Please welcome Viviana, the subject of this week’s reader interview:

Name, Location, Family: Viviana Aaron, originally from Argentina, then USA and now Israel.  Married, mom to two girls, one in college and one at home.
Describe family meals and your mother’s cooking style. Growing up we only had dinner at home, with breakfast and lunch at school. For dinner we always had soup, even in the summer, and some kind of protein with salad or potatoes on the side.  My mom was always working so she did not invest  much time in the kitchen.
How is your cooking style different from your mother’s? My meals are more varied than my mom’s.  I like to experiment in the kitchen.  Sometimes this bothers my family because if I cook something they really like I might not be able to reproduce it a second time.  So they better enjoy it the first time!
How did you learn to cook? I was my grandmother’s helper since I was very little.  I can still cook her recipes by remembering the way she used her hands to knead dough, mix meat for stuffing, cut vegetables in different ways and many other pictures that I keep in my mind.  I also can recall the smells of the foods she cooked and can tell if I am missing some ingredient or it is just right.  When my father comes to visit he always requests that I make his mom’s recipes.  She made lots of traditional sephardi foods: salads, kibbeh, stuffed veggies, lahmajeen (fatay), boyos, sweet desserts.
Do you entertain? What is the largest event you have hosted? I like to entertain although I don’t do it as much anymore.  Our house was the place to go for the holidays.  Our biggest event was one Pesach where we hosted 40 for one seder and 20 for the next.  I try to be very organized and cook everything beforehand.
Describe a daily or weekly menu. Each is on his/her own for breakfast and lunch.  For dinner, Sunday is usually leftovers, Monday and Tuesday dairy/vegetable meal, Wednesday we usually eat meat, Thursday we have a very light dairy dinner, Friday and Saturday our Shabbat menu.
How has your cooking style developed over the years? I try to incorporate healthier and more varied dishes into our menu.  My biggest change is in the amounts of food I cook.  I now try to make just enough instead of always cooking for a crowd.
What is your biggest cooking challenge? With our families’ health history and us getting older, my biggest challenge is to transform some of my recipes to accommodate those needs and still keep the flavor and texture we are familiar with.
Can you recommend a cookbook or website? “The Book of Jewish Food” by Claudia Roden and “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking” by Marcy Goldman are two of my favorite books. [CM: I love Goldman.]
What do you enjoy on Cooking Manager? Suggestions for future posts? I like your tips for conservation.  Also, I like all the sourdough and bread baking posts.  New recipes are always welcomed.
What in your refrigerator needs to be used up right now? All my chametz foods!
Please share a kitchen tip or recipe. I always make sure that my kitchen is clean and organized before I start cooking.

You can make the following two salads at the same time:

Roasted Eggplant Salad

• 2 medium sized eggplants
• 1 -2 garlic cloves, pressed or very finely minced (see note)
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Parsley to garnish

1. With a knife, slit the eggplants in several places.
2. Place them on a heavy baking sheet and set them about 6 inches under a heated broiler element. Broil the eggplants, turning them often, for 20 to 30 minutes or until the skin is blistered and charred, and the pulp is soft and juicy.  Cut open the eggplants and let them cool until they can be handled.
3. With a spoon, remove the pulp from the eggplant and place it in a colander to drain for about 10 minutes.
4. Place the pulp in a bowl and mash it.
5. Add remaining ingredients, except parsley, and mix well.
6. Adjust flavoring if needed.

Note:  I press the garlic with a fork and mix it together with the salt to make a paste.  This mixes the flavors a little better and you don’t lose the garlic juices.

Roasted Pepper Salad

• 3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
• 1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste

1. Place peppers on a heavy baking sheet and set them about 6 inches under a heated broiler element.  Broil the peppers, turning them often, for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the skin is blistered and charred.  Remove pan from the oven and let the peppers cool.
2. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel and remove the seeds.  Cut peppers into ½ inch strips and place in a bowl along with the garlic and salt.
3. Add enough olive oil to almost cover the peppers.  Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours.
4. This dish keeps for about a week.

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Interview with Viviana: Cooking with My Grandmother

In Jewish communities across the globe, stores are stocking  shelves with Kosher for Passover (KFP) products. And people with celiac disease and their parents, Jewish or not, are stocking up on KFP foods. What’s the connection?

The central food of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover is matzah. Matzah can be made of any of five species: barley, oats, rye, spelt and wheat. Wheat is the only kind generally available. Because of the quantities required and the strict rules surrounding its production, matzah is generally made in a separate factory.

Eating matzah is an important part of the Seder, the festive meal served on the first night of Passover. This doesn’t concern non-Jews with celiac. What’s important for celiac sufferers is the prohibition against leavened foods, or chametz.

Chametz, or leavened food, has a strict definition according to Jewish law. Chametz is produced when one of five grains, barley, oats, wheat, rye and spelt, comes into contact with liquid and is allowed to rest for 18 minutes before the completion of baking. The complexity of the laws of chametz and matzah means that in practice, any processed food prepared without Passover in mind is assumed to be chametz.

Because of this complexity, foods to be sold under Kosher-for-Passover supervision must be manufactured separately. Equipment must be cleaned from top to bottom to remove any trace of chametz, or leavened grains. Any crumb of wheat or oats would render the product chametz, and prevent it from receiving the Kosher for Passover label. Some products are nearly identical to the year-round equivalent, while some require substitutions for ingredients that are not kosher for passover (for instance, corn starch would be replaced by potato starch).

Some KFP products may contain matzah or matzah flour. Examples are breakfast cereals, cake mixes, chocolate-covered matzah, and gefilte fish. If this is the case, matzah will be listed as an ingredient.

When a product is labelled “non-gebrokt,” it will not contain any matzah product. Gebrokt means soaked. Some jews observe a stringency of avoiding matzah that has touched liquid after baking. Non-gebrokt products will not use matzah as a secondary ingredient, because it would touch liquid somewhere along the way.

Sephardic Jews, of Spanish or North African origin, have two main leniencies compared to Ashkenazi, or Eastern European Jews: Sephardic Jews may eat wheat products that are made from flour combined with juice or eggs and baked according to Passover rituals. This is known as “matzah ashirah” and will also be clearly labelled. Most also eat corn, rice and legumes. In Israel, with its large population of sephardim, there is a wider variety of kosher-for-Passover products that are also gluten-free.

Quick Guide to Gluten-Free Passover Products:

• Any product containing matzah, matzah meal, matzah flour, or matzah ashirah, etc. should be assumed to contain wheat.
• Passover products labelled “non-gebrokt” can be assumed to contain no trace of wheat, oats, barley, rye or spelt.
• In the US, starch in processed Passover foods is likely to be from potatoes.
• Products marked Kosher for Passover will not contain wheat, oats, barley, rye or spelt unless they are a matzah product, or include matzah among the ingredients.
• In Israel, which has large numbers of Sephardic Jews, Kosher for Passover products may contain rice or corn as well as potatoes.

I hope that this helps celiac sufferers and their families navigate the Passover shelves this time of year.

Gluten-Free Recipes on Cooking Manager:

Summer Chickpea Stew

Rice Pudding in the Microwave

Lentils with Onion and Garlic

Enjoyed this post? See more at Cooking Manager

Guide to Buying Gluten-Free Products on Passover

f you read Cooking Manager by email or RSS reader, you may not have seen my new header, designed by Leora. Leora designs banners, logos and websites and is a pleasure to work with, a true professional.

I’ve also switched to a new theme (layout), and I’d appreciate feedback on ease of reading, navigating and commenting.

Some Jewish readers are starting to think about Passover, which is just around the corner. Religiously observant Jews clean their homes, especially their kitchens, to remove all traces of leavened foods. With that in mind I’ve opened three Passover discussions on the Facebook Cooking Manager fan page:

• Cleaning Your Kitchen for Passover
• Passover Menus and Recipes
• What’s in Your Freezer and Pantry (for ideas on using up food)

You’re all welcome to follow along and contribute.

In other news, I spoke on time management at a conference on social media and on an internet radio program.

On Cooking Manager this week, I wrote about Handling Raw Chicken Safely, No-Knead Sponge Challah, and the Potato Cake Mystery.

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Blog News and Friday Roundup #28

I read in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that there’s been a seven-fold increase, over the last twenty years, in the number of children hospitalized with intestinal ailments caused by campylobacter, a bacterium commonly found in raw poultry. More than half the children admitted to the hospital for intestinal problems tested positive for the bacterium.

The newspaper (print, Hebrew version) reviewed safe methods for handling raw chicken:

1. Buy fresh, refrigerated chicken.
2. If you do buy frozen, be sure it has been handled properly. Patches of ice on the sign indicate chicken that may have been defrosted and refrozen.
3. Defrost on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator, to prevent contamination of other foods.  [Placing the tray on newspaper or a plate will contain drips.]
4. Use utensils that set aside for raw meat.
5. Before cooking, wash the utensils and your hands.  If you have open cuts, wear gloves.
6. Raw chicken breast can remain in the refrigerator for two days before cooking.
7. After cooking, chicken can be stored for two to three days.
8. For cleaning surfaces in the kitchen, a paper towel is recommended.

I’ll have to think about that last one, as I use rags. Even if I don’t wash the rag in hot water, I doubt the bacterium would survive until the next use.

According to this article, the number of cases of campylobacter infection has decreased in the U.S. The article blamed the high number of Israeli cases on shnitzel, the fried chicken breasts that are a lunch staple.

Related posts:

Nine Tips to Help Food Last Longer

Is This Food Safe to Eat?

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Handle Raw Chicken Safely to Prevent Illness

Wednesday is recipe day at Cooking Manager.

Bread making is an art as well as a science, and may take a while until you get the kind of challah you want. It takes more time than most recipes on this site. Most of the time, you are waiting! The work itself is minimal.

My friend Miriam Kresh of Israeli Kitchen suggests using less yeast in baking, leading to a lighter, airier bread with less yeasty taste. But it involves a longer rising time. She helped me work out the recipe below.

A sponge contains all of the yeast and liquids, and about two-thirds of the flour called for in the recipe. It allows you to use less yeast, compensated for by a longer rising time. This means that you end up with an airier dough with more flour taste than yeast.  Sometimes it consists of only the water, yeast, and the majority of the flour.

Makes 4 loaves. Recipe may be halved or doubled.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons instant yeast, or 50 grams fresh compressed yeast, or three envelopes.
• 35 oz. or 1 liter of water. You can use water from cooking potatoes to add extra texture, or other leftover cooking water. Some use part juice. Take into account any strong flavors.
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 9 cups flour for the sponge and another 4 to 6 cups for later. Use white, whole wheat, or a mixture.

Instant yeast can be mixed right in, but fresh or compressed yeast needs to be “proofed” with a quarter cup of warm water (measure the full amount, then pour off the quarter cup) and a pinch of sugar.

Stir all of the ingredients including 9 cups of the flour. The texture might be loose  or sticky, it doesn’t matter as you will adjust the amount of flour later. Note down any changes you make.

Cover well. Marcy Goldman’s trick is to place the whole bowl in a garbage bag. Let the sponge rise on the counter, or in the refrigerator overnight. The sponge is ready when it’s bubbly. On a hot and humid day the dough can be ready within an hour. On a cool day it will take up to two hours. Longer is fine too.

Stir the batter and add about 4 cups of flour. You may need more, but I can’t give you an exact quantity. The dough should be cohesive yet quite sticky.  You will need to be able to shape it, and after kneading it will get easier to handle. You can always add more flour later, or even water if it gets too dry.

Now you get to rest again before kneading. Letting the new flour absorb the liquids in the sponge for 20 minutes or so makes kneading much faster and easier. If you have a mixer or food processor large enough for the dough, by all means use it. But if not, you don’t have to knead much. Here’s are two methods that Laurie uses to save on kneading:

1. After letting the dough rest for 20-30 minutes (autolyze), I’ll knead for 10 strokes, let the dough rest for 15 minutes, and then repeat twice for a total of 3 sets of kneading and resting. Then, after another 15 or so minutes, I’ll do a few stretch and folds. Then I let the dough rise until doubled in volume, then do the same old shaping and second rise that kneaders do.
2. After letting the dough rest for 20-30 minutes (autolyze), I’ll do a few stretch and folds, then let the dough rest 45 minutes, then repeat for a total of 3 stretch and fold then rest sessions. After the last rest after the final stretch and fold, I’ll shape it and let it do the regular second rise.

After kneading or stretching, you can put it into the refrigerator or shape it right away. For a braid, make 1 long “snake” and 1 short one. Form the long snake into a U-shape. Add flour as necessary, but too much will make the dough heavy. Rest one end of the smaller snake in the center of the U. This will become the “nose.” Then bring strips from alternate sides into the center, to make a braid. Don’t worry too much as imperfections will be less visible as the dough rises. When you are done, tuck the ends underneath the loaf.

You can also make one long snake and roll it into a spiral. Or roll out part of the dough with a rolling pin, spread with a thin layer of oil, sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and nuts, then roll it up into a cake.

Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on top.

I like to bake braids into loaf pans, because moist dough spreads out in a flat pan.

Bake at 180 C. or 350 F. The challah is done when the bottom is medium brown; when you tap it  you should hear a hollow sound. Remove from pan and cool on a baking rack.

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Recipe: Challah Bread with Sponge Method

Potato cakes are a food I remember fondly from my childhood. My mother made these crispy treats often, for two reasons: First, the main ingredient was leftover potatoes, and second, they cooked in the broiler. My mother’s gas stove had a broiler drawer directly under the oven. When she turned on the oven, she would take advantage of its heat by broiling food at the same time.

I have an electric oven with no broiler drawer, but I’m not sure that’s why I’ve never made potato cakes. Yesterday I had a lot of leftover potatoes, so I decided to experiment.  The cakes came out crisp but somewhat tasteless. I didn’t poll my company. I’m not sure whether I just didn’t add enough salt, or I left out some essential ingredient like schmaltz. Or perhaps my palate has become more sophisticated over the years.

Here’s the recipe, for you to play with:

Ingredients:

• About 7 leftover potatoes, mashed coarsely
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 onions, chopped and sauteed
• salt and pepper
• paprika

Instructions: Mix ingredients, form into mounds, and place under the broiler for about twenty minutes, until brown on top.

If I were to make them again I would add fresh dill or parsley.

Have you ever tried to reconstruct a dish without a recipe?

Reader interviews will return next week.

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The Potato Cake Mystery

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is up at Adventures in Mamaland.

Mouse Girl

PhD in Parenting wrote on the irony of fast-food companies sponsoring the Olympics. What do you think?

Below are posts from Cooking Manager for February 14-27:

In Why You Should Finish Everything on Your Plate, I explain why you should scrape plates to save food and make cleanup easier. Perhaps the title was misleading. I don’t think that children should finish their food despite not being hungry. Instead they should start with smaller portions.

In When Using Up Leftovers Is a Waste, I responded to reader Tesyaa about the wisdom of making new dishes from leftovers.

Reader Interviews:

Thanks to Yonit and Robin for sharing their international and eclectic cooking styles

Recipes:

Red Snapper with Dill and Lemon. Readers asked about serving fresh fish, so I am planning a post about it.

Grandma Rose’s Hamantashen. Norma’s Grandma, that is. Adina asked about substituting to make it pareve (neutral i.e. no dairy or meat). Since I avoid dairy substitutes, I recommended this recipe based on oil and juice. If you use it, I recommend reducing the oil to 2/3 cup or less.

We are busy preparing for the Purim holiday, which involves costumes and, like every Jewish holiday, lots of cooking and baking. Happy Purim to all who are celebrating!

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Friday Roundup #28: Purim and the Olympics

Thanks to Norma for sending in this recipe. Purim, the Jewish holiday celebrated this Saturday evening through evening. Hamantashen are meant to remind us of the three-cornered hat supposedly worn by Haman, the villain in the biblical book of Esther that will be read in the synagogue.

Hamantashen are made from any kind of rollable cookie dough. Cut the dough into circles, then fill and pinch into a triangle shape so the filling shows through on top.

This Hamentaschen recipe comes from Grandma Rose. The cookie is based on a classic sour cream cookie— light and airy. It’s one of the few Hamentaschen recipes where you actually enjoy eating the cookie that surrounds the filling! I sometimes make the cookie dough and leave the rounds plain.

Makes 2-3 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 2/3 cups flour

Instructions:

1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Add liquid ingredients and mix thoroughly.
3. Mix in dry ingredients.
4. Divide dough in half and chill for at least 30 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the fridge. Can be kept in the fridge overnight, too, wrapped tightly to keep out the air. [Note: I store dough in a plastic, covered container.]
   
5. Work with half the dough at a time, and keep the rest cool.
6. Roll to about a 1/4 inch thick (6mm) and cut into 3-inch rounds (7.5 cm). A floured drinking glass rim works well.
7. Fill the center with a teaspoon of your favorite topping (poppy seed, apricot, or chocolate with orange marmalade – my favourite!).
8. Dampen the edges with water and then crimp to form triangles.
9. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 F° (180 C°). Check for a golden brown bottom to see if they are done — the tops will stay pale.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Norma, for sharing! I welcome guest recipes from readers.

If you enjoyed this post you may also like:

Sweet Bread Pudding

Easy Stuffed Cabbage

11 Tips for Painless Kitchen Cleanup

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Guest Recipe: Grandma Rose’s Hamantashen

Please welcome reader Yonit van de Metz of Collecting Hats for today’s interview.

Name, location, family: Yonit de Metz, Philadelphia, wife and work-at-home mom to two toddlers and lots of houseplants.

What do you remember about family meals when you were growing up? What was your mother’s cooking style?
I have realized recently how diverse my mom’s cooking style is. Besides the traditional Jewish foods she brought from her own family she learned to cook  Puerto Rican food from my grandmother and aunt. She also made Italian, Chinese, American, Mexican, and all kinds of different things. We have been known to have Thanksgiving meals with kugel, matzo ball soup, arroz y gondules, Turkey, enchiladas, and flan next to the traditional pumpkin & apple pies.

How is your cooking style different from your mother’s?
I’ve added some British dishes to the mix for my dh. I also try to use more whole grains, less white sugar where possible. I didn’t try lentils or quinoa until I was an adult and now they are staples! My mom also NEVER freezes cooked food and I only started after I married. My mom’s freezer has raw meat, vegetables, and convenience foods. I try to freeze leftovers when I can. I also tend to run out of ingredients in the middle of a recipe while she is more organized, but that also means I can be more innovative and creative (or have to run to the store depending).

How old were you when you started cooking? How did you learn? I don’t remember exactly, but it must have been home because I definitely remember hearing from my mom about making a mess of her kitchen! She cleans more as she goes along, while I somehow manage to get flour and ingredients everywhere!

Do you entertain, and in what circumstances? What is the biggest party or meal you have hosted to date?
We love having shabbos guests and have several regulars who sometimes join us for weekday meals as well. I have never hosted more than 20 people in my home (including the time we squeezed about that many into a sukkah the size of a van).

Can you share a typical daily menu? Weekly menu?
We eat a lot of eggs, my husband works out often and wants the protein. When I first got married I was organized with set menus each week. Sunday/Monday for Sabbath left overs, Tuesday dairy, Wednesday meat, Thursday fish. Then I tried to plan a month ahead of time. As my household has gotten busier and moved four times in the past eighteen months, we’re winging it a bit more.

How has your cooking style evolved over the years?
I used to be obsessive about measuring and following recipes. Now I eyeball a few recipes and mix and match using my judgment and experience to make a dish. I’ve also had to adapt to the ingredients found locally. We ate more avocados in Jerusalem and Texas than in Beitar or Philadelphia, for example.

What is your biggest cooking challenge?
Trying to make easy, healthy lunches and dinners with little time and energy and unreliable access to ingredients. I don’t have a car so my grocery shopping is built around friends’ and my husband’s schedules rather than my menus.

Can you recommend any cookbooks, TV shows or websites that have inspired you?

I love the Make it Fast, Cook it Slow website and cookbook. I love my crockpot and need to use it more.

What posts on CM have you enjoyed? Do you have suggestions for future posts?
I love the sourdough posts (even though my green thumb didn’t translate to yeast apparently). I also love the ideas for running a frugal house. I think of CM every time I fill my laundry detergent up less than full

What do you have in your refrigerator that needs to be used up right away?
Milk, cartons of low sodium soup for the kids, and leftovers, everything else has a longer shelf life.
Please share your favorite recipes.
Shepherd’s (really cottage or gardener’s since I’ve never used lamb) Pie, a family favorite. And sofrito, a basic Puerto Rican ingredient for seasoning rice, stews, soups, meat, etc.

Enjoyed this post? See more at Cooking Manager

Sofrito and Shepherd’s Pie: Interview with Yonit:

Banana Flower

Tesyaa left this comment on Why You Should Eat Everything on Your Plate:

Another thing about waste – quite often I’ve tried to avoid waste by making, say, a banana bread with overripe bananas, or using up rice in some other type of dish. Those items use energy to cook, and use other ingredients. If there is no real need for banana bread, making it to use up old bananas just wastes oil, eggs, sugar, & flour.

To me, avoiding foood “waste” is only helpful if it frees up other food items. If not, it’s not doing anyone any good.

I’m not sure what you mean when you write “there is no real need for banana bread.” If your family will eat the banana bread instead of something else you were planning to cook, bake or buy, I don’t see the problem. If it means they will eat the banana bread in addition to what you usually serve, i.e. unneeded calories, I see your point.

I think it all comes down to an ability to regulate our appetite and not overeat. If finishing the last bite on your plate, means you will eat less at the next meal, that’s fine. But if it means adding calories you don’t need over the course of the day, cut down serving portions until you find the smallest amount that satisfies you.

If you don’t need or want banana bread, put the soft bananas in the freezer for when you do, or make smoothies. If you know you won’t use them, I give you permission to throw them out!

It’s the same with the rice. Rice is easy to add to soup or a main course, which becomes part of the next meal. You’ve already paid for the rice so why not use it up? I’m not sure I understand why you would use rice in something you are not going to eat. Are you saying it’s more efficient to serve it on the side at the next meal? If so, I agree. But it doesn’t take much extra energy to add the rice to a casserole instead.

Avoiding food waste is an art and each family will have its own approach. If you have no use for soft bananas, only buy as many as you’ll eat in a short time (hint: they keep longer in the refrigerator). When cooking, be realistic about leftovers and plan accordingly. Sometimes the dish we make with leftovers is successful and sometimes not. With time and practice we can all make improvements.

Here are some recipes you shouldn’t make with leftovers. (Hat tip: Yonit)

If you enjoyed this post you may also like:

Adventures in Holiday Leftovers

My Mother’s Re-Recycled Meat Soup

Nine Tips to Help Food Last Longer

Enjoyed this post? See more at Cooking Manager

When Using Up Leftovers Is a Waste of Resources