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 taste. We used wheat pasta, pimento olives and smoked olive oil. Our dear friend Cynthe, sent us this bottle. It is extra virgin olive oil that has been naturally wood smoked. It adds great depth and flavor to this simple dish. We loved the addition of  the smoked olive oil, Thanks Cynthe!

Dried pasta – 9 oz

Garlic – 1/2 tsp, finely chopped

Extra Virgin Olive oil – 2 T

Chopped Parsley – 2 T

Salt to taste

• Cook the pasta in water that has been salted
• Drain the pasta, add garlic, chopped parsley, chopped olives and olive oil
• Toss well and refrigerate overnight.
• Serve cold.

Make sure you check out what Mel & Eileen have cooked!

We are also sending this dish to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted by Michelle of Italian Mama Chef.

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

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.

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!

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

Cabbage – 4 cups, thinly sliced

Olive Oil – 2 tsp

Onions – 1 cup, thinly sliced

Garlic pods -2, minced

Bell Pepper – 1, diced

Carrots – 1, diced

Garam Masala – ½ tsp

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp

Chilli Flakes – 1 to 2 tsp

Tomato – 2, roughly chopped

Salt – to taste

Lemon Juice – 1 tsp

Cilantro – 3 T, chopped

• Heat oil in a pan and add the onions and fry until softened.
• Add the garlic pods, bell pepper, and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes
• Sprinkle all the spices into the pan and cook for another minute.
• Add the cabbage, tomato and cook and cook for about 10 minutes
• Season with salt, squeeze lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.

We served ours with rotis and the next day had it over a slice of bread.

Check out  Eileen and Mel’s blogs as well. They always make something delicious.

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 Spieler

Mandelbrot means Mandel (almond) brot (bread). It tasted just like biscotti and the recipe is also very similar. They are both baked twice and use eggs, but no butter and is considered “parve“, which means it does not have any dairy or meat product.

Let us warn you before you read any further, these cookies by whatever name they are called are very very addictive.  The recipe makes about 2 dozen and our cookie tin was empty in a week! Dip them in  piping hot cup of tea or coffee , while you are cozily sitting close to the fireplace reading a book and you will not know how many you finished. Eileen actually dipped hers in champagne!

We almost followed the recipe completely. The recipe called for grated rind of one lemon, we used rind of one orange instead and it tasted and smelt heavenly.

All purpose flour- 3 1/4 cups

Ground almonds- 1 cup

Baking powder- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Eggs- 3

Powdered Sugar- 1 1/4 cups

Orange Zest- 1 T

Almond Extract- 1 tsp

Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Blanched Almonds- 1 cup, roughly chopped

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, stir in all the dry ingredients. ( Marlena says, sift, but we are too lazy)
• Using an electric whisk or get your 5 minute work out by whisking the sugar and eggs  until light and fluffy.
• Stir in the orange zest, both the extracts and add the flour, ground almonds little at a time.
• Finally add the chopped almonds and transfer to a floured surface and knead well.
• Divide the dough into two and form each into a long flat loaf.
• Place them on the baking sheet and bake for about 35- 40 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
• Let the loaves cool slightly.
• Cut then them into 1/2 inch diagonal slices. Be very careful when you do this, if they get crushed, the rejects are yours to eat
• Arrange the slices in a row and bake again for about 7- 8 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 7-8 minutes.
• When cool, store in an air tight container. They can last for atleast tow weeks if you can resist eating them all in one go.

We shared this with our blogger friends, Marlena and her aunt Estelle Opper two weekends ago. Estelle suggested we make them a little more thicker and also suggested we sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on the top. When they came over to our house last weekend for an Indian potluck, she remembered our conversation and shared a Mandelbrot with us, so we learn how thick they should be sliced, now that is sweet!

My friends have awesome recipes to share, be sure to check Mel & Eileen’s blog.

On another note, Marlena has written quite a few cookbooks. She has one dedicated to potatoes, another to mac n’ cheese, so be sure to check her website.