Tag Archives: holidays

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Vegan Cholent (Crockpot Stew)

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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 →

Three Kinds of Charoset 2024

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At our upcoming Passover seders to be held on Monday and Tuesday nights this coming week, we will be serving a number of different kinds of charoset (kha-ROE-set). In addition to our traditional apples-and-walnuts charoset that I make each and every year, we’ll be serving two other truly extraordinary charoset recipes. I want to share for a moment that my mom and my Grandma Rosie actually taught me to make charoset in a large wooden chopping bowl (such a special memory), a bowl that continued to hold a place of honor in my parents’ house for many, many years after Grandma Rosie was gone. Things go much faster now with the food processor, though I always process each ingredient separately almost to the desired consistency, and then add them all back together for a big stir with a big fork. Otherwise you are likely to get fruit-nut spread, which is a different recipe entirely.  Continue reading →

Slow Living & Horseradish

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A few years ago I received a message from a friend asking if I knew where she could find some fresh horseradish. Now, as it happened, I had planted a horseradish root, a left over from our Seder plate, a few years prior. Then I had forgotten about it completely until I got her message. So I happened to know the answer to her question. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Salmon Soup

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I posted this recipe once a long time ago, but it’s such an elegant recipe that I wanted to share it again for all my readers who had not yet seen it. Not only is it a warm and beautiful color, perfect for the cold weather, but it is also a wonderful addition to the menu for friends whose celebrations include the custom of eating many different kinds of fish on Christmas Eve. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Good Brownies

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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: The Season for Cholent (Crockpot Stew, vegan/GF)

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This weekend I made our first cholent of the season for Sukkot, the fall harvest festival. We ate it inside our beautiful sukkah, built mostly by my husband, but this year with the help —for the first time — of our very young grandchildren. Cholent warms you from the inside out in chilly weather, and then, just little while later, it is gone.

I have made cholent (a crockpot stew traditionally served on holidays and Shabbat) a thousand times or more in my life, and no two versions have ever come out exactly the same. But, like riding a bike, there is a rhythm to the recipe, and once you get the rhythm, it belongs to you for the rest of your life. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Soup for the Holidays

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In the days when my house was full of school-age children, I used to make crockpots full of soup every weekend, and hope that it would last into the beginning of the following week to provide warm lunches or dinners until it was gone. I don’t make weekly crockpots anymore, but I still love using my crockpot to make soup in the fall, around the holidays, and in the early spring, before the weather begins to warm up.

This time of year, with the nights cooling and plenty of holidays on the calendar, it’s always a great feeling to fill the crockpot and see what develops. And it doesn’t have to be chicken thighs. You can also fill your crockpot with beans! An overnight crockpot fills the house with a sublime perfume, the stomach with a delicious and satisfying meal, and the hearts of those you feed with all kinds of warm and cozy feelings. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Cauliflower Latkes

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At our house, the ingredients for potato latkes have been collected on the kitchen counter, and our guests will begin to arrive around 4:30. It’s hard to imagine getting tired of potato latkes, but here’s a recipe for something a little different that you may be excited to try later this week if and when you’re ready for a change. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Citrus Edamame Salad

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You are in for a treat this week, but not that kind of treat. This salad is fantastic on its own, in a scooped out tomato, alongside a slice of butternut squash, or on a bed of greens or grains (quinoa, whole wheat pasta, or brown rice, for example). You can spoon some into the bottom of a Ball jar to start building a to-go lunch for work or school, and it makes a wonderfully colorful addition to a large festive serving platter covered in fruit slices, dips, pickled veggies, crackers, chunks of cheese, smoked fish, and the like. And did I mention how great the leftovers taste? It’s packed with flavor, protein, phytonutrients, nourishing fats, and fiber: in other words, it’s the whole package. Enjoy! Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Weekend After Thanksgiving Soup

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This recipe is perfect for getting back on track after Thanksgiving. It will take most of the day to cook, but just 10 minutes to throw together. Some years we actually start it while we’re cleaning up, and leave it to cook slowly all night long. Except for the scallions and ginger, there’s a good chance you already have all the other ingredients. The only labor-intensive part of this recipe is the time spent looking through the bones for bits of meat. But don’t feel the need to go looking for every last piece. Whatever you have will be enough. If you don’t see much turkey on the carcass, that’s fine too. Since most of the flavor comes from the bones themselves, the broth will be delicious whether or not the bones are stripped clean. Continue reading →