Couscous is an interesting dish. Traditionally middle-eastern, it’s worked its way into America’s diet, both as an appetizer and a side dish. Couscous can be treated as you would a rice dish or a pasta dish. Today, we’d like to share a side dish  that you are welcome to try and alter to your liking.

Ingredients
* 1 cup Israeli Couscous
* olive oil
* 1 Vidalia onion, sliced into slivers
* 2 cloves garlic
* 4 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon of tahini
* 1 large eggplant, chopped
* 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
* salt and pepper to taste

First, the couscous.

Cook for about 3-5 minutes in boiling water and drain. It should be al dente (just undercooked) like pasta.

Slice the onions as shown, and saute in olive oil.

In another pan heat the garlic in olive oil, and brown the eggplant.

Next, mix the lemon juice, tahini, and a tablespoon of olive oil. mix in a bowl with feta, and all other ingredients. This dish can be served either hot or cold. Salt/pepper to taste.

If you don’t care for the feta, leave it out, you can add chopped black olives if you wish. Let us kow if you tried this and if you made any changes to suit your taste.

written by admin \\ tags: couscous, Israeli couscous, middle eastern cooking, recipe

This is traditionally a main dish made for the Jewish holidays, but as a hearty casserole/stew it makes a great meal when there’s enough time to prepare it.

3-4 lbs beef brisket
5 cups diced (big chunks) carrots
2-3 sweet potatoes cut into 6-8 pcs each
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 lb dried plums (the fruit formerly known as prunes)

Place the brisket in a large pan and cover with water. When water hits boiling, turn down to simmer for about 1 hour.

Put the meat aside, and separately boil the potatoes and carrots in the broth from the pan until each are still a bit hard.

Next, in a smaller saucepan, put about 2 cups broth, the sugar, and dried plums. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, and then for just 5 minutes after.

Last, slice the meat thinly, and against the grain, and put into a large casserole dish. Cover tightly with heavy foil (to hold in moisture) and cook at 350F for one hour. This dish is best when reheated and served the next day, so it makes a great main course when you’d like to get some of the cooking out of the way in advance. Enjoy!

(Note: the meat is underneath the vegetables in the pan. You can also put a recipe of matzo balls in this dish. Just make the mix and put the uncooked matzo balls under all the other ingredients.)

written by admin \\ tags: jewish cooking, passover, recipe, tsimis, tzimis

This week, we’d like to share a recipe for eggplant parmigiana. It makes a nice main dish with pasta and salad, a sandwich, or as a side-dish to chicken or veal cutlets. While we love eggplant, it’s unfortunate that it’s usually fried in oil and turns from an otherwise healthy vegetable* to a high fat, high calorie dish. For this dish, we fixed that problem. Let’s take a look how.

We start with ripe eggplants, and slice them, a bit over 1/4 inch.

Next, dip them in egg (we use fat free eggs, such as egg beaters) and breadcrumbs.

Brown in a non-stick pan sprayed with Pam (a non-stick vegetable oil spray), about 10 minutes each side. You can see that they brown nicely.

A few tablespoons of sauce, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place in a preheated 350F oven for about 20-25 minutes until cheese melts and starts to brown.

If you enjoy eggplant dishes in a restaurant but for whatever reason, just haven’t tried it at home, now’s your chance. Let us know if you enjoyed this healthier version.

Happy Thanksgiving.

* I know – Eggplant is technically a fruit not a vegetable. There’s an old expression; Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

written by admin \\ tags: eggplant, italian food, parmigiana, recipe

There’s a secret to making good chicken soup. You need to be willing to boil the heck out of a lot of chicken. Start with a large stock pot, ours is 16 quarts. Buy two nice sized (or three if not so big) chickens. Cut into pieces, if you want, take the wings out for Buffalo wings, and a breast for another meal if you wish. Cover with fresh water and bring to boil.

After about an hour, pull out the white meat, take it off the bones and throw the bones back in. Save the white meat to put back in the soup before serving. Now, put in eight peeled carrots, eight stalks of celery, both cut into big pieces, and one large onion, peeled and cut up. A bit of black pepper as well, 1/4 tsp or so. Simmer for another two hours and strain to get the stock you see above. You can spend a bit of time and pull of the meat for chicken salad or to serve over rice or noodles. On a good sale whole chickens are under a dollar per pound, and this stock is well worth the ten dollars or so spent on the chickens. You’ll notice I don’t add salt. I’d rather adjust the final seasoning when the stock is used for the dish I’m serving. This freezes very well, and with the winter coming up great to make on snowy days when you’d rather stay in doors.

written by admin \\ tags: chicken, chicken stock, soup