Avivah Werner

Author: Avivah

  • Incredible Vanilla Ice Cream

    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

    >>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

    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

    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

    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

  • Preparing for birth

    Now that I’m in my ninth month, there are a couple of things I feel are important to be doing to prepare for birth.  I ordered the birth kit last week, and was happy to have it arrive, so that’s one less thing I need to worry about getting taken care of.  (Though when I opened it up, I felt it was a total waste of money and wanted to send it back.  But I called and they don’t allow returns, even though I didn’t open up the packaging of anything.  I should have asked what was included instead of assuming it was what I needed.) 

    Physically, there are a couple of things.  One is to drink at least a cup every day of an herbal blend intended for pregnancy.  I haven’t been drinking this since last week because I wasn’t sure about using the herbs in my Pesach dishes.  It’s a blend of herbs that include red raspberry.  I think in the past I’ve posted the recipe for the blend here.  It’s a good blend for anyone, in pregnancy, during labor, and after birth – because it strengthens and tones the uterus.  It’s an easy thing to do; I have it at night before I go to sleep.  By this point, I really should be drinking a few cups a day, but I haven’t yet done that.  It’s most important to me that I can use it as an infusion (very strongly brewed tea) during labor. 

    Though I’m due the beginning of May, I’ve been concerned about being early again.  Since last time my water broke 3.5 weeks before my due date (and before that 2.5 weeks before), that would be the same as it happening tomorrow.  I’m not really feeling like having a baby tomorrow.  🙂  I’m positive it wasn’t a coincidence that both of the last babies were early and I had the situation of PROM (prolonged rupture of membranes), and want to avoid that if I can.   I asked my midwife what could have caused it, and she said it might be some kind of internal infection, though I have no signs of anything.  Almost six months ago I asked another midwife (early in pregnancy, when I wasn’t yet seeing my midwife) who said it could have been GBS (Group B Strep), and a friend (who has a history of premature labor) yesterday emailed me saying it was probably GBS.  But I kind of discounted that suggestion since I have no history of it and the only symptom that matches up is the PROM.  My midwife didn’t bring it up as a concern and she knows the specifics of my situation.  

    In any case, I asked my midwife if she had any preventative suggestions, and she said that vitamin C strengthens the amniotic sac.  Knowing vitamin C is good for fighting infections of all kinds, it made sense to me to take some.  So I started taking a large dose of vitamin C daily in the form of medical grade powdered sodium ascorbate – 12,000 units a day.  Yes, that’s a very large amount.  If you take too much vitamin C, your body will let you know by getting rid of the excess in the form of diarrhea, so it’s not something you have to worry about overdosing on.  I don’t enjoy taking this, but it seems my body needs whatever I’m taking in since I haven’t had any signs that I’m taking too much.  I also started drinking kefir a few days ago.  Kefir is cultured milk, high in probiotics, and very helpful in restoring digestive balance.   Kefir can also clean out your digestive system when you start taking it, but so far, so good. 

    My main concern was that during Pesach, right when it’s most important to be doing these things (as far as my personal timeline goes), I wouldn’t be able to use them.  Today my husband clarified for me that I could use the herbal tea blend as well as the vitamin C powder on Pesach, which was really a relief.  I won’t be drinking the kefir after tomorrow, but that’s not a big deal to me.   So now, I feel I’m doing my part and whenever it happens, it happens. (Though I hope it will be after April 18, since I rescheduled my monthly shopping trip for the 17th, and have lunch guests for the 18th. :))

    Avivah

  • Explaining food dehydrating

    >>Hi, would you mind explaining what it means to dehydrate vegetables?<<

    Sure, I’d be happy to!  Dehydrating vegetables is a method of preserving them by drying.  It’s very simple to do when you have a dehydrator – I bought an electric one a few months ago that I’m very happy with that has been super useful.  It’s also possible to dry vegetables in the sun, using a solar dehydrator or even just putting food on screens when the sun is shining and covering it with muslin cloth.

    I’ve found that once you have a dehydrator, it can be a big help in making your food budget go even further. I can take advantage of large amounts of produce that is on sale, since I have a way to preserve it before it goes bad.  Dried vegetables can be used in cooking very easily – they plump back up to regular size with cooking – and they take very little space to store since they shrink substantially when dried.

    I put them in glass or plastic food grade containers and keep them on the shelf – they don’t need any refrigeration once they’re dehydrated.  Because we’re a lot of people using one regular sized fridge, this is also very helpful in using our available space efficiently.

    Do you need a dehydrator to keep your food budget as low as mine?  No, obviously not, since I just started using one recently!  I don’t point to this as a major strategy that I use to keep food costs low, but rather a way to extend your food budget dollars, by being able to buy more at a low price and making it last for longer, so that you don’t have to pay full price when you run out of sale vegetables.

    Avivah

  • Mock Oatmeal Cookies – 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

    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

    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