Main Dishes For The Nine Days

Some notes from the resident vegetarian in the CR:

Seitan is a meat substitute made from wheat gluten. I don’t know how to make it from scratch and would not recommend trying it, but you can find it packaged in blocks or strips in health food stores or Asian markets. Many brands are kosher; I use the Westsoy brand, which is under the Star-K. (I like the Chicken-Style variety, but it comes in other forms as well.) It’s very versatile and can be used in many different dishes. It’s been eight years since I last tasted meat, but my determinedly carnivorous little brother says that seitan does a good job of mimicking the taste and texture of real chicken. I would definitely recommend trying it. The only downside is that you can’t find it in supermarkets, so it does require a trip to the health food store.

Tofu is similarly versatile and delicious, although it doesn’t have the same meaty taste. Last night for dinner, I made Tofu Teriyaki, which requires very little preparation. (recipe below) If you try to make tofu by itself, you won’t be impressed, since it’s naturally bland. The trick is to cook it with or in something else, whether it be vegetables or a sauce or whatever you want– tofu easily acquires the flavor of whatever you cook with it.

Quinoa is great for Pesach, since it tastes like a grain but is classified as a flower (not a grass) and therefore passes the kitniyot test. You can prepare it just like you would rice, boiling it with water, then covering to simmer until the quinoa cooks and the water evaporates. This should take approximately 15 minutes. The one extra step is that you should soak and strain it before cooking to remove the external, somewhat bitter coating of saponin. Oomis, if you didn’t do this first, that’s probably why you didn’t like the result. After cooking, quinoa should be light and fluffy and look kind of curly– it’s hard to explain, but you should understand what I mean when you see it.

I would also recommend trying polenta, a dish made from boiled cornmeal. I made this from scratch once and it came out great, but it took so much time and was such a hassle that I buy it packaged now. I can’t remember the brand name of the kind I like (might be Goya? I’ll check the fridge when I get home) but it’s under the Chof-K and comes packaged in tubes. An easy way to prepare it is just to slice the tube into thin rounds and bake or fry, but there are other ways to make it as well. I’ll post some recipes later if anyone’s interested.

Tofu Teriyaki

Preheat oven to 425. Drain tofu and blot with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Cut into thin slabs and place on a greased baking sheet. Make triangular slashes on the surface of the tofu so it will better absorb the sauce. Spoon some teriyaki sauce over the tofu. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip tofu slabs, spoon teriyaki sauce over the top, and bake for another 10 minutes.

You can use store-bought teriyaki sauce, but I like to make my own. Here’s the recipe:

Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 cup water, 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1-2 minced garlic cloves in a small pot and bring to a boil while stirring. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water and add to mixture, stirring to thicken. You can also add ginger to this recipe, but I don’t because my mother doesn’t like it.

We had an awesome dinner tonight:

PLace slices of tilapia in pan. Cut up pineapple and tomatoes and toss on and around the fish. Pour BBQ sauce over everything (not a lot, just enough to coat slightly).

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Serve over a bed of rice or couscous.

oomis, you have room for me? 😉

has anyone (else) tried my bagels?

*kapusta*

Oomis, anytime! I would love to host you 🙂

I did wake up early last Sunday to make the bagels for breakfast, and they came out great!! I was afraid I would somehow mess it up because I’ve never made bagels before, but it really worked well and my family loved it. I ended up with nine bagels- four plain, two cinnamon raisin, one sesame, one poppy, and one garlic. Leftovers were perfect for packed lunches to take to camp/work.

Thanks kapusta!

Dinner tonight:

Mushroom onion soup

Caesar salad

Salmon and creamed spinach in puffed pastry

Garlic mashed potatoes

YUM!

any one here in the CR knows of an easy & delicious cheese lukshen kugel (pie)recipe ?

Debby: Here’s a very sweet recipe, although I have no idea what the amounts are, because I presume you can put however much of anything you like, based on your taste.

Twirly Noodles

Ground Nuts

Raisins

Cinnamon and sugar

Oil (just so it sticks together)

-Boil up the noodles, mix them with the other stuff. Put them into a pan. Top with a sugar/nut/cinnamon/oil mixture. Bake it for I don’t know how long, and 5 minutes before you think it’s done, pour splotches of apricot jam on top (bake for another 5 minutes.)

Sorry about the very approximate everythings… And don’t expect to be able to slice it properly while it’s done, it gets messy but tastes very good. Please improvise!

it’s amazing how i survived on milchig for supper on these 9 days! i never eat milchig for suppers ever! i’m more of a meat & potato type of guy! 😉

Debbie:

Here is a delicious and easy recipe:

1 chesse (500gram)

1 vanilla pudding

1 c milk

1 c sugar

4 eggs

1 T vanilla sugar

1 pkt cooked thick long lokshen

mix altogether

bake 1 hr 350

Also, please label your recipes, even when responding to a request.

Debby said:

any one here in the CR knows of an easy & delicious cheese lukshen kugel (pie)recipe ?

aussie – israeli, thanks for the recipe!

SiDi™

my Salmon teriyaki

salmon fillet with skin on

sesame seeds

poppy seeds

cayenne

soy sauce

Mirin rice wine

sesame oil

fresh black pepper

Optional ground orange and lemon peel

Broil fillet on both sides. I typically only broil the skinless side for 4 1/2 minutes so that you can cut it with a spoon. Not raw but not much more than that. But if you want to cook it well done, that’s up to you. The skin side should be until popped up and crispy. Maybe 3 minutes but watch so it doesn’t burn. It’s the best part!

Sauce

In a non stick pan, toast sesame and poppy seeds and some cayenne (not to be spicy but to balance the sweetness). Then put 2 part soy sauce for 1 part mirin and also a teaspoon of sesame oil. Add pepper and ground orange/lemon peel.

Cook sauce on high heat until it is thick but remember to be careful not to let it burn because of all the sugar in the mirin. Coat salmon with the teriyaki glaze.

(I will try to add more things to the sauce like crushed garlic and brown sugar and see how it goes)

A good steak would be nice

A Maine dish? lobster i suppose.