Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - My Lunch Today

Quiet a bit of discussion about healthy eating habits and really it is simple. Something I religiously do is roast vegetables on Thursday so we have it for Friday night as starters for a big meal and over the weekend on the sandwiches on the go, picnics or if having few people over then appetizers. If you put a bit of time in this simply prepared roasted vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants or bell peppers, the reward is not only in the intensity of the flavor but the versatility of the roasted ingredients. Slow roasting tomatoes is very straight forward not much to it but programming the oven timer on for three hours If you follow these few simple steps your healthy eating won't be a chore, only a pleasure. As appetizers you toast slices of baguettes and layer with a spread such as pesto, avocado, and layer with roasted vegetables. You can also use this Moroccan Lemon preserves as first layer and top with avocado and anchovy. Endless possibilities!

Fig Gelato - two ways!

Rosh Hashana brings with it a time for self reflection, soul searching and introspection. This year is not only a crossroad, a right of passage for our son who we just dropped off in college but also for us, now empty nesters. There are so many thoughts crossing my mind about growth, maturity, independence, self fulfillment and being a better person and giving to others, even in small gestures.  Some thoughts as I am sure cross my child's mind.  His adjustment started with a rocky start and mine with the Holidays sneaking in a bit too quickly, staring at me blankly, now what?! Our son, Sagie, went to a reality, hopefully temporary, of shattered dreams of playing college soccer due to a tough leg injury and surgery. He worked very hard and sacrificed a lot the majority of his 18 years of life so that he can play soccer in college. Me, I made celebrations of Jewish and American Holidays mostly in our home for the last eighteen years and all for this lone child of mine. Celebration with much cooking and commotion, big loud laughter mostly mine, and sometimes Sagie will join in laughing at my jokes until our stomachs hurt. Some smaller devilish smirks with a tingle in of both Jonathan's and Sagie's eyes at Jonathan's dry humor loving arrows of sarcasm targeted at me, which are so smart I even have to laugh. All this commotion for a larger life for this small family of mine!! now, what?! ...but then, we get an inspired text from Sagie recently around midnight, 'that he always wished for a humbled life, and maybe this battering of his spirit is some sort the humbling life he always yearned for, a test for him to persevere and grow stronger.' Sometimes I feel this child of mine is raising me, and when we get a text such as this, we are speechless and at awe. I MUST think for a happy sweet New Year to focus my energies on self growth and do good, and if not a big family, friends, cooking, commotion and celebration this Rosh Hashana then there is always Thanksgiving!!

Pears

At the risk of being excommunicated - Moroccan Carrot Salad

Being invited to the Barb's Holiday happening means, show up with this Moroccan carrot salad, or risk being excommunicated!! The words are unspoken, given, this salad is a symbol, a flagship of loyalty and friendship. Barb is the type of a typical American Jewish woman, educated, articulate and with big maternal instincts. The type of a woman when you are in need, she, like a storm, will take over and manage your life and your kids will find harbor at her home. A typical American Jewish woman, not a bad way to bel! The recipe is an adaptation from Paula Wolfert's Couscous and other Good Food from Morocco., I follow loosely the measurements especially with the garlic. This salad was a staple at any Israeli wedding before shushi chic weddings took over...I believe it is still a staple at many weddings as well as many household Friday night dinners. My youngest sister is married to a Moroccan guy, it is a tradition in his family, the recipe is a bit different in Israel, with more of a paprika flavor than cumin and heavy handed with the oil. They also use a different slicing method, rather than cubing or dicing, they cut the carrots with a specialty knife, called wavy knife (thanks Shoshi!!). Found at any Bed Bath and Beyond and the likes.

Apple, Orange and Lemon Chiffon Cake

Apple cake is a year round favorite of mine goes perfectly with my afternoon tea. I am particularly happy I baked one today as the High Holidays fast approaching. My friend Barb bakes a fantastic apple cake regular and low fat. Few years back I baked one out of the Washington Post Food section but I have to sift through their archives. I have decided to make a version of Poppy Lemon Chiffon Cake recipe, another favorite of mine. As it turns out quite unintentionally I made it Parve, perfect for the kosher observing folks. Lack of milk and butter makes this cake friendly to the lactose intolerance crowd. As you well aware this blog and this post are tree nut free and this particular cake is friendly to the tree nut and peanut allergic crowd. For you who do not have kosher or allergy prohibitions you would be surprised how delicious this cake is regardless of the milk and butter omissions.

Petit Beurre, Cocoa and Coconut Chocolate Balls

In between the primarily Indian cooking household, curry aromas, caramelizing onions on the stove and plain basmati rice to go with the multitude of curries and bhadgis, my childhood memories are laced with prominent memories of shakshuka my dad always made, decadent crust pizza my sister Ilana, a fourth out of six kids, always made, Israeli salads and petit beurre cocoa and coconut chocolate balls we all chipped in to form. Unlike this recipe we broke the petit beurre by hand not pulsed in a food processor.  It gave us more control over the size of the chipped biscuits and therefore the final product appearance. I do not think using a food processor detracts from the final result but you have to be careful not to pulse the biscuit to dust. Half the batch will be finer and half will be more of a rough chop.

Figs, Goat Cheese and Sesame with Honey, Balsamic and Red Currants

I am obsessed with all things figs. I will roam the earth, well metro DC area, even consider for a second there driving three and half hours to the Eastern Shore to pick some ripe figs right off someone's tree. I still find it a tad obscure that figs in the DC area will ripen end of August/Beginning of September where on the Eastern shore they are ripe as we speak. It must be the proximity to the water, the breeze, maybe the salty air, or is the soil any different?! Biblical images come to mind when I think of figs right there with ancient olive trees, but funny how I never thought of the figs and ocean blue salt water.

Butterflies and Flowers - Summer in our Garden

Mango Sorbet

This recipe is very similar to the previous pineapple sorbet post. The directions below are for the mango sorbet all by itself. I happened to make both pineapple and mango consecutively the same day, so I had a tinge of pineapple flavor in my mango sorbet from the blender which I didn't bother to wash in between batches. Not only I saved myself time and the hustle but it enhanced ever so slightly the mango flavor. If making two different fruit batches the same day, my advice to you is skip washing the blender and proceed to make a second batch! If you are not making two different batches same day and still wish to achieve same flavor, I suggest instead of peeling a fresh pineapple, use couple of rings out of a canned pineapple and a touch of pineapple juice.

Pineapple Sorbet

Couple of weeks ago I got my impulse buy at Costco. Well I don't know how much of an impulse it is when you desire something for years and even have it, still, on your blog wish list.  Normally the kitchen appliance box will get into the kitchen, sit there for awhile and then be transferred to the basement, unopened, for a year! This time around it got as far as the top of the basement step and sure enough two weeks later, this week I made my first two batches of sorbet.

Exotic fruit and my first giveaway

I have seen chatter on twitter in favor and against giveaways. I haven't really thought about it much but on impulse decided on a giveaway. Might I add it's a non foodie giveaway on a food blog. The one year anniversary for my blog is in November, and if you do the math it's already past my six month anniversary, but it's my 23rd year wedding anniversary to a great guy this Monday, July 12. My husband and my son are the biggest and best things that happened to me, but I do take immense pleasure in the little things in life as well.