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 start my day with herbal tea. I am like a hurricane once I get out of bed. I usually make a large mug…
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…
Eggless 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 Mezze with Harissa
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…
Easy Smoky Harissa
Harissa with a twist—or as Z calls it, “Mexican Harissa.” I had the urge to experiment with my mother’s recipe, so I added chipotle peppers. I bought a bag of them at a supermarket in Playa del Carmen. You can…
Spicy Tomato Salad (Matbucha)
I can’t write a post about matbucha, Moroccan cooked tomato, garlic and pepper salad, without writing about Yeruham. The cooked salad and my hometown in the Negev, the desert of Israel, go together. The aroma of tomatoes simmered with garlic…
Beet Carpaccio: A Humble, Elegant Starter
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…
Curry Noodle Soup with Vegetables
Living in different parts of the world, you quickly realize that access to authentic Asian cuisine varies greatly. When we were in New York and Los Angeles, finding excellent Asian food was never a problem. But in Tel Aviv and…
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…
Crunchy Homemade Multi-Seed Crackers
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you not to play with your food. Play with it when ever is possible.
Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam
I never liked strawberry jam until I made my own strawberry jam and fell in love with it.
Flatbread Sabich
This beautiful flatbread was a last-minute pivot from sabich, a popular Israeli street food: pita stuffed with potatoes, eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salads, and tahini sauce. I knew there was a chance that my American boys wouldn’t eat it because they…
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 Date & Chocolate Truffles
No time for BS. Just a quick, sweet recipe that I found in a beautiful cookbook called Vegetarian Everyday, written by a sweet Scandinavian couple. Their blog is Green Kitchen Stories. This exactly the kind of recipe I love – a “peace of mind”…
1-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake
Three words to describe this cake: moist, dense and rich. It finishes usually in thirty minutes. My husband found the recipe in Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine. The picture and recipe didn’t look exciting but I didn’t have eggs and I was curious. I made it a few minor changes.
How to Make a Good Green Salad
We eat salads on a daily basis (most Israelis do). Most days it’s a simple green salad, then some days more complex salads. There are many types of leafy greens and endless variations of leafy green salads. Leo and Alex’s…
No Machine Banana Ice Cream
A friend of mine from New York recently emailed me this recipe. She wrote: “Thought of you the other night. We made a delish dairy-free, sugar-free banana ‘ice cream’ with a bit of chopped salty almonds and maple syrup on…
5 Nutritious Breakfasts to Replace Sugary Cereal
I know that Honey Nut Cheerios is easier but do you really want your kids or yourself to start the day with unnatural, full of sugar breakfast? With these light, nutritious breakfasts, you’ll definitely have a good, healthy day. They require very little effort and some willingness.