Category: vegan

Cashew Cheese and Vegan Mac n’ Cheese Balls

The Jewish festival of Shavuot (festival of weeks) comes around seven weeks after passover.  In Israel, I always felt like this one-day holiday was lost in the blink of an eye and in the US the two-day celebration seems to fall short of the prep and attention other major holidays get.  Shavuot is unique in that it’s the one time that holiday classics are dairy dishes like cheesecake and blintzes, not fun [...]

13 May, 2013 // By : // 17 Comments

How to Make Homemade Preserved Lemons

There are dozens of recipes in the book Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi that I want to make.  Each and every page of that book inspires me to get cooking and the photography in this title brings both food and Israeli culture alive.  Preserved lemons are front of mind as I turn the pages.  They are not something I have ever made but have wanted to for a long [...]

25 April, 2013 // By : // 15 Comments

Pistachio Pasta

Every time I step into The Milky Way in Los Angeles’s Pico Robertson neighborhood, I feel like I have entered a vacuum of tranquility. The hustle and bustle of Los Angeles stays outside as the owner, Leah Adler, welcomes each and every guest. Leah, a proud Jewish mother, has tastefully decorated the restaurant with movie memorabilia and posters, a subtle reminder to all that her son is the Hollywood mastermind, [...]

8 April, 2013 // By : // 14 Comments

Hot Potato Salad

Daylight savings time is just one of the ways I know that spring is on it’s way.  Seeing artichokes and healthy asparagus in the produce section is another, and the steady stream of guests that stay with us once the threat of snow has passed is really the telling tale.  I love this time of year and I love it when people come to stay.  When my wife’s sorority sister [...]

21 March, 2013 // By : // 21 Comments

Grilled Cayenne Chocolate Dipped Pineapple (Kosher Connections Link Up, March 2013)

Would you believe me if I said I have never cooked with pineapple before?  My mother’s deathly allergy to this fruit kept it far from our home, perhaps even our block when I was growing up.  Pineapple happens to be my wife‘s favorite fruit so when I see a good looking pineapple at the store, I’ll remind myself that it isn’t poison and add it to the cart.  In brainstorming [...]

18 March, 2013 // By : // 14 Comments

Kansas City Split Pea Soup

In February 2013 I flew to New York for 50 hours  to attend the Kosher Food and Wine Experience.  As I made friends and mingled with foodies, there are two questions I was asked over and over again.  First, “isn’t that where Kosher on a Budget is from?”  Second, “why Kansas?”.  After two years in this fine city, I answered that question my my recent Times of Israel Op-Ed.  In short, these [...]

14 March, 2013 // By : // 12 Comments

Deconstructed Hummus Salad

Sometimes you want something quick and easy, a short cut that will get you most of the way there.  Last night, in the midst of my hummus prep, I ran out of steam and with my chick peas soaked, tahini ready and garlic already roasted, I wanted to call it a night.  Making the hummus wasn’t bothering me, but if there’s one kitchen appliance I hate to clean more than anything [...]

4 March, 2013 // By : // 15 Comments

Balsamic Marinated Eggplant Crostini with Cilantro Lime Tahini

Thirteen years ago, Malcolm Gladwell’s popular science book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference  hit the shelves.  I first heard of the book when I was new to life in Israel and the book was rising in popularity ahead of the 2005 launch of Gladwell’s second work, Blink, when someone turned to me one day and told me I was a connector. Connectors, are the [...]

25 February, 2013 // By : // 22 Comments

Hummus Recipe Redo

That whole hummus obsession of mine has returned and although it’s been a number of months since I last wrote about my love of chickpeas, I’m not sharing a new recipe with you today, rather, I am updating an old one.  You see, I was asked by fellow Kosher Connections blogger, Jamie Geller to take photos of one her recipes, Hearty “Meat” Hummus.  This dish made it to our dinner menu, [...]

24 January, 2013 // By : // 11 Comments

Homemade Taco Seasoning & Vegetarian Tacos

A couple of months ago, I learned Mrs Smith was to retire.  Mrs Smith taught me when I was young, perhaps five or six years old, and not for more than a year or two because we moved to another town.  More than 20 years later, you ask me which of the educators had the biggest impact on my life, I’ll tell you it was Mrs Smith.  She had a [...]

15 January, 2013 // By : // 14 Comments

Vegetarian Chili with Black Beans and Corn

When I think of chili, I typically think the heavy dish of red kidney beans and ground beef that is a meal in itself, but we’ll all too often ladle over a hot dog or a baked potato as though it’s a condiment.  My chili con carne is an awesome dish no matter how you serve it, but this vegetarian chili is altogether something else. It is filling without being heavy [...]

10 January, 2013 // By : // 28 Comments

Maple, Balsamic & Lemon Brussels Sprouts

Although the first written reference of brussels sprouts is found in 16th Century Roman literature, it’s thought that these mini-cabbage-like veggies were first grown in the 13th Century in a country that is now Belgium.  Brussels sprouts made their way to the United States in the 18th century when French Settler’s arrived in Louisiana and somehow developed an unpopular reputation. Clearly, people have been cooking them wrong for centuries.

19 December, 2012 // By : // 24 Comments

Onion Bhajis and Cilantro Chutney

Chanukah is around the corner. Eight oily nights of fried latkes and donuts are plentiful, waiting to tempt the healthiest of eaters. If you’re looking for a low-carb alternative to these fatty delights, check out my Rutabaga and Turnip Latkes featured in The Jewish Week a few days ago. If you still want that fried flavor but want to cut the potatoes, Onion Bhajis are a delicious Indian treat that [...]

1 December, 2012 // By : // 15 Comments

Coconut Roasted Butternut Squash

Around the time that we moved into our home, coconut oil became a go-to ingredient in my kitchen.  Originally, I intended to use this a healthier alternative to olive oil as it has a higher burning temperature and a slew of health benefits but as it turns out, I have found that coconut oil is an excellent ingredient in it’s own right.  While coconut oil is often used in South [...]

14 November, 2012 // By : // 19 Comments

Udon Noodle Soup

Some nights, I know exactly what I plan to make for dinner.  The menu was planned, the groceries are in the pantry and it’s a done deal.  Other nights, like tonight, I leave the office, wondering what on earth I can pull from the fridge and put on the table.  Some of those unplanned dinners, become unplanned blog posts, and that is just one reason that I always keep my [...]

31 October, 2012 // By : // 8 Comments

Schug: A Classic Middle Eastern Condiment

When it comes to the kitchen, I know my comfort zone. There are tools I gravitate towards and flavor profiles I embrace, but I am always trying to push myself to create, or recreate something for the first time. Never before have I made schug and as I was cleaning up after making this awesome jalepeno based condiment, I wondered why I had never done this before. Following this schug [...]

26 October, 2012 // By : // 10 Comments

← Older Entries