CREAM OF CUCUMBER SOUP (recipe, dairy)

Chilled and creamy, this soup is a wonderful starter for any Summer dairy meal. You can play around with the proportions of cream and milk to make it as rich or light as you wish.

CREAM OF CUCUMBER SOUP D SERVES: 8

It’s cold, creamy, delicious and fattening! Diet tomorrow.

Prep time; 30-40 min.  Puréeing time: 15 min.  Chilling time: several hours or overnight.

INGREDIENTS                        EQUIPMENT

4 pounds Idaho potatoes            6 quart soup pot

7 cups of water                          electric food processor                      

2 ¾ pounds cucumbers           

2 large white onions

2 ½ cups 1% milk

1 ½ cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons salt

1 large bunch dill

White pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel and chop potatoes coarsely. Put them into soup pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil and cook potatoes until tender- about 10-15 minutes.
2. While potatoes are cooking- Peel, seed and cut two pounds of cucumbers into small chunks. Peel and chop onions. Rinse and chop dill.
3. When potatoes are tender, reduce heat to a simmer and add cucumbers and onions. Cook ten minutes longer. Remove from heat.
4. Add chopped dill to pot. Stir well.
5. Pour soup, two cups at a time, into food processor. Purée soup so that only occasional bits of cucumber and potato remain. Pour soup into a large bowl. Add milk and cream. Chill. Taste. Season soup with white pepper and salt.
6. Peel, seed and dice remaining ¾ pound cucumber. Pour soup into individual bowl and garnish with a tablespoon of diced cucumber.

BLUEBERRY LEMON LOAF (recipe, pareve)

Whether you serve this for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea, everyone will be asking for  more. The combination of the sweet blueberries, lemon zest and lemon glaze is just perfect! Enjoy.-

 BLUEBERRY LEMON LOAF P SERVES: 8-10

It’s not too tart and not too sweet- just a perfect end to any casual meal or the perfect start to any day.

Prep time: 15 min.  Baking time: 45-60 min. Glazing: 5 min.  Cooling: 30 min.

INGREDIENTS                                           EQUIPMENT

1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon flour                      9” x 5” x 3” loaf pan

¼ teaspoon salt                                             electric mixer

1 teaspoon baking powder                            grater

6 tablespoons pareve margarine- softened    baking rack

1 1/3 cups sugar                                             cake tester

2 eggs                                                              long spatula

2 lemons: zest for cake, 3 tablespoons juice for glaze

½ cup water

1 ½ cups (almost 1 pint) fresh blueberries-washed and stemmed

non-dairy baking spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to: 325 F.
2. Spray loaf pan and set aside.
3. Mix 1 ½ cups flour with baking powder and salt in small bowl.
4. Put margarine and one cup sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

5. Grate lemons directly into mixing bowl. Juice one or both lemons to produce three tablespoons of juice. Set aside for glaze.

6.     Add dry ingredients alternately with water. Beat well after each addition.    Remember to scrape batter down from the sides of the pan.

7. Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon flour. Fold them gently into cake batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 45 minutes to an hour or until cake tester when inserted comes out clean. The top should be golden brown. Place cake on baking rack and pierce it all over the top with cake tester.
8. Put lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar has completely dissolved. Pour over top of cake. Cool 30 minutes in pan. Run a long spatula around the edges of cake and then invert onto rack. Cake can be eaten while still warm or when completely cooled. You will have neater slices if the cake has thoroughly cooled.

PUFF PASTRY STRAWS WITH TOASTED SESAME SEEDS (recipe, pareve)

PUFF PASTRY STRAWS WITH TOASTED SESAME SEEDS P

YIELD: 80 SMALL STRAWS

The toasted sesame seeds give a wonderful flavor to the puff pastry straws. You can substitute poppy seeds if you like or use grated parmesan cheese for a dairy meal.

Prep time: 30 min.   Baking time: 15 min.

Ingredients               

1 package frozen pareve puff pastry- thawed       

8 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds               

1 egg-beaten

Equipment

Rolling pin

Pastry brush

2 large cookie sheets lined with baking parchment

Cooking racks                           

Directions

1. Preheat oven to: 400 F.
2. Roll out each pastry sheet on lightly floured surface until it measures 10 inches on each side. Brush each sheet with beaten egg.
3. Sprinkle each sheet 4 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Cut each sheet into twenty ½ inch wide long strips. Cut these strips in half before twisting them into straws. Carefully place straws on cookie sheets leaving ½ inch in between them. Bake 15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool on racks before serving. These straws can be made one day in advance or frozen for future use. To recrisp them:  Defrost straws and warm them in a 325 F. oven for about 5-10 minutes.

Chilled Fresh Tomato Soup (recipe, pareve) #summer

Chilled Fresh Tomato Soup P Serves: 8

This is a light refreshing soup with a little bite. The creamy texture and mellow flavor of chopped avocado are a wonderful addition to this seasonal treat.

Prep time: 30-45 min. Chilling time:  several hours or overnight

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup carrots-chopped (1-2 large carrots)

2 cups onions-chopped (2 medium onions)

1 tablespoon garlic-minced (2-3 large cloves)

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups vegetable broth

4 pounds ripe tomatoes-peeled, seeded, chopped

Optional-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 ripe Haas avocados-peeled & diced

Equipment

Electric food processor

Medium skillet

5 quart soup pot

Directions

1. Heat oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add onions, carrots & garlic and sauté until vegetables are soft.
2. Add vegetable broth and salt. Stir well and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, stir well and simmer 5-10 minutes-just long enough for tomatoes to warm through and soften. Remove soup from heat and cool.
4. Purée soup two-three cups at a time until very smooth. Chill several hours or overnight. Taste. Add cayenne if you like a little heat.
5. To serve: Stir soup. Taste. Add more salt or pepper if needed. Ladle soup into individual soup bowls and garnish with five or six pieces of avocado in the center. Serve immediately.

Farro Vegetable Salad (recipe, pareve) #meatlessmonday #shavuot

 

Farro Vegetable Salad P Serves: 10-12

Farro is a grain that is very healthy and easy to prepare. It has a chewy texture and a somewhat nutty taste. When you toss farro (or any grain) with dressing right after it has finished cooking, while still warm, the grain absorbs the flavor more fully. Add an assortment of colorful vegetables and herbs after it has cooled and you have a healthy, delicious, beautiful side dish for dinner. Serve it with some wonderful crusty bread and you have a great lunch.

As with any recipe, my proportions and vegetable choices should serve as a guide. Experimenting with different combinations is part of the fun of cooking.

Ingredients

12 ounce package of farro-prepared according to package directions and drained

1/3 cup mustard vinaigrette

2 small colorful sweet peppers (red, yellow, orange)

1 bunch scallions

10 ounce package frozen peas-defrosted

¾ cup cried currants

½ cup pitted Kalamata olives-diced

1 small bunch Italian parsley

1 small bunch dill

Salt and freshly ground black pepper-to taste

Equipment

Medium pot with cover

Large mixing bowl

Directions

1. Pour vinaigrette over drained warm faro and mix well. Taste. Add more dressing if necessary. Cool completely.
2. Wash and core peppers. Cut them into strips and then dice them. Scrape into mixing bowl.
3. Cut stems off scallions and rinse well. Slice both the white and green parts and add to peppers.
4. Add defrosted peas, currant, and olives to vegetables.
5. Mince enough parsley and dill to equal one half cup each. Rinse and dry herbs and add them to vegetables. Toss vegetables and herbs together lightly. Add cooled faro and toss again. Taste. Add salt and pepper if necessary.  Pour into a serving bowl and serve at room temperature.

Chocolate Chip-Orange Biscotti (recipe, pareve)

Chocolate Chip-Orange Biscotti P Yield: about 48 pieces

This is a one bowl recipe that can be made by hand or with an electric mixer.

Prep time: 20 min.  Baking time: 35-45 min.  Cooling: 20 min.

Slicing & toasting: 30 min.

Ingredients           

1 cup sugar                     

3 cups flour                     

1 teaspoon baking powder           

¾ cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tablespoon fresh orange zest

1 tablespoon orange liqueur

¾ cup non-dairy mini chocolate chips

Equipment

Electric mixer

Large cookie sheet lined with baking parchment

Cooling rack

Directions

1. Pour sugar, flour and baking powder into bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed for one minute. Make a well in the center and add the oil, eggs, orange liqueur. Add chocolate chips as you start mixing ingredients on slow speed. Stop mixer when ingredients are well blended.
2. Preheat oven to: 350 F.
3. Divide dough into thirds. Knead each third on a flat surface and then shape dough into a loaf about 7” long and 1” thick. Repeat process until you have placed three loaves on cookie sheet. Bake 35-45 minutes until loaves have browned. Remove from oven and cool about 20 minutes. Do not turn off the oven.
4. Use a sharp knife and cut loaves into ¼ inch slices. Arrange slices neatly on cookie sheet. Return cookie sheet to preheated oven and toast slices 10-15 minutes. Cool Biscotti on rack.

Eggplant Sandwiches (recipe, dairy) #shavuot

What a wonderful vegetarian dish and just in time for Shavuot!

Eggplant Sandwiches D Yield: 6 Sandwiches

How can I describe the taste of a fried eggplant sandwich oozing with cheese and sundried tomatoes or greens? It’s just amazingly delicious and so easy to prepare. Try it.

Ingredients

1 eggplant- about one pound

Two ¼ inch slices of Mozzarella

2 sundried tomatoes-drained

Two ¼ inch slices of goat cheese

10 small leaves of baby arugula-stems removed

Two small  flat pieces of blue cheese

10 small leaves of baby spinach-stems removed

½ cup flour

2 eggs-beaten

1 cup breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil

Optional: 2 cups tomato sauce

Equipment

3 shallow bowls

Medium skillet

Spatula

Directions

1. Peel eggplant and cut off the top. Cut eggplant into six ¾-1 inch rounds. With a sharp knife, partially slice each rounds in half with knife parallel to the cutting surface so that you leave a one half inch hinge at one spot.
2. For mozzarella and sundried tomato sandwiches: Halve sundried tomatoes. Squeeze one slice of mozzarella and two halves of tomato in each of two sliced eggplant rounds. Press down on the top slightly.
3. For goat cheese and arugula sandwiches: squeeze one slice of goat cheese and about five leaves of arugula into two eggplant rounds.
4. For blue cheese and spinach sandwiches: squeeze blue cheese and about five leaves of spinach in eggplant rounds.
5. Dredge all the rounds in flour. Shake off any excess. Dip floured rounds in egg. Let any excess egg drip off. Coat rounds (top, bottom and sides) in bread crumbs and set aside.
6. Pour enough oil in skillet to come up about one half inch in the pan. Heat oil over medium-high flame. Place no more than three eggplant sandwiches in the oil at a time. Put no more than two in if you want to keep track of the type of filling each one has. Brown eggplant rounds about three minutes on each side. Keep turning them to get them as brown as you like. Drain fried sandwiches on paper towels before arranging them on a platter. Serve tomato sauce on the side.