Vegan & GF Chocolate Mousse
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…
Roasted sweet potato salad with tahini
The first time I had this salad was at a Thanksgiving dinner with our beautiful – literally beautiful – friends, Isabelle & Serge. The food that night was delicious but I was mostly attracted to this salad. I was charmed by the combination of sweet potatoes, their tenderness and the spicy,…
Chickpeas & Amaranth Tagine
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…
Rice bowl with swiss chard & barberries
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…
Dates & walnuts dipped in chocolate
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.…
Chocolate discs (palette) with hazelnuts and sea salt
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…
DIY herbal teas
While ninety percent of the people on earth need coffee in the morning to wake up, I need herbal tea. Luckily, I am very energetic in the morning. The first thing I drink after I wake up is a glass of room-temperature water with freshly squeezed…
Paris & Penne with cashew cream and Butternut Squash
It’s been a long time… Two days ago I arrived back from a marvelous week in Paris. It was a trip that my mother, older sister and I have been dreaming to do together for years. (Aunt Shuli tagged along.) For my…
Egg-less shakshuka sandwich
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…
swiss chard with harissa
It’s funny how Moroccan jews are so strict about the distinction between Shabat or holiday food and everyday food – my mother never eat Shabat food on a yom chol , a weekday – and vice versa. In my family I’m considered to be a rule…
Chipotle Harissa
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…
Matbucha Moroccan Tomato Mezze
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…
Beet Carpaccio
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…
Butternut Squash Soup With Asian Flavors
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…
Fig & Lemongrass Jam
After almost three endless months of never-ending summer vacation, Leo finally started school, a new charter school. Frankly, Z and I were excited about it but he wasn’t. He wanted to be excited, but, instead, he was very nervous. I don’t blame…
Multi-seed Crackers
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you not to play with your food. Play with it when ever is possible.
Strawberry Jam
I never liked strawberry jam until I made my own strawberry jam and fell in love with it.
Flat bread with eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes (Sabich)
Sabich is an Israeli street food, pita stuffed with potatoes, eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salads and tahini sauce. The first thing I want to eat when I land in my holy land. I wanted to create a version that will appeal…
Quinoa, Beet & Hazelnut Salad
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…
Vegan chocolate truffles
No time for BS. Just a quick, sweet recipe I found in a beautiful cookbook called Vegetarian Everyday, written by the sweet Scandinavian couple, who’s behind the blog Green Kitchen Stories. This exactly the kind of recipe I love – a “peace of mind” recipe, delicious and healthy. It’s…