We love corn

We love corn. 

Corn on the Cobb, grilled, boiled, in soup, in pancakes and certainly in a salad.  Our kids also love corn so we try to add it to everything that it could go with.

Recently I tried to combine my two favorite guilty pleasure vegetables into a soup and came across this very comforting and delicious soup. 
Imagine a hot mouthful of this soup that is loaded with corn and potatoes, has a mild buttery and creamy texture with a little zip of pepper….just heavenly.
Try it and let us know your thoughts. 
I know this soup can also be jazzed up with cheese and croutons for fun, spinach and kale for health, or just keep it classic for comfort.
Play around with the salt, do away with the butter if you must, add marak off (Vegetarian chicken bouillon) and make this recipe your own…..it’s so basic you can do anything to it and it would be fabulous.

Basic Corn and Potato Soup

2 cans of corn (you can also try 1 creamed corn and one regular)

2 cups of diced potatoes (2 medium)
¼ cup diced onion, sauteed in olive oil and set aside
1 tbsp butter (optional)
1 ½ cups boiling water
½ tsp salt (more or less depending on if you also use bouillon)
¼ tsp pepper
2 cups hot milk
1 tbsp flour to thicken up the soup

 

1.    Add the first seven ingredients to a large pot and cook until the potato is nice and soft, corn will stay whole but will give soup it’s base

2.    The soup is already delicious with the sauteed onions, corn and potato.  Now add the hot milk to make it creamy and add the flour to thicken it up

3.    Keep stirring the pot until you are happy with the consistency.  Keep tasting the soup and add salt, pepper to your taste

4.    Serve this soup in individual bowls and let people add shredded cheese, croutons, cooked spinach, kale or chopped green onion to their own soup

      This soup is excellent with good garlic bread and a nice salad to complete the meal.  Just follow the basics and play around with the rest to suite your taste.

 

 

Enjoy

Hagit and Dafna

 

 

 

Happy Jewish New Year

Our trip to Israel is already a distant memory.  Spending 3 and 1/2 weeks in Israel was a guilty pleasure because we were away from our life for so long.

What can one say about Israel, the people and the foods?  They are all a unique entity.  Israel is a tiny country that has grown up to lead the world in computer technology and medical research.  Not many people are aware of their accomplishments, everything good is overshadowed by their difficult times with their country's security.

The people and the foods are as warm, delicious and authentic as each other.  The men are handsome the women are beautiful and the food....the food is breathtaking in every way.  Even the open air markets are gorgeous, smell heavely and are lined with every imaginable spice, fruit and vegetable to create tantalizing dishes.

The restaurants were always packed with single people, couples, young and old all enjoying a dish, a snack, a coffee and a nibble.  For a country with so much pressure from the world, you would never know it when you look at the happy go lucky people lounging around the abundance of restaurants and cafes.

The Friday afternoon food market on Yehudah Street in Jerusalem was at a frenzie with people shopping and rushing home before Shabbat.  I loved watching the transaction between buyers and sellers.  From freshly baked pita bread to roasted almonds to pounds of vegetables for an Israeli salad, food is just a pleasure to buy, sell, prepare and consume in Israel.  I wish this experiece for all of you.

We wish you a beautiful New Year full of health and happiness and of course great food to share with family and friends.

Here is a simple way to prepare walnuts for the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Cinnamon Walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 250

2. Beat the following ingredients until frothy

1 egg white
1 tbsp water
pinch of salt

3. Add a pound of nuts and stir to coat evenly....set aside for now.

4. Mix the following ingredients together

1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

5. Add the mixture to the nuts and stir to coat evenly.

6. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with PAM
7. Spread the nuts all over in a single layer

7. Bake at 250 for 1 hour, stir every 15 minutes to prevent sticking.

Enjoy.

Dafna

Back from Israel....and back to school

Goodbye for now summer

This summer both Hagit and I went back to Israel for a few weeks to spend much needed time with
family and friends.

Here are some of  Hagit's thoughts on her visit. (I'll give you my thoughts next post.)

I had a lot of Israeli food at my relatives' houses and also at plenty of restaurants and cafes.  What I really liked was the excellent variety of good salads, fresh fruit and vegetables....not to mention the amazing coffee.

I like to shop at the open market for fresh spices.  The best place in Tel Aviv is Shuk Ha Carmel.  They also have wonderful beef kebabs, falafel and shawarma.  Israelies love to eat and they have tons of good choices.

Any time of day you can go to a cafe, sit outside and drink a wonderful espresso coffee.  A good salad and delicious bread is always available too.  Most cafes serve amazing breakfast foods such as an omelet filled with parsley and a variety of good cheeses with a side of salad and fresh coffee...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

My kids got used to eating an Israeli salad almost everyday of the week while I got used to eating plenty of spectacular hummus at my favorite hummus place.  It's a little place called Sohila in a town called Akko.  They serve the hummus warm with french fries and a side of Israeli salad...it's the most delightful lunch or light dinner....and I can't forget the freshly baked pita bread with the Mediterranean style olives.

Visiting my family and going from one home to another opened my eyes and my taste buds to some really awesome foods.

Here is just one amazing salad, it's a twist on the original Israeli salad.  The mango gives this salad a fresh and light feel....I hope you love it as much as I do.

Mango Salad
2 cucumbers diced small
2 tomatoes diced small
1 small onion diced small
1  bunch of cilantro chopped fine
1 mango diced small (one large or two small)

Dressing
Juice from 1 fresh lemon
1/2 teaspoon of salt or to taste
1 spoonful of extra virgin olive oil

(Add the salt and lemon last, just before you are serving)

Toss all the ingredients together and serve.
Serves 2-4

Enjoy,
Hagit and Dafna

Okra Stew with beef

It's been a while since we posted....sorry about that.  Life has a way of getting in the way. We hope you are all well and ready to get back into some serious cooking with us.  This post will feature one of our favorite vegetables, okra...yes really!
Okra is not too popular with the general public.  It is, however a main ingredient in Southern cooking as well as Indian foods.  May we suggest you give this dish a try and let the okra do the talking.  This dish can be made with beef or chicken, the okra will taste great with any meat.

Okra Stew with Beef

1.5 pounds of stewing beef
1 onion chopped fine
3 garlic cloves grated
1 -2 bags of frozen baby whole okra
1 14oz can of chopped tomatoes
3 fresh plum tomatoes, chopped
Salt, pepper and marak off according to taste
1.5 tsp turmeric

1. Chop the onion, start sauteing in a tablespoon of olive oil, gradually add the grated garlic
2. While the onion and garlic are cooking, add 1.5 tps turmeric, salt and pepper
3. Add the beef and cook well with the onions and garlic
4. Add the chopped tomatoes now and let them wilt, add 3 cups of boiling water with a tbsp of chicken stock powder (we prefer Osem or Telma)
5. After about 10 minutes add the can of chopped tomatoes, you can also add a tsp of hot pepper flakes for a nice kick
6. Meanwhile, defrost the okra, run some water over them and throw them into the stew
7. Let everything cook together, stir every now and then, adjust the seasoning to your taste
8. Serve over white Persian style rice

Here is a typical Israeli dairy dessert that you are going to love once you have mastered it.  Beautiful to look at (sorry no photos yet) and delicious to eat.  Don't let the instructions intimidate you. Just go step by step and let it come together.....

Israeli Three Layer Cake

1st layer - 1 chocolate pudding, 5 eggs, 4 tbsp white sugar
(this layer can be a boxed cake mix, just use milk instead of water )

1. Separate the eggs, mix the pudding into he bowl of yolks
2. Whisk the whites with he sugar until stiff
3. Fold them together...slowly
4. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes and then let it cool

2nd layer - 1 Instant vanilla pudding, 1 container of heavy cream 4oz, 1.5 cups of milk

1. Whisk together everything together and put on top of the 1st layer
2. Refrigerate

3rd layer - 4oz semi sweet chocolate (we like Elite), 1 container of heavy cream 4oz, 3 tbsp milk
                   1 tbsp corn starch

1. Melt the chocolate in double boiler method
2. Mix the milk and corn starch in a little dish and add it to the chocolate mixture to thicken,
    remove from heat
3. Let it cool down for a few minutes and then pour it into the cake
4. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving

Enjoy

Hagit and Dafna

Meatballs in Red Sauce - Israeli Style

Who does not like spaghetti and meatballs?  seriously, it's a classic dish and is every one's favorite in most homes.  Hagit's version is not only healthy but has great flavor.  We use turkey to keep the calories and fat down but we add lots of ingredients to jazz it up.  If you have any questions, send us an e mail for a quick reply.

Meatballs in Red Sauce

1 - 1.5 pounds of meat (we like turkey but you can use any chop meat)
1 medium onion, grated (optional)
1 tsp chopped garlic (ready made is fine)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp marak off
2-3 large eggs (we use one whole egg plus two egg whites)
1/4 cup of water or plain seltzer (secret ingredient)
1/2 cup approx of plain bread crumbs (without cheese)

Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion sliced into thin strips (so fussy eaters can take them out)
1.5-2 tins of 4oz tomato paste
9 cups of boiling water
1 tsp marak off
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp ketchup

1.  Whisk eggs with all the seasoning, garlic and water.  Add the meat and mix well with spoon or hands
2.  Add breadcrumbs to mixture and keep mixing well until the meat is less sticky...let it rest in the bowl
3.  Meanwhile in a 4qrt pot saute the onion in the olive oil until the onion is golden brown, add to it the tomato paste, keep stirring and then add the 9 cups of boiling water...stir well so the tomato paste dissolves well
4.  Add the ketchup, salt, pepper and marak off, keep stirring.
5.  Let the sauce cook for about 15 minutes on a medium heat.  Keep tasting to adjust the seasoning to your taste.
6.  Wet your hands now and start making the meatballs.  Using a tablespoon make the meatballs (any size you like, golf ball size works great).  Drop the balls gently into the sauce.
7.  As you drop the meatballs into the sauce pay attention to keep them separated in the sauce.
8.  Cover the pot and leave the meatballs to cook in the sauce on a low heat for 45 minutes to an hour...honestly the longer the better.
9.  Swoosh the sauce around to cover the meat balls, every now and then.

A family of 5 can eat this dish for two nights.  If you have more meatballs left over on the 3rd night, mash them up with more red sauce and serve it as a meat sauce over spaghetti, rice or mash potato....delish!

This Babka recipe was given to us by Ronit.  She brought a beautiful Babka for desert to my home and we bugged her until she sent us the recipe.  We had to translate the recipe into English measurements so it's a little give or take. This makes 3 or 4 Babkas depending on the size you want them.   Try it once and then tweak it the second time you make it...it's worth every bite. This Babka looks very impressive and is so delicious that you'll never want to buy another store made Babka again.  Thank you Ronit.

Babka
1kg of flour....which is about 7-8 cups
2 tbs dry yeast
2 sticks of margarine, melted
1 1/4 cup milk
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

1.  Using the hook on your mixer, mix the flour, yeast, margarine, milk, eggs, sugar and salt last
2.  Mix well on medium for 5 minutes, the dough will be sticky
3.  Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 to 1.5 hours
4.  Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces
5.  Roll out each piece, with a rolling pin, into a rectangle
6.  Spread each piece with chocolate spread like Nutella or Shachar
7.  Roll each piece into a cigar form
8.  Connect two forms together and put them into a greased bread pan
9.  Leave them alone to rise for half hour
10. Brush the Babka with a beaten egg and put into a preheated oven at 335 for about 40 minutes
11. When the Babka looks done, full and crusty, remove from the oven and brush with the prepared syrup

Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
drop of lemon

Cook on the stove until sugar has dissolved

Enjoy.

Hagit and Dafna