Thursday, December 18, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Monday, December 8, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but also the parent of others."
Cicero.
Thank you is a word that should be with us daily and constantly. We are so fortunate to have what we need, a home, food, education and to be free to live our lives with dignity.
Remember that each person has their own way to give thanks and while some do it at prayer, when they bless the food they eat, when they reap a crop, it is an individual way of saying Thanks for what we have.
Education, Democracy, Justice and a Government that leads the people and creates an environment of Peace and Harmony, are a great deal to be grateful for.
So wishing you all a day of togetherness with those you love and time to reflect and feel wonderful for what we are blessed with.
Thanksgiving gifts, cards and little messages are a part of the day. Sit down now, while you have time and select the gifts, write love notes, wrap them carefully and they are ready to give with love. Post the gifts to the soldiers far away now and to love one that cannot be with you. (See the blog re SOLDIERS)
Plan the menu, tables and décor and buy it all now.
A large tray with all kind of candles on it, is lovely for the family to light. Let each person say their own thank you and light up the candles
Plan the food you can cook ahead and freeze. Make a selection of cookies and cakes now. Have spare plates and cutlery for extra meals during the day and have small containers for left over foods. It is easier to pack them into the fridge.
Prepare natural drinks and extra juices, beers and lollipops for the kids. You can never win. No matter what, the demand is great, because it is a long celebration.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Iam a great fan of cooking competitions on TV, so I was an avid watcher of Channel 2’s Master Chef. And I always envied the judges, who got to taste all the delectable dishes the contestants cooked up as they vied for the coveted title of Israel’s Master Chef.
So imagine my delight when I was offered the opportunity to have dinner at Hamotzi, the new restaurant in Jerusalem owned by Avi Levy, this year’s winner of Master Chef, in partnership with the owner of Café Rimon.
Opened just two months ago on a little side street near Mahaneh Yehuda, Hamotzi is a small, homey place that rings to the rafters with cheerful clients and melodious Mizrahi music. The kosher meat restaurant specializes in Algerian fare, and the decor reflects that North African flavor.
Diners can eat outside at the tables on the paved sequestered alleyway or in the restaurant itself. As you enter and walk a few steps down into the interior, there is a distinct Casbah feeling to the place, with its archways and stone walls – but bright, clean and colorful. There are about 12 pale green formica tables with chairs, as well as green sofas against the right-hand wall. Beyond the archway is a bar with a set of long glass teardrop fixtures overhead. And that’s it. Small, cozy and ready to serve.
As manager Nadav Ron explains, the aim of the restaurant is to be family-oriented, friendly and comfortable; to have customers feel as if they were eating in their own home. To that end, the wait staff do not wear uniforms but dress in whatever clothing they feel comfortable in.
The menu – which is only in Hebrew – is select and very reasonably priced. At lunchtime, the prices are a little lower than at dinner. While Levy creates each of the dishes, his mother, Miri, comes in every morning and cooks up two special dishes of the day.
In keeping with the name of the restaurant (as in the blessing “hamotzi lehem min ha’aretz”), the only bread served at Hamotzi is challa, which is made especially for them. Before one even selects anything from the menu, a plate of bread is brought to the table, as well as an array of appetizers, namely tehina, pickled vegetables, matbucha, beets, eggplant and mangold (chard). Each patron also receives a shot glass of very strong anisette to get the party started.
Certain types of spices and oil are the keynotes of Algerian cuisine. As Ron puts, it, “You have to feel the oil and the spices. If you don’t, then it’s not authentic.”
That was a little daunting for me, as I don’t have a high tolerance for spicy food. But I have to say that the food wasn’t too hot for me to handle, nor was it overly oily.
For our meal, my dining companion and I shared the tasting menu (NIS 120). A tasting menu is a great way to be introduced to a new restaurant because you get to sample a little of each specialty. Plus you find out what your favorites are so that when you go back again, you know what to order as a main dish.
Some of the dishes are as follows: makud – fried potato kubbeh with a spicy tomato sauce (NIS 34); Savta’s salad – Arabic cucumber, boiled potatoes, egg and anchovies (NIS 32); fried fish in spicy lemon sharmola sauce (NIS 43); cigars stuffed with veal sweetbreads (NIS 47); eggrolls stuffed with meat and matbucha (NIS 45); chicken (pargiot) stuffed with veal sweetbreads and beef (NIS 67); beef meatballs on a bed of cabbage and onions (NIS 56); fried meatballs with rice (NIS 56); shoulder of beef in tomato sauce (NIS 62); filet of (mussar) fish (NIS 69); chicken plancha with lemon and onions (NIS 62); and beef head with chickpeas and potatoes (NIS 64).
Hamotzi also has a wine list, which is rather short right now. Ron says they are working on determining which wines are best to pair with the dishes on their menu.
For me, one of the stand-out dishes was the fish (dag mussar) in a sauce that happened to be a special that day. I’m not even a fish fan, but that dish was so delicious, that when my companion left the table to make a phone call and the fish arrived, I had to force myself to leave him some to taste. The fish was bass, and the sauce was made with lemon, crushed peppers and amba.
Other highlights were the sweet and sour meatballs and cabbage, the deep-fried meatballs with rice, and the tender bite-size pieces of chicken with tehina.
Another specialty we tasted was the dish Levy had created on an episode of Master Chef when the challenge was to make a sandwich. His offering was a roulade of minced chicken, spices and a hard-boiled egg baked in challa and served as a slice.
So the dishes kept coming, and my companion and I savored each one. You’d be surprised at how filling just a taste of this and a smattering of that can be.
Full, but never too full for dessert, we ended our meal by sampling the two desserts the restaurant has to offer. One was a mini cigar stuffed with crushed pistachio, served with a thick white jaban sauce made of egg whites, syrup and lemongrass (NIS 21). The other was called yo-yo – spheres made of flour and almond paste and coated with coconut (NIS 19). This was accompanied by a little samovar-like teapot filled with refreshing mint tea.
During the meal, Levy came over to our table to say hello. After having seen him for so long on TV, I felt like I already knew him. He said he was very proud of his restaurant, which was buzzing with customers.
He said he wanted to keep it small and family-like and had no plans to expand the premises.
What I particularly noticed about the place was that everybody seemed so happy to be there. All the clients and the staff seemed so cheerful and high-spirited. As a result, the restaurant is noisy – but in a good way. In a way that makes you feel like you’re in the company of a gregarious, fun crowd.
So if you go to Hamotzi, don’t expect to have a quiet, intimate tete-a-tete. But do expect to have a good time, a great meal and, if you’re lucky, the opportunity to shake hands with Avi Levy and give your compliments to the reigning Master Chef.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Hamotzi (Kosher)
4 Mashiach Baruchof
Tel: (02) 631-0050
Open Sunday to Friday for lunch; and Tues., Wed. & Thurs. for dinner as well.
So imagine my delight when I was offered the opportunity to have dinner at Hamotzi, the new restaurant in Jerusalem owned by Avi Levy, this year’s winner of Master Chef, in partnership with the owner of Café Rimon.
Opened just two months ago on a little side street near Mahaneh Yehuda, Hamotzi is a small, homey place that rings to the rafters with cheerful clients and melodious Mizrahi music. The kosher meat restaurant specializes in Algerian fare, and the decor reflects that North African flavor.
Diners can eat outside at the tables on the paved sequestered alleyway or in the restaurant itself. As you enter and walk a few steps down into the interior, there is a distinct Casbah feeling to the place, with its archways and stone walls – but bright, clean and colorful. There are about 12 pale green formica tables with chairs, as well as green sofas against the right-hand wall. Beyond the archway is a bar with a set of long glass teardrop fixtures overhead. And that’s it. Small, cozy and ready to serve.
As manager Nadav Ron explains, the aim of the restaurant is to be family-oriented, friendly and comfortable; to have customers feel as if they were eating in their own home. To that end, the wait staff do not wear uniforms but dress in whatever clothing they feel comfortable in.
The menu – which is only in Hebrew – is select and very reasonably priced. At lunchtime, the prices are a little lower than at dinner. While Levy creates each of the dishes, his mother, Miri, comes in every morning and cooks up two special dishes of the day.
In keeping with the name of the restaurant (as in the blessing “hamotzi lehem min ha’aretz”), the only bread served at Hamotzi is challa, which is made especially for them. Before one even selects anything from the menu, a plate of bread is brought to the table, as well as an array of appetizers, namely tehina, pickled vegetables, matbucha, beets, eggplant and mangold (chard). Each patron also receives a shot glass of very strong anisette to get the party started.
Certain types of spices and oil are the keynotes of Algerian cuisine. As Ron puts, it, “You have to feel the oil and the spices. If you don’t, then it’s not authentic.”
That was a little daunting for me, as I don’t have a high tolerance for spicy food. But I have to say that the food wasn’t too hot for me to handle, nor was it overly oily.
For our meal, my dining companion and I shared the tasting menu (NIS 120). A tasting menu is a great way to be introduced to a new restaurant because you get to sample a little of each specialty. Plus you find out what your favorites are so that when you go back again, you know what to order as a main dish.
Some of the dishes are as follows: makud – fried potato kubbeh with a spicy tomato sauce (NIS 34); Savta’s salad – Arabic cucumber, boiled potatoes, egg and anchovies (NIS 32); fried fish in spicy lemon sharmola sauce (NIS 43); cigars stuffed with veal sweetbreads (NIS 47); eggrolls stuffed with meat and matbucha (NIS 45); chicken (pargiot) stuffed with veal sweetbreads and beef (NIS 67); beef meatballs on a bed of cabbage and onions (NIS 56); fried meatballs with rice (NIS 56); shoulder of beef in tomato sauce (NIS 62); filet of (mussar) fish (NIS 69); chicken plancha with lemon and onions (NIS 62); and beef head with chickpeas and potatoes (NIS 64).
Hamotzi also has a wine list, which is rather short right now. Ron says they are working on determining which wines are best to pair with the dishes on their menu.
For me, one of the stand-out dishes was the fish (dag mussar) in a sauce that happened to be a special that day. I’m not even a fish fan, but that dish was so delicious, that when my companion left the table to make a phone call and the fish arrived, I had to force myself to leave him some to taste. The fish was bass, and the sauce was made with lemon, crushed peppers and amba.
Other highlights were the sweet and sour meatballs and cabbage, the deep-fried meatballs with rice, and the tender bite-size pieces of chicken with tehina.
Another specialty we tasted was the dish Levy had created on an episode of Master Chef when the challenge was to make a sandwich. His offering was a roulade of minced chicken, spices and a hard-boiled egg baked in challa and served as a slice.
So the dishes kept coming, and my companion and I savored each one. You’d be surprised at how filling just a taste of this and a smattering of that can be.
Full, but never too full for dessert, we ended our meal by sampling the two desserts the restaurant has to offer. One was a mini cigar stuffed with crushed pistachio, served with a thick white jaban sauce made of egg whites, syrup and lemongrass (NIS 21). The other was called yo-yo – spheres made of flour and almond paste and coated with coconut (NIS 19). This was accompanied by a little samovar-like teapot filled with refreshing mint tea.
During the meal, Levy came over to our table to say hello. After having seen him for so long on TV, I felt like I already knew him. He said he was very proud of his restaurant, which was buzzing with customers.
He said he wanted to keep it small and family-like and had no plans to expand the premises.
What I particularly noticed about the place was that everybody seemed so happy to be there. All the clients and the staff seemed so cheerful and high-spirited. As a result, the restaurant is noisy – but in a good way. In a way that makes you feel like you’re in the company of a gregarious, fun crowd.
So if you go to Hamotzi, don’t expect to have a quiet, intimate tete-a-tete. But do expect to have a good time, a great meal and, if you’re lucky, the opportunity to shake hands with Avi Levy and give your compliments to the reigning Master Chef.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Hamotzi (Kosher)
4 Mashiach Baruchof
Tel: (02) 631-0050
Open Sunday to Friday for lunch; and Tues., Wed. & Thurs. for dinner as well.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
The Candy and Cake Store...I saw this delightful picture and felt I wanted to share the charm of it with you. When we were kids , we saved our pocket money to buy candies, lollipops, bubble gum, candy sugar sticks and all that sticky stuff that was pure sugar, but such fun. I have many little cookie ideas in these pages for kids to make and enjoy.
Let kids find easy recipes, for cookies, date and chocolate balls, fudge, biscuits they can decorate, health snack bars, crunchies made from oats, coconut candies and more. There are peanut butter cookies, rice cookies, halva and date cookies and lots of nuts and fruit cakes, meringue and macaroons to make. Make a baking day and you can create fun plates for dessert on Friday nights, Sunday lunches or for special occasions. When you bake with kids, they learn and it is a joy for life. Have fun. love and light , Rona
Let kids find easy recipes, for cookies, date and chocolate balls, fudge, biscuits they can decorate, health snack bars, crunchies made from oats, coconut candies and more. There are peanut butter cookies, rice cookies, halva and date cookies and lots of nuts and fruit cakes, meringue and macaroons to make. Make a baking day and you can create fun plates for dessert on Friday nights, Sunday lunches or for special occasions. When you bake with kids, they learn and it is a joy for life. Have fun. love and light , Rona
Monday, October 27, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
VEGETABLES TRAY FOR THANKSGIVING.
This can be made two days ahead.
Buy beets, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, cauliflower, onions, garlic eggplants. potatoes zucchinis,pumpkin and mushrooms. For flavors use parsley, rosemary, basil, tarragon and mint leaves. Where possible use fresh vegetables and herbs.
I wash the vegetables. The hard ones like beets, sweet potatoes and potatoes are steamed for five to eight minutes and then prepared for baking. Garlic are cut in half and sprinkled with olive oil for baking. The onions are peeled and baked whole Pumpkin, egg plant and zucchinis are sliced carefully and mushrooms are placed in a separate dish, spiced and sprinkled with olive oil and a little juice of onions and garlic.
Arrange all the vegetables on a large baking tray that has been wiped with olive oil. Sprinkle the rosemary on the potatoes, a little cinnamon on the sweet potatoes and pumpkin, some tarragon on the zucchinis and use salt and pepper, vegetable salt and sprinkled dried onions on the other vegetables. The cauliflower can be steamed and then put on the tray with a little grated cheese and chopped almonds.
Bake in a medium oven for forty minutes, but baste with the olive oil a few times. Cool and refrigerate. You can warm these up to serve on Thanks giving day.
Bake in a medium oven for forty minutes, but baste with the olive oil a few times. Cool and refrigerate. You can warm these up to serve on Thanks giving day.
FABULOUS SALAD WITH BEANS, ZUCCHINI AND FETA CHEESE.
Buy three cups of green beans and cut up into finger size pieces. Steam over water with a tea bag in it. Cut the zucchinis into angles pieces and steam as well Place these into an oven dish and cover with chopped parsley and some mint leaves. Sprinkle over a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil and mixed herbs. Grate a cup of Feta cheese over this and serve in a large bowl. You can add one or two nasturtium flowers as décor or a few chopped hazel nuts.
COOKED SWEET POTATOES AND SLICES OF CHEESE AND BREAD STICKS.
Cook five sweet potatoes and cut into finger shaped pieces. Cool Arrange on a flat platter. Buy a hard yellow cheese and arrange pieces of even sizes in rows with alternating bread sticks. Serve with a dressing of half a cup of orange juice and half a cup of techina, blended with a little honey and pour over and serve.
MUSHROOMS BAKED WITH BABY ONIONS AND GARLIC.
Prepare wiped mushrooms, about thirty button mushrooms. You can use a variety of mixed mushrooms as well. Place them in an oiled oven dish. Peel ten to fifteen baby onions and add them Use garlic cut in half and a few slices of kohlrabi. Mix in some chopped parsley and grated ginger. Add salt and pepper according to taste and sprinkle olive oil over all the vegetables. Cover and bake for twenty five minutes in a medium oven. Check and if the vegetables are soft, uncover and let it stand for a few minutes in the oven.
Serve this on a bed of mashed potatoes with lots of chopped parsley as décor. For a quick way, just split two French loaves and fill with the mushroom mix
Thanksgiving ideas.
Today we are cooking for meat, chicken, fish eaters ,vegetarian and vegan eating family and friends
We need new and fresh ideas. Find a few new recipes for Thanksgiving All you need is three or four vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices. The family like the old favorites, so do not leave them out. Grandchildren look forward to what you always serve. Keep, the favorites as they expect them to be done.
Everyone expects mash, roast potatoes, pumpkin pie, cornmeal bread and the lovely cakes you make like pecan pie and apple cakes.
New ideas include.....
Beets, mozzarella and mint leaves, sprinkled with pomegranate pips. Simply cook, peel and slice beets, Arrange with slices of mozzarella cheese, arrange leaves of mint over it all and sprinkle pomegranate seeds all over the plate. Drizzle on a little reds wine vinegar and a few drops of olive oil. Serve with toasted squares.
Green beans, fried onions and grilled mushrooms. Cook beans add onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle with grated cashew nuts and a dressing of oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Sweet potatoes. Cook four or five, peel and slice carefully. Arrange in a baking pan over a bed of cooked whole wheat rice. Sprinkle with olive oil salt and pepper, cinnamon and toss in a few cloves. Bake with a little butter on the potatoes for ten minutes. Serve hot
Carrots. Slice carrots lengthwise and cook them for five minutes. Then saute them in a pan with olive oil, chopped onion and garlic, grated ginger, salt and pepper, sunflower seeds and a teaspoon or two of honey. Glaze until brownish and serve over the fresh green salad.
Polenta and mushrooms
Cook polenta and arrange on a baking dish. Saute the freshly cut mushrooms with butter, a few garlic cloves , two red onions, thinly sliced, salt and pepper. Saute until nicely done. Then serve over the polenta with a rich tomato sauce. I make the tomato sauce by dropping a few tomatoes in boiling water, remove the skins and blend with an onion, two cloves of garlic, some parsley, a teaspoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of honey Blend all and heat to pour over the mushrooms and polenta.
Brussel sprouts I cook two cups of these and add crushed cashew nuts, grated cheddar cheese and a level mustard techina dressing. Serve hot or cold.
Watch for further ideas Love and light Rona
Today we are cooking for meat, chicken, fish eaters ,vegetarian and vegan eating family and friends
We need new and fresh ideas. Find a few new recipes for Thanksgiving All you need is three or four vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices. The family like the old favorites, so do not leave them out. Grandchildren look forward to what you always serve. Keep, the favorites as they expect them to be done.
Everyone expects mash, roast potatoes, pumpkin pie, cornmeal bread and the lovely cakes you make like pecan pie and apple cakes.
New ideas include.....
Beets, mozzarella and mint leaves, sprinkled with pomegranate pips. Simply cook, peel and slice beets, Arrange with slices of mozzarella cheese, arrange leaves of mint over it all and sprinkle pomegranate seeds all over the plate. Drizzle on a little reds wine vinegar and a few drops of olive oil. Serve with toasted squares.
Green beans, fried onions and grilled mushrooms. Cook beans add onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle with grated cashew nuts and a dressing of oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Sweet potatoes. Cook four or five, peel and slice carefully. Arrange in a baking pan over a bed of cooked whole wheat rice. Sprinkle with olive oil salt and pepper, cinnamon and toss in a few cloves. Bake with a little butter on the potatoes for ten minutes. Serve hot
Carrots. Slice carrots lengthwise and cook them for five minutes. Then saute them in a pan with olive oil, chopped onion and garlic, grated ginger, salt and pepper, sunflower seeds and a teaspoon or two of honey. Glaze until brownish and serve over the fresh green salad.
Polenta and mushrooms
Cook polenta and arrange on a baking dish. Saute the freshly cut mushrooms with butter, a few garlic cloves , two red onions, thinly sliced, salt and pepper. Saute until nicely done. Then serve over the polenta with a rich tomato sauce. I make the tomato sauce by dropping a few tomatoes in boiling water, remove the skins and blend with an onion, two cloves of garlic, some parsley, a teaspoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of honey Blend all and heat to pour over the mushrooms and polenta.
Brussel sprouts I cook two cups of these and add crushed cashew nuts, grated cheddar cheese and a level mustard techina dressing. Serve hot or cold.
Watch for further ideas Love and light Rona
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
These are my daughters, Sel and Marcelle. Both are creative, have a sense of responsibility, work in fields of teaching and are able to inspire and bring pupils and people to their full potential. They have warm natures, are aware of the world and its needs, love animals, nature and people. They are vegan/.vegetarian and make me reliase that these kind of people make a better world. love and light Rona
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THINKING AHEAD TO COLDER DAYS.
I wish you a good year, time to dream and time to enjoy each day. We have all had a week end of eating and drinking, enjoying cakes ,cookies and candies. Now back to the regular routine.
We suddenly have the weather change and feel the need for a good soup, perhaps a warm bowl of food, a casserole and hot meals .
Here are a few ideas to create winter ideas, for colder evenings.
Firstly reorganize your grocery cupboard. Prepare grains and soup ingredients. Do not rely on packaged soups, Do your own.
There are brown and orange lentils, whole-wheat rice, wild rice, barley, all kinds of beans, wheat, oats, soya products, dried green peas, dried mushrooms, garbanzo, chickpeas pastas and noodles.
You do not have to invest in large quantities. Better to buy for two to three weeks at a time. I take the dry goods and place them in air tight containers. I wash them well , when I use them and many need to be soaked overnight or for a few hours.
Create a collection of containers that are suitable for freezing. Not every kind of plastic is good for the freezer. Go into a reliable store and find medium size containers for cooked soups, beans and vegetarian dishes.
I buy small quantities of herbs and spices. Try to use as many fesh products as you can. Use frozen products when you haven’t enough time to create meals with fresh ingredients. I like to have peas and beans in the freezer.
BASIC VEGETABLE SOUPS.
You need a large pot and a variety of vegetables. Go for yellow, greens and sweet potatoes, white potatoes and grains and beans. If you want to use lentils, beans, wheat and barley, wash and soak for a little while. Use fresh parsley, carrots, pumpkin, onions, garlic, dill and good greens like zucchinis, celery and cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Simply wash well and cut up, place in the pot of water, add vegetable salt and pepper. You can add a dash of curry, sweet paprika and a few herbs. Cook on a medium flame and let it boil for a few minutes, lower flame and let if cook until the vegetables are soft. Do not store until the soup is cool.
Freeze soups in medium size containers and thaw before warming up. There is an added advantage when reheating soups, just re energize them by cutting up a carrot, onion and a few grated carrots . Jus drop these into the pot. Looks great and tastes good. This is also when you can add a cup of peas or cut up beans from the freezer.
Serve soup in bowls, with cooked rice, a whole-wheat bread or slices of toast. Enjoy Love and light Rona
I wish you a good year, time to dream and time to enjoy each day. We have all had a week end of eating and drinking, enjoying cakes ,cookies and candies. Now back to the regular routine.
We suddenly have the weather change and feel the need for a good soup, perhaps a warm bowl of food, a casserole and hot meals .
Here are a few ideas to create winter ideas, for colder evenings.
Firstly reorganize your grocery cupboard. Prepare grains and soup ingredients. Do not rely on packaged soups, Do your own.
There are brown and orange lentils, whole-wheat rice, wild rice, barley, all kinds of beans, wheat, oats, soya products, dried green peas, dried mushrooms, garbanzo, chickpeas pastas and noodles.
You do not have to invest in large quantities. Better to buy for two to three weeks at a time. I take the dry goods and place them in air tight containers. I wash them well , when I use them and many need to be soaked overnight or for a few hours.
Create a collection of containers that are suitable for freezing. Not every kind of plastic is good for the freezer. Go into a reliable store and find medium size containers for cooked soups, beans and vegetarian dishes.
I buy small quantities of herbs and spices. Try to use as many fesh products as you can. Use frozen products when you haven’t enough time to create meals with fresh ingredients. I like to have peas and beans in the freezer.
BASIC VEGETABLE SOUPS.
You need a large pot and a variety of vegetables. Go for yellow, greens and sweet potatoes, white potatoes and grains and beans. If you want to use lentils, beans, wheat and barley, wash and soak for a little while. Use fresh parsley, carrots, pumpkin, onions, garlic, dill and good greens like zucchinis, celery and cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Simply wash well and cut up, place in the pot of water, add vegetable salt and pepper. You can add a dash of curry, sweet paprika and a few herbs. Cook on a medium flame and let it boil for a few minutes, lower flame and let if cook until the vegetables are soft. Do not store until the soup is cool.
Freeze soups in medium size containers and thaw before warming up. There is an added advantage when reheating soups, just re energize them by cutting up a carrot, onion and a few grated carrots . Jus drop these into the pot. Looks great and tastes good. This is also when you can add a cup of peas or cut up beans from the freezer.
Serve soup in bowls, with cooked rice, a whole-wheat bread or slices of toast. Enjoy Love and light Rona
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
VEGAN and VEGETARIAN NEW YEAR IDEAS.
We have many people who have become Vegetarian and Vegan in the last few years. Plan the meals for New Year with dishes that are easy for everyone. here are some easy and tasty ideas.
BEETROOT
Cook four or five beets and peel the, let them cool. Slice thinly and arrange on a plate with thinly sliced re d onions, flaked almonds and techina. Serve cold
CARROTS
. Cook ten carrots, slice them thinly and they cook fast. Arrange in a bowl, ad half a cup of thinly chopped parsley, a grated apple, a dressing of two tablespoons olive oil, juice of a fresh lemon and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve cold/
RICE AND PEPPERS . Cook two cups of wholewheat rice. Saute two onions thinly slice, two crushed cloves of garlic, have a cup of parsley, a little dill and salt and pepper and half a cup of crushed walnuts or pecan nuts. Add salt and pepper and a teaspoon of honey and a dash of cinnamon. Mix all and fill the red peppers, that were sliced in half and soaked in boiling eater. Arrange in an oven dish and bake for tem\n minutes in a moderate oven.
OLIVE DIP . Open a tin of black olives, no pips. Place in blender, with salt, pepper, two tablespoons of olive oil, ten cashew nuts. some parsley and four soaked dried apricots. Mix well and use as a spread on baked potatoes, with bread slices or with mozzarella and thinly sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle a dressing over the salad and arrange the olive spread on the salad.
VEGETABLE PATTIES. cook a few vegetables like pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes and parsley. Mash them all and form into patties. Mix in one grated apple and two teaspoons of linseed and two tablespoons of oats. Mix all and shape into patties. Keep in fridge for twenty minutes. Fry in hot oil or bake in and oven dish that you have wiped with olive oil. You can soak three automates in boiling water, remove skins and crush the tomatoes over the patties in the oven. Medium oven Fifteen minutes.
Look at my blogs for Dates, Beets, Potatoes, Hot and cold Soups New Year dishes and more. Have a great New Year.
Love and light Rona
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
PEAS.
Peas are one of the tastiest vegetables. Eat them fresh when you can. Just add them to salads, eat them with soups and as a snack
Many of us use frozen peas. I like to have them handy to add to a quiche, to soups that we warm up and into quinoa and rice salads, pasta dishes and with mixed stir fry vegetables and grated ginger..
When you make a fresh soup, you can strain it all and add the peas for a minute or two at the end. I also serve them with mint and lettuce leaves, just blanched in a pot with a little butter and salt. Use them over rice, couscous and quinoa.
I love a quiche of two cups of spinach, chopped fine, one cup peas, one cup grate carrots, salt and pepper and 1/2 a cup of walnuts. . two egg and a cup of cottage cheese. Wipe a baking dish with olive oil and place the mixture in without a base. If you like a base, use one. I bake this for twenty minutes in a medium oven and serve with brown rice or quinoa and a teaspoon of mustard delicious.
Rice and peas, green spring onions, garlic and thinly sliced red peppers. Cook one and a half cups of rice. Saute the vegetables in avocado oil or olive oil on a low flame. Add salt and pepper and two teaspoons of pine kernels. Mix it in and serve hot. Lovely with a little Parmesan on top.
Enjoy fun ideas with split peas too. Always have them handy for soups. Dry pease need to be rinsed and cooked with vegetables, spices, herbs and other vegetables for a thick winter soup. You can cook two cups of dry washed peas and when soft mash them with onion, garlic salt and pepper, basil and a grated carrot Add two eggs and makes patties. Fry them in olive oil and serve with pasta, rice or polenta.
Have a great week Love and light Rona
.
Peas are one of the tastiest vegetables. Eat them fresh when you can. Just add them to salads, eat them with soups and as a snack
Many of us use frozen peas. I like to have them handy to add to a quiche, to soups that we warm up and into quinoa and rice salads, pasta dishes and with mixed stir fry vegetables and grated ginger..
When you make a fresh soup, you can strain it all and add the peas for a minute or two at the end. I also serve them with mint and lettuce leaves, just blanched in a pot with a little butter and salt. Use them over rice, couscous and quinoa.
I love a quiche of two cups of spinach, chopped fine, one cup peas, one cup grate carrots, salt and pepper and 1/2 a cup of walnuts. . two egg and a cup of cottage cheese. Wipe a baking dish with olive oil and place the mixture in without a base. If you like a base, use one. I bake this for twenty minutes in a medium oven and serve with brown rice or quinoa and a teaspoon of mustard delicious.
Rice and peas, green spring onions, garlic and thinly sliced red peppers. Cook one and a half cups of rice. Saute the vegetables in avocado oil or olive oil on a low flame. Add salt and pepper and two teaspoons of pine kernels. Mix it in and serve hot. Lovely with a little Parmesan on top.
Enjoy fun ideas with split peas too. Always have them handy for soups. Dry pease need to be rinsed and cooked with vegetables, spices, herbs and other vegetables for a thick winter soup. You can cook two cups of dry washed peas and when soft mash them with onion, garlic salt and pepper, basil and a grated carrot Add two eggs and makes patties. Fry them in olive oil and serve with pasta, rice or polenta.
Have a great week Love and light Rona
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QUICK AND EASY LUNCH SALADS
BEETS...BEETROOT
Use three raw beets, peel and grate them . Grate three carrots, one kohlrabi and one peeled apple or a pear. Add spinach leaves, a few walnuts and almonds. These can be crushed. Make a dressing of the juice of two oranges, a tablespoon of techina and a two teaspoons tablespoon of honey, two teaspoons of olive oil and slat and pepper. I add one or two tablespoons of sultanas If you prefer an easy sweet dressing, use pomegranate juice with olive oil and a little parsley.
I serve this with cottage cheese on the side for a dairy meal or just good hummus with a meat meal.
BEETROOT AND BAKED POTATOES.
Cook three beets and bake four potatoes. Peel the beets and slice into cubes. Dice the potatoes, You can leave the skins on. Saute two thinly sliced onions and two crushed garlic cloves in a little olive oil, two teaspoons of pine nuts and a teaspoon of mustard seeds, salt and pepper. Then mix the beets and potatoes in with the sauteed vegetables and add a thin dressing of olive oil and techina.
BEETROOT, PEAS AND CAULIFLOWER.
Cook three beets, Cool and remove skins. Steam two cups of cauliflower, a cup of peas, a cup of chopped kale and one small onion. Mix with the beets. Add salt, pepper and a little olive oil and natural apple cider vinegar. Mix gently and serve with a sprinkling of sunflower seeds on top
BEETS AND COOKED APPLES AND WALNUTS
Cook three beets, Cool and peel. Cube them .Peel three apples and cube them Steam them for five minutes . Mix the cooked apples and beets and add ten chopped walnuts, and a dressing of two teaspoons honey, a dash of cinnamon, two teaspoons of olive oil and a little lemon juice. This is lovely served on a bed of lettuce leaves with sprouts arranged all over it in a large shallow salad bowl.
Make sure you eat a mix of colors in vegetables. Add cranberries, nuts, sesame seeds and raisins , dried cut up figs and apricots. . Enjoy Love and light Rona Kruger
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