Comfort Food

We live in Beer Sheva. As of last night, we are officially in a war zone. Several missiles launched from Gaza have landed here. Schools are closed (One missile hit an empty school building this morning.) and many people are staying close to home. Thank God, there have been no injuries so far.

Otherwise, life is fairly normal. The man from the gas company brought our new gas canister and UPS was just here to pick up a package. Even Teva Ha’bsor, our organic produce provider, which is very close to Gaza, is open and working. Their plan is to deliver tomorrow, as usual.

During times of stress, many people turn to food for comfort. It’s understandable. Anxiety and fear affect our physical as well as our mental health. Some people lose their appetite. Others feel like eating more. Many of us crave something soothing, like ice cream, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and chocolate.

Everyone has their favorites. For me, it’s soup. Right now I want something warm, creamy and satisfying. I don’t want to fuss around a lot in the kitchen. And I want to use what’s already in the refrigerator. With an onion, potatoes and cauliflower, here’s what I made:

Curried Cauliflower Soup (Parve)

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cauliflower, chopped coarsely (about 8 cups)
1 or 2 potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 ½ cups)
8 cups vegetable broth or water
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft. Add the curry powder and sugar and cook for another minute. Add the cauliflower, potato and broth. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat and cook covered for 30-45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Puree the soup (I use a hand-held immersion blender) and serve.

8-10 servings

What, No Margarine? Healthy Parve Baking

I talk a lot about using healthy fats. And avoiding margarine.

Even the newly-formulated trans fat-free margarines are not what I’d call healthy. They’re basically mixtures of vegetable oil and food additives. And when manufacturers get rid of the trans fat in margarine, many of them substitute highly saturated palm oil.

But there are healthy alternatives.

Olive oil is at the top of the list. Tasty, versatile and good for you. Most people are fine with using olive oil on salads and on vegetables.

Canola oil is a good choice. It’s affordable and mild tasting. Since it can withstand higher temperatures than most olive oil, it's good for cooking.

Parve baking can still be problematic.

In most cases, you can’t just take a recipe that calls for margarine and substitute an equal amount of oil. It just won’t work well.

And the type of fat you use is only one consideration when you want to bake healthier desserts. It’s also important to cut back on total fat as well as sugar. At the same time, why not try to incorporate healthy ingredients, like nuts, seeds, whole grains and fruit?

There are many cake recipes that use oil rather than margarine. Carrot cake and apple cake are two examples. A variety of tortes use ground nuts, dried fruit, cocoa and chocolate. Angel and sponge cakes don’t use any fat (except for eggs), and chiffon cakes are made with oil.

I’m a big fan of fruit desserts like “crisps”, baked fruit and compote.

There are delicious parve cookie recipes that use olive oil. And biscotti filled with dried fruits and nuts are a tasty choice. Some of my favorite cookies are based simply on nuts and egg whites, like almond macaroons and chewy pistachio cookies.

These two parve cookie recipes prove that baking without margarine can produce delicious (and healthier!) results. Though both are based on almonds, they are as different as can be. The first is a whole-grain “thumb-print” cookie filled with jam. It doesn’t use eggs, so it’s even suitable for vegans. The second is an elegant wafer-like cookie made with just four ingredients. (o.k., five if you choose to add a coating of chocolate)


Thumbprint Linzer Cookies (Parve)

1 cup whole almonds
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup canola oil
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup good quality raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the almonds and oats in a food processor and process with the metal blade until the mixture is very fine. Add the flour, cinnamon and salt and pulse several times to mix. Add the oil and maple syrup and pulse again until combined and the mixture forms a soft dough.

Shape the mixture into small balls with your hands, using a scant tablespoon of dough for each. Place the balls on the baking sheet, leaving space between each.

Using your finger, make a small indentation in each ball of dough. Fill the holes with a small amount of jam.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly brown.

Remove from the oven and cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Approximately 3 dozen cookies

Faux Florentine Cookies (Parve)

2 ¾ cups sliced almonds
1 cup powdered sugar
2 egg whites
Finely grated zest of one orange
Parve bittersweet chocolate (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray the paper with non-stick baking spray.

In a medium size bowl, gently combine the almonds, sugar, egg whites and orange zest.

Drop scant tablespoons of the mixture on the baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between each one. Dip your fingers in water and flatten each cookie into a very thin disc. It should be as flat as possible, but still cohesive. Each cookie will be about 2 ½ inches (6 cm) wide.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before carefully removing each cookie with a spatula.

For chocolate coated cookies, gently melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Brush one side of each cooled cookie with the warm chocolate. Cool them on a rack, chocolate side up, until the chocolate hardens.

Store these cookies in an air-tight container.

Makes about 40 small cookies

Too Many Latkes?

Have you had your fill of latkes? Can’t bear to see another jelly donut?

Do you feel like you’ve put on weight since the start of Chanukah?

How about planning a simple and healthy Shabbat dinner this week? Here's a menu idea: salmon, steamed broccoli, quinoa pilaf and a green salad. And for dessert, baked apples.

My greengrocer recently introduced me to Pink Lady Apples. First he had big shiny ones with stickers in English - obviously for export. Now he has smaller, un-waxed Ladies - export rejects! These apples are sweet and crisp. They’re great for eating raw. And they don’t fall apart during baking.

Here’s an easy recipe for baked apples that uses heart healthy walnuts and oatmeal and a minimum amount of sugar and fat.

Shabbat Shalom, Chanukah Sameach and Chodesh Tov!

Apple-Crisp Baked Apples (Parve)

¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup apple juice or cider
6 medium or 8 small firm baking apples


Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the brown sugar, rolled oats, walnuts and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the oil and stir to combine.

Peel the top third of each apple. Use an apple corer or a melon scoop to remove the core of the apple. Leave the bottom of the apple intact, so the filling won’t leak out.

Fill each apple generously with the nut filling. Spoon any extra filling on top. Arrange the apples in the baking dish and pour the apple juice around the apples.

Cover the dish tightly and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to bake for about 30 minutes, basting the apples with the juice in the dish. The apples are done when you can easily cut them with a sharp knife.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

Vegetarian Chanukah Menu

How about an Indian-inspired vegetarian meal this Chanukah?

Fragrant spices and frozen peas take traditional latkes to another level.

As an accompanyment, red lentil dal. In India, the word dal is used loosely for legumes, which provide the major source of protein for vegetarians there.

To make this meal even easier, cook the dal ahead of time and re-heat it in the microwave. A simple green salad or chopped Israeli-style salad would work well to complete this meal.

Indian-Style Latkes

These green-flecked, delicately spiced potato pancakes remind me of Indian dosas – crispy thin pancakes filled with spiced potatoes and peas.

2 ½ pounds (1 kilo) potatoes
1 large onion
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
3 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
½ -1 teaspoon salt
½ cup frozen peas, defrosted
Vegetable oil for sautéing
Low-fat yogurt for serving

If the potatoes are organic, scrub them well and leave the peels on. Conventionally-grown potatoes should be washed and peeled.

Coarsely grate the potatoes and onion in a food processor. Transfer to a colander to drain.

Mix the eggs with the flour, all of the spices and the salt. Squeeze the potatoes and onions to extract any liquid and add them to the egg mixture. Gently mix in the peas.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat two tablespoons of oil until hot. Cook the latkes, using about ¼ cup of the potato mixture per pancake. Flatten each pancake and cook until browned on each side. Drain on a paper-towel lined plate.

To keep the latkes warm until serving time, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in a 250 F (120 C) oven.

Serve with low-fat yogurt.

Makes about 24 latkes


Red Lentil Dal

Red lentils are a healthy convenience food. They don’t require pre-soaking and are done cooking in half an hour or less. They’ll break down into a puree and turn golden yellow while they’re cooking.

1 cup red lentils, sorted and rinsed well
3 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
¼ teaspoon black mustard seed
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

Bring the lentils to a boil with the water and salt. Reduce the heat and cook, partially covered over low heat, for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils soft and completely broken down. Add more water if necessary, to keep the lentils from sticking.

Heat the oil in a separate small skillet. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they turn gray and start to pop. Add the rest of the spices and cook for another minute. Add this mixture to the cooked lentils and serve.

Serves 4-6

A Happy Healthy Chanukah

Do you really expect to lose those extra few pounds or even maintain your weight right now?

Soofganiyot, latkes, fried pastries, cookies. Family get-togethers and Chanukah parties where the food seems to multiply before your eyes.

Food plays such a central role in our holidays. Why is it so hard to resist, especially when we know that too much food does more harm than good?

One of our biggest problems is portion control. Knowing how much to put on our plates and when to say “no”. The Rambam was right on target when he said:

“ Overeating is like poison to the body. It is the main source of all illness. Most illnesses which afflict a man are caused by harmful foods or by his filling his belly and overeating, even of healthful foods.” (Hilchot De’ot 4:15)

Here’s my Chanukah strategy:

If you like soofganiyot, find the freshest, best tasting one, with your
favorite filling. Sit down and savor it slowly with a cup of coffee or tea.
Relax and enjoy it. Yes, ONE delicious-tasting soofganiyah for all of Chanukah.

Don’t make them yourself. You’ll eat more than one. And don’t order any to take home. It’s too tempting.

The same with latkes. Make them ONCE during Chanukah. Instead of serving them as a main course, serve them as a side dish with fish, poultry or a hearty soup or salad.

Use a non-stick pan and sauté them in a small amount of oil. Drain the latkes on paper towels to absorb some of the oil. Serve them with low-fat sour-cream, yogurt or applesauce.

Some people like to add color and nutrition to latkes with grated vegetables like carrots, celery root, sweet potato or zucchini. For a leaner latke, you can bake them on a cookie sheet or in muffin tins.

Personally, I prefer my latkes “straight” – thin crisp cakes of potatoes and onion, sautéed in canola oil. I enjoy eating them right from the pan, sans plate and fork. But the idea is to eat ONE or TWO, not five or ten or a plateful. Fill your dish with salad or vegetables and leave room for only a few latkes. Or use a small plate to begin with.

Rambam had a solution for overeating. One that’s as sensible today as it was in his time:

“ One should not eat until his stomach is full. Rather, he should stop when he has eaten close to three-quarters of full satisfaction.” (Hilchot De’ot 4:2)

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Chanukah!

Soofganiyot - Chanukah Jelly Doughnuts

Israelis are being tempted with jelly doughnuts – soofganiyot, earlier and earlier. Years ago, soofganiyot were a Chanukah-only specialty.

Now they go on sale right after Rosh Hashanah. And here in Beer Sheva, they're looking bigger every year.

So I was pleasantly surprised to read that soofganiyot consumption in Israel is not really as bad as it appears. These statistics, on sales from last Chanukah (תשס"ת), are very encouraging:

There was a 4% decrease in overall sales of soofganiyot from the previous year

30 % of all soofganiyot sold were “mini” sized: 35-50 grams, rather than the usual 80 grams

5% of all soofganiyot sold were baked rather than fried

Hopefully, this trend towards fewer, smaller and healthier jelly doughnuts will continue this year.

What Should I Eat?

Legumes

Dried beans and peas (collectively called legumes) are a great source of low-fat protein. They’re high in vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fiber.

Best of all, they’re tasty, versatile and inexpensive. My favorite legumes are red lentils, which cook in about 20 minutes. (No need for pre-soaking.) A little sautéed onion, minced garlic or ginger, curry powder…. I’m already hungry!

Organic - What's It All About?

Organic food is “in”.

You don’t have to go to a health-food store anymore to find organically-grown fruits and vegetables. Even organic canned goods, grains, dairy products, cookies and crackers are now carried by many mainstream grocery stores. In Israel, larger supermarkets boast a טבע - “natural” aisle, with an array of organic beans, grains, flour, canned goods and sweets. Even our mid-size neighborhood store sells an assortment of organic vegetables in their produce department.

“Organic” refers to the way farmers grow and produce foods. Organic farmers feed their soil with compost or manure rather than chemical fertilizers. They use beneficial insects or traps rather than insecticides to reduce pests and disease. They’ll rotate their crops or use mulch to manage weeds, instead of using chemical herbicides.

Organic foods are free of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. The idea is to reduce environmental damage and conserve natural resources. And to produce healthier food.

Is there a health benefit to eating organic food?

Although we can’t say for sure just how harmful they are, it stands to reason that pesticide and hormone-laden foods can’t be good for you.

Are organically-grown foods more nutritious? A few studies have shown higher vitamin, mineral and micro-nutrient content in some organic produce. But there’s no conclusive evidence that organic food is more nutritious than conventionally-grown food.

What do I think?

I prefer to buy organic when it’s in season and the quality is good. And when it's affordable. I won't buy droopy-looking carrots or berries flown in from South America – organic or not.

When organic isn't available, I buy conventionally-grown local produce. Because it's not easy to eat enough fruits and vegetables. And it's often impossible to find many nutritious ones that are organically-grown. Fruit is even harder to find. And prices can be outrageous. So my strategy is to start with organically-grown produce and fill-in with conventionally-grown.

Right now, I can buy organic potatoes, onions, carrots, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, fennel, herbs and citrus fruit. But I won’t pass up conventionally-grown broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, apples, strawberries and persimmons that are currently in season.

You can reduce pesticide residue, dirt and bacteria on conventionally-grown produce by thoroughly washing it and trimming the outer leaves of leafy greens. Peeling helps, but then you loose nutrients and fiber. Organically-grown fruit and vegetables should also be washed carefully.

My hunch is that organically-grown food will prove to be nutritionally advantageous. Meanwhile, I'll pass on pesticides and opt for environmentally-friendly organic whenever possible.

What Should I Eat?

Most of us hear a lot about what we shouldn’t eat.

“Cut back on red meat.” “Don’t drink sweetened soda.” “Eat fewer processed foods.” “Eat less sugar, fat and salt.” The list of “don’ts” just keeps growing.

Do you ever wonder what’s left that’s healthy and still tastes good? Would you like to know what you really should be eating?

Here’s the first in a periodic series of articles called “What Should I Eat?” Short tidbits about “normal” food that is good for you. Nothing exotic or expensive – I promise.


An Apple a Day?

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Doesn’t this phrase sound rather passé now that more fashionable fruits are “in”? But it may be closer to the truth that we ever thought.

In a number of large studies, eating apples regularly had a positive effect on blood pressure, risk of heart disease and stroke. Research points to an array of antioxidants and pectin (a form of soluble fiber) in apples that have a positive effect on cholesterol metabolism. Cancer-fighting compounds have also been identified in apples.

There are endless varieties of apples. Though modern agriculture has limited the choice in many supermarkets to a few mainstays like Red and Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, keep an eye out for other varieties as well. Don’t let the designation of “eating” and “baking” get in the way of tasting different apples. You may find that a baking apple is your favorite eating apple. And if you’re lucky, local farmers may be growing heirloom or more unusual varieties native to your area.

Since much of an apple’s healthy phytochemicals are concentrated in its peel, eat whole unpeeled apples whenever you can. When you want a change, try baked apples, apple crisp, apple sauce and even apple juice. Look for unsweetened products that are made with whole apples.

Easy Food Math

Remember when protein was the most important part of a meal? You started with a big piece of beef or chicken. Then you added potatoes or rice. And maybe a salad of iceberg lettuce on the side.

Times have changed, and so have our concepts of healthy eating. The emphasis now is on colorful vegetables and whole grains, with protein foods playing a supporting rather than a leading role.

Here’s an easy way to get a healthy balance of food on your plate:

Divide your dinner plate into four sections.

One section gets a small serving of lean protein - meat, fish, poultry, eggs or legumes.

Fill another section with half a cup of a cooked whole grain, such as brown rice, quinoa, barley or whole-wheat pasta.

Now, fill the rest of your plate with vegetables. That’s right - half of your plate should have vegetables on it. One cooked vegetable and a salad of dark leafy greens. Or two cooked vegetables. Or a large mixed-vegetable salad. Lots of colors and variety.

Easy, isn’t it? B’teavon - enjoy!

Ten Steps to Healthy Eating

Nutrition is a hot topic.

And nutrition information is everywhere – newspapers, TV, billboards, the web. Even the food we buy comes packaged with nutritional claims.

The flood of information can make it hard to figure out what’s best to eat.

Here’s a plan for eating right. It’s based on what we know about nutrition and health. No magic formulas – just eating a variety of foods in moderate amounts.

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Aim for 5 to 10 servings a day and a variety of colors for a range of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Choose seasonal, locally-grown produce whenever possible.

2. Choose whole grains, not refined. You’ll get a lot more nutrients, including valuable fiber, from whole grains. Replacing refined grains with whole grains will also leave you feeling fuller and less likely to overeat.

3. Eliminate trans fat by avoiding products containing partially-hydrogenated vegetable fat. Olive oil is one of the healthiest fats, so use it in salads, cooking and for dipping bread. All fats are high in calories, so use them in moderation.

4. Eat less red meat. Choose fish, poultry and vegetable protein for most of your meals and save fattier meats like beef and lamb for Shabbat and holidays.

5. Sugars (including honey, brown sugar and maple syrup) are high in calories and low in nutrients. Start lowering your sugar intake by eliminating soft drinks and fruit-flavored beverages.

6. Choose low-fat dairy products to lower your intake of saturated fat. Low-fat dairy is a good source of calcium, especially for children and teens whose bones are developing.

7. Season your food with fresh herbs and spices and go easy on salt and high-sodium condiments like soy sauce, soup broth mix and ready-made sauces.

8. Eat healthy portions of food. Since portion-control can mean the difference between gaining and losing weight, measure your food to become familiar with recommended serving sizes.

9. Exercise!

10. Think about when, where and what you eat. Make a real effort to sit down, relax, eat slowly and enjoy your food.

What do you put in your coffee?

Here’s an ingredient list from a product that most of us are familiar with.

Can you guess what it is?

Hint: It’s found in kosher kitchens, restaurants, synagogues and on airlines.

Ingredients:

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut, canola, and/or palm kernel), corn syrup solids, sugar, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), dipotassium phosphate, monoglycerides, natural flavor, salt, silicon dioxide, sodium tripolyphosphate, vitamin E acetate, DATEM, lutein, artificial color, soy lecithin. May Contain Soy Products.

Take a guess. Does it sound like something good for you? Does it even sound like food?

If there’s one product, besides margarine, that I’d like to banish from kosher kitchens, synagogues, restaurants and airline meals, it’s non-dairy creamer.

Whether it’s a powder or liquid, it’s likely to contain trans fat in the form of partially hydrogenated oil. Besides fat, you’ll find a long list of synthetic ingredients. I challenge you to pronounce them, let alone understand what they are!

Does it really taste good or is it just a matter of whitening and thickening your coffee? In my opinion, its only contribution is an off-tasting, oily mouth feel.

What are the alternatives to this main-stay of kosher coffee drinkers?

Keeping it parve gives you these options: Drink your coffee black or use an alternative vegetarian creamer such as a soy, rice or almond beverage.

Most soy beverages and creamers (such as Silk Soy products) have a kosher dairy label. A little investigation often reveals that they are actually dairy-free, but produced on dairy equipment. In this case, you may not use them with, but only after eating a meat meal. (Please consult your Rabbi for further details.) Soy drinks and creamers come in a variety of flavors and fat content.

If you enjoy real cream in your coffee with a dairy meal, consider the alternatives. Full-fat cream may be more natural than non-dairy creamer, but it’s high in calories and saturated fat. Try low-fat or non-fat milk instead. If you insist on a creamy taste, use a small amount of whole milk.
Another creamy option is evaporated milk. It comes in cans and is available in full-fat, low-fat and fat-free varieties. They are all lower in fat than cream.

With all of these options, you can rid your kitchen of non-dairy creamer, enjoy your coffee and take a positive step for better health.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Among our extended family, we were the only ones who kept kosher. So my mother always cooked Thanksgiving dinner. A houseful of cousins set up board games, we ran around outside and my mother cooked up a storm.

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving any more. Years ago I decided that I wouldn’t cook turkey, or any other elaborate meal, on the day before Erev Shabbat. And Thanksgiving in America is always on Thursday. Now that we live in Israel, we don’t relate to the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving like we used to anyway. We have a barbeque on Yom Ha’atzmaut and celebrate our thanksgiving on Sukkot.

Then November rolls around and I get a little nostalgic for the smells of roast turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Sweet potatoes are abundant and delicious. The chestnuts we brought back from Italy would be perfect in a stuffing. And I've got one can of pumpkin from our last trip to the US.

We jokingly call it “Shabbat Thanksgiving”, although the date is dependent on when family and friends can come. My friend in Tel Aviv is cooking turkey dinner for her family in December.

We'll eat turkey breast and sweet potatoes. A pilaf of brown and wild rice sounds good. I’ll make a salad of baby greens, fresh pears, walnuts and dried cranberries. (I’ve never seen fresh ones in Israel.) If I'm lucky, I may find fresh brussel sprouts this year. I know they're grown in Israel now, but I've only seen them a few times here in Beer Sheva. Pumpkin pie for dessert, and of course fresh baked challah and a good Israeli wine.

Here’s my pumpkin pie recipe. I use Tnuva’s lower-sugar refrigerated soy milk. If your soy milk is sweet, use less sugar in the recipe. For the crust, I use the “No-Roll Whole-Wheat Pie Crust” recipe from my book.

If canned pumpkin isn’t available, use winter squash (d’laat or delorit). It won’t taste like pumpkin, but will still be delicious. Bake or microwave the squash, peel it, remove the seeds and drain off any liquid. Puree it in a food processor and measure a scant two cups for this recipe.

The photo shows whipped topping on the pie. It's probably cream, which is obviously not an option with a meat meal. Please don't be tempted to use parve whipped topping. It's high in either trans or saturated fat, and one of the few foods I suggest avoiding altogether. Just enjoy the pie as is!

Pumpkin Pie (Parve)

¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 ¼ cups soy milk
2 large eggs
Pastry for a single-crust 9” (23cm) pie crust

Prepare the pie crust and set it aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C).

Mix together the sugar, salt and spices in a large bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin, soy milk and eggs. Mix it up well, until it’s smooth. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F (180C) and continue baking for about 45 minutes, until the center of the pie is set. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean.

Let it cool on a rack for at least 2 hours before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 8

Healthy Snacks

When your children are hungry for a snack right now, what do you do? Chips, cookies, snack cakes, Bamba and candy may be convenient, but they’re not at all good for your children’s health.

Whether it’s after school or on Shabbat, there are much better alternatives to noshing on fatty, salty and sugar-laden packaged snacks. With a little planning, you can give your children delicious snacks that are good for them too.

Here are some snack ideas to get you started:

Air-popped or low-fat microwave popcorn
Brown rice cakes spread with natural peanut butter
Baked tortilla chips dipped into salsa or guacamole
Fresh seasonal fruit cut into “child-friendly” sticks or wedges
Dried fruit like raisins, apricots, peaches or pears
Hummus with carrot or celery sticks to dip with
Low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese with cut-up fruit
Low-fat string-cheese
Whole-wheat crackers or pita with hummus or low-fat cheese
Low-sugar, whole-grain cereal to eat from a small cup

Here's my granddaughter eating one of her favorite afternoon snacks, lightly-sweetened whipped yogurt (Daniella).

I’d like to hear about your children’s favorite healthy snacks. Please send me your ideas (use the “Post a Comment” space below) and I’ll share them with my readers.

Teaching Children to Eat Well

Hot lunches were served occasionally at my son’s day school, but most days he brought lunch from home. He got a healthy sandwich, fruit, home-made cookies and 100% fruit juice. Which of his friends always wanted to trade lunches with him? The boy whose lunch box was filled with potato chips, cold-cuts, candy, cakes and soft drinks!

I’m convinced that children really do appreciate real, wholesome food when they are exposed to it.


Children can learn to enjoy eating vegetables and whole grains. They’re eager to know about how food is grown and produced. We can teach them Jewish views on diet, health, agriculture and kashrut. And they can learn to eat in a relaxed, quiet environment.

Just as physical fitness was mandated in US schools in the 1960’s, we’ve got to work seriously towards nutritional fitness in our schools. The government may eventually step in with guidelines and financing.

In the meantime, there’s a tremendous amount we can do ourselves. Right now.

And Jewish schools are the perfect place to start.

Children learn by doing and feeling. By getting their hands into the dirt where food grows and their fingers into the pot of soup they help cook.

Every school should have a garden, where children can learn how to grow vegetables. A child who grows a green bean from seed is much more likely to taste it than if it arrives on his plate via a freezer bag. A garden is the perfect place for children to learn about brachot, trumah and ma’aser, shmittah and other mitzvot pertaining to food and agriculture.

We can teach children how to cook in school. Hands-on food preparation is a great way to learn about food, nutrition and kashrut. (Cooking also helps teach reading, math, science, creativity, teamwork, respect and patience.) Children are fascinated with food. And cooking it themselves is rewarding and educational.

Good eating habits should also be taught at school. In today’s world of “fast-food” and eating on-the-go, we can create a quiet relaxed environment at school that can serve as a model of enjoyable social eating.

Growing, cooking and eating food together – these are all important skills that can be taught in our schools.

With these skills, we can enable our children to have a healthy attitude towards food that will encourage good eating habits for a lifetime.

Healthy Active Children

I’m sounding a lot like my mother. Though I promised myself that it would never happen, I can hear myself echoing her words.

My mom, circa 1958: “When I was a girl, I walked over a mile to school in the snow. I spent the whole summer playing outside with the neighborhood children.”

Me, circa 2008: “I walked to school every day. And it was uphill. I rode my bicycle all summer long – to play with friends and to the swimming pool.”

Well, my mom turned out to be a smart lady. Although I was not even close to being athletic, I could (and still can, thank God) ride a bike, jump rope, hike a few hilly miles and swim the length of a pool.

My sons can thank me for insisting on after-school sports, swimming lessons and bicycles. As adults, they still seem to be in pretty good shape.

But many children today are in trouble. They’re heavier and less active than ever before. It’s happening at a younger age.

And the Jewish community is not exempt. In fact, our children may be worse off than others.

In a survey of the Chicago Orthodox Jewish community, 54% of the children were overweight and 26% were obese. In the general population, childhood obesity was 13%.

Israeli children were among the least active (and the most connected electronically) in a recent 14-country study of childhood behaviors.

It’s not hard to figure out why.

Too many hours sitting in the house and not enough time running around outside. Carpools instead of bicycles. Computers, videos and television instead of swimming pools, playgrounds and sports.

The effects are disturbing:

An increase in the number of children suffering from Type-2 diabetes (which used to be called adult-onset diabetes)

High cholesterol and high blood pressure in children

Overweight young teens with eating disorders

Decreased bone density – By the late teens and early twenties, bone mass is complete. The quality of the bones we’ve built by then has to last us the rest of our lives

What can you do?

Whenever possible, let your children walk rather than ride in a car.

Limit your children’s time with electronic games, television, computers and phone calls.

Encourage your children to participate in after-school sports and fitness classes.

Take walks together. Ride bicycles. Swim. Jump rope.

Keep moving!

The Trans Fat Dilemna

Trans fats (also known as partially hydrogenated oils) are commercially produced fats made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oils. The process turns liquid fats into solid ones.

Recent laws in New York City and California have banned these artery-clogging trans fats from restaurant and bakery products.

It’s an issue that hits kosher bakeries especially hard. For years they’ve been dependent on baking mixes containing trans fat to make parve cakes, cookies and pastries. Recently, a Los Angeles Jewish newspaper reporter asked me to address the problem.

At home, it's not too difficult to use liquid oil in place of solid fats like margarine. Or to use a little butter for dairy baking.

But commercial baking is different.

The obvious choice is a liquid vegetable oil. Health-oriented bakeries do this, but it's expensive. And you can't just substitute liquid oil for solid fat. Recipes need to be re-formulated. Baked goods won't have the same taste, texture and long shelf life that we’re used to.

So most commercial bakeries are switching to new trans fat-free baking fats.

What’s the “new” ingredient in most of them? Highly saturated palm oil.

It wasn’t that long ago that palm oil was taken out of baked goods. Now they’re putting it back in as a substitute for trans fat.

So it’s either hydrogenation or increased saturated fat. Not a great choice, in my opinion.

The best bet is to eat fewer baked goods altogether. The sugar and fat in coffee cake, rugelach, cookies and donuts has not served our health well at all.

Another option: bake at home.

Legislation is a start. But only when consumers demand healthier products from kosher bakeries will they respond by baking healthier products.

An Easy Soup for Chol Hamoed Sukkot

We're coming down the home-stretch of the holiday season. We've been cooking a lot. And most likely eating a little too much.

With Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah ahead of us, I'm trying to keep things easy - less fussing in the kitchen and fewer calories will have everyone feeling better.

Here's a simple recipe from my book - a nutritious, warming soup that is perfect for cool nights in the Sukkah.

Moadim B'simcha! Chag Sameach!

Red Lentil Soup (Parve)

Small red lentils cook quickly and give this soup a golden hue.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash cayenne pepper, optional
6 cups water

1 1/2 cups red lentils, sorted, checked and rinsed well in a strainer
1 small can diced tomatoes (14 to 16 ounces/400 gm), with their juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook, stirring for a minute or two. Add the water or broth, lentils and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the soup, partially covered, until the lentils are cooked and the soup is thick. You may want to add more water if the soup is too thick.

Season the soup with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Serves 6 to 8

Stuffed Turkey Breast and Thoughts on Tishrei

I received numerous questions about how to prepare the turkey breast that I described.

We ended up cooking ours for Shabbat dinner, when we were fortunate to have two "last-minute" visiting student guests. (Ben Gurion University has an impressive overseas student program, for anyone thinking about "junior-year-abroad" here.)

The turkey turned out delicious! Here are instructions:

1. Saute thinly sliced fennel and leeks in olive oil until soft. Season with freshly ground pepper. (My husband did this a few days ahead of time.)

2. Purchase half a turkey breast and ask your butcher to make a pocket. In Israel, turkey breasts come already skinned and boned.

3. Lard the turkey with garlic. (No, that doesn't have anything to do with using treif fat. Just slice a few garlic cloves into quarters, cut small "pockets" for them on the surface of the turkey and stick in the garlic pieces.) Fill the pocket with the stuffing. (My husband did all of this too. I'm very lucky!)

4. Put the breast into a covered cassorole or baking pan. We used a clay pot. (These need to be soaked in water and placed in a cold oven - read the manufacturer's directions before using.) There was no need to tie the turkey. Any extra stuffing can be spooned around the turkey.

5. Surround the turkey with sliced carrots and potatoes (winter squash would be good too). Add dry white wine, a few sprigs of rosemary (we took it from our garden; you can use other herbs as well) and pour olive oil over it all.

6. Cover the turkey breast and bake it. With our clay pot, we use a very high oven temperature. Using a regular baking pan, 350 degrees Fahreinheit (180 Centigrade) should be fine.

Cook the turkey until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahreinheit (71 Centigrade). This is very important, so I always use a thermometer.

If you cook white meat of poultry beyond this temperature, it will be tough and dry. (Dark meat, on the other hand, should be cooked to 170 Fahreinheit/77 Centigrade, and is more forgiving of overcooking.) You don't want to undercook the meat either, as this could lead to food poisoning.

7. Uncover the pot for the last few minutes of cooking, to crisp the vegetables. Baste with the pan juices a few times. If it's not Shabbat or a holiday, slice and serve. We cooked ours in the morning, refrigerated it whole until just before Shabbat. Then I re-heated it in the microwave for about five minutes and set it on the plata/hot plate until dinner. Slice it (another of my husband's specialties) just before serving and enjoy!

Our medium size half breast (about 2 pounds/1 kilo) served 6 people.

Thoughts on Tishrei

This time of year I feel like I'm swimming the breast-stroke: Holiday, Shabbat, up for a breath. Another holiday, Shabbat again and another breath before the next chag.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy every one of the chagim. There's nothing like the holidays - especially in Israel where you see and feel them everywhere.

This morning my green grocer was juggling half a dozen customers while trying to restock his shelves. Flowers stands pop up on street corners overnight. Women at my gym share holiday recipes while trying harder to burn off extra calories. And now sukkahs are popping up next to apartment buildings, in back yards and even at the mall.

But I started feeling a little worn out this afternoon. Sukkot menus started getting a little blurry in my mind. What was I planning to serve for lunch on Monday? Or is it Tuesday? Should I be baking yet another batch of challah?

Then I thought about what I love about Sukkot. Eating leisurely meals of hearty soup and bread in the sukkah. Not running off to work and classes right after a meal. How, instead of doing laundry almost every day, I'd use that time to relax. Read a book or two, even bring out a pad of drawing paper and pastels. The last time I did that was on vacation last June!

So my husband and I cooked a few things this evening, and I plan to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow I want to try a new recipe for cabbage soup that looks easy and sounds satisfying. With a few soups in the refrigerator I won't have too much cooking to do during the holiday. My goal is to end this rather hectic month of holidays on a more laid back note.

I wish all of you a joyful and relaxing Sukkot.

Favorite Sukkot Foods

Sukkot, celebrating our liberation from Egypt and the end of the agricultural year, brings to mind abundance and a bountiful harvest. No wonder that stuffed vegetables and filled pastries are traditionally eaten at this time.

Sweet red peppers are in season and are perfect (and easy!) for stuffing. I cut the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the stem and seeds and stuff each half with a whole grain filling. Arrange them in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice or a simple tomato sauce, cover and bake. Rice is a traditional filling, but the possibilities are endless. Here are some other ideas:

Bulgur, raisins, pine nuts and dill
Curried quinoa and diced zucchini
Brown rice, lentils and tomatoes
Barley, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes

For Shabbat dinner during Sukkot I’m planning to stuff half of a turkey breast and roast it in a clay pot. The stuffing may be leeks and fennel or mushrooms and onions, seasoned with fresh sage or rosemary from the garden. I’ll add cut-up potatoes and carrots, and pour dry white wine and some olive oil over it before baking. A green salad and apple crisp for dessert rounds out the menu.

Sometimes, stuffing vegetables and meat seems too labor intensive when you’re feeding a crowd in the sukkah. One of our favorite Sukkot meals is dairy lasagna and a green salad. I use lasagna noodles that don’t require pre-cooking to make it especially fast and easy. Layer them with ricotta cheese, vegetables, (defrosted frozen spinach, sliced zucchini or roasted eggplant and red pepper all take to lasagna), a touch of grated parmesan and lots of flavorful tomato sauce. Be sure the sauce is thin enough to cook the noodles, since ready-to-use lasagna noodles absorb more liquid. Cover and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the noodles have softened and everything is cooked.

Soup is another of our Sukkot favorites. I favor hearty meal-in-a-bowl soups such as lentil and Swiss chard, minestrone, sweet potato, and mushroom barley. Vegetable soups with meatballs, tortellini, beans and grains are all great for Sukkot – easy, filling, nutritious and deliciously warming to eat in the sukkah on cool evenings. Served with bread or muffins and a salad, and you’ve got a complete meal.

Here’s an easy soup recipe that you may want to try this Sukkot:

CAULIFLOWER AND PASTA SOUP (PARVE OR DAIRY)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium or 1 large onion, thinly sliced
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
10 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bay leaf
½ -1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 medium cauliflower (2 pounds/1 kilo), cut into florets, washed and checked
1 cup small whole-wheat pasta
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pot and sauté the onions until they’re soft. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for a minute. Add the vegetable broth, soy sauce and herbs and bring to a gentle boil.

Add the cauliflower, reduce the heat and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until done. Add pepper to taste, and salt if needed. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on each bowl.

Approximately 6 servings.

Feeding Your Children at Home

No one says that feeding children is easy.

One child eats any kind of sandwich you make, while another only agrees to peanut butter and strawberry jam. Your son cleans his plate while his sister just pokes at her food. The child who ate everything yesterday is suddenly picky today.

We’re all concerned with our children’s health. We know that good eating habits start early on. And as parents, we want to do our very best to see that our children get off on the right foot nutritionally.

Here are some tips for encouraging healthy eating:

• Serve child-sized portions


• Don't use food as a reward or punishment


• Serve water instead of sweetened drinks


• Discourage eating while doing other activities, like homework and reading


• Eat meals as a family as often as possible


• Be a role model by eating healthy foods

The last point may be the most important. Children learn from what their parents do.

Eat a variety of nutritious foods, eat in moderation and eat mindfully and your children are likely to follow your example.

Healthy Holiday Tips

It's so easy to put on weight during the holidays. The table is heavy with plates of delicious food. And soon after we've digested one meal, it seems like another is on the way!


Here are some tips for smart holiday eating:


1. Eat something light before Erev Chag so you won't be really really hungry when you sit down to dinner. Fresh fruit, vegetables and yogurt are good choices.


2. There's something satisfying about a full dinner plate. So go ahead and fill up your plate using this rule of thumb: Fill up half of your plate with vegetables, a quarter with whole-grain carbohydrate and the remaining quarter with low-fat protein.

3. Avoid fatty gravy and sauces. Trim the fat and skin from red meat and chicken.

4. Save on calories by drinking water rather than juice. And don't overdo it on wine.

5. If you have the option, choose fruit for dessert. Or take a small portion of cake or pastry.


6. Take a brisk half hour walk before Erev Chag and on both days of Rosh Hashanah.

7. Don't be tempted to nibble on leftovers. Pack them up for the freezer, set them aside for another meal or give them away.

8. If you've overeaten during the holidays, don't let guilt feelings get you down. Get right back on track with healthy eating, exercise and a positive attitude.

9. Relax and enjoy the holiday!

WISHING ALL OF YOU A SHANAH TOVAH U'METUKAH - A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SWEET NEW YEAR.

Simanim Part II

Here are the brachot (blessings) and the "requests" said with each of the Simanim before the main Rosh Hashanah meal.

After Hamotzi and before eating the main holiday meal, say the following:

Date (tamar)

Say the blessing borei pri ha’etz and eat a date; then take another date and recite: May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that they (our enemies) cease to exist
(yitamu sounds like tamar).

Take a vegetable (not one of the symbolic ones below) and recite the blessing borei pri ha’adamah, while having in mind the other vegetables that will be eaten.

Leeks (karte)
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that they be decimated (she’ikartu sounds like karte) – our foes and our enemies and all who seek our harm.

Beet greens or Swiss chard (selek)
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that they be removed (yistalek sounds like selek) – our foes and our enemies and all who seek our harm.

Black-eyed peas (rubiya)
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that our merits increase like rubiya.

Winter squash (kara)
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that You tear up (sh’tikra sounds like kara) the evil edict of our judgment; and may our merits be declared before You.

Pomegranate (rimon)
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that our merits be plentiful as the seeds of a pomegranate.

Head of a lamb or fish (rosh)
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that we be like a head and not like a tail.

Apple dipped in honey
May it be Your will, Hashem our God, God of our forefathers, that there be renewed for us a good and sweet year, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.

(Translations are from The Orot Sephardic Rosh Hashannah Mahazor, Orot, Inc. 1996)

Baked Chicken and Rice

I enjoy cooking. So I'm looking forward to cooking for Rosh Hashanah. What's harder for me is the planning. I just don't feel relaxed until I've planned at least the basics of the menu. Not that I follow it precisely. But having something written down helps me feel organized and ready to go.

A week or so ago I started browsing through cookbooks for new ideas. The order form from our organic farm co-op just came, so I'm deciding on fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. They don't have everything we need, so I'm making a list for the green-grocer. And another for the grocery store.

It's still quite hot here in Beer Sheva, so we're skipping soup this year. We'll have the Simanim, cooked as salads or side dishes: black-eyed peas in tomato sauce, braised beet greens, and leeks cooked with Indian spices. The butternut squash may go into sambousek - small pastries made with an olive oil dough. The trick is to make them this week, freeze them and bake them before dinner.

We're having chicken for dinner and salmon for lunch.

Here's an easy chicken recipe that you might want to try for Rosh Hashanah. It uses brown rice and Sephardic-style seasonings, including baharat, a Mediterranean blend that often includes cinnamon, cloves and chili peppers.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 1/2 cups brown rice, rinsed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground baharat (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups water
2 1/2 to 3 pounds (1 to 1 1/2 kilo) chicken, cut into pieces and skin removed

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celcius).

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion, stirring, until golden. Put the onion into a large shallow baking dish or casserole. Add the rice to the onions and mix together.

Mix the spices and salt in a small bowl. Set aside a few teaspoons of the mixture and add the remaining spices to the water. Pour this over the rice in the baking dish. Place the chicken pieces on top and sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture.

Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and browned.

Serves 4 to 6

Rosh Hashanah - Simanim Part I

Ask anyone what foods they associate with Rosh Hashanah and the answer you’re likely to get is “apples and honey.”

Would anyone say black-eyed peas? Or beet greens?

Not that long ago, I certainly wouldn’t have thought of these as Jewish holiday foods.

Weren’t black-eyed peas “soul food” in the U.S.? And who ate the tops of beets? I remember seeing them once in my mother’s borscht.

Then I moved to Israel and learned about Simanim – traditional foods eaten on Erev Rosh Hashanah. The Talmud mentions five of them: Gourds (winter squash), black-eyed peas, leeks, beet greens and dates. We arrange these on our holiday table, along with a pomegranate, fish head, apples and honey.

Each food symbolizes a wish for the coming year, based on its Hebrew or Aramaic name.

Since the Simanim are all seasonal, healthy and delicious foods, I incorporate them into our holiday meal. They make wonderful salads and side dishes that compliment our main course of poultry or fish. Add whole-wheat challah, a light soup and fresh fruit for dessert and you’ve got a healthy gourmet holiday meal - a wonderful start to the New Year!

Here's a holiday recipe for beet greens. You can use Swiss chard as well:

BRAISED BEET GREENS OR SWISS CHARD (PARVE)

2 pounds (1 kilo) beet greens or Swiss chard, washed and checked well
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Slice the greens, including the stems, into ribbons, about an inch (2 to 3 cm) wide.

Put them into a pan with the remaining ingredients. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the greens are very soft and silky. Stir occasionally and add more water if necessary to prevent sticking. If the greens are too watery, uncover the pan and cook for a little longer. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4-6

The beautiful watercolor above is courtesy of Beer Sheva artist Ruth Gresser. To see more of Ruth's art, visit her website at: http://www.ruthgresser-ruthart.com/home/

Rosh Hashanah - Starting Early

In Israel, you can feel the New Year coming. Evenings are finally cooling down. Calendars are in the mail. Stores are displaying local wines and honey.

At the green-grocer, peaches and nectarines are being replaced by fresh figs and dates, apples and pears. Green beans and leeks are here. My son just brought home his kibbutz’s gift of organic pomegranates, spices and dates.

Families are making plans. Not for vacations, but for meals. Who’s eating where? When you have married children, it’s an issue. Grandmothers, aunts, cousins all need to be consulted. And it always works out. With nearly a month of holidays, there are plenty of meals to share.

This year we’ve invited a delightful young couple from Oregon who just made aliyah. Annie is a medical student in the Columbia-Ben Gurion program. Her husband Shimron is a chef. As a former Oregonian, I’m familiar with some of the chefs he worked with back home – top notch restaurateurs known for their innovative use of fresh local ingredients.

You can imagine how excited I was when Shimron offered to help us cook for the holidays. I’m looking forward to my first time in the kitchen with a real professional.

We haven’t yet decided on a menu, but it’s not too early to think about dessert. On Rosh Hashanah, my mother’s honey cake is a given. It can be baked several weeks in advance, wrapped well and kept in the freezer. Since honey is a natural preservative, you can even leave this cake at room temperature for a week or two, providing it is carefully wrapped.

Mom’s Honey Cake (Parve)

2 cups honey
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup strong hot coffee (brewed or instant)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Generously spray a large bundt pan or two 9 × 5” (23 x 13 cm) loaf pans with baking
spray.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 Centigrade)

Heat the honey in a very large pan until it begins to bubble slightly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will bubble and foam up to the top of the pan. Stir in the coffee and set the mixture aside to cool.

Whisk together the flour and spices and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until creamy. Add the sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the cooled honey and the flour mixture alternately to the eggs, a little at a time, mixing on low speed to combine. Pour the mixture into the baking pan(s) and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the pan. The cake should start to come away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out dry when ready.

Cool the cake(s) on a wire rack.

Serves 12 to 16

Get Yourself a Professional!

Israelis are big on alternative medicine. Our major health care providers offer alternative treatments such as acupuncture, shiatsu, biofeedback, Chinese medicine and homeopathy.

So I wasn’t surprised to read that 14% of Israelis seek nutrition and diet advice from alternative practitioners. The good news is that 76% go to registered dietitians. 7% talk with their physicians and the remaining 3% seek “others”.

I worry about some of the alternative practitioners and the “others”. Many of them have little or no formal training in nutrition science.

How many times have I heard health-food store clerks casually recommend food supplements?

What about a nutrition evaluation based on looking into your eyes? Or diet recommendations made on the basis of your blood type or your personality?

If only it were so easy!

Fortunately, plenty of qualified people are available to advise you on questions of diet and health.

In the U.S., you can seek out an RD – a registered dietitian. The American Dietetic Association awards this credential to those of us who have passed an exam after finishing academic coursework and an internship. To maintain registration, you’ve got to keep up professionally with continuing education.

In Israel, the Health Ministry – משרד הבריאות sets standards for practicing dietetics. We also have Atid – עטיד, an organization that promotes education for nutrition professionals.

If you’re really serious about getting good nutrition advice, see a professional.

Raw or Cooked?

Last night I spoke about my book at the O-U Center in Jerusalem. It was a lovely group of people, including old friends and new faces.

Here is one of the questions I was asked:

"Is it better to eat vegetables raw or cooked?"

We know it’s good to eat lots of vegetables, but is one way of preparing them better than another? How can you best preserve their nutrients?

First of all, vegetables have to taste good. Otherwise you wouldn’t want to eat them at all. That may mean adding herbs, salt, olive oil or salad dressing to perk up your vegetables. Full-fat salad dressing and avocado added to vegetable salad actually increases the absorption of many nutrients in salads. Add nuts and seeds for a similar effect.

Raw foods are not necessarily better than cooked. Cooking breaks down the thick cell walls of plants, making their nutrients more "accessible". For instance, cooked tomatoes (as in sauce) have a much higher content of the antioxidant lycopene than fresh tomatoes.

Every preparation method has its pros and cons.

Raw carrots are high in polyphenols but low in carotenoids. Boil them and you lose most of the polyphenols while increasing the carotenoids.

Broccoli retains most of its vitamin C when microwaved or pressure cooked. Steam or boil it and you’ll lose more of the vitamin.

When carrots, zucchini and broccoli were tested, they retained more of their nutrients when boiled, compared to steamed, fried or raw.

And don’t store your vegetables and fruits for very long. They lose nutrients over time in the refrigerator and the freezer.

What’s the best strategy?

Eat a wide variety of vegetables.

Include vegetables and fruit in every meal.

Vary your cooking methods.

Thank You!

To everyone who has helped with the success of my new book, a big Thank You!

Five months after Food for the Soul was published, we're now re-printing.

The new second edition has a handy chart for converting U.S. measures and oven temperatures into metric measurements. If any of you would like a PDF copy of the conversion chart, please send me an email and I'll send it to you.

תודה רבה תודה רבה תודה רבה תודה רבה תודה רבה

Community Supported Agriculture

In Oregon and Wisconsin, we bought most of our vegetables and fruits from local farms, with a program called community supported agriculture (CSA).

Here’s what CSA is all about:

You sign an agreement with a local farmer to purchase a set share of the farmer’s crops. The farmer provides a list of the crops that he or she plans to harvest and the approximate amount you can expect to get each week during the growing season.

Every week, you pick up your produce at a designated time and location. Sometimes farmers invite their members to visit the farm for special events or just to see what’s going on.

With pre-paid annual subscriptions, the farmer is assured of financial support and customers. In case of agricultural disasters (flooding, drought, disease and insects, for example), the farmer’s risk is shared with the members.

The idea is to supply fresh local (and often organic) produce at reasonable prices. No middle-men, no store overhead, no long-distance shipping. Just fresh-picked vegetables and fruit delivered directly from the farmer to the consumer.

I’ve always valued the supportive relationship between the producer and the consumer – a partnership between the farmer and the community that benefits both.

We really enjoyed belonging to CSA farms. There was only one problem. Farm events were always held on Shabbat. My kids could never pick pumpkins, go on hayrides or see where their vegetables were grown.

An organization called Hazon is changing that. They started the first Jewish network of CSA farms in the U.S., called “Tuv Ha’Aretz”


http://www.hazon.org/go.php?q=/food/CSA/aboutTuvHa


CSA is alive and well in Israel as well. “Or-Gani” http://www.or-gani.org.il/ (English website) is an organic farm serving northern and central Israeli communities.

If you’re looking for a way to eat fresh, seasonal produce and support local agriculture at the same time, CSA may just be for you. Check it out this summer!

Homegrown in Israel

Unlike the U.S., most vegetables and fruits don’t travel long distances to get to our tables here in Israel. (There are exceptions, of course. I’ve see off-season New Zealand kiwi, Washington State pears, and other produce brought in during a drought or Shmittah year.)

That’s because we’re fortunate to grow most of what we eat right here.

And we have quite a choice as to where we purchase our home-grown produce:

Large supermarkets
Smaller neighborhood markets (makolet)
Neighborhood green-grocers (yarkan)
Outdoor markets (shuk)
Subscription farms, such as community supported agriculture (CSA)

Farmer’s markets “U.S. and European-style” are just starting to catch on here. Israel’s first farmer’s market was recently launched in Tel Aviv. It takes place on Friday mornings during the summer months by the new pier. I’m sure that once the idea takes off, more cities will follow with markets of their own.

Organic produce has moved quickly into the mainstream here. Although there are growing pains – regulatory issues that will no doubt be resolved with time, organic vegetables are available in many supermarkets. This week, our neighborhood supermarket had organic tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, potatoes and onions.

Most of the vegetables and fruits our family eats come from Teva Habsor, an organic “subscription” farm that delivers throughout Israel. http://http//www.teva-habsor.co.il/ (Hebrew only website)

Every Sunday I get their order form via email. I choose what I want (minimum order 100 shekels, delivery 15 shekels) and email my order back to them later that week. On Thursday afternoon, a box or two of seasonal vegetables and fruit is delivered to our front door.

How much easier could it get!

I’m used to planning meals around what’s in season. I’ve also learned to be flexible.

Earlier this summer we had weeks of wonderfully tender Swiss chard. And then, with no warning, it was off the list. Those savory chard tarts, salads and pasta dishes will just have to wait until next year. But not to worry – deliciously sweet butternut squash came into season just when chard went out. After a month of luscious melons, mangoes are now in.

With the end of summer and beginning of fall, we'll soon be enjoying a new round of crops. Apple pie anyone?

Farmer’s markets

You’ve heard it over and over again – for optimum health, eat more fruits and vegetables. And it's true! So now, when fresh summer produce is abundant, it's a wonderful time to start.

Much of the produce sold in U.S. supermarkets is grown in developing countries, where sanitation is often less than ideal. Unfortunately, the FDA doesn’t have sufficient resources for inspecting most of what is brought in. Numerous wide-spread outbreaks of food-borne illness are a sad reminder of this.

Economic, environmental and nutritional disadvantages also come to mind when fresh food travels thousands of miles to reach our tables.

For me, the biggest drawback to grocery store produce is taste. That’s why I’m a big fan of local, seasonal produce.

And what better place to find deliciously fresh fruits and vegetables than your local farmer's market?

If you've never visited a farmer’s market, now is a wonderful time to go. (I know, many of them take place on Shabbat. But larger cities often have mid-week markets as well.)

There’s a lot to be said about eating food purchased from a farmer’s market.

It's reassuring to know where your food comes from. You know that you’re eating freshly picked produce that traveled only a short distance. It may even be organically grown. You’re supporting regional agriculture and local farms. You can actually talk with the farmer! You get to taste more unusual produce that may never make it to the supermarket. Or maybe just regular produce – like tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and not wood.

The photos are of a small farmer’s market in California that we visited last May. We bought salad mix, tomatoes, tender green beans and a variety of fresh fruit at the market. On the way back to our children’s house we stopped at Trader Joe’s for (Israeli) feta cheese, walnuts (to add to the salad) and a kosher whole-grain baguette. That’s the kind of easy, nutritious and delicious dinner I could eat all summer!

Apples, Pears, Pomegranates and Exercise Parks

A few months ago,” beautification” began in earnest throughout Beer Sheva. In our neighborhood, large colorful fruit and vegetable-like objects popped up along the main streets. I can’t complain - anything to remind people about fruits and vegetables sounds good to me.

Everyone knows what “beautification” really means - municipal elections are coming up. Just look at the election posters. The only ones I’ve seen are for the newcomer in the mayoral race. The incumbent is visible with every pear and pomegranate gracing our city’s intersections.

But I’ll certainly give credit where credit is due. And this administration got at least one thing right. In at least two neighborhoods near here, they built exercise parks – grassy areas with a colorful set of exercise equipment. Perfect for stretching and strengthening. And a great way to get our children interested in fitness.

Which brings me to my point – the importance of exercise.

Make exercise a regular, “built-in” part of your life. And get your children moving at an early age. Choose an activity that you enjoy. Or look around for something new. Some of us (like me) need a routine of regularly scheduled classes. Others may choose to ride a bicycle or walk to work instead driving.

Good nutrition is vital, but it’s not the whole story.

Regular exercise is essential - for heart health, disease prevention, weight loss and maintenance, strong bones, balance and overall physical and mental well-being.

An Easy Fast

Tisha B'Av begins this Motzei Shabbat, the evening of August 9th.

To ensure an easy fast, drink plenty of water beforehand and avoid eating heavily salted foods. Eat a light meal before the fast and try to include complex carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein and a small amount of fat.

Break the fast with water, juice or tea and a light meal.

Shabbat Shalom and an easy fast to all.

Quick and Easy, Japanese-Style

My husband and I love Japan. We’ve been there three times and can’t wait to go again. Even though we can’t eat most of the food there, we admire the Japanese diet and their way with food – seasonal, aesthetically pleasing and healthy.

Fish seems to play an important role in keeping the Japanese healthy. Japanese men have similar rates of cholesterol, blood pressure and type-2 diabetes as their American counterparts. But their incidence of heart disease is less than half that of Americans.

The answer may be artery-protective omega-3 fatty acids in fish. And fish consumption in Japan is among the highest in the world, averaging 3 ounces (85 grams) a day.

We recently heard from Japanese friends who described a quick and easy summer dinner that they enjoyed:

Grilled fish with grated radish
Boiled edadame (green soybeans)
Cold noodles with fresh ginger

Most of us wouldn’t consider this “quick and easy.” Frozen pizza is closer to our idea.
But with fish fillets, vegetables and noodles, you can prepare a healthy meal in no time, Japanese or Western-style.

I keep several varieties of frozen fish fillets on hand, as well as a package or two of frozen vegetables. My selection of pasta includes Italian egg noodles, whole-wheat penne, rice noodles, udon and soba – Japanese buckwheat noodles.

Bake, broil, grill or sauté the fish fillets and serve them with a squeeze of lemon or a lively salsa. If edadame doesn’t appeal to you, try frozen green beans, broccoli or peas.

And do try these cold soba noodles dressed in a light soy and sesame dressing – very popular in Japan during the hot humid summer months.

COLD SOBA NOODLES

1 package soba noodles (8.8 ounces/250 grams)
2-4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted white or black sesame seeds

Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water until they are cool. Toss with the remaining ingredients.

Serves 6

Goodbye Bourekas?

In Israel, bourekas are high on the list of favorite snack foods. Every neighborhood bakery has a large selection of these savory pastries - potato, cheese, mushroom and more.



For some people, breakfast is coffee and a plate of bourekas. The bakery will happily pop them in the microwave for you to eat on-the-go. You'll find them by the plateful at most simchahs and business meetings. Many people eat them every Shabbat.

Unfortunately, these flavorful morsels are high in trans fat. The same artery-clogging trans fat that was banned in New York restaurants.

Prompted by California's recent ban on trans fat in bakeries and restaurants (the first state to do so), the English language newspaper Haaretz ran this article about the health implication of bourekas and other foods made with parve solid fats:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1006700.html

Hopefully, for the sake of everyone's health, Israelis will re-invent a healthier boureka.