Super Easy One Step "Eggplant Parmigiana"

 

OK I must admit that I'm a lazy cook. I prefer one-pot, one-step recipes. I once watched someone make "real Eggplant Parmigiana," and I was shocked. First she soaked the slices of eggplant, then she coated them in beaten egg, and then bread crumbs and then fried them. Only after that complicated ritual did she do anything like my recipe.

So if you're anything like me you're not interested in the long complicated procedure. Nobody who has eaten my "Eggplant Parmigiana" has spit it out claiming it's "fake." So, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• sliced onion
• sliced eggplant (thin)
• sliced tomato
• sliced pepper optional
• cheese that melts well either slices or grated
• garlic, oil, any spices you think will be good

Instructions:

1. layer onion, then, eggplant, tomato then cheese, then onion, eggplant, pepper, tomato and top with cheese.
2. add spices and some oil
3. bake in medium oven 160 centigrade until bubbly

Yes, that's it. You can add some squash or zucchini if you want.

Shavuot Menu, Keeping it Easy

Maybe someday I'll still do it. A number of years ago, I started writing a cookbook which I named:

The Lazy Cook Cookbook

For some strange reason, people told me that the title is awful. Am I the only person who looks for easy ways to prepare food? I don't like recipes that have too many steps and too many ingredients. Those of you who have seen my recipes already, must have noticed that they're pretty minimal.

Those of us who live very Jewish lives, according to halacha, Jewish Law, will be celebrating the Shavuot Holiday immediately after Shabbat. That means that since it's forbidden to do any preparation, whether cooking, setting the table or even cutting a salad on Shabbat for the Holiday, even the fanciest balabustas, Jewish housekeepers, should keep it pretty simple. The family and guests, if you have any, will want to eat as soon as possible, no doubt.

That's why I decided to serve me and my husband cream cheese, lox and salad. That's not something we have frequently or at all. I may serve a dairy vegetable kugel, which should heat up pretty easily, but I still have to make it today. With the added treat of ice cream for dessert, we should be ready on time to go to a Torah class. Neither of us learn all night anymore. We're not as young as we used to be.

For Shavuot "lunch," after synagogue, I'll make a version of my "one pot baked fish and vegetables" in advance. We don't have any guests for that meal either, so I can cook exactly what we need to eat.

Ever since we both began to "diet," I try to serve us only what we need. The only "unlimited" foods I have on the table are salad and low carbohydrate vegetables. We've never been on "starvation diets." Just the thought of one makes me gorge on forbidden foods. When we have guests, I put out more food, but many of our guests are "repeats" and have the same food preferences as we do.

I bought a couple of special cheeses as Shavuot treats, besides the ice cream. We won't starve for sure.

Soon I'll go to our local swimming pool, and then after breakfast I'll cook, Gd willing.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Shavuot Sameach To All

Food Ideas for The Nine 9 Days

I really doubt that when chazal, our Jewish sages, decided that during the  Nine 9 Days, we shouldn't eat meat they could have known that fish meals would be much more expensive for us. That was the topic of this morning's post on Shiloh Musings, 9 Days Rather Ironic, Fish Yes, Chicken No.

My husband and I generally eat Shabbat leftovers for the entire week, and I have lots of portions of cooked chicken in the freezer. All you have to do is to recook them with vegetables and carbs. But during the Nine 9 Days, I have to cook every meal. Sometimes I have a stock of vegetable soup, but in all honesty, hot soup on hot days isn't a favorite.
Following are a few recipes. Your comments, recipes, reactions and ideas are welcome in the comments section, thanks.  Sorry, but I don't go for exact measuring of ingredients or cooking time. I encourage variations and would like to hear about yours.

Latest Breakfast, No Cravings
Yummy Cauliflower Casserole/Kugel
Frying Pan "Lentil Stew"
Do you Quinoa?
Simple Chickpea Salad
One-Pan Meal, Tuna Steak and Veggies
Shakshuka Plus
Lovely Lentil and Mushroom Dish
Pancakes
No Mayonnaise Egg Salad
Low-Carb, Crustless Dairy Quiche
This Year's Purim Soups, Yes Two 2

9

Which is your favorite? And what do you suggest from your own repertoire?

Piccolino Friday Brunch, What Took Me So Long?

For years I had been hearing about the Friday Brunch served at Piccolino, but it took me until last Friday to finally experience it. The occasion was a visit from visiting family members. Since they were treating me, I didn't check out the price.

On Fridays you can order just what you want, like on a regular day, or you pay for the privilege of eating from the open buffet. There was an amazing choice of salads, fish, cheese, quiche, pizza, fruit and more. I tried to concentrate on the salads and the spinach quiche, which is a great favorite of mine. The meal included juice which I didn't take. There's no way that simple words can describe the variety and great tastes. Everyone found what they wanted, and the staff was extremely helpful. And there was live music in adjoining Music Square, too.

Here are some photos:

Asy you can see here, one can still stick to a diet with the choices and not feel like you're suffering or being deprived. And if you can eat "anything," wow, you'll really have fun! We were three generations at the table, and everyone was happy with the food.

Piccolino is in Jerusalem's Nachalat Shiva, a few minutes' walk from Zion Square, 12 Yoel Solomon Street. For further information and reservations or group arrangements, contact: [email protected] or call 02:6244186.

Low-Carb, Crustless Dairy Quiche

Here are the vegetable ingredients, before being shredded in the foodprocessor:
carrot, onion, celeriac (root), squash, cabbage

 All shredded and ready for mixing.

In the end I felt the need to add five 5 eggs and half that container of gvina tsfatit, which is a white salty cheese. I bought the 5%. This cheese is somewhat like feta, Bulgarian or any brined cheese.

You can add more cheese, or less. And you can certainly eliminate the cheese entirely if you want a parve, lactose free dish.

In all honesty, I wouldn't obsess over the specific cheese. It should be white and crumbly.

I added some matzah meal to absorb the liquid when baking.

One was baked in a pyrex casserole for serving the next day, and the rest was put in freezable baking pans for another day.

I baked them in medium heat until they felt "solid" when pressed. Yes, that's the same "test" I use when baking a cake and similar oven temperature. My oven is old, not at all digital, and the numbers are long faded away.

The Low-Carb, Crustless Dairy Quiche really tasted great. I didn't add salt,since the cheese is very salty. You can certainly add whatever fresh herbs you want. I didn't add any oil, not even on top before baking. So, this is also a low-fat recipe.

My recipes are "suggestions." Never obsess over quantities and ingredients.

Just enjoy and let me know how it came out and what you did to personalize the recipe.

Greatly Improved Cafe Cafe in Center 1

Like many, I'd eaten in the Center 1 branch of Cafe Cafe in the past and decided that their awful service and lackluster food were good reasons to avoid it. So, for a couple of years that's what I did. But the other day, my friend and I spontaneously decided to eat lunch out together. We both needed a lunch, had limited time and were in Center 1 on the way to different places.

We looked at an inexpensive food bar near the Yermiyahu entrance/exit, but it wasn't very appetizing, nor all that cheap. So we continued to the Cafe Cafe, since she had a membership there, and we needed the nearby WC, even though my recent visit was disappointing. Yes, it had been cleaned up since then. That is what I had expected. The building management must take care, because it is near restaurants and is the best one in the area.

It did look rather inviting, so we sat down and checked out the menu. Her membership gave us a nice salad for half price, and I liked one of the appetizers which included mushrooms. We decided to order both and share them. They were both delicious, and the total bill, because of my friend's membership was barely NS60. That made it a much better deal than the salads in the "cheap" place at the other end of the building. They've opened up a new seating section, but since the acoustics there are awful, we sat in the older part.

I am very glad that they've gotten their act together and improved the service and the food. Prices were also reasonable for that sort of restaurant chain. They are in serious competition with Gregg's which has also has a branch in the building. We had a very pleasant meal, comfortable seats and quiet enough for us, at our age, to enjoy completely. The Center 1 Cafe Cafe is completely handicapped accessible. It's Mehadrin Kosher, open Sunday-Thursday from 8:30am - 11pm, Friday 8:30am- 2pm and then reopens about an hour after Shabbat until "the last customer leaves."

Sufganiyot Made Easy! No Yeast!

This is my latest version of the Israeli fried doughnuts aka Sufganiyot, a favorite food for Chanukah. Our homemade version is absolutely nothing like the ones you can buy. I love the flavor of ours, and so do my children and grandchildren. For sure they are healthier, too. We make a batch every year at our Family Chanukah Party. This year the party was Friday lunch before Chanukah, since we're such a busy family, we couldn't find any other time to meet.

The Sufganiyot are dairy, made with a plain yogurt, Eshel-which has 4.5% fat. Of course you can use a lower-fat yogurt, but make sure it's pure yogurt and not adulterated with fillers to make it creamy. I've discovered some awful things about the American yogurts, which rarely have more than a symbolic 1/2 % fat. Check ingredients. You may be eating extra sugars and starches. This container has 200ml, just under a cup.

My basic recipe is derived from  one what used to be -is it still?- on packages of Israeli self-rising (white) flour. I first started preparing these Sufganiyot in the early 1970's.

Ingredients for a family-sized batch when you really don't want everyone to "pig-out." Of course they can all be doubled, tripled etc:

• bottle of vegetable (soy or canola) oil
• 1 2/3 cups of fine whole-wheat flour or 2 cups of white
• or if you have self-rising flour, then don't use the baking powder
• packet of baking powder, or recommended quantity according to the baking powder you have
• 1 Eshel 200ml, or 2/3 of a cup of plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs or 3 small/medium eggs
• a spoon of sugar and a dash of vanilla
• powdered sugar for decoration

Instructions:

• pour the oil into a small deep pot and bring to a boil
• mix the dry ingredients
• add the eggs, yogurt and vanilla
• The batter should be thicker than for pancakes/waffles.
• Test if oil is ready, by "double-spoon*" dropping a bit into the oil. If it gets all bubbly and the dough rounds and rises to the top, you can begin the cooking/deep-frying.
• Use less than a teaspoon for each, so they won't be too large, which can make it hard to cook thoroughly. 
• Don't overfill the pot.
• Remove with a slotted spoon, or a tea "filter," like the one I found in my gadget drawer.
• Place them on a plate or large bowl covered with white napkins or paper towels to absorb the oil.
• Open up one from the first batch to make sure it's fully cooked. You may have to recook it, adjust the flame etc. until you get the cooked/ready color right. It always happens to me!
• And then sprinkle powdered sugar! We give that job to the kids, since deep-frying has its dangers.

ENJOY!!!

*Watch my instructional video, double-spoon drop. It's the same technique as used for Kneidlach, Gefilte Fish etc.

Confusing Kashrut Labeling

*I got more information. Please read at the end of the post.

When I was shopping the other day for supplies for my TNT family favorite 1, 2, 3 Chocolate Chip Cookies, I almost bought these chocolate chips, because I was attracted to the 60% chocolate.  

But then I looked at the ingredients, and it said חלב milk, even though it also said פרווה Parve, which means no milk/no meat/poultry= good for all sorts of meals. I asked a few people how it could say it has milk if it's parve. Finally, a neighbor read it all very carefully and said that the chocolate chips were produced on machinery that also handles dairy products, so not everyone will consider it truly parve. But she wasn't correct either.

Because apparently, the "milk" notice has nothing to do with kashrut according to someone who was able to discover what it is:

... the notice is for allergy purposes, and the warning is to prevent any lawsuit against the company. The picture does not even show the ingredients, the picture is of the allergy warning. The warning states that it may contain milk but stipulates clearly that it is run on a dedicated parve line only. Basically it is a health statement, not a kashrut statement.

Revisiting Piccolino

Yes, I was back in Piccolino, one of my favorite Jerusalem restaurants. 

Since we were a group of six plus a baby, we were put in one of the lovely rooms. It was very pleasant. Every time I've eaten in Piccolino, I've sat someplace else, and I've enjoyed them all.

We sampled some of their new dishes, including their home-cured lox, which was tasty and not too salty. There was a nice sized pizza, enough for two. 

And two in the party ordered Shakshukas which were like no other I've ever seen or heard of. Generally, a shakshuka is eggs cooked in a rich tomato sauce, but these were cooked in herbed cheese. They were unbelievably delicious.

I had the Fish of the Day. Honestly, I don't remember exactly what it was, but I finished every drop! I even ate the skin which was so crisp and irresistible.

We were all stuffed, but they said that we must try the desserts, since it was a celebration. And they were right. The chocolate somehow reminded me of those Snickers candy bars of my youth. I hadn't had one for at least fifty years, but somehow my tastebuds recognized something similar. The coconut puff was also yummy, and I couldn't resist having some of the whipped cream too. Luckily I wasn't alone. We shared.

I 100% recommend Piccolino! And I'll be back there, again, for sure.

12 Yoel Moshe Solomon Street, Jerusalem
[email protected]
Reservations are recommended: Call 02-6244186

Baked Cheese and Vegetables

This was as simple to make as it looks. 

I layered sliced onions, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, some garlic and cheese in a baking dish. I added a bit of oil and...

I had a delicious "one pot meal."

There's no real recipe. Be creative.

Piccolino, Dining Pleasure in Jerusalem

Tel 02-6244186 • Fax 02-6223218 

For those who have been wondering what happened to the lovely restaurant in the Anna Ticho Museum during the renovations there, I have news for you. The owners have opened something new in downtown Jerusalem called Piccolino on 12 Yoel Solomon Street, in Nachalat Shiva, Jerusalem, as part of the new "Kikar Hamusica," Music Square.

I visited it last week and had an absolutely wonderful meal. Because of my dining partner's connections to the owner, although we only ordered two main courses, we were given "extras" to sample. Everything was totally delicious.

First of all, if you want to be guaranteed a table, I suggest making reservations. When we called, early the same day, the only place available was the bar, which was actually fine for the two of us, and that was for 7pm reservations.

Piccolino has a number of beautifully decorated rooms, which can be used either by the table or reserved for groups. There's also the option of dining outside in Kikar Hamusica.

Kashrut is Mehadrin, for those who need to know. My dining partner ordered Eggplant Calzone, and I ordered the Citrus Salmon. While we were waiting, they brought us Fococcia with Spreads and  their Antipasti:

"Pickled sardines with lemon fillets and red onion, artichoke alla romano, beetroot and blue cheese carpaccio, grilled eggplant with goat's yoghurt, health salad, tomato, red onion and chilli pepper salad, home pickled olives, spread of pesto"

We were also given the most amazing Melanzane alla parmigiana:

Everything was perfect. As we were eating, I couldn't help but staring at the tempting desserts nearby, but since I'm trying to keep my weight down and bank account in the black, I didn't plan on ordering any. Though, as a restaurant reviewer, when we were offered dessert, I certainly couldn't say no.

They brought us two amazing chocolate delights to sample, and it would have been a sin to leave any over.

Don't you agree?

I definitely recommend Piccolino if you want an excellent dairy meal in Jerusalem.

Shavuot Menu, Do You Blintze or Barbecue?

For most Ashkenaz, ethnic European Jews, especially outside of Israel this question probably sounds sacrilegious. When I was learning Torah Judaism, becoming religious I was told that eating cheesecake was as intrinsic to celebrating Shavuot as matzah was on Passover.

The culinary highlight of my in-laws staying with us for Shavuot was the homemade blintzes my mother-in-law made. I had no idea that there was a way to make them outside of purchasing the frozen variety from the supermarket. That was the only type ever found in my parents' home.

Over the years I learned to make various dairy kugels and an easy version of Eggplant Parmesan, which would have most cooks outraged by its simplicity and lack of authenticity. But that was the only way I would do it. In principle I do not cook recipes that involve three or even two steps besides noodle kugels. And I was overjoyed to discover from a friend that you actually don't need to precook lasagna pasta; just layer the dry noodles as if they had been cooked and add extra water. Here in Israel, we have a great variety of kosher cheeses, so if you have the right breads and crackers you barely have to cook.

Then my daughter married a Tunisian Jew, and our traditional Shavuot menu was suddenly under attack. His family, like many North African Jews, do not each much dairy and certainly do not consider cheese to be suitable for Jewish Holidays. They barbecue on Jewish Holidays for the "morning" meal. He considered our "just like Shabbat" menu to be an affront on Jewish food. They barbecue on Rosh Hashannah, Succot, Simchat Torah, Passover and yes, even eat grilled meat on Shavuot! Cheesecake, blintzes, lasagna, pizza and all those cheesy dishes aren't part of their traditional Shavuot menu.

Our compromise for their coming to us for Shavuot was to have one dairy meal and one meat meal. Recent years they've established the custom to be with his family, so the younger generation can learn with their cousins.

Salmon and veggies

Back at the ranch, as the saying goes, we've been eating less and less cheese in our home. It's expensive and not very suitable for me and my husband's diet regime. I've also eliminated blintzes, since I never learned how to make the homemade ones and they aren't on my approved food list. To celebrate Shavuot, I get nice fish to cook and we do splurge on some good cheeses. Our favorite fish is salmon, which even on sale is more expensive than the beef I buy. And of course I make lots of vegetables and salads.

So, what do you serve on Shavuot?

Cheesecake Recipe, I Made a Deal!

Tonight is the Shavuot holiday when many Jews eat dairy foods.  For some people having cheesecake and blintzes is a requirement like the matzah and four cups of wine at the Passover Seder.

just an illustration, credit

A neighbor had been tempting me about how irresistible her cheesecake is.  Honestly, I'm not into baking cheesecake.  I used to make one which I got from my blender's cookbook, but the blender-a gift from my in-laws in 1972- has long died.  Also, it's just my husband and I living at home.  We're expecting one guest for one meal; the other meal we're eating at neighbors.  So, considering that neither of us need tempting calorie-laden food in the house, the idea of baking a super delicious cheesecake is... not on the menu.

My neighbor even sent me the recipe, which requires beating egg whites. 

Cheesecake recipe:
1) 2 yolks
1/4 margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
Mix and put in oven for 10 minutes 180C - 200C
2) 500gm 5% white cheese
2 yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 sugar vanilla
+ beaten 4 egg whites
Pour #2 onto #1 and put into oven for 30 minutes 125C -150C
Finish: 2 sour creams + 1/4 cup sugar
Pour on top and another 10 minutes in oven. Leave until getting cold in oven.

When I bake a cake I do it simply, like with a bowl and a spoon.  My mixer is with the blender in kitchen gadget heaven, yes, along with the old-fashioned hand eggbeater.  I did find a whisk in the draw, which one of my sons had once bought to use before he rented his own place, but I just can't imagine straining my arm muscles just to get those egg whites all white and fluffy.

So, I made her an offer she couldn't refuse. 

"I'll give you a small disposable baking pan.  You make me a small cheesecake, and then within the next couple of weeks, I'll make you vegetable soup."

Of course she agreed, Baruch Hashem, she and her husband love my vegetable soups.

Chag Sameach, everyone.  Have a wonderful holiday, and if you try my friend's recipe, please let me know. She says it's a "TNT," always works.