Recipe: Ginger and Tumeric Tea

I was at Erewhon and ran across fresh tumeric. Not knowing what I would do with it, I bought a bunch and brought it home.

Tumeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory, helps with tummy troubles, helps keep the flu away and there are numerous studies right now to learn about its anti-cancer and anti-alzheimers properties.

I've been drinking ginger tea for my colds and congestion so I decided to combine the two and see what happens.

A few quick notes. First, I do like my ginger tea spicy so you might want to dilute the tea or use less ginger and tumeric. Second, tumeric stains. It can turn you kitchen, clothing and hands bright yellow. Make sure you aren't wearing your favorite shirt and wash utensils promptly.

Ingredients

1 oz. peeled and sliced fresh ginger root

1 oz. peeled and sliced fresh tumeric root

4 cups of water, divided

Raw honey to taste

1. Place roots and water into a pot, cover and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Strain off the tea, reserving the roots. Stir in raw honey to taste.

4. Add remaining water to the pot, cover and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Strain off the tea and discard the roots. This tea will be weaker than the previous batch but still enjoyable.

Recipe: Grandma's Sweet Potatoes

This has to my favorite recipe for Thanksgiving. In fact, I love it so much that I make it a few times a year. When Oh! Nuts offered me the choice of a product to use in a recipe I knew pecan halves were neccessary.

Ingredients

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and steamed

1/2 cup sucanat

1/2 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/4-1/2 teaspoon pepper (I prefer more pepper and a sweet-spicy taste.)

pecan halves

1/4 cup sucanat

4 tablespoons coconut oil

1. Mash sweet potatoes, sucanat, orange juice, and spices. 

2. Spread into casserole dish and top with pecans.

3. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sucanat and dot with coconut oil.

4. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until sucanat melts and carmelizes.

5. Serve and enjoy!

FTC disclosure: I received the pecans from Oh! Nuts to use in a recipe.

Recipe: B'stilla

When the good folks at Oh! Nuts offered me some items for my holiday baking, I knew immediately that I wanted pecans for Grandma's Sweet Potatoes but I wasn't sure what else I'd use. I decided on a bag of ground almonds since I use them a lot in everyday cooking. This is a recipe I get many compliments on and I hope you enjoy it. It is a bit of work the first time you make it if you aren't used to working with phyllo so take your time and amaze your guests with a sweet and savory pie.

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil or rendered chicken fat

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons ground blanched almonds

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3 chicken breast halves, chopped

water

2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 cup ground blanched almonds

phyllo dough

melted coconut oil or rendered chicken fat

1. Sautee onion and garlic in oil or fat until golden brown. Use a low heat to get them nice and golden without scorching.

2. Add spices, almonds and chicken to the pan. Stir to coat the chicken well and add water half way up the chicken. (You need to have enough that nothing burns but you'll be reducing the sauce so don't add too much.) Bring to a boil and then immediately turn heat to low and cook until chicken is done.

3. Remove chicken from pan and set set aside. Bring the liquid in the pan to a boil and reduce until the sauce is thick. You want a 1/4 cup at most. Remove from heat and pour in eggs stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the sauce with the chicken.

4. In a separate bowl mix together the powdered sugar and ground almonds.

5. On a tray place one sheet of phyllo dough. Brush with oil or fat and sprinkle lightly with sugar/almond mixture. Repeat with two more layers. Cover with another sheet of phyllo. (You should have 4 sheets of phyllo and three layers of sugar/almonds.) Mound chicken mixture in the center of the phyllo and fold the edges of the phyllo up over the filling. Cover with another sheet of phyllo, brush with fat and sprinkle with sugar/almond mixture. Repeat as for bottom ending with a plain sheet of phyllo. Carefully tuck edges under the pie.

6. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until phyllo is golden.

7. Dust the top with powedered sugar and garnish with cinnamon.

8. Serve and enjoy!

FTC Disclosure: I received a bag of ground almonds from Oh! Nuts to use in this recipe.

Recipe: Savta's Silkah (aka Chard)

Every so often I make a dish that my husband declares is almost like his grandmother's. This results in many attempts to adjust the dish until perfection is reached. That's how this chard recipe came into being. 

I was making salads with the vegetables from the simanim for Rosh HaShanah and came across one for chard. Debate ensued about what chard is called in Hebrew because Aba's Savta only called it by an old Arabic term that no one could translate. He recalls her pulling over and picking the wild leaves by the side of the road. 

While the original recipe called for this dish to be served cold, I've found the texture and taste is better warm. If you want to serve it cold make sure you really cook the leaves. They should have a spinach-like texture with a hint of crunch from the stalks. If you are going to keep it on a plata/blech for Shabbat then cook until barely done as it will continue to soften as it warms.

I know its a little late to use for the simanim, but, if you are like me, you like to use the simanim in meals through the end of Sukkot. If you don't it is a good side dish and an excellent way to enjoy chard.

 Ingredients

1 bunch chard

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

salt

1. Wash the chard but don't dry. Remove the stalks from the soft part of the leaves. Slice the stalks thinly and set aside. Chiffonade the leaves and set aside in a separate bowl.

2. Warm oil in a wide, shallow pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add garlic being careful not to brown or burn. Add chard stalks and cook until tender.

3. Turn heat to low and add the chard leaves. Just pile them on top of the stalks and garlic. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and clamp the lid on.

4. When the leaves have compacted, remove the lid and stir. Turn up the heat as needed to help the liquid evaprate, but be careful not to burn.

5. Add half of the juice and taste. Add salt and lemon as needed.

Recipe: Chopped Olive Salad

This recipe originated when I wanted a cooked olive something on Pesah and only had my oven turned on so I master the art of sauteing food in the oven. (More on that odd bit later.) 

Ingredients

olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 can pitted green olives

1 cup chopped or baby tomatoes

salt

black pepper or red pepper flakes if you want some heat

1. Heat oil and soften garlic being careful not to burn.

2. Add tumeric and cumin and mix well.

3. Add olives and tomatoes. Turn heat to low and cook until tomatoes are soft.

4. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. You can serve this as is or chop coarsely in a food processor.

5. Serve room temperature or slightly warmed.