Delicious Shomron Zucchini Kugel

Recently, I went to my husband's family in the Shomron and enjoyed a beautiful Shabbos by them.
They made a major effort to accommodate me, and make me feel welcome.

My husband's aunt made delicious and delectable food, so much so that about two weeks afterwards, I found myself, although not pregnant, craving her zucchini kugel.

So, I called Aunt Shaindel up, and got her delicious recipe for zucchini kugel. She remarked to me on the phone that my husband must have put me up to this, because he loved her zucchini kugel for ages. I responded that surprisingly, it was me who wanted it, but if Mr. NMF likes it too, that's an added bonus.

Forgive me if there are some odd amounts in the recipe- Aunt Shaindel doesn't measure anything, so I developed the proportions on my own. Just keep playing with it until it tastes delicious!

Aunt Shaindel's Zucchini Kugel

4-6 large zucchini, cut into slices
2-3 onions, depending on taste, cut into slices
2 cloves of garlic, crushed, or a teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 a cup of oil
1 stick margarine
2-3 eggs
1- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1-2 Tbsp. curry powder (or more, if you like curry!)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the cut up zucchini, onion, and garlic into a bowl with water, and boil until soft and mushy. Strain out the liquid, and place into bowl. Add to the bowl the oil and margarine while the mixture is still hot from the boiling process. Then add the eggs, bread crumbs, curry powder, and spices. Mix up, gently (you don't want something mushy, but you should get a loose mixture) and pour into pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 160 degrees Celsius, for at least 20 minutes until the tops turns a golden brown.

Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Cooking

There was a wonderful article in the New York Times on good old home made cooking.

Remember when your grandmother would make you a bowl of meat and barley soup, the author asks- why don't we make these type of things today- she queries. And so she went home to make herself a hearty bowl, and learn a bit of frugality.

I laughed while reading this article. Why? Because that's what Jewish Moms have been doing throughout the ages- cooking with what they had, using every last drop, and making delicious, hearty, homemade meals for their growing families.

It's not something new to me to use every part of the chicken, or to make hearty soups or cake with coffee. I don't need twelve types of spices or a specific cut of meat to make soup. And, frankly, neither does any other type of Jewish Mom that I've met. The best meals are those turned out with a minimum of fuss, and less than 5 ingredients. Oh, and even better, if most of those 5 are made from scratch.

I've gone to houses to eat, and the best chicken always seems to be the one roasted in its own juices, with just paprika, or duck sauce, for seasoning. The best potato kugel always seems to contain just that- lots of potatoes, lovingly grated (or chopped in a food processor- I'm not getting into that debate on which is better. Suffice it to say that my mother made mashed potato kugel.)

So, who really needs the fancy cookbooks or the elegant recipes that take hours? All we really need is a nice Jewish Mom cooking, throwing her love and care into every bite.

Recipes to Enjoy

Here's some of my favorite recipes that I posted about in yesterday's post. Enjoy!

Gan Eden Chicken and Potatoes

1-2 chickens, cut up in eighths
4-6 potatoes sliced in rounds
1-2 onions sliced in rounds
1-2 carrots sliced in rounds
2-3 stalks celery, sliced
3/4 to 1 cup honey
1 to 2 cups orange juice
hot water
extra honey to taste

Arrange your cut up potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots on the bottom of the pan. Add 1/2 cup of water. Then, arrange your chicken on top. Mix the honey with the orange juice, and add hot water while mixing until it forms a syrup. Pour over the whole chicken mixture, making sure everything gets drenched. Then, add extra honey on top of each piece of chicken to taste.
Bake at 350-360 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 1 hour until the chicken is tender with the topping crusted on top. Enjoy!

Silka (Beet Leaves) Pancakes

2 bunches bug-free silka
boiling water
4 garlic cloves or 4/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg
2 tbsp. flour
bread crumbs
sesame seeds
olive oil

Rinse off the silka well, until each leaf is thoroughly cleaned. Then, place in a pot with water, and boil until the leaves are tender- for at least 10 minutes. Then, drain out the excess water. Place the silka leaves and the garlic in a food processor and process on pulse several times, but not until it becomes a mush. Then, add 1 egg and 2 tbsp. flour. Mix well, and then add breadcrumbs to form into pancakes. Top with more breadcrumbs and sesame seeds, and fry in hot oil until brown on both sides. Delicious!

Erev Shabbos #18- Cooking Fun

I happen to enjoy cooking for Shabbos- oftentimes I try something new, but my favorites are the times I stick to something old.

There's nothing like a delicious good old fashioned bowl of chicken soup, or potatoes with chicken to feed the hungry guests.

My mother makes the most delicious cinnamon rolls in existence- just for Shabbos, and made from the same dough as her challah. Just one taste- ahh, gan eden.

There's nothing like an old taste to bring back memories of times gone by, of laughter amidst family and friends.

So, here's a quick and easy recipe for your Shabbos chicken- all in one pan- so that way, you can reminisce over the dinner table about the older recipes- tried, true, and tasty.

Ingredients:
1-2 chickens, cut into eighths.
4-6 potatoes cut into slices
3-4 carrots cut into slices
1-2 onions cut into slices.
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
soy sauce to taste

First, cut the potatoes into slices and lay them on the bottom of the pan. Next, add your sliced carrots and onions. Then, arrange your chicken pieces on top of the vegetables so every vegetable is covered. Next step is to slather the chicken in paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder, until every inch of the chicken is covered. Make sure to do it in that order. Finally, drizzle soy sauce over the entire chicken, and add a 1/2 cup-1 cup of water to the bottom of the pan to keep it moist. Then pop it into the oven at 160 degrees Celsius (that's 350 degrees for Fahrenheit Americans), and leave to cook for 2 1/2 hours at least.

Enjoy!
Gut Shabbos everyone!