Whole Wheat Challah

After making these challahs today, I don't know why I ever stopped making my own! While Jerusalem has no lack of yummy and addictive challahs, nothing can replace the kedushah a homemade challah brings to Shabbes.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups warm water (barely warm)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup honey or agave

4 tablespoons vegetable oil - flavorless

3 eggs (1 will be used for an egg wash)

1 tablespoon salt

8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use 70% whole wheat)


Directions

1. I use my Kitchen Aid - in the bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt.

2. When frothy, add the flour one cup at a time. FYI, If you use a 1kg bag, you'll just need a little less than one cup more at the end. Stir after each addition. I don't use my hands, the dough hook does the work but I do scrap the sides and make sure that the bottom is incorporated.

3. You'll know it is done when the dough starts to form one round clump. If it is not clumping, slowly add a little more flour.

4. Take a large bowl and lightly oil the sides - really just a drop and rub the bottom and sides. Put in dough, cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.

5. I place my challah near Erev Shabbes music - it seems to like it!

6. When the dough has risen, punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board or, a large plastic-cloth covered table.

7. If you double the recipe, you can fulfill the mitzvah of taking challah.

8. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Braid away!

9. You can cover with a damp cloth and let the challah rise another hour if you want.

10. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

11. Beat the remaining egg with water and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or salt or any seeds you want if desired.

12. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes.

13. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

14. Just see if you can actually let it cool on a rack for at least one hour before grabbing a hunk!

15. This recipe makes two large challahs and two small challahs or I suppose 4 medium?

ps - if you took challah don't forget to burn it!

Cauliflower, Spinach and Cabbage - Three easy ways

Every shopping trip I make I come home with cauliflower, spinach and a bag of shredded cabbage. These three power-food ingredients make up about 80% of what I eat. Here are three easy ways to use them. Enjoy!

Preparation:
Trim and separate cauliflower into small florets
Trim and clean spinach

All of your veggies will cook at different times so you'll want to start with the cauliflower. I prefer to cook in the oven with a little water in the pan.

The spinach will reduce into about 1/4 of the amount, at least, I like fresh spinach. I just add a little water to the pan and put in the oven until it is wilted.

When I buy cabbage in a bag I prefer the added with carrots version. Dump the portion you want to cook in a pan with a little sesame oil and pop in the oven for a few minutes.

Toss all the cooked veggies in a bowl.



Asian Salad
Toss veggie mixture in a bowl filled with lettuce, diced cucumbers, beansprouts

Dressing: roasted sesame oil and low-sodium soy sauce, grated and diced fresh ginger
Optional: walnuts or sunflower seeds


Miso Soup with veggies
Prepare miso paste according to directions
Sprinkle some toasted sesame oil and a few shakes of low-sodium soy sauce
Dump in cauliflower florets
Add cabbage and spinach about one minute prior to serving

Optional: seaweed, broccoli, scallions or garlic


Tossed with protein
Add diced up tofu to the cauliflower until cooked through - toss with salad dressing recipe listed above before popping it in the oven.
Then add the other veggies

Optional: brown rice

Strawberry Kohlrabi Salad

Salads have become my thing to bring to Shabbos meals and I am always looking for something different and interesting to mix together. This past Shabbos lunch it was Strawberry Kohlrabi Salad. I don't know if kohlrabi is readily available in the United States because I was introduced to it here in Israel. It looks like a light-green turnip. Often I have added it to vegetable soup but it is very refreshing eaten raw and tossed with a little lemon or olive oil. As I constructed the perfect salad in my head, the kohlrabi added the crispy crunch and complemented the fleshy strawberries perfectly.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of lettuce cut into small pieces
1 kolrabi, peeled and diced
8 large strawberries, cut into small pieces
2-3 cucumbers, peeled and diced

Toasted Topping:
1/4 cup almonds
1/5 cup walnuts
3 packets of splenda
1 teaspoon of vanilla
few drizzles of olive oil

Salad Dressing:
balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
a few drizzles of olive oil

Everything can be mixed together for the salad. Smash the almonds and walnuts a bit, toss with a little olive oil and splenda and toast in the oven for a very few minutes. Add to salad before serving along with the salad dressing. Very popular salad!

Roasted Radish, Cauliflower and Asparagus

before cauliflower was added

My eyes were drawn to lovely radishes at the market; I had to have them.The vibrant magenta color was dazzling. HaShem added gorgeous colors to vegetables to give us visual pleasure. I would say that of all vegetables, radishes in particular, where always my least favorite. That is now a thing of the past!

Ingredients:
cherry radishes
cauliflower
asparagus
sesame seeds
miso paste
soy sauce
sesame oil
sea salt
olive oil

1. Trim the ends of the radishes and slice in half
2. Remove the florets of the cauliflower and cut to bite size pieces
3. Cut the asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces
4. In a shallow oven-safe pan, dilute your miso into hot water, add a few shakes of soy sauce and sesame oil
5. Add your cauliflower into the pan and place in the oven and cook until done (10 minutes or so)
6. Place the asparagus into a shallow pan with boiling water, I usually just put it in the oven (5 minutes)
7. Toss the sliced radishes with olive oil and salt - spread out evenly in a pan and place on the top shelf of a hot oven (20 - 25 minutes)
8. When all vegetables are done, dump them all together into a serving dish and enjoy warm or cold with sesame seeds
9. If you want, add a little bit of sesame oil and soy sauce if you require more flavor