Sacra-mom-ato

Chicken Matzah Ball Soup

My husband grew up having matzah ball soup at Passover - one of the delights of Jewish cookery.  I was excited to try the soup for the first time, but honestly, was a little disappointed.  The matzah ball (like a dumpling) was heavy, the soup broth was clear and very mild, and there were no visible vegetables or chicken.  "What kind of chicken soup is this?!?",  I cried in my head.  But I soon learned that there are different VARIETIES of chicken matzah ball soup, and yes, some are more like what I had initially envisioned in my head.  I decided to research this very important dish:  I asked my husband's grandmothers to teach me their versions of chicken matzah ball soup.  One grandmother just put a box of matzah ball mix in my hand and said, "See, this is the secret."  The other grandmother said, "Just a little of this and a little of that."  No help.  So I read lots of cookbooks, researched recipes on the internet, and watched matzah ball soup cookery on TV.  I tried my temple's soup at a seder dinner.  I tried the soup at Jerry's Famous Deli during a trip to LA.  I sought chicken matzah ball soup out everywhere I could.  Hmmm.  

So here's my SYNTHESIS of all my matzah ball soup research.  My matzah ball soup is hearty with lots of shredded chicken and vegetables but with a clear, buttery broth.  The matzah balls are light and fluffy. 

Robin's  Chicken Matzah Ball Soup

Broth Ingredients:

1 4 lb. broiler chicken, cleaned

1 Tbs. salt

2 tsp. pepper

2 carrots

1 large yellow onion, skin on, halved

1 head garlic, skin on, halved

the bottom of 1 large bunch of celery stalks

Place the chicken, 2 carrots, halved onion, garlic head, and celery stalks' bottom in a large pot.  Add enough water to just cover.  Add the salt and pepper.  Bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the liquid and set aside to cool. 

Pass the liquid through a strainer and discard the vegetables.  You should have a clear broth with flecks of oil on top.  Skim off as much of this oil as you can and save.  Set the clear broth aside.

Soup Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

4 stalks of celery, finely chopped

shredded chicken

1 box matzah ball mix

1/8 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot on medium heat, add the olive oil, carrots, onion, and celery.  You want the vegetables to sweat but not get any brown color, so it's best to keep the heat medium to medium-low.  Once the onion looks nice and translucent (about 5 minutes), add the chicken broth.  Simmer.  Meanwhile, remove the chicken meat from the chicken and shred with two forks.  Add the meat to the soup.  Let the soup simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Time to move onto the matzah balls.  Yes, I use the boxed kind.  I still haven't found a good recipe from scratch!  My little trick is to use the saved chicken oil (from making the broth) in place of the vegetable oil that the box calls for.  I also let the mixture firm up in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, instead of 15.  Then, I form the matzah balls, bring the soup up to a boil, add the matzah balls, and quickly reduce to a simmer.  I put a tight-fitting lid on the soup and let the balls cook/steam for 20 minutes.  No peeking!

Right before serving, taste to see if more salt and pepper is needed.  Garnish with finely chopped parsley. 

Blueberry Muffins

Sometimes you just have a craving.  And suddenly that craving coincides with a new recipe you've just discovered.  And, even better, that recipe coincides with ingredients on hand.  And that's how these blueberry muffins came to be.

It was late Monday night and I was catching up on my DVRed cooking shows (of which there are too many!).  One of my favorites is America's Test Kitchen, simply because they THOROUGHLY test each recipe within an inch of its life.  And there it was - the world's most beautiful blueberry muffin.  Jeff and I both agreed it was the most wondrous thing we had seen in ages. 

I started to calculate in my head - yes, I have frozen blueberries.  Yes, I have milk and yogurt.  Yes, I have butter.  Yes, I have lemon.  Oh the delight to realize that I could make these muffins and not make a special trip to the store!

Here they are, in all their glory.  

Great recipe.  Easy on the eyes and tastebuds.  And yes, making a quick blueberry jam does make all the difference!

From America's Test Kitchen

Best Blueberry Muffins with Frozen Blueberries
from the Episode: Best Weekend Breakfast


If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk. Our favorite brands of frozen blueberries are Wyman's and Cascadian Farm.

Makes 12 muffins

Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3	cup sugar  (2 1/3 ounces)
1 1/2	teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon
Muffins
2	cups frozen blueberries
1 1/8	cups sugar (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon
2 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour  (12 1/2 ounces)
2 1/2	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon table salt
2	large eggs
4	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly (1/2 stick)
1/4	cup vegetable oil
1	cup buttermilk  (see note)
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla extract

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Rinse remaining cup berries under cold water and dry well. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Toss dried blueberries in flour mixture. Then, using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into blueberries and flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Following photos below, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Leggo My Waffle

I love the convenience of pre-packaged, frozen waffles.  Just pop one in the toaster, cover with your favorite toppings, and eat.  Kids love them, adults love them, and they are a great way to start the day.  But in an effort to get away from packaged, preservative-filled foods, I made "healthier" waffles this morning for breakfast and have frozen them for future breakfasts-on-the-go a la Eggos waffles. 

I doubled a Mark Bittman recipe (love him) and altered it a little by adding whole wheat flour.  The waffles came out of the waffle iron hot, crispy, and delicious and didn't really need any toppings - though we used a little butter and maple syrup to up the yum factor.  Jeff and I both  noticed that these waffles were denser than usual and very filling - probably because of the whole wheat flour.

To freeze, I let the leftover waffles cool completely and then layered them between slips of wax paper. Then I placed in a resealable gallon-size freezer bag. 

Here's the Bittman recipe (from How To Cook Everything) that I used:

"Quick and Easy Waffles"

Ingredients:

canola or other neutral oil for brushing on waffle iron

2 c. all-purpose flour*

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 c. milk

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

• Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it.
• Combine the dry ingredients.  Mix together the milk and eggs.  Stir in the butter and vanilla.  Stir the wet into the dry ingredients.  If the mixture seems too thick to pour, add a little more milk.
• Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffle is done, usually 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron.  Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low oven.

*I replaced half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.  Unbleached, of course. 

Winter Spinach & Citrus Salad

I love salad.  Salad of all varieties and permutations.  It's hard for me to have a meal without having a salad as a component because something just feels missing when a salad isn't present.

But in wintertime, it can be a bit rough to indulge in my salad cravings.  In the summer, vegetable salads are so easy to throw together - there are fantastic lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. that are literally bursting forth in the garden.  In the winter, however, the fresh vegetables are much more limited.  Once the weather changes and the cold hits, I have to change gears and start thinking of salads that combine winter vegetables, fruits, nuts, and even cheeses. 

Here's an example of one winter salad that I love.  It utilizes citrus (in season right now), nuts, and winter greens.  The orange segments and sliced red onion give the salad a freshness and sweetness that is  a welcome juxtaposition to the hearty and rich dishes that often make up my winter dinners.

Winter Spinach & Citrus Salad

Ingredients:

3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

2 oranges, peeled and cut into segments

1/6 of a red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup toasted, sliced almonds

3 Tbs. olive oil

the juice from the leftover orange discards

1 tsp. honey

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a medium bowl, place the spinach, orange segments, onion, and almonds.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, honey, salt, and pepper.  Dress the salad with the vinaigrette right before serving.  Makes 4 servings. 

Tonight, we had our family "movie night" - watched Mickey & the Beanstalk (borrowed from our public library) and ate this salad and homemade chicken sausage pizzas.  The kids were happy (pizza & a movie are always a hit here) and their parents were happy having a quiet evening at home. 

Yogurt Add-In #1: Blackberry Sauce

So now that I'm on a roll with making yogurt, I thought it time to experiment with different flavors.  Rather than take a whole container of yogurt and flavor it, I took the advice of other home yogurt-makers and decided that my strategy would be to flavor yogurt with each serving.  So far, it's worked out well with the kids - I can give them a choice between two flavors and it keeps them happy and therefore keeps this momma happy.  I started with simply drizzling some honey and mixing in a little vanilla extract, which is truly delicious.  Then, we used a couple of spoonfuls Trader Joe's peach sauce as an add-in.  Another hit with the kids.  But I really want to get away from using store-bought, packaged products, so I decided to make a berry sauce.

Scrounging around in the freezer, I came up with 4 cups of frozen blackberries from the banks of Robinson Creek, which runs through my parents' property.  Picked at the height of last summer, these blackberries were bursting with flavor when we froze them.  I love these blackberries because their flavor reminds me of HOME and summers spent swimming in the creek and making forts on its banks.  Aaaah, the memories.  But back to sauce-making.  I decided that I would make a delicious sauce for our yogurt.  Basically, it's like making a jam but without as much sugar or pectin added in.  (Here it is in a jam jar.)

Blackberry Sauce

Ingredients:

4 cups blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Once it comes up to a boil, reduce to simmer and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the blackberries sauce reduces and reaches the thickness you desire.  Taste and add more sugar if you like.  (I prefer mine on the tart side.)  Let cool and transfer to refrigerator-safe container.  I think this would keep for about a week. 

A bowl of yogurt mixed with a couple of spoonfuls of this sauce transports your tastebuds to blackberry pie! 

Cream Puff Heaven

Today we had a fun adventure in San Francisco, meeting up with my godparents, and going to see the Maurice Sendak show at the Jewish Contemporary Museum.  Afterwards, we had our first family trip to the Japanese cream puff chain called "Beard Papa".  It was heaven.

Now I need to figure out how to make cream puffs at home!

Dinner on the Quick: Oyako Donburi

Another Japanese-inspired meal tonight and a warm childhood memory.   The name of the dish is funny: "Oya" means parents and "ko" means child - it's the chicken and the egg  - and a bit gruesome, considering that you eat the parent and child!  Gulp.  The dish is easily adapatable to whatever ingredients you have on hand;  I used leeks instead of onion and added matsutake mushrooms (foraged by my parents in the forest). I also added broccoli florets to up the vegetable value of the dish.  You can basically add any vegetable you want - carrots, snap peas, asparagus come to mind - and substitute the chicken for other proteins, such as tofu or beef.  Instead of matsutake mushrooms, you can use shiitake shrooms for a nice flavor.  It's really the salty-sweet broth with the eggy layer that makes this dish, and the fact that you ladle it over a steaming bowl of rice.

Menu:

Oyako Donburi

Steamed Japanese White Rice

Oyako Donburi

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup dashi broth (or plain water)

5 Tbs. soy sauce

2 1/2 Tbs. sugar

1/2 cup frozen green peas

4 eggs, beaten

2 green onions, thinly sliced  

In a medium pot, add the yellow onion to a little vegetable on medium high heat.  Saute for a few minutes and add the chicken.  Add the dashi broth or water, soy sauce, and sugar.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Add the green peas.  1 minute later, add the beaten egg to the top of the simmering broth and let set, about 1 minute.  To serve, ladle over a steaming bowl of white rice.  Makes 4 servings. 

French Boules and Bread-Baking Fools

I truly believe in the theory that you are either a "cook" or a "baker" but not both.  I am most definitely a cook.  I can whip together a savory dish like nobody's business and for the most part, I don't have to follow a recipe to make a tasty meal.  In fact, I hate having to following recipes;  I get flustered and miss steps and feel like I'm losing that spontaneous creative process that I so enjoy in cooking. 

I think you have to love following recipes to be a baker.  The measurements have to be precise, no steps can be skipped, and you have to be patient.  That big mixing bowl of goo will eventually become a cake, but it takes many exact steps and a lot of time to get there.  One slip-up and a cake it will not be and all of your efforts will have been for naught.

I so admire bakers and have wished I could be one.  When Jeff's grandmother sends over one of her amazing baked goods, I have a little pang of jealousy.  When I need one, I just resort to buying a beautiful baked product at the store, whether it be bread or cake or cookies because I know I don't have the tools to make these delicious creations.  (I have somewhat mastered challah, that scrumptious egg bread which is the centerpiece of Shabbat dinner, but that's another story.)

But, folks, I can bake bread!  I can!  I can!  It is a revelation! 

My friend Kati has been raving about this book called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking." She has talked to me about how this bread is so easy to make and the book is true to its word of making fresh baked bread an everyday occurrence.  I really didn't believe her (sorry Kati!) but I thought I would try, given my pledge to try to make as many food products at home as possible.

So I followed the master recipe for boule (a French artisan free-form loaf) and it was the easiest AND most successful baking project I have ever undertaken.  Literally, you throw the ingredients together (no proofing of yeast), let it rise for 2 hours, and you have a dough that you can keep in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.  Every time you want some fresh baked bread, you cut off a piece of this mother dough and shape it into a round (or any shape you want!), let it rise for 30-40 minutes and then bake.  The bread emerged from the oven as if I had just gone to a gourmet bakery.  Beautifully browned and crispy on the outside, dense and chewy on the inside.  (And I didn't even use a baking stone as the authors recommend.)

Was it a fluke?   No, I baked bread again this morning, using the same refrigerated dough I made a few days ago, and the results were still spectacular.  

(My photo shows half of the boule next to a failed bread machine creation of sesame seed and poppyseed whole wheat bread.) 

Thank you, Kati, for the book recommendation.  I may actually become a baker!  You can find the book on Amazon.com at this link or find great tips at the authors' website:  http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com . 

Yogurt Miracles

So I am on this kick to try to make as many foods as possible, foods that I typically buy at the store already manufactured.  I'm really wondering if it's possible to eliminate much processed, manufactured food from my family's diet, without sacrificing quality or a lot of time.  Time really is the deciding factor here:  I don't have a lot of time, with two small children and a demanding full-time job outside of the home, but I am willing to sacrifice a little time to have healthier foods for my family. 

Which brings us to yogurt.  My children are yogurt fiends... and gee, I guess they must get that from their mother.  I LOVE yogurt - a creamy bowl full of goodness.  I love yogurt in all its incarnations (except soy yogurt, sorry!)  but I especially love Greek yogurt and vanilla-flavored yogurt. 

We have committed fully to organic dairy products but the organic yogurt at the grocery store is EXPENSIVE!  In our neck of the woods, a small container of flavored organic yogurt is almost $1.  Each kid can go through one of these a day, as can their momma.  And my husband has a secret yogurt obsession too.  Altogether, our yogurt addiction can cost over $20 a week!!!  

So this past weekend, I tried making my own yogurt.  My husband got me a cheese-making kit for my birthday and I decided that yogurt would be my first project.  It seemed very easy according to the instructions - just bring any type of pasteurized milk (but NOT ultra-pasteurized) up to 185 degrees, then cool it down to 110 degrees.  Add a starter (either freeze-dried yogurt starter or 2-3 Tbs. of plain yogurt with live cultures) and place in an insulated container (came with the kit, though there are instructions for making yogurt with a hot pad here and a crockpot here).  8-12 hours later and voila...yogurt!  

The first batch didn't take.  I don't know if it was because I heated the milk too much (it scorched the bottom of the pot) or if the freeze-dried yogurt starter was ineffective or if the milk itself was too pasteurized.  In any case, I was disappointed.  But I tried again and it worked!  Miracle of miracles, I made a half gallon container of thick, plain yogurt!  

This time, I heated the milk more slowly in a double boiler (intently watching the candy thermometer) and I used actual yogurt (3 Tbs.) as the starter.  10 hours later, I checked the product and it was thick and creamy. Like magic.  I tasted it - very tangy but delicious.  I added a little vanilla extract and citrus blossom honey to a bowlful of my homemade yogurt and it was heavenly.  I had more for breakfast this morning, as did the kids.  They asked for seconds so I know it passed their muster! 

The verdict:  I am hooked.  It takes very little time (just about 5 minutes of actual prep, but mostly just waiting to for the correct temperatures and then for the yogurt to set) and the results are great.  And oh-so-cheap compared to the store-bought organic yogurt... I made 1/2 gallon of yogurt for the cost of 1/2 gallon of organic milk - $3.35.  This means I saved about $17 for a week's supply of yogurt.

Now it's time to experiment with flavorings:  strawberry jam, honey, cinnamon, blueberries, vanilla... the possibilities are endless!

Sunday Dinner: Roasted Chicken with Carrots and New Potatoes

Tonight's post is dedicated to the idea of quick, simple family-friendly fare that is in season and affordable.  Busy with 2 young children, I am always looking for recipes that are not time-intensive but still delicious and healthy, and accessible to my toddlers' tastebuds.  Weeknights are always hectic but with the upcoming holidays, the weekends have been equally crazy!  My to-do list this weekend included:  grocery shopping (4 different stores!), bank, public library, toy store, pharmacy, workout, wrap gifts, address cards, laundry, Jeff's company holiday party, friends over for dinner, holiday light sightseeing, playdate, and lunch with a girlfriend. Our dinner tonight fits the bill - easy and delicious with most of the ingredients coming straight from our CSA produce box.  Just throw into the oven and take care of other items on your to-do list!

Simple Roasted Chicken with Carrots and New Potatoes

Sauteed Cabbage*

Winter Green Salad*

Simple Roasted Chicken with Carrots and New Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb. roaster chicken, cleaned and patted dry

1 lb. carrots*, tops trimmed and cut into large chunks

1 lb. new potatoes*, cut into halves

3 Tbs. olive oil

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary*

2 stems of fresh thyme*

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Place the carrots and new potatoes in the bottom of a roasting pan or casserole dish.  Season with 2 Tbs. olive oil and salt and pepper.  Strip one rosemary sprig of its leaves and sprinkle over the vegetables; do the same with one stem of thyme.  Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, breast side down.  Drizzle 1 Tbs. olive oil over the chicken and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the leaves of the other rosemary and thyme stems over the chicken.  Place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Then, crank the heat up to 375 for another 20 minutes.  Then, crank the heat up again to 425 for another 20 minutes.  Remove from oven.  You will be tempted to eat this straight away (the aroma is SO delicious and the skin looks so crispy and perfect) but DON'T!!!  You want the bird to rest at least 10-15 minutes so that the juices redistribute.  I promise you will be rewarded for your patience.  Each slice of the chicken will be so juicy and delicious... you won't know what hit you!  And even better, the carrots and potatoes will be bathed in a scrumptious bath of chicken juice and schmaltz. 

We rounded out our meal with sauteed cabbage (just cooked with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper) and a winter salad of greens, avocado, and sliced apple.  Eli and Vivian ate their dinners and asked for seconds... hurrah!  The chicken was so delish that Eli ate several slices.  Altogether, the four of us ate 1 1/2 chicken breasts and 1 leg.  I removed the remaining breast from the bird and sliced it up for a leftovers lunch for Jeff and me, along with the remaining carrots and potatoes.  I wrapped the rest of the bird up in foil and it may make an appearance in quesadillas later this week.  The carcass will be used to make chicken broth, a much needed ingredient in this season of soups and stews. 

*These ingredients/dishes were from our CSA produce box or garden.