Which is better—cooking each meal fresh, or cooking in bulk and freezing for future meals? Cooking in bulk is generally viewed as more efficient. However, there are important advantages to cooking fresh. Keep in mind that the options are not mutually exclusive. You can prepares some things in bulk, like rice, sauce or chicken stock, […]
Continue reading... May 10, 2011
The Case Against Paper Plates
Around the time we were married, my husband heard a talk about paper plates leading to a “disposable society.” This made an impression. I think the speaker meant that owning objects that we value enough to care for on a daily basis, is part of building a home and family. I see his point, although […]
Continue reading... April 22, 2011
What Features Do You Need in Your New Oven?
Reader Ruth Kilner, interviewed here, broke her oven while cleaning it. She asked me to help her shop for a new one, by advising her what features are useful. Before writing I asked my friend Miriam F., whom I consider an expert on kitchen equipment. She said that a feature she recommends has become more […]
Continue reading... April 21, 2011
Video: How to Cook Fresh Artichokes
Fresh artichokes are in season in the northern hemisphere. They look funny and take a certain amount of effort to prepare, but if you make a few at once it’s worth it. Here’s the video I made explaining how to prepare artichokes for cooking. Artichokes are a classic food for pressure cookers because they cook […]
Continue reading... April 11, 2011
Food Memories of My Father
I haven’t written here in a while. My father was hospitalized for a week, then released in poor condition, and died peacefully at my sister’s home in New York. I’ve been busy preparing for the funeral and for my siblings, who came and stayed for the first few of the seven-day mourning period. In Jewish […]
Continue reading... March 23, 2011
Recipe: Brown Rice with Leeks, Carrots and Black Lentils
Black lentils are a wonderful delicacy introduced to me by Yosefa. One day she also gave me some leeks that needed to be eaten, so I made this recipe loosely based on one in Lorna Sass’s cookbook. Recipe: Brown Rice with Leeks, Carrots and Black Lentils Summary: Pressure cooker vegetarian meal-in-one. Ingredients 1 tablespoon oil […]
Continue reading... March 18, 2011
Video: Rolling and Filling Hamantashen
This Sunday or Monday, Jews around the world celebrate the holiday of Purim. The traditional food is a filled, triangle-shaped cookie know n as hamantashen. You can use any cookie dough that is easy to roll and cut. I’d never made yeast hamantashen before, and I decided to experiment with sourdough. They came out okay, […]
Continue reading... March 14, 2011
Baking Cleanup Tips: The Bowl (with Video)
Over at Orthonomics, Sephardi Lady gave her recipe for 15-minute challah. Readers were appreciative, but complained that they dreaded making challah because cleaning out the bowl was her least favorite job. One reader mentioned not having room for a bowl of soapy water on her counter. I was mystified. Cleaning the bread dough bowl takes […]
Continue reading... March 10, 2011
Thoughts on Joining a Food Co-op
We recently noticed that big things were happening in the elementary school across the street. Every Wednesday afternoon, trucks arrive and a group sets up boxes of produce. Starting at about 7 PM, people start loading up their cars or shopping carts. One day we asked about joining. It turned out there were no qualifications, […]
Continue reading... March 9, 2011
Recipe: Mushroom-Onion-Nut Pate
I made this recipe for the first time last Passover, when I was looking for something new to spread on the matzah. You may want to double this one, as it goes fast. Ingredients: 1-2 tablespoons oil 1 onion 6 mushrooms handful of fresh parsley handful of nuts, like pecans or walnuts. Instructions: Chop onions […]
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