Recipes for Passover: ROASTED EGGPLANT SPREAD, HELENE’S WAY

Helene Feldman of Toronto shared this luscious recipe with me which she adapted from The Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten. Helene adds more eggplant, red pepper and onion. This makes a larger quantity and reduces the amount of fat per serving.

2 medium eggplants, peeled
3 red bell peppers, seeded
1 large or 2 medium red onions, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. good-quality olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. tomato paste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut eggplants, bell peppers and onions into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with Steel Blade; add tomato paste and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Batter Up Kids Teaches Children to ‘Step Up’ to the Plate

Book Review by Norene Gilletz

Batter Up Kids: Delicious Desserts by Barbara Beery is a delightful, easy-to-follow kid’s cookbook, with simple, scrumptious dessert recipes that any kid can make. In this spiral-bound cookbook with a wipe-clean cover, you’ll find tasty treats, fruit-based snacks, cakes and cookie recipes, plus a child-sized cloth chef’s hat that will transform any ordinary kid into a talented chef!

Batter Up Kids is ideal for beginner culinary experts and even the littlest chefs who can’t yet read.

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The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook: Traditional Recipes from Contemporary Kosher Kitchens

Shavuot – A Dairy Good Holiday!

Shavuot is a two-day festival that celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Before the revelation at Mount Sinai, the Bible describes Shavuot as an agricultural festival, a feast of the summer wheat harvest, as well as a feast of the first fruits. This was the start of the agricultural cycle that ends with Sukkot, the final harvest of the year.

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The Passionate Vegetarian

Review by Norene Gilletz

Comforting Vegetarian Dishes

When I first saw Crescent Dragonwagon’s cookbook The Passionate Vegetarian, (Workman Publishing, $39.95 Cdn) I knew I had to own a copy!

Ten years in the making and more than 1,000 pages long, this bountiful book is beautifully written, packed with over 1,000 fabulous, meatless recipes that will intrigue you and tempt you, whether or not you are vegetarian. This is a cookbook that will make you want to stay home and cook! If you don’t cook, then take it to bed with you.

 

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Adventures in Jewish Cooking

Book Review by Norene Gilletz

EXPERIENCE NEW ADVENTURES IN JEWISH COOKING FOR PASSOVER!
If you are you tired of the same old brisket and kugel, you will be inspired by Jeffrey Nathan’s innovative, passionate approach to kosher cooking in Adventures in Jewish Cooking. This is Nathan’s first cookbook, with over 150 contemporary, creative recipes, clearly labeled as dairy, meat or pareve, plus substitutions to adjust recipes for a meat or dairy meal.

Inspired by Jewish cuisines from around the globe plus a diverse palette of other ethnic flavours, Jeff Nathan captures the spirit of Jewish cooking while exploring a whole world of sophisticated flavours. His recipes observe the laws of Kashruth, while setting a new standard for kosher cuisine with his inventive dishes and outstanding presentations.

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