New Work, New Food!

This was Taylor's farewell meal. He's off to Carmel, CA, for a week.
If you're curious, it's an African Peanut Stew with Pineapple and Kale.
I hope to post the recipe ... if y'all are interested!

What a week, folks! What a week ... and I've been mute for the whole of it. I was driving home yesterday from a meeting and realized that I hadn't written a single thing on the blog this week and began to wonder -- have I reached the ceiling? Am I done blogging? Then I thought, well, with some new changes, my schedule is becoming more regimented and I should have more time for things like blogging because, thanks to this blog, I've achieved great things and I want to continue on that road of blogomania.

So, first off I want to announce some news on the work front. After living in Denver for four months, and doing consulting work for three of those months, I'm happy to say that I'm now a full-time employee at the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education as a the Social Media and Website Manager. This means I get to do oodles of fun things like run amok on the website, come up with cool socially innovative projects, and more. It's seriously a dream job. I work in Jewish Education and Social Media -- for me, this is the best of both worlds. Also, I'm working as a part-time intern for Blogmutt, a startup based in Boulder, as their social media go-to. It's been oodles of fun, and I get to be just as creative and innovative as a girl could dream of being.

So much snow in Denver!

Basically, I'm on Cloud Nine as far as work goes! Patience is all it took for things to land on their feet.

Speaking of my work at CAJE, there was a most excellent d'var on Beshalah given at our weekly meeting that discussed the significance and importance of the items that the Israelites took out of Egypt -- the timbrels, matzo, and Joseph's bones. The discussion involved a question: If you had to pick up and leave, what one item would you take with you? After all, when it came time to take Joseph's bones out of Egypt, Moses searched and persisted for Joseph's bones. So, if you had to search and persist for a single item, what would it be?

At first, I thought, Nothing! There is Nothing! And then I realized, there is something. One thing, in fact. This thing is a photo of my Grandpa and Grandma Edwards standing with my father and uncle, a few years before my grandmother died. (I've written before about them. My grandmother and grandfather both died before my dad was 12 years old.) It's one of the only things that attaches me to a past and to people I never knew.

For what would you search high and far?

On that note, I want to wish you all a Shabbat Shalom from snowy, snowy Denver. Here, I offer you an image of my new attempt at gluten-free, vegan challah! I promise to let you know how it tastes.

Ode to Nosh!

It was one of those nights, those grilled cheese and tomato soup kind of nights. Taylor and I vowed to not eat out for a full two weeks, and this is day seven of the adventure. I've cooked something almost every night this past week and the rest of the time has been leftovers consumption. Over the week there's been a lot of soup, and a lot of recipes from Veganomicon. This week I'm hoping to make Lentil Bolognese, Eggplant-Squash Lasagna, Falafel Burgers and who knows what else. Stay tuned! But for now? I give you, my nosh.

First, Classic Tomato Soup with a grilled cheese. What kind of grilled cheese?

Well, if you must know it was a sandwich made with King Arthur Flour Bread Mix for the bread, and I added Trader Joe's Apricot Spread, Fresh Baby Spinach, and Natural & Kosher Muenster Cheese! (Yay for a CostCo visit with @melschol today!)

Overall? Delicious. I have been trying out a lot of different bread mixes in place of challah, inspired by Rebbetzin Ketriellah of Boulder Aish haKodesh (buy a gluten-free bread mix, remove 1/4 or 1/3 cup of the mix and replace it with gluten-free oat flour, and you have ha'motzi), and this is yet another of those that I tried. The one thing I've discovered is that it's hard to find a good bread that doesn't absorb the liquid substance, in this case the Vegan Buttery Spread I used. So it was a little soggy, and I should have put cheese on both sides so that the whole thing stuck together, but, you know when I last made a grilled cheese? Months, folks. Maybe even a good year or so.

I Cooked: Enchiladas!

I cooked! I have to say that I'm pretty proud that over the past month, I've made as many meals as I did when I was living on my own back in Chicago and fell in love with cooking. Veggies and spices and kitchen messes oh my! Taylor is quite the health-nut veggie like me, so it makes meal-planning and eating a lot more exciting knowing that I can finally share my food with someone!

Tonight was Creamy Spinach Enchiladas with a Red Cabbage Salad. I revamped the original recipe, which was dairy, to make it vegan (parve) and, luckily, it's gluten-free if you buy the right kind of corn tortillas!

Ingredients
10 corn tortillas, warmed (the recipe called for eight, but I had filling for 10)
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach thawed and drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1.5 cups Daiya vegan cheddar cheese (original recipe was regular cheddar)
1 cup So Delicious Original Coconut Creamer (original recipe was regular heavy cream)
2 cans green chiles
salt
pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the thawed spinach, corn, one can green chiles, and 1 cup of the Daiya cheese. 
3. In a small bowl, mix together the creamer, one can green chiles, and 1/4 tsp of each salt and pepper. 
4. Heat up the tortillas. 
5. Place about 1/3 cup mixture in each tortilla and roll. Place seam-side down into a shallow baking pan. 
6. Pour the creamer mixture over the top of the enchiladas and top the entire dish with remaining 1/2 cup of Daiya cheese. 
7. Cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes until sauce is bubbly. Remove foil and cook another 5-10 minutes. (Daiya cheese won't brown, but regular cheese will.)
8. Enjoy!

For the salad, take a large red cabbage and quarter it. You'll need about 4 cups of thinly sliced red cabbage, which is about 1/4 of a large cabbage, and two thinly sliced scallions. Throw the cabbage and scallions into a bowl with 2 Tbls olive oil, 2 Tbls fresh lime juice, and 1/4 cup papitas (I just used regular sunflower seeds). Mix up with a bit of salt and pepper, and eat!

I'm whipping up a simple dessert right now: Blueberry Crisp Ramekins. Some blueberries, sucanet, gluten-free flour, topped with Udi's Gluten-Free Original Granola. Thatsit. Bam.

Edit: It's done!

Are You Ready to Get Served?

This post is sponsored by Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! 

I love, love, love being a member of the Clever Girls Collective, because of all of the stellar opportunities for sponsored posts, which means you get to find out about new products and services and I get to, you know, do fun things for free!

I signed up for the Serve.com promotion and got picked, which meant that I got some free change to take several friends out to dinner and drinks in order to try out Serve's product and to get some other friends to do the same. What is Serve, you ask?

Serve is a new way to settle up with friends instantly via email or mobile device -- whether you're at the bar or a restaurant. The result is that you avoid awkward exchanges of cash, and you don't have to chase down your friends to get them to pay up for your boss's holiday gift.

Yes, we made a Chanukiah out of our
used beer and cider bottles!

SCENARIO: Let's say you're at the bar or a restaurant, but the place only takes cash. You turn to your bestie and say, "Hey man, can I borrow $50 to get drinks tonight?" Your friend, being weird about loaning cash money to friends because he's been burned so many times, is hesitant. So you, being the smart person that you are for signing up for Serve.com, whip out your cellphone, click over to the Serve app and send your friend immediately from your Serve account the $50 you're about to borrow from him. He knows, upfront, that you're good for the money, because he just got an email saying that you transfered $50 to him. BAM! No weird encounters or "Hey man, so, make sure you get me the money by Friday" or anything like that. It's practically instantaneous.

So I took several friends out to WaterCourse, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant here in Denver that is absolutely amazing and friendly to weirdos like me who are gluten free and about 90 percent vegetarian and dairy free who also have concerns about kashrut (I know, y'all are going to have questions about this, but this isn't the post for it, so stay tuned). After the meal, when we got the bill, we split it up evenly using the calculator that comes with the Serve app, and everyone paid with their respective cards/cash. Having money in my account from Serve to reimburse my co-diners, I immediately reimbursed all of them via their email addresses from my mobile app! Before we even got up from the table, everything was settled and everyone was blown away by how instantaneously awesome the service is. More goodies?

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I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Recipe: Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup

I'm planning some heavy posts this week, so I thought I'd start things out simple and light with a recipe for some delicious soup I just whipped up with pleasure and fresh veggies. If things go right, I'll be eating lots of veggies and yummy things like quinoa all week. Wish me luck to stick to it!

Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup
Adapted from November 2011 Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients
1 medium chopped yellow onion
8 ounces carrots (that's about three normal-sized carrots)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium acorn squash, quartered
olive oil
black pepper
2 cups water
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (I winged it with cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
14 ounces veggie stock
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 container plain yogurt (Greek is best, but I used Green Valley Lactose Free Yogurt)
6 Tbls honey

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 500 F.
2. Arrange the veggies (onion, carrot, squash) on a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with pepper. Toss. Roast at 500 F for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning once. Cool for 10 minutes. Peel acorn squash; discard skin.
3. Combine vegetables, water, veggie stock, curry powder, garam masala, and red pepper into a pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and stir in salt. Remove the pot from the stove and puree with an immersion blender.
4. Combine yogurt and honey, stirring well. Swirl atop the soup!
5. Voila! Enjoy!

Fall Food: Sweet and Savory

Because it's Fall, and because I love to cook (who would have thought there'd be a day), I'm going to sporadically share some of my favorite recipes with y'all. Here's the first, a Pear-Butternut Squash Soup, which came out a little sweet, a little savory. The yogurt and nutmeg give it that perfect creamy sweet sensation of fall. (Which, might I add, is super because despite it being fall, it snowed here in Denver today, so it's nice to have a little bit of autumn in my bowl!)

Ingredients
2 firm pears (I used a Bosc and Green Anjou), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small butternut squash, peeled, gutted, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Yogurt and nutmeg for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Put pears and butternut squash into a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the squash becomes slightly soft and starts to brown.
2. Meanwhile, in a good-sized saucepan, heat olive oil on medium heat and cook the onions until slightly translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Throw on some salt and pepper, and then add the broth and pear-squash mix. 
3. Simmer the goodness for about 15 minutes, then blend with an immersion blender.
4. Top with some plain yogurt (I used Green Valley's Plain Lactose-Free Yogurt) and swirl for looks, then sprinkle on some nutmeg and devour!

Pairings
Since I'm gluten-free, the only thing I can really imagine pairing with this is a good Hard Cider, like Woodchuck, which is both kosher and naturally gluten free!

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating's newest magazine issue!

Kosher Flops and Flips

I've been having a lot of really interesting conversations with people lately about kashrut, which makes me think back to some of my less-than-stellar days of refining the art of keeping kosher. It's a journey for all of us, and sometimes it takes years to really take on a full regimen of kashrut. Some cases in point?

Flop No. 1? 
During the first week of classes at the University of Connecticut (where I was to get my first M.A. in Judaic studies), there was a big welcome cook-out over at Hillel, so I decided to go outside my typical box of comfortability in order to schmooze with the campus Jews. At that point, it was August 2008 and I had been an "official" Reform Jew for about a year and a half. I'd slowly been taking on more kashrut, especially after Passover 2008 when I decided that I was set for an Orthodox conversion. I didn't kasher anything, but I kept on my tradition of no pork and no shellfish (which I'd taken on even before I went to a Reform shul for the first time many, many years before) and decided I was going to avoid mixing meat and milk.

While waiting in line at the cook-out to grab my own kosher burger, salads, and chips, I spotted little packets of ketchup, mustard, and ... GASP ... mayo! I started to get really nervous, looking around to see if anyone else was reacting to the mayo on the table. I mean, they said this was kosher meat and that all the fixins were kosher too, didn't they? Okay, okay, so I wasn't fully kosher, but I wasn't about to mix meat and dairy! Come on people!

Yes. I thought, stupidly, for no apparent reason, that mayo was dairy. Yipes. The thing is, I never really ate mayo, so my ignorance should have been expected. Luckily, I didn't make an arse of myself by saying anything to anyone and instead Googled it the moment I got home. Can you imagine how stupid I felt?

Flop No. 2? 
Living in the dorms, I canceled my meal plan after one semester because I simply didn't like going to the cafeteria and the kosher cafeteria (the reason I bought the plan to begin with) was on the other side of campus and I just wasn't into the schlep (my dorm was right next to the building in which I worked, the classes in which I took, and the library in which I lived). Thus, I had to rely on the groceries I picked up every week when Tuvia (who I started dating at the start of my time at UConn) came out and picked me up and drove me over to the Wal-Mart. I got into a habit of eating vegetarian in my dorm almost exclusively, but at some point I was craving meat so I ended up eating a lot of breaded chicken patties, and I made sure -- really made sure -- to never mix meat and dairy, despite my own frustations with chicken as "meat." (I think I thought I was a Karaite.)

And then? Well, I made dinner as usual. Threw a chicken patty in the microwave, popped a piece of cheese on it, threw on some pasta sauce and voila! made my favorite dish of yore, Chicken Parm. I gobbled it up while watching something on my computer and then, suddenly, I realized what I was eating. Holy crap. What do I do? Do I make myself throw up? I didn't do it on purpose I started shouting in my head! It was an accident! What do I do!?

Well, of course, I went to AskMoses.com. And the kind random person behind the computer told me that there was nothing I could do to make it better or to go away. Of course, the person behind the computer didn't know that I had only had a Reform conversion so technically, according to halacha, I'd done nothing wrong -- I was a non-Jew eating milk and meat together. No biggie, right? But the person talking to me at AskMoses.com talked me down, explained to me that it wasn't something I'd intentionally done, so while it was wrong, there was no way to repent, if you will. I felt better, I'll say that much, but man was that a serious flop.

(Note: I haven't found a good replacement for Chicken Parm, unfortunately with the gluten-free thing. Eggplant Parm just isn't the same. Oh Morningstar why must you have wheat?!)

Flippity Flop!
The thing about kashrut is that it's a journey, and it's one that isn't at all easy or always fun to travel on. I stopped eating pork and shellfish probably sometime back in 2003, long before I even knew there was a Reform shul in town. But I started there because I knew there was something I could start with that was easy to do and it would connect me to generations of religious and assimilated Jews.

But after that, it took me until 2008 to really even consider the idea of separation of meat and milk completely, and even after I started, Tuvia and I still ate out dairy. But after I went to and returned from Middlebury, Vermont, in Summer 2009, I couldn't do the eating-out-dairy thing anymore -- I felt like I was cheating, being hypocritical. Not everyone feels that way, and I don't expect anyone to feel that way, but we did. And then? We went on that big journey of kashrut together. And now look at us -- we're all super frum with the kashrut.

And it's still hard. I don't know if it ever gets easy. Every now and again I have cravings, strange cravings, for things like Chick-Fil-A and Chipotle and other places that, to be completely honest, I wouldn't be able to eat at anyway because I'm now gluten-free. Saving grace? Maybe HaShem is trying to give me an easy time? Probably not. Cravings are cravings -- they don't go away. But the nice thing is that with modern cooking, you can pretty much figure out a way to satisfy any craving with creative cooking. Likewise, leaving in Teaneck has us pretty spoiled foodwise.

Don't worry about making mistakes. I grab the wrong utensil more often than I should, and we end up doing a lot of kashering (sorry Tuvia!). One of the wisest things I ever read (or was it heard?) was that as long as you acknowledge that there's a goal (in this case being shomer kashrut), then your mistakes and stumbles will not stand in judgment of you. Or something like that. Basically? As long as you say "I will, someday, be a kosher Jew," then your steps and missteps to get there will be accepted as growing pains rather than your downfall. Stick to your guns, and you can make it happen!

Shabbos Food + A Fall Course

It's hot as Hades outside (does anyone outside of the Midwest use that phrase? because I use it all the time), but I'm busy preparing for Shabbos anyway, baking, cooking, and attempting to stay hydrated. On the menu?

Well, this is for tomorrow. We're eating by Stephen and Tzipora, so I'm providing a dessert.

Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Torte

And then there's the food for tonight:

I decided to make Croatian Star Challah, which I read about on The Challah Blog.

Lovveeee it! So unique.  Too bad I can't eat it. Bummer.

Basil-Pesto Meatballs
(2 pounds ground turkey + 1 container Sabra Basil-Pesto Hummus, zehu!)

Roasted Mixed Vegetables with Lemon and Garlic

Fruity Quinoa with Raisins
(1 cup quinoa + 2 cups grape juice. Cook till liquid is gone. Add raisins. Serve hot or cold!)

And, of course, there's a Grilled Chicken with a Bourbon-Peach Butter. Check out the peaches on the stove!

The finished product isn't that tantalizing visually, but good lord the "butter" tastes amazing!

I'll add that this menu is for four people, but I had plotted this meal when I assumed we were having a full table (that's eight), and unfortunately not everyone was around this week. But I forged forth with my menu anyway! Lucky guests, eh?

And I have to mention, I just registered for another class for the fall, and I'm super stoked about it. The course is "Duties of the Heart: Intention in Jewish Law," and it's through the Law School, which means it'll be me and a bunch of Law Students (outside enrollment is capped at five!). Here's the course description:

The course will examine the role of intention in different areas of Jewish Law - prayer and performance of other commandments, shabbat, torts, criminal law, vows, idolatry, and other areas of law. We will read carefuly Talmudic discussions concerning these matters, attempting to investigate the philosophy of action implied in these discussions as well as the spiritual and dimension of the relationship between the inner life and the outer performance in Jewish thought and Jewish Law. (all materails will be supplied with English translation).

Are you as excited as I am? Because, well, you should be. Why? Because I'm going to rock some awesomeness, darn't!

Shabbat shalom!

Kvetching and Noshing

Well, I'm at it again! As if I don't have enough on my plate and more to come, I've started another blog.

Yes, I know. I have this blog about all things Jewish and Judaism, and I have my Gluten-Free Kosher Critic blog where I review the obvious. But I wanted to start a very honest, blunt, and to-the-point blog about the struggle with food and the journey of weight-loss and healthy living. I'm I'm guessing at some point that the new blog will merge with Gluten-Free Kosher Critic, especially because with my new plan, Gluten-Free prepackaged foods often will be out, but for now, they're separate.

Thus, I give you Kvetching & Noshing. Check it out. Let's talk. And don't judge me!

Google Tarts + SNL Cookie Laughs

Yes, this can easily be made gluten-free. Pick up some GF graham crackers and get going!

Looking for a last minute recipe? Google, in all of its awesomeness, has given press to TV chef and author Ina Garten. Just go to Google.com and you'll get this:

Nom nom nom. That looks good. And the recipe? (Yes, I'm buying into the world-wide press for Ina Garten here.) All you have to do is click on the Google logo above (or on Google.com) and enjoy. There are six recipes available, enough for a full-on Turkey Day meal. So do the Turkey Trot into your kitchen and get busy!

And if you're just looking for a laugh Erev Thanksgiving -- and you're, perhaps, stressed out -- check out this hilarious audition tape from the one, the only, Cookie Monster for the SNL host spot! When did Sesame Street get so darn cool?! And if you missed it, check out my Shalom Sesame post from earlier this week. 

What I Fed My Mystery Guests

The bake.

For the second time since we've been in the Teaneck community, we were privy to take part in Mystery Shabbat. It sounds a lot more mysterious and spooky than it really is, and it is simply a way for the greater community I live in to get to know one another. People sign up as hosts or guests, the sisterhood matches people, and you find out at shul who you're eating by. The hosts find out who is eating with them the moment they, well, show up at the door. It's an up-to-the-last-minute surprise, and it allows people not to decline or prepare for certain guests (aside from dietary restrictions).

We had two couples and a single over for Shabbat lunch, with a total of three kids (one child, one toddler, and one baby). The only restrictions? A dislike of gefilte fish (bummer, but resolved) and dressing on the side. And, of course, my gluten restrictions. Here was the menu I chose, and the crowd was mighty pleased. The item that got gone the quickest? The Crapple, the recipe of which I got from @wifeofmottel, I simply de-glutenized for my noshing pleasure. Dig in!

Crapple!

Homemade Challah yes, I make it and don't eat it

Salad with cashews and craisins with a Raspberry Vinaigrette

Gefilte fish baked with honey and cinnamon

Matbucha, chummus, and chickpea salad

Crapple an oat and flour crust, cranberries and pineapple, with an oat topping

Roasted Potatoes a simple blend of potatoes with rosemary and garlic, roasted

Butternut Squash Cranberry Bake my favorite standby

Tarragon Corn the easiest thing to make, even mixing tarragon into cooked corn

Sweet & Spicy Chicken a huge crowd pleaser

BBQ Turkey Meatballs crumb-less meatballs bound with minced onion and egg in store-bought sauce

Chicken

Dessert was provided at the community oneg, which was part of the ending of the Mystery Shabbat festivities, providing a way for everyone to get together with old friends and new friends alike. Unfortunately, no gluten-free goods for me outside of fruit. Next time? I'm going to make some Coffee Cake or Brownies or my beloved Chocolate Mousse Torte!

Food + Class: What Would You Do?

I told a classmate back at the beginning of the semester that I was going to blog about this, and she was game, but I sort of put it off and put it off, and now I'm ready. Ready?

We're all put in situations where we have to have meals with non-kosher-keeping coworkers or friends. We're all also put in situations where we have to have meals with our friends and coworkers who do keep kosher, but maybe not the same type of kosher that we keep. This issue is compounded, especially, with family. Most of the time, it's doable to either talk those who don't hold to your kashrut into going to a restaurant where you feel comfortable, or having them come to your house, but it doesn't always work out that way. Sure, you can meet people at a coffee shop or a bar for a cup o' Joe or beer (of which kosher versions are abundant), but what about a classroom?

I'm in a class right now where every single student is Jewish, but of varying types of observance and views on Judaism. From the most cultural/secular to graduates of YU and, well, me. We're working on final papers/projects right now, which involve everything from gefilte fish and kugel to delis to Ovadiah ha'Ger. The point? Jewish primary sources (which means a document or even food) built around the idea of what community means.

For our final class, it has been suggested that we bring in gobs of food for noshing. This was brought up a long time ago, but with the impending end of the semester, I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach this with the class. Not everyone will eat the food that anyone makes. There's talk of making gefilte or kugel to bring in. I know in most situations, the best option is to just call up Murray's or something and get some food catered in, but it seems that people really really really want to make food and bring it in.

Sure, I can not eat the food, but I don't want to get into that kind of a situation, especially in an all-Jewish class. Comprende? 


So what should I do? How should I go about starting this conversation? Time is a'tickin' folks.

Cooking w/Giveaway, Susie Style!

Ever since Pesach 2008, I've been in love. The love affair has taken me to flavorful heights and through disastrous experiences. No, I'm not talking about my life since meeting Tuvia, I'm talking about my falling in love with the kitchen and cooking. I've always loved baking -- for me, it was easy to throw together cookies or a cake or some brownies. But cooking? It required knowledge of recipes and vegetables and spices and oils and other things I had zero experience with. Home was not a place where I was prepared for the big, bad world of food, so I took it upon myself to learn. I never wanted to learn to cook. After all, my original desire in a spouse was for him to be completely kitchen trained. I dated a few guys with skills that would put Martha Stewart to shame (Manishewitz in a pasta sauce? you bet!), but in the end, I need to figure it out for myself.

More than two years later, I consider myself pretty skilled in the kitchen. I've cooked for a few people, for two families with kids, for my in-laws ... you name it. I'm confident in the kitchen (except when it comes to serving, and then I sit on the edge of my seat waiting for pleased responses). But I didn't get here alone. I've had the help of my favorite Kosher cooks: Jamie Geller, Susie Fishbein, and the Internet! Thus, here begins an ode to one of my chef partners, Susie Fishbein.

I promise you, at the end of this post, there will be a giveaway for the book I'm about to discuss, so keep reading!

I received a copy of Susie Fishbein's upcoming (as in, today's its release) cookbook, the newest in the Kosher by Design series, Teens and 20-Somethings, and upon receipt I 3M flagged the heck out of it. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. At first, I was amused by the cover design -- a spaghetti squash with headphones ... how silly. But I wasn't completely sold on the concept. I flipped through the cookbook and the first thing I noticed was the layout and design, which, to be completely honest, I wasn't jazzed about. As a proverbial "20-something," I felt sort of ... talked down to. I know that this cookbook is geared toward a variety of ages and that the goal is for the book to appeal not only to the title's demographic but also to those cooking for them ... but the design just rubs me the wrong way. It reminds me of 1980s teen style. Bright colors, paint splatters, quirky phrases. It's just trying to hard. Susie gives party ideas in the back of the book with menu suggestions, and the party suggestions seem very, well, geared toward a 5-year-old. Again, I felt like the book was talking down to me. But is the point of the book the layout and design? Probably not. But aesthetics are big when it comes to appeal and selling points. But let's move on to the food. That's why you're here, right?

I decided to make a few things straight out of the book to get a feel for this edition and whether it rocks my world as much as the others I have purchased since moving to Teaneck. I opted for the Mexican Chicken and the Blondies, both which surpassed my expectations in ease of preparation, cooking time, and taste. The great thing about the new edition is that Susie took the time to label each recipe with its "free-ness." That is, nut free, gluten free (GF), dairy free, etc. Although the number of gluten-free recipes is minimal, I'm a firm believer that just about anything can be made gluten-free. Neither of these recipes were labeled as such, but some simple replacements made for an easy cooking experience.


The Mexican Chicken was a breeze (once my husband chopped up some chicken thighs because, well, we're in the Poconos and the chicken selection is limited in the kosher department). All I had to do was crush some tortilla chips (corn = GF), some corn flakes (GF), and put in some taco seasoning (of the GF variety), throw it in a bowl, then toss the chicken pieces in some salsa to coat and then in the chip/corn flake mix to coat, in a pan, bake at 350 and blamo. Twenty minutes later I had some nommy eats. I mixed up the sauce offered with it, which my husband used to mask the seeming "salsa taste" that the chicken had. He doesn't dig salsa, I do. We compromised. It looks yummy, right? It was, believe me.

Once the chicken was in, I got to work on the Blondies, which, I learned, are basically chocolate chip cookies in brownie form (note: this is my first-ever blondie attempt). It was a quick and easy substitution of Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose GF Flour with some xanthum gum, mixed in with the other bits and pieces of the recipe (you'll have to buy the book for this, folks), and ta-da. Blondies. Oh, and don't worry if you messed up -- I put (on accident) probably two to three times more vanilla that I should have. And? Even still: soft, moist, scrumdiddlyumptious. And I guarantee a stranger wouldn't know they're gluten free, either.

Evan really enjoyed the blondies. Really.

Overall, I'm excited about many of the recipes -- which range from drinks to desserts and include a variety of cuisine styles -- in this cookbook, including Orange Butternut Squash Soup (p. 56), the Pizza Soup (p. 62), the Amalfi Chicken (p. 102), and, especially, the Confetti Spaghetti Squash (there's a squash at home calling my name; p. 160). Oh, and, of course, there's the Cappuccino Mousse (p. 210) and the Molten Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies (p. 214) -- gluten-free-ified, of course!

So now you know there are good eats, are you ready for the giveaway? Read carefully!

1. This giveaway starts now and ends on Tuesday, November 2 at 10 p.m. 
2. One winner will receive their very own copy of Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings.
3. How do you enter? I'm giving you two options. 
1. Pick your favorite recipe from the Kosher by Design series and post it to the comments, and tell me what you love about it. 
2. If you don't happen to have the Kosher by Design series on-hand, pick your favorite go-to recipe and post it to the comments and tell me how you found it and why you love it.
4. BONUS entry for those who also post a link to a picture of their favorite Kosher by Design recipe! (Note: you have to have made the food in the picture, no taking pictures from Susie's cookbooks.)

I'll post the winner late Tuesday night. And if you don't win? Never fear. Following this giveaway will be another giveaway of Jamie Geller's new cookbook, Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes.

Also, probably the coolest part of this post and the giveaway? Your access to the Kosher by Design Recipe Index! Seriously, the best invention ever! No need to look through all of your KbD books, just check out the index if you can't find a recipe.

Rocking Kosher Fest with Susie Fishbein!

Finally, a little ditty with goods and details: Preorder your copy today at ArtScroll.com – enter the coupon code KBDBLOG at checkout to save 10% and receive free shipping in the continental U.S. Join us online to find more reviews and giveaway contests! Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings: cooking for the next generation is aimed at the young and digital-savvy fast-food generation and those who cook for them. Susie Fishbein is an everyday cook who loves to share her passion for cooking and entertaining with friends and family. Her enthusiasm for food and entertaining led to the creation of her best-selling cookbook, Kosher by Design, published in 2003 by ArtScroll Shaar Press. For more recipes and updates, visit our blog or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Kosher Fest Keynote: Live Blogged!

Note: Everything on Kosher Fest 2010 is cross-posted @ www.Kosher-Critic.com. My thoughts in this post tend to be in parenthesis. 

I arrived at the Meadowlands Expo Center at 8 a.m. (thanks Tuvia, for dropping me), only to discover that press registration was at 9 a.m. Growl. I sat outside, got my Tweet on, and now? I'm at the keynote address by Menachem Lubinsky, the president of LUBICOM Marketing/Consulting. Here are some comments, which I'll update throughout the morning.

9:15 a.m. In its 22nd year, Kosher Fest has the largest number of gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free, and other dietary-restricted foods yet. The number of health-conscious and younger consumers are driving change in the kosher industry. Even at a time of recession, the kosher industry is doing good ("recession proof," says Menachem Lubinsky, keynote speaker). However, many aren't buying gourmet and steaks.

Big-name chefs heading kosher. A "trend" that continues to develop outside the kosher community, geared toward upscale. A change from 20 years ago when kosher wasn't kosher. Packaging has improved, the kosher food industry has developed its image.

Is the supermarket the enemy for independent sellers? People find a niche. Lubinsky says: supermarkets weren't the problem: people refused to update operations, to advance along with the changes of the kosher food industry. Mom and pops blame failure on supermarkets, but these stores also didn't embrace that their demographic was changing. Today, we have the "come back of the independent." In a way, the supermarket model has been taken and melded with the personal approach of the independent market to create a successful model. (I wonder if Glatt Express in Teaneck could be said to have followed this model.) Lubinsky offers Rockland Kosher and Pomegranate as examples of the successful supermarkets. And big box stores? Making a big statement in kosher (think: BJs, Costco, etc.). People are shopping all three: independents, supermarkets, and big box stores. Everybody wins!

9:25 a.m. "Map of the United States" has two states: New York and out of town (a once-upon-a-time thought by kosher industry folks). This isn't the reality any longer. Industry has learned to appreciate who their customer is. Of all new products that came onto the scene last year, 5,000 had some type of kosher symbol -- the largest presence of a single label.

Kashrut is a "constant education." Like social media, it's a moving target (that's my thought, by the way).   It's also a highly competitive field. "Nothing is sacred anymore." Production crossover has been heightened -- there's no limit to what someone can produce, but this creates havoc for the buyer (overkill as far as options).

9:35 a.m. Scenario of the elderly Jewish woman who went to the supermarket as her outing, but only purchased a few small things didn't drive sales (thus failure of grocery stores in certain locations in NY area). Supermarkets realized that it's better to have 30-50 percent of their consumers filling up their carts than to have Zayde purchasing $20 and just hanging out. The traditional, old-school isn't dead, but it's not as present as it was before. (How many kugels or sponge cakes will I spot out on the floor?!)

Question: Are people really cost-conscious? Mention of co-op projects (I belonged to one of those in Lincoln, Neb. You pay money, join, and help support the supermarket and get special prices on the food). Mention of Twitter! There are people who Twitter the specials to their friends and drive grocery store sales. (Love this!)

Question: What about fake cheese? How does it fit into the kosher industry? There's a subset of young folks that want healthy, food replacements. It doesn't reflect just the kosher industry, but the greater food industry. "If one appears to be healthier, they'll invariably pick up the healthier option." (Love that he said "appears," because this is very important. Most of the food that appears to be healthier isn't.)

9:40 a.m. Honoring Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU's worldwide kosher division by representative of Manischewitz, for Rabbi Genack's stellar work. Genack's a "close disciple of Rabbi Soloveitchik." Rabbi Soloveitchik said something interesting about Rabbi Genack: he dives to the depths of kashrut and surfaces with gems and pearls every day, not every rabbi can do that. "Rabbi Genack has incredible insights ... amazing humanity ... dedication and leadership to the OU."

[Singing] It's Shabbos Now!

But modestly, of course. Because, after all, this is the interwebs and I am an Orthodox Jewess. So pretend I'm in a closet, and no one can hear me. (I am in the Poconos, and it's quiet here. Oh, except for the five burly construction workers banging and sawing and talking about women while putting up the new windows. It's cold. Very cold. Because there are holes in the wall where windows go. But back to our regularly scheduled blog post ...)

Just a note that in a month and a couple days, I'll be rocking Shabbos in Jerusalem. That's the appropriate way for a Chaviva to rock Shabbos, in case you didn't know. Every day, I grow weaker, I think, being here. Almost a feeling of detachment from the world. In Israel? I feel alive. So I'm super stoked to be heading toward Jerusalem soonish. Let's just hope I can survive the coming weeks. (Hat tip to Elianah for her inspiring Israel ROCKS Shabbat post.)

Speaking of the coming weeks, I have a lot in store as far as blog posts go. I just have to get all of my schoolwork done so I can write the blog posts. In no particular order are ...

• TWO, yes, TWO cookbook giveaway contests. There will be some action involved (get your chef's hats ready) and two lucky winners will receive (one person for each book) Jamie Geller's new Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes or Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings. There will be two contests, two blog posts, two winners. The first will start on Wednesday, October 27. 
• A blog post on the hair situation. Yes, hair covering. These happen to be some of my most-read posts, so I'm eager to write another one now that I'm nearly five months into being married and covering. Have I piqued your interest? I might also go all mikvah on you!
• An interesting thing happened in class last week. It involves a class full of Jews with varying observance and self-identification, a kugel, a gefilte fish, and some kale. I know, right? I'll be asking your advice. Feel free to guess where I'm going with this. 
• Tuvia's been helping organize his great aunt's and great uncle's house, and he's found some serious gems of photography and memory. Me, being obsessed with genealogy, took on the task of looking into the photos, the people, the locations, and more. I am looking forward to letting you all know the details, including an interesting revelation about Tuvia's mom's family maybe being Sephardic! As a teaser, here's the photo that got me really going. I believe (and through a variety of checking with living relatives and others) this is Evan's grandmother's immediate family in the early or mid 1930s in Oradea, Romania. This, folks, is a gem, and if it's what we all think it is, it's probably the only surviving photo of a family that (save three sisters) perished in the Shoah. 

Such a seriously good looking frum Jewish family, right?!

So keep your eyes peeled. I promise I'm going to get to these. I have to. This blog is my life force, and maybe that's why I've been feeling so dead and detached lately. Poke me. Prod me. I'll get to it.

Until then? A gut Shabbos. Shabbat Shalom. Peace, health, and lots of cholent to you!

Life As We Know It ...

We here at Just Call Me Chaviva ... er ... that's just me, I mean ... love Oh! Nuts, the awesome purveyors of nuts, sweets, and other goodies that are, happily I add, kosher! There are a variety of stores (the husband and I have frequented the Monsey locale), and their online ordering is super fast. The husband loves the Sweet and Salty Nuts and I'm a huge fan of anything chocolate covered (the lentils? oh yeah), not to mention the dried fruit goodies.

So what's this all about? Oh! Nuts is partnering with Warner Bros. Entertainment to promote the upcoming movie Life As We Know It, and as such, Oh! Nuts is hosting an online sweepstakes for the chance to win a family trip for four to Hollywood, CA! Yes, you want to win (I know I do, who would be my other two?), so head over to the website and enter!

Never heard about the flick? Here's a quick rundown:

In the romantic comedy “Life As We Know It,” Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, the only thing they have in common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in the world, Holly and Messer are forced to put their differences aside. Juggling career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find some common ground while living under one roof.

Walk a Mile in My Vest

Oh no! Blurry ... let's clear that up.

I decided to get my fashionista on today for an outing to the city that started far too early for my liking. My understanding was that class began at 8 a.m. down by Washington Square, so I got up at 6 a.m., grabbed a nearly-7 a.m. bus, and ended up at the door of my building (after nabbing a coffee) around 7:47 a.m. The door? Locked. Another classmate walked up, the security guard opened the building, we found the room, two other students joined us, and half an hour later ... we were sitting. Turns out the class was bumped to 9 a.m. and no one told us! Ugh. What a way to start the day, eh? After an intensive Hebrew-only course and reading a Hebrew article, I ventured to the campus Starbucks to do some e-work. After a few hours there, I decided to trek up to midtown, walk around a bit (stupid), find a place to sit and work, etc. It turned out I spent too much time walking (my feet are covered in blisters and raw skin), my computer ran out of juice and the Starbucks I was at had closed off all their wall-plate plugs (jerks), and by the time my awesomely awesome friend met up with me at around 4:30, I was pooped.

But? I looked good. And I was comfy.

We schlepped over to Cafe K on 48th, ate an amazing meal and schmoozed, and then got turned around heading to the subway on our way down to NYU for a 7 p.m. reading by Jonathan Safran Foer (author of "Everything is Illuminated"). By the time we got there, the auditorium was packed, we were exhausted, and we called it a day. But throughout the day, and even though when I got home I could no longer walk, I felt put together. I felt like I had a fluid look that I was comfortable in. So let's talk about it.

The outfit is:

Hat ~ Burlington Coat Factory

Jean Skirt ~ Land's End

Vest ~ Van Heusen

Ruffle shirt ~ Van Heusen

White tank (under) ~ Lane Bryant

Black Leggings (not pictured) ~ Old Navy

I wore my Skechers with these, and usually they're crazy comfortable, but no dice this time around. Sigh. My feet seriously hurt. My knees probably do, too, but I can't feel them. Anyhow, this outfit was an easy  throw together, and I was so, so, so excited to actually buy a vest and be able to pull it off. It's a really cozy material, and the ruffle shirt is really light weight, which makes it good for layering. The jean skirt, of course, is my constant-wear item. And the hat? Love it. The zipper detail is super cute, and the color scheme really comes together (CoverYourHair.com actually has headbands with this design now). If I'd of had some cushion in my shoes, this would have been the best fashion day EVER. There's always next time.

And, for those of you who haven't been to Cafe K, here are some photos of the amazing food. I had the most delicious fish ever, with the most creative potatoes ever -- baked potatoes that are then grilled! I felt so healthy-licious eating this. Oh, and the awesome friend wanted me to make sure her cappucino got some play. It, too, was delicious (or so she said). I highly recommend Cafe K, by the way. It's dairy, delicious, and aside from the bones in my fish, I had zero complaints. There will be a Yelp review, but believe me, it will all be good, so you can just take my word for it.

Yes, that's a fish in a cup on the cup!

This is the salmon with "baked" potato ... best grilled fish I've ever had, hands down.

And, again, in case you missed it the first time.

The Japanese salad. Yes, there's seaweed.

Stay tuned for a Yom Kippur post, and, on Sunday, the next installment of Haveil Havalim!