Super Easy Broccoli Soup

 Years ago I attended a Jewish Italian cooking class in a private home in Newton. I can’t remember the year. I can’t remember the cook. But I saved this recipe, and made it years ago when my kids were little. It is a “parve” soup, which means it contains no dairy products and no meat products. Vegan!

Broccoli with Fresh Fennel Soup.

Makes 6-8 servings.

2 large heads of broccoli

1 large onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 T olive oil

Fennel feathers from one bulb of fresh fennel

6 cups water (I use 4 c vegetable broth and 2 c water)

Salt and pepper

Chop the broccoli and get rid of the large stem (but not the smaller ones). Chop the small stems.

Sauté onion and garlic in the oil for 5-9 minutes in a large pot.

Add broccoli, fennel and water, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the broccoli is soft. Purée the mixture in a blender (you can use a stick blender)

Return to pot and simmer 10 minutes, add salt and pepper as needed.

Serve.

Thanksgiving 2023

 Thanksgiving 2023

Chex Mix

Cheese, crackers and grapes and chips and dip (provided by Dave Follick and Erica Berliant Follick)

Mock Meatballs - Vegetarian Times Thanksgiving

Wine

Sparkling Apple Cider

Pomegranate spritzer

Mark’s Hard Lemonade

Beer

Cucumber and Apple Salad (from Adeena Sussman’s Shabbat)

Challah

Olives and Pickles

2 Turkey Breasts 

15 bean chili (Vegetarian Times Thanksgiving)

Gravy

Sweet potato with marshmallows 

Stuffing - Mom’s

Canned Cranberry Sauce

Mom’s cranberry relish

Kugel (from Robin Weiner Healey)

Roasted Broccoli 

Tiny Potatoes roasted

Fruit from Barbara Cohen

Coffee and Tea

Candied Cranberry Chocolate Tart - December 1999 Bon Appetit 

Pumpkin Pie - Pie and Pastry Bible

Apple Pie - Pie and Pastry Bible

Mae’s Chocolate Pie

Tahini Blondies - Adeena Sussman

Maple Brownies

Chocolate Brownies with Caramel (Foolproof Ina Garten)

Espresso Brownies (Half Baked Harvest website)

Butter Cookies

Pumpkin Bread

Blog is not forgotten

 It has been a bit busy this fall in the Weitzman house. I am incoming president of Hadassah Boston. I just returned home from my three day training in NYC. I received a lot of information, but I met 11 other women who are also becoming regional presidents on January 1, 2024! We are a diverse group of women, and live across the country. It was nice to meet our trainers, and each other.

And now I am home, am preparing Thanksgiving. I will post my menu later.

Work is busy, as it is at the end of every year. I like to be busy. Everything will get done by December 31, 2023.

Youngest child is applying to colleges, which is stressful and exciting.

More to come, but I didn’t want you to think I forgot about you.

Baking

 I have been neglecting my cooking blog. I have been a bit busy.

I did attend two King Arthur Flour classes. I took a cupcake class and a tart and pie class. Both were amazing.

Let me share some photos.

Weighing ingredients is most important

Look at those amazing chocolate cupcakes

Making the vanilla filling for the cupcakes

Who knew that peanut butter butter cream is so amazing.

I filled a cupcake with the filling!!!

Peanut butter buttercream on top of chocolate cupcakes

My filled cupcakes

I can’t believe I made these cupcakes!

Tart shell

TASTY

Cranberry pecan tart

apple pie

Israel at War

 Hi friends. I am really still processing everything. The deaths of young people in Israel at a music festival. The kidnapping of children and the elderly. The rockets firing into and out of Israel. 

As someone who doesn’t love crowds, attending the rally was something I had to do. I can’t explain it. I was drawn there.

Hearing the speakers support Israel. Stand with Israel. Being with people who are on the same emotional rollercoaster with me. I am so lucky to live in a city that provided me the space to mourn and rally. I am so lucky to live in a country that provides me the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech. 

I am so lucky to have Governor Healey, Senator Warren, Mayor Wu and other elected officials Stand with Israel. And speak out for Israel.

I am so lucky to have Hadassah Hospital treat all patients. But I have a heavy heart knowing peace is not as close as I want it to be. I pray for peace in Israel. “Am Yisrael Chai.”

Rosh Hashana 2023

 I like to archive my menus, so I can get inspiration in future years.

Erev:

Challah and Honey

Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls - Maddy's recipe from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook

Mushroom Barley Soup from the Butcherie in Brookline

Hummus

Chickpea Salad from the Persian Bride Cookbook

Red Pepper Dip from the Persian Bride Cookbook

Brisket!

Chickpeas from Yotam

Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Potatoes

Apple Crisp

Fruit

Pastries:

• ·         Rugelach
• ·         Cardamom Cookies from the Persian Bride Cookbook
• ·         Almond Biscotti's
• ·         Brownies from Smitten Kitchen Blog
• ·         Zucchini Bread - Mimi Follick's recipe
• ·         Maple Brownies

Day 1:

Challah and Honey

Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls - Maddy's recipe from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook

Mushroom Barley Soup from the Butcherie in Brookline

Hummus

Red Pepper Dip from the Persian Bride Cookbook

Olives and Pickles

Knishes from The Butcherie

Roast Chicken from the Persian Bride

Tuscan Beans with Sage from the Low Fat Moosewood Cookbook

Basmati Rice with lentils, potatoes and carnalized onions  from the Persian Bride Cookbook

Air fried Brussel Sprouts with maple syrup

Cranberry Pecan Tart (King Arthur Baking)

Chocolate Mousse Cake - Renee Glazier's recipe from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook

Pastries:

• ·         Rugelach
• ·         Cardamom Cookies from the Persian Bride Cookbook
• ·         Almond Biscotti's
• ·         Brownies from Smitten Kitchen Blog
• ·         Zucchini Bread - Mimi Follick's recipe
• ·         Maple Brownies

Ottolenghi's Delicious Dinner Recipe

I really can’t believe summer is nearly over. I haven’t baked or cooked as much as I had hoped. I am going to blame it on our air conditioning being broken from May to early August.

 But I have cooked Ottolenghi’s One Pot Puttanesca recently, from his Flavor cookbook, and it didn’t disappoint.

 

3 T Olive Oil

6 cloves of garlic, minced

One 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried

2 t paprika

2 t cumin (ground)

2 t tomato paste

Salt

2 cups parsley, roughly chopped

2 t lemon zest

3 T capers

¾ cup green olives – roughly chopped, pits removed

9 oz cherry tomatoes

2 t sugar

1 t caraway seeds

9 oz orecchiette pasta (I used bow tie)

2 c vegetable stock

¾ c plus t @ water

Black pepper

Directions

In a large sauté pan (that has a lid), combine 3 T of the olive oil, the garlic, chickpeas, paprika, cumin, tomato paste and ½ t salt. Cook over medium heat. Cook for 12 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally. Remove 1/3 of the chickpeas for later.

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, capers and olives. Add 2/3 of this mixture to the sauté pan, along with the cherry tomatoes, sugar and caraway seeds and cook for 2 minutes over medium high heat, stirring often. Add the pasta, stock, water and ½ t salt, and bring to a summer. Decrease heat to medium, cover and cook for 13 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.

Stir in the remaining parsley mixture and garnish with reserved chickpeas.

Add salt and pepper and serve.

 

Shop Local

 I was thinking about what to post. While I have been doing some great summer stuff lately, I thought I would post about the local shops that I like to visit:

New England Soup Factory

Everything I have ever had at the Soup Factory is delicious. EVERYTHING. Chicken. Soup. Salad. Stews. Cookies. And I love how she is a fierce supporter of the Freedge.

Cork and Board

While I am not a huge drinker, I do enjoy the occasional great glass of wine, they also have a great selection of hostess gifts and locally made food products.

Brookline Booksmith

Huge amount of cookbooks

Fulfilled Goods

I love their low waste vibe. I buy so much there, including nuts, rice, laundry pods, a re-usable straw for my purse

Central Dry Cleaner in Newton

No webpage - But also a fierce supporter of the Freedge

Green Tail

Locally owned store with amazing gifts

Beth's Chocolates

Locally made chocolates

Choc Allure

More locally made chocolates

Lakon

Amazing bakery

Coffee Chocolate Chip Blondies

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter

1/2 cup maple syrup (real maple syrup)

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoons vanilla extract (I use double vanilla from TheSpice House)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons instant espresso (from King Arthur Flour)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

flaky sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch metal baking pan with tin foil.

Add the butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar and maple syrup. Let cool 5 minutes.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the dough out into the pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until just set in the center. Sprinkle with sea salt. Cut into bars (you decide the size)

Roasted Everything Green Beans

 Sometimes a side dish looks TOO easy.

This is easy and delicious

1 1/2 pounds of green beans, trimmed

3 T extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup Everything Bagel Spice (Trader's Joes or King Arthur)

Kosher Salt to Taste

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with tin foil.

Spread out green beans and drizzle oil on top. Sprinkle with everything bagel spice and stir. Add a bit of salt.

Roast for 15-20 minutes stirring half way through

Vegetarian - Three Sisters Chili

I like to cook new things. The other night I made this for my husband, while the rest of us had pan fried haddock. What is the three sisters? “Three Sisters” a Native American agricultural tradition of planting beans, squash, and corn together.

The recipe serves 8-10 people.

Three Sisters Chili

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 oz tomato paste

3 T mild chili - I used chili 9000

1 t dried oregano 

1/2 t dried basil

salt and pepper

28 oz canned diced tomatoes

2 cups of tomato juice

2 cups fresh or frozen corn

3 cups cooked pinto beans

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add squash, onions, celery and garlic. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Stir. Add tomatoes and tomatoe juice. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add corn and pinto beans and simmer 20 minutes. Stir. Taste. 

New Cookbook for me

 The Bundt Collection was calling my name.

First cake I made from this cookbook was a HUGE hit at my office.

Black Cocoa Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

 1 1/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks

2 1/2 c white sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 t vanilla (I use this vanilla) 

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

2/3 c black cocoa

2 1/2 t espresso powder

1 t kosher salt

3/4 t baking powder

3/4 c buttermilk, room temperature

DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN

Generously spray a 10 cup bundt pan with Pam with Flour.

In a bowl of a mixer, add butter and sugar and mix for 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides. Add eggs one at a time while beating, and then add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, put the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt and baking powder together.

To the mixer, add 1/3 of the flour and 1/2 of the buttermilk. Stir. Then add 1/3 of flour and the rest of the buttermilk while mixing; and then add the remaining of the flour. 

Pour batter into pan and put in cold oven and bake at 325 for 50-55 minutes. Test by using a toothpick.

Flip onto wire rack with cake in pan but cake on pan. Remove pan after 15 minutes. Let cool.

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1 c confectionary sugar

3 T whipping cream

1/2 t double vanilla

1/2 t kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Put on the cake when cool.\

Tomato Chickpea Soup with Spinach

 This recipe came from Modern Jewish Cooking

Super easy and delicious.

Serves 6

3 T EVOO

1 Large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced.

1 1/2 t paprika (from the spice house)

1 1/2 t ground cumin (from the spice house)

1/2 t dried basil (from the spice house)

1/2 t dried rosemary (from the spice house)

1/2 t red pepper flakes

2 cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) Each can should be about 15 ounces

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 c vegetable broth

1 t sugar

kosher salt

pepper

3 c packed baby spinach leaves

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook for 8 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add garlic, paprika, cumin, basil, rosemary and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.

Add one can of chickpeas, the tomatoes and their juices, broth and sugar. Cover. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add in 1 t salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool.

With an immersion blender (I used my Vitamix), blend soup to a liquid. Return soup to the pot and set at low heat. Shir in chickpeas and spinach and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve

Instant Pot Chicken Soup

 I have an amazing chicken soup recipe from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook. However it takes at least three hours just to cook. This recipe doesn't make the volume of soup, but it is good for just a family of four for a winter day.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut into quarters (I used the 8 piece Empire chicken)

1 large onion, quartered

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into quarters

2 stalks of celery, cut into quarters

4 cloves of garlic, left whole

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

2 parsnips, peeled and cut into thirds

1 cup dill, chopped coarsely

2 bay leaves

1 T kosher salt

1 T black peppercorns

7 cups of water

Directions:

I have a six cup instant pot. Place the chicken pieces into the pot. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, sweet potato, parsnips, dill, bay leaves, salt and peppercorns. Then add 7 cups of water. Secure lid. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.

When the soup beeps, let the pot sit for at least 30-45 minutes and then vent out the steam. Press cancel. Open the lid and let it cool. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if needed.

Strain. Put the stock back in the pot. Smoosh a piece of the sweet potato through the strainer into the soup. This adds color.

Take the two breasts of chicken and slice into chunks. Slice a few of the carrot pieces into slices and put into the soup. Keep soup warm.

The matza balls in the instant pot were not as yummy as my traditional ones, which can be made while the soup is cooking. I don't keep the matza balls in the stock because they absorb the soup broth!

Matzo Balls

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 c water

1/3 oil

1 t salt

pepper

1 cup matzo meal

Combine the eggs with the water, oil, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Add matzo meal and stir, but do not not overmix.  Cover mixture and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.  Bring five quarts of salted (1 T kosher salt) water to a boil.

Remove mixture from fridge, and stir once to ensure all liquid has been absorbed.  Form into free form balls.

Drop balls gently into the boiling water.  Once water has come to a boil again, reduce heat to avoid boiling over.  Cover pot and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove cooked balls with a slotted spoon and store in container until ready to use.  Then slip into warm soup.  

Maple Pound Cake

 If you follow me on FaceBook, you often see Bundt cakes, but in various shapes. I have to tell you that using the Nordic Ware pans are great. It makes an average cake look amazing. BUT, you have to spray the pan with BAKERS JOY. If you don't think you have sprayed enough, spray more. You want the cake to slide out of the pan.

Ingredients for Cake

2 cups of cake flour

1 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1 t salt

12 T unsalted butter, at room temperature. Sliced into 12 pieces.

2/3 c light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 c maple syrup

1 cup sour cream

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 t maple flavor

Ingredients for Glaze

2 T butter

1/4 c maple syrup

1/4 c dark rum

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 or 10 cup Bundt pan. Spray pan with Baker's Joy.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping the sides. Pour in the maple syrup.

Add half the flour, and sour cream, vanilla and maple flavor. Mix. Then add the remainder of the flour. Mix.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan for ten minutes on wire rack. I like to make sure the cake side is on the rack so it slides out.

While cake is cooking, put the glaze ingredients into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce for simmer for 8 minutes until it is a thick syrup. Brush glaze over warm cake and cool completely.

Ultra Butterscotch Brownies

 Super Easy.

No mixer needed

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter 

2 cups brown sugar

1 t baking powder

2 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

9 oz butterscotch chips

1 1/2 c chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch metal pan with PAM.

Melt butter in pot.

Pour into large bowl. Add brown sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Stir. Add flour. Then eggs. Stir. Stir in 1 cup of chips and 1 cup of nuts. Put batter in pan. Sprinkle with remaining chips and nuts.

Bake 30-35 minutes just until top is shiny and set. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

Cool on wire rack before slicing.

Another amazing cake

 My co-workers were delighted with this cake!

Coffee and Cream Marbled Coffee Cake – Adapted from Bake Magazine

Makes one nine inch cake

Ingredients

1 ½ c (284 grams) unsalted butter, softened

2 ¼ cups (450 grams) sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

1 T vanilla extract

3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour

2 ½ t baking powder

1 t kosher salt

¾ c (180 grams) sour cream

3 ounces (85 grams) bittersweet chocolate, melted

3 T instant espresso powder

Instructions

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees

·         In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until fluffy – about three minutes. Stop to scrape the sides.

·         Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in vanilla

·         Stop the mixer.

·         In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

·         With mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour with about half of the sour cream; mix; add 1/3 of the flour; mix; add remaining sour cream; mix; add remaining flour.

·         Divide batter in half (approx. 3 cups or 780 grams)

·         In a small bowl, stir melted chocolate and espresso powder. Add to half the batter.

·         In 9 or 10 cup bundt pan, which you have sprayed with PAM, alternate scooping the vanilla batter with the chocolate batter into the pan. Fill the pan.

·         Using a butter knife, swirl the batters together. Tap the pan.

·         Bake until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean, about an hour.

·         Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack.

·         Remove from pan and let cool on rack.

 

Eat Your Books

 As you may know, I have a few cookbooks. I have more than a few. When I get a new book, I mark down (using post it notes) which recipes look interesting. And then I put the book on the shelf and hope I remember what recipes are in there. 

I plan my menus weekly, and go through some of the books searching for the perfect recipe for the week (who is eating dinner at the house and how much time I have to prepare the meal). 

One of my community members, Robin, suggested Eat Your Books.

Here is how EYB describes itself:

Eat Your Books is a website for people who love cookbooks and love to use great recipes. If you have a cookbook collection, you probably get a lot of pleasure from browsing your books - but there are times when you haven't got time to look through them all to find a recipe. Or maybe you feel you're not using them as effectively as you'd like, sticking to familiar recipes or not branching beyond the current favorites.

Eat Your Books can help you find recipes in seconds - we're the only website to have indexed the most popular cookbooks, so you can include them in your online searches.You might also like to use recipes from other sources and with Eat Your Books you can do a single search across ALL your recipes, no matter where they are.  

With Eat Your Books you can create your own personal Bookshelf and you can find recipes across:

• Your cookbooks - tell us which cookbooks you own. If we haven't indexed a favorite book, use the EYB indexing tools and do it yourself.  

• Your food magazines - add that stack of magazines, all the most popular magazines have been indexed.  

• Great food blogs and websites - add Food52, David Lebovitz, Smitten Kitchen, 101 Cookbooks and many more.  

• Your own personal recipe clippings - bring some order to your clippings files by using the EYB indexing tools.  

• Your favorite online recipes - using the EYB Bookmarklet you can add any online recipe to your collection.

Eat Your Books is NOT a recipe site, so you won't find the recipes here, but you will be able to find them and if there is an online version of the recipe there will be a link to it.  

It costs $30 a year to sign up. Once you are a member you select the cookbooks that you own to your bookshelf. I would say 99% of my cookbooks that I own have been indexed, so I don’t need to add anything else. I have a few books that are not indexed (mostly community groups that published cookbooks for fundraising), and I haven’t had the time to volunteer to index them.

Once your books are entered, you can search your recipes (and you can filter for ingredients, and course (Asparagus and side dish); and the titles appear (with the cookbook and page number).

It is life changing, especially if you belong to a CSA and get weekly boxes. You can search for that ingredient and find a recipe in a book that you already own.

I have already searched their list of cookbooks that will be published in 2023. That is very nice.

Let me know what you think.

Instant Pot - No Fry Refried Beans

 

During the summer of 2022, Adam and I went to Cabo, and I ate alot of refried beans. I have been thinking about all the amazing things I had while in Cabo. Tonight, I made a super easy Instant Pot bean recipe that I will be making again and again.

No-Fry Refried Beans from Instant Pot Miracle (with some modifications)

Serves 6-8 adults

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans

5 cups fat free vegetable broth

4-6 sprigs of fresh cilantro

1/2 t plus 1/4 t cumin

 1 bay leaf

1 T canola oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 small jalapeno pepper seeds removed (I only used 1/2)

3 garlic cloves minced

salt and pepper

Rinse beans with cold water and remove any shriveled beans or discolored beans. Add beans to Instant Pot. Add broth, cilantro, and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and 1 bay leaf. Close the lid and select MANUAL and chose HIGH PRESSURE for 40 minutes. When complete, allow a natural release.

Pour beans into colander set over a large bowl to catch the bean liquid. Discard cilantro and bay leaf.

Pour 1 1/2 c of bean liquid into a measuring cup.

Press sauté on the pot. When hot add oil. Then add onion, jalapeño and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Press cancel and add cumin. Add bean liquid.

In a blender pour the contents of the pot and blend VERY quickly as to NOT make it smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Things we use to reduce our waste

 We use alot of stuff and throw away alot.

I have previously commented on our composting, which we still do. That has reduced our waste in our trashcan. 

Since we take our lunches to school and work, we use these in lunch boxes. At the end of the day, we put them in the dishwasher. It has reduced our plasticware waste.

For years, I didn't use the plastic produce bags. I never liked them. One use bags, and I didn't have a reuse at home. Now I use reusable produce bags like these.

We use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins, and that has really changed our waste!

We use a low waste store, Cleanland or Fulfilled Goods. Due to allergies, we can't use any shampoo or detergent, but they have low scent pods that we love. Adam uses the bar shampoo. I highly recommend a visit there.

Start the new year off right with trying to reduce your household waste.

My First Ukranian Recipe

 I pre-ordered Budmo, during the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and had been waiting for the release. My first recipe, Bell Peppers, was a big hit.

Serves Six

Ingredients

3/4 cup rice (white regular)

salt and pepper

6 medium orange peppers

2 T Canola Oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 large carrot, grated

1 T tomato paste

2 cups canned diced tomatoes

2 cups vegetable stock

1 T cream

1 pound of Morningstar Grillers 

1 bay leaf

In a small saucepan, combine rice with enough water to cover it by two inches, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook for 10 minutes. Drain rice and let cool.

Cut off the stems of each pepper and remove the seeds.

In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook for 9 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add canned tomatoes and stock. Stir, turn up heat to medium high. bring to simmer and then stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix together the grillers (frozen) and cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture. Stand the peppers in a pot large enough to hold them but not so they crush each other. Then pour tomatoes sauce around the peppers. Insert bay leaf into sauce. Put pot on medium high heat and when the sauce boils turn down to low and cover. Heat for 40 minutes.

Put each pepper on a plate and serve with sauce. Make sure bay leaf is put into the compost bin and not on a plate.

Israel - Hadassah Hospital

Hadassah Hospital Medical Clown. I was so happy to meet one!

A model room for the new renovation. We got to meet with the architect!

Below are the Chagal Windows