It’s hard to believe that spring is upon us after all the snow. We are finally ready for the great weather ahead of us.
With Passover only two weeks away, I’d like to share some recipes with you and try to build a Seder meal. This time, I’d like to introduce an appetizer, and also my favorite dish: chicken liver.



Chicken liver with mushrooms in red wine

Ingredients
¼ cup oil
4 additional tablespoon of oil (or other kind of oil)
3 sliced onions
18-20 pieces of chicken liver
1 lb sliced mushrooms (Champignon)
Salt, ground pepper
1 cup dry red wine
Chopped parsley – for decoration

Directions
• Pour the oil into a large skillet.
• Add the onions and fry until golden.
• Add the mushrooms and fry until tender.
• Add the chicken liver, salt, ground pepper, and wine.
• Bring to boil, while stirring well, and cook for 3-4 more minutes until the sauce has thickened.
• Decorate with chopped parsley and serve warm.

Until the next time,
Hava & Dorit

I think we had enough snow….don’t you? Purim is in couple of weeks and some of my favorite treats. Hamantashen is tricky to make, and some involve a lot of work. Here is an easy recipe for quick bake.

Ingredients (dough)
2 ½ cups self rising flour
7 tablespoons (100 grams) butter or margarine
2 eggs
¼ cup sugar

Ingredients (filling)
½ cup of jam, (any flavor you like)
3.5 oz (100 grams) crashed pecans
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
• Put all ingredients and mix until you get smooth dough. If you find it to be dry add some water or orange juice.
• Mix the filling ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll the dough out and cut rounds (I use glass).
• Put 1 teaspoon of the filling in the middle of each round and fold it in a shape of triangle.
• Bake it for 15 minutes.
• When it’s ready you can sprinkle sugar powder.


Happy Purim,

Hava& Dorit

In my previous entry, I talked about chickpeas and how they are a great source of zinc and protein; they are also high in dietary fiber.
This time I’d like to recommend a fresh salad that goes with every meal.

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
A few ribs celery and leafy tops, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine chick peas with onions, peppers, celery, garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary in a medium bowl. Dress the salad with vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper.

Have a great winter….
Hava & Dorit

Hello again,

It’s been a while since the last time I wrote. I’ve been thinking about sharing with you something light and healthy after dealing with so much oil and fried food during Hanukkah. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and survived the oily dishes, the snow storm and the winter break.
This time I’d like to talk about chickpeas;
Chick pea and garbanzo bean are 2 names for the same thing (Cicer arietinum) a member of the Pea family. They are grown in the Mediterranean, western Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and Australia.
Mature chickpeas can be cooked and eaten cold in salads, ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack. You can also add chickpeas to different dishes such as pasta, soup etc.
Dried chickpeas need a long cooking time (1–2 hours) but will not easily fall apart when cooked longer. If soaked for 12–24 hours before use, cooking time can be considerably shortened by 30 minutes.
The chickpeas are great source of zinc and protein; they are also high in dietary fiber. Chickpeas are low in fat.
In recent studies by government agencies it seems that chickpeas have also shown that they can assist in lowering of cholesterol in the bloodstream.


Pasta with chickpeas

Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
2 chopped carrots
1 chopped celery root
1 chopped onion
1 bay leaf
2-3 sage leaves
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 lb chick peas (drain them in water the night before)
Salt and pepper
2 chopped tomatoes
½ lb pasta (shells)
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 minced cloves of garlic
2 slices of anchovy
3-4 rosemary (needles)

Directions;
• Pour the ½ cup oil into pot. Add the carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, sage, garlic and the chick peas and stir; Season with salt and the pepper.
• Continue to stir and stem for 6 minutes on medium heat.
• Add the tomatoes and after 2 minutes add 10 ½ cups of water and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for an hour and a half until the chick peas are tender.
• Take 1/3 of the dish and put it in a mixer, purée and put it back in the pot.
• Add the pasta and cook it until tender and absorbs most liquid in the pot.
• In a skillet put (the last four ingredients) 2 tablespoons olive oil garlic anchovy & the rosemary. Stir for a moment on medium heat.
• Add the sauce to the pot and stir.
• Pour to a serving bowl and…..
….Bon Appétit

Hava & Dorit

I hope you are all having a delightful Hanukkah. I was trying to find some family recipes for doughnuts, and came across two recipes: the traditional ones with yeast and a quicker recipe, without yeast.

The traditional doughnuts with yeast require a long baking process, but it is definitely worth the extra time and effort.

Ingredients
2.2 lb all purpose flour
2.5 oz dry yeast
1 ¾ cups of room temperature water
3.5 oz unsalted margarine
3 egg yolk
2 tablespoons brandy or and sweet wine
Zest from one lemon
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
• Mix all ingredients in an extra large bowl to allow sufficient room for the dough to rise.
• Sprinkle flour on the top of the mixture and cover with plastic wrap and towels to keep warm.
• Let it sit for two hours to rise.
• Expect the dough to be soft (not firm) at the end of the two hours.
• Remove the dough and add flour until easy to work with (not too sticky, slightly more firm).
• Roll out the dough to about three quarters of an inch thick and cut out circles. Then cover and allow the dough to rise for another hour.
• Fry in deep oil on low heat until brown on both sides.
• To fill the doughnuts, make a small opening and spoon in filling of choice (jelly, jam, chocolate, etc). Powdered sugar can also be sprinkled on top.



The quicker recipe for doughnuts is good for last-minute events.

Ingredients
2.5 cups self rising flour
12 oz yogurt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
• Mix all ingredients.
• Expect the dough to be very soft (almost liquid)
• Drop spoonfuls into deep oil on low heat.
• Fry it until light brown.
• Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and enjoy…..


Happy Hanukkah,
Hava & Dorit

Since we moved to the U.S., Hanukkah has been my favorite holiday, mostly because of the festive feeling at this time of year. During the last weekend, my son and I decorated the house for Hanukkah. We put menorah and dreidel stickers on the windows and hung some home-made artwork that has accumulated over the years. Even though Hanukkah is still about two weeks away, it’s time to get into the spirit.

Hanukkah won’t be complete without a latke or two or maybe more….. .

Ingredients
6 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ medium red onion, diced (about ½ a cup)
1 lb potatoes, peeled and shredded (use a food processor)
½ cup Matzo Meal
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil


1. Preheat oven to 350̊ F
2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, add baking powder and whisk until well blended.
3. Combine onion, potatoes, and Matzo Meal in a second bowl. Add the egg mixture and stir to blend well. Season with the salt and pepper.
4. Add olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high.
5. Scoop potato mixture by rounded half-cup measures onto skillet, flatten with spatula.
6. Cook the latkes for 3 minutes until each side is brown.
7. Transfer the cooked latkes to baking sheet and bake on center rack for 10 minutes.
8. Transfer to a paper towel to absorb excess fat.

Enjoy it while it warm!


Happy Hanukkah,

Hava & Dorit

We have a lot of things to be thankful for, family, friends and all the rest.
While we host family for Thanksgiving holiday; here is tasteful dessert for morning coffee (it’s a dairy one). This is a recipe I got from a friend of mine several years ago.

Ingredients
2 packs butter biscuits (5.3 oz each)
1 cup unsalted butter
½ lb dark brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa

Directions
1. Crush the biscuits and then add an egg, the sugar the butter (melted to lukewarm) and the cocoa; stir together.
2. Roll it to baguette shape and cover with clear plastic wrap (or in Aluminum Foil Bread Loaf Pans)
3. Put the mix in the freezer.
4. take it out few hours before serving


You won’t believe how easy it is!

Be thankful,
Hava & Dorit

Next time something for Hanukkah…….