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, but not venturing out of the house to go grocery shopping. I have used the split peas, left over wild rice and barley in this soup. Feel free to use some of your left over beans in the pantry that you have very little of and don’t know what to do with them. Beans and barley slow cooked with mire poix and garlic, garnished with parsley is just what you want on a rainy day.

Olive oil – 1 T

Onion – 1 chopped

Celery – 3 sticks, chopped

Carrots – 2 , peeled and cut in rounds

Potato – 1, peeled and cut in big chunks

Garlic cloves – 3, minced

Wild rice – ¼ cup

Barley – ¼ cup

Green Split peas – ¼ cup

Yellow split peas – ¼ cup

Water – 4 to 5 cups

Canned cranberry beans – 1 can (14 oz)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley – 1 tsp, finely chopped

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven and when the oil is hot, add onions, carrot and celery.
• Saute for 3-4 minutes and then add the minced garlic and give it a quick stir.
• Add all of the grains, salt, pepper and water and bring it to a quick boil, reduce to medium low and cover it with a lid
• Let it cook for about 40- 45 minutes or until the peas, barley and rice are well cooked
• Open the lid, add cranberry beans and let it simmer for 10 more minutes.
• If the soup is too thick for your taste, add another additional cup of water and adjust seasonings
• Garnish with parsley and celery leaves and a sprinkle of cayenne.

Variations:

• Marlena’s recipe calls for dried mushrooms. Use dried or fresh mushrooms
• I think this can easily be made into a slow cooker recipe.
• Use vegetables that are in season.

Check  what Mel and Eileen have cooked for you

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 – 1/8^th tsp

Nutmeg – less than 1/8^th tsp

Cayenne – 1 tsp (optional)

Italian Eggplant – use half, diced

Diced Tomatoes – 14 oz

Garlic – 2 cloves, minced

Dried mint – 2 T

Salt & pepper – to season

Fresh mint for garnish

• Soak the split in water for a couple of hours
• Heat half of the oil in a pan and add one cup of the onions and sauté until they turn translucent
• Stir in the chicken and cook until they turn golden brown on all sides.
• Add the soaked split peas to the chicken, chicken stock, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne
• Cover and cook on medium low heat until the chicken and split peas are cooked through.
• In another sauté pan, add the rest of the oil and sauté the onions and egg plants for about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, garlic, seasoning and dried mint
• Cook until the eggplant has completely cooked.
• Pour this mixture over the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes
• Garnish with mint and serve over rice.

We needed some more heat to the dish and so the addition of cayenne, but remember this is completely optional

Be sure to check what Mel & Eileen are cooking up

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 – 4 to 6

sugar – 2 cups

Water- 4 cups

• After we juiced the lemons, we scooped the pith of with a spoon. Or you can wait to do that after you boil in water
• In a pan, pour about 3 cups of cold water and add the peel.
• Let it simmer for about 30 minutes. This will help take the bitterness out if any.
• Drain the water completely and add rest of the water and  1 cup of sugar.
• Add the lemon peel after the sugar has completely melted and simmer for an hour
• Strain the lemon peel and arrange it on a baking sheet
• When it cools down a little, toss in the remaining sugar, such that each peel is coated with sugar.
• Store in a zip loc back in your refrigerator.

While we were planning to satisfy our sweet tooth with a few after dinner, we ended up using a few in a White bean salad with Spicy dressing. This is yet another one of Marlena’s recipes.

Eileen and Mel have more of Marlena’s recipe, so make sure you drop in there as well.

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 oz

Onion – 2 T, finely chopped

Green Chilly – 2 ( add less if you want it less hot)

Garlic – 1 T, finely chopped

Carmelina Cannelini Beans – 2, 14 oz cans.

Olive oil – 3 T

Lemon juice – 1 T

Cider Vinegar – 1 T

Candied lemon peel – 1 T, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Parsley for garnish

• In a  large bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and cider vinegar with salt and pepper.
• Add rest of the ingredients and fold it well, so that the dressing is well incorporated.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Variations:

• We used Meyer lemon infused olive oil which gave it a really lemon flavor.
• Omit the onions in the recipe, if you are not a big fan of raw onions.
• Add basil instead of parsley for a different flavor.

While we are @ The Fancy Food show, Carmelina had a stall and we got to taste their beans and was surprised that it tasted so fresh. The  nutritional label answered the question – a mere 1.5% sodium and 45% dietary fiber. This brand is available @ Whole Foods.

What a difference in taste, try it and you wont be disappointed.

And take a peel @ Eileen and Mel’s blog for sure.

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 minutes) and very refreshing after a work out or on a warm summer day!

Chocolate Syrup – 3 to4 T

Chilled Milk – ½ cup

Chilled Carbonated Water – ½ cup

Cocoa Powder to sprinkle

• Spoon the chocolate syrup in a tall glass
• Pour the chilled milk  and then the carbonated water carefully
• Dust with Cocoa powder and enjoy!

This is really one of the easiest recipes we have made so far. To make it a little bit more richer, you can add a layer of condensed milk over the chocolate syrup One of the glasses had a dash of Kahlua too

Mel & Eileen always have great recipes on their blogs, so hop there for more fun recipes from Marlena.

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 – 2 tsp

Matzo Meal – 2 T

Olive Oil – 4 T

Salt – to taste

Chilli Flakes – 1 T (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together to form a thick batter
• Pour half of oil in a oven proof dish and spread it on the dish
• Spoon in the batter and drizzle rest of the oil over the dish
• Bake for 40-60 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the top is browned well
• Serve hot.

Variations: Feel free to use other herbs that you like. Italian seasoning can be a good variation.

Don’t forget to check Eileen and Mel’s post.

Sundays with Marlena Spieler

This was a relaxing weekend for us. We spent time with friends and family and today we get to relax and start the week ahead. We did not cook much at home, but definitely ate a lot of food. We wanted something light today and this recipe came in handy. Our nephew who does not like eggplant liked this salad a lot over toasted baguette, WINNING recipe

Sundays with Marlena Spieler

We had a great time this week..the three of us were on TV for a cooking segment on Latkes. We celebrated a Birthday and an Anniversary. After having festive spreads almost everyday, we wanted something simple and Hummus seemed the right choice.

When we started making Hummus, we couldn’t stop with just one kind. The three flavors we made were- Regular, Roasted Bell pepper and Chopped red jalapenos. We liked all three flavors and when we did not enough of each of them, we mixed it all together and that was the fourth flavor

The recipe here is for the basic hummus.

Cooked Chickpeas- 1.5 cups

Tahini Sauce-  4-5 T

Lemon Juice – 3-4 T

Salt & pepper- to taste

Extra Virgin olive oil- 2 T

Chopped Parsley- For garnish

Cayenne- For Garnish

• In blender or food processor, place chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend to the consistency you prefer.
• Transfer the contents to a serving bowl. Check for seasonings.
• Add either chopped jalapenos or roasted bell pepper.
• Drizzle olive oil and give it one stir.
• Garnish with parsley and sprinkle cayenne.
• Serve with warm wedges of pita bread.

Variations: Add either a couple of tablespoons of  chopped bell pepper or chopped jalapeno for an added kick!

Mel has an interesting recipe today, go check her blog out. Eileen is cooking sweet & sour cabbage.

Sundays’ with Marlena Speiler- Mushroom Caviar

Mixtures of finely chopped sauteed vegetables served with fresh bread or toast is a very common tradition in Jewish households. The texture of the dish is the reason why it is called Caviar and not the actual content, says Marlena.

Be sure to check my fellow bloggers dishes, Eileen and Mel