shak-shuka

Spinach & Yogurt Dip/Salad

Yay! A recipe post - it's been a LONG time since the last one, so I thought I'd come back with a BANG in the kitchen!

I don't know about you, but we are major hummus-addicts in this house. I think we end up eating about 4+cups of hummus per week. In sandwiches, as a dip, you name it, we schmear it. But I have to be honest that even I get tired of it sometimes, and plus it always leaves me hankering for a vegetable to get into our mouths (mostly the kiddo's).

Leave it to the Middle Eastern kitchen that created hummus to come up with another wonderful recipe! Spinach salad - don't be put off by the name, it's not a salad in the traditional sense that we think of in the West, but instead it's a dip just like hummus or baba ganoush. In many countries in the Middle East dips are called "salads" which leads to confusion when foreigners visit! But this one is a keeper, and is an easy way to get kids, or adults to eat their veggies. I love spinach, but you have to be careful, as it decalcifies the body (removes calcium) so it makes sense that traditionally it was always prepared with calcium-rich foods like tahina, yogurt, cheese, etc. This dish is a great balance that will get the veggies in, keep the calcium in the bones, and make the belly full!

 

Spinach & Yogurt Dip/Salad

2 onions, chopped

sprinkle of hot pepper flakes or one tiny chili

1 box of frozen spinach (or you can use fresh and cook it in the dish itself)

2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

2 cups yogurt (you can use soy yogurt, but it won't be as sour tasting)

a big glug of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

*Heat oil in a pan and add onions and hot pepper, cooking until the onions are transluscent - about 10 minutes. Add spinach, salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often (this estimate may change depending on whether you use fresh or frozen spinach). Transfer the cooked greens to a food processor with the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.

*Spread on bread, crackers, pitas, or anything you can get your hands on!

 

Almond Delight (Gluten-Free!)

The other week we were invited to my first Thanksgiving, in about 5 years. I forgot how much I love that holiday - sitting around, eating til your filled to the gills, then retiring to the couch to pass out, or pretend to watch a sports game you really could care less about. This Thanksgiving was a bit different, as it was a potluck so we all brought something to share. I was on the dessert front, and made a pumpkin cake (didn't want to compete with any pumpkin pie makers) and a dessert for someone who was gluten-free. Hmm. Had to put my old natural gourmet chef hat on and decide what to make....

Here it is! A delectable cookie from an ancient ripped out magazine recipe that is super easy to make, doesn't require any funky flours (which most gluten-free recipes do require) and will not leave any leftovers. Make two batches if you want to share or have some for the next day!

 

Gluten-Free Almond Cookies

3 cups almonds

1/4-1/2 c apple juice (I used cherry to highlight the almond-y flavor)

squeeze of lemon juice

1tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp cinnamon

1 cup rice syrup or barley malt syrup

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 170/325. Grind the almonds in a blender to make almond meal. Pour into a bowl. Add enough apple juice to make a smooth paste. Combine the almond paste with remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoons onto a well-oiled baking sheet and press each cookie lightly with a fork.

Bake in oven for about 10 minutes, watching them carefully, as they can easily burn. Remove from oven, cool on a cooling rack, and devour!

 

Ode to Stamppot

I'll spare you the details and get down to the nitty-gritty: even though I lived in the Netherlands, I never eat Dutch food. French fries in a cone, yes - but anything else remotely Dutch, I'm not a big fan of. Except one dish that I love giving my own unique twist to: stamppot. Basically a hodgepog mix of mashed potatoes and a green, personally for me it was always too blah and not enough pizzazz needing some fried something to give it texture and serious yum-factor.

So, here it is: my ode to stamppot. For those of you who are purests out there, who like everything just as the natives do it, look away. For those of you who want an easy, one-pot meal, keep reading and get your forks ready!

De Amerikaans Stamppot

1 leek, cleaned and sliced into thin crescents

5 large potatoes, cleaned and scrubbed

large handful of fresh greens of your choice - I used endive in mine, but you can use kale or whatever you have on hand

butter or coconut oil for flavor

(optional) 1 heaping Tbsp nutritional yeast

salt, lots of it!

 

To make it more time efficient, I like to put the potatoes in a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking. I find it usually takes about 20 minutes, which is enough time for me to get the rest of the cooking done.

While potatoes or cooking, heat up some olive oil and saute the sliced leeks over a low flame. Once the leeks become translucent, add the greens. Stirring often, make sure the greens get nice and wilted. Take the potatoes off the flame once their cooked and mash them with a potato masher. Add the sauteed green mix and PLENTY of fat (butter, coconut oil, etc) and salt. Don't be shy - potatoes need, and can take a lot of salt without being overly salty. If using, add the nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.

I serve the stamppot with some already prepared veggie sausages, but you can do real meat sausages, and I go to town and serve it with fresh sauerkraut, but that might be a bit too much (or too Dutch - ha!) for some. Serve hot and I find the sausages go well with some Dijon mustard. Lekker!

 

Sushi Rice Galore

Lately I have been on a sushi rush: doesn't seem to make sense with the chilly weather, but it is what it is - when the family is eating some meat-heavy dish, I reach for my sushi making ingredients. Unfortunately Mr Shuka doesn't care for sushi, so that's even better for me as that means I get to eat EVERYTHING!

Now don't get mistaken when I say "sushi" that I'm going to show you how to make raw fish sushi. What I'm talking about is the most essential part of sushi making that (in my opinion) tends to go wrong for most people: the rice. I wanted to share with you the way that I was taught in Japan so that you can use the recipe for whatever kind of sushi you love - I'm personally doing a sliced cucumber/carrot or inari (fried tofu pocket) sushi.

Japanese Sushi Rice

1.3c short grain sushi rice

1.3c hot water

3Tbsp rice vinegar

1Tbsp sake

1Tbsp sugar

1tsp salt

Rinse the rice well in a strainer until the water runs clear. Place the rice and hot water in a pot and cook until the rice is cooked. Blend the rice vinegar, sake, sugar and salt together making sure that the sugar is dissolved.

Place the hot rice in a wide, shallow bowl. Add the vinegar mixture gradually while tossing and fluffing the rice with a wooden spatula or rice paddle. The motion should be a horizontal side-to-side motion where you see a large amount of steam emit from the rice. When the vinegar mixture has been fully absorbed, spread the rice over a baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

You now have amazing sushi rice to roll into whatever kind of sushi suits your needs!

New Year, New Torte

Last night was Rosh Hashanah, or the start of the Jewish New Year celebration. Wine, challah, tons of veggie dishes, and apple-laden sweets were consumed in dangerous quantities. Nothing like ringing in the new year with gluttony! Although we don't have a huge celebration, we always try to make a small little get-together to teach our daughter about the holidays, and of course, one of the most important components of the Jewish tradition: the food.

Every year I try out a new apple recipe (which is to symbolize a sweet year - usually accompanied by honey, but I don't really like honey) and this new torte recipe that I found in The Foods of Israel Today was one of the best I've ever tried. My favorite part of it was that it was incredibly easy to make, and Toddler Shuka helped with all the steps along the way, which she loved. Passing down traditions in the kitchen - that's an oral tradition that will live forever!

Rosh Hashanah Apple Torte

2c unbleached flour

1/2tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 large egg

3/4c unflavored oil (I used coconut oil)

1c sugar (I used sucanat)

grated zest of 1 lemon

6 apples, peeled and cored

1/2tsp cinnamon

*Grate the apples and place in a colander along with 1/4c of the sugar - it should sit in the colander to drain for about 30 minutes.

*Put the flour, baking powder, salt, egg, oil, 3/4 c of the sugar, and lemon zest in the food processor bowl and process until a dough is formed (about 2min or so). Remove and roll the dough in flour, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

*Preheat oven to 200c/450f. Take 2/3 of the refrigerated dough with floured hands, press it lightly into the bottom of a cake or pie pan, pushing up the sides to form a pie shape. Take the grated apple mix and add the cinnamon. Place the apple mix in the pie base. Roll out the remaining dough to a circle, quite thin, and place on top of the apple mix, crimping the edges of the dough together to seal them. Make a few holes in the top of the cake so steam can escape.

*Bake on the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 170c/350f and bake for 30 minutes more or until golden brown.

Ice Cream Magic! Shell Recipe

The other day we were walking by an ice cream parlor that had the hardened candy shell that used to dazzle us as kids. I used to love watching that chilly ice cream cone get dipped in the (questionable, no doubt) mystery mix of candy-shell goodness only to watch it harden up and create a mystifying delight. Still to this day it hypnotizes me, and I was almost tempted to give my daughter one to see the results. Lucky enough for me her mother is a nosy-ninny on the web and happened to find an AMAZING and dairy-free recipe for the ice cream mystery shell! I thought I couldn't believe that it could be true, then I tried it (I highly recommend using flavorless coconut oil unless you want a taste of the tropics - might be good, just not my thing). Thank you to Instructables for taking me back to my youth, minus about 100 artificial E-numbers I'm still attempting to process!

Check out Instructables Homemade Magic Shell Recipe here! It will MAKE your summer!

Breakfast Muesli Made Better

Papa Shak-Shuka (hubby) has the same breakfast every morning: Argentina mate tea and muesli with milk. I used to make homemade muesli, but life has gotten so crazy lately that I haven't had time. That will change because the other day I went to the supermarket to buy him a new batch of organic muesli, and almost passed out when I saw the price! I couldn't believe how expensive a tiny bag of oats, nuts and fruit could be! Alas, we're back to cranking out our own homemade muesli, and it couldn't be easier. This recipe is to make the (best, we think ;-) kind of muesli which is crunchy with chunky bits, which is often hard to replicate. Free yourself from the bonds of store-bought muesli, and you'll never look back! Best of all, you can experiment with flavors and ingredients until you find one that suits you best.....you'll love the muesli-laden path along the way! 

Crunchy Style Muesli

4 cups oats (I like the small kind)

1/2c shredded coconut

1/2c raisins

1/4c each: sunflower seed, linseeds, pumpkin seeds

pinch of salt

pinch of cinnamon

1/2c liquid sweetener (I like maple syrup or agave syrup)

1/2c Sucanat or untreated sugar

1 cup oil (I use coconut oil, but use any kind of unflavored oil)

Preheat the oven to 175c/350f. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except oil. Make sure that all the ingredients are well mixed, and add enough oil to make sure that the mixture looks shiny and coated with oil and liquid sweetener. The key to getting those lovely chunks is to have plenty of oil and liquid sweetener. Once you're happy with the mixture, place it on a baking sheet so that it spreads out and get toasted evenly. Place in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, turning often to make sure that there are no burnt spots. When the muesli is golden brown, turn off and remove from oven. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until it cools and store in an airtight container.

Summer Holiday Gazpacho

In my make-believe world, I split my summer holiday between Greece and hobnobbing with my friends in the Hamptons. One of my make-believe friends, the Barefoot Contessa, is always inviting me over for some scrumptious meal that she whipped up in the same amount of time that it takes me to go to the bathroom. One of my favorite dishes that she (ok, me) makes in the summer is her cooling gazpaho. Normally I'm not a gazpacho-kinda girl, but something that the Barefoot Contessa does just makes it more delicious. Maybe it's the intoxicating Hamptons air, her relaxing way in the kitchen, or the wonderful use of seasonal ingredients at their best. Any way you make it, it's delish.

Gazpacho nocoupons

• 1 cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• shot of Tabasco sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Don't over blend it, or it will turn into a gazpacho smoothie/slushie that is really unappetizing to look at or eat. 

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Fatoosh: Summertime Bread Salad

Yesterday was "one of those days" when I had too many things to get done, and unfortunately the blog fell on the bottom of the list. But alas I took a photo last night of our fave summertime dish with ingredients straight from our (totally urban) herb garden. I'm not giving exact amounts here, because I think it's important to use what you have in your fridge, garden or local market at the time. If you have never tried a bread salad, you are really missing out and this should be incentive enough for your to try it! Fatoosh is fun to say, but even better to eat......

Fatoosh (Middle Eastern Bread Salad)

old stale bread, preferably flat breads like from a Middle Eastern baker, cut into small pieces

fresh flat parsley, chopped

fresh mint, chopped

scallions, minced

red pepper, seeded and diced

tomatoes, seeded and diced

cucumber, seeded and diced

romaine or regular lettuce

radishes, thinly sliced

Dressing:

garlic, minced

lemons

sumac (a very lemony spice you find in Middle Eastern markets)

olive oil

salt to taste

In a bowl, place all the vegetables, leaving the tomatoes on the bottom (otherwise they will bleed their juice all over the other veggies). In an oven or the stove top, toast and dry out the stale bread until nice and crispy - think big croutons. In a bowl mix all the dressing ingredients together until emulsified. Place the toasted bread on top of all the vegetables in the large bowl, and then pour the dressing over the entire mixture. Toss well making sure everything gets coated with the dressing and the bread has absorbed a good amount of dressing. Taste and adjust for salt if needed. Serve immediately, otherwise you'll have a soggy bread salad, which no one likes! Goes great with a summertime barbecue.

Death by Chocolate Mousse

I won't bother you with a lot of chatter, because once you lay eyes on this dessert, all you'll hear is the rumbling of your tummy. This mousse has caused a ruckus in our house as we've been fighting to lick the bowls, spatula, anything that it's come into contact with. This mousse is from Peter Berley's book: The Modern Vegetarian, which I encourage all of you to buy if you are leaning towards a plant-based diet. There is an unusual ingredient that you may have never used before (agar-agar), but it's simply a vegetarian version of gelatin (made from animal bones), and if you're feeling anxious, there's some helpful info here on how to use it. Don't be put off by using new ingredients, as it will lead to wonderful experimentation in the kitchen for future dessert-making!

Chocolate Mousse

2 (14oz) cans coconut milk (full fat)

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp Sucanat (evaporated sugar cane juice - you can also use unrefined sugar)

1/2 cup agar flakes

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

3/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup arrowroot powder

In a saucepan over high heat, combine the coconut milk, Sucanat, agar flakes, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the agar dissolves (you can test this by checking your spoon after each stir: if you still see little "flakes" of agar, keep cooking it until you don't see anymore flakes).

In a small bowl, whisk together the cold water and arrowroot until smooth. Whisk into the saucepan and simmer for 1 minute, or until the mousse thickens.

Pour the mousse into a large heatproof dish and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Once cool enough, put into the fridge for 30 minutes, or until firm.

Transfer the chilled mousse to a food processor and puree until creamy.

Serve chilled in individual cups or wine glasses.