I think my purpose in life is to make chocolate bars. I would love to make honest good dark chocolate bars for living. Just like those crafty bars Dick Taylor or Dandelion make. I’m salivating just thinking about pure, rich, bitter, mildly sweet chocolate. I prefer chocolate that is made with…
I adapted this recipe from Green Kitchen Stories blog. Their recipe call for Chanterelle mushrooms but (a) I didn’t have any and (b) the price here for one pound (half a kilo) chanterelles is $42. I’m sure it tastes divine but the the humble…
Chermoula is a marinade that North Africans use in their cooking. It is usually used to flavor fish or seafood, but it can be used with legume and vegetables. Very healthy. It’s strange, for someone who grew up in a Moroccan home, I…
Really, Shelly? Avocado? Come on. Why not? Avocado is a fruit. In South America they eat avocado with sugar, so why can’t it work with chocolate? I knew it. I knew she wouldn’t approve this recipe. It doesn’t matter how…
I discovered this delicious dish at a Thanksgiving dinner at friends’. I could tell immediately that it was right up my alley – humble yet sophisticated, and charming. My friend found it in the New York Times cooking section. As…
There’s a traditional Moroccan fish recipe that my mother, and the rest of the Moroccan Jews around the world make every Friday for Shabbat dinner. I’ve never met anyone who grew up in a Moroccan home who doesn’t get nostalgic about…
“No iPad today.” “But why not?” “Because you don’t use your brain anymore.” “Yes I do.” “Not enough.” “Okay, so can I use the computer?” “No, Daddy said no electronics today.” “What if I clean my room or take the…
Before I say anything about this rice bowl/salad, I want to get something out of my system. Hi, my name is Shelly and I am addicted to TED talks. It started after I turned forty a few months ago. I didn’t mind turning…
I want to pack these stuffed dates in their lunch boxes for a snack, but I know they won’t eat them. I’ve tried sending dried fruits and nuts before but they came back. Alex accused me of ruining his life.…
Yes, I am alive, and today, after six hectic months, I can finally say, “alive and well.” I survived the move from our two-bedroom-one bathroom townhouse to a three-bedroom- three bathrooms townhouse!. Two-and-a-half bath, technically. Now we each have our…
The inspiration for these beautiful chocolate palettes (rounds) came from a very chi-chi restaurant cookbook called Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook. I’ve never eaten at the restaurant, but I heard from the friend who gave me this book as a…
While ninety percent of the people on earth need coffee in the morning to wake up, I start my day with herbal tea. I am like a hurricane once I get out of bed. I usually make a large mug…
I know, it’s oxymoron to call it shakshuka because shakshuka is always made with eggs but it does taste like shakshuka. We, Israelis, often eat our shakshuka with tahini so the combination of cooked tomatoes and tahini is what makes it…
Most of the Moroccan Jews I know, including my mother and siblings, would never ever make any Shabbat or holiday dishes on a weekday, and vice versa. My mother, for example, would never make matbucha, a spicy tomato jam, or…
Harissa with a twist – or as Z calls it “Mexican Harissa.” It’s my mother’s recipe but I decided to experiment so I added two chipotle peppers (I bought a bag at the supermarket in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico but you can find them at any Latino…
You can’t write a post about matbucha (Moroccan cooked salad) without writing about Yeruham. The cooked salad and the small town in the Negev Desert of Israel go together. The aroma of tomatoes cooking with garlic and peppers being charred over an open flame…
Yesterday was a fucking, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It’s started with a blood test (I hate blood tests, they make me insanely paranoid). It continued with a call to Cigna, our health insurance. I don’t know what is worse, the part that…
When we lived in New York and Los Angeles we always had access to excellent authentic Asian food but when we lived in Tel Aviv and Mallorca it was available but not as good (except for one Chinese restaurant in…
I never liked strawberry jam until I made my own strawberry jam and fell in love with it.
I’m handing the stage to my dear mother-in-law, who introduced me to this beautiful grain fourteen years ago. Thank you, Estee! I appreciate your help. I love every word you wrote. An on-going, exasperating controversy about Quinoa is how to say it. Most…