Carrot Charoset - Low FODMAP

Carrot Charoset on Lundberg Thin Stacker

• I adapted my Sephardic charoset recipe to make it a low-FODMAP recipe. Like it’s predecessor, the cayenne pepper gently sneaks up on you. 
• You can use ground cumin, or for extra flavor, toast whole cumin seeds as directed below.
• The directions use a food processor but a meat grinder will work equally well.

1 cup cashews or walnuts (as is or toasted)
½ pound finely-shredded carrots
2 navel oranges
½ pound red seedless grapes (weigh without stems)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cumin (For extra flavor, substitute whole cumin seeds as directed below.)
1/16 to ¼ teaspoon of cayenne (Start with 1/16 teaspoon. Add more if you wish.)

• This first step is optional. If you want to use ground cumin, skip this step. Put 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds in a dry skillet (no oil) for just a minute or two. Watch carefully so they do not burn. When the time is up, get the seeds out of the skillet or they will continue to cook and may burn. Grind the cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
• Whirl the nuts in food processor (or through a meat grinder) until finely chopped. It will make approximately one cup or less. Place in large mixing bowl. Don't bother washing the food processor until you are all done. The fruit juices will "clean off" the nut powder. 
• Add the shredded carrots to the mixing bowl. 
• Wash and rinse the navel oranges very well. Remove the blossoms. Slice the orange (rind and all). Whirl it in the food processor to fully chop. Add to mixing bowl. 
• Whirl the grapes in food processor until very finely chopped. Add the cinnamon, cardamom and cumin. Add 1/16 teaspoon of cayenne. Whirl to mix. Add to mixing bowl. 
• Mix all the ingredients by hand until well blended. Check flavor. Add more cayenne if desired. 
• Place in a covered container and chill. 

Sephardic Charoset #2

Sephardic Charoset #2 in a tiny bowl (1.75" diameter)

• Recipe updated April 2, 2015.
• Recipes for Sephardic charoset number in the dozens . . . probably the hundreds. I put together this combo after looking at many other recipes. I especially like the way the cayenne pepper gently sneaks up on you.
• You can use ground cumin. For extra flavor, toast whole cumin seeds using directions below.
• This recipe can be doubled, although the mixture may be too much for your food processor when you get to the last mixing step. Just do that last mixing by hand.

DIY Whole Wheat Matzo Meal and Cake Meal

Homemade WW cake meal (left) and WW matzo meal (right)

Why Bother?

Years ago, I needed just a little more matzo meal for a brownie recipe but I was all out. In desperation, I ground up a matzo in my food processor or maybe it was a blender since I may not have owned a processor back in those days. At any rate, the processor works better for me and I've stopped using a blender.

I like to eat as much fiber during Pesach as I do the rest of the year, so I gradually switched to eating whole wheat matzos and using only whole wheat for all my Passover recipes – everything from matzo balls to latkes to cakes and brownies.

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find whole wheat matzo meal at the store, others not. Forget about whole wheat cake flour; no one makes it. So, I started to experiment. Now that I know what I'm doing this recipe is quick and simple.

Works with All My Recipes

Thus far, none of my Passover recipes require any adjustment for this ingredient change. I suspect matzo is so dry it behaves the same no matter which flour is used to make it. By the way, I was most concerned my matzo balls would look dingy, but they look just fine.

Sephardic Charoset #1

• Charoset is one of the foods on the Passover sedar plate. This is the simplest form of Sephardic charoset. 
• It also makes a great spread for bread any time of the year!
• I prefer medjool dates, but any type will do. I avoid dates coated in sugar because some people have food sensitivities or allergies to sugar. Dates are plenty sweet without sugar.
• Steps #1 and #4 make 2 cups date puree. If you want to buy date puree already made, you can skip those steps.
• The toasted and ground almonds (steps #2 and #3) can be made as much as a week in advance and stored in a jar.

3 cups chopped dates
3 ounces almonds
1½ teaspoons cinnamon

• To make the date puree, put the 3 cups of dates in a saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until the dates are tender. If a lot of the water cooks off, add more.
• To toast the almonds, use one of the methods found here. This can be done as much as a week in advance or while the dates are cooking. I like to preheat my oven to 400°, line a jelly roll pan with foil, spread out the almonds, and toast them for about 10-15 minutes. Every 5 minutes, I turn them with a spatula so they are toasted on all sides. Watch them carefully as they brown quickly. 
• Whirl the toasted almonds in the food processor until they are pretty fine. Take the nuts out of the processor. If it is a week ahead, store the nuts in a jar.
• Put the dates and any leftover cooking water in the food processor and whirl until the puree is smooth. Add more water, if needed.
• Add the cinnamon to the date puree and whirl again.
• Add the nuts and whirl again..
• Store in the fridge.

Baba Ghanoush

Hand-chopped baba ghanoush

• How do you like your baba ghanoush? Pureed or hand-chopped? This recipe has directions for both.
• Once you roast the eggplant, this is a quick recipe -- especially if you use your food processor; hand chopping will take a little longer.
• Baba ghanoush can be used as an appetizer or a sandwich filling. 
• For more flavor, start with whole cumin seeds. Toast them in a dry skillet, and then grind them in a mortar and pestle.

Passover Chocolate Cake 2013 -- à la Robyn

Chocolate cake without chips

• For the last three Passovers, I've adapted a chocolate cake recipe. This year's is the best ever! The batter is similar to last year's Passover chocolate cake recipe with a few changes including doubling the cocoa from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. The addition of chopped dates was inspired by a cake my mom used to make and the topping comes from my cousin Robyn's Famous Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Walnut Cake.
• It fell a little bit. Maybe I did not bake it long enough, but I'm telling you, after you taste it, you won't care what it looks like!
• I used pistachios instead of walnuts thinking they would add color to the topping but they browned so much you cannot tell the difference. I recommend ground walnuts or pecans -- or sliced almonds.
• I ground the nuts fine to prevent them from sinking into the center of the cake, however, I also thickened the batter with more cake meal (than last year) and the addition of potato starch this year. Who knows; maybe with the new thicker batter, the nuts could be chopped rather than ground.
• Knowing that making your own whole-wheat cake meal might be a deal breaker, I'm betting you could replace the whole-wheat cake meal with regular cake meal. The two products behave the same when I use them in other recipes including cakes.
• Here's the thing: I used two different pans. Both cakes fell but the one in the wider pan fell more. The cake that fell more was in a traditional loaf pan: 4.5" x 9.75" with tapered sides (and nearly 3" tall); it had chocolate chips on top. The cake that did  not fall was in a pan with straight sides; it is 3.5" x 10.25" (and nearly 2.5" tall); it had no chips. Perhaps the chips made a difference but I really think it had more to do with the width of the pans.
• Getting the cakes out of the pans was a mess. I recommend making some parchment paper handles. See directions below.

Turkey Broth

Thanksgiving 1957

• I adapted this recipe from my brother's recipe for turkey barley and lima bean soup.
• This is a great recipe for the day after Thanksgiving. Certainly, the amount of meat left on the bones will vary but either way this makes a rich turkey stock that can easily be turned into a tasty turkey soup. 

1 turkey carcass
2 large onions, cut in half
6 peeled carrots
6 stalks of celery
Salt
Peppercorns
2 bay leaves

• Preheat oven to 350°. 
• Place the carcass on a jellyroll pan with the onions, carrots, and celery. Do not grease the pan. Do not line the pan with foil or parchment paper. The turkey will render some drippings that will brown on the bottom of the pan and you want to use these later. That's easier to do with a bare pan.
• From time to time, turn the bones and vegetables as they brown. When I made this it took 1½ hours.
• Transfer the bones and vegetables to a stock pot, breaking the rib cage if it doesn’t fit in your stock pot. 
• Usually, drippings from the turkey and vegetables will gather and brown on the bottom of the pan. This will add a lot of flavor and color to your turkey stock. To retrieve it, soak a little water in the pan for a while and then you can scrape all of it into the stock pot.
• Add just enough water to cover the bones and vegetables. 
• Add salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. 
• Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for at least an hour. 
• When the stock tastes good, remove the bones and vegetables to a colander. Reserve the carrots for a soup or other use. Discard the other vegetables.
• Pour the stock through a fine strainer. 
• Pick the meat from the bones and reserve. Discard the bones.

Chocolate Toffee Matzo

Arg! I wrote it, saved it, shredded my notes. Saved it to post another day....and now it's gone...ARG!!! Blogger I hate you!

Shmura Matzo

I love shmura matzos -- especially whole wheat shmura matzos. This week, I found this great video that shows how shmura matzot are made and wanted to share it with you. Shmura matzot are not cheap, but as my brother said after watching this video, "I"m surprised they do not charge more." Don't give them any ideas!

Passover Chocolate Cake 2012

Every year, I revise my recipe for Passover chocolate cake. Here's the link to the 2013 edition -- the best ever! It's even better than this recipe!

This cake is better the second day -- if it lasts that long! And (shhh, don't tell anyone) it's made with whole wheat matzo!

Edits
I started with  the recipe for Mrs. Strait's Passover Chocolate Cake and made so many edits, I decided it was time for a new post. Here's what I changed:

Green Apple and Onion Salad

Makes 4 servings (1 cup fruits and vegetables per person)

Passover Brownies - Double Recipe

For the story behind this recipe and a discussion of the ingredients, see the single recipe.



This is a dairy recipe. If you substitute Kosher for Passover (KFP) margarine for the butter, it will be parve.

Passover Brownies - Single Recipe

Click here for double recipe.

These brownies make a delicious Passover treat.  I've been making some variation on this recipe for years -- ever since I noticed that some brownie recipes do not require baking powder or baking soda. This year I used whole wheat matzo meal and they are just as delicious! I suspect the addition of chopped dates would be a great way to make these brownies a little more moist, sweet, and dense . . . and add a little fiber. First, a few comments about the ingredients.

Passover Apple Cake

Note, if you do not like coconut, you may not care for this recipe. On the other hand, if you love coconut but are not supposed to eat it (because of the saturated fats) this recipe may be a Godsend. It has no coconut, but it sure seems like it does!

I started with a recipe from The Kosher Gourmet Cookbook by Mildred Miller and Bascha Snyder and found a few ways to add fiber (typically lacking in Passover foods). Here are my changes:

Mrs. Strait's Chocolate Passover Cake

1935 Seder. Adelyn Strait Raich (3rd from L); Rose and Harry Strait (4th and 3rd from R) Click on photo to enlarge it.

Note: I finally made this recipe, but with so many edits that I've posted it separately over here.


As I recall, this is a moist chocolate cake. The recipe is from Mrs. Strait, my Hebrew teacher's mother-in-law.

My Hebrew Teacher
Abe Raich, worked as a statistical quality control specialist at the local steel mill, CF&I (Colorado Fuel and Iron). I was in seventh grade; Abe's second son, Ken, was my classmate. Years later, at age 57, Abe retired and began a four-year course to become a rabbi. Read more about Abe and Adelyn (Addy), his wife, here. Get a taste of Abe's teaching, by reading this.

1969: Addy Raich; Mrs Rose Strait

The Seders
Perhaps because we lived close by (across the alley and down a few houses) my family was lucky enough to be included in a number of their seders -- lengthy events with 20+ people of all ages. No doubt, that's how my mother ended up asking Mrs. Strait for this recipe.

Strawberry Yogurt Sorbet

Here we go again, another sorbet recipe! The bag of frozen strawberries is larger than the bags of other frozen fruits (mango and raspberry) that I use  for two other sorbet recipes. To prevent a food-processor overflow, I cut the yogurt in half (compared to the recipes for mango sorbet and raspberry sorbet). The result? I think this is my best sorbet recipe!

Mango Yogurt Sorbet

This is another simple dessert -- similar to the raspberry yogurt sorbet, but I used less sugar (1/3 cup instead of ½ cup). Considering that you can easily get 6 servings from this recipe, that's less than 1 tablespoon per serving. Not much in the world of desserts.

Raspberry Yogurt Sorbet

Simple and yummy.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Brussels sprouts can be eaten right from the oven, or as cold leftovers. They also taste great in an omelet.

Chopped (Eggless) Eggplant

Chopped Eggplant with Watercress

Like chopped liver, chopped eggplant can be served as an appetizer on greens, but it also makes a great sandwich -- espeically on rye bread with sliced tomato. It's also a great first course (served on lettuce) for a Passover seder.