I have learned, mostly over years of reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows with my dad (of blessed memory), that one way to make spices really bloom is to heat them briefly in some olive oil. Last month, I made shakshuka for my entire book group, and I did not skimp one bit on the spices called for in the recipe. A double recipe of this shakshuka meant 4 teaspoons of sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of the Serrano chili powder I discovered the last time I was in Napa. I mixed together all the spices and, when it was time, I slid them into the frying pan along with five cloves worth of chopped garlic. Continue reading
Category Archives: Eggs
Cooking with Spice and Heat
I have learned, mostly over years of reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows with my dad (of blessed memory), that one way to make spices really bloom is to heat them briefly in some olive oil. This past Monday, I made shakshuka for my entire book group, and I did not skimp one bit on the spices. A double recipe of this shakshuka translated to 4 teaspoons of sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of the Serrano chili powder I was lucky to discover the last time I was in Napa. Continue reading
Scoop at the Coop: First Eggs! 2025
When our most recent flock of chicks was brand new this past August, we kept them under a heat lamp to maintain their body heat. We were able to wean them from the heat lamp by the time they were about 6 weeks old. But in January, during the recent nationwide cold snap, we made a decision to turn the heat lamp back on. I think it was the low of minus six degrees that did it.
The girls stayed close together, cuddling and fluffing up their feathers to insulate themselves and conserve energy. I could also see that they were eating more food than usual. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Vegan Cholent (Crockpot Stew)
A happy reprise of my seasonal fall cholent recipe, from when my dad was still here to enjoy it with us:
This past week, I made a version of this recipe for the first night of Sukkot, the fall harvest festival, and we ate it inside our beautiful sukkah that my husband built last week. It warmed us from the inside out in the chilly weather. And then it was gone, I mean really GONE, just a few hours later. Even my father, who said “I don’t like cholent,” ate a huge bowlful and said he changed his mind. Please make a note of that. Continue reading
Scoop at the Coop Returns!
About 15 years ago we built a small chicken coop in the backyard, and our first three hens, Hamburgs, were delivered to Cleveland soon after, all the way from my parents’ New Jersey farm. They were followed by a couple of Golden Buffs from a nearby farm in Middlefield, Ohio.
We enjoyed our hens, their antics, and their eggs, and I told many stories in this blog about them in posts identified with the title “Scoop at the Coop.” After a few years, we expanded the coop to include an area with an overhang plus two long pens. With room for a few more hens, we (and friends) enjoyed an endless supply of gorgeous eggs. Continue reading
The Zen of One Fried Egg
This is one of my favorite old posts. Last fall, my sister came to Cleveland for a visit and for the wedding of an old friend’s daughter, and I enjoyed seeing the smile on her face as she mentioned this post from years back. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking about reposting it. In honor of my sister, and in memory of the chickens we used to have before a few raccoons and other wild things destroyed our coop one miserable day a few years back, I repost it here today. We are hoping to get our coop back on line this year so that we can resume telling stories about our chickens. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Good Brownies
We are going to a neighborhood holiday cookie party this afternoon, and so I decided to share an idea for something sweet and delicious.
A lot of people think that the only sweet food I eat is fruit. While it is true that I almost never eat items containing ingredients that I would categorize as “food-like,” such as high-fructose corn syrup, white flour, or maltodextrin, I definitely enjoy my share of desserts. For example, I have made peanut butter cups from quality dark chocolate and organic peanut butter (one ingredient — peanuts) that are sublime. And this past week I stopped in at Fantasy Candies to buy some holiday gifts, and I picked up some pecan chocolate bark for myself. That was also pretty yummy.
So yes, I, too, love recipes like these. The ingredients are all real food, all nutritious, and the results turn out way more delicious than any product wrapped in cellophane. Besides that, you can feel really good about feeding this to people you love. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Potato Kugel, Lebanese style
My dear friend Judith, an exceptionally talented cook, has once again outdone herself. This recipe is her version of potato kugel, loosely translated as “pudding,” though more Yorkshire than chocolate. Potato kugel was a mainstay of my childhood. Continue reading
Real Breakfasts for All You Champions
Last week I wrote about the sorry story of how boxed cereals came to predominate morning choices for breakfast; this week I’m sharing some of my own breakfast choices. The first thing I am going to point out is that my breakfasts do not differ significantly from other meals I eat through the day. That is to say, I don’t keep a separate list of breakfast options from lunch and dinner options. While I would say that I probably eat less spicy stuff at breakfast time, it’s more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule, as you will see.
A major category of breakfasts in my house is the leftovers I find in the refrigerator, with or without a little extra something. So it could be that I heat up a bowl of leftover stir-fried vegetables, and that might be enough by itself, but I might also add some leftover rice if there is any. Or maybe I will fry an egg and slide it on top, or melt a slice of cheese (vegan for me) on top. Continue reading
Grandma Rosie Hits a Home Run (the holidays are coming!)
Today I want to share a recipe that is a wellspring of memories. The women, the teamwork, the heavenly aromas, the busy kitchen, the arriving family, the great big table, the special dishes, the silver. And the food. Simple recipes with amazing flavor. Here is my Grandma Rosie’s recipe for vegetarian chopped liver, which she made the way her own grandma did, with a wooden bowl and mezzaluna. If you’ll be using a food processor instead, which is probably the case, read to the very end for those instructions.
I have exceptionally fond memories of sitting at the kitchen table with the grownups while they worked to prepare the food, listening wide-eyed as they debated the relative merits of various ingredients and their provenance, chattered about errant siblings, and bragged about their above-average children and grandchildren. I remember feeling very grown up when I was finally old enough to take a place in the lineup. When my chopping arm got too tired to continue, I would pass the bowl, usually to my mother, an aunt, or one of my grandmothers. Continue reading