I spent my first year after high school in a fairly well supervised school dorm. Lunch was provided to us at school, and suppers were served in a large lunch room in the second floor of the school building. Breakfast was where we had a little leeway. Each Sunday we had to give in a grocery list of items we wanted for the week's breakfast. The list was typically comprised of bread, fruit, oatmeal and cereal. Snacks, however, weren't provided by the school. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. And as poor students, there was certainly a necessity for free snacks. So we got creative. We improvised. We discovered that the folks in charge of our grocery order didn't differentiate … [Read more...]
Spiced Corn Fritters
I know it's just the beginning of February, but one can hardly blame me for making summer food. Last week, I went out for my daily lunch-break walk (hey, it's better than nothing!) with no coat. In February. In New York City. It was surreal, but absolutely amazing. And now, I can't get this out of my head. It's practically spring, which means it's basically summer. Which means it's time for frozen concoctions, grilled recipes, and corn. So what if I am totally jumping the gun here? These fritters are made with a bag of frozen corn. (Shh. Don't tell anyone.) And they're super easy to make. Forget our friend the groundhog and his little prediction of doom. And don't worry about summer being … [Read more...]
Broccoli Kugel Muffins
I recently posed the question on twitter: "how does one describe broccoli kugel to non-Kosher eating folks?" For someone like me, who grew up eating kosher, Jewish style foods, kugel is a no-brainer. But when you stop and think about it, try to determine how one can define kugel, it gets infinitely complicated. Is it a side dish? Maybe. Is it savory? Occasionally. A sweet dish? Can be. Something eaten on Shabbos (sabbath)? Often times. Is there one blanket definition of kugel? Sadly not. So while my Jewish readers will probably know exactly what a broccoli kugel is, it may be perplexing to my non-Jewish readers. What exactly is a broccoli kugel, you may be asking yourself. Well, … [Read more...]
Chocolate Covered Oatmeal Bars
I have a confession to make. I am terrible at reading and following directions. Take instruction manuals, for example. It isn't uncommon to find the instruction manual to an electronic device I bought a year ago sitting in a drawer, still sealed in it's plastic wrap. Instruction manuals, I reason, are for people of lesser intelligence. It may sound like I am bragging mightily here, so I will make a confession too, to even things out, y'know. I don't know that I can sit and read a manual. I don't have the attention span. Or the patience. And yet I have both the attention span and the patience to apply sprinkles to a chocolate covered pretzel with a pair of tweezers, to make sure it looks … [Read more...]
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
The other day I was talking to one of my coworkers about...what else? Cookies. He was mentioning his preferences in cookie flavors, when he made a shocking statement. "I don't like chocolate. And I don't like peanut butter." I opened my mouth in shock and horror. "My wife," he continued, "always says-" and at the exact same moment as he finished his wife's statement, I was verbalizing the exact same sentiment. "What is wrong with you?!" This may be insulting to some, especially to said coworker who had such nice things to say about my blog, but I truly believe that it's difficult to be happy without chocolate. Throw in some peanut butter? That's pretty much bliss. Assuming you are among … [Read more...]
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
I am a recovering soup-aholic. Don't get me wrong. I still love soup, enjoy soup, even crave soup. But there was a point in my life when all I wanted every day, all day, was soup. This was in the days before I spent quite so much time in the kitchen, so most of the soup I consumed during that period of my life was bought. Here's the funny thing about store bought soup, though. You can order something very benign sounding, such as "vegetable soup" or "broccoli soup" and instead of a healthy dish, you just inadvertently consumed half of your daily allotment of calories. If I had tasted this soup in a restaurant or any other food establishment, I would have been wracked with guilt, convinced … [Read more...]
Nutella Filled Puff Pastry Pockets
I didn't have a good reason to make this dessert. Ok, in the interest of honesty, I rarely have a good reason to make any dessert. But this one seemed a whole let less logical than most. Most treats that I make are a chance for me to experiment and have some fun in the kitchen. This wasn't like that. I took one delicious ingredient, Nutella (or in my case, a non-dairy version of it) and stuffed it inside another super delicious ingredient, namely, puff pastry. It's simple math, really. How could it equal anything but delicious? And just like that I pretty much gave you my recipe. It's that very simplicity that makes me glad I made this dessert. The number one complaint that I get from … [Read more...]
Mocha Chocolate Chip Bars
I'm in love with a dessert. This dessert. I know, it shouldn't happen, especially to a gal who doesn't try her desserts, but...well, I can't help loving this recipe. For starters, it has coffee. In multiple forms. In my book, coffee=awesome. A dessert recipe with coffee? Double awesome. Then there's the matter of how absolutely quick these are to make. The first time I made these, I stuck them in the oven and looked at the clock in amazement. The entire thing had taken just minutes from start to finish! I mentally swore off every other kind of cookie besides for bars, then, because I am crazy that way, I set out to make super complicated cookies. Because making such an easy recipe was like, … [Read more...]
Vegetarian Black Bean Burgers
As the clock struck midnight, we ushered in a new year. And with it, a brand new resolve to eat healthier and watch our weight. While this may be sadly short lived for many of us, it's still the first day of January, and the proverbial ink is barely dry on the list of New Years resolutions. Posting a cookie recipe today feels a little cruel, doesn't it? (Just) for today, I will put my delicious baked goods on the back burner and share with you one of my favorite healthy recipes. Here's what happened. It was late one night when I realized I hadn't prepared my lunch for the following day. I was going to make my easiest, go-to recipe, roasted chic peas. I turned my pantry upside down … [Read more...]
Healthy (Mock) Breaded Cauliflower
Healthy Mock Breaded Cauliflower is crispy and delicious, without all that fat! It's Chanukah now, which means that most of my readers, particularly the Jewish ones, will be expecting all kinds of deep fried delicacies to appear on the front page of this blog. After all, what kind of good Jewish girl isn't making latkes and donuts now? Okay, so I won't go so far as to say that I am not making any fried goodies this week. In fact, I have a whole bunch of deliciousness up my sleeve, (or in my frying pan, as the case may be). Hopefully, those will be here soon. But in the meantime, I figured I would preempt the unhealthy treats with my latest veggie creation. I think obsessed is a very … [Read more...]