Category Archives: Pesach

Incredible Vanilla Ice Cream

Pesach, recipes

I got this recipe from a friend who made it for my sheva brachos almost seventeen years ago, and I’ve made it a number of times and gotten rave reviews every time.  I rarely make ice cream anymore, except for Pesach, but this was the first year I’ve made this for Pesach.  It usually has a crumb topping, but for Pesach I left it off.  My kids liked this more than any other frozen desserts we made this year, except for the strawberry ice whip, which I told you has emotional staying power from year to year. 🙂

Incredible Vanilla Ice Cream

  • 2 containers whip (regular size), coconut cream, or dairy cream
  • 2 – 3 eggs
  • 1/2 – 3/4 c. sugar
  • 2 t. vanilla

Mix up the whip until thick, then mix the other ingredients into it.  Then:

  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 1/3 c. sugar

Beat the egg whites and sugar in a clean, dry bowl until stiff.  Mix the egg yolks into the mixture above.  When egg whites are stiff, fold both mixes together.  Put in a pan and freeze.  You can grate baking chocolate on top to add a decorative touch.

Avivah

Fruit Sorbet

Pesach, recipes

>>Could you please post how you make your fruit sorbet? I am assuming you don’t have a KLP ice cream maker and i am curious to know how you mke one without.<<

Here’s the recipe for the fruit sorbet – the name of it is really a misnomer because there’s no fruit in it.  It’s very easy and not a bit healthy; I doubt you can find anything redeeming about it nutritionally.  On Pesach we eat things and use ingredients that I don’t use the rest of the year, and this recipe is a perfect example of that. 🙂

Fruit Sorbet

  • 2 packages of jello
  • 2 c. boiling water
  • 1 container of whip

Mix the jello with boiling water, chill slightly but not until set.  Beat the whip partially, but not until stiff.  Combine the jello and whip, then freeze in a pan.  Take out a few minutes before serving.

I don’t have an ice cream maker, but in the past when making sherbert, what I’ve occasionally done is to mix all the ingredients together, pour into a pan, freeze, and then every 20 minutes or so to stir it. Another easier option that I did more often was to freeze it, then whip it, then freeze again only once more.  That way it has a sherbert-like consistency.

For Pesach desserts (on yom tov and Shabbos, not chol hamoed) we usually have one frozen treat with one baked good at every meal.  I don’t like to have more than that because it seems like overload to me.  Examples would be vanilla ice cream with apple pie, mocha squares with strawberry ice whip, or chocolate cake with fruit sorbet.  Even though it’s a lot more sugar than I generally use, everyone generally just has a piece of each per meal, so it’s still not horrible.

Avivah

Quinoa Pudding

Pesach, recipes

Quinoa Pudding

  • 1 c. quinoa
  • 2  c. water
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 c. milk
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/3 c. honey
  • 1/8 t. salt
  • 1/4 c. slivered or chopped almonds
  • 1/4 c. raisins
  • 1/8 t. cinnamon (for sprinkling on top)

Rinse quinoa to remove bitter coating.  Bring quinoa and water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 13 – 15 minutes, until the grains are translucent.

Mix quinoa together with all other ingredients. Pour into a greased 9″ pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Avivah

Matza Pizza – Pesach

Pesach, recipes

Here’s a quick and easy Pesach lunch:

Matza Pizza

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 4 matzos
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 16 cheese slices or equivalent of shredded cheese

Beat the egg and milk.  Brush one side of the matza with this, and put the matzos next to one another on a well greased pan, with the dry side down.  You can cover with sauce and put the cheese on top, or cover with cheese and pour the sauce on top.  (I’ll try covering it with cheese and then the sauce, for a different presentation.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Update – we made this, and tried it with and without the egg and milk.  I didn’t taste it but my kids did, and they didn’t think there was much of a difference.  They felt it was faster to make without it and would rather stick to just putting the sauce straight onto the matza.  We also tried it with the cheese on top, and the sauce on top, and they preferred it with the cheese on top, in the traditional way.

Avivah

Pesach meal ideas

Pesach

I thought I’d make up a pre Pesach menu plan to share with you, but I didn’t end up doing that.  I’m sorry if I disappointed anyone.  But I’ll share with you some ideas of things that I make, along with some recipes. 

I have about five pounds of ground chicken and five pounds of ground meat defrosting right now.  I’m planning to mix them to make meat patties and meat knishes for non yom tov meals.  The basic idea of making knishes is very, very simple.  I boil up a big pot of potatoes, mash them well, add eggs, salt, and pepper, ground meat, and potato starch.  Sorry, I made up this recipe, so I don’t have measurements.  It doesn’t really matter how much potato and meat you put in – whatever ratio you like will turn out well as long as there’s enough egg and potato starch to hold it together.  Then I shape them into squarish shapes, and bake them at 350 until they’re done.  I like the consistency the potato starch adds to it – it gives them kind of a cheesy consistency.  I do something similar to make dairy knishes.  But instead of adding ground meat, I add shredded cheese and/or cottage cheese.   Both of these are nice for taking on chol hamoed outings.

Because there are so many meat meals on yom tov, I try to make lighter meals for chol hamoed.  I don’t buy fish for Pesach, because I find it too expensive, so our meals tend to be dairy with vegetables.  Pizza, lasagna, eggplant parmesan, and crustless quiche are all nice main dishes.  I’ve made bourekas but they’re a pain to make – but they were very tasty!  Vegetable cutlets or loaf is also nice, particularly with a gravy on top.  I like having a big pot of vegetable soup to supplement these meals, or cut fresh veggies.  What I make really depends on how much is left of my groceries once all of the bulk yom tov meals are prepared. 

Matza brei and latkes (with dried fruit, cottage cheese, or matza meal) are nice for breakfast, along with milk and fruit.  So are hash browns and eggs.  This year I’m looking forward to trying a new quinoa pudding recipe that looks yummy. 

There are so many things to eat on Pesach, many of which are the same or can be adapted from regular recipes from the year, that there’s no reason to complain about how hungry and deprived the family has to be for a week without pasta or bagels!

I’ve prepared posts with Pesach recipes that I plan to send them out on chol hamoed (we try to avoid doing anything unnecessary on chol hamoed, but dh said it’s okay if I post it then).  If I’ve mentioned a specific recipe that you’d like me to post, let me know and I’ll try to put it up for you. 

Avivah

Mock Oatmeal Cookies – Pesach

Pesach

Here’s the new cookie recipe we tried out yesterday that Rena requested – remember, these are Pesach cookies.  Don’t expect it to taste like chometz!

Mock Oatmeal Cookies

  • 1 c. matza meal
  • 1 c. matza farfel
  • 1/2 c. white sugar
  • 1/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 t. cinnamon
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 1/2 c. oil
  • 1 c. raisins
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix together the first five ingredients in one bowl.  In another bowl, beat the eggs, then add the oil, adding the nuts and raisins last.  Blend both bowls of ingredients together.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet and flatten top slightly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, being careful not to overbake.  (If in doubt, bake it a little less.)

Avivah

Pesach cooking

Pesach

You’re probably feeling out of sync with me, reading about my gardening plans when it’s time to get ready for Pesach.  🙂  Just so you know I still remember what week long holiday is coming, I’ll share what we’re doing about Pesach cooking.  We did some Pesach cooking before Shabbos – so far, we’ve made and frozen two kinds of ice creams, baked chicken, carrot kugel, apple kugel, vegetable matza kugel, moussaka, kishke, and mocha squares.  

I planned to go the vegetable store early this morning to get enough to hold us through all of yom tov, but thanks to dh having my car keys in his pocket and being far away, that will wait until tomorrow morning.  Fortunately I have enough flexibility in my schedule that doing my errands tomorrow won’t throw me off.  We’ll do our cooking today with what we have on hand (I think I have basically all I need, except for beets, but I’d like to get some more veggies for fresh salads). 

With so many meals to prepare, I find it easiest to quadruple up on recipes, making several pans of the same thing at one time, put some in the freezer, and pull out a selection of what I want for each meal.  Then it doesn’t feel like much work, it can be spread out over a few days very easily, and we end up with a really nice choice of dishes.  So I start bulking up on recipes when I cook for the Shabbos before Pesach (since the kitchen is turned over by then), and the things in the freezer are for all of yom tov as well as the Shabbos right after Pesach. 

Here’s what we’re planning to make for today:

  • chocolate cake
  • marble cake
  • apple pie w/almond crust
  • fruit sorbet
  • jello with pineapple and sliced strawberries
  • chocolate chip cookies
  • mock oatmeal raisin cookies
  • meatloaf
  • meat balls
  • roast chicken
  • confetti vegetable kugel
  • potato kugel
  • quinoa pilaf
  • tomato bruschetti salad
  • California pickle salad
  • cole slaw
  • health salad

Different children have requested to make different dishes, so it’s split up pretty evenly between them.  Ds6 is a partner with dd14, dd8 is a partner with dd12 in addition to making one dessert on her own.  Ds10 has been peeling carrots and apples so they’ll be ready when someone needs it while waiting for his turn to make something.  Ds3 is with his grandparents having a birthday trip.  And me?  I’m here with you.  :)))  

Tomorrow we’ll make beet salad, carrot salad, baked apples, and do all the laundry.  A couple of cooked vegetable dishes and fresh salads (including charoses) will be made on erev Pesach.  And that should be basically all of the cooking done through the Shabbos after Pesach, except for breakfasts and lunches until Pesach, and then chol hamoed meals. 

Avivah

Confetti vegetable kugel – Pesach

Pesach

My dd12 made up this kugel recipe today, and is very happy with how it came out.  So I’m sharing it here with you. 

Michal’s Amazing Confetti Vegetable Kugel

  • 8 medium potatoes
  • 2 large or 5 small carrots
  • 2 small zucchini
  • 1/4 c. potato starch
  • 1/4 c. matza meal
  • 1/4 c. oil
  • 1 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/4 t. pepper
  • 4 eggs

Shred the vegetables.  Mix together with all remaining ingredients.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan or cover the bottom with baking paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until it’s golden brown around the edges and the center is firm when you insert a knife. 

Enjoy!

Avivah

Strawberry Ice Whip

Pesach, recipes

This is a classic for Pesach in our family – it’s the one thing that I always make every year.  We have pictures of my oldest two when they were 3 and 2, blending this up together, and every year since then, my kids anticipate making and eating this strawberry ice whip.   Several years ago I mentioned that I wasn’t going to make it, and all of the kids vociferously protested and told me it wouldn’t feel like Pesach without it!  It’s super easy – the main thing is you have to blend it for the whole time so that it really fluffs up.

Strawberry Ice Whip

  • 2 c. strawberries, sliced
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 2 t. lemon juice
  • 2 egg whites

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix with electric blender (we use a hand blender) on high speed for twenty minutes, until the mixture triples in volume.  Put in the freezer (we put it in a pan) and serve when frozen – we cut it into squares for a yummy and light dessert.

We’ve served this to many guests over the years (most recently to yesterday’s lunch guests), and they’ve all enjoyed it, too!

Avivah

Pesach 2009 shopping list and partial menu plans

menu plans, Pesach,

Last year, I made a list of all the foods I bought for Pesach, and taped it to a box of Pesach dishes, together with a rough menu plan for the days of yom tov (not chol hamoed), and receipts for everything I bought (along with a list of reminders to myself of things to do this year).  It’s very nice to have, and I’m glad I did it.  I’m not yet finished with my Pesach shopping for this year – I plan to do the last of it later today, and I’ll probably get a few more veggies a day or two before Pesach – so I can’t share a list of what my exact shopping list for this year looks like yet.  But last year’s list is similar, so I think it can still be helpful.  And surprisingly to me, the prices from this year and last are very, very close.

General supplies:

  • grape juice, 64 oz (bought 20, used 12)
  • sugar (used 3 lb)
  • 1 bottle lemon juice
  • 3 containers potato starch
  • 1 paprika
  • 1 cinnamon
  • 1 salt
  • 4 cans tomato sauce (regular size)
  • 4 cans pineapple, crushed
  • 2 cans green olives, sliced
  • 2 cans black olives, sliced
  • 2 packages ground walnuts
  • 1 container raisins
  • 1 bottle apple cider vinegar
  • 2 bottles of veg. oil, 48 oz.
  • 1 bottle olive oil
  • 2 containers sour pickles
  • 1 3 lb. tab stack of cheese
  • 30 dozen eggs
  • 3 lb hand shmura, regular
  • 1 lb whole wheat hand shmura
  • 3 lb. machine shmura
  • 3 lb. egg matza (can’t remember why I bought this – it’s not something I use on Pesach)
  • 1 lb. whole wheat machine matza
  • 3 lb. matza meal
  • 15 lb. reg. machine matza
  • 5 boxes quinoa (about 14 oz each)

Produce:

  • 4 cantaloupe
  • 8 lb grapes
  • 100 lb potatoes
  • 4 heads celery
  • 4 lb turnips
  • 8 lb beets
  • 4 lb green pepper
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 9 lb eggplant
  • 10 lb green cabbage
  • 3.5 lb. garlic
  • 4 lb cucumbers
  • 15 lb onions
  • 1 head purple cabbage
  • 100 lb carrots
  • 5 lb strawberries
  • 10 lb apples
  • 6 lb oranges
  • 15 lb bananas
  • 15 lb pears
  • 10 lb tomatoes
  • 1 lb parsnips
  • 4 spaghetti squash
  • 4 butternut squash

Meat/chicken:

  • 40 lb. chicken
  • 15 lb. ground meat
  • 1 – 12 lb turkey

I didn’t make notes about how much I had left over – but I’m sure that we didn’t eat all of the above foods in a week and a half (including the days before Pesach when we turned over the kitchen).  I made a note that I spent a total of $500 for the month of Pesach, which was the same thing I was spending for every other month, and the receipts back that up.

Here are some of the foods that I made for the days of yom tov itself – unfortunately I didn’t note the veggie side dishes or chol hamoed meals, since the purpose of making the list was just for myself to remember how many times I multiplied the recipes.  I make a variety of things in each category, and mix and match them for the various meals so we’re eating different foods each time, but I can still maximize my time in the kitchen and double up on recipes.  I make the vast majority of the food in the two days before Pesach, and then put part of the meat dishes, kugels, and desserts in the freezer for the second days.  For the marinated salads, I make a large amount of each at one time because it stays good in the fridge all week long.  Then I’ve got the bulk of yom tov meals out of the way by the time Pesach starts, which is helpful since I don’t like cooking on yom tov itself, and I do like to relax and enjoy the holiday when it’s here.  It can be hard to feel the joy of yom tov when it’s non stop cooking and dishwashing.  I make the cooked vegetable dishes and non marinated salads right before the last days so that they’re fresh.

Main dishes:

  • roast turkey
  • roast chicken
  • meat and eggplant layers
  • shepherd’s pie
  • pinwheel meat roll
  • meatloaf
  • turkey salad

Kugels:

  • potato – 4 – 9 x 13 pans
  • royal carrot – 3 – 9 x 13 pans
  • vegetable matza – 3 – 9 x 13 pans
  • kishke – three rolls
  • quinoa pilaf (two kinds)

Salads:

  • beet
  • coleslaw
  • California pickle
  • carrot
  • health
  • tomato bruschetti
  • charoses (not a salad but it still kind of fits this category)

Desserts (we also had lots of fresh fruit, but this is only what I prepared):

  • chocolate cake (4 – 9 x 13)
  • mocha squares (2 – 9 x 13)
  • banana ice cream (1 – 9 x 13)
  • strawberry ice whip (3 – 9 x 13)
  • grape sherbert (2 9 x 13)

If you look at my shopping list and then at the foods I prepared, you’ll see a lot of things that clearly weren’t used for any of the above dishes, and those were things that were used for breakfasts and chol hamoed meals.  But I don’t have a list of the specific dishes I made, though I have a general recollection.  I’ll try to share with you some of the foods we have for breakfasts and chol hamoed sometime before Pesach, once I get my menu for this year planned.

Avivah