Category Archives: vegetable

Pesach: Roasted Beets and Beet Tahini

Posted on by
Reply

Roasted beets and beet tahini

Instead of a shank bone, many people now replace it with a roasted beet on their seder plate (z’roa) as a representation of the pascal lamb, for a veg based meal. Inspired by this custom, I decided to prepare a roasted beet dish. I used red beets but you could use golden or an assortment. I love the versatility of beets-raw, roasted, liquified, and more.   This one is a combination of roasted beets as well as tahini with roasted beets. Added bonus are the chives I clipped from my sister’s garden to sprinkle on top. Scroll below for the recipe plus my other previous Pesach recipes including karpras salad and olive oil chocolate cake. And, click here to learn about leaving an empty seat at your seder table for a hostage. Continue reading →

Rosh Hashana: Black Eyed Peas

Posted on by
3

I recently read Michael Twitty’s latest fabulous book, Koshersoul, a personal and culinary exploration as a Black Jewish man.  Beautifully written with lots of recipes that trace the intersections and influences of African foods, African-American cuisine, Jewish Southern dishes, and Sephardic foods. One ingredient he wrote about was black eyed peas, commonly found in African, African-American and Sephardic and Mizrachi dishes. Black eyed peas are commonly eaten at Rosh Hashana as a symbol of a prosperous new year. Continue reading →

Antwerp & Roasted Pumpkin

Posted on by
2

Roasted pumpkin

I spent the first day of 2023 in Antwerp, a city with one of the largest Chasidic populations in Europe. A famous kosher restaurant, Hoffy’s, was open and we excitedly arrived for lunch. We were told to come back in about an hour when they were ready.  We walked around the neighborhood (which abuts the city’s diamond district). The area was empty–besides Hoffy’s and a kosher market and a quick stop into the Portuguese synagogue, nothing was open and few people were out.  We returned to Hoffy’s which was filled with strong aromas wafting from the kitchen while staff hurriedly ran around getting the dining area ready, placing small flower vases and candles on tables while waiters quickly wrapped aprons around their waists. Continue reading →

Sukkot & Simchat Torah: Stuffed eggplants

Posted on by
5

Just a quick post to share a stuffed eggplant recipe that is great for both Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Sukkot, an agricultural holiday (ie farm-to-table holiday) that is an opportunity to use the produce that is in abundance at the farmers markets right now makes it one of my favorite holidays. Lots of eggplants are in season at my local farmers markets and the basil was plucked straight from my plants. The filled eggplants are also symbolic of “stuffed” foods commonly eaten on Simchat Torah to represent the Torah scrolls. Scroll to the bottom for more of my Sukkot, Simchat Torah and even Shmini Atzeret recipes. Chag sameach! Continue reading →

Rosh Hashana: Beet Carpaccio

Posted on by
6

I love this beet carpaccio recipe! I first enjoyed it at a serene Shabbat dinner at my relative’s house during a glorious pre-Covid spring in Jerusalem. The flavors of the roasted beets are enough alone but topped with a lot of delicious ingredients that delicately balance both tangy and sweet flavors makes the beets the star of a rich, dramatic dish. It’s also a “one pan” dish that is simple to make. It’s perfect as an appetizer or side dish during a Rosh Hashana meal. Also, check the links below the recipe for more of my sweet and savory Rosh Hashana recipes. Shana tova! Continue reading →

Fall Foraging: Mushrooms

Posted on by
5

I have had the great opportunity to trample through the woods and fields just outside Rock Creek National Park to forage for edible plants, berries, flowers and mushrooms this fall. Foraging aside, I have spent endless hours during Covid inside Rock Creek park. I joke that it is my second home but it really is: I don’t start any morning now without hiking or biking in it, no matter the weather, and end many days with a quick jaunt on trails. Spending so much time in Rock Creek has made me keenly aware of the subtle changes every day to the spectacular landscape from the multitude of distinct shades of green leaves in early spring to the trails disappearing afoot as they become layered with leaf cover in the fall. And, my connection to the land has deepened as I have learned about the myriad edible plants and mushrooms living in it.

Continue reading →

Sukkot: Roasted Apples and Yams with Barberries

Posted on by
9

Roasted apple and yam with barberries

Like everything else, this is an unusual Sukkot. But due to my COVID routine, I have had the privilege for a deeper physical and sensory connection to the holiday’s harvest themes. It includes more time to tend to edible plants on my balcony and long hikes in woods filled with mushrooms and other edibles. And while the holiday celebrates an agricultural harvest, I like to more broadly think of it as a way to celebrate all of our food sources, whether foraged or grown on a farm. Last weekend, I went on a guided foraging trip just a few miles from my house. In a mere mile long walk, we found more than a dozen edibles, including black walnuts, shiso, sorrel, burr cucumbers, American persimmon, and turkey tail mushrooms. We nibbled little bits of each plant along the way but left everything there for birds and other creatures to enjoy. Continue reading →

Roasted Carrots for Rosh Hashana

Posted on by
11

Rosh Hashana roasted carrots

As we prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashana to mark the birth of the world, it’s hard not to be confused and/or overwhelmed at times by the surreal world we are now living in. From COVID to wildfires to flooding to addressing systemic racism, our physical reality is forever altered.

The past six months have brought to the forefront of our daily lives both the devastating consequences of human actions that are the most un-God-like, but also the incredible, resilient, responses by humans to these crises.  When we wish people a healthy, good new year, I cannot think of a time when this has ever meant more than now, for all beings.

Continue reading →

206: Roasted Cauliflower

Posted on by
3

roasted cauliflower with tahini, though I did not add enough tahini!

Though we are in the midst of counting the Omer each night, from Passover to Shavuot, I am sharing a recipe and number that has zero relevance to the Omer. It is the number 206, the name of a Tel Aviv restaurant–really an institution–that has sat on a suburban thoroughfare with a car park in front, for decades. It is my spot for the best no-frills Israeli food. The decor is plain and likewise there are zero airs to the food. There’s some magic happening in the kitchen and their unfussy food outshines much of the high end Israeli food now dotting the globe. Before the worldwide roasted cauliflower craze, 206 was serving heaps of it, smothered in tahini sauce on little white saucer plates. Continue reading →

Simchat Torah: Stuffed Cabbage

Posted on by
6

Simchat Torah Stuffed Cabbage

Serving stuffed cabbage is a common dish for Simchat Torah. The recipe I share with you is from a dear friend–like a family member–who lives in Tel Aviv. I have had countless Shabbat and holiday meals at her home. Whether in the kitchen or dining room, the tables are always inevitably overflowing with dishes that she painstakingly prepared over a few days after spending hours picking out and discussing with the shopkeeper about the most beautiful produce at her local tiny fruit and vegetable market. Mindful of my plant-based diet, she not only would worry that I have enough to eat, but also creatively updated some of her meat dishes to be vegan. I have had this incredible stuffed cabbage dish at her home many times and every time she excitedly and proudly presents it on a platter to guests. I humbly present  my best attempt to try to recreate her delicious recipe. Continue reading →