Trying not to gain weight this past Shabbat, I made a lovely vegan cholent. In a crock pot I put 1 cup of dried bean mix that I had soaked, one large chopped onion, 1 Tbl crushed garlic, 1/4 cup chopped coriander (cusbara), 1/4 cup chopped celery, 3 cubes of frozen Italian spices, 1 Tbl or more of cumin and some peppered salt, 1 cup of red rice, and 2 cups of white wine. I added more water just before Shabbat so that it would not dry out. It cooked on low throughout the day and on Shabbat. The house smelled wonderful. Be sure to purchase ingredients that are pre-checked or to check them according to your Rav’s instructions. By Alizah Hochstead, alizahh@hotmail.com
Archive for the ‘Cooking Tip’ Category
Cooking Tip – Beshalach
Saturday, January 28th, 2012What to do when vegetables are soft? My tomatoes (3) were soft and I just could not throw them out, so I cut them up with a chopped onion and then added salt, 4 cubes of Dorot frozen spice cubes (Esvei Tivul for Italian cooking – be sure of the hashgacha on them as they come with several different hashgachot), a Tbl of crushed garlic and some chopped cusbara (be careful as to what kind you use due to bug infestation). I cooked it together for a few minutes and then used my stick blender to turn it into a wonderful dip. By Alizah Hochstead, alizahh@hotmail.com
Cooking Tip – Vaera
Thursday, January 19th, 2012Solet (semolina) is used for hot cereal, cakes, and couscous. I made semolina cookies, easy and quick. In a pot boil 1 1/2 cups water, 1 cup oil (I use canola). Let it simmer. In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups of solet (check as you would flour), 1 1/2 c flour (I use ww), 1 envelope baking powder, 1 envelope vanilla sugar, 3 T sugar (I use demara), 1/2 c of coconut (opt). Take the pot off the heat and mix in the dry ingredients. Keep stirring with a spoon (I use a wooden one) until it becomes a dough. Press into a baking pan (I used a large round one). Cut into squares or diamonds with a knife and press an almond in the middle of each square. Bake for 45 minutes at 180 till it is a light brown. While it is baking make a syrup of 1 1/2 cups sugar (I use demarra), 3/4 c water, 1 packet vanilla, add some lemon juice, sprinkle in cinnamon, hel, and tziporen, and 2 Tbl of rose water. Bring to a boil and simmer (10-15 minutes). Turn off and when the cake is done pour the syrup on top. Alizah Hochstead alizahh@hotmail.com
