Olive oil Anise Cookies
The Spanish anise and sesame cookies, tortas (cakes) de aceite y anís are very similar to reifat, the Moroccan anise biscuits I grew up on. The flavor is almost the same but the texture and shape are different. My ancestors…
simple cashew Ricotta
The recipe video for this cashew cheese is the most popular video on my instagram. I think the reason is that it’s pretty easy to make, and that it doesn’t require many or weird ingredients. You’re probably asking yourself, “Yes…
Cabbage Tarte Tatin
It’s been a while since I posted anything. As some of you know – from Instagram – we moved again. This time not too far. To a close by neighborhood with a better public high school. I hope we made…
Potatoes & Sauerkraut Stew
I started to have a blast in the kitchen when I felt comfortable improvising and cooking without recipes. Now don’t get me wrong, I love being tucked in bed with a good cookbook or discovering a great recipe online but…
Lentils cooked with Eggplant & Tomatoes
I googled the history of lentils and learned a few interesting facts about them. Man has been eating tiny dried lentils practically since the beginning. Wow, really? I wonder how my ancestors knew they were edible. By 6000 B.C.,…
“Cured” Golden Beets (Gravlax)
The other day I was curious (not sure what to do with myself and a bunch of golden beets) to see what would happen if I treated the golden beets as if they were salmon. Why? Because they both have…
Smoky Eggplant Dip
My favorite meals are those vibrant dinners which are assembled from a bunch of dips, sides and small plates instead of ordinary main dish-side-and-salad dinner. We eat like that everyday but it never gets boring because they are colorful and…
Paprika & Chili Oil
I don’t know whose idea it was to infuse oil with spices but it’s brilliant! We always had a jar of oil infused with paprikas in the fridge. All the Moroccan families did have one ready to use in the…
Sunflower Seeds Brittle
Before the pandemic I used to make it on a weekly basis to put in my boys’ lunch bags. It’s gluten-free, grain-free, vegan and refined sugar free and delicious and crunchy. I filmed and edited the video for We Are…
Perfect Roasted Cabbage With Tahini & Tomato Puree
In my family and Homeland we have a lot of respect for vegetables. They get more attention than meat. You’ll never hear my mother rave about a steak or sausages. But she’ll always describe to you the perfect green beans…
Blood Orange Waldorf Salad
My older sister and I always exchange recipes. She also spends many hours in the kitchen. Like me and the rest of my family. She gave me the recipe for this salad. I didn’t have a pineapple so I used…
Chickpea & Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
When I was a kid my mother made this chickpea soup once a week during the winter. It doesn’t snow in the Negev, the desert of Israel but it is freaking cold. I always say that the winter in New…
7 Plant-Based Mains For Cold Days
Here are our most favorite, plant-based main-dishes for puffy-coat weather or semi cold swather weather. They’ll keep you warm, cozy and nourished. Except for the slow-roasted eggplant, the rest of the dishes are kid friendly (well, my kids and their…
Smoky Eggplant & tomato Mezze
My friend brought this mezze over for Shabbat dinner (Friday night). Her Kurdish-Iraqi grandmother used to make it. It’s teenager friendly. My 13 year-old son, who’s an adventurous eater but eggplant hater, loved it. You can serve with other mezzes…
Wintery Fruit Salad With Rosemary
I remember the day and place my husband and I discovered the combination of fruits and rosemary. It was in 2010 when we moved to Los Angeles from Israel, at Sage vegan bistro in Silver Lake. It was a revelation.…
Sfenj with Cardamom
Sfenj (or “Sfenj”) are Moroccan yeasted donuts which my family and I eat on Hanukkah. They’re similar to beignets but better. Better because they’re fluffy and addictive like their sisters but don’t contain butter, milk and eggs. They have mercy…
5 Easy Thanksgiving Vegan & GF Sides
Every year for Thanksgiving, I let my American friends to be in charge of the holiday traditional’s dishes while I’m in charge of cooking a few vegetable sides and plant-based mains. The recipes below aren’t fussy or fancy but they’re…
Sweet Potatoes, Tahini & Tomato
As much as I love desserts and sweets, for some reason I am not a big fan of sweet potatoes on their own. They’re too intense for me. I love them only when their sweetness is balanced with acidic and…
Epic Baba Ganoush
According to Wikipedia, Baba Ganoush is a Levantine dish. According to me, it’s Shabbat at my mother’s. She has been making it every Friday for Shabbat dinner since I was a kid. Some people make their baba G with tahini…
Indian Style Okra & Zucchini
Even as a recipe developer I sometimes don’t know what to make for dinner. When nothing comes to mind I start rinsing and peeling the vegetables I have in hand. And while doing so something interesting happens. I start cooking…