Cauliflower soup : מרק כרובית

אני עדיין באויר. החיים שלי מניו יורק ארוזים בארגזים, עושים דרכם באוניה בדרך לישראל. החיים שלי בישראל שלפני ניו יורק ארוזים בארגזים במחסן אצל אמא שלי. ובין לבין, אני מנסה לייצר הווה.

כבר שבוע שאני רוצה לבשל אורז עם כרובית, ובכל פעם יש בעיה אחרת, פעם אין כרובית ופעם אני לא מוצאת את המתכון (באוניה...).  
בסוף זה נגמר במרק.

מצרכים:

1 ראש כרובית, מפורק לפרחים

1 תפוח אדמה, קלוף וחתוך לקוביות

1 בצל, קלוף וקצוץ

2 שיני שום, מעוכות

1 כף חמאה

2 כוסות מים

2 כוסות חלב

1/4 כפית אגוז מוסקט

מלח ופלפל

לבחירה - לקישוט: פטרוזיליה קצוצה או קרוטונים

הכנה:

1. ממיסים את החמאה בסיר גדול על להבה בינונית. מוסיפים את הבצל ומבשלים כ- 5 דקות, עד שהבצל הופך שקוף. מוסיפים את השום ומבשלים כדקה נוספת.

2. מוסיפים את תפוח האדמה והכרובית, מערבבים הכל ביחד, מכסים את הסיר ומבשלים במשך 3 דקות. מוסיפים את המים ומביאים לרתיחה, ממשיכים לבשל על הלהבה בינונית עד שתפוחי האדמה והכרובית רכים, כ- 10 דקות.

3. באמצעות בלנדר או מעבד מזון - טוחנים את המרק עד לקבלת קרם אחיד.

4. מוסיפים את החלב, אגוז מוסקט, מלח ופלפל, ומביאים לרתיחה. מנמיכים את הלהבה ומבשלים כ- 10 דקות.

5. מגישים את המרק חם בתוספת עלי פטרוזיליה או קרוטונים לקישוט.

 

 

It feels like I am floating in the air. My New York life is packed in boxes, on their way to Israel. My Israeli life (Before I moved to NY) is packed in boxes at my mother’s garage. And in between, I try to have a living.

It has been a week since I wanted to cook rice with cauliflower. Every time I had other difficulties; one time I didn’t have cauliflower, and the other time I couldn’t find the recipe (on its way to Israel…).

It ended with a soup.

Ingredients

1 Head cauliflower, chopped

1 Potato, peeled and chopped

1 Onion, roughly chopped

2 Cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Cups of water

2 Cups of milk

1/4 Teaspoon grated nutmeg

Salt & pepper

Optional – for serving: chopped parsley or croutons

Directions

1.     In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onions and cook, until onions are cooking but not browning, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

2.     Add the potato and cauliflower, stir to combine, cover and cook 3 minutes. Add the water, bring to boil, reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook until potato and cauliflower are tender to the bite, about 10 minutes.

3.     Turn the heat off.

4.     If you have a hand blender – blend all together inside the pot until desired consistency. Turn the heat again.

If you have a blender – pour the soup into the blender container and blend for 2 minutes until desired consistency. Pour the soup back into the pot.

5.     Add the milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes while stirring.

6.     Serve soup hot, with a chopped parsley or croutons.

A recipe – Amalya’s Zucchinis (Cooked Zucchinis with Eggs)

When I was a teenager my home was occupied by my parents, my 2 sisters and 3 dogs. Amalya, the female boxer dog was full of personality and funny behavior. She would sleep with her tongue out of her mouth, she would chase cats in the yard like she was a hunter in the jungle.

And she had weird food preferences. She liked grapes and watermelon, she loved sitting on a chair next to the table like a human being, and more than anything – she LOVED cooked zucchini with eggs.

My mother used to cook this dish quite often even though we didn’t really like it, and the only one who ate it was Amalya. Over the time the dish got its nickname: Amalya’s Zucchinis.

It might not sound so tasty, and it might not look so tasty, but it is really good!

Ingredients (for 2 people)

1 small onion - chopped

2 zucchinis (better to use the light green ones) – cut into small cubes

2 cloves of garlic - chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg - whisked

Salt & pepper

Directions

1.     Heat the oil in a wide saucepan; add the onion and garlic and fry while stirring until golden.

2.     Add the zucchinis and stir for 2 minutes.

3.     Cover the saucepan, low the heat and cook until the zucchini becomes soft.

4.     If needed, add a little bit of water.

5.     Add the egg while stirring and cook for a few seconds until the egg is cooked.

6.     Serve as a side dish with rice or as an appetizer with toasted bread

A recipe – Meatballs with Spaghetti

New York timing is even worse than “Sinai time” or “Ethiopia time”. In Sinai (Egypt), everything takes l o n g e r, shwaye shwaye (slowly slowly) and there is no reason to rush. With the Ethiopians (at least my Ethiopian friends in Israel) it is simple: they are always late. It can be 10 minutes late or even an hour.
Here in New York it is a mix, nothing starts on time (the subway is great excuse, and also great example), and most people run late as a routine.
And what keeps surprising me is that it looks like they don't really care - they don't care they are late and they don't care that they made you wait.


So take a deep breath and lets start to cook.

Ingredients

Whole-wheat Spaghetti (amount for 4 people)

For the Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

3 tablespoons bread crumbs (or - semolina, wheat germ)

1 tablespoon cumin

Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

2 big onions – chopped

4-5 tomatoes - chopped

2-3 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup of water

salt & pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano or basil (or – bunch of fresh leaves)

Directions

1.     Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta in boiling the water for 8-10 minutes or until done; drain and wash immediately with cold water (to stop the cooking process).

Meanwhile:

2.     Put all the ingredients of the meatballs in big bowl and mix together. Put the bowl aside (best in the refrigerator).

3.     Heat the oil in a large wide saucepan; add the onions and garlic and fry while stirring.

4.     Add the tomatoes and stir for 3 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and the dried oregano or basil (if you use fresh leaves – add them just before serving).

5.     Lower the heat and cover the pot. Cook for about 10 minutes (until you get a nice sauce and not just chopped tomatoes).

6.     If you don’t have enough sauce, add the water and bring to a boil.

7.     Lower the heat.

8.     Shape small balls from the meat mixture and add them gently into the pot.

9.     Bring to a boil again, cover the pot, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.

10.  Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese

A recipe – Red Beets Soup

I remember one time when I was a kid, two orthodox Jews knocked on our home door and asked for a donation for their Yeshiva. It was quite common those days in Israel. When my mother opened the door and these guys started talking with her. She immediately said, without even thinking twice, “I am sorry but my mother is not at home” and closed the door. My mother was at her 40s, and though I still think she looks wonderful, even then in the late 80's she didn’t look like a girl…

Oddly enough, I found myself using the same tactic. Once in a while, someone knocks on my door and starts lecture me about the gas bills, the electricity bills, X bills or Y refund… 

I always have the same answer: “Sorry, I am subletting”. Even if it is not relevant, they usually don’t know what to do with that and just leave.

 

 

Ingredients

2 potatoes - peeled and cubed

3 – 4 medium red beets

1 onion - peeled and cubed

2 cloves garlic - sliced

5 cups of water

1 tablespoon cumin

Salt & pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1.     Put the beets in a pot and cover with water. Boil and cook for about 15 minutes just until you can peel the beet. (The easier way to peel the beets is simply hold them under running water and gently peel them with your fingers. The shell will remove smoothly)

2.     Heat the oil in a large pot; sauté the onion and the garlic until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the potatoes and fry while stirring. 

3.     Cut the beets to cubes and add to the pot. Stir all together for 2 minutes.

4.     Add the water (5 cups) and the cumin, salt and pepper, stir and bring to boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 40 minutes.

5.     Turn the heat off.

6.     If you have a hand blender – blend all together inside the pot until they reach a desired consistency. Turn the heat again and bring to boil.

If you have a blender – pour the soup into the blender container and blend for 2 minutes until desired consistency. Pour the soup back into the pot and bring to boil.

A recipe – Quinoa with Green Peas

People think that healthy food is complicated to make, but this recipe will show you the opposite!

It is simple, it is fast; even the directions are short, and it is healthy and tasty.

Yes, it is quinoa, and many of you don’t like it, but I am telling you – give it a try, you are going to love it!

 

Ingredients

1 Large onion

4-5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup of quinoa – washed (treated like a rice)

2 cups of water

1 cup of peas (frozen or fresh)

15 sprigs mint, chopped (leaves only) – not a must but it makes the dish much tastier

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1.     Chop the onion and garlic and sauté in olive oil until golden.

2.     Add the quinoa and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring to boil.

3.     Cover and lower the heat. Cook for 10 minutes.

4.     Add the peas, mint and spices and simmer 10 minutes.

5.  Serve hot

 

 Homage to Irving Penn, and thanks to Adam Fuss

A recipe – Creamy mushroom soup in less than 20 min.

Every time I have been asked how to make a dish, my answer started with “oh, it is so easy…” I am afraid my friends no longer believe me.

Nophar, my friend, is the same – if you ask her for a recipe it will be something like: chop, heat, mix and it is ready. Nophar is not only an amazingly talented designer, but also a great cook. Here is Nophar’s Creamy mushroom soup, and it really is that easy to make!

Ingredients

1/2 cup of dried mushrooms

1/2 cup of boiling water

1 large onion - finely chopped

1.75 Oz (50 grams) butter

2 boxes of fresh mushrooms (2 kinds) - wash, take of stem and slice

1/4 cup of mushroom Bullion (not necessary)

4-5 cups of milk

1 cup of heavy cream

Salt & pepper

Sour cream

Directions

1.     Put the dried mushrooms and the boiling water in a bowl and cover for 20 min. Strain and finely cut the mushrooms. (You can use the water to replace some of the other fluids in the soup, it'll give it an extra mushroom flavor)

2.     In a big pot, sauté the onions in the butter until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the mushrooms. Stir for 5-7 min.

3.     In a separate small bowl, mix the Bullion with 1/2 of the milk, and Pour this into the pot.

4.     Pour the rest of the milk, heavy cream, salt and pepper (Do not add the sour cream).

5.     Heat through over low - medium heat, while steering, for about 10 min, until soup is thicker. If the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat.

6.     Soup is ready. Put a dollop of sour cream in your serving bowls, pour the soup over it and enjoy!