Mommycake and Co

family vacation

2011-07-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have to say, one of the things I love is to vacation with the family. Some people say that a vacation with kids is not a vacation, but mostly I disagree. Family vacations are just different then a getaway with your spouse. Last year we embarked on a new type of perlman vacation. We decided to try camping. I am not the most outdoorsy person, If you know me well, you are probably laughing at me right now. I love the idea of outside, but need a bathroom. And when I say bathroom, I mean one private =e, and close to me for middle of the night potty breaks. Camping today is not the same as it once was. There are loads of family camp grounds that have beautiful bathrooms and what not, just not for me. We went to a great camp ground last year and stayed in a great cabin and had a blast. This year we tried a new place and let's just say did not turn out to be my dream get away.
We left the house sunday for what should have been a 3 hr drive....(just sit right back and you'll hear a tale....)
We got to Luray and I was not feeling it. There were loads of activities all week that the kids were excited about. I knew it wasn't going to be a luxurious cabin like we had last year, but I didn't think it was going to be THAT bad!!! OK, I know I am a little princess like, and I don't apologise for it. This cabin was just insanely bad. I wish i took pictures....so sad i didn't. They said there was air conditioning, which is one of those things i need as much as a bathroom near my bed, but a unit in the wall in one of the tiny two rooms is not my idea of comfort. The "main" room was so tiny!!! It had a plastic full mattress under a plastic twin (bunk bed), so gross, you could see the ply board that the bed was sitting on. There was not a single drawer or cabinet. where were we supposed to put clothing and food and stuff for 5 people?!?!?! I know Shnuel and I are not small people, but when we stood near the bed, we were touching the table, that only had four seats. where was dee dee going to sit? The campgrounds had not a tree in sight, ok a few trees, but not near us. It was like a huge open field for every one's fire pit. No privacy at all!. I was really not happy. Thank G I have the most amazing husband, and he knew I was not happy (he wasnt either) that cabin was not cheap. We called every camp ground we could find in driving distance and found one in Pennsylvania. We packed the car back up and got on the road. We have the most amazing kids!!! they were so great!!!! we stopped at walmart (my favorite place) got some movies and drinks and hit the highway. In one day we went from Maryland to West Virginia, to virginia,, back to west virginia, through maryland and into pennsylvania. I want to give a shout out to Nancy at yogi bear Shangri-la, she was sooooooo nice and amazing. We arrived at beautiful cabin #18 at 11 pm. (we left the house a 2pm, keeping in mind that my poor yussi cam from NJ so he was in the car from 8 am. the best kids!!!! Just as we unloaded the car and got everyone into bed, the sky opened and it poured!! Thank G it waited til we were here and inside.
The best thing about changing camps, was this cabin was a million times nicer and it was HALF THE PRICE!!! ok so there is like nothing to do here except for a pool and a play ground. BUt there is so much t do around the area so it was worth it. The kids are having a blast! They have seen things that most kids will never get to see. We are creating amazing memories and for that I am so grateful.
Monday we went to Penn's cave, which is one of only 2 all water caverns in the us and one of 4 in the world. It was SOOO COOL and AMAZING!! it also had a wildlife tour so we got to see loads of cool animals up close. Tuesday we went to a childen's museum in bloomberg PA, it was great. Wednesday we went to the Yuengling factory and saw how they made beer. Then we sampled. After that we went to Pioneer Tunnel which is an old coal mine and went on a tour there along with a steam train ride. It was neat to learn so much!!! We found out about a little town in the area that was evacuated and abanded in the 60's bc of undergroun
d fires. way cool, we drove through it and it is like a ghost town, the streets are all over grown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania take a minute and read about it.
Tomorrow we are going to a local amusement park. Every night we made a camp fire and cooked diner out there. We roasted marshmallows and just hang out. Getting to talk to the kids and just spending time together has been amazing.......
http://www.pennscave.com/
http://www.pioneertunnel.com/
check out all my pics on my facebook page

http://www.knoebels.com/

do you have a drinking problem if you bake with alcohol?

2011-07-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

I love a good drink, I also love a good cake, so I often combine the two. I make a screwdriver cake, a mocha vodka cake, Caribbean rum cake, chocolate mousse with dark rum, and more. I found a recipe for a chocolate stout cake a few years back and never tried it. Then a few months ago, I saw an idea for Irish car bomb cupcakes. My mouth could not stop watering. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_car_bomb). In order to make this cake I needed to some some research. The recipe calls for Irish cream, hard to find any kosher, let alone pareve.I did some research and found a recipe to make my own. Only problem was i needed pareve sweetened condensed milk, ummm where in the world was i going to find that? So I went to my favorite site www.joyofkosher.com, and looked there. Still did not find it, so I emailed a friend who works in the kosher food industry and she helped. Joy of Kosher came through. http://joyof.kosher.com/2011/06/03/pareve-substitution-for-sweetened-condensed-milk/ It took me a while to make it, but it was worth it.
This cake was a labor of love, actually is was fast and easy once i had the ingredients ready. I did realize that I do need a blender, note to self, do not use food processor to mix liquids, it makes a huge mess! and more importantly it wastes good alcohol. So here we go!
to make an amazing paeve Irish cream you need a few ingredients. I would say the most important one is a friend to drink some with you when it is done. (thanks Toby for coming over).
You will need to make the sweetned condensed milk first. It takes a while on the stove, be patient.
3 cups of soy milk
1/2 cup sugar
leave on medium heat until it reduces to about a cup and a half. when it is done, add a drop or two of vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Now that you have that you can make the Irish cream.
1 cup richs whip (one container)
14 ounces sweetned condensed milk
1 2/3 cup Irish whiskey
1 tsp instant coffe crystals (disolved in the SCmilk while warm)
2 TBS chocolate syrup
1 tsp vanilla
blend for 30 seconds
now have some in a glass with some ice

I bottled it in some glass bottles i bought a long time ago when i was on a chocolate liqueur kick. (i know they would come in handy at some point).

Now for the cake, this cake is good enough on its own. You can make it in a bundt pan and enjoy. But that is too boring for me.
Chocolate stout cake

1 cup Guinness
10 tbs margarine
6 TBS cocoa (i always use dutch pressed)
2 cups sugar
6 TBS pareve sour cream
1 TBS vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
Melt Guinness and margarine on low flame. Once melted remove from heat. Add cocoa and sugar, mix. then add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix flour and baking soda together, then add to mixture.
Grease 2 8 inch pans. i always use bakers joy, it has a little flour in it. Bake at 350 for about 30-35 min. (i think, i wasn't watching) just make sure the cake is done, insert a cake tester or toothpick in the middle to make sure it is done.
let it cool completly int he pans. then flip them out on to wax paper. With a pastry brush brush the cakes with the irish cream.
For the filling you will need a irish whiskey chocolate buttercream. I can't give you my recipe for buttercream but I can give you the one from wilton.com instead of some of the water, use the irish whiskey until desired strength.
http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Chocolate-Buttercream-Icing

for the frosting you can use this recipe, and substitute irish cream for the water.
http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing (you want this to be thin enough to spread and frost the cake.)

YUMMMYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

mommy camp

2011-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my husband and I were discussing the huge expense of camp and if it is even worth it. We are going out to the midwest for a family function in August and the kids want to go camping in July. 2 huge expenses. We sat the kids down and said it's either camp or camping and Milwaukee with cousins. Well you can guess which one won. I wasn't scared of the idea of being home, after all I am crafty and always up for an adventure. I am a stay at home mom, of three kids, who are in school all day, leaving little time to enjoy my kids without the craziness of school schedule. I have been planning things to do for a while and I am so excited.

OK, excitement over....this will not be easy. As I said I am a stay at home mom with my kids IN SCHOOL!!! I am used to having so much ME time.

I am loving have the kids around, it's the entertainment that is tiring me out. How am I entertaining a 10 year old boy, a 7 year old girl and a 3 1/2 yr old girl? Well, we have membership at the JCC and that is the main excitement. We are all signed up for free bowling and have zoo membership. The kids will have full access to the camera and will be keeping a journal at the end of each day.
so here is what we are up to this week.
Monday, we went to sesame place! wow that was so much fun! We bought season tickets last year on a great deal. The gas was really the only expense. when you are a member you get a 30% discount on all things bought in the park and we brought our souvenir cup from last year, so drinks only cost .$73. A great time was had by all.
Tuesday, we went for a car wash in the car!!! sounds crazy but the kids loved it. Then we went to michaels for a free craft day and we bought some fun crafts to do at home. We came home and just hung out.
Wednesday: We are going to try starting each day at the track for some needed exercise. The we will come home and do a craft. We are making our own lap boards. here is an idea of what we will be doing. We are going to decorate the top with some decoupage.
then lunch will be served and off to the JCC for the pool. On our way home we will do some grocery shopping. (it has to get some time...)
Thursday: TRIP DAY!!! we are going to a state park called Codorus. Don't know what to expect but Toby Passe said it was fun, so we are going. Hoping to go for a swim and a hike.
Friday: the kids will be helping make challah and food for shabbas. then off to the pool.

there are a few rules to camp mommy: No one may wake up mommy before 8:30. You must get dressed and daven nicely without fighting. Treat your siblings nicely and most of all be patient! After all Mommy is only one person!
I hope to set up a blog for yussi to share is thoughts on camp too, we shall see.....

Sad day for the Jewish People all over the world....

2011-05-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

Especially in Baltimore.
Everyone knows that I don't keep my mouth shut, so why should today be any different? I have so many thoughts so read all the way through before you get your panties in a knot.

While we all knew Rambam was closing, it is still hard to digest the actuality of the matter. As almost all of you know, we are former Rambam parents, and I was a proud Rambam parent and happily served on the PaTA for a few years. I was involved in so many ways. When the school started its demise, something happened (no need to get into that now), and I was made to feel like we were not wanted. This happened to so many families for various reasons. We moved on and are very happy with our children;s schools as are many other former Rambam families. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT ANYTHING IS WRONG WITH THE SCHOOL ITSELF. The ideas that Rambam was founded on, may have slightly changed over the years, but overall it was the same schoool. An amazing school. Happy children, parents and staff walked the halls for years. Every child was loved, and made to feel loved. The children received a great education. Rambam was a great school for so many reasons. It is so sad that people were not able to do right by the children and make sure that the school could stay open forever. Whatever the reasons, whatever happened, it is still a sad day for the children and families of Yeshivat Ramabm.

A few thoughts have been going through my head for a while. Why didn't the school abandon ship earlier, and start something new. Without all the "negative" feelings and thoughts people have about "Rambam". They could of had a fresh start, no debt, no thoughts of "this is not the way our school was", just a fresh start. Perhaps we would have sent our children there. It is not too late to start something new. There is obviously a place and need for it in this community. Tova Taragin wrote a great letter this morning in Baltimore Jewish Life. she made a great point, that Rambam closing does not just effect the families that sent their children there, it effects the community as a whole. Which leads me to my next thought. One of the reasons I do not like living in Baltimore, is the amount of judgment that people have. If you go to one school you are better then the next, if you wear short sleeves, or pants, you are looked down upon. I could go on and on....It breaks my heart. Is this what Hashem wants for Klal Yisroel? The Jewish people are often their own enemy. Will the hatred and judgment ever stop?

Baltimore is such a huge and diverse community, how is it we are so limited on our school choices? The truth of the matter is there is actually limited space in so many of the schools. Where are all these children supposed to go? I think that the money the Associated was giving to Rambam, should be divided up between BY, TA and Beth Tefilah and those school should add classrooms even if it means bringing in trailers. I think everyone in the community, no matter who you are, needs to call their Rav, or the Vad Ha'chinuch and implore them to do something. What kind of community and Jews would we be if we let our children go to public school because there is no choice.
These are just my random thoughts....
May we all daven that there is an answer for this.

Don't fear Pesach....

2011-04-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

When I was 15, my mom went back to college full time and worked a full time job. This meant everyone had to chip in more. Well, really it meant I was running the kitchen. It was fine, I have always loved to cook and this was an opportunity for me to have free range int he kitchen and show my parents that I was responsible. I took the job a little too far and did such a great job, that when Pesach came around it was a given that I would take care of it. The only thing I was forbidden from doing was the actual Kashering of the oven and sinks, because I am a huge klutz. I was not afraid of Pesach at all, just excited. We always had loads of people over so for Pesach to have 30-40 people at a seder was no big deal. I took on the challenge and have pretty much been making pesach ever since. I had a great teacher, my mom was always there to help when I needed it and just came home from all her work and jumped right in. I remember sitting on the floor in the kitchen chopping veggies on the step stool, with my mom next to me (the kitchen was tiny), my dad walked in and at the exact same second, my mom and I both yelled "WE NEED A NEW KITCHEN!!!". It was a great moment.
Anyway, my mom always spent a ton of money and pesach and we always had bought too much food. I decided to come up with a menu and a shopping list from that, and headed to the grocery store. I spent less then my mom every did , and from then on, that is how I have handled Pesach.
For the first 8 Pesachs we were maried we where at my parents. Last year we decided that the kids where getting bigger and it was time to make Pesach. I got an amazing cookbook and organizer from Women's Institute of Torah and I have to say it was a huge help.

If you are organized you will never fear Pesach again. Here is my menu, recipes I always use and a few tips of how I get it all done.

I do admit that I am a unique kind, I dont start cooking until the day before eruv yom tov. (this year that is sunday, I will wake up and head to a farmers market or produce store and buy what I need for the first days)
Things I make every year:
Mayonnaise, Huge things of ambrosia, olive dip, garlic oil, honey garlic salad dressing, tri color ices.
a potato kugel with meat baked in for the kids to have whenever they want to eat on monday. I also always have plenty of deli in the house for noshing. there is not much to eat on monday so you got to make the best of it. I do make a banana cake as well for a little sweet noshing.
Of course i make brownies and blondies and other yummy stuff as well.
1st Seder
Fish, Soup and kneidel (i make kneidel from the "pesach crumbs" we do eat gebrochts but they come out much fluffier than shmura matzah)
Corned beef in sweet and sour sauce
Roasted root veggies
Sweet and Sour cabbage

1st day lunch
Fish Balls (g fish in ball shape and with a yummy tomato sauce)

Shnitzel
Broc and cauliflower kugel with onion topping
Israeli salad
Left over root veggies

2nd seder
Fish
Soup and Kneidel
Veal shoulder roast
Sweet and tangy chicken
mushroom and onion casserole
poatoes ith onion and paprika in wine sauce
cranbery relish

2nd lunch
Fish balls
Sweet meetballs with apples
roasted potatoes
purple cabage salad

thursday night-chol hamoed
leftovers

friday night-Shabbas
G fish with roasted peppers and onions
Soup Kneidel
Honey and sweet potato chicken
popcorn cauiflower
apple kugel

Shabbas luch
We are eating out but i am making the "cholent" and a salad

Sunday night-first night
Dill g fish
P'tcha
Soup kneidel
nut crusted chicken breasts with apricot chutney
herb crusted chicken
potato kugel
apple kugel
cucumber salad

Monday lunch
Buternut squash soup
Skirt steak
Salad
Mini roasted potatoes

Monday night
Dill g fsh
P'tcha
Soup kneidel
minute roast
scalloped potaotes
kishka kugel
broc and caulifolwer bake with horseradish

2nd day lunch-Tues
Butternut squash soup
Chicken crepes
garden salad
beet and onion salad

Hope this is a help to anyone and if you want recipes for anything let me know.

Even a Super Hero has a bad day

2011-03-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

Every mom tries to be the best at everything. It is our nature. I would love to be the perfect have it all together, all the time person. (does she even exist?) I am just to ADD for that.So I will settle for being happy with my life. Most of the time I am....then there are days when I am happy just so overwhelmed, like today. I get fed up with clutter and spend half my day de-cluttering, then I get distracted and move on to something else. When I come back to the first project, I become annoyed that its a mess. I just can't win.I think of an idea and I need it to happen. Like bewitched, snap my fingers and it's done. I love instant gratification! I skip the cheesecake at lunch and expect a 3 pound weight loss on the scale......that's just me. I am always searching for a system to help me be organized. It never seems to work. Whatever it is. I am a unique creature and need a personalized plan. I need to be reminded of things a million times. I am very good at lists. When I make a list it reads like this: 1)wake up 2) pee 3) get dressed.....
I wonder what would happen if I left out the first three steps to my day. would I not get out of bed and go to the bathroom? I started doing this once when I was so busy, this way I would feel accomplished that I would already have things checked off my list. (I know I need help). Where is this all going? I am getting there. My wonderful husband introduced me to the world of outlook. It is working....well only if I am logged on to my computer. Then I have my calendar on my phone. And I have the Calendar in the kitchen....do you see the problem? So the computer thing is working, except then i have to remember to put it in my phone. So I decided i needed a phone that would sync with my computer. lucky for me my phone was dying and I live n 2011 and this is possible. My husband has an amazing android and i have major envy. Well, I DID!!!. On Sunday we took a family trip to the mall and I traded in my blackberry for an EVO. It is a very fancy phone. I am not scared of technology, but I am petrified of this phone. I do not do well with change and as happy as I was with my new phone I felt a sense of lose for my blackeberry. (I know it is just a phone, but all the stuff on it...)
I have become so dependent on technology that I am feeling lost because I can't figure out my new phone. Does that make sense to you or do you think I am crazy? It's ok i can live with that.....I was so afraid that I was going to miss an important email i was waiting for, that i ended up checking my phone about 400 times today causing the battery to die and needed to be charged in the car and when i got home. I think I finally figured out he email thing.
Since there is more to life then my phone...As you know Tuesday is family dinner night (hubby's father and aunt come), I always make something extra nice. I went to the butcher and bought second cut brisket to make beef and wine sauce, (I usually use cheek meat but they were out) I put up the meat and started the Israeli cous cous. While that was sauteeing my laptop starting ringing. It was my neices and nephews wanting to skype. In the short time it took me to get the kids my cous cous burned.I tried to ignore the fact that it was burned and move on but it was kind of hard to ignore. I was about to cry, when aunt alex texted that she wasnt coming for dinner. Then Shmuel called and said he was working late and wouldn't be home in time. Then my father in law called and said he was running late and wasnt going to come....crying stopped. Kids didn't care if there is a side dish. Yussi and I ate meat, the girls ate hot dogs....dinner was saved....
In between checking emails, I did manage to empty the arts and crafts closet, bring lunch to Shmuel on a job, meet a friend for lunch, take Dee to swim lessons, make dinner-kind of, do homework and clean up....I guess I am a super women!
Till next time......happy eating....

Ready or not here it comes.....

2011-03-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

Shabbas comes every week whether I am ready or not. OK i have never not been ready, but no matter what time it comes, I am always rushed. Why is that? On a short Friday I manage to get everything done by 4. Then in the summer I am running around to the latest time possible?
Maybe it's because I think I have more time so I am in slow motion? We change the clocks next week and my hope is that I am ready by 4 each week. Last summer there was a thing people were trying to do, Shabbas my chazot (the middle of the day). I was good at it. Wait that is SO NOT TRUE!!!! I was done cooking by that time but in no way was i sitting on the couch having a cup of coffee (or something better ;-) ) I want to figure out a way that I cn go into Shabbas relaxed.
This plan must start by Wednesday. I need to shop Wed, do all non cooking things on Thursday and cook friday. I can never cook on Thursday bc i love everything hot and fresh.
You heard it here (just don;t tell my hubby), I will be ready for Shabbas early. Or at least get a shower before the 18 minutes ("extra" just in case time before the sabbath).
Today was a good day. After all I am sitting and blogging on a friday. We are eating out tonight, but I made soup and matzah balls and an apple cranberry cobbler/crunch to take with us. The apple thing was a story in itself. I saw this recipe
http://blog.kosher.com/2011/02/24/cran-apple-crunch/
and thought it was a great idea. I always peel core ad slice the apples and use canned cranberries so I thought this was a nice switch. I bought the apples pie filling. I was way more expensive then apples would have been, but it is for Shabbas. I couldn't find any cranberries at the store I was in but didn't think that they were out of season. I go to cooking this morning and silly me opened the cans of apple and dumped it in a pan. So much for following my rules. I never start anything until i know i have all the ingredients ready. After I had the apples in the pan, and my own version of the crumb topping ready (i just can't follow other peoples recipes), I remembered that I didn't have cranberries. I called my mom, my savior and asked if she was going out. She went for me only to find out that they are not in season and no one has them. So i thought, I could make it just apple or find something else to put in. I looked in my freezer and pantry and decided on going with the whole berry in a can. I was worried it would be too sweet. Well, it looks watery but smells yummy so I hold out hope that it will be good.
I made a yummy cake for shabbas. It is a variation on my favorite vodka cake. My regular cake is like a screwdriver (orange juice and vodka) with amaretto. I decided to make a mocha cake with this new vodka. The vodka is chocolate flavored and one is espresso! yumm the cake is not normal it is sooooo good. I will post pictures soon.
For lunch, I made Cholent,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholent, Deli roll, broccoli mushroom kugel with crunchy onion topping and cracker salad.
Brownie bites are also on the menu!!!!

Well, food is done, kids need baths and I need my pre shabas drink...
have a good one and until next time....happy eating....

not that again?

2011-03-02T05:57:00.000-08:00

Famous words I hear in this house all the time, "that for dinner again?".

I always did my food shopping Wednesday so i could avoid 2 trips to the store in one week. Wednesday became mu busy day and there went that. After evaluating our budget, I realized that we are spending way to much money and food and must get back on a schedule. I find myself at a grocery store almost every day of the week. Now I have to say I like a bargain, I rather save a little money here and there and shlep to 3 different stores if i need to. I always buy milk, juice and eggs at save-a-lot, cheapest place in town. Then I go to Giant and Seven Mile for all other foods except for meat. Wasserman is the place to go for great meat! I do go to BJ's for a few things but storage in my house is a problem.
I go with a list of all the food I need broken down into stores. If I have a coupon for it, I write it down on the list, otherwise I completely forget. With gas prices rising I like to shop at giant for whatever I can because of the gas rewards. I have now earned $.50 off each gallon of gas. I have a 20 gallon tank, so that is a great savings.
Every week I ask the kids for diner ideas, I don't always listen and they know that, but it gives me an idea of what they will eat.
Since I do a Wednesday to Wednesday shopping, I like to have my Shabbat plans done by then. Sunday is always leftovers, whether they like it or not. I will say that my kids eat loads of veggies and for the most part are not picky eaters. I will not get into all my opinions about kids not eating veggies, but if you keep offering it, eventually they will taste it. It takes children few times tasting the same food to like it. So don't give up on the first try. (We grow our own veggies in the spring and summer and i find that the kids eat more when they are part of the growing process. And they love helping in the garden)

Wednesday= Taco salad. Taco salad in our house is like a salad buffet. the kids love making their own salad and eat loads of veggies this way. Our buffet has; romaine lettuce, scallions, avocado, cherry or grape tomatoes, black olives, canned corn, cucumber, sometimes I add in canned black beans. Then we top the salad with ground beef made according to the taco packet directions. Dressing is taco sauce and pareve sour cream. I buy tostido scoops, baked or taco shells and we eat them with the salad. I like to smash the chips and mix it in y salad.

Thursday= Thursday is always hard for me. I know a lot of people eat out, as my kids get older it is becoming to expensive. This week we will have chicken nuggets, kale, and cucumbers with dip. My girls with eat anything as long as their is something to dip it in to.
Fresh kale is so yummy if made right. I wash the kale (soak it in the sink). Then i dry it, cut off the stems and cut the leaves into smaller pieces. I add a little EVOO to a hot pan and add one sliced onion, cook for 2 minutes then add the kale, salt, pepper, and few drizzles of red wine vinegar, and a tablespoon or 2 of water. Mix then cover and let steam for a few minutes. Mix every once in a while so nothing burns. Let cook until soft and tender but not too mushy.

Friday night = Gfish of some kind, chicken soup, Roast, broccoli salad (broccoli is on sale at giant starting friday), apple cranberry crunch. (if you want a recipe for anything just ask).
Shabbat Lunch = Fish, Cholent, deli roll, salad. (no company so nothing fancy is needed)

Sunday= Most hated day for dinner. Unless it is really nice out, we ave leftovers. If it is nice we BBQ then leftovers are Monday.

Monday= Turkey chops in shake and bake, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli

Tuesday= (my husband's aunt and father come for dinner). Beef in red wine sauce (SO EASY and it cooks for a long time so you can even make it n the crockpot before work). Israelis whole wheat cous cous and green beans.

Enjoy and if you need any recipes or have suggestions on dinners let me know. until then....happy cooking and eating..

Can't beleive it!

2011-03-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I found food that I do not like. It is not imaginable to me. After last week, I needed a small getaway. I have an unbelievably amazing husband! I say I need to get away, he says where and when? Monsey is not the place most people would think of, but it's where I wanted to go to get some stuff for Purim. My uncle and aunt have a store in NY for Purim, and I wanted to go visit. Plus I wanted to bring cupcakes to a new friend. I got everything I needed and Shmuel bought a fantastic costume and I can't wait to see him in it. I love that my hubby and I can spend the entire day together and I want more time and not wanting to kill him. I am so blessed. (OK you can now puke!). We left my Uncle's store and dropped off cupcakes at a friend who was not feeling well and SHE NEEDED MY CUPCAKES!!!!!.
I decided to go in to Teaneck, NJ to visit my brother and sister in law.
OK now for the food....I always look forward to eating in Teaneck. There is loads of good food there and I can never make up my mind where to eat. My sister in law picked the place....She picked Indian food. I was excited to try it. I had no idea what to expect, she did the ordering. I went with my brother to pick it up. I walk in to the restaurant to pick up our take out order. I was greeted by a guy who I could not figure out if his accent was real or fake. He was odd!!! He tells me how much diner was and I almost choked!!!! I had no idea what Julie ordered but it was pricey!!! It was $100.58 for 4 people, for TAKEOUT!!!
We opened the bag, I had no idea what to expect. It smelled good......
The food came in tiny pint containers and just all looked the same. I tried everything. I love to try new food. But what a disappointment. I was so hungry so I ate more than I would have if I was not hungry at all. I can't remeber the last time I didnt like food. It was so expensive and not yummy. I tasted that food all the way home.
We ate some stuff called Vindaloo, and Naan, samosa. I don't know what it was but I can live the rest of y life now not eating Indian food ever again. I think it was the textures. I am not a fan of mushy stuff with chunks......Well on to better food...
so long and happy eating!!!!!

back to my life.... already in progress

2011-03-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

WOW!!! What a week. Last week my father in law was sitting shiva for his mother. I offered my house to him and his sisters. It was an intense week. People where in and out of my house all day for a week. My three kids were great! I can't believe how well behaved they are. I guess it shows that I am a good mom, raising good kids :-) A nice pat on the back is always good.
Shabbas last week was so weird for me, it was odd for me not to cook for shabbas. I love to cook, I love food! I just did not have time to cook. I have to say that being part of a community is so amazing. I just mentioned to someone at my daughters school that my week was crazy and how I needed a break. Two amazing ladies, dropped off food for Shabbas. What a blessing. I have been blessed with good friends and I am so thankful.
Food brings people together, and more so in Jewish culture (i think). It was so unbelievable that so many people chipped in and helped. I thank you all who helped.
Thank you to my amazing children who gave their mommy up for a week. I am so proud to be your mom!

is it a muffin or a bagel? a mugal maybe......

2011-02-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

This has been a busy week.
I was looking forward to going to the Kosher food and wine experience. But G-D is in charge not me.....I often think I am in charge, but I am not. Monday morning we found out that my husbands Grandmother in Israel passed away. My Father-in-Law and his 2 sisters have been with us all week sitting Shiva(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_%28Judaism%29) .
So there went my getaway to NY.
I was now in Shiva mode. The family was sitting in my home out of convenience. I am so happy that I can do this. My only wish would have been for my house to magically grow. Oh well, my magic powers are not real, only in my imagination.
I love to cook and I love to do everything myself. I hate having to ask for help!!!!! My friends know that. Monday, I made 8 dozen cookies, by Tuesday morning they were almost gone. My sister in law from Milwaukee, Sara, sent rugelach,(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugelach), 2 huge bags, one cinnamon and one chocolate. They were gone fast as well. I knew I was in trouble. Traditionally people send over food, bu no food was coming. I was starting to feel overwhelmed. Thank G for facebook. I put out word that i needed help. First people didn't take me seriously, then my friends saw that I was serious and the food came pouring in!!! thank you to all my amazing friends!!!
A friend sent over bagels and cream cheese (thank you). On the platter was a blueberry bagel, I decided to give it a try. WOW! weird!!!!! your taste buds say bagel, but your brain says blueberry muffin. so odd. Wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Took me half the bagel to decide that a blueberry muffin should not have cream cheese, or cheese or tuna on it, so the bagel is not a winner in my mind.
I would love to post an amazing recipe but I have not cooked in a few days. The only things i have done is cleaned up hundreds of paper plates, and plastic utensils. I would like to take this time to apologize to the environment. i never take you for granted and I am sorry for all the Styrofoam!
I would like to say, I am sorry for the loss in our family. I am not sorry for the time I got to spend with Aunt Alix and Aunt Phyllis. Amazing worrier women, and I am glad to call them my aunts!

Till next time....happy cooking......

how many boxes of onion soup mix are in there anyway?

2011-02-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

I am a "doer", I HATE doing nothing all day. I need constant entertainment. Let me rephrase that, I can stay in bed all day and do nothing all day, if my lovely children are not around. When they are home on a Sunday with nothing planned, it's a game of who can anoy mommy more. I need an activity on a sunday. I think I am just in a bad mood. My day did not start off great. My son got his Gemarah (the book of talmud) today, and it was a fun morning for him, but not for me. I felt like a fish out of water. I am nt sure why, but I just don't feel comfortable in his school. That is another discussion for another time. Anyway. it just set the tone for the day, I think. I ran two errands and came home. Yussi had a friend over and he was fine, but he is never the problem. The girls are like me, they need entertainment. They where stuffing their faces and watching movies all day. I feel guilty as a mom when thy do that. I offered an activity but no one was interested. I gave up and decided to hide in my room with my hubby. He does the sunday hide, i call it. he pretends to be sleeping so nobody bothers him. I have tried it but they always find me. I crawled into bed and we watched a few tivoed shows. that lasted exactly 5 minutes, before Dee found us. Well we watched one half hour show that took an hour to watch, and i fell asleep so i don't know what happened. OH WELL!!!
I decided I would make my weekly menu and head to the grocery store and make everyone come as our activity! Doesn't that sound like fun???? I checked the "overflow pantry" and the freezer to see what was around. Then went to the kitchen to check the pantry. All I saw was a mess. I couldn't see what was in there, so I decided to take a few minutes and clean it out. I only got to two shelves bc i got annoyed. The bottom shelf in the pantry has a bucket and is designated to snacks of all kinds. It is also the place we keep the oatmeal packs. There were 2 boxes, one was empty and the other looked like it was opened but not used. The empty box thing drives me insane. Then they wonder why I don't buy more snacks. HELLLLOOOO? when i look in the pantry or fridge an see a box i assume that we have!!! I cleaned out all the snacks and organized it, they should have enough junk and stuff for at least a week! Then I moved to the next shelf.....i found 2 open onion soup mix boxes. Looked around and found 2 more. One was almost empty and guess what? the other was Empty! (except for the peeler in it, don't ask). So I can no loner be mad at the children because that is obviously a trait they have learned from me!!!
So now that I have a pantry full of stuff and a freezer with some stuff, I need to come up with a menu that everyone will eat.
I will keep you posted for the menu of the week!
oh by the way, the meat was a top of the rib roast and it was soooo good. My girls never eat meat or chicken and they loved it.!!!

What's in your spice rack?

2011-02-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

I am always looking for new and exciting foods to try. I was reading recipes on line (my favorite past time). I found a recipe for pork chops with Coriander and Cardamom. I have heard of coriander, but no Cardamom. So I researched it. Looks like it would be good on a meat. I saw a few brisket recipes online and it inspired me to play around. I went to the grocery store and bought Coriander but they didn't have Cardamom. One of the workers said it is expensive and they don't carry it. I went to a different store and they had it, it was only $5.69 not horrible. I bought it, but it rang up as $14.99! well they have a policy right price or its free, so guess what? Yep free Cardamom.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardamom and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardamom

I took my 4 pound brisket and was ready to embark on a new recipe. I don't how it tastes yet, but the smell is AMAZING!!
I don't have name for it, maybe you can help.
MEAT RECIPE
4 lbs 1st cut brisket
16 ounces beer (i used coors light)
12 ounces heinz chili sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 red onion
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBS olive oil
(you may need to cut the meat into 2 pieces so it fits in your pan, do one piece at a time)
Heat large skillet with olive oil. Mix flour and seasoning in a bowl. coat the meat with flour mixture and add to hot pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. In the mean time, combine, beer, sugar and chili sauce in a bowl (reserve 1 little less then 1/4 cup beer). Transfer meat to baking dish. (i always use a stoneware dish to bake my meat in, it makes a delicious juicy meat you can find the best ones at http://www.pamperedchef.biz/chelscookin)pour sauce over meat. Cut red onion into slices, toss with any remaining flour mixture, add to meat pan and saute for 2 min. Add remaining beer and mix. transfer onions to meat. Cover tightly with foil or stone lid and bake at 325 for 2 1/2 hrs.

second piece of the meat in the pan

meat ready for the oven

I also made a yummy Gefilte fish, I am so sick of same old!
G-Fish recipe
one loaf frozen gefilte fish
One large vidalia (sweet) onion
one red pepper
salt, pepper and honey

Place frozen loaf on counter to defrost a little while making the onions.
Slice onions and peppers add to hot pan that is coated in a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Let onions and peppers cook for about 10-12 min, keep stirring so they get brown but don;t burn. While fish is still frozen but a little soft, slice into 10-12 pieces. spray oven safe pan (i like to use a shallow dish) place pieces of fish in pan, do not overlap too much. Add onions and peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper then drizzle with honey. Cover and bake at 350 for one hour. take cover off and bake for 15-20 more minutes.
serve cold or room temp.

Garlic asparagus
(you can make this in any amount, my kids love to eat it before shabbas so I always make extra)
3pounds asparagus washed and trimmed
6 cloves garlic
kosher salt or sea salt
pepper
EVOO
lay out garlic in flat pan (again the best pan i use is the pampered chef bar pan. http://www.pamperedchef.biz/chelscookin?page=products-detail&categoryId=9&productId=174&itemId=1445
Crush garlic with garlic press
sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drizzle with EVOO. toss to coat all asparagus.
bake at 425 for about 35 min. we like the ends crispy so i leave them in a little longer.

Whats for Shabbas?

2011-02-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, Shabbas is the Sabbath. It comese very week, ready or not. When the sun starts to go down Friday, all work needs to stop. So we have to be ready before. We wear nice clothes, set the table in a nice way, and eat nice food. Some people cook simply, others buy take out. I do neither. I cook big meals in a short time. I always have a planned menu and a shopping list to go with it. If you are organized you can be in and out of the kitchen in no time. The menu hanging on my fridge helps in so many ways. I know that if I am making 2 things with onions, I cut them all at the same time. It seems like a funny thing to think about but it helps make things faster. I love to be in the kitchen. I always have my ipod and ready to "boogie" as I cook.
So the same question every week, is "what's for Shabbas"?
I always like to try new stuff. I am sure my family would like plain chicken and kugel. but too bad!
I love finding recipes and changing them, and creating new recipes.
So this is this weeks menu:
Gefilte fish (i love to make it in different ways, but the boring people I live with, would have nothing to do with that) I always bake my fish though. a) i hate the smell of it boiling and b) I don't like the taste.
Chicken soup with matzoh balls. (i always say i am making them but often forget or run out of time)
I bought a piece of meat from the butcher. Not sure what cut it is but Zalman (my butcher) told me its like a first cut brisket.
Garlic asparagus
and i am giving in to the potato kugel.
Dessert is an oreo cake

Shabbas lunch we are eating out, but of course I am bringing dessert. I am bringing a fruit trifle and a small oreo cake.

recipes and pics will be posted soon.
Happy cooking.

the wednesday rush

2011-02-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is always my busiest day, but its the day I look forward to the most. Every Wednesday my BFF and I go for lunch. (you are probably thinking, well she didn't go to lunch with me! ladies calm down, Vo has been my friend for 18 yrs and I love her! not to say that i don't love my other friends, but Vo is just different and I hope you all can accept it). Usually, I get the kids of to school and go grocery shopping, then serve pizza at my daughters school. After that I meet Vo for lunch, we hang out until I have to drive carpool. Then my kids are home and its a mad rush for homework, dinner, showers and bed. So Wednesdays are busier but only bc I want it to be. I like to have fun with my friends.
Well today was crazy. The power lines were being worked on so the power was being turned off for a few hours. I had to get my baking in early. I was making a strawberry shortcake (the character) for my friends 4 year old. I baked the cake, go the kids off to school, went to the butcher, went to Michael's, went to on grocery store to buy milk, and then home to unload the groceries. Then it was time for lunch. Had a great lunch with vo. I resisted the mozzarella sticks and got a salad instead. (yeah me). Came home for 30 min. IN that 30 minutes, I made 4lbs of frosting and made all the colors and filled the bags and started the cake. I got so involved that I was late for carpool. I came home finished the cake in only 5 minutes. The fastest cake I ever made and not the best. The funny part is that this cake is what started my cake business. I like to think i have come along way but this cake doesn't show it. Oh well. So on to dinner.
Tonight's dinner is "cream" broccoli soup, home made chicken nuggets and rice. I was going to make dinner for a friend, but she decided not to bother me. (i have never been so glad, I need a minute to breathe).

Dinner pics wll be up soon along with recipes, but for now, I need to cook!

Can you guess which one was my first and which was made in less then 20 minutes?

stuffed!

2011-02-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

OK, I am sooooo stuffed. Dinner was so good. Every Tuesday night I serve dinner to my hubby's father and aunt. We have been doing this for more than a year, maybe even two. I have to say, it was kind of annoying at first, having to cook a big dinner. But now, I love it. I look forward to seeing Aunt Alix. The kids love having their Zayde (grandfather) for dinner, and have growm loads of love for Aunt Alix. The kids fight over who sits next to Zayde and Aunt Alix.
I always like to serve a nice big healthy dinner. Tonight was going to be canceled becasue the kids were of from school and hanging out with friends. When we got home I realized that there was food in the house to be eaten and it was not neccesary to eat out.
I had zuchini and thought about making a soup. I can make a soup or sald out of anything. So into the pot went a bunh of ingrediants and in about an hour was a delicious thick soup. Then I made a recipe that my friend gave me for a "zuchini creole", i made it this time from a yellow squash. I never follow directions so I made my own twist on it. I made a chicken and a salad. I need to go to the produce store so the salad was kind of lame, but it worked. The salad was romaine hearts, shredded purple cabbage, cucumbers, and baby corn. We added some candied walnuts and some dressing and we were good to go. I like a balsamic vinnegrette, but my family likes a caesar. so i never dress it. My fave is Mauzone balsamic and my family likes the "lite caesar"
http://www.allinkosher.com/p-40173-mauzone-caesar-salad-dressing-12-oz-parve.aspx

Yellow squash or Zuchini with creamy stewed tomatoes

I used one HUGE yellow squash (or zuchini) or 2 regular size sliced thinly
One large onion diced
3 TBS margarine
3 TBS flour
1 TBS brown sugar
salt and pepper
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup soy milk
corn flake crumbs

slice veggie and put in a dish. (make sure it is nice enough to put on the table, since you can't tansfer the casserole)
in medium saucepan on medium heat melt margarine add onions and cook for 2 minutes. add flour and mix. add stewed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. add brown sugar and soy milk. bring to boil. keep mixing so it doesn't burn. Make sure the mixture thickens. Pour mixture over veggies. sprinkle with corn flake crumbs. BAke in 350degree oven for about an hour. (if you want you can add sharp cheddar cheese the last 15 minutes of cooking)

Zuchini Potato soup
2 lbs zuchini chopped in to peices
2 yukon gold potatoes
1 large onion
2 small garlic cloves
one box imagine non chicken soup (you can use any broth) http://www.imaginefoods.com/
more water to cover veggies (about 1 1/2 more cups)
now for the spices; i use an amazing blend called Ratatouille seasoning you can find them at this great place called the spice house. unfortunatly it is in wisconsin but they do ship.
http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/ratatouille-seasoning
I use a few sprinkles of it. If you don't have that you can use a blend of basil, oregeno, marjoram, thyme and pepper. i am not sure how much but start off with a 1/4 tsp each and go from there. you can always add but you can't take away.
Bring everythgn to boil and cover. reduce to medium heat and boil for about 40 min or until all veggies are soft. When everythign is soft use an immersion blender and puree the soup. And done.....
my kids like it with a dollap of sour cream.

Please feel free to ask questions about recipes.
Happy cooking!

eggplant and the dinner guest

2011-02-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love food? I love all kinds, no matter if it is dairy or meat, my husband on the other hand is a meat guy. Leave the potatoes, just give him the meat. So dinner in our house involves some kind of meat 99% of the time. I love having variety and could always enjoy cheese. The other day I was given a few eggplants and decided to make eggplant Parmesan! YUMMMMMMM. I asked my trusty helper to join me in the kitchen, and was ready to cook. (I love having my kids in the kitchen. My favorite memories as a kid is helping my mom. I remember sitting on the counter helping her making the mot delicious food).

Add caption

We sliced the eggplant, egg washed it, put it in some Jason's seasoned breadcrumbs mixed with a little Parmesan cheese and extra garlic powder. and in to the oil it went. OK, yes I fry the eggplant. It is just not the same when you bake it. Remember to fry in a hot pan and the food wont be so greasy.

Golden delicious eggplant. I could eat it just like that. All the kids came in to the kitchen to see what the yummy smell was and each one had a taste. They loved it.

So we layered marinara sauce and cheese with the eggplant and in to the oven it went. The house smelled so good. Like Italy (I've never been there but in my head that's what it smelled like). We made a nice big salad and set the table. I was really looking forward to dinner but the kids were looking forward to dessert. Since we almost never have anything dairy for dinner, I decided to get a treat for dessert. We had Edy's slow churned mint cookie crunch.
We were waiting fr our friend to come over with paper work for our IRA (time to put money away for retirement), but he got delayed so we started dinner. Not more then 3 seconds after we started Brian knocked at the door. We invited him to join us! He was not an eggplant fan, but was happy to have a home cooked meal (no he is not homeless, just a bachelor). He confessed that he didn't like eggplant but mine was great and he had seconds. So I know it was good. Too bad he had to leave before dessert :-)

I love having company and love to feed people. Anytime you are hungry just pop in for dinner,

I can do better.... ;-)

2011-02-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

I decided to embark on this blog thing to give myself an outlet for all the talk that happens in my head and to share the wonderful world of food with you.
Last week I was following a recipe in a cookbook just to see if "anyone" can cook. I followed every direction even though it was killing me. I have never been one to follow the rules. It was going to be a nice Shabbat (Sabbath, traditional Friday night) meal. I made a chicken Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes from the cookbook and I made my own green beans. Well, lets say the chicken was dry based on the books coking times and the mashed potatoes were not so garlic. After that meal I changed my mind on the point of what I wanted my blog to be. I love to cook great food and since I am good at it (yes I will toot my own horn here), I will just cook my own recipes and share them along the way. For those who know me well this is a big step, I don't normally share recipes. That being said, the only recipe I can not share is my family's secret Challah recipe, sorry Racheal.

Green Beans

1 pound frozen whole Green beans, defrosted

1 red pepper cut into small chunks

1 medium onion cut into small chunks

1/4 cup soy sauce

2TBS oil

1TBS cornstarch

2 tsp onion soup mix

1 TBS honey

1TBS brown sugar

mix all dressing ingredients together and pour over veggies.

Bake covered for

20 min at 350degrees

just a good pic of my Challah!

Hello!

2011-02-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. I am so excited you are reading!
I have always had a passion for good food. Well not always, my mother said I was not a good eater as a little one. I guess I hit puberty and found food. I come from a long line of good cooks. In our family it is a goal to become a better cook then your mom. Not to sound obnoxious or anything, but by the time I was 17 I was a better cook. I loved being in the kitchen! I wanted to go to culinary school but my college guidance counselor told me it was o place for a Jewish girl who kept kosher. I listened and didn't go. I live my life without regret, except for that!
One of my hobbies is reading cookbooks. I read them like a novel. I never follow a recipe and I never measure. I started a custom cake business and learned quickly that if you want to bake, you must measure. So now I do that when I bake, but my true passion in the kitchen is cooking. I love the feeling of giving people a full stomach. I am a major food pusher!
I have dreamed about having my on cooking show, and have been known to talk like I am on TV while I am cooking. (My kids think its weird). When the movie JUlie and Julia came out, I couldn't wait to see it. I imagned myself as Julie, except I didn't think I could follow a recipe. Even one from the Great Julia Child. It's just not in me. If you know how to cook, why would you need a recipe? I always think of recipes as a guide for the kitchen clueless. (sorry, i am kind of a kitchen snot). I have never been one to easily share recipes. I am a controll freak in the kitchen (some people say it doesnt stay in the kitchen). I always am scared if I give someone my recipe and they mess it up, it would look bad on my cooking ability. OK so I am stange, I accept it.
My son's school had a great night out. It was full of amazing food, food demos, and great fun. The feature speaker was a cookbook author. She was so nice to meet. She has a great stage pressence and was so funny. I bouhgt one of her cookbooks and was so excited to try out some recipes. My kids eat almost anything so I am blessed witht the ability to try new food. As I flipped through the pages of y new cookbook I saw that there was a wine recomendtion with every recipe. OK, I was hooked. I love a good wine. I knew I could make my own Julie and Julia. I went out and bought a bottle of wne and all the ingredients. I decided I was going to follow her recipes exactly and see if it is true that anyone can be a good cook. I started with a fan favorite in the house, Chicken Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes. I made my own greenbean recipe with it and was ready to have a great meal. It was good, don't get me wrong. But I think my recipe is better. I will say that her recipe was faster and easier and her cookbook is full of quick recipes. I love to play in the kitchen and I am very fast so time is not so important to me.
So I decided that I would still follow her recipes but give my own twists on it.
My blog will be a place that I can share recipes, give quick tips, and teach people how to love the art of cooking. Please join me on my voyage to great food!