Recipes

While looking through my recipes the other day, I noticed that I have not published that many offerings from the Russian Jewish cuisine. Just then, my mom sent me an excellent recipe for forshmak – a chopped herring spread.

Herring is one of those foods that some people love to hate, but just wait till you try this recipe.

Forshmak Chopped Herring

Tu B’Shvat Strudel (a very different kind)

As promised, here is my Tu B’Shvat recipe for your enjoyment.

In our family this recipe goes back at least all the way back to my great-grandmother. When my mother was 19, my grandmother suffered a stroke from which she did not recover. Along with all the other losses, my mother mourned, she was sorry not to have learned my grandmother’s secrets in the kitchen. Then one day she discovered  this recipe scribbled on a piece of paper. That was very unusual, since my grandmother was not in the habit of writing down recipes. This is how I can now share it with you.

Unlike the traditional strudel, this one has a thin, dry crust and moist fruity filing. The filling in this recipe combines apples, raisins, date spread, and nuts. However, you can choose to fill the strudel with just about anything you have in the house: fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, cream cheese, pineapple, or coconut. Whatever filling you choose, it’s a good idea to add some jam to bind everything together and add moisture and sweetness.

Tu B’shvat Fruit Strudel

What do you do when a sudden lifestyle change prevents you from enjoying something you like? Last year, when my nursing baby was diagnosed with an egg allergy (preventing me from eating fried eggs as well), I needed to find an idea for making schnitzel without eggs.

Schnitzel is a staple at our house. My husband and I both consumed huge amounts of schnitzel as children and we proudly pass this tradition on to our own kids.

As much as I love schnitzel, I don’t particularly appreciate the nutritional value of its egg-and-bread coating. So the baby’s allergy was a terrific catalyst for my new, healthier egg-free schnitzel recipe. I am not going back to the regular recipe, even after the baby is weaned or outgrows the allergy.

Enjoy!

One Thursday, during the early years of our marriage, my husband and I discussed the upcoming Shabbat dinner menu. “Can you think of an interesting side dish,” he asked. “I am tired of rice and potatoes.” A quick perusal of my only cookbook at the time left us disappointed. Rice and potatoes was all it had to offer.

Since then, I have discovered a whole array of interesting side dishes, but my hands-down favorite is what many of our ancestor ate back in Europe – buckwheat or kasha. (more…)