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…
My older sister who is a great cook and baker gave me the recipe for this salad. She used to make it a lot when we lived in New York. Her recipe is with pineapple but I didn’t have any…
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…
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…
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…
I’ll never forget the night my husband and I stumbled upon the mind-blowing combo of fruits and rosemary. It was back in 2010, right after we’d moved to Los Angeles from Israel. We were checking out Sage Vegan Bistro in…
Sfenj (or “Sfenj”) are Moroccan yeasted donuts that we eat in Hanukkah. They’re pretty similar to beignets but better. I should say better for you. Because they’re fluffy and addictive like beignets but contain no butter, milk and eggs. The…
Every year for Thanksgiving, I let my American friends be in charge of the traditional holiday dishes while I’m in charge of cooking a few vegetable sides and plant-based mains. However, if you’re looking for authentic classic American Thanksgiving dishes,…
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…
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…
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…
Everyone should learn how to make bread even if they live above a boulangerie. When I made my first loaf at age 24, I felt the same sense of freedom and achievement I felt when I passed the driving test…
We, my immediate and extended family and I, live on side dishes. Instead of making a main dish with a side dish, we make two or three vegetables dishes with a condiment on the side or a bunch of mezzes…
I adapted the recipe from Mark Hayman’s cookbook What The Hell Shall I cook? Mark adapted it from Hugh Jackman. I googled the recipe to see where it originally came from; Central and West Africa but I was wondering who’s…
Carrot isn’t the most exciting vegetable, right? But when you steam it lightly, to soften it just slightly, then mix it with homemade harissa (or store bought) and lemon juice it becomes the sultan of the garden. So make a…
I have a confession to make: I’m not a fan of leftovers. There, I said it. I don’t enjoy eating them, and I definitely don’t like storing them in containers, knowing full well they’ll probably end up going to waste.…
This dish is based on a Moroccan fish recipe which my mother and grandmother used to make only on weekdays. God forbid if you made it for Shabbat dinner. Moroccan Jews can be very particular about weekday food vs. Shabbat…
I intended to make a fruit crisp but I accidentally over processed the nut mixture into a sandy mixture. So I mixed it with 1 egg to fix it and the crust came out chewy, like nougat. It was tasty…
I know that many of you don’t like eggplants, but you know how I always say, “you must try it again and again until your palate is hooked.” Especially when the eggplants are roasted in a Dutch oven for an…
On hot summer days, when I can’t eat anything but vegetables, I like to roast any vegetables I have on hand and serve them with some sort of grain, such as rice or couscous, cilantro, parsley, or dill, and toasted…