Easy Potato Knishes

This is by far the easiest and quickest way to make potato knishes! They were such a big hit the first time I made them that I had to share this recipe with you...the filling in these is a mixture of steamed potato, fried onions and all kinds of spices, but you can add your favorite ingredients such as sweet potato, spinach and mushrooms.

The photos below tell the story...use any kind of tortilla you like, regular or whole wheat (healthier), mayonnaise (I prefer homemade) mustard or your favorite spread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while preparing your knishes. When ready, bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tortilla is firm but not crisp. Let cool before eating. Serve them whole or slice for hors d'oeuvoures. 

Hope you enjoy!

 

Vegan Latkes

Every year I make Latkes (potato pancakes) for Chanukah. This year I tried a no-egg recipe and prepared 3 different kinds - plain potato, with sweet potato, and with zucchini. 

Easiest way is to split the the basic potato mixture from the recipe below into 3 bowls and add a cup of shredded zucchini to one and a cup of shredded sweet potato to the other, making them even more delicious and festive.


Ingredients for basic potato latkes:

(Feeds approximately 5-7 people)

10 medium potatos, peeled and grated
1 small yellow onion, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Garlic powder, salt, pepper - optional
Canola oil, for frying


Steps:


In a colander set over a large bowl, place potatoes. Using your hands, squeeze out the excess liquid from the potatoes. Pour off the liquid and place potatoes in the bowl. Add onion to potatoes along with parsley, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper, and mix well.


Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat a thin layer of oil. Take a heaping tablespoon of batter and flatten it before gently placing it in the hot oil. Make three or four more potato pancakes this way, and add to skillet without crowding pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with remaining potato mixture, adding more oil as necessary. Remove the cooked potato pancakes to paper towels to drain, keep warm in the oven until all pancakes are cooked.


It's real yummy with Homemade Applesauce or Tofutti Sour Cream found at most supermarkets or Whole Foods.


You can either make applesauce fresh, by peeling a few apples and mixing with honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, in a blender or food processor, or steam the apples for a few minutes to get real soft, mix with spices and refrigerate until cool.

Enjoy the Holidays!

Baba Ghanoush - easy and quick

Baba Ghanoush is a tasty Middleastern dish that has become quite popular here in the U.S. It's made with eggplant, most often baked or broiled, mashed and mixed with olive oil and various spices, usually eaten as a dip with Pita Bread.

It's a delicious and easy treat to make, and I found a way to make it even easier!

Instead of broiling or baking the eggplant, and then scraping the inside from the skin which is real messy and time consuming, steam the eggplant instead!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, peeled

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp tahini

1 tsp ume plum vinegar

1 tsp lemon/lime

1 tsp powdered garlic or one clove

1/2 tsp cumin

Dash of pepper

Peel and chop eggplant in pieces, steam on high until water boils, shut off and leave it for a few minutes to get a little softer. Put in the food processor (or mash by hand) along with all ingredients and turn it on for a few seconds. Using a spatula, scrape the sides of the food processor and turn it on again, only for a few seconds, so it doesn't get too 'mushy'.

Scoop it out and refrigerate in a closed tupperware. Serve with pita bread, chips, or sliced vegetables.

Hope you enjoy!

Tomato-Basil Salad

Here's a recent favorite dish of mine, Tomato-Basil salad. It's a very simple recipe, but there's just something about the combination of flavors that's absolutely divine!

Ingredients:

Vine-ripe tomatoes - chopped

Fresh basil leaves - chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

Ume plum vinegar or balsamic vinegar

Measurements are up to you, depending on how many you are serving and your personal taste. Make it ahead and marinate for several hours.

This salad is perfect on it's own, in a pita with hummus, or mixed with quinoa, pasta or rice.

Hope you try it.

Wishing you blessings and excellent health!

A Modest Herb Garden

To make your food and drinks more flavorful, I'd like to recommend investing a small amount of time and money to start a small Herb garden inside or outside your home.

It takes just a little bit of space, and the plants are available for just a few dollars in places like Home Depot, Whole Foods, Supermarkets and nurseries. All you really need are a few pots, some earth and a space to put them.

Our herb garden is right outside the front door which is very convenient every time I want to add parsely to the hummus, mint and lemon balm to my drinks, shakes and salads, oregano and basil to the tomato sauce or salads, and thyme for some tea.

There are hundreds of dishes to add these herbs to, and it is not only convenient to have them available at all times instead of buying them every time you need them, it is such a great feeling to water, nurture and enjoy the sights and scents.

These herbs work wonders in the kitchen, but they also enhance our health in unexpected ways. They stimulate the immune system, have anti-inflamatory effects, anti-bacterial properties, help treat respiratory illnesses, are used as diuretics, and so much more!

Here are a few great reasons to start your garden today:

• Fresh herbs always available
• More flavorful meals
• A great way to boost your vitamin intake
• Save money
• Education for you and your family
• Curb Appeal
• Share with friends, family, and neighbors
• Easy and fun to create and maintain

Start small, even with one plant, and you'll see that you'll be adding to your collection in no time.

* Tip : Put a few buckets outside to collect the rain to water your plants and save on your water bills!

Wishing you excellent health!

Flavored Ice Cubes

This may sound like a simple idea, but I recently discovered that freezing lemon and lime juice in ice cube trays saves time and energy when it comes to making certain recipes, plus it's great to have for your next cup of tea or hot water!

Freezing the juice from an orange is also a good idea, especially to add to a shake or smoothie, or to put in a glass of red wine for a sangria-like taste!

Freezing herbs like mint can be done as well and is quite practical. I recently planted mint in our garden and began using it in all kinds of drinks and recipes. If you buy mint in a package and don't use it for a while it's very likely to go bad, so to preserve it you can put some leaves in an ice cube tray with water and freeze it. It will be ready for your next cup of tea, hot or cold water, and will make it flavorful and cooler at the same time!

Hope you enjoy!

Delicious Veggie Pasta!

Close your eyes and picture a mountain of angel hair pasta, tossed with your favorite tomato sauce, pesto sauce, or peanut sauce, piled high on your dinner plate...but instead of white or whole wheat pasta it's raw zucchini pasta!

All you need to make this amazing and delicious treat is about 5 minutes, and a kitchen gadget called the Saladacco Spiralizer. It's very affordable (less than $20), and the best price I found was through Amazon . Do your homework though and shop around online to see if you can do better. It's worth every penny, and you and your kids, friends, and family members will have so much fun creating and eating these beautiful dishes.

Here are a few other spaghetti 'flavors' to try along with zucchini:

carrot, cucumber, squash, radish and beets!

Toss in your favorite sauce, and you have a delicious, satisfying, healthy low-calorie and 'guilt free' meal!

I have seen recipes with other firm vegetables like sweet potatoes, onions, daikons, jicama, parsnip and winter squash, though I haven't tried them out as of yet.

Food texture plays an important part in creating our comfort foods, and the Saladacco Spiralizer brings new texture variations to experiment on vegetables that would traditionally be eaten cooked. It's a great way to eat a wider variety of raw foods which are packed full of vitamins and nutrients.

It also has a function that creates an endless ribbon of connected thin slices to make decorative flowers and borders. Your creativity can make your food as eye-appealing as it is appetizing. Hope you try it soon.

Wishing You Excellent Health!