Baby Spinach Salad

Some of the ingredients in this recipe (read: spinach leaves) might throw you off. But I'm telling you - this is one of the best salads I've ever tasted!

1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 carton fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can hearts of palm, cut up
1 box cherry tomatoes
1-2 avocados, diced

1/4 cup sugar or splenda
1/2 cup vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 cup oil

Toss salad ingredients. Mix dressing (makes a lot, so use only half) and pour onto salad.

Bubby's Cheesecake

3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lb cottage cheese
1 lb cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
1/2 cup milk
vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
cinnamon for top

pie crust recipe or graham cracker crumbs

Mix all ingredients in blender. Bake in a 9x13 350 for 1 hr.

My aunt's cheese cake

I love this cheescake because it's not too rich. It makes a square pan, though, so I recommend doubling it.

1 lb farmer cheese, softened
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened or whipped
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour
4 eggs
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1 cup sour cream (can use lite or substitute plain yogurt)
1 Tbsp sugar (use more if you use yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla

Combine cheese and mash with sugar using a fork. Add flour. Add eggs (slighhtly beaten) a little at a time. Add lemon juice and vanilla and mix well. Pou into 9x9 pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Mix all topping ingredients together. Pour over cake and return to oven for 10-15 minutes, until the topping sets.

Chicken meat-balls

These are a yom tov thing in my house, to make the same-old soup different. They're fabulous in chicken soup, adding to the taste and texture without soaking up all the liquid. Plus, they look like matzah balls, so on Pesach if you don't brok, you can substitute potato starch for bread crumbs and then serve your family and guests and watch them freak out.

2 pounds ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 to full cup bread crumbs- add as many as you need for it to be dry enough to work
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup minced onions

Cover minced onions with boiling water or soup and allow to soak in. Pour off excess water. (Can used fresh chopped onions instead.) Combine all ingredients, form balls and cook in simmering soup for at least 1/2 an hour. You can leave them longer.

Non-Gebrochs Blondies

Esty’s Blondies

1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 ½ cups sugar
6 eggs

1½ cups oil
4½ tsp vanilla sugar
4½ tsp baking powder
1½ cups potato starch
7 oz ground walnuts (almonds)
1 cup chocolate chips

Beat eggs and sugars well. Add rest of ingredients. Greased 9x13; bake at 330 for 45 minutes until done.

No-Margarine Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Taam Tov III, p 186, by Leah Levy)

1 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips to taste

Cream oil with sugars, add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and add to mixture. Add chocolate chips. Spoon by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until browned.

Parshas Vayishlach – Basar (meat)

This week's parsha food comes from a very way out, corny type of place. The pasuk says in בראשית, ל"ח, כ"ה – "ויותר יעקב לבדו", pronounced "va'yevaser ya'akov l'vado," meaning that Yaakov remained alone. In Hebrew the word בשר(basar), meat, though spelled differently, sounds the same. I know, I know, it's very corny, but it's too close to Shabbos to think of something better.

So, I bring you Peppered meat (otherwise known as Pepper Steak).

The directions for this recipe are somewhat vague, somewhere along the lines of taking as much as you want of each ingredient, putting it together in a pan somehow, and baking it until it's done. I've never actually tried it, but I had it at someone's house while I was in Israel, and it was delicious!

Pepper Steak

Sliced pepper steak
Peppers
Onions
Baby corn
Soy sauce
Paprika
Garlic powder
Salt
Water

Parshas Vayeitzei - SEVEN Layer Cake

This week's parsha starts off with Yaakov leaving Be'er Sheva, literally, the SEVENth well. SEVEN layer cake is very appropriate for this shabbos ....

Cake:
7 eggs, separated
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup sifted flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb sweet chocolate
3 Tbsp cold water

Frosting:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks margarine
1 tsp vanilla

Cake directions:

• Beat egg yokes until thick and lemon colored.
• Add confectioners' sugar gradually, beating constantly.
• Sift flour and salt together and fold into yolk mixture.
• Beat egg whites until stiff enough to hold a peak and fold in lightly.
• Line seven-layer cake pans with paper and grease the paper.
• Divide batter evenly among pans and bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for 12 minutes.
• Remove from pans at once.
  

Frosting (filling) directions:
For the frosting, heat chocolate and water in the top of double boiler. Mix eggs and sugar thoroughly, combine with melted chocolate and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter and beat until well blended.
Add vanilla and continue beating until filling is stiff enough to spread. Cover each layer and top and sides of cake with filling.
NOTE: It may be necessary to place several toothpicks through the top layers to hold them in place until filling sets.
Serve after 24 hours.
Serves 14 to 16.

Parshas Toldos - RED Velvet Cake

Starting a new series - recipes appropriate for every parsha. This week is Parshas Toldos. In this week's parsha, Yaakov and Eisav are born. Eisav is an Admoni (red head), and he later asks Yaakov for some of that red stuff (talking about red lentil soup).

1/2 oz red food coloring
3 Tbsp cocoa
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp water (1/2 oz)
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk substitute + 1 Tbsp vinegar)
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
scant tsp salt

Mix the food coloring, cocoa and water. In a separate bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and cocoa mixture and beat well until blended smoothly. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Bake in greased layer pans at 350 until done (30-35 minutes). You can also do this in a 9x13 pan, but add more time and keep checking until it's done.