I like to make this lentil shepherd’s pie when a vegan friend comes over for dinner—it impresses and satisfies EVERYONE. People can’t believe my mashed potatoes don’t have any milk or butter – that’s the magic of olive oil and…
My mother taught me how to cook but my father taught me to improvise, not to stick to the script, not to let anything stop me from cooking. Even if I’m missing some ingredients. You can always make a dish…
I know, there is a decent selection of gluten-free pastas everywhere but most of them are made with grains or legumes, which I try to avoid because a) they give me digestion problems and b) most of them don’t taste…
Hamin (the Sephardic version of Cholent) is a traditional Jewish overnight stew that has been made by Jews around the world for generations, specifically for Shabbat, as they were prohibited from cooking or lighting fires from Friday sundown to Saturday…
When I was a kid in the not-so-holy land, the only type of pumpkin – Dla’at in Hebrew, not as fun to say as pumpkin, or as Alex used to call it when he was a toddler pumpking – I…
Shallow-fried fritters I whip up when I’ve waited too long for breakfast and I’m starving. Funny thing is, my older son won’t touch cooked cabbage, but he gobbles these up like there’s no tomorrow. The turmeric’s the secret – gives…
I have serious writer’s block. My brain slams the door in my face every time I sit down to write, just like our nasty upstairs neighbor. I knocked on her door and begged her to ask her little girls to…
A shower thought: If there’s a Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, a Herring Festival in Denmark, a Pizzafest in Naples, and a Dumpling Festival in Hong Kong, then why there’s no Kubbeh Festival in Jerusalem. Kubbeh is a Jewish Iraqi and…
We’re moving! Again? Where to? I can’t tell you yet. You’ll have to wait for my next post. But I’ll give you a hint… It’s a small island in Spain. But before we settle down, we will do some traveling,…
Honestly, I don’t know what to call this dish. I think Kibbeh is the most appropriate name for it other then experimenting with black beans – I was trying to make veggie burger but I over-processed the beans and added a large egg, which made the mixture too mushy to…
The first time I had a burger was in the beginning of nineties, in Israel. It was soon after I moved in with my twin friends. David, their New Yorker dad/excellent cook made them for lunch. The first time I had a veggie burger was in 2000 at a…
I love Thai food but I don’t like it when restaurants make it overly sweet. Sugar has a negative affect on the immune system. I feel weak when I eat it and my slender body immediately becomes an greenhouse for fungus.
I adapted this recipe from Green Kitchen Stories blog. Their recipe call for Chanterelle mushrooms but (a) I didn’t have any and (b) the price here for one pound (half a kilo) chanterelles is $42. I’m sure it tastes divine but the the humble…
Chermoula is a marinade that North Africans use in their cooking. It is usually used to flavor fish or seafood, but it can be used with legume and vegetables. Very healthy. It’s strange, for someone who grew up in a Moroccan home, I…
There’s a traditional Moroccan fish recipe that my mother, and the rest of the Moroccan Jews around the world make every Friday for Shabbat dinner. I’ve never met anyone who grew up in a Moroccan home who doesn’t get nostalgic about…
Before I say anything about this rice bowl/salad, I want to get something out of my system. Hi, my name is Shelly and I am addicted to TED talks. It started after I turned forty a few months ago. I didn’t mind turning…
It’s been a long time… Two days ago I arrived back from a marvelous week in Paris. It was a trip that my mother, older sister and I have been dreaming to do together for years. (Aunt Shuli tagged along.) For my…
Living in different parts of the world, you quickly realize that access to authentic Asian cuisine varies greatly. When we were in New York and Los Angeles, finding excellent Asian food was never a problem. But in Tel Aviv and…
This beautiful flatbread was a last-minute pivot from sabich, a popular Israeli street food: pita stuffed with potatoes, eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salads, and tahini sauce. I knew there was a chance that my American boys wouldn’t eat it because they…
I’m handing the stage to my dear mother-in-law, who introduced me to this beautiful grain fourteen years ago. Thank you, Estee! I appreciate your help. I love every word you wrote. An on-going, exasperating controversy about Quinoa is how to say it. Most…