My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

I’m continuing yesterday’s theme of easy recipes for Dads and kids to whip up for Mother’s Day. This one could pretty easily be made by kids all by themselves, as it is a non-cooking recipe. Even the youngest kids could easily be in charge of tearing up the angel food cake. However, Dads should probably supervise so that Mom doesn’t have to clean up a huge mess.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

1 (10 inch) angel food cake
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I prefer whipped cream to topping)
1 (5 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
12 oz mini chocolate chips

Tear Angel food cake into bite size pieces into a 9×13 inch cake pan (preferably glass).

Prepare chocolate pudding as directed on package. Gently spread over the top of cake pieces, spreading to edges of pan.

Carefully spread whipped topping over chocolate pudding, spreading to edges of pan and taking care not to mix with pudding.

Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.

Chill until ready to serve, at least one hour.

I know that it’s possible there may be kids or Dads reading this. They want to make Mom a special breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day, but they’re thinking “It’s got to be easy!” Never fear. This recipe is super simple and super special. And just a hint— a flower in a vase makes any breakfast special, but the MOST special breakfast is the one you don’t have to clean up after Now, on to the recipe.

Super simple, super special scrambled eggs

8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together until well blended. Melt butter in skillet over medium-low heat until hot; pour in egg mixture. Reduce heat. As mixture begins to set on bottom and sides of skillet, lift and fold over with spatula. Cook until eggs are almost set; fold in tomato, finely chopped red pepper, and green onion. Heat scrambled eggs through; serve immediately.
If desired top with shredded cheese just before finished.

What’s Mother’s Day without muffins? They’re easy for kids to help with. They’re easy to make ahead or the morning of. You can make a lot of them if you have company, and they save well (so Mom has breakfast to feed the kids for the rest of the week). These muffins are a twist on traditional banana muffins as they contain macademia nuts. If you were really feeling adventurous, I bet you could add a bit of coconut, or at the very least coconut extract, to make a kind of pina colada muffin. Yum!

Banana- Macademia Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into large bowl. Combine bananas, both sugars, butter, milk and egg in medium bowl. Mix into dry ingredients. Fold in half of nuts. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle tops of muffins with remaining macadamia nuts. Bake until muffins are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about
25 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack and cool.

As promised, I’m posting this great salad recipe. It’s really easy and could easily serve as a main course with addition of some hard boiled eggs or some chickpeas, or both. Serve it as a side or a starter for pasta dishes for a delicious meal.

Salad with feta and balsamic dressing

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
Salad greens. I usually buy the bagged ones, and my favorite is Riviera and European which I mix
Feta cheese, crumbled (you could also use blue cheese)
Toasted pine nuts

Whisk all ingredients except oil until well mixed. Blend in oil s l o w l y with whisk until thick and creamy.

Add toasted pine nuts and crumbled feta cheese to salad.

Perhaps you’re not planning to serve breakfast to Mom. Maybe you’re planning a brunch or an after-church lunch. This delicious spring pasta dish will be just the thing. Serve it with the delicious salad I’m going to post tomorrow, some bread, and a dessert, and you’ll have the perfect meal. And all for much less money (and much less of a wait) than the local Italian food eatery.

Perfect Pasta Primavera

1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced broccoli
1 1/2 cups snow peas
1 cup baby peas
6 asparagus spears, sliced
10 white mushrooms, sliced
1 heaping tablespoon salt, preferable kosher
1 pound fettucine (you could also make this with a penne or a tortellini)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

Fit a steamer basket into a large pot. Add a small amount of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Place the zucchini, broccoli, snow peas, baby peas, asparagus, and mushrooms in the steamer basket, cover, and steam until tender, about 3 minutes. Rinse the vegetables under cold water and allow to drain. (If you don’t have a steamer basket, just put them in a pot with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Try to put the larger vegetables, like broccoli, on the bottom.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and the fettucine. Cook until al dente. (If you’re not sure when pasta is al dente, just cook it the amount of time that’s on the package— it will probably be fine.)

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Ad the pine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring, until they begin to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and then the steamed vegetables. Next add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until all the vegetables are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, butter, cream, and basil, and heat thoroughly. Toss, then scatter the tomatoes on top. Serve immediately.

This was one of the first frittata’s I ever tried. I don’t know if that’s why I like it so much, or if it’s just because it’s so good. It comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook, but don’t let the Low-Fat part scare you off

Black Bean and Hominy Frittata

2 cups chopped onions
2 teaspoons canola or other vegetable oil
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and julienned (I just chop it up)
1 jalapeno or other fresh chile, seeded and minced (the recipe says optional, but I consider it necessary)
1 15-oz can white hominy or corn, drained
1 16-oz black beans, drained and rinsed (If you want to make your own, you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
3 whole eggs
5 egg whites (I always just use 6 whole eggs)
1/2 t. salt (or to taste)

salsa
sour cream

Place the onions and 1 t. of the oil in a 10 to 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and golden. Add the bell peppers and chile and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the hominy, black beans, and cilantro, cover, lower the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes, until hot. Remove the skillet from the heat. Put bean and hominy mixture in another bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites, and salt until fluffy. Stir the bean and hominy mixture into the eggs.

Coat the bottom of the same skillet with the remaining teaspoon of oil and return it to medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in the egg mixture and distribute the hominy and beans evenly. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the edges are firm and the bottom has browned. Place a large flat plate or pizza pan over the skillet and flip the skillet over so that the frittata falls onto the plate. Slide the frittata back into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes more, until the eggs are fully cooked. (I never do the flip it over part of this recipe. I just pop it under the broiler until it firms up and the top is slightly brown. Sometimes I even put a little cheddar cheese on the top and melt it.)

Cut the frittata into wedges and serve hot or at room temperature, topped with salsa and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Sometimes things get a bit hectic with the holidays. With this recipe, you can’t go wrong. It works if you make it the night before and pop it in the oven the next morning. It even works if you cook it the night before and reheat it. It’s easy to double or triple. It would work on a buffet table or for breakfast in bed. And it’s so much less time consuming than flipping pieces of bread a couple at a time. Oh, and did I mention that it’s delicious? So, make up a batch and serve it to Mom. She’ll thank you for it.

French Toast Casserole

7 cups bread cubes (toast bread first or use stale bread)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter an 8×8 inch baking pan.

Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla, 1/2 t. cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over bread. Let stand for 10 minutes (or overnight).

Pour melted butter over the top. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden. Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

To reheat this, make sure that you cover it with foil or a lid to a casserole dish, so it doesn’t dry out. Also, ideally you would decrease the cooking time by about 15 minutes, then reheat at 350 for 15 or 20 minutes.

What Mom— okay, what I really want for Mother’s Day is kids who are calm and well-behaved at the table. My kids are great about so many things. They can be a bit picky when it comes to food. But every single one of them LOVES these pancakes. And I feel good that they have a little bit of a health benefit also. My husband and I also think they’re delicious. You can alter the sugar in the recipe to suit your taste, and if you’re really looking to add a little something special, you can add chocolate chips to the recipe. They’re delicious served with syrup (try butter pecan for a taste that reminds you of sweet potato casserole), but I prefer them with a little butter and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

1 15 oz. can non-candied sweet potatoes **
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
up to 1/2 c. of sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

** You can make your own sweet potatoes, if you like. Use 3/4 lb. and mash them well before adding them to the recipe.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix sweet potatoes, eggs, milk and butter in a separate medium bowl. Blend sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter.***

Preheat a lightly greased griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatula when the surface begins to bubble.

Serve with your favorite toppings.

*** As a time (and bowl) saver, I often mix my wet ingredients and then just pour the dry ingredients in and mix without mixing them in a separate bowl first, or you can mix them in a large measuring cup.

Passover is drawing to a close, but Mother’s Day will be upon is a couple of weeks. What do you do for Mother’s Day? Do you join the masses at the restaurants? Do you really need to pay $30 per person to eat scrambled eggs and french toast?

I’m giving you weeks to prepare, to look over recipes, and to think about giving your Mom the gift of a homecooked meal. Whether it’s breakfast, brunch, or lunch you can make a simple but tasty meal for your Mom.

Maybe your Mom’s not a vegetarian. What an excellent time to expose her to the possibilities of vegetarianism. If you make brunch, she probably won’t even miss the meat. And she can see that you really can be healthy without eating meat. And that’s all she wants— for you to be healthy.

So, save yourself waiting in line (and a few dollars, as well) and make a Mother’s Day meal to remember.

I belong to a CSA. Basically, what that means is we get seasonal produce from a local farm. So, sometimes we get things that I wouldn’t necessarily have bought at the grocery store. One of the vegetables that I wouldn’t have picked out but that I’ve grown quite fond of is swiss chard. I like it in frittatas, in particular. But recently I was looking for something new to do with my latest batch of swiss chard, and I came across a recipe for swiss chard pancakes. I haven’t tried it out yet, but it does contain matzoh, so we may be eating them during Passover. In case you’re feeling adventurous, I thought I’d pass along the recipe, so hear it is— courtesy of Epicurious.

Swiss Chard Pancakes

2 bunches Swiss chard, stems cut away, leaves rinsed, chopped
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup unsalted matzo meal
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

5 tablespoons (about) olive oil
Lemon wedges

Stir chard with any water still clinging to leaves in large pot over medium-high heat until just wilted but still green, about 3 minutes. Place in sieve; press out moisture. Cool completely.
Combine eggs, onion, matzo meal, cinnamon, salt, allspice and pepper in medium bowl; blend well. Mix in chard.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop heaping 1 tablespoon Swiss chard mixture for each pancake into skillet; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Fry pancakes until golden brown and cooked through, adding more olive oil to skillet as necessary, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm after each batch. Serve pancakes warm with lemon wedges.

Serves 4 to 6.

I think this is the most delicious chocolate cake ever (hence, the name). This Passover version is adapted from a recipe called “Drop-Dead Chocolate Cake” from a cookbook by Karen Lee titled “The Occasional Vegetarian”. It’s a great cookbook and a wonderful recipe. I’ve adapted it for Passover here.

The Most Delicious Chocolate Cake Ever

Cocoa powder
8 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 c., plus 1 T. sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 large eggs
2 1/2 T. potato starch

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter and sprinkle cocoa powder into an 8-inch springform pan. (The pan should have sided at least 2 inches high.) Tap out any cocoa that doesn’t adhere.

In a double boiler, heat the chocolate and sugar until the chocolate melts. (I have done this without the double boiler, just keep the heat on very low and really watch it, so you don’t scorch the chocolate.) Add the butter gradually, stirring until the butter is incorporated. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Separate the eggs. Set the whites aside.

Beat the yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture until combined (you really do want to make sure it is cool, or you’ll end up with little bits of scrambled eggs— eww). Add the potato starch and stir well.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan on the middle rack in the oven and bake until the cake has risen and the crust is beginning to crack, about 45 minutes. The inside of the cake will be soft and have a slightly puddinglike consistency. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool before unmolding. (The cake is supposed to fall, so don’t be dismayed when the center sinks in.) Serve at room temperature. Excellent with whipped cream or ice cream and berries.

I really like matzoh brie. I’m happy with it with eggs, but not everyone eats eggs, so I’m including this recipe that I read on the Vegetarians in Paradise website. I think you could also add a bit of tofu to this, if you wanted.

Veggie Matzoh Brie

4 pieces whole wheat matzoh, broken into coarse pieces
Hot water
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. water
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound (225 g) sliced cremini or button mushrooms
1/4 C. (60 ml) raw walnuts, coarsely ground

Salt and pepper to taste

Break matzoh into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks and put them into a deep bowl. Pour in hot water to cover, and soak matzoh about 1 minute. Pour off water, draining well, and set aside.
Put the olive oil and water into a large, deep skillet. Then, add remaining ingredients, including the soaked matzoh. Sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, about 2 to 4 minutes, just until onions become translucent.
Season with salt and pepper, and serve. Makes about 3 to 4 servings.

Sometimes I don’t sleep well at night. Last night I kept waking up thinking about how to turn veggie chicken and dumplings kosher for Passover (we don’t use baking powder). Finally, in my half-asleep state, I thought, “Oh, you could just make veggie chicken and matzoh balls”, only to later half wake up and think, “I bet the veggie chicken wouldn’t be kosher for Passover”. So, so much for my dream of posting my kosher for Passover veggie chicken and dumplings!

But I will share with you one of my favorite kugel recipes. This one appears quite frequently on my Sabbath table. It’s delicious, super easy, and fairly low carb. So, it’s practically the perfect food. Even people who don’t like cauliflower will appreciate this recipe from 1000 Jewish Recipes by Faye Levy, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Cauliflower Kugel

1 large head cauliflower, divided into med florets
2-3 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large eggs, or 1 large egg and equivalent of 1 egg in egg substitute
1 T. matzoh meal
salt and pepper, to taste
about 1/2 t. paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Boil cauliflower in salted water 8-10 minutes or until tender. Drain well and cool. Mash with a potato masher, leaving a few small chunks. Transfer to a bowl.

While cauliflower is cooking, hat 1-2 T. oil. Add onion and saute over medium-low 7 minutes, or until onion begins to turn golden.

Add eggs and matzoh mea to cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in onion mixture and any oil in pan

Grease a 8×8 casserole. Add cauliflower. Sprinkle 1 T. oil over top. Sprinkle with paprika, if using. Bake 40 minutes or until set and very lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and run a knife around edges. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

As far as my kids are concerned, no Passover would be complete with matzoh meal pancakes (boubalech). They’d like me to make them all year round. They are really tasty— light and airy, they almost melt in your mouth. We serve them with syrup. But you can serve with kosher for passover powdered sugar, preserves, or just with a bit of butter.

This recipe is based on the recipe from the Manichewitz matza-meal box.

Matzoh meal pancakes (boubalech)

2 eggs, separated
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup matza meal
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons sugar (also okay without)

Add the water to the egg yolks. Beat lightly and add dry
ingredients, mixing well. Refrigerate until well chilled
(recommend preparing in evening, to have ready for breakfast).

Beat whites to stiff peaks. Fold into prepared mixture. (If
the matza meal you’re using is coarse, the batter may be too
runny; add more matza meal, a tablespoon at a time, until
of correct consistency.)

Pour oil into frypan to cover surface. Ladle batter into
pan; approximately a cooking-spoon full (I use a 1/3-cup
measure). Fry until golden brown on each side. Avoid turning
more than once.

Enjoy with your favorite pancake topping.

Epicurious recently had a matzoh ball contest. The winner was a vegetarian recipe. I’m happy to include it here, and I’ll be happy to include it at my seder, too

Battle of the Matzoh Balls Vegetarian Winner

4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon salt
Dash cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons white onion, grated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup matzoh meal
7 cups vegetable stock
Additional stock for serving

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt, cayenne pepper, onion, and butter. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the matzoh meal in several additions. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour.
In a large pot, bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Moisten hands with cold water and roll the matzoh mixture into 3/4 inch balls. After all the balls are formed, drop them into the boiling stock. Return to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Serve warm in vegetable stock.

Note: The matzoh balls can be served in the same stock they were cooked in, but the soup will be cloudy. If you do use separate stock for serving, you can cook vegetables such as carrots or parsnips in it and serve them with the soup.

Makes about 20 medium-sized matzoh balls.