A happy new year starts off

I meant to post something significant if not downright mystical last week as the new Jewish year approached. Instead, I made chopped liver. And ginger cake. And plum kuchen from my friend's miter's recipe. And 100 travados.

I'm a practical kind of person, after all, so a quasi-mystical post wouldn't have seemed right somehow. Instead, here is my dad's recipe for chopped liver, a Jewish delight that resembles a rough pate de fois gras only made from chicken instead of goose livers.

Below is the chopped liver technique. Video by Rik Katz; fun also provided by Bob and Boychik. Shana tova umetuka veshalom - wishing us all a new year of joy, sweetness, good health, and peace around our world.

Chopped Liver Video Part 1:

Chopped Liver Video Part 2:

Chopped Liver Video Part 3:

Chopped Liver Video Part 4:

OK, I invented a dessert

As a riff on both Marcy Goldman's recipe for Matzoh Buttercrunch, and on Hershey's Almond Joys and Mounds Bars, favorite candies of my childhood, I invented a Passover version. Of course, you could make it any time of year; it's gluten-free and totally yummy (I think). Try it and let me know you opinion!

NOTE: The bars fell apart after I tried to cut them. I think next time I'll make individual ones in muffin tins lined with paper cupcake liners. But they still taste amazingly good, if I say so myself!

Passover “Almond Joy” Bars

Crust:

1 cup almond meal

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

Heat oven to 375° F.

Line an 8-inch square pan with baking parchment.

Combine ingredients for crust, and press into the bottom of pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown.

Center:

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Put oven rack in middle position and reduce oven heat to 300° F.

Whip together egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until peaks form. Stir in coconut. Spread coconut layer over almond crumb layer. Bake until top is pale golden in spots, 15 to 20 minutes.

Topping:

½ bag of chocolate chips

12 or more whole almonds

Spread chocolate chips over coconut layer. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes. Decorate with whole almonds. Chill in refrigerator. Cut into bars to serve.

I think if you change three ingredients, you can call a recipe your own. I did adapt the almond crust and macaroon middle layer from:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/lcarbcheesecake.htm

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coconut-Macaroons-232018

Matzoh Buttercrunch, to give it the proper name

Here in Seattle, about 20 years ago, a recipe began circulating among Jewish mothers of pre-school-aged children while I was working at the JCC as the Jewish educator. Someone called it Matzah Roca, after the famous candy, and it began to appear on almost every seder table as "the" dessert.

On my hunt for the original author, I found Marcy Goldman, who "created Matzoh Buttercrunch when my eldest son, now 29, was about 18 months old and of course, disliked all Passover offerings, especially the desserts. I thought about something that would be easy to make and that a toddler might eat. That was the inspiration."

I asked Marcy if I could share her original recipe on my blog, and she gracefully said yes. Marcy also writes: "I feature this recipe ‘always free’ on my website… Usually I’m not given credit for this recipe, one of my most iconic ones. But in the big scheme of life, as you must know more than most people, it’s not one of the ‘big things’.  I am just pleased that so many people get such pleasure out of the recipe. But given you have no doubt, lots to handle, it’s particular kind that you sought me out and asked for copyright permission."

So for all of you who would love the original Matzoh Buttercrunch, click away!

Cooking and cleaning and so many dishes

I love Passover. Even though over recent years I have given up changing the dishes, cleaning all the cupboards, buying new foodstuffs in unopened packages, etc. I still love Pesach. It may be favorite holiday ever.

Yesterday I spent my four good hours on my feet cooking. I made my father's recipe for chopped liver. Thanks to my in-laws' generosity, I don't grind by hand but instead use the grinder attachment for the stand mixer. (Two of the best presents I have ever received!) Then I made some matzah farfel "granola" for Rik to enjoy at breakfast and for late night snacking. I did something different this year; maybe I added a little more salt? But we both agree it's spectacular this time. And I whipped up a new cake with almonds, pears, dried cherries (and a few of the fresh ones I found in the freezer left from our little trees this summer). I haven't tasted yet since it's for tonight's seder, but if it's good I'll share the recipe I found on line.

Last night's seder was fun, maybe a little short for me, but we still finished the whole thing and didn't leave until 10:30 pm. Our hosts always include his 93-year-old father who is a Shoah survivor. What a treat to listen to his Polish Hebrew, his melodies, and to watch him pound the table during Adir Hu and shout in a call and response El! B'nai! El! B'nai! I think I will incorporate this into my next seder.

Breakfast this morning was the first taste of matzah with butter and salt -- the best! I wait all year for that delicious taste. Today I baked matzah rolls (like popovers but with matzah meal, so yummy fresh from the oven!), and a batch of matzah "roca" (as we call it in Seattle), made with chopped pecans instead of almonds this time. This recipe has floated around the world and now the internet for maybe 20 years, and is the best Passover dessert ever. I've asked the original author for permission to link to her site. We'll see what happens.

Our hostess's version of the 10 plagues. Look who came to dinner!

Back on Xeloda

I am back on another cycle of Xeloda (round 15) and have one more dose of Methotrexate before I see Dr G this week. My tumor markers drawn last week are about the same as the previous time; we'll see how much they change this week after the fourth dose of Methotrexate.

Meanwhile I am still easily fatigued but trying to keep accomplishing what I need to do. I had a busy weekend: I lead musaf services at synagogue (and someone told me my voice was "ethereal" -- that was really nice to hear!); we joined friends for smoked meat i.e. pastrami sandwiches and a to watch basketball game on TV; there was a congregational meeting Sunday morning; and our Food and Friends group met for the last time Sunday night. I did make an excellent Anarchy Cake thanks to G loaning me the recipe, but forgot to take a photo. Of course I made a few changes to incorporate some chocolate. I really recommend this recipe.

Yesterday I hacked at the ivy and trimmed back some ferns, then visited a friend in the hospital. Rik and I watched the very funny "Lone Ranger" movie starring Johnny Depp. This morning, however, it all caught up with me and I stayed in bed until noon. Now I am going to try to get the ironing done. I haven't even thought yet about what new tricks to include in Passover seder. Thank goodness friends are hosting us both nights!

Anarchy Cake (6-8 servings)

8 ounces / about 1 ½ cups sliced fresh strawberries

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

¾ cup cake flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 egg

¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup milk

½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan with parchment paper, brush with oil and lightly dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, gently toss the fruit with 1 tbsp of the sugar and set aside.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg with ½ cup sugar and lemon zest until light, fluffy and pale. (This could take as long as 3 minutes.) Add the oil, then the milk and the balsamic vinegar, beating until fully combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and drop the strawberries over the top. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar.

Bake for 50 minutes or until the top is a beautiful golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then remove sides of pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Delicious with whipped cream!

Note from Seattle Times: I’ve found that when you use fruit, the cake comes out like a cross between a torte and a cobbler. It’s a tender, low profile cake that’s not too sweet. A great emergency dessert that also works for tea time.

From Faith Willinger, "The Best American Recipes 2002-2003," edited by Fran McCullough

My Substitutions:
Sub ¼ cup cocoa for ¼ cup flour

Sub ¼ cup coffee for ¼ cup milk (to make it parve)

Okay to omit lemon zest

Sprinkle a handful of cocoa nibs over the batter

Top with coffee-flavored whipped cream

To make it for Passover, you could even sub some matzo meal cake flour for the pastry flour and use the 1/4 cup of cocoa.

Last night of Chanukah

I couldn't resist making latkes one more time for the last night of the holiday. Eating any food fried in oil counts to celebrate the miracle, and so we have eaten latkes, sufganiyot (doughnuts, traditional in Israel), olive oil on salmon, leftover latkes with scrambled eggs, you name it.

Again I will post my adaptation of my father's latke recipe. As my mom and I recalled, Dad would stand at the stove frying while we three sat at the kitchen table. He'd serve up a plate of latkes, start frying another batch, and eat his while standing up. No wonder both his daughters became master latke-makers!

Jill's take on Shellie's Latkes

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

2 onions, grated

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup matzo meal or flour

Avocado or other high heat oil, mixed with olive oil for frying

Applesauce or sour cream for garnish

1. Grate the potatoes by hand using the tiny holes in the grater. Or in a food processor use the thinnest grating blade, then whirl with the S blade to turn potatoes from grated strips into more of a mush. Grate the onions in the same way. Scoop up 1/4 cup of potatoes at a time with your hands and squeeze out and discard the excess liquid, then put in a colander and add the onions, eggs, matzo meal, salt, and pepper, making sure that everything is very well blended. Let batter drain in the large colander over a mixing bowl while you fry.

2. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a 10-inch pan over high heat. Scoop latkes using a tablespoon and add them to the hot oil. Don't crowd the pan -- four at a time is plenty. Be careful not to burn yourself! Cook latkes for about 3-4 minutes per side. Drain on a rack placed in a baking sheet with one inch sides (do not use paper towels), and keep warm in a 250 degree oven. Or eat standing up, while they're fresh from the oil.

3. Serve with applesauce at a meat meal or with sour cream or Greek style yogurt at a dairy meal.

PS You can freeze fried latkes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Transfer to a freezer bag or other container. When ready to eat latkes again, reheat in a low oven for about 20 minutes or until warm. This way your house doesn't smell like fried potatoes or stale oil when the guests arrive.

Rik loves latkes!

Brain mets are stable

I have n=been deficient in blogging for the past few days.

First of all, my brain mets appear stable. This is the good news from last Monday's scan. Dr G plans to try one more round of Xeloda, although he did agree to reduce the dose by 1/6 (from six pills to five) and will give me an extra week off treatment in April. I may need it, since the leftover fatigue from the last round is still wearing me out.

I continue to have very little appetite in the evenings, and have lost about five pounds (from 120 to 115). Breakfast usually goes well, and lunch too, but somehow I never seem to be hungry until after 8:00 PM.

I am spending today doing some Passover cooking. I just made the chopped liver to my Dad's recipe and after I clean up, will start eggplant caponata, matza farfel "granola" for Rik, and chocolate-almond cupcakes for seder dessert. Tomorrow I will make the roast turkey, chicken soup and knaydlach (matza balls). Everyone else is bringing something.

My plan for Monday is to be done cooking early and have time for a nap. Then I will relax, enjoy seder and let everyone else do the serving and cleaning up. Am I smart or what?

Lost and found

I had a panic-stricken moment last night. In the middle of choir rehearsal, I looked down at my hand and blurted out, "Oh no! Where's my wedding ring?" The Dunavettes immediately began to turn the room upside down looking for my ring. One minute later, my phone bleeped with a text from the rabbi -- they'd found my wedding ring at the shiva minyan house. I went from panic to relief in two minutes or less. Here's the back story:

I spent part of the afternoon making food for a family in mourning. My go-to dish for our synagogue's Mitzvah Corps is sesame cold noodles. I can make it in advance, it's tasty, and it transports well.

I like to cook with my hands, and I am scrupulous about cleanliness. When tossing the rice noodles with the dressing, it's easier to use my hands and not utensils. Sometimes I wear food service gloves, but yesterday I just washed my hands and tossed. Somewhere along the way, around 4:00 PM, my wedding ring slipped off, either into the bowl or into the foil dishes, and I didn't notice. By the time I noticed I wasn't wearing my ring, it was after 7 PM.

I don't know who ended up with my ring in their dinner, but as Rik pointed out, I am grateful that they didn't end up eating it. A friend returned the ring to our home, and it was waiting for me after rehearsal.

A side note: When we got married, my mother offered me my grandmother's wedding ring and my great-great-aunt's engagement and wedding rings. We turned Aunt Dora's rings into a beautiful engagement ring, but Mima's ring was too large for me. Rik wears it, and we had a smaller ring made for me with the same pattern chased into the gold.

A second side note: the sesame cold noodles recipe (without wedding ring!)

Sesame Cold Noodles

Serves 4 - 6 as a side dish. Easily increases to serve a crowd.

Sauce:

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (or tahina or peanut butter)

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

1 - 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine, vermouth or other white wine

2 tablespoons peeled, chopped fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon chili paste or crushed dried red peppers OR 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

Pinch of five-spice powder

Toppings:

1 bunch scallions, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded cucumber

8 ounces pasta (spaghetti, linguini, soba or rice noodles)

Optional additions: Cooked shredded chicken, seared tofu or seared ahi tuna

In a blender or food processor, puree all the sauce ingredients until free of lumps and reserve.

Cook the noodles cooked according to package directions and drain. Rinse noodles under cold water and toss with a little vegetable oil to keep from sticking. Store noodles in bowl in refrigerator. Toss with sauce and toppings when ready to serve.

Latkes and Chanukah

Tonight we'll light the fifth candle for Chanukah. Last night I made latkes for dinner (and fresh trout, and green peas). I used my Dad's recipe but instead of standing and frying while Rik sat and ate (Dad used to fry while we ate; he'd eat standing up at the range), I kept the latkes on a rack placed on a rimmed baking sheet in a warm oven until we were ready to eat. I learned that trick from Cook's Illustrated.

The real problem for me is that I don't always like other peoples' latkes, so when I go to a Chanukah party, I might be disappointed. Latkes should be made from potatoes grated on the small, round holes of a box grater, not shredded, with plenty of onion, salt and pepper, and just an egg or two (depending on quantity) and maybe some matzah meal or flour to bind everything together. Okay, I use my food processor instead of a box grater. But after I shred the potatoes, I spin them a few times using the S-blade. This gives the texture of grated potatoes without the risk of bloody knuckles. Same with the onions.

My sister taught me two tricks:

1. After you mix everything together, place the mixture in a strainer over a bowl and let it continue to strain while frying. The less liquid, the better.

2. If you want to make latkes in advance for a large group, fry and then freeze on a flat tray. When frozen, bag until you need them. Reheat gently in a low oven.

Today I fried about 30 latkes and froze them to serve for dinner on Friday night. I couldn't help but eat the broken bits. YUMMY!

Fall has begun

Barely two days after we finished celebrating the new year, fall has hit Seattle. It's cool and grey today, even a little rain is spritzing. I'm dealing with my end of summer blues by baking a zwetchsgen kuchen (plum cake). Basically a shortbread cookie dough with sliced plums, it tastes seasonally of the moment. Thanks to H for sending her husband R's mother's recipe, which halved beautifully.

Now what will I do with the rest of the plums?

Our holiday was not as lively this year. Rik didn't feel well, and so I went to synagogue and on to lunch with friends. I had two specific goals for services this year: I wanted to hear the shofar blown, and I wanted to be able to make the full prostration before God, which is only performed on Rosh Hashanah. It is perhaps the only time during the year that Jews surrender themselves physically, acknowledging God's sovereignty. As I continue this dance with metastatic cancer, I've learned over the years that I have no control over how it rules my life. I had to learn to surrender, at least sometimes.

In Genesis 18:20-21, Abraham argues with God for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah, insisting that even one good person would make it worthwhile. But in Genesis 22:2, Abraham submits to God's request to take his son Isaac up to the mountain. Read this short drash for an interpretation of why sometimes Jews argue and sometimes we surrender.

On to the next holiday: g'mar chatima tova, may we be sealed in the Book of Life.

Yemenite shofar

Challah

I baked a particularly fancy challah today as part of getting ready for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which begins on Sunday evening.

I used my friend J's recipe and a cardamom-cinnamon-sugar filling, but followed the technique for Smitten Kitchen's braided crown challah.

Here is how it looked before going in to the oven:

The finished product.

Smells yummy and looks great, if I say so myself.


J’s Challah Recipe

(With Rapid-Rise yeast, I can start this dough as late as 2 ½ - 3 hours before dinnertime.)

1 cup water

2 packages Rapid-Rise yeast (1 packet yeast = 2 1/4 tsp)

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons wheat gluten flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar or honey

1/4 cup oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 egg yolk, beaten, to brush over challot

cinnamon or cardamom and sugar (optional)

water in a spray bottle (optional)

sesame or poppy seeds (optional)

Proof the yeast in warm water and a drop of honey until bubbles form.

Preheat oven to 100 degrees and turn oven off when it hits this temperature.

Mix one cup of flour, wheat gluten flour, sugar or honey, oil, salt and eggs. Add more flour one cup at a time and knead until dough is no longer sticky. (This may take more or less flour than listed.)

Oil a large bowl, place dough in it, cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 hour in warmed oven. Dough should double in size.

Divide dough in half. Divide each half into thirds. Form one third into a rope about 10 inches long and roll into a flat rectangle. Spray with water and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture if using. Roll along long edge to make a rope with filling in the center. Repeat with additional two thirds. Braid three ropes together, pinch ends and tuck under to make a loaf. Repeat with remaining half of dough to make a second loaf. Place both loaves on a lined baking sheet and brush each loaf with beaten egg yolk. (If not using cinnamon-sugar mix, you may sprinkle the top each loaf with sesame or poppy seeds at this point.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees while dough rises.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for additional 20 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a baking rack and serve warm.

Shabbat shalom!