The book includes three comprehensive indexes: • A GENERAL INDEX, with more than 350 recipes • A GLUTEN-FREE INDEX, with natural and delicious gluten-free adaptations of more than 250 dishes • A PASSOVER INDEX, with more than 250 Passover-friendly recipes Generously illustrated with beautiful full color photographs, The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen also provides valuable information about processed and packaged foods and how that affects their health quotient. She also provides informative introductions for each recipe and many have sensible adaptations, according to each cook’s personal tastes and preferences. There is also an extensive chapter on eating and shopping policies. The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen goes beyond the traditional scope of a cookbook, and shares a natural, sensible, and wholesome way of life; it belongs in every household, Kosher or not, just within reach, sure to be used again and again: a cherished, useful gift for any occasion. ABOUT THE AUTHOR For more than thirty years, Lévana Kirschenbaum has been teaching people how to cook healthy and nutritious meals. When she opened her eponymous restaurant with her husband and two brothers-in-law in the late 1970s on New York’s Upper West Side, (which recently closed after thirty years in operation), all of them were perfectly aware they were facing a hard sell: introduce fine kosher dining to the Kosher public, who until then was content either eating at home or grabbing a bite in the rare joints that served institutional old world treats. The general prediction was that the presumptuous idea would fall flat on its face. Undaunted by being the trailblazers of the trend, Lévana and her partners surrounded themselves with the best chefs, developed the most delicious dishes and waited patiently until the idea of upscale kosher caught on. The rest, as we all know, is history: The kosher food and wine market has experienced a veritable explosion and occupies pride of place among the most prestigious competitions. Many luxury kosher restaurants have opened and thrived since Lévana’s pioneering days, bearing out the dictum that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Lévana still happily gives cooking demos regularly in her New York classroom and across the country. She is also the author of Lévana’s Table: Kosher Cooking for Everyone, Lévana Cooks Dairy-Free!, and a book-DVD set based on her demo series called “In Short Order.” Visit her website, www.LevanaCooks.com. 

KALE, BEET, AND SEAWEED SALAD

Makes 8 servings

With this dish, I am doing nothing more than group the veggies many of us wouldn’t imagine eating raw. The result is a real triumph, so get ready to adopt them wholeheartedly into the family! You would enjoy beets and turnips much more often, even raw, if only you would grate them very fine in a food processor. The salad will keep well a good couple of days.

1 bunch kale, tough stems removed, leaves cut into very thin ribbons

1 large beet, red or golden, grated very fine (food processor fine shredding blade)

6 scallions, sliced very thin

¼ cup hijiki or other seaweed: wakame, arame, etc. (health food stores), soaked in hot water to cover

½ cup sesame or other seeds (chia, flax, hemp, etc.), toasted

1 cup Chinese green tea dressing (recipe follows)

Place all salad ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Store refrigerated in glass jars. Variations: – Substitute other greens for the kale—mustard, collard, turnip, spinach, even nappa cabbage. – Substitute rutabaga (yellow wax turnip), daikon, carrots, or zucchini for the beet. – Throw in diced avocado. – Throw in some sprouts. – Throw in some chopped toasted cashews or peanuts. – Use any other kind of seaweed—nori, kelp, wakame, arame, etc. Throw in some cooked lentils, brown rice, thawed frozen corn kernels, or any grain you have on hand and turn it into a complete main course.

CHINESE GREEN TEA DRESSING The magic of Asian ingredients! With such intense and clean flavors, a little goes a long way. You will love this dressing not only with many salads, but also drizzled on grilled fish, tofu, or chicken.

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

½ cup toasted sesame oil

½ cup strong green tea (or red or white), decaf OK

2 tablespoons honey, agave, or maple syrup

1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari

1/3 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar, or brown rice vinegar

Dash of bottled hot sauce, or to taste

Grind the ginger finely in a food processor. Add all remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Makes about 2 cups. Store refrigerated in a glass jar.

CHICKEN WITH APPLES

Makes 8 Servings

The modest apple is the star of this rustic and delicious dish. Hard cider gives the dish its originality and is easy to find, but just in case you can’t secure it, use 3 cups natural apple cider.

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 Granny Smith (green) apples, peeled and cut in wedges

2 tablespoons sugar or Sucanat

Zest of 2 lemons

3 leeks, sliced

8 serving pieces chicken—16 pieces total: legs, thigh, half breasts, skins on

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 bottle hard cider

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Freshly ground pepper to taste

3 tablespoons Calvados, applejack, or slivovitz

Heat the oil in a heavy, wide-bottom pot. Add the apples and sauté until golden. Add the sugar and lemon peel, and cook 2 more minutes until caramelized. Remove the mixture and set aside. Place the leeks, chicken, turmeric, cider and cinnamon in the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium and cook covered for 1 hour. Add the reserved apples, ground pepper and Calvados, and cook a few minutes more until just heated through. Transfer the chicken and apples to a platter and check the sauce. If it is too thin, reduce on a high flame 2 to 3 minutes until syrupy. Pour over the chicken and serve hot, with rice, puréed vegetables, or noodles.

Front Porch Ice Cream Now Available at Lowe’s Food Stores

The Nearly 100 Lowe’s Food Stores Across the Carolinas are First to Market with

New Front Porch Ice Cream in in 14 Southern Style Flavors

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – March 2, 2012  Front Porch Carolina Churned Ice Cream, a Southern style brand,  is now for sale at Lowe’s Foods stores across North and South Carolina.  Lowe’s is the first grocery store to carry the brand.

Front Porch is a new line of ice cream from the Mooresville Ice Cream Company that has been producing high quality, down-home ice cream in North Carolina for 88 years.  The line features uniquely crafted Southern flavors based on homespun recipes such as Sweetie Tea, Blackberry Crumble, Nana’s Banana Pudding, Scarlett Red Velvet, Sassy Strawberry and Peachy Keen.

“The demand for Front Porch has already been amazing; it really tells us we’ve created something special,” said Robert Acree, Mooresville Ice Cream Company’s general manager. “And we’re especially proud that Front Porch’s launch is through Lowe’s, a premier grocery store chain located not too far away in Winston-Salem, right here in North Carolina,”  adds Acree.

Front Porch’s new flavors also include Sublime Key Lime, Black Cherry Twilight, Homestyle Butter Pecan, Praline Coastal Crunch, Dandy Peppermint Candy, Chocolate Rocker, Dreamy Vanilla Cream and Mountain Mint Chocolate.  Each is created to make ice cream lovers feel as if they are rocking on their front porch on a summer night – no matter where they are.

About Lowe’s Foods:

Lowe’s Food Stores, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alex Lee, Inc.  Founded in 1954, Lowes Foods employs 9000 people and operates 107 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  The company is committed to offering fabulous fresh foods and delivering personal attention to each of its customers.  Locally owned and operated, Lowes Foods is also committed to buying local products and supporting local suppliers.  They offer programs such as Lowes Foods To Go personal shopping service and an online meal planner that focus on saving people time and money. Information about these programs and other services offered by the company may be found at www.lowesfoods.com or by following Lowes Foods on Facebook or Twitter.

About Mooresville Ice Cream Company, LLC:

Mooresville Ice Cream Company, LLC, maker of Front Porch Carolina Churned Ice Cream, has been using the freshest and highest-quality ingredients to produce premium ice cream since 1924. Founded by B.A. Troutman and R.C. Millsaps in Mooresville, N.C., this family-owned business focuses on producing exceptional, hand-crafted ice cream. Its latest brand, Front Porch Carolina Churned Ice Cream, offers flavors inspired by memories of Southern summer nights rocking on the front porch, including Sweetie Tea, Scarlett Red Velvet and Nana’s Banana Pudding. Front Porch Ice Cream is now available at Lowe’s Foods, and at Mooresville Ice Cream in downtown Mooresville, N.C. For additional information, please visit www.enjoyfrontporch.com or follow Front Porch on Facebook. 

Yield:12 brownies .
Ingredients
Butter, for greasing pan
3/4 cup cooked black beans
1/2 cup vegetable oil, or olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9-inch square baking pan.
In a blender, puree the beans with the oil. Add the eggs, cocoa, sugar, coffee, and vanilla. Melt half the chocolate chips and add to the blender. Blend on medium-high until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the blender and pulse until just incorporated. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until the surface looks somewhat matte around the edges and still a bit shiny in the middle, about 20 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and removing from the pan. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

International food writer Leah Schapira cooks up simple and delicious mealtime solutions for every kitchen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hockessin, Del.– A new study suggests children who are repeatedly exposed to vegetables, they initially disliked, combined with rewards will increase their liking and intake of those vegetables.  The study tracked vegetable intake of 173 children, aged three to four years-old, randomly assigned to one of three groups over a 3-month period.  In the first group, parents gave stickers as a reward each time their child sampled a disliked vegetable.  The parents in the second group gave verbal praise only, and the third group, serving as the control group, gave no verbal praise or tangible reward.  The parents gave the disliked vegetable to their child 12 times per day.  Researchers assessed vegetable intake and liking of the disliked vegetable during the study period, and at one and 3 month intervals. 

The findings published in the January 2012 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed children who were given a sticker as a reward for taking just one bite of the vegetable significantly increased their intake of that vegetable and their liking of it compared to the group receiving just verbal praise.  Increases in the intake and liking of the children in the verbal praise group were not significantly different from the control group.

“The results of this new study continue to show the importance of introducing a variety of fruits and vegetables to children at an early age to help establish healthy eating habits early,” says Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., president and CEO of Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) the nonprofit entity in partnership with CDC behind the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters national public health initiative.  “Adults are more likely to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables whether fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or 100 percent juice if they were exposed to them as children.”

PBH has several tools and resources available for consumers who need information on nutrition, healthy eating, grocery shopping and cooking.  The Fruits & Veggies—More Matters website and Facebook page provide inspiration, tips, information, and other types of support to make eating fruits and veggies easy, fun, and affordable.  The website includes tools such as a recipe center, video center showing short clips on how to select, store and prepare different fruits and vegetables, and a fruit and vegetable nutrition database.  Fruits and vegetables offer a great value – good for the budget, good for the body.

###

About Produce for Better Health Foundation
Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) fruit and vegetable education foundation.

www.elleryturner.wordpress.com

Depending on where you live or what nationality you are, there are foods thought to bring good fortune if eaten January 1st.

In my family it was pork and sauerkraut. It would be cooking on the stove all day long on New Year’s Eve, and atmidnightwe all had to have at least one bite as we welcomed in the New Year. Then it was served for dinner New Year’s Day.

When we moved south we learned it was traditional to eat black-eyed peas in a dish called hoppin’ john which combines peas and collard greens.

Both dishes are great, but I wanted some alternatives which would provide the pork, sauerkraut, peas and collards in a non-traditional way.

I think most of us are wishing, hoping for and could use a more prosperous New Year not only personally, but nationally. Maybe if we all eat some of what our traditional lucky foods are it will help. One can always hope.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

 New Year Stew

Ingredients

2 bunches collard greens, washed, stemmed, and rough chopped

2 smoked ham hocks

1 pound cooked ham, diced to about 1/2″

7 Cups Water

3 cans (15 oz) blackeyed peas, rinsed

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth, low sodium

2 stalks celery, washed and sliced to 1/4″

1 med onion, diced

1/3 cup Sweet Marsala wine

1 1/2 tablespoons garlic salt

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper, coarse ground

2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

Directions:

Sauté onion and celery in a little butter until softened.

Put the water, onions, celery, garlic salt, Creole seasoning, pepper, collard greens and ham hocks in a large heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and bring just to a boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to medium low and cook one hour, stirring occasionally.

Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the blackeyed peas.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring back to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer covered for 20 minutes.

Uncover, increase the heat to medium, and add the blackeyed peas.

Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes to allow the broth to reduce and thicken.

Turn off the heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Really great served with cornbread!

Ham, Sauerkraut and Apple Rolls

Source: kayotic kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Pounds potatoes

1 Pound sauerkraut

2 Sweet apples

8 Baked deli ham slices

2 Cups grated cheese

1 1/2 Cups milk

4 Tablespoon flour

2 oz. butter

Nutmeg or mace

Pepper

Salt

Directions:

Peel, wash and dice the potatoes. Cut bigger potatoes in four and smaller ones in half. Boil them in salted water until tender.

Peel and finely mince two smaller or 1 big sweet apple.

Drain the sauerkraut.

Heat a tiny drop of butter and sauté the apple for 3 minutes, until slightly soft.

Add the sauerkraut, sprinkle a generous amount of black pepper in there as well, combine everything, pop the lid on and simmer over really low heat. 5 minutes will do

Top each slice of ham with an ample amount of sauerkraut and roll up. Put aside.

Grate two cups of your favorite cheese, gruyere, swiss, sharp cheddar maybe for example.

As soon as your potatoes are done, drain them, return the pot to the hot burner to steam-dry them for a minute or two and transfer them to an ovenproof dish.

Heat 2 oz of butter. Sprinkle 4 tbsp all-purpose flour in there, stir and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Keep stirring.

Pour in 1 1/2 cup of milk, stir and bring to a boil. As soon as the milk heats up, the sauce will thicken. Usually this will give you the exact consistence you need, but if your sauce ends up too thick just add a little splash of milk. Simmer the sauce for 2 minutes.

Add the grated cheese, stir until it melts and season the sauce with salt, pepper and a touch of mace or nutmeg.

Spoon half the sauce over the potatoes

Place the ham, sauerkraut & apple rolls on top and spoon the other half of the sauce over the rolls.

Pop the casserole in a preheated oven and bake at 400F (200C) for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese sauce turns golden brown.

Sauerkraut Cabbage Roll Soup

Source: closetcooking.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup long grain brown rice
3 cups beef broth
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cups sauerkraut undrained
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot paprika
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
sour cream to dollop on top

Directions:
Brown the ground beef and pork and set aside draining the grease from the pan.
Heat the oil in the pan.
Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the rice and toast for a few minutes.
Add the broth and deglaze the pan.
Add the beef, tomatoes, sauerkraut, paprika, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked, about 50 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.
Serve garnished with sour cream and chopped fresh parsley.

iDRINK.com: Christmas & Holiday Recipes

If you are planning to host a Christmas party this year
you might be looking for some help to make it extra special or
at the very least more unique.  A part of most Christmas
parties is various alcoholic drinks.  Instead of just
providing (or having guests bring their own) the regular beer,
wine, rum, vodka and rye, why not create a theme around the
drinks available. 

There are various cocktails and shooters that have Christmas
theme to their names or appearance.  A quick visit to

http://www.idrink.com/christmas.html

shows more than 60 different recipe ideas with a Christmas
theme.  One idea is to setup a table with the various
ingredients for the drinks with small recipe cards and
the appropriate glasses so everyone can be their own bartender. 

Here is a sample of some recipes to try:

North Pole Cocktail

1.0 dollop  Whipped Cream
1.0 each  White Eggs
1.0 oz.  Gin
0.5 oz.  Lemon juice
0.5 oz.  Maraschino

 
Shake all ingredients (except whipped cream) with ice and strain
into a cocktail glass. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Celebration

1.0 oz  Cognac
1.0 oz  Cointreau
1.0 oz  Lemon juice
1.5 oz  Rum

Shake over ice and pour into cocktail glass. Garnish with
orange peel.

Steaming Hot Holiday Punch Recipe

3.0 cups  Apple Juice
1.5 teaspoons  ground Cinnamon
3  sticks Cinnamon
0.75 teaspoon  ground Cloves
6.0 cups  Cranberry juice
0.75 cup  Maple syrup
0.75 teaspoon  ground Nutmeg
3.0 cups  Orange juice
2.0 teaspoons  powdered Sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a very large heavy pan, except
the cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil and turn to simmer for
few minutes. You can put the ingredients in a crockpot after
it has boiled and keep warm over low heat.

iDRINK.com now has over 32000 alcoholic and non-alcoholic
recipes, making it the largest drink and cocktail recipe database
on the Web.  iDRINK.com has some unique features that make it ideal
for preparing memorable parties.  You can enter the ingredients you
have and find all the recipes you can make, the site can even tell
you what ingredient to get next to make the most new recipes. 
There are best and worst recipes to checkout along with a slew of
theme recipes and drinking games.  Searching by name of drink or
by ingredient is also easy and fun. 

The site is useful for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink
recipes.  In fact, there are currently hundreds of non-alcoholic
recipes in the database as well.  We assure you, these non-alcoholic
drink recipes are far from boring, and will definitely spark some
interest at your next party.

So pull up a browser and take a tour of iDRINK.com

Follow us on Twitter too!

http://www.twitter.com/idrinkwebsite

Calling all nut roll bakers

I hope there are some nut roll makers out there, I need some expert advice.

The hubs early-gifted me with a 5 pound bag of walnuts from Costco Friday so I could make nut rolls for him. What a thoughtful guy!

I made a deal with him that I’d add it to my already long baking list on Saturday provided he help, then I dug around for an old hand-me-down recipe from Patty — a great baker — and used annually by my mother-in-law until she announced at Thanksgiving her holiday baking days are over. No doubt one of the reasons why I ended up with the nuts.

The Kitchen-Aid with the grinder attachment made quick work grinding the nuts. I gave that job to hubs. I think they could be done in the food processor under careful supervision to make sure they don’t get ground too fine.

Before we set out to make the dough, while the filling cooled, the hubs gave his mom a call to see if she had any advice.

She said don’t knead the dough too much, it makes the dough tough. She advised we roll the dough out no larger than pie pan size. And she said don’t let the nut rolls rise too long before baking them, maybe a half hour.

Since the dough makes six nut rolls, to cut out some of the kneading work, I pulled out the bread machine and kept an eye on it so I could remove it as soon as it formed a nice smooth dough.

Then came the fun part with the hubs. He manned the filling, I did the rolling. Unbaked they looked wonderful. We did as instructed, but six rolls would not fit in the oven at the same time, so there were two that had to sit out longer.

Here’s the reason why I need some help from any and all of you nut roll makers out there. Each and every one of them burst open and the filling ran out. They were delicious, but far from pretty. When they cooled there were air pockets between the bread and filling. And mom-in-law said the bread would rise in the oven when it baked — it did not. There appear to be no layers between the nut filling, if you catch my drift.

So, I’m providing Patty’s recipe. And I hope some of you who have never made nut rolls before decide to give them a try, because whether or not it breaks open, they do taste yummy. And I also hope to get e-mails from you nut roll bakers out there to give me helpful hints or your recipes.

The hubs says we just have to keep on making them until we figure it out. He’s already asking when I want to give it another go since we gave most of the ones we made away.

I’m also providing another recipe I found posted online several years ago belonging to a Sophia Saliwonczyk touted as a nut-roll baker extraordinaire.

One big difference I see between the two recipes is Sophia makes six nut rolls with 2 pounds of ground walnuts, while Patty uses 3 pounds, which makes for more filling. Sophia makes six rolls with more flour and other ingredients than Patty’s. Even so, Patty’s nut rolls always were picture perfect. That’s what I want to produce.

E-mail me at sulbrich@freedomenc.com. I’ll post your comments, recipes, whatever I receive on my blog at http://dinnerandadeal.freedomblogging.com/ I look forward to hearing from many of you.

Merry Christmas.

Patty’s Nut Rolls

Makes 6 rolls

Ingredients and instructions to make filling

3 pounds walnuts

3 Cups sugar

1 1/2 Cups milk

2 sticks butter

1/2 Cup honey

3 eggs, beaten

Grind the nuts. In a large pot, combine all the ingredients and heat, stirring. Bring to a slight boil, being careful to continue to stir so the bottom does not burn. Let stand to completely cool before proceeding with dough.

Ingredients and instructions for dough

4 packages dry yeast

1 Cup lukewarm water

1 Cup Crisco

6 Tablespoons sugar

8 egg yolks

1 Cup sour cream

6 Cups all-purpose flour

Stir together yeast and water. In a mixer, mix the Crisco, egg yolks and sour cream together. In a large bowl combine salt, sugar, flour, add sour cream mixture and yeast mixture and begin to work together until you have a smooth dough.

Cut into six balls and let rest for 15 minutes.

Assembly

Roll each ball out to pie pan size on a lightly floured board. Spread with one-sixth of the filling, leaving a thin margin all around, then roll up and tuck in ends.

Place on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet – I strongly suggest parchment paper here.

Let stand in a warm place until almost double in size — not what mother-in-law suggested.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Before placing in preheated oven brush each roll lightly with an egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Sophia Saliwonczyk’s Nut Rolls

Makes 6 Nut Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pound butter, softened

1 cup vegetable shortening

8 cups all-purpose flour

2 ounces compressed yeast

3/4 cup warm water

2 (16-ounce) containers sour cream

8 large egg yolks, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

8 large egg whites

1 tablespoon rum extract

4 cups brown sugar

2 pounds ground walnuts

Egg wash (2 eggs beaten with 2 teaspoons sugar)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine butter, vegetable shortening and flour as for pie dough.

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream, egg yolks and salt. Mix until well combined.

Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and, using hands, blend until dough is smooth and soft and no longer sticks to hands or pan. Add as little extra flour as necessary. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Make the filling by beating the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff. Gradually add sugar and walnuts. If mixture is too thick to spread, add a little milk.

Divide dough into 6 portions. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness on pastry cloth. Spread 1/6 of filling over each portion of dough to cover evenly. Pick up edge of cloth nearest you and roll dough away from you. Pinch the ends. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place three rolls each on large parchment-lined cookie sheets.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cover nut rolls lightly and let rise for at least 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash. Bake 1 hour or until brown.

When rolls are thoroughly cooled, they may be wrapped in foil to freeze if desired.