Welcome to the October 17, 2012 (Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan) edition of kosher cooking carnival-kcc. And yes, I do still get a thrill writing 5773 – don’t you? 5773 is the year we make aliyah, in case anybody doesn’t know yet… the year that sounded so far off when we came home from Israel abruptly way back in, um, 5769.
Anyway, this is the Kosher Kitchen Gadgets Edition, my fourth time hosting the KCC (here’s my last one), which is presented each month thanks to the good grace, infinite patience / persistence and charm of its lovely / lively host, Batya.
Why gadgets?? Because the right gadget at the right time can make or break the cooking and eating experience. Here are a few that jumped out and grabbed my tired eyeballs as I coasted around the kosher and not-so-kosher web…
Any time dishes
Gadget #1: did you know you could serve hard-boiled eggs shaped like bunnies, fish, cars, whatever you want??? They’re featured and sold in this post by Tori Avey, Kosher Bento Box: Pasta Salad Bento, at her woefully named Shiksa in the Kitchen blog (she says, “I am a recent convert to Judaism, but I still call myself a shiksa.”). (Caution: there’s a lot of Jewish/kosher content here, but I did notice several Hallowe’en themed posts.)
Now, I could have filed this under Shabbat and Yom Tov, but then you might think you could only eat treats on Shabbat and Yom Tov, and that wouldn’t be fair, would it? How can we wait for Shabbos when Shoshana tempts us with this Apple Galette with Honey Ginger Ice Cream at her blog, Couldn’t be Parve. Yes, it’s pareve (even if we do spell it differently)! Tons of great links to other kosher foodie sites at this post, by the way.
You’re having FLEISHIKS for breakfast? A kosher treat that’ll make your eyes pop as Yosef presents Sunday Breakfast: Bibimbap posted at This American Bite, saying, "Delicious no matter what time of day you serve it, and if you don't have orzo, just use rice."
Though some might call it heresy, Yosef presents Dairy Free Mac and Cheese posted at This American Bite, saying, "Vegan mac and cheese, serve in ramekins for the perfect side dish to any meal." You’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover that there’s no artificial anything or fake cheesey substitutes in here… well, okay, except one all-natural secret ingredient you can prepare yourself with a bit of lead time.
Anything kosher!
Gadget #2: Turn frozen fruit into ice cream?!?? Perhaps it can be done. A bit on the pricey side at $50 (US), but the concept is intriguing: the ridiculously-named “Yonanas” device turns frozen bananas and other fruit into a delicious healthy – and bonus! pareve! – icy creamy dessert. Spotted in various locales around the kosher blog world, but the best recent “does it work?” blog entry I could find comes from this non-kosher food blog, Shockingly Delicious.
Jews don’t have a monopoly on these, but to me, few things say “kosher” like Moroccan Carrots. If you’ve never had these savoury coins that pop with flavour, you must try Irene’s recipe in Moroccan Carrots over at Bamitbach.
Speaking of monopoly… think the French have one on all those fancy wines? Well, they got their grapes from us, says Batya in Why The Best Wine is From HERE! posted at me-ander.
Now something a bit different. For olim and others missing cheap North American cream cheese must check out Ester’s post, Cream Cheese Substitute posted at Frugal and Kosher. It’s not pareve, but it looks easy and fantastic.
And lastly but not leastly, Jay3fer (that’s me!) presents Pie-ca%#^@ken! – the delightful birthday-cake surprise that just wouldn’t be over at my bread blog, Adventures in BreadLand.
Economical use of left-overs
What kind of cook are you?? Batya presents a slice of spontaneity in Pragmatic, Spontaneous aka Creative Cooking posted at me-ander, saying, "You can also cook the rice specially for the dish."
Every day meals
Chef Laura Frankel presents so many drool-inducing ways to do potatoes (including sweet potatoes) over here at Stuffed Baked Potatoes at the Joy of Kosher blog. These ain’t your bubby’s Stuffed Fingerling Potatoes with Caviar and Creme Fraiche. Not that there was anything the matter with hers, you understand.
Yosef presents In Search of the Perfect Cup of Coffee (hint: it’ll leave you craving some cool kitchen gadgets!) posted at This American Bite, saying, "Trying to find the perfect cup...!"
Jay3fer (me!) presents Homemade, Home-Grown posted right here at Adventures in Mama-Land.
Every day is exactly how I feel about breadsticks, and Ester has offered to make my dreams come true with a super-easy recipe for Garlic Bread Sticks (they’re dairy, but I suppose they could be adapted somehow) over at Frugal and Kosher.
Jewish Shabbat and Holiday food
Gadget #4: So what the heck IS this gadget??? As spotted on KosherEye.com’s cool Kitchen Tool of the Week feature (kinda like a blog), it’s a TOFU PRESS. You get all the benefit of tofu with enhanced texture and marinate your tofu. Maybe you’ve noticed that even extra-firm tofu is quite watery, and kind of crumbly. Freezing ahead of time helps the texture (giving it a more “meaty” chewiness), but the TofuXPress can press out all that excess water so you get pure tofu-y goodness. Watch it in action at the official site.
Do we need another take on a classic? Sure, we do! TzirelChana offers her version in Ultimate Knaidlach at her blog, Kosher Home Cooking.
Jay3fer (hello, me again!) presents Pumpkin Noodles aka Lokshin (& Pumpkin Lokshin Kugel) posted at Adventures in Mama-Land, saying, "A great (if subtle) way to use a fall bounty of pumpkins!"
Carly Chodosh, a recovering writer, presents Our New Pet! posted at Tightly Bound, saying, "Etrog Jam recipe.” Don’t worry, the etrog jam (or marmalade, as some call it) isn’t the pet in question. In fact, the pet in question isn’t exactly the pet in question… okay, just read the post.
Who says we Jews can’t participate in Great American Traditions? Like Chicken Cacciatore Day, which fell on Monday, October 15th this year. (does it always? who knows?). Nina Safar over at Kosher in the Kitch! participated in high (and kosher) style with her post, Chicken Cacciatore.
And finally, a promising NEW kosher food blog – and don’t we all love those??? This one’s based in Toronto, so it’s with great pride that I introduce Foodista extraordinaire Nancy Weisbrod, who offers these inspiring words about how food can be so much more than food in The Heart Follows the Deed at mykosherkitchen@cor.
“Odds and Ends”
Gadget #5: Inspector Gadget, of course, about whom many feel very fond, but who must have flown over my head entirely, since I never took any notice of the phenomenon, whether in cartoon, movie or anime-style TV format. Like many of us in the kitchen, the eponymous Inspector is clumsy and dimwitted, but very occasionally saved (or foiled) by his quick-draw tools.
Ester warns Israeli readers at her blog Frugal and Kosher about yet another recall – a bit out of date, but please check your freezers so you don’t end up biting into bits of plastic! – in Tapugan "mashed potato waffles" – RECALL.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of kosher cooking carnival-kcc using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
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Fantastic job. Thanks so much for hosting KCC and including my posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting my recipe. I absolutely love the shaped egg presses you featured. I make them for my kids lunches all the time. I especially love the car and fish. A paintbrush and a bit of natural food coloring makes them an even more special treat!
ReplyDeleteI just realized I had never posted a comment to thank you for this wonderful KCC.
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