Curried Cabbage Salad
Sunday With Marlena Spieler You either love cabbage or you hate it. Can you tell we love it? We cooked braised cabbage with apples in class yesterday and that was one of my favorites. We had white and red cabbage at home. With one we made coleslaw and the other this salad. Coincidentally, the Jewish also love their cabbage and was almost the vegetable the Ashkenazim says Marlena. Garam masala gives it a kick we liked, it gives it a little bit of heat and the tanginess from the vinegar balances the dish very well. Red Cabbage – 2 cups, thinly shredded Red ...
Shrikand
What happens when you crave Shrikand and you know it is a dish you cant have right away? I love shrikand and grew up walking down to Prashant hotel in Belgaum when I was about 12 and sitting there savoring my puris and Shrikand. At that time, it was new dish introduced to us. My parents were not huge fans of eating sweetened yogurt with their puris. But I loved it when we had it for the 1st time in a friend's house. So when I pestered my mom to make some for us, she preferred giving me some money ...
Knishes
These pastries can be made bite sized or large enough to have for dinner. But however you make, you will want more of this beautiful earthy combination of bulgur wheat and mushrooms garnished with fresh herbs and wrapped in puff pastry dough. We tweaked the recipe to our taste. Since we made this on a weekday, we did not have the time to make the pastry with sour cream as Marlena says in her recipe. We instead used puff pastry sheets. This tasted so good, that when we had two on the plate to take pictures and by the time ...
Cold Italian Pasta
Sunday with Marlena Spieler We would like to call this lazy man's pasta. It is quick, easy and delicious too if you are looking for something light for dinner after a heavy lunch or brunch. The ingredients are really things you will most definitely have in your pantry, at least ours did. This is served cold and cooked the previous day by the Italian Jewish community and eaten on Shabbat, when no cooking is allowed. You really don't need a recipe for this, it is that simple The recipe called for Egg noodles, olive oil, Green Olives, garlic, parsley and salt to ...
Citrus Sponge Cake
Sundays With Marlena Spieler Here's to Wonderful New Year ahead, with good health and happiness ! We welcomed the year amongst good friends and family with loads of food, fun and laughter. Our contribution was this cake.This Pesach cake dates back the 13th century, it is Kosher, rich and festive. We baked this to take to a party on New Years Eve. This cake has no oil or butter but 12 eggs, which when we read through the recipe thought was a bit much and very skeptical when the cake was baking in the oven too, but turned out soft, spongy and ...
Candied Lemon Peel
Sunday With Marlena Spieler Citrus and sugar, what can go wrong. Our friends Dennis & Mary shared with us their bounty of Meyer lemons from their garden. There is nothing quite like using produce so fresh and well cared for. We made ginger lemon concentrate with the juice and the peel was used to make Marlena's Pomerantzen. Marlena says in her cookbook, that this candied peel is a specialty among Jews especially of German origin. This in an easy recipe and also feels that we did not waste any part of the lemon, except the pith and seeds of course. Lemon - ...
Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
On our face book page, we had asked readers what recipes they would like to see on this website. We got a whole range of ideas. A few wanted one pot dishes, slow cooker recipes, Samosas, Southern fried chicken etc. We will definitely try to cook up all you asked for. To start off, lets make a one pot dish which is tasty and healthy all at the same time. It is easy to make for dinner and something you can carry to work the next day for lunch. We used fresh vegetables, but if you are hard pressed for time ...
Oriental Salad Dressing
Spring is around the corner and we have started having spring themed salads in the house. Tonight the theme was Asian- so an Asian inspired salad dressing drizzled over organic spring greens, sliced mushrooms, clementines and almonds. I was so good, I wrote down the recipe as I measured diligently. This is a go to salad on a weekday when you come home hungry and you have a box of salad greens in the refrigerator. Salad Dressing Sesame Oil - 1/2 cup Juice of 1 clementine Ginger - 1/2 tsp, minced Soy sauce - 1 T Chilli garlic sauce - 1 T Peanut Butter - 3 T Sherry ...
Tamarind Rice
When one says tamarind rice, we think of plantain leaves lightly toasted over fire and tamarind rice wrapped in it, long distance travels, picnics and quick school lunches. Mom almost always had her stash of tamarind sauce or Puzhikachal as we call it in the refrigerator for those days when she wanted to whip up something quick. So all she had to do was cook some rice and mix it in with the sauce and to give it life, a tempering of mustard leaves, urad dal, peanuts and curry leaves can get us kids straight to the kitchen to see ...
Fish Cutlets
Sunday with Marlena Spieler Marlena calls this Fish balls, but I call it cutlets. By whatever name you call it, this is a must try dish. While Rajesh loves fish, I did not eat fish until two years ago. When we were in Goa, India, Rajesh ordered fish for himself. Being a coastal town, the fish was fresh and did not stink. I tasted it and was surprised how much I liked it. We later found out that the Sacramento Co-op sells some of the best fish in the country. We have very slowly started cooking with fish and for now ...
Pierogi
Sunday with Marlena Spieler Pierogi, what is it you ask? To quote Wikipedia, “Pierogi are served in a variety of forms and tastes (ranging from sweet to salty to spicy) in Polish cuisine. Pierogi were traditionally peasant food, but eventually spread in popularity throughout all social classes, including nobles. They are served at many festivals, playing an important role as a cultural Polish dish. Polish pierogi are often filled with fresh white cheese , potatoes, and fried onions; in this form, they are called pierogi ruskie (Rusyn or Ruthenian pierogi), which is the most popular variety in North America. In Poland ...
Chicken Koresh
Sunday with Marlena Spieler You want a dish that has veggies, lentils and chicken? This is just the dish for you. You can make it completely vegetarian too. Marlena calls this is the Californian version of the Persian Koresh. In Persia Lamb is the meat of choice, but we use chicken in this dish. This is a hearty dish, very filling and is served over rice. Green split Peas – ¼ Cup Olive oil – 3 to 4 T Onion - 2 cups, finely chopped Boneless Chicken thighs – 1 lb Chicken Stock – 2 cups Turmeric – 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon – 1/8th tsp Nutmeg – less than ...
Beans and Barley Soup
Sunday with Marlena Spieler The earliest memories I have of Barley is my dad asking amma to make him Barley water. As kids, we would shun away from it. My mom would incorporate barley water in vegetable soup and I would slurp on it happily clueless that it had barley water. But now, I embrace it. I have made chicken Barley soup and this is the next one I made. It is a rustic soup, kinda. I made a few variations to the soup depending on what I had in the pantry. It was pouring heavily and the day called for soup, ...
Appetizers
Knishes
These pastries can be made bite sized or large enough to have for dinner. But however...
Falafel
Sunday with Marlena Speiler After you have tried this at home, We have a feeling...
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Soups/Salads
Beans and Barley Soup
Sunday with Marlena Spieler The earliest memories I have of Barley is my dad asking...
Oriental Salad Dressing
Spring is around the corner and we have started having spring themed salads in the...
Read More Posts From Soups/Salads
Breads
Mandelbrot
Sundays with Marlena Spieler Mandelbrot means Mandel (almond) brot (bread). It tasted...
Thalipeeth
I have vague memories of having thalipeeth at home. My sis would come home after...
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Breakfast
Dosa
If you have a bucket list, be sure to add- eat masala dosa at a South India home....
Healthy Breakfast
I just could not help posting this, after I finished laying the fruits on the toast....
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Vegetarian Sides
Pierogi
Sunday with Marlena Spieler Pierogi, what is it you ask? To quote Wikipedia, “Pierogi...
Cold Italian Pasta
Sunday with Marlena Spieler We would like to call this lazy man’s pasta. It...
Read More Posts From Vegetarian Sides
Non Vegetarian Sides
Chicken Koresh
Sunday with Marlena Spieler You want a dish that has veggies, lentils and chicken?...
Fish Cutlets
Sunday with Marlena Spieler Marlena calls this Fish balls, but I call it cutlets....
Read More Posts From Non Vegetarian Sides
Rice
Bulgur Wheat Pilaf
On our face book page, we had asked readers what recipes they would like to see ...
Tamarind Rice
When one says tamarind rice, we think of plantain leaves lightly toasted over fire...
Read More Posts From Rice
Desserts
Shrikand
What happens when you crave Shrikand and you know it is a dish you cant have right...
Candied Lemon Peel
Sunday With Marlena Spieler Citrus and sugar, what can go wrong. Our friends Dennis...
Read More Posts From Desserts
Reviews
Simply Chai
We were at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show recently and had the opportunity to see many vendors showcase...
Dolled up Roasted Dill Potatoes
Update: I have entered this recipe for a contest- please vote for me here. The prize money is $500 and...
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