How to make chocolate Babka

Here's a second recipe from "Healthy and easy kosher cooking" by Leach Schapira. enjoy !

Eggplant & Tomato fettuccini

Several weeks ago I received a cooking book "Fresh and Easy kosher cooking" by Leah Schapira. Right away I decided to go through all recipes from the book. I spent all evening reading and choosing recipes to make. Before beginning to make some recipes, I payed attention to the quality of publishing work. It's being done very well. Many of the recipes have wonderful pictures. The first recipe I want to try is a eggplant and tomato fettuccini. The recipe sounds healthy, easy and extremely delicious for the eggplant lover.



So, I decided to treat my mom and myself with a good lunch on President's Day.

Eggplant & Tomato fettuccini

1 medium eggplant
1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb fettuccini, prepared according package directions

Olive Oil dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450F. Wash eggplant and dice into 1/2-inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 30 minutes.

Slice the tomatoes in half and place on a baking sheet lines with parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 12 minutes.

Combine the roasted vegetables with the cooked cooked fettuccini.

To prepare the olive-oil dressing, combine the oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning.

Toss pasta with the sauce and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve warm.

Old-fashioned Beef Stew

Old-fashioned Beef Stew ("Zharkoye")

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds beef chuck, cut into chunks
Salt
3 cups chopped onions
1 pound button or cremini mushrooms, quartered if small or 1/4-inch sliced (optional)
1 quart beef broth
1 cup carrot, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
3 cups potato, peeled and chopped into 3/4-inch to 1-inch chunks
Black pepper
Dill for garnish
Water (if you need)

1 In a Dutch oven or other large, lidded pot, add olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add enough pieces of the beef to sear in the pot without crowding. You will need to brown the meat in several batches. Salt the beef as it cooks, and set aside browned pieces in a bowl.
2 When all the beef has browned, add the onions. As the onions release some of their water, use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle a little salt over the onions as they cook. Lower the heat to medium and cook the onions until they begin to brown, 5-6 minutes.
3 When the onions have lightly browned, mix in the mushrooms and increase the heat to high. Cook the mushrooms until they release their water, about 2-3 minutes.
4 Add the beef back to the pot. Add 1 cup of the stock and use the wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, lower the heat to low and simmer very gently for 1 hour. Add water in you need to.
5 Add the potatoes and carrots, stir well and recover the pot. Simmer gently until the carrots and potatoes are tender, between 20-30 minutes.
Yield: Serves 4-6.

Sour-cream Rugelach

Sour-cream Rugelach

Yesterday I decided to try another recipe of rugelach. Initially I found this recipe in "Midwest Living" magazine. Personally I think, food section in this publication is one of the best in US. I would like to recommend all of you to try this recipe. It's quite easy to make it and absolutely delicious to taste it. One thing, I changed dosages for filling. Dough is absolutely great and, I think, I should try the same recipe with apples or pears. We shall see...

Makes: 48 medium size pastries.
Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 8 ounce carton dairy sour cream
1 egg yolk (use whites for brushing pastries before baking)
2 cups all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar (optional)
Directions
In large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sour cream and egg yolk. Beat until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour until combined. (Dough will be sticky.) Divide dough into fourths. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

Cherry-Walnut Filling
Ingredients
2 cups finely snipped finely snipped dried cherries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

Directions
In a small saucepan, combine cherries, sugar and water. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool. Place in a food processor and process until amost smooth paste. Stir in walnuts

On lightly floured surface, roll one-fourth of the dough into a 10-inch circle. Spread 1/4 of the filling over circle. Cut dough into 12 wedges. Roll up each wedge, starting at wide end. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Place cookies, tip sides down, about 2 inches apart on foil-lined cookie sheets. Brush pastries with remaining whites and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool. If you like, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze in freezer container for up to 3 months.

Рогалики на сметане
На 48 среднего размера рогаликов.
1 чашка сливочного масла или маргарина, комнатной температуры
240 грамм сметаны
1 яичный желток (белок использовать для помазки перед выпечкой)
2 чашки муки
Сахарная пудра (по желанию)

В большой миске взбить масло миксером в течении 30 секунд. Добавить сметану и яичный желток. Все хорощо взбить. Добавить муку и все хорошо перемешать деревянной ложкой. Тесто бедет немного липким. Разделить тесто на 4 равные части, завернуть в пищевую пленку и положить в холодильник на 1 час как минимум.

Приготовить начинку из сухой вишни и орех.
2 чашки сухой вишни
1/4 чашки сахара
1/4 чашки воды
1/2 чашки мелко порезанных грецких орех.

Положить вишню, сахар и воду в небольшую кастрюлю и поставить на огонь. Довести до кипения и дать покипеть 5 минут. Снять с огня и дать остыть. Смесь выложить в чашку кухонного комбайна и перекрутить до получения однородной смеси. Добавить орехи и хорошо перемешать.

Вынуть одну порцию теста из холодильника. Раскатать в круг диаметром 25 см. Выложить четверть начинки. Равномерно распределить начинку по кругу, разрезать на 12 частей. Завернуть рогалики. Тоже сделать с оставшимся тестом и начинкой. Выложить рогалики на противень, помазать белком, по желанию посыпать сахаром и поставить печься на 20 минут при температуре 350Ф. Вынуть из духовки и остудить. По желанию еще множно посыпать сахарной пудрой.
Recipe from Midwest Living

Chicken Red bean salad

Chicken Red bean salad
Make 2 portions
I totally Americanized this recipe. I think, many of you will try to make it. I publish Russian version as it is to compare.

2 cups mixed salad greens, including fresh baby spinach
1 cup cooked diced chicken, room temperature
2 medium size pickles, thinly sliced
1/2 medium size red onion, diced
4 tablespoons canned red beans, dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained well
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice from 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste.
Lemon or grapefruit for garnish.

Place mixed greens in a large bowl. Add the chicken, pickles, red onion, and red beans. Toss with olive oil and lime juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with slices of lemon or grapefruit.

Cалат из курицы и красной фасоли
Ингредиенты на 1 порцию:
2 ст. л. красной фасоли из банки
1 маринованный (соленый) огурец
100 г. куриной грудке жаренной на гриле
половина маленькой луковички
несколько веточек укропа или кинзы
1 ст. л. растительного масла
Приготовление:
Огурчик порезать тоненькими дольками. Лук порезать полукольцами. Курицу - кубиками. Мелко нарезать петрушку или кинзу (я брала и то и то). Все смешать, заправить маслом и подавать!

Recipe from http://vk.com/wall-4806561_69267?hash=aa359d03e3d46a9213

Honey Graham Cracker Cookies

Honey Graham Cracker Cookies
Makes 60 cookies
1 & 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup water or milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Heat oven to 325F.

First, spray the pan with cooking spray, line with a sheet of wax paper, then coat the wax paper with cooking spray.
In a small bowl mix water, sugar and honey and set aside. In another bowl mix flours, salt and baking powder. Add the butter to the flour mixture in bits and cut into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Form a well in the center of the flour and add the honey mixture into the well. Mix well until a ball of dough begins to form. Using your hands, gather dough and gently knead together a couple of times.If dough is dry, add water.
Divide dough into 2 equal parts. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the two pieces of parchment paper to 10x12 inch rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or knife to trim the rolled-out dough into a large rectangle. Then cut the square-shaped dough into 2-inch square and poke with a fork in center of each cracker. Gently transfer cracker cut-outs to the parchment-lined baking sheet. (You may need to use a metal spatula to lift the cut-outs so they don’t lose their shape.)
Mix sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle each cookie. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and allow crackers to cool slightly on baking sheet. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to one week in pantry, or in freezer for one month.

Медовые галеты
на 60 печеней
1 1/2 чашки белой пшеничной муки
1 1/2 чашки цельнозерновой пшеничной муки
1 ч л соли
1 ч л соды
1/4 чашки коричневого сахара (желательно тёмно-коричневого или можно добавить 1 ч л патоки)
85 гр (6 ст л) сливочного масла комнатной температуры
1/2 чашки мёда
1/3 cup воды/молока
1 ч л ванильной эссенции
Посыпка
1/4 чашки сахара
1 ч л корицы
Прогреть духовку до 162°C/325°F.

Застелить противни пергаментной бумагой.

В большой миске смешать сухие ингредиенты, добавить порезанное на кусочки масло и перетереть пальцами или вилкой в крошку.

В небольшой чашке смешать мёд, воду и ваниль. Добавить жидкие ингредиенты к сухим и перемешать вилкой. Выложить тесто на присыпанный мукой стол и немного вымесить (если тесто суховатое, добавить немного воды).

Разделить тесто на две части. Раскатать каждый кусок в прямоугольник размером 25x30-см, нарезать на 30 квадратов со стороной 5-см (печенье можно наколоть вилкой).

Смешать сахар с корицей и посыпать раскатанный пласт.
Выложить квадратики на противень на расстоянии 1 см (это удобно делать с помощью лопаточки).

Выпекать 15-18 минут (печенье почти не меняет цвет).

Остудить на решётке. Хранить в закрытой посуде (печенье не твердеет).

Recipe from http://aynmark.wordpress.com/