creative jewish mom

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Banana Loaf

I've been meaning to share this delicious whole wheat oatmeal banana bread with you for some time now, just I keep wondering whether the photo is just a little bit strange? You'll forgive me right? I made this cake for Simchat Torah, and rushed outside to photograph it just before the holiday began. My usual outdoor spot was occupied by our Succah so I had no choice but to hold the cake up in front of the gorgeous view and there you have it! If you love banana bread, this one is a winner and quite low in fat and sugar as far as cake goes!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup milk or soymilk or water, use 3 eggs if using water, like i did....
2-3 smashed bananas
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips/pecan pieces/craisins/dried blueberries (whatever you feel like tossing in really)

Blend all wet ingredients together (including bananas). Add the oatmeal and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then add all the dry ingredients at once and stir until blended. Makes one 9x9 cake, or about 16-18 muffins, or one loaf pan filled nearly to overflowing. Bake at 350 F until done. For cake and muffins this is about 12-15 minutes, loaf is longer, more like 1 hour. Gobble it up, yummy!

Gorgeous Cake Decor In Minutes With Powdered Sugar

Decorating a simple cake with powdered sugar is something I do often, but I'll never go back to just sprinkling sugar on the cake, as with the addition of a simple paper silhouette, your cake can look simply fabulous! Cut out a simple paper shape, or even a few shapes, or use a ready made paper doily, place it on your cake and sprinkle the powdered sugar over your cake using something like a little strainer to make sure the sugar goes on in a fine layer, not in clumps. Carefully remove the paper by slipping a knife under it, and voila!

I just love sharing with you creative touches that will make your family feel loved, and put a smile on your guest's faces with minimal effort on your part. And this my friend's is a keeper. No excuses that you don't have enough time, because this literally took about 3 minutes! 

If you'd like to bake a delicious apple cake like the one shown here, try my whole wheat apple cake recipe, it will disappear in minutes, so it's good thing you didn't slave over the icing!

Hasselback Potatoes Simply Elegant Party Fare

At long last I prepared hasselback potatoes, a simple and elegant way to serve baked potatoes that adds that certain special touch to any meal. Last Friday night I served these delicious potatoes together with a main course of Moroccan Yellow Chicken with carrots. I'm always looking for attractive and simple side dishes, and this is certainly one that's going to show up on our table every so often!

Chocolate Mocha Glaze Icing For Your Next Cake!

Nearly two years ago when I first started this blog, I posted my basic chocolate cake recipe and promised to add to that post the recipe that I use for the chocolate glaze topping which is simple, stress free, and can be made with basic ingredients that you most likely have in the cupboard. Well, wouldn't you know, a few months short of two years later I was just linking to that post for a birthday cake post that I'll be sharing next week and lo and behold I saw my promise—unfullfilled that is! Whoops....that's life in the busy blog lane, so here is that recipe at long last. Use it, enjoy it and if you're like me, you may even realize that as long as there are some sprinkles on hand, your family will love this simple solution to icing a cake just as much as something made in the mixer!

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, or if you're like me, just use regular sugar it that's what you have!
• 3 tblsps cocoa
• 1 tblsp instant coffee, disolved in one tblsp of warm water (optional, leave it out if your family doesn't like coffee)
• 3 tbsps oil
• 4 to 6 tblsps water

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients, and add oil. Mix, add coffee, and gradually add water one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Pour over cake and set aside to harden. For bundt cakes, make consistency slightly on the runny side so that you can drip the icing over the sides of the cake. Let it run to the bottom creating decorative pools of chocolate on the plate around your cake. Just be sure to keep the cake away from 7 year olds who might think this was a mistake and won't be able to resist running their finger through these tempting pools of chocolate while you are in the shower!  If this does happen, so try not to scream. Take a deep breath and clean off the finger smears with a damp paper towel and remember to lock the cake up next time (note to self)!

Yield: Frosts one 9 x 13 flat cake

Recipe courtesy of Spice and Spirit, The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook

All Natural Banana Ice Cream Made From.....Only Bananas!

Did you know that you can make "ice cream" from just one ingredient — bananas? I first learned this little secret here, and when my husband brought home two huge bunches of bananas for Passover, I had a feeling I'd need to use some of them for some kind of treat. And just when those bananas started to look a little brown I remembered the banana ice cream idea!

Now I have to say, this won't go over well as an actual substitute for those who want to eat real ice cream, but for those avoiding sugar or who happen to be vegan or just love super healthy fare, well this one is for them. And for those of us who enjoyed lots of matzo and other delicious foods during the past week of Passover, ahem, this one is also for us! Though I made it plain, I do think it could be quite delicious with some chopped walnuts, ground coconut, chocolate chips or shaved chocolate (for those not avoiding sugar....), or even some peanut butter mixed in! Have fun experimenting with this and you might even want to make some in an ice cube tray to have some little treats on hand, or as popsicles.

How To:

Slice some bananas and freeze on a plate. After about 2 hours, place them in your food processor or blender and watch in amazement as something that resembles coffee ice cream forms before your eyes! Eat immediately or refreeze, just you'll need to defrost it a bit before re-serving.

Note: The only electrical appliance that I have in my Passover dishes is actually a soup blender, and that worked just fine well!

No-Sugar Whole Wheat Fruit Cake—Delicious!

No sugar, that is sugar-free, with no added sweeteners, whole wheat fruit cake....a healthy alternative to well, you know, that regular sugar and oil laden cake that tastes good but isn't very good for you! You are joining me on the quest for healthier eating right? You'll feel so much better, believe me!

One small disclaimer: I thought this cake was great and could have easily eaten it all, and a very nice guest said it was the best cake she's eaten in Israel, though she is a macrobiotic cook, so she likes things that are healthy and natural. My children on the other hand did not quite appreciate this version of cake, and I even saw a piece in the garbage. The person who gave me this recipe however is a serious cake baker of the unhealthy kind also, and her children do like it!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup each of raisins, dried apricots, dates, prunes, or some combination of some of these, or some of these, those the dates are the sweetest, so I wouldn't skip those! (I made mine without the prunes)
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 envelope of baking power (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I actually forgot this, so if you don't like cinnamon you can omit it!)
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil (or for Israelis: 1/2 cup chad paami)
• 1 cup of boiling water

Instructions:

Pour boiling water over chopped dried fruit (I forgot to chop mine and the pieces would have been better smaller) and let sit until fruit is really soft. Combine remaining ingredients, pour fruit together with the water that it sat in, into the batter and mix. Or drain fruit and add a new cup of water. Bake until it's ready, at the same temperature you usually bake your cakes. Ever seen a cook book that said something like that?

Note: As you can see from the quantity of flour, this makes a fairly small cake, but maybe try it before doubling the ingredients? I made it in a silicone bandit pan, and it only filled up half the depth of the pan, but the results were a cute ring shaped cake, perfect for putting on the table whole!

Delicious Whole Wheat Mini-Baguettes & Tunisian Fricasse' CJM Style!

I have a little secret to share: whole wheat oatmeal rolls, right out of the oven and shaped like mini baguettes! Your family will go crazy for them (hopefully) and if my kids are any indication, well they were begging to take these to school before they'd even been placed in the oven! There's just something about the shape that is downright appealing, and as it turns out, they were delicious too! (I can just see them now, waving these in front of all their white bread eating peers whose jeers they've learned to ignore....go kids!)

And if you really want to go all the way, take my serving suggestion and place them on the table in one of your nicest plant pots that happens to be free at the moment, or a little bucket would be great too! And by the way, I made this recipe up based on my own favorite whole wheat pita recipe, so you can certainly experiment too by adding some other healthy ingrediants, or a different topping.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons silan (date syrup) or honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 2 cups warm water, plus additional amount needed for nice moist, but not sticky dough
• sesame seeds and a tiny bit of kosher salt (optional)

Directions:

Generally speaking if using a mixer it is preferable to add dry ingrediants to the wet ones, and if mixing by hand, add the wet to the dry. Do not add salt until the yeast is thoroughly mixed with the flour.

Here's what I did: Place yeast in bowl, and add to that 2 cups warm water plus 2 tablespoons silan. Add 4 tablespoons oil, and then start adding flour and oatmeal slowly. Add salt and continue adding flour. Add a little extra water (amount depends on the whole wheat flour you'll be using, organic requires more water) such that your resulting dough is moist but not sticky.

Place dough in a large bowl with a cover, or in a plastic garbage bag, which is what I do. Squeeze extra air out of bag, tie the top closed, and place bag in a warm place. I put mine near the stove top and turned on the oven. Since these are rolls and not bread, you really don't have to worry about giving the dough ample rising time. I let it rise a bit, so that it felt fluffy to the touch, maybe 20 minutes max, and then I shaped my rolls (roughly 23 of them) such that they looked like thick shortish carrots. I let them rise another 10 minutes or so, brushed them with egg white and sprinkled them with sesame seeds and a touch of kosher salt, and into the oven they went for about 20 minutes. that's it!

About Tunisian Fricasse' and These Baguettes.....
The funny part of this story is that I had planned to make a meal with Moroccan white beans in a tomato sauce served on a bed of mashed potatoes and onions, but the beans just were taking too long to cook. So I did a slight change of plan and layed out a spread to make faux fricassee' (Tunisian sandwiches in fried bread) with mashed potatoes, tuna salad, mixed Israeli salad, and olives. I forgot that one usually includes hard boiled eggs in this mix, oh well. When I told my husband it was healthy fricasse', suddenly the dinner became a 5 star event! And he even had the children applaud my efforts, literally! And my five year old said so sweetly "thank you mommy for making the rolls, I love them!" How's that for incentive? But seriously, if you really don't know what to make for dinner, whip up a batch of these rolls (you'll need to do it about 2 hours ahead of dinner) and the rest will just fall into place, even if it's mashed potatoes, eggs, olives, a salad of cucumbers and tomotos, tuna and some pickles and picked lemons if you happen to have some!  

And come to think of it, Tunisian style fricasse' in healthy rolls is a great idea for a buffet meal. And for those of you living somewhere that's not where I live, well it will be downright exotic! Tunisian? Where's that? (Northern Africa, silly!) You can even consider reading my blog a lesson in geography now and again, all the more reason to stop by often, plus I just love it when you do!

 

 

No-Bake Cookie Balls (Simple Chocolate Rum Balls): A Dessert Kids Can Make!

My seven year old wanted to bring a cake for his class Chanukah party. He doesn't understand that baking is really not my preferred use of time, and therefore I'm really no expert. I have a few basic recipes that are good and keep the family happy when cake is required! How about a cake like the one I made for Abba's birthday with the mini dreidel cake bunting? No. Hmmmm. Then we remembered the no-bake cookie balls that I surprised him with on his birthday....yes cookie balls! These cookie balls do have some margarine in them, which I try to avoid, though I have a feeling one could probably substitute oil, or maybe oil and some peanut butter? Let me know if you try it!

This is a great recipe that younger kids can help with, and older kids who can heat up something in a pot can do all by themselves.  There is even a kosher no-bake cookie ball mix is a box, but just make your own, the kids will love crunching up all those cookies!

No-Bake Chocolate Rum Balls From Spice And Spirit, The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook

Ingredients: (I tripled this recipe to make about 45 nice sized cookie balls - maybe large-walnut size)

• 8 ounces tea biscuits, either plain or chocolate
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 1/2 cup water (if using butter, so you could use milk instead of water)
• 2 tbsp rum (or rum flavoring, though the real thing is preferable, not that we had any!)
• 2 tbsp margarine (can substitute butter for this, of course)
• 1/2 cup coconut and/or sprinkles and melted chocolate (optional)

Instructions: Crush biscuits into small bowl. I used an electric chopper this time, but kids can do it by hand by placing cookies in a bag and pounding with something.  Mix sugar, cocoa and water in a small pot. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and remove from flame. Stir in margarine, and when it has melted, pour mixture over crumbs and mix. Form into small balls and roll balls in coconut and sprinkles or decorate with melted chocolate and sprinkles as we did.

Great Tip-How To Melt Chocolate: simply place in a cooking bag and insert into your electric kettle (kum kum) after you've boiled some water. Once chocolate has melted, cut a tiny hole at the tip of the bag and squeeze out to decorate! Much simpler than the double boiler method! Just make sure to discard that water that you used to heat up your plastic bag!

A New Spice In My Life: Introducing Baharat!

I know, you thought this photo was of pigments right? Wrong, this is one example of the artful way in which spices are sold in Morocco. Yes, spices! No, not those little jars you buy in the grocery store, I'm talking about the real freshly ground thing, that plays heavily in the Middle Eastern/Northern African cuisine. So while the spice mix called "baharat" isn't exactly Moroccan, it's similar to a spice mix Moroccans might use, and in any case I just couldn't resist showing you these photos....look at those cloth bags, and the colors in those spice towers....great inspiration for something, right?

Baharat is a North African/Middle Eastern/Turkish spice mix. Baharat simply means "spice" in Arabic. A traditional baharat mixture is used similarly to the way Indians use garam masala, or the Moroccans use  rat el hanuot, and may even apparently be used as a final flavor booster after a meal has been prepared.

This blend is often used to season lamb but I read that it is an all-purpose flavor enhancer useful for fish, chicken, beef, tomato sauces and soups, and that it’s a great addition to lentil dishes, pilafs and meatloaf. Or it can be used as a rub for virtually anything on the barbeque.  While I actually purchased mine in the spice section at Super Sol (really Shufer Sol...) you can make it yourself with this recipe:

Baharat
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

My sealed bag of baharat hung out in the spice cabinet for a good year until a few weeks ago I decided to open it, and boy was I surprised! First of all, no matter how you use it, your house will smell like you are baking a delicious spice cake, and from what I can tell with my experimenting so far, you really can't go wrong assuming you like the taste in general.

Here's a list of how I've used it with the results:

1. As the main spice in my Moroccan meatball recipe, together with just turmeric and paprika. I used only ground chicken, which is preferable health-wise, and the results were amazing. Infact the spice gave the meat the color of my usual half meat/half chicken version, and they were so delicious and rich, seconds were requested!

2. As the main spice in a simple tomato sauce served over whole wheat pasta. Again I added some paprika, and turmeric, and the results were delicious. Even my daughter who has been passing on the tomato sauce liked it! (3 onions, 6 eyes of garlic chopped and sauteed, and then combined with 250g tomato paste, one or two fresh tomatos grated- a little Israeli secret, and water to achieve the consistency you enjoy.)

3. As a rub on grilled chicken. Good but would have been better had I combined with with oil and garlic and made a wetter rub.

Oh and by the way, wouldn't this be a great little gift? Make some yourself, or buy the ready made mixture, make some beautiful labels, package the mixture in nice little containers, possibly with a little circle of fabric tied around the top, jam style,  and give as holiday gifts with some cooking ideas. You're welcome!

A Simple And Delicious Whole Wheat Apple Cake......

This apple cake recipe is one of those recipes that guests will ask for. And if you have house guests, so bake the cake while they're there to tantalize them with the delicious smell of the cake baking! This is a great cake to serve with brunch, afternoon tea, or dessert, and it's really quite simple.

I bake this in a round silicon tart pan that is just a tad on the small side, so the cake rises above the pan a bit and then falls, creating the cracked look which I love. All the apples stay at the bottom of the cake, so you can also serve this as an upside down cake if you like.

As for the powdered sugar decoration, it can't be much simpler! Cut or punch a shape out of paper (an apple would be adorable!) place it on top of the cake, and sift powdered sugar over the cake. You can do this a few hours ahead of time, but not too far in advance, and make sure to do it on a perfectly cooled cake!

You can find the recipe here, I'd recommend making two and freezing one, or having the second on hand to serve when the first gets gobbled up! (That's what I should have done...it went fast!)