tuna was so spent that it lay on the deck almost still awaiting its fate without the usual flipping and struggling about. In the video you can see the respect the men of the Sea U II had for their prey as well as their delight in catching the big one that did not get away.

If your idea of a tuna comes in a can or as a clean slab of pale flesh from a fish counter it can be a shock to come face to fins with your dinner. Most Americans have become pretty squeamish about the fact our proteins of choice come from living creatures. I know the first time lobsters under my control went from live to formerly live I pretended a blitheness I didn’t really feel. But now I’ve come to accept that if I eat meat or fish or chicken my meal once had a face and it died for my dinner. In my opinion it is an acceptance anyone who decides to be an omnivore should have and we should have the same respect for those animals as the sport fishermen did for that tuna.

The tuna itself was no trophy. It ended up feeding untold many. It did earn Captain John a trophy, though, the prize for the largest tuna caught during a local marina’s fishing contest – a large fiberglass fish.

While this tuna was large, it is not the largest John and his friends have caught, that one was over 500 pounds. While the catch is shared by all those who crew the boat, that still means my sister, Beth, ends up with a lot of fish to cook. She has created almost a whole cookbook of recipes for the fish John has caught off the coast of Long Island, New York. She also always carefully freezes some of the choicest specimens for me to take home after my yearly visits. With the correct packaging and no unexpected flight delays, a few pounds of tuna steaks stay frozen from New York to San Francisco.

The tuna I receive from Beth and John always inspires me to create the best dish I can to honor both the fish and the gift. The recipe below came to me simultaneously as a title – Seared Tuna and Deconstructed Cassoulet – and a taste – peppery seared tuna with saffron broth and vegetables. The rest came together out of what I had in my pantry and refrigerator. To see another recipe I created for tuna caught by John, please see the limoncello-marinated tuna over couscous salad recipe here.

Seared Tuna and Deconstructed Cassoulet
Serves 4

I’m always wary of calling something a cassoulet when it is not classically so, but this is what my unconscious instincts called the dish as it leapt practically fully formed in my mind so I’m going with it. It is a light dish with lots of satisfying flavors brightened by the lemon zest and peppery finish of the fish and the crunch of the seasoned croutons. The bean and vegetable mixture with the croutons works well as a side dish or vegetarian main course (when made with the vegetable broth) without the fish.

About 1 ½ pounds of fresh tuna sliced into 4 steaks
Fresh cracked pepper
2 Tbs. grape seed or other oil for high temperature heating
2 Tbs. + ¼ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 minced garlic cloves
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped baby or regular bok choy stems
¼ tsp. + pinch of salt
¼ tsp. + pinch of ground pepper
¼ tsp. + pinch of red pepper flakes
¾ tsp. + pinch of French Herbs de Provence seasoning
8 oz. chicken or vegetable stock
¼ tsp. saffron threads
2 cups cooked navy or white kidney beans
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup (packed) chopped baby or regular bok choy greens
Zest of 1 lemon, divided
Juice of ½ lemon
2 cups of cubed (1”) stale or toasted bread

Spread the cracked pepper on a plate and press both sides of the tuna steaks into it. Heat the grape seed oil in a 12” sauté pan or deep skillet over high heat until the oil is smoking. Sear the tuna steaks on both sides until the outside is crusty and brown being careful not to cook the insides. Set the tuna steaks aside and wipe out the oil and any debris with some paper towels.

Add the 2 Tbs. olive oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Sauté onion until beginning to soften and golden, add garlic and sauté a moment. Add carrots and sauté a few minutes and then add red bell pepper. Sauté for a minute and add celery and bok choy stems. Sauté, stirring often, until the vegetables have begun to soften. Add the ¼ tsp. of salt, ¼ tsp. of ground pepper, ¼ tsp. of red pepper flakes and the ¾ tsp. of the Herbs de Provence seasoning. Stir well and sauté for a moment to release aroma of the seasonings. Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and add the saffron threads. Simmer gently until the vegetables are somewhat softened. Add the cooked beans, tomatoes and the bok choy greens. Allow to simmer until the vegetables are tender but still a bit crisp to the bite. Add the lemon juice and scatter ¾ of the lemon zest over the top of the vegetables and combine. Taste and correct the seasoning. Place the tuna steaks on top of the mixture and let them gently reheat in the simmering stew. Check tuna for desired doneness and remove. (For true seared tuna, the fish should still be mostly raw in the center.) Put vegetable mixture in serving dish. Place tuna steaks on top. Scatter prepared croutons over all. Garnish with remaining lemon zest. Serve warm or at room temperature.

To make the croutons (can be made ahead): Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss bread cubes in a bowl with ¼ cup of olive oil, remaining salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and Herbs de Provence.
Spread coated bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake in oven until toasted and brown, turning as needed.

Here's info on tuna choices and sustainability in the U.S. from the Monterey Bay Aquariam.
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About the photo: Commercial fishing boats at the Hampton Bays, Long Island, marina by sister and brother-in-law keep their sport fishing, 52-foot Sea U II.