Fancy Food Show 2010
This past weekend we were at the Fancy Food show cruising our way through myriads of vendor booths and a sea of people. What struck us as soon as we passed through a few booths was how the vendors looked at your badge and decided in a split of a second whether to give you 1 second or 30 seconds of their time. Our badge said CAT- short for catering and it confused the heck out of most vendors. The food show was in both halls of the Moscone center, North and South. One focused on the big players like Ghiradelli, ...
Vegetable Kugel
Sunday with Marlena Spieler Kugel is a Jewish casserole normally made with egg noodles or potatoes. Marlena introduces us to this this is a surprisingly light and quite healthy vegetable kugel. Vegetable kugel is a dish you can easily make on a weekday. It is brown and crispy on the top and really tender inside. Try it and we assure you, you will love it. It tastes great the next day too. Zucchini - 2 cups, grated Carrots - 1.5 cups, grated Potatoes - 2 cups, grated Onion - 1, grated Eggs - 3, lightly beaten Garlic cloves - 4 , finely chopped Sugar - 1/8th tsp Basil - ...
Mung Beans & Wild Rice Soup
This is not the weather we particularly love, now don't start on how much colder the East coast is or Alaska is. All that matters is Sacramento is really cold for us and soups calls out to us. we wanted soup, but something that is filling and had Indian spices to it, guess that is comfort food? But this is by no means an Indian recipe just coz it has Indian spices :) We have been repeatedly asked by our friends and students at class where to buy Whole Mung beans- it is available in bulk at Whole foods,any Indian store ...
Sephardi Spicy Cabbage
Sunday with Marlena Spieler We bought a cabbage wanting to make this dish and then forgot all about it when we were in a hurry to cook something real quick to carry with us for our lunches. There was a lit bit of bell pepper and carrots, so we decided to throw that in as well. We had left half a cabbage to make the Sephardi spicy cabbage and when we read through the recipe, couldn't help but smile, because we had made just that in the morning :lol: Cabbage - 4 cups, thinly sliced Olive Oil – 2 tsp Onions – 1 ...
New York Egg Cream
Sunday with Marlena Spieler When the three of us were divvying up recipes and we got this recipe, we wondered if we would enjoy the recipe as we assumed that there would be eggs in the recipe. We are not big fans of eggs in a beverage. The title is deceiving. Marlena says in her book that no one is sure why it is called Egg Cream, it is probably because of the richness at a time when folks could not afford to put eggs and cream together in a drink. This is very easy to put together ( about 3 ...
Sautéed Spinach
Sundays with Marlena Spieler Spinach is one of the most favorite greens in our household. I fondly remember one of our nephews watching Popeye all starry eyed and that made him eat his daily quota of spinach, he even demanded that on the menu every day. While we love our traditional poriyals and kootus (spinach cooked in coconut gravy), we sometimes want a quick sauté and a recipe like this comes in quite handy. What can go wrong with a recipe that calls for spinach with scallions, a hint of garlic, walnuts for an added crunch and some raisins? Can you ask ...
Spinach Pilaf
A box full organic spinach, half of which was used and the other half seemed like it was crying to be used. We both love spinach and all the health benefits that comes with it - A carotenoid found in spinach fights prostrate cancer, ovarian cancer and excellent for our bones. We try to have as much greens and vegetables as possible. Tonight the menu was to use left over cauliflower, one carrot, a little bit of peas and a lot of spinach. Recipe: Spinach Pilaf Ingredients Onion - 1 small, thinly sliced Oil - 2 T Ginger - 1 tsp, minced Garlic - 2 tsp, ...
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 ...
Simply Chai
We were at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show recently and had the opportunity to see many vendors showcase different varieties of tea. Tea is our beverage of choice at home- be it herbal or our masala chai, we start our day with a cuppa tea. When we saw the different varieties and flavors, we decided to write about tea and also because January is hot tea month! OK, truthfully, we love tea and so this post. We sampled a whole lot of teas there and we particularly liked the tea of two companies in particular. Before you start imagining ...
White Bean Salad
Sunday with Marlena Spieler You ask how in the world does Candied lemon peel get incorporated in this recipe? Read on :-) . This journey of cooking through Marlena's cookbook is a truly a world tour. We travel through different countries and our kitchen now smells of foods from all over the globe. The recipe called for a teaspoon and sugar and rind of one lemon. What does one do when we don't have fresh lemons in house? So the candied lemon peel came in handy. This salad has just the right balance with a pinch of heat. Diced Tomatoes - 14 ...
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 - ...
Falafel
Sunday with Marlena Speiler After you have tried this at home, We have a feeling that you will not like the store bought ones. This is a recipe that we will not try changing and tweaking and our quest for the best falafel recipe ends right here. Try it and be assured that you will be in falafel heaven. Falafels are a classic Israeli snack! Recipe: Falafel Ingredients Split chickpeas/Channa Dal - 1 cup, soaked in 4 cups of water Onion- 1 small Garlic- 3 pods Parsley - 2 T, chopped Cilantro- 1 T, chopped Cayenne - 1 to 2 tsp Cumin Powder- 1 tsp Coriander powder- 1 tsp Garam Masala - ...
Appetizers
Falafel
Sunday with Marlena Speiler After you have tried this at home, We have a feeling...
Spicy Chicken Wings
On our way back from playing the role of Santa, the weather was cold, did not...
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Soups/Salads
White Bean Salad
Sunday with Marlena Spieler You ask how in the world does Candied lemon peel get...
Mung Beans & Wild Rice Soup
This is not the weather we particularly love, now don’t start on how much colder...
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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
Vegetable Kugel
Sunday with Marlena Spieler Kugel is a Jewish casserole normally made with egg noodles...
Sephardi Spicy Cabbage
Sunday with Marlena Spieler We bought a cabbage wanting to make this dish and then...
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Non Vegetarian Sides
Madras Shrimp Curry
Was a superhot hit at Shankari’s cooking class. Shrimp – 1 lb de-veined...
Rendang Chicken!
I just love most foods that originates from Malaysia, Thailand and the likes....
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Rice
Spinach Pilaf
A box full organic spinach, half of which was used and the other half seemed like...
Spanish Paella
We were in San Diego last week and while strolling through Balboa Park, a lady from...
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Desserts
Candied Lemon Peel
Sunday With Marlena Spieler Citrus and sugar, what can go wrong. Our friends Dennis...
New York Egg Cream
Sunday with Marlena Spieler When the three of us were divvying up recipes and we...
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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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