Haaaaaaaang on! Help is on its way! (Vayak'hel / 24 Adar I 5768)

Well, I had been planning to make a Chinese Stew for this Shabbat, but I got a note from our Shabbat Kiddish Meistriss that one of the other folks that helps had asked to make Cholent. I'm not sure, but I think I could adapt to a week's relief from making Cholent and I'll post our Guest Cholent Meistriss' recipe next week.

In the meanwhile, I made Deli Rolls for kiddish. Simple enough really:

1 Package of Puff Pastry (Pepperidge Farm is OU Parve)
1 pound of deli meat (Turkey, Pastrami, Corned Beef, etc.)
Mustard of your choice (brown mustard, yellow mustard, etc.)
Sauerkraut or Coleslaw
Yellow corn meal
Egg whites, Duck Sauce, or other spread of your choice for a glaze
Sesame Seeds

• Take the puff pastry and let it defrost so the dough is still firm, but can be opened (It is folded in thirds.)
• Spread the mustard over the center third
• Layer half the meat in the center
• Place some sauerkraut or coleslaw down the center of the meat
• Fold one third of the pastry over the meat
• Spread mustard over the top
• Layer meat
• Add sauerkraut or coleslaw down the center of the meat
• Fold the remaining third of the top of the roll
• Spread cornmeal on the baking sheet
• Place the roll SEAM SIDE DOWN on the baking sheet
• Glaze the top of the roll
• (Optional) Spread sesame seeds over top
• Bake until brown (400°F for 25 minutes)
  

Maybe next time I will get some nice sausage (Neshama Gourmet comes to mind), or use stir-fried beef with slivered carrots and teriyaki sauce instead of mustard for an Asian flavor...

Trader Joe's is EVIL I tell you!

Evil, EVIL, EEEEEEEEEEEVIL!!!

In an post over on Capitol Chai Life, I mentioned that in the past few years, there was a question raised about the consequence of the use of a feed in cows that improved their milk production, that it caused an unhealthy build-up of intensinal gasses.

Fortunately (for the cows), there exists a simple solution, to make a small puncture in the abdomen and into the intestines that lets the gas escape. Problem solved.

And Problem created.

Treyf technically refers to an animal that has been slashed, and such an animal is not kosher, even if it is an acceptable species, like cattle. So a large number of Rabbis debated whether puncturing cows in this manner actually rendered them tomai -- impure. Since the wound closed immediately, the overwhelming number of Rabbis agreed that this procedure did NOT render the specific cow impure. That being said, a small and vocal minority argued it DID render the cow impure, and so it was decided to err on caution. Of course, the only way to ensure you have cows that were not subject to this is to strictly supervise them, and thus Cholov Yisroel provides that solution.

And thus my dilemmma, as there is no ready source of a variety of Cholov Yisroel products near my home. Now milk is fairly easy, as there are a multitude of soy milks at the local market. Other products such as yogurt and ice cream are problematic, as the local stock is limited, and what they have is only mediocre.

And in steps Trader Joes.

Soy Cream Cherry Chocolate Chip Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert -- the parve answer to Cherry Garcia. Ooooooooooo baby! (Evil I tell you! Evil, evil, evil, evil!!! Ahahahahahaha! Ha! Haha!)

One week only! Two for one! (Ki Tisa / 17 Adar I 5768)

The Mom of one of our regular daveners is here in town for the week, including Shabbat. Since she is vegetarian, I'm planning on making a vegetarian stew for her and most of the congregation.

Now that being said, there are those of us who want a meat cholent, and who like spicy food. So there will be a SECOND stew, a Jamaican Chicken Curry. Yum!

Jamaican Chicken Curry

Step	Amt	Measure	Ingredient	Notes	Direction
1	1	Medium	Yellow onion	Diced	Cook Onion and Pepper in oil, until it softens
	1		Red Bell Pepper	1" dice
	2		Jabanero peppers	Fine dice
	1	Tblsp	Canola Oil
2	2	Tblsp	Fresh Ginger	Minced	Add Ginger and Garlic; cook until fragrant
	3	Cloves	Garlic	Minced
3	2	Tsp	Curry Power		Add spices and stir one minute
	1	Tsp	Allspice
	1	Tsp	Cumin
4	2	Lbs	Chicken breasts	Cubed	Put mixture into crock pot. Add chicken
5	2	Cups	Chicken stock		Pour chicken stock over chicken and vegetables.

• Pour chicken stock over all, stir, and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
• Season to taste, and serve with rice and green veggies.

Layered Vegetarian Dinner

Step	Amt	Measure	Ingredient	Notes	Direction
1	6	Large	Potatoes		Layer vegetables in a large casserole in the order listsd
	1	Large	Yellow Onion
	2		Carrots
	1		Green Bell Pepper
	1		Zucchini
	1	Cup	Frozen Corn	So long as the only ingredient is the vegetable, a specific hecshur
	1	Cup	Frozen Peas	is not needed. See Rabbi Baruch Davidson on chabad.org.
2	2½	Cups	Tomato sauce	Hunts is certified by O-K	Mix together sauce; pour over vegetables
	¼	Cup	Low Sodium Soy Sauce
	1	Tsp	Ground Thyme
	1	Tsp	Dry Mustard
	1	Tsp	Basil
	2	Tsp	Chili Powder
	½	Tsp	Cinnamon
		Pinch	Sage
	2	Tblsp	Parsley

Cook six hours at high or 12 at low.

I can understand running out of vinegar... (Tetzaveh / 10 Adar I 5768)

...I mean really, how many of us keep that close tabs on our vinegar supply.

But my Rabbi and Rebbitzin have four kids! How do you run out of KETCHUP???

Fortunately, this week's cholent is a variation on Brunswick Stew, a regional dish that traces its origins to the southeast United States (i.e. Brunswick, GA).

Back in the day, people in the 18th and 19th century United States, (especially in the Southern US, where there was little livestock farming), ate whatever game they had available -- squirrel, opossum, rabbit. These are gamier and leaner meats then we are accustomed to. In order to make these meats palatable, the people around Brunswick (depending upon whom you ask, Brunswick, Georgia or Brunswick County, Virginia) created a stew with local vegetables (either lima beans or butter beans, corn, rice, okra, and celery).

Now today, instead of worrying about hunting game for our supper, we worry about getting to the market through the traffic (to find ketchup and vinegar apparently!), so the meats used in this stew have also changed. The Virginia version (the basis for this week's cholent) relies on chicken, while the Georgia version relies on pork (which obviously will not be used.)

Oh, so why is it fortunate that this week's cholent is Brunswick Stew? Because I had two hours between when I precooked the meat to when I needed the ketchup (and the vinegar). Even in traffic clogged Washington DC, that was PLENTY of time to get to the market and back.

Update -- Saturday night 10:30 pm

I'm a victim of my own success. These guys went through two gallons of stew!

Brunswick Stew

Important note: Okra is a seasonal vegetable. You will only be able to find fresh Okra in the spring. According to Chabad, frozen vegetables do not require certification in and of themselves. On still needs to take care to inspect for bugs and you may want to restrict yourself to frozen organic vegetables, which tend not to have added ingregients that MUST be kosher. Frozen vegetables used on Passover however MUST be certified.

Step		Amount	Ingredient	Notes	Directions
1	2	pounds	Chicken breasts	With skin and bones	Place chicken and beef in pot with water to cover, bring to boil, turn down to a simmer and cook 1 hour until chicken is falling from the bones.
	1	pound	Stew beef		Remove chicken and remove skin and bones. Continue to cook beef another hour or until tender.
2	1	pint	Butter beans	Canned works	While meat cooks prepare veggies.
	½	pound	Okra	Sliced
	2		Onions	Medium, sliced
	2		Potatos	Large, diced
	¼	Cup	Ketchup
	½	bunch	Celery	Sliced
3	½	Cup	Vinegar		Remove beef from broth and set aside to cool.
	¾	Cup	Sugar		Place cut up veggies (except corn and tomatoes) in broth with all seasonings and cook over high heat about 12 mins. or until tender crisp.
	½	Tsp	Black Pepper
	½	Tsp	Red Pepper
	1	Tsp	Salt
	1	Tsp	Mustard
4	16	Oz	Corn	Frozen bag	Meanwhile, cut meats into small pieces, add to veggies, stir in corn and tomatoes, cook about 5 minutes, continue to cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens (a little flour mixed with water can be used if you want it thicker.
	24	Oz	Tomatoes	Canned; peeled and chopped
5	¼	lb	Margarine	unsalted	Add margarine and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook another 5 minutes.
Opt		Dash	Worcestshire
		Dash	Paprika
		Dash	Basil
		Dash	Parsley
	1		Bay leaf

See also Burgoo

L'Chaim France! (Terumah / 3 Adar I 5768)

Thursday late night, 7 Feb 08 / 1 Adar I 5768

Below, I noted that at least one of the kids last Shabbat had a simple piece of feedback abouit Dafina -- MORE MEAT!

Now I don't take this as an indicator that there was not enough meat in the Dafina (I think I used about 3½ pounds of chuck roast when all was said and done), but rather Kids Like Meat. They don't want vegetables, potatoes, and other fillers, they want beef (It's whats for dinner you know. Or lunch in this case.) Serendipitously, I had planned to make Boeuf Bourguinon this Shabbat (also known as Beef Burgundy in English).

Now classic Beef Burgundy is out of the question, as it relies on prohibited foods (a small amount of bacon), so I've made some minor changes -- the use of "beef fry" (very fatty pastrami) and the rendered fat from the chuck itself. I made a test batch earlier this week, and I would expect the kids to be Happy Campers this Shabbat. See for yourself.

For what it's worth, those are red pearl onions, carrot slices, and celery that are on top. Everything below is Beef.

Update Saturday night, 9 Feb 08 / 3 Adar I 5768

Once more, another hit with the cholent, although my young friend who wanted an all beef cholent may have discovered that he should be careful what he asks for, he WILL get it!

In fairness though, I think I made a pretty dumb error -- I can't remember adding salt to the dish!

Also, I need not have bothered with red pearl onions. They look nice above, but after cooking in the cholent, they were pretty much brown like everything else. Tasty, but brown.

We may have two cholents this coming Shabbat -- the Rabbi's brother wants to make cholent, but I'm skeptical he will come down from Philadelphia just to do that. I'm thinking about Cincinnati Chili, especially if I can get the Rebbitzin to make spaghetti.

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients

Directions

Amount Ingredient 2¼ Cups Dry Red Wine 4½ tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons Dry Minced Onion 1½ teaspoons Thyme 1½ tablespoons Parsley flakes 2 Bay leaves ¾ teaspoon Pepper 6 pounds Chuck roast ¾ cup Flour 1 teaspoon Salt 12 slices Beef fry (Fatty Pastrami) (diced) ¾ cup Yellow Onion (chopped) 18 Pearl Onions 3 Garlic cloves (minced) ¾ pound Mushrooms (quartered) 3 ribs Celery (sliced) 3 Carrots (diced)

Trim fat from beef, and cut into 1" cubes. Place fat on skillet at ¼ heat and allow it to render. Save the rendered fat for use in step 6. Thoroughly combine first 7 ingredients Add beef and marinate at least 4½ hours at room temperature, or overnight in refrigerator. Drain meat, reserving marinade. Place meat in removable liner; sprinkle with flour and salt and toss to coat meat. [Use more flour if needed.] Remove remains of fat from skillet and fry pastrami in rendered fat; fry chopped onion (until slightly brown), add garlic and fry for 30 seconds; remove onions, garlic and pastrami with slotted spoon and add to meat in liner. Saute mushrooms in remaining pastrami fat (add chicken fat if needed). Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon and add to meat-onion mixture. Pour reserved 1 cup of marinade over all. Add pearl onions, celery and carrots to meat-onion mix. Place liner in base. Cover and cook on auto 7 hours; or low 10-12 hours; or high 5 hours.

Notes: Needs 6 qt crock pot; 12" skillet for frying pastrami, onions, and mushrooms.

Morocco rules -- Dafina and Kouclas (Mishpatim / 26 Shevat 5768)

So this past week I made Dafina (a Moroccan cholent) with Kouclas (Morccan meat dumplings). And I was SURROUNDED by all these BEAUTIFUL, SINGLE, women! Now if they hadn't been only old enough to be my daughters.

Seriously though, the gals were making Challah for Shabbat while I was making the Cholent.

This would be the first Shabbat I was making Cholent on my own (as it were). Although last week I did make it, that effort was more of a test drive to check the logistics of putting everything together, the Rebbitzin was floating around, and it was one of her recipes. Now don't get me wrong -- it was a fine cholent and all, and lots of folks liked it, but part of the idea here is to take the burden off the woman (in addition to give back to my community, provide a means to express myself creatively through food, etc., etc.

Adding to the irony here is that this is Shabbat Mishpatim, where the different rules that make up Halacha (Jewish Law) are first really enumerated on their own, including some of the dietary laws that make up Kashrut.

Note: While different halachot are specified earlier in Torah, they've been done within the context of some larger historical event -- the Flood, the Akeidah (the sacrifice of Isaac), the Exodus from Egypt, and so on. Here, the statutes that make up Jewish Law first come on their own, with Eretz Yisrael asserting "We will obey, and we will understand".

Regardless, while last week's cholent was only about 4 quarts worth, and there must have been about a pint left over; the Dafina and Kouclas was over six quarts and NO leftovers! I daresay, it was a hit.

For what it's worth, I made two Kouclas, instead of one, and shaped them as logs, not as large meatballs. What you can do when you serve them is also place rolls, ketchup, mustard, and relish, and the kids can have them as Shabbat friendly hamburgers! [One of the kids asked me to make a cholent next week with hot dogs -- he should be careful, he may get what he asked for in a couple weeks. Kosher Jambalaya anyone?]

Dafina (Moroccan Sabbath Stew)

Amount	Ingredient	Amount	Ingredient	Directions:
1 recipe	Kouclas (Dumpling - Rice & Meat)	5 or 6	Pitted Dates	Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Drain. Prepare Kouclas. Heat the oil in a 6- to 8-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add, without mixing, the chickpeas, garlic, bones, meat, potatoes or bulgur, dates or honey, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric or saffron, salt, and pepper. Place the kouclas atop the dafina and arrange the eggs around it. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, occasionally skimming the foam, for 1 hour. Tightly cover the pot, place on a blech (a thin sheet of metal placed over the stove top) over low heat or in a 225-degree oven, and cook overnight. [Alternately, transfer to a slow crock-type cooker set on low to cook overnight.] Dafina is traditionally separated into different dishes before serving: the chickpeas and cooking liquid in one bowl, the eggs in a second, the potatoes in a third, the meat in a fourth, and the dumplings in a fifth.
8 Ounces	Dried Chickpeas (~1¼ cups)	3 Tblsp	Honey
3 Tblsp	Vegetable Oil	1 Tblsp	Paprika
2 Medium	Yellow Onions	1 Tsp	Ground Cumin
4 Whole	Garlic cloves	½ Tsp	Ground Cinnamon
1 pound	Beer or Veal Marrow bones	¼ Tsp	Ground Tumeric
3 pounds	Chuck Roast (cut into 1" cubes)	~2 Tsp	Salt
4 pounds	Potatoes, peeled and quartered		Pepper
		6 to 8	Eggs (Optional)

Kouclas bi Ruz (Rice Dumpling [with meat])

Amount	Ingredient	Amount	Ingredient	Directions
1 Cup	Rice	1 tsp	Ground Cinnamon	Beat eggs lightly Add cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, walnuts, parsley, and salt to eggs; beat to combine Knead egg mixture into lamb Knead rice into egg/lamb mixture Form into long, narrow loaf; wrap in cheesecloth, and secure with kitchen twine
4 oz	Ground Lamb	1 tsp	Ground Mace
½ Cup	Ground Walnuts	1 tsp	Grated Nutmeg
½ Cup	Chopped fresh Parsley	½ tsp	Salt
2	Large Eggs		Pepper (to taste)
	Cheesecloth		Kitchen twine