Showing posts with label Passover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passover. Show all posts

Thursday, March 21, 2013

No Raisin Kugel

2 Manishevitz wide egg noodle bags
1/2 stick butter
1 cup cottage cheese (lowfat or full)
1 cup sour cream (lowfat or full)
5 eggs
Craisins, Dried Cherries or any others
Brown sugar- to taste
Cinammon- to taste

Cut recipe in half for less people. This will feed 10 easily.

Step 1
Boil and strain the noodles
Step 2
Put ingredients in hot noodles and stir until there are no clumps
Step 4
Place in an oven-safe pan (you can throw some cinnamon and sugar on top if you want) and place in oven at 350°F for 30-45  min.  Take out and refrigerate.

Israeli Salad

Ingredients
Sliced Tomato
Sliced Cucumber
Chopped Onion
Juice of 2 lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh herbs (whatever you like- basil, parsley)
Salt and Pepper
Celery (optional)

Find a pretty bowl and mix everything together.

Matzah Ball Soup

4 celery stalks
4 whole sliced carrots (width)
2 Onions
1 whole chicken
2 tbspns olive oil
Chopped Garlic (or Shallots)
All the herbs and seasonings you can find:
       Paprika, rosemary, thyme, parsley, dill, cilantro, chicken seasoning, spicy seasoning, salt and pepper, etc.
Matzah Meal
Eggs

Step 1:
Grab the soup pot to sauté the garlic, celery, carrots, half the herbs and onions in the olive oil.  Season however you want… preferably with as many fresh herbs you can find. Leave on for about 5 or 10 min before adding the chicken to braise for 4 minutes on each side. 
Step 2:
Add water to the pan in the amount of soup you want and let it cook at a rolling boil on medium for about 2 hours.  Don’t put too much salt in the pot before its done cooking… the soup becomes more condensed as the time passes.  Add whatever you want at the end as far as spices and salt goes. Add salt a little at a time.
Step 3: remove the chicken from the pot and separate the meat from the bones. Put the meat back in the soup. If you have a way to keep the bones separate then keep them in the soup for as long as possible for more flavor.
Step 3:
Grab a small pan to sauté garlic (or scallions) and herbs in the other 1/2 stick of butter/m
Step 4:
Make the Matzah Balls as instructed on the Matzah Meal box.  Roll the balls in the herbs to cover before placing in the soup pot.

Charoset

6 Chopped Apples
6 Chopped Dates
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
Manishevitz Wine- 1 cup
Brown Sugar- 1handful
Chopped Walnuts- half a bag
Cinnamon- to taste

Throw it all together, mix really well and let it sit as long as possible!!  Add or subtract anything to your liking (except for apples, its kind of a requirement).

I pulled this meaning from here:

"On a surface level, charoset is present on the Seder plate to represent the mortar the Hebrews needed to work with during their enslavement, as the Hagadah states, “They embittered the Jews’ lives with hard labor in brick and mortar.

 However, on a deeper level, the purpose of charoset is as a commemoration of the spiritual redemption bestowed upon the Israelites when God redeemed them from Egypt. This is not simply because the sweetness of the charoset turns the mortar it represents from something negative to something positive (which is how I interpreted it). As explained in the article “The Liturgy of the First Night of Passover,” there is a connection between the paschal lamb and charoset. While still in Egypt, God commanded the Hebrews to sprinkle the blood of the paschal lamb on their doorposts so that He would not kill their firstborn; this was to be a sign for all future generations. However, because Jews loathe blood, this was amended, and today we eat charoset as a reminder of blood, according to the Palestinian Talmud. This is why charoset is made with wine: because wine is referred to in Genesis 49:11 as the “blood of grapes.” We substitute the blood of a lamb for the blood of grapes, mixed with chopped fruit and nuts.
There are also other distinctive aspects of charoset that have symbolism worth noting:
  • Sephardim often puree the chopped fruit and nut mixture to get the consistency as close to cement as possible.
  • Charoset is the only element of the Seder plate that is not mentioned in the Torah; it is from the Talmud, where the link between charoset and mortar is established. Additionally, R. Jacob gives detailed instructions on how to make charoset properly in Hilchot Pesach. Of course, this is not the required prescription (as evidenced by the plethora of charoset recipes accessible on this website).
  • When eaten with the horseradish, the charoset balances the bitterness of the maror (horseradish), symbolizing the optimism of the Passover seder.
  • The cinnamon in charoset is symbolic of the straw Hebrews had to gather in Egypt to build Pharaoh’s palaces (when considering the cinnamon in its stick form).
  • Shir Hashirim, which we read during Passover, sings praise to the fruits of Israel that are in season in Spring, so we eat charoset in the spirit of the season, and in thanks to God.