Review: Mayim’s Rainbow Cabbage Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing

As you read in this blog - Review: Mayim's Vegan Table - Kosher Hubby and I each selected a recipe we wanted to make out of Mayim's new cookbook to review. This is the one Kosher Hubby chose. He wanted something without pasta, bread, potatoes, etc. We just don't have those items in our diet, or at least very often. He chose this because he enjoys cabbage salad and thought it would be a great addition to our dinner. If you want to see my choice, it is here - Review: Mayim's Shepherd's Pie.Again here, she says it serves 4 people but it lasted for more than a week in our fridge. Know your tahini... we selected a common, Kosher brand and I found the flavor overpowering and ... not great. I've had tahini before and enjoy it. I did not enjoy this particular product. Kosher Hubby (KH) added his own flare and flavoring to the dressing.[ingredients]Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Using a rimmed baking sheet, toast the seeds for 8 to 10 minutes, watching closely. You can also use a toaster oven until the seeds start to darken, or sauté them without oil in a small pan until they brown and become fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Boil 8 cups of water while you chop the cabbage. Slice the cabbage in half through the stem. Slice each half in half again and chop roughly.
3. Place the chopped cabbage into a strainer over your sink and pour the boiling water over it. Rinse quickly with cold water. Dry the cabbage roughly with a (dark-colored) hand towel or in a salad spinner.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the celery, pepper, cabbage, shaved carrots, and parsley.
5. Place all the dressing ingredients in a blender (tahini, garlic, lemon, and cayenne). Add enough water to make a dressing consistency.
6. Add the dressing to the cabbage salad just before serving.

It was tasty and KH really enjoyed it. The strong tahini flavor really made it hard for me. We had some that wasn't quite dressed and I enjoyed it. Again I will say this here... I know that ethically, Mayim (and her co-author Dr. Jay Gordon) don't believe in eating animals and you can eat healthily without any type of animal products. We don't agree. In the Kosher, She Eats kitchen, meat is a very vital and central piece of the puzzle. We are really big animal protein people. I respect their views, I just don't agree with them. I found this dish to be another great parve side dish option for a dairy or meat meal.** Disclosure: I received this cookbook for free but I was not compensated for this or any posts related to Mayim's Vegan Table. Additionally, Mayim is a personal friend but that did not come into account while reviewing this cookbook. **

Review: Mayim's Shepherd's Pie

As you read in this blog - Review: Mayim's Vegan Table - Kosher Hubby and I each selected a recipe we wanted to make out of Mayim's new cookbook to review. This is the one I chose. I got really excited because for a long time, I thought Shepherd's Pie would probably be a delicious dish but it was never Kosher (since most include ground beef and dairy). Mayim's recipe offered me the opportunity to try something I couldn't before.She says it serves four. It lasted more than a week in our house (granted there were only two of us). We halved the potatoes because we don't eat much white starchy foods in the Kosher, She Eats kitchen. It still covered the whole dish and we found ourselves eating the goodies under the potatoes. I also did not use the vegan margarine... I just couldn't bring myself to buy it when I knew I wouldn't use it again or often. VERY surprisingly, the mashed potatoes still were tasty without it.Other adjustments? Like I said, we halved the recipe for the mashed potatoes section. We couldn't find canned lentils so we bought some store brand, dried red lentils. They didn't need to soak, just be throughly rinsed and boiled. We were just unsure what the conversion would be between dry lentils and the can... we did about a cup, it could have taken some more. Also, I recommend prepping all the ingredients PRIOR to getting started. It will just help, things move pretty quickly.[ingredients]Preparation:

1. Prepare the potatoes:
   1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a 9-inch baking pan with the cooking spray.
   2. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender; about 29 minutes. Drain, return them to the pot, and mash.
   3. Place the nondairy milk and margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the margarine has melted. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper, and then add to the mashed potatoes and stir well until incorporated.
2. In a large pan over high heat, heat the oil and sauté the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic until soft, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the Italian seasoning and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the lentils, peas, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and remaining teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes.(I recommend combining the Worcestershire sauce and mustard in a bowl and mixing. It got a little lumpy and I was afraid of pockets of mustard.)
5. Pour into the prepared pan and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden.

This reheats really nicely and is very tasty cold too. I ate it nearly every day for a week after we made it and enjoyed it each time! However, she uses this as a main dish. It just wouldn't fly in our house. We are really big animal protein people. I know that ethically, Mayim (and her co-author Dr. Jay Gordon) don't believe in eating animals and you can eat healthily without any type of animal products. We don't agree. In the Kosher, She Eats kitchen, meat is a very vital and central piece of the puzzle. I respect their views, I just don't agree with them. I found this dish to be a great parve option for a dairy or meat meal.** Disclosure: I received this cookbook for free but I was not compensated for this or any posts related to Mayim's Vegan Table. Additionally, Mayim is a personal friend but that did not come into account while reviewing this cookbook. **

Winter Soup

Well. It's cold. No doubt about that. So today, Hubby and I decided to make a yummy minestrone soup. Actually what happened was, Hubby wanted to make a butternut squash gratin (yes, recipe coming) and I remembered a recent recipe from Real Simple for a minestrone soup with butternut squash. Perfect pair for dinner!Please forgive the lack of pictures... the Kosher, She Eats kitchen was NOT clean enough to get any good pics. I promise we will have some new ones for you the next time we make this!Of course, nothing in the Kosher, She Eats kitchen could be simple... We don't eat pasta or bread (regularly) plus we wanted to use what we grew/had canned in season so we adjusted the original recipe. Here is our version of the Winter Minestrone. One thing... I totally 'free-handed' this recipe... do what feels right. I love carrots in soups so I added more. If you love beans, add beans or squash or whatever!Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 half pint (8oz) jar of homemade tomato sauce (yes, you can use canned... but NOT PASTA SAUCE, actual tomato sauce... we will get you canning next season. It's easy!)
• Some butternut squash, cut into 1-inch pieces (The other recipe calls for a small squash... I didn't have that much since we were using it mainly for the gratin.)
• 6-7 medium carrots, chopped
• Some green beans (we used a sandwich bag of green beans we had frozen during the season. If you do not have this luxury, grab some frozen ones at the store. They are usually flash frozen at the peak of the season.)
• 2 15-ounce cans navy beans, rinsed (or pinto, or kidney... whatever bean you want... I wouldn't do black beans though... personal preference. Also... I forgot to rinse mine and the world kept spinning.)
• Vegetable stock
• 1 3-inch piece Parmesan rind (optional), plus grated Parmesan for serving
• 1/2 Savoy cabbage, chopped

Preparation:

1. Before you start... get a big soup pot. Don't do this step in a frying pan... keep the flavors in there! Okay, heat some olive oil in your SOUP POT. (I say vociferously because at first I didn't then switched pans... don't bother to get that frying pan dirty.) Add the onion, about ¾ teaspoon salt, and about ¼ teaspoon pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, until soft and nearly translucent (about 8 to 10 minutes).
2. Add the tomatoes and their juices as well as your tomato sauce to the pot with the onions. Simmer until thickened (about 6 to 8 minutes... I left it on a bit longer as I was prepping the other ingredients).
3. Add squash, carrots, beans, green beans, 8(ish) cups vegetable stock, and Parmesan rind, if desired, and bring to a boil. Then turn it down to a simmer, stirring occasionally. You want the vegetables to get tender. This could take about 20 to 25 minutes, however, since I put mine up early in the afternoon, I kept it on a low simmer for more than an hour. I let the veggies get soft and even added some more vegetable stock to bring it to the right soup-y-ness.
   1. NOTE: If you added the Parmesan rind (which I totally recommend trying, if you are serving a dairy meal) continually taste the soup. The rind really imparts A LOT of flavor and you might want to take it out before the cooking time is up. We left it in for maybe 30 minutes.
4. About 30 minutes or so before you plan to  serve the soup, add cabbage. Simmer until the cabbage isn't too crunchy.
5. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

Ok, like I said, we were a little loosey goosey about this recipe. And it totally worked. I put it up around 3 and we ate it around 6:30. It stayed warm the whole time but make sure the liquid doesn't boil out!! It really didn't take long to prep and made everything smell great while we were cleaning our house. After I put the soup up, we had extra butternut squash (from the gratin) and we threw it in. Also, the first night we ate this, the cabbage had a bit of a crunch to it (delish!) but at subsequent "eatings" the cabbage was less crunchy (surprisingly still delish)!If you don't use the rind or top with Parm, this is a great parve soup. And it's fabulous as a dairy soup as well!One last tip for you... Start with one bowl. We got so excited the first night we each ate two... and the rest of our dinners which left us totally over stuffed! This soup is SUPER filling.Enjoy!Kosherly yours,Kosher T & Kosher Hubby

Cauliflower Tabouli

For our first culinary adventure of our married life, we decided to make Cauliflower Tabouli during Passover. It was delish, tasted like the real thing and much healthier for us! This is our own, made up recipe based on ideas we saw around the web. Here's how to do it:Ingredients:

• Full head of cauliflower
• One bunch of parsley
• Half of a cucumber
• One tomato
• Zest from half of one lemon
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Zatar to taste (optional but recommended)

Preparation:

1. Break apart the cauliflower, removing the greens and breaking the florets into small chunks. Then wash the florets.
2. In small batches, put the cauliflower into the food processor and pulse them until they look roughly like couscous. (AKA: are broken down into small pieces.) Don't over pulse them... you don't want mush, just tiny pieces.
3. Over a medium heat, in a non-stick pan, heat some olive oil and toss a batch of cauliflower on the heat. You can salt it here if you would like.
4. Cook for just a few minutes, tasting every so often until the cauliflower is partially cooked.Again, you don't want mush, you still want a bit of a crunch but not raw.
5. Once all the cauliflower is cooked, set aside. You can serve this dish warm or cold but I preferred it cold. So let the cauliflower rest and cool while you prepare the rest of the dish.
6. Dice the cucumber into small chunks and set aside.
7. Slice the tomato in half. Since we don't want this dish to be too "wet," I recommend scooping the seeds and juice out of the center then dicing the tomato. Set aside.
8. Take a bunch of parsley and wash thoroughly. Roll it up, and chop it.
   • Talia, what do you mean "roll it up and chop it?"
   1. • Well, remove the leaves from the stems. Once you have the leafy matter separate, literally roll it up into a little tube like object.
      • Once it is rolled up, start chopping from end to end. Be careful of your fingers!
      • Do a final chop of any big leaves that missed the knife before but this should take care of most of it.
9. Now, combine the cauliflower, cucumber, tomato, and parsley into a medium size bowl.
10. Mix them together and taste. Feel free to add more of any ingredient.
11. Season with lemon zest, olive oil, salt, pepper, and zatar.
12. Keep tasting until you get the proportions perfect. It is a personal taste situation.
13. Top with some lemon zest, olive oil, zatar and serve.

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Homemade Half-Sour Pickles

This year, we planted a garden filled with all of my favorite vegetables... turns out, most of my favorites are viners  and prickly!

We have had lots of squash and cucumbers and tomatoes. With this extra produce, we decided to play with pickling and in particular, make our own pickles! We both spent a lot of time on the East Coast and LOVE our half-sours! Here is the recipe we used/made up. Try them with some farmer's market cucs and then next year, grow your own! :)

What kind of cucumbers did we use? We grew the typical small pickling cucs and our plot neighbors were growing salt and pepper cucumbers. Since we were plot sitting for them (watering and picking) we ended up with several of different kinds of cucumbers. As for pickles, Dan liked the small green cucumbers we grew best and I liked the lighter salt and pepper cucs better as pickles. We may even explore pickling lemon cucumbers next! Pick them when they are small and if you are buying them, the younger the better. Larger ones taste very different and sometimes you have to skin them.Never heard of a half-sour pickle? Oh I am SO SORRY for you!! These little guys are DELISH!  John Thorne (The Dill Crock, 1984) describes half-sours as "cucumbers still, not pickles-little cucumbers who died and gone to heaven."  It's so true! They are mild and perfect!

Here's our method:

Please note: our recipe is super free form. You can make a small batch or large. The only thing that is relatively exact is the salt...

Talia and Dan's Half-Sours

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt

• Coriander seeds

• Black peppercorns

• One bay leaf

• Garlic cloves

• Dill (stalks, flowers, and leaf)

• Cucumbers

• Water

• Optional: A fresh grape leaf

Directions:

1. Find a jar that fits the number of cucumbers you want to make. You can continue to add cucumbers in later if you want. Note: If you want to eat them half-sour —> plan to eat most in two weeks. The longer they sit, the more pickled they will become.

2. Place the pickles in the jar and cover them with cool water. Yes they will float but push them down and see how much water it needs to just cover all the cucs.

3. Then measure the water you put in. We did this by pouring the water out into a measuring cup.

4. You will need approx two tablespoons of kosher salt per liter of water. Don't be afraid to add a little more or less... just play!

5. Once you have measured out your salt, dissolve it in hot water. This makes it easier for the salt to work.

6. Now that it is dissolved, DON'T PUT IT ON THE CUCUMBERS! Whoah! Why the yelling, Talia? Because I don't want you to have mushy pickles! We like them nice and crunchy and the warm water will make them soft. Okay, now that we have calmed down, put some ice in that hot, salty water and cool it off.

7. While it is cooling off throw the rest of the ingredients on top of the cucumbers in the jar.

   • Throw some coriander seeds in the jar... It is a great flavor but should be secondary so don’t go overboard.

   • Put some black peppercorns in the jar also. Again, don't go crazy.

   • Toss a bay leaf on there. You can crack it in half first but Dan says just toss it in.

   • Two or three garlic cloves for a small jar, six or seven for a large jar (depends on how garlicky you want your pickles). You can cut them in half first if you want.

   • Dill time. Dill + cucumbers + salt = the flavor you love in pickles! So I recommend getting fresh, smelly dill from a farmers market or grow your own. If you can get the stalks and flowers in addition to the typical dill leaves (the stringy things you think of as dill), your pickles will be very happy. The stronger the dill smells, the better! Put half a head of flowers in a small jar or a head or two in a large one. Break some stalks into the jar and add the leaves.

8. The water should be cool by now so pour the salt water in and then fill the jar with cool/cold water. Remember how many cups you put in before? Yes, same number. It should just cover the cucumbers.

9. If you are using a large jar and the cucumbers won't stay submerged, place a glass or bowl in the water to help keep them down.

10. Let them sit on the counter for two-ish days. By the second day you should see some bubbles forming on surfaces in the jar and the water should start to be cloudy. This is GOOD! After two days, take one out and try it. Once the water is pretty cloudy, put them in the refrigerator. This slows the process down.

11. Enjoy!

This is a total experiment and eat project. Have no fear if they don't come out perfect... they continue to pickle as the days go on. But don't leave them out of the fridge too long or you will end up with full sours... unless you want full sours!

Let me know how yours come out!

---

2020 update:

We have been making this recipe now for 8 years and they work amazingly well. We put up 10-15 jars a year and eat them all year long!

Carrot-Ginger Soup

After all that cheese and dairy, it's time for something soothing and hearty. I made this soup for my boyfriend this weekend. He was coming home from a trip to London and Paris and I thought he might enjoy something simple but hearty. The ginger was an added bonus to help settle his stomach if the flight was rough. I know when I travel, I don't always feel like eating something heavy. This is a fairly simple recipe and I can't even remember where it came from, an online recipe site, but I did add my own spicing to it.I'm going to remind you, read the recipe all the way through before you start. Trust me, I've made that mistake before and I have some tips at the end.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
• 2 tsp coriander seeds*
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• dash salt and pepper, to taste
• Nutmeg, cloves, chili powder/cayenne pepper - optional

Preparation:

1. First thing, I started to make this mistake, prep all your vegetables before you start the recipe. Chop your onions, carrots and mince your ginger. Have them ready in prep bowls before you start sauteing the onions.
2. In a large soup pot, cook the onions in margarine until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrots, ginger and coriander seeds* and cook, stirring for a few more minutes.
3. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a low simmer. Cover and cook for at least 25 minutes, or until carrots are very soft. (This was about 50 minutes for me... but make sure you aren't boiling off the liquid too much)
4. Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree, working in batches if needed. I did not blend it into oblivion. I left it a touch chunky.
5. Add a dash of salt and pepper and other spices. Serve hot, re-heating if necessary.

After I had blended the soup, I started playing with spices. It can be a bit bland so I added nutmeg and just the smallest dash of cloves. Too much cloves will make it almost sweet. I added a dash of spice with the chili powder (or you can use ground cayenne pepper). Again, be careful - it is easy to over-season and you DO have the ginger in there. It comes out with a nice bite but tastes good.*I could not find coriander seeds where I was shopping so I used ground coriander. I added a bit when I added the carrots to the onions but put more in after the blending.The key is to taste the whole way through. You can also add white potatoes or sweet potatoes if you want some more starch in it.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

After all that cheese and dairy, it's time for something soothing and hearty. I made this soup for my boyfriend this weekend. He was coming home from a trip to London and Paris and I thought he might enjoy something simple but hearty. The ginger was an added bonus to help settle his stomach if the flight was rough. I know when I travel, I don't always feel like eating something heavy. This is a fairly simple recipe and I can't even remember where it came from, an online recipe site, but I did add my own spicing to it.I'm going to remind you, read the recipe all the way through before you start. Trust me, I've made that mistake before and I have some tips at the end.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
• 2 tsp coriander seeds*
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• dash salt and pepper, to taste
• Nutmeg, cloves, chili powder/cayenne pepper - optional

Preparation:

1. First thing, I started to make this mistake, prep all your vegetables before you start the recipe. Chop your onions, carrots and mince your ginger. Have them ready in prep bowls before you start sauteing the onions.
2. In a large soup pot, cook the onions in margarine until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrots, ginger and coriander seeds* and cook, stirring for a few more minutes.
3. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a low simmer. Cover and cook for at least 25 minutes, or until carrots are very soft. (This was about 50 minutes for me... but make sure you aren't boiling off the liquid too much)
4. Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree, working in batches if needed. I did not blend it into oblivion. I left it a touch chunky.
5. Add a dash of salt and pepper and other spices. Serve hot, re-heating if necessary.

After I had blended the soup, I started playing with spices. It can be a bit bland so I added nutmeg and just the smallest dash of cloves. Too much cloves will make it almost sweet. I added a dash of spice with the chili powder (or you can use ground cayenne pepper). Again, be careful - it is easy to over-season and you DO have the ginger in there. It comes out with a nice bite but tastes good.*I could not find coriander seeds where I was shopping so I used ground coriander. I added a bit when I added the carrots to the onions but put more in after the blending.The key is to taste the whole way through. You can also add white potatoes or sweet potatoes if you want some more starch in it.

Let the kosher adventures begin - Black Bean Salad

Okay folks, let's start with something simple. How about a parve salad alternative for your shabbis table? I love this recipe. I discovered it on my new obsession, Pinterest. I have altered it slightly for my tastes and through trial and error. This is a great fresh dish and packed with protein.

Black bean and avocado salad

Serving Size: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 ears fresh corn, cooked, cooled and kernels cut off the cob (Frozen corn works very well for this when corn is out of season. Use one 10 oz package to equal the fresh corn.)
• Handful of yellow cherry tomatoes (I like these because they are fresh and crunchy. You can sub other tomatoes or peppers here)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots (approx one medium shallot)
• 2 teaspoons salt (Be very careful on this measurement. It can easily get over salty! I recommend starting with less and working up. You can always salt to taste.)
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (Be very careful on this measurement. It can easily get over spiced!)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 7  ish tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I usually free pour.)
• 6 ish tablespoons fresh lime juice (I also usually free squeeze.)
• 1 teaspoon lime zest (Zest limes before juicing them.)
• 2 avocados, diced

InstructionsThere are two ways to do this. Method one is very proper... great for shabbat (toss the avocados in before serving) and the second method is how I usually do it... less concern for the mashing. Number 1 will give you pretty results. Number 2 is ready right away.

1. Combine all ingredients except avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a few sprigs of freshly chopped cilantro if desired. (That is never desired in my house! We aren't cilantro fans.) Serve at room temperature.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, leaving avocados for last, and mix well. Serve right away. Store leftovers in an airtight container (I prefer glass) in the fridge and serve later. The flavors will continue to meld the longer it sits. Serve at room temperature.

Thanks to OnceUponAChef.com for the original recipe and the inspiration.