The Kosher Scene’s Radio Show for this Week

This coming Wednesday evening (March 21, 2012), at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time), we will talk with Lévana Kirschenbaum about her newest book, The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen. The book was originally published as a paperback in November. While we praised the contents, we were nonplussed with the book’s production. This week the book makes its appearance in a larger, hard bound, format, with easier to read fonts and layout. The photography, by Meir Pliskin, has undergone a huge change as well.

While the appearance changed radically, while the new book is truly a pleasure to behold, the contents are the same. At the time, my co-blogger SYR wrote:

Though aesthetically the book’s layout is rather ordinary looking, the content is superb. It’s jam-packed with healthy mains, soups, salads, pastas, beads and desserts; aside from the general index, the cookbook includes a Passover index and a gluten-free index, with recipe notations indicating gluten free or gluten free adaptable. The recipes and text reflect a seasoned master chef who poured her culinary heart and soul into this cookbook. All content is meticulously organized and the format though visually lackluster nonetheless delivers the author’s usual witty humor and éclat in a most lively entertaining way.

Truly a hitchhiker’s guide to all things good-for-you and delicious, you’ll get never-ending use out of this comprehensive culinary work. The variations that accompany the recipes are awesome as are the tips and running commentary that weave through the pages. It’s like having a master chef or super balabusta mom right there with you preparing your best. Meir Pliskin’s photographs are tastefully done though the publisher’s cropping and cheap printing is somewhat disappointing. Lisa Young’s nutritional info though not revolutionary in content, serves as a useful reminder of healthy choices.

We will be speaking about the joys of whole food, this book is geared to the cook that wants healthy and delicious fares for her family but who doesn’t much care about the fuss of spending hours preparing the food.

Meanwhile, in case you missed them, please listen to the two shows we did last week: Alec Borenstein – Success Coach, Motivational Speaker and 9th Kosher Wine Extravaganza.

Don’t forget to tune us in this coming Wednesday evening (March 21, 2012), at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio.com/kosherscene. We’ll be looking out for ya!

CS

Chef Geila Hocherman’s Hamentashen With Four Fillings

As featured in her brand new cookbook, Kosher Revolution, Geila Hocherman teaches us how to make hamentashen in print and on video:

Hamentashen with Four Fillings

Crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for flouring work surface
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon orange juice (optional)

Poppy filling

• One 2-ounce jar poppy seeds
• One 12-ounce jar black currant jam
• 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in boiling water until soft, drained
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Raspberry filling

• One 12-ounce jar raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Apricot Filling

• One 12-ounce jar apricot jam
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, soaked in boiling water until soft, drained.
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Coconut -Chocolate- Hazelnut Filling

• One 13-ounce jar Nutella, or other
• chocolate-hazelnut spread

Photo by: Antonis Achilleous - Kosher Revolution, page 181

1. First make the crust. Sift the flour and baking powder onto parchment paper. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, sugar and vanilla, and blend at medium speed. One at a time, add the eggs, incorporating the first before the adding the second, and blend. Add the orange juice, if using and blend. Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture, gradually to make a dough.
2. Divide the dough into 2 parts and flatten each to make a disk. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap, stack the discs on a plate, and refrigerate until the stiff enough to work easily, at least 2 hours.
3. Meanwhile make the filling(s). For the poppy, raspberry-and/or apricot fillings, combine the ingredients in small bowls, stir to blend, and refrigerate for 1 hour. For the chocolate combine the ingredients in a small bowl. Transfer half the filling to the centerof an 18 inch piece of plastic wrap, fold the wrap over the filling to enclose it, and squeeze the mixture to create a log 1-inch in diameter. Repeat with the remaining filling and freeze the logs.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Flour a work surface well and roll 1 of the discs out on it. Using a 3-inch glass or round cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Pipe about 1 tablespoon of the poppy seed, raspberry and/or apricot filling(s) in the center of each round, wet the edges with water and bring up the dough together to seal. Alternatively, drop the filling onto the dough by heaping tablespoons. For the chocolate filling, cut the frozen logs onto 1/2 inch discs. Fill the rounds by placing a disc in the center of each form and seal.
5. Transfer the hamentashen to 1 or more cookie sheets and bake, in batches if necessary, until pale gold 12 or 14 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

An Author and Her Cookbooks – Part 1 – The Kosher Carnivore

June Hersh is one remarkable woman. She’s got this articulate impresario presence that combines wisdom and know-how in a Jewish Oprah/ Martha Stewart kind of way. Pick a subject matter and June will research, write and perfect a delightful, informative product that is instantly marketable. Here I am, a Holocaust survivor’s daughter internally struggling for years to articulate some memorial to my parents’ heritage and experiences while, American rooted, June comes up with a sensitive sideward entrée onto the experience through recipes and stories of Holocaust survivors. Her first book (Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival) is compassionate to their plight, a paean to their survival and achievement in a new land.

I gave a copy to my mother and she began sharing some of her own kitchen experiences with her mother; the last of which was her locking the pantry the day they were taken away, her mother saying “Little one, you won’t need to lock the pantry anymore.” My family’s memoirs, though ever present, are still too raw to pen.

In June’s new cookbook The Kosher Carnivore, she again does thorough research and walks us through the kosher meat process; from the biblical origins of what makes an animal kosher or not, through the koshering and cuts of meat. The recipes present us with core popular, culturally mixed, dishes that bring out the best in the various cuts of meats described in her cookbook.

Ben Fink‘s photography is well done in warm tones that subtly speak of treasured old dishes and new favorites (I wish there was more of it!). The layout is very functional, easy to follow with “Behind the Counter” and “Side Note” tips, the cross-section of variety all make it a cookbook I will refer to again and again! I highly recommend it not just for audiences familiar with kosher but also for those who are just discovering the world of Jewish culinary traditions.

Choosing a favorite dish from the book, was no easy task, there were quite a few I had tried and so many more I can’t wait to try; but I thought this one – which I’ll be trying this evening on Shabbat – was an interesting update to a cut of meat of meat I’ve always loved.

Coffee-Crusted Hanger Steak

Why not save time and have your coffee with your dinner rather than after? Freshly ground espresso beans and lots of companion spices combine to give a little jolt to the seared crust of this full-flavored steak.

Serves 2
Start to Finish: Under 30 minutes

• 2 tablespoons espresso or strong coffee beans, freshly ground
• 1  teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ancho chilli pepper
• 1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1 to 1 1/2 pound) hanger steak, halved
• Canola Oil

Detail from Ben Fink's photo in The Kosher Carnivore

Preheat the grill or a stovetop grill pan. Grind the coffee and then the spices in a spice or coffee grinder and pour the ground mixture out onto a large plate. Let the steaks come to room temperature, then coat them in oil and roll each steak in the ground-coffee-and-spice-mixture. Grill about 15 minutes for rare to medium-rare, turning the steaks to brown on all sides. Let rest for 10 minutes, loosely covered in foil, then cut into large slices on the diagonal.

Feedback
Did you know that the humble jar of paprika, which many people think is reserved for sprinkling on deviled eggs, not only provides a great splash of color, but also a terrific flavor boost? Your pantry probably holds a jar of sweet supermarket paprika, but let me tempt you to invest in the Hungarian variety, which will wake up most dishes with its earthy and slightly peppery flavor. Paprika was first processed in Hungary and is derived from red peppers, and can have a bit of a bite. For a spicier kick, try using hot paprika, and if you want that mellow smoky taste then reach for Spanish paprika, also known as pimentón.

Enjoy!

SYR

A Conversation with June Hersh

This evening on our radio show we will talk with June Hersh, author of Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival and Kosher Carnivore. June is teacher, writer and passionate home cook.

In Recipes Remembered she not only gives us some great recipes of yesteryear, but the author brings us  the personal stories of Holocaust survivors, or their children, with memories of their childhood, their struggle for survival, ultimate success and each one’s personal favorite recipe. It is a book filled with love and admiration, as only someone who understands life and is passionate about food could write. In a way it is as a record of Jewish life as it was, a glimpse of what we lost…

In Kosher Carnivore, the author gives us her favorite meat recipes but teaches us how to buy meat, which cuts are best for what type of meal, she also talks about wine and food pairing. Both her books are beautifully written, both are more than just cookbooks!

We will be speaking to her this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio.com. June Hersh is an exceptional writer, a superb storyteller we a passion for all things Jewish. As we speak to her tonight, her charm, her warmth, her genuineness, will shine trough, enveloping each and every listener.

If you missed last week’s broadcast about The Peppermill, you can hear it right here.

Please tune us in this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio.com. We’ll be waiting for you.

CS

Kosher Revolution

It looks too traif to be true, but Geila Hocherman and co-author Arthur Boehm have really pulled it off with their new cookbook Kosher Revolution. Inside you’ll find the most exciting new recipes adapted from the finest in worldwide haute cusine, photographed by the extraordinary Antonis Achilleous.  Geila and her genius ability to exchange un-kosher ingredients with kosher ones while still fundamentally maintaining  the look,  texture and – never to be confirmed – taste, of its original counterparts are more than praiseworthy, yet the outstanding photography  makes your mouth water with possibility.

Delicious recipes, superb photography

Geila’s gifts, mastery of taste chemistry and ingenious ingredient substitution, broaden the breadth and spectrum of cooking kosher. Her very elegant presentation is more than worthy of a cordon bleu Chef.  Anthonis Achilleous‘ extraordinary talent for lighting, color, texture and capturing the most tantalizing angles of his composition, clearly illustrate that he is at the top of his art form among the best food photographers out there. Geila’s not a snooty chef either, if there is a way to save time or make a recipe user friendly, she does so.You’ll find her palate of adaptable ingredients refreshing and versatile as she looks to give an expansive kick in the pants to the sometimes mundane nearsightedness of traditional Jewish cooking.

Duck Prosciutto (page 24), Grilled Figs With Balsamic Gastrique (page 26)

“Duck Prosciutto

serves 4

When people challenge me to “make trayf safe,” they usually mention ham. This breakthrough recipe began with that dare—and my realization that what makes ham taste like itself has less to do with the meat than its cure. My quest for kosher prosciutto—nothing less!—led me first to smoked turkey leg, which is hammy all right, but hardly like the Italian specialty. I went to work, and, happily, scored a triple bull’s-eye by giving duck breast a really easy salt cure—just fifteen minutes of prep followed by a “set-it-and-forget-it” refrigerator stay. The resulting “prosciutto” is so much like the real thing, but with a special character all its own, you’ll be amazed. I pair this with grilled figs (page 26), a traditional prosciutto accompaniment, but that’s just the beginning. Try it wrapped around asparagus spears or, diced and sautéed, as a salad garnish.

Geila’s Tips

To achieve paper-thin slices, I use an inexpensive electric slicer, a great kitchen investment. The very ends of the cured breast over-dry. Save them to put in soup. If you can’t find the Moulard breast, place two regular breasts together and cure as one.

• One 6- or 8-ounce package of muscovy duck breast
• 4 cups kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground fennel
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup white wine vinegar

1. Over a burner flame, singe away any remaining pinfeathers from the breast. Rinse the breast and dry it with paper towels.
2. On a dish just large enough to hold the breast, make a 1-inch bed of the salt. Place the breast on the salt and cover it with another inch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.
3. In a small bowl, combine the coriander, fennel, and pepper. Holding the breast over the sink, rinse it with the vinegar (to remove the salt), and then under cold running water. Dry the breast and rub it all over with the spice mixture. Wrap the breast in cheesecloth and knot it at both ends. Using sturdy household tape (duct tape works well), attach one end of the cheesecloth to the top of the refrigerator interior, or hang the breast from a high refrigerator shelf, and let it cure until the breast feels firm but not dry, about 2 weeks. Start checking after a week. Thinner or smaller breasts will take less time.
4. Using an electric slicer or a sharp carving knife, slice the breast paper thin or as thinly as possible. Place 3 melon slices on serving plates, drape with the prosciutto, and serve.”

Especially now around holiday time, go grab your own Kosher Revolution, hit the supermarket for some of the recommended stock items for your pantry and start putting some magic into your dishes.  Once you get the hang of the revolutionary ingredient exchanges, Geila so deliciously demonstrates, nothing will prevent your launching your own kosher revolution.

SYR

Leah Schapira from CookKosher.com

Our guest this evening (at 8:00pm Eastern Daylight Time) on The Kosher Scene Radio Show, will be Leah Schapira. Not only is her site cookkosher.com a work in progress, but so is she.  Her site best describes her accomplishment concisely, thus:

She has co-authored the popular kosher Silver Spoon cookbook, acted as Food Editor for Mishpacha magazine from 2007-20010 and is currently Senior Food Editor for Ami magazine. Her new cookbook is due December 2011.

cookkosher.com is an attractive and informative with good food photography, that makes your mouth water in anticipation. Leah Shapira is a foodie who’s told other interviewers she’d rather have a new recipe than a new pair of shoes. Unusual lady, indeed!

Browsing through her site, reading her prior interviews, makes it very obvious that her love for creating new dishes and feeding others, are innate parts of her mental and emotional make up.

French Roast with Caramelized Sugar - Photo from: cookkosher.com

Leah will talk to us this evening about her upcoming cookbook, her website and what it offers, she will also share some anecdotes that will help us better understand the person behind the voice on on this BlogTalkRadio.com conversation.

Applesauce - Photo from cookkosher.com

If you missed last week’s great show with Shoshanna Raff from koshershopaholic.com you can hear it here

Please, don’t forget to tune us in this evening’s for our conversation with the charming, Leah Schapira, at 8:00pm (Eastern Time). I know you will enjoy this segment! We’ll be wait’n for ya…

CS

HELPS Tea – It Does!

Herbal teas (tisanes) are infusions usually made from dried flowers, herbs and/or dried fruits with boiling water. Written records going back to the earliest days of Ancient Egypt and Ancient China already described the enjoyment and uses of herbal teas. Available as pure or blended samples, herbal teas are popular because of their fragrance, antioxidant properties and therapeutic applications.

A Spanish pharmaceutical company Pharmadus has come out with OU kosher certified medicinal herbal teas. They have a nice selection of teas under the HELPS brand and we recently tested their HELPS Wellness line.

Between CS and I we’ve tried seven of these teas:

• Organic Easy Digestion – An aid in promoting a healthy digestive system, reduces flatulence in addition to its calming and relaxing effects. Organic Anise (Fruit), Organic Chamomile (Flower) and Organic Mint (Leaf), combine for a delicious, refreshing flavor.
  
• For Low Sugar Diets – With Bilberry (Leaf), Elder (Flower), Juniper (Connaberry), Orange (Peel) and Sweetleaf (Leaf). It is a free natural herbal supplemental as part of a low sugar diet. According to the manufacturer’s specs it may help healthy individuals regulate blood sugar levels. It tasted nice, both when I tried it hot and afterwards as ice tea.

• Organic R & R - When you feel tense, this is the perfect release. It consists of a combination of Organic Lemon Balm (Leaf) and Organic Passion Flower (Aereal part). CS tells me it’s helped him relax and sleep, I will try it as well.
  
• Breathe - From Eucalyptus (Leaf), Organic Thyme (herb), Organic Mint (Leaf) and Organic Linden (Flower). It promotes sinus and respiratory health, both CS and I have used and we both like it.
  
• Just For Her - A combination of Organic Sage (Leaf), Organic Lemon Balm (Leaf), and Alfalfa (Aereal part). I tried it and, just as promised, I felt refreshed, relaxed, and mellow.
• Make it Easy – Combining Senna (Fruit/Leaf), Anise (Fruit), Lemon Balm (Leaf) and Licorice Root it promotes regular body functions relieving occasional constipation.
• Organic Green Tea Leaves - Made by combining Organic Green Tea (Leaf) and Organic Spearmint (Leaf). This combination, with its antioxidant properties fights and neutralizes free radicals. Some say that it helps keep the skin looking young. The Chinese have, for thousands of years, used it to combat toxins and promote healthy and youthful vigor. Nice and flavorful!

Aside from their medicinal properties, I found all of these teas to be delicious and enjoyable.

SYR

Aromas of Aleppo

Poopa Dweck‘s magnum opus is far more than just an ethnic cookbook. In its pages, the author lovingly brings us the history, the culture, the flavors and aromas of over 2500 years of Syrian Jewry.

As the author tells us in the Preface, the book…

…features dishes that are both disarmingly familiar, exotic, and, above all, healthful.

My community represents a link to a forgotten past. It is one of the few Jewish communities to live through the rise and fall of Moorish Spain and the Ottoman Empire and survive as a modern people in the West while maintaining its venerable traditions. Our soulful culture, with its fervid, tuneful songs and communal celebratory feasts, is at its most vibrant during the Sabbath, holidays, and life cycle events. One of the most artful representations of Aleppian Jewish culture is our food, whose story I have yearned to tell.

By coincidence (is there really such a thing?!?) I was playing Rabbi Moshe Tessone‘s CD Odeh La’El!, as I became engrossed in this coffee table sized, art-book quality tome. The writing is informative and fun, the evocative photography (the colors, the settings, the lighting, the angles, bespeak of a certain rusticity and a sedate elegance at the same time) and the recipes truly introduced me to a world which – as an Ashkenazic Jew – I barely knew. Between this beautiful book and the music I felt transported to another time, to an enchanted region, far from the hustle and bustle of New York and – at least for the moment – life seemed beautiful, simple and far more pure…

Looking through the old photographs, looking at the author’s family, looking at the recipes pictured, almost made me feel as if I was partaking of a holiday meal at her table.

While loeafing though the book I just had to immediately try a recipe. On page 162 I found one that called for some of my leftover matzah meal and tamarind concentrate, which I’d picked up in the nearby Sephardic neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Keftes

Tamarind-Stewed Meatballs

Meatball dishes such as keftes are a tradition all over the Middle East. Some regions use turmeric and others use sumac or lemon and mintas flavoring accents for similar meatballs. Aleppian Jews like to use a combination of tomato sauce and tamarind, the proportions of which can vary according to a family’s preference.

Meatballs:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons matzah meal
• 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Sauce:

• One 6 ounce can tomato paste, or two 8 ounce cans tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon ou (tamarind concentrate, page 41), homemade or store bought
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1. To make the meatballs, combine the the beef, eggs, matzah meal, salt and Aleppo pepper. Mix well by hand. The mixture should be loose and moist so that it can best absorb the sauce and retain a velvety texture. Shape the meat mixture into walnut-size balls.
2. To make the sauce, combine the tomato paste, ou, lemon juice, salt, 1 cup of water, and, if desired, sugar, mix well.
3. In a large ovenproof saucepan, brown the meatballs, one batch at a time, in the oil over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per batch.
4. Return all the meatballs to the saucepan. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes to thicken sauce and allow the flavors to integrate thoroughly.

Variation

For a tangier sauce, increase the ou by 1 1/2 teaspoons and increase the water by 1/2 cup. Or omit the ou altogether for a lighter, more refreshing sauce, especially if you are serving another dish with ou.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy! Sifrah daimeh – “May your table always be plentiful”

CS

A Cookbook For All Seasons

When I’m doing some serious cooking for a group of family or friends, with a limited amount of time to get the job done, I take a pass on my more fluff-and-glitz cookbooks and gravitate towards the ones that I can rely on to provide me with clear concise foolproof instructions, guaranteed reliable delicious results delivered with relative ease.

And that’s precisely what you can expect from Lévana Kirschenbaum’s new cookbook The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen - Glorious Meals Pure and Simple.

Though aesthetically the book’s layout is rather ordinary looking, the content is superb. It’s jam-packed with healthy mains, soups, salads, pastas, beads and desserts; aside from the general index, the cookbook includes a Passover index and a gluten-free index, with recipe notations indicating gluten free or gluten free adaptable. The recipes and text reflect a seasoned master chef who poured her culinary heart and soul into this cookbook. All content is meticulously organized and the format though visually lackluster nonetheless delivers the author’s usual witty humor and éclat in a most lively entertaining way.

Truly a hitchhiker’s guide to all things good-for-you and delicious, you’ll get never-ending use out of this comprehensive culinary work. The variations that accompany the recipes are awesome as are the tips and running commentary that weave through the pages. It’s like having a master chef or super balabusta mom right there with you preparing your best. Meir Pliskin’s photographs are tastefully done though the publisher’s cropping and cheap printing is somewhat disappointing. Lisa Young’s nutritional info though not revolutionary in content, serves as a useful reminder of healthy choices.

From the book, on page 171:

Roasted Vegetables GF P

Everyone likes a plate of grilled veggies, to eat as is or to use as a filling for sandwiches. I have chosen to share the most ridiculously simple way. First of all, my “grilled” vegies are roasted, requiring no turning over and no maintenance. Second, the trick is endives, radishes, brussel sprouts and fennel; but you will roast carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, potatoes separately because they have a longer cooking time. Roast beets all by themselves so they don’t bleed into your other veggies, or use the wonderful golden beets now available at all good produce stores. For all roasting, remember, one layer, no piling! Lining the baking sheet with foil reduces, or sometimes eliminates, cleaning.

When the vegetables are roasted, go ahead and get a little fancier, if you wish, toss in a little olive oil, chopped fresh basil, a few drops of balsamic vinegar and a little ground pepper. Most often I add nothing at all!

2 large zucchini, cut in sticks
2 large red onions, sliced thick
3 large red peppers, cut in large sections
1 large eggplant, cut in sticks
2 large portobello mushrooms, cups and stems separated, stems cut in half
Sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a large cookie sheet (you might need 2) with foil. Spray heavily with vegetable spray. Place the vegetables snuggly and in one layer on the cookie sheet.

Spray heavily again with vegetable spray. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables look slightly charred. The mushrooms (or string beans or asparagus) might be ready first. Slice the mushrooms on a bias when they are cool enough to handle.

The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen cookbook is all about eating right without missing out on taste or style. The key is using healthy, wholesome, fresh ingredients combining flavors with such mastery your palate will think there is magic at play. It’s really the years of trial and error honing skills that have truly reached their apex of expertise. Lévana epitomizes her own quoting of Antoine de Saint Exupery’s words (at the bottom of page 17): “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Don’t miss this essential kitchen tool!

SYR

A Cookbook for our Times

Fame and fortune come and go these days in a twittered flurry of viral activity signifying not much at all. The famous and infamous become blurred distinctions as we dismiss events with hurried trigger happy flicks of ADHD fingertips itching for the next headline or news byte. We live in a society ruled by obsolescence, disposability, surface chic and ‘what’s in it for me?’ priorities.

It’s hard not to get caught up in the frenzied momentum of the transitory inane; yet some rare individuals manage to adapt to the paroxysm while maintaining their intrinsic skill-set, talents, passions and beliefs. Some of these self possessed champions rarer still can reach out and teach with mass appeal, sharing wisdom, talent and their years of expertise so that even the maniacally distracted stop and take notice.

There is no better master teacher in the culinary world than Levana Kirschenbaum. The woman is a firebrand of positive delightful anecdotal information on fresh healthy wholesome easy ways to cook delicious meals. In her new cookbook, which I got a sneak peak of, Levana holds nothing back. All her collective years of experience are evident in this latest cookbook gem.

With more than 350 recipes in its general index, it includes over 250 delicious gluten-free adaptations and more than 250 Passover friendly dishes. All of these use natural, healthy, wholesome ingredients; what could be better at a time when we becoming increasingly health conscious about our food intake?

The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen is a precious dowry of cooking essentials that any loving mother would pass down to her daughter as a loving legacy of easy and healthful food preparation. This tell all manifest destiny of healthy cooking has wonderful recipes, with multiple variations on a theme, detailed with beautiful pictures, formatted for ease of use, organized and indexed for quick referencing and recipe selection. It’s like all her collections rolled into one, you’re going to love it and come back to it as ‘the source’ time and again for preparing delicious nearly effortless meals. I’ll bet it goes digital! For now you can see it on the shelves by June 1st. Don’t miss it!

Pasta with mock crab , artichokes, and olives. Photo by: Meir Pliskin

SYR