MUCH…to be thankful for…

Turkey Shaped Bread from Breadsmith

This has truly been a whirlwind week at the Federation. On Wednesday, we celebrated our annual Thanksgiving together. It was a delightful crowd and ….if I do say so myself….a delicious meal!

There is much to be thankful for in not only the Federation, but in my life as well….family, friends, health and breath.

Sweet Potato Kugel and Green Bean Casserole(Pareve)

Sweet Potato Kugel

2 large cans of sweet potatoes-drained
3 eggs
3/4 C sugar
3 T. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick melted margarine

Topping:
1/4 C cornflake crumbs
2 T. melted margarine
3 T. brown sugar
1/4 C. chopped pecans
cinnamon

Drain potatoes and mash(I use a potato masher) or puree in food processor. Add remaining ingredients. Top with topping and bake at 350 for 50 mins.

Parve Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons of soy or pareve margarine

1/4 cups flour

3 tsp onion soup or beef soup base

2 cups rice milk

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

MELT MARGARINE AND STIR IN FLOUR AND SOUP MIX TIL ITS A PASTE. STIR IN RICE MILK AND SIMMER TIL THICKENED, STIRRING CONSTANTLY.

2 packages (9 ounces each) frozen cut green beans, thawed*

1 1/3 cups FRENCH’S® French Fried Onions

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. 

After mixture is thickened.  Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions. Bake 30 minutes or until hot. Stir. Sprinkle with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 minutes or until onions are golden.

NOW UNDER SOUTH BEND KOSHER SUPERVISION

We began the week by signing with South Bend Kosher as our mashgiach and much thanks to Rabbi Nebel and Rabbi Tkatch for all their help in the process of working out all the details in our transition.

 I would also like to personally say thanks to Shaya Gold who has been our mashgiach from the point of my hire up until this week. Shaya is the busiest man I know, but I don’t think I have ever known anyone to work harder, smarter,  (I don’t know when he finds time to sleep!) and yet…he is always smiling, considerate and kind! Shaya and Samara Gold are two people I am thankful for, not only in my work life, but also as my friends.

Our week transitioned quickly into a Women’s Philanthropy ‘marathon’…including a lovely kosher dinner at Lynda Simon’s home and the following morning a delightful breakfast at Linda Mintz’ home. I am exhausted and yet I have to tell you that once again, I am very thankful for the people I work with for all their support in making what I do, even better!

Cranberry “Tea” (no tea involved) a warm, spiced drink that is good for the soul!

1 bag cranberries

4 cinnamon sticks

12 whole cloves

14 cups water

Boil and cook for 25 minutes

Add 2 cups sugar

1 cup of orange juice

4 T real lemon juice

Stir and strain. Serve warm. (But it is delicious cold too!)

 

French Style Green Beans Almondine

Fresh whole green beans- 1.5-2 pounds

1 cup water

1 tsp. beef soup base

1/2 tsp. garlic pepper

Bring water to boil, then reduce heat and cover and simmer til crisp tender. Sprinkle with toasted slivered almonds.

So now I move on to a time of being with my family this week. I am thankful this week is over, but grateful for all of the people who made this week a success. A special thanks to Julie Knight for coming to help me with the dinner party last night…she keeps me sane when the insanity closes in!

Won’t be long and Chanukah will be here! Bring on the latkes and the sufganiyot! …and a larger waistband!!

What I learned at the Lunch and Learn at the Federation

For those of you that are unaware…we have a fabulous series of Lunch and Learns at the Federation. What did I learn today? WE need to work on our reservation process! not just for this series, but for ANY event with food. We had 4 reservations and were closer to 20 with a few staff included. Now, I love cooking but guessing…not so much. I seem to have a gift at making it work but would really love it if everyone would pitch in and just make a call to say you are coming. I don’t want to run out of food…and it was really close today. ANYWAY! I have a few recipes to share from today’s lunch…

One of my favorite things to do with leftover Breadsmith Apple Pie Bread is to make french toast…sooooo good! but since I was not gonna pull that one off for a luncheon, I decided to take a loaf and make Bread Pudding with it instead! I actually made it Pareve and highly recommend it for a warm dessert with any meal! Of course, it can be made dairy as well and is delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it!

Apple Pie Bread Pudding

 1 loaf Breadsmith Apple Pie Bread (torn into chunks)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
4 ½ cups Almond Breeze Vanilla Milk (pareve)                                                   (Optional you may use regular milk but increase vanilla by 1 tsp.)
6 eggs, slightly beaten
4 tbsp. Willow Run Soy Margarine..or other pareve margarine…or BUTTER!

Combine all ingredients except for the butter. Mix together lightly/ Transfer mixture to a greased 13×9 baking dish. Dot with butter. Sprinkle additional brown sugar and cinnamon lightly. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

 Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for about 45 minutes, or until done.

Serve plain, or drizzle with powdered sugar or Ice Cream!

dotted with margarine and brown sugar and cinnamon....pop in the oven and...

 50 minutes later…I wish you could have smelled it….YUMMMMM!

delish!

Now back to the subject we left off with the other day about pumpkin…there WAS a shortage..so I finally found some and ordered it online…a case of 12 large cans…which happened to coincide with the end of the “great pumpkin shortage”! SOOO…I am scouring all kinds of recipes that use pumpkin! (Feel free to email me with favorite recipes ANYTIME! at www.ldemike@thejewishfed.org ) Now the idea of pumpkin soup is a bit foreign to me…like so foreign…I have never had it or made it! I decided to just bite the bullet and try one….if it didn’t taste good…I wouldn’t make it…PERIOD! So last night, I did a trial run at home, by combining a few recipes I found. Even though my mind still rebels at the thought of pumpkin tasting anything other than like pie…I have to tell you…it was great! I had to sort of convince myself it was really squash…yes..I play mind games with myself…I usually win! LOL! The flavors of traditional Thanksgiving came through and it was very hearty and very low in fat and calories…what’s not to love about that??? The flavors of celery, onion and thyme…yummy. Today, at the luncheon, one of our guests told me before lunch…”I don’t care for pumpkin.” I said, ” It tastes like….the flavors of stufffing at Thanksgiving…it has thyme…celery…onion…” Sweet Naomi said, “I don’t care for thyme either, but if you made it…I will try it.”  I LOVE HER!!!!!! p.s. she asked for the recipe at the end of the lunch! :0)

Savory Pumpkin Soup

1 and one half onion finely chopped

1 cup finely chopped celery

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Garlic Pepper

1 tsp Salt

4 cups vegetable broth( 1 box organic vegetable broth)

8 cups hot water with 10 tsp Osem chicken flavored soup base (or 8 cups chicken broth)

Put Oil in pan and sauté vegetables and seasonings til softened. Place in 6qt crock pot.

Add 1 container of vegetable broth or 4 cups. Add 8 cups hot water and chicken soup base (or chicken broth)

Stir in 2 large cans of Libby’s Pure Pumpkin 29 oz. (not pie filling)

Add additional salt and pepper to taste and let simmer on high for 2.5 hours or until bubbly!

 This recipe FILLED my 6 qt. crock pot! Feel free to cut it in half for smaller gatherings! At home, I added a drizzle of half and half to it as well and it just added a bit of creaminess to it and enhanced the flavor, but other than that…it’s a parve soup.

Happy Fall Everyone!….

The Pumpkin Shortage ends…finally!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy at the Federation! With our Annual Campaign Kickoff Event and a variety of other events, I am one tired woman! But, as usual, with new events, come new recipes and a few tried and true! With the Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2009 coming to an end finally…I have pulled out one of my favorite recipes ever! Pumpkin Roll filled with Cream Cheese…YUM! It can be a bit tricky to make, but well worth the effort. ** Little known fact** I used to sell these at the South Bend Farmer’s Market back in the early 90’s.

a small slice of yumminess!

Pumpkin Roll

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• confectioners’ sugar for dusting
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• confectioners’ sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10×15 inch jellyroll pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes. Gradually mix in pumpkin and lemon juice. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the center springs back when touched. Place pan on a cold water wet towel for 10 minutes. Loosen edges with a knife. Turn out on another towel that has been dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Roll up cake using towels, and let cool for about 20 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Unroll pumpkin cake when cool, spread with filling, and roll up. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Serve chilled; before slicing, dust with additional confectioners’ sugar.

With the glorious colors of fall, comes the savory scent of harvest soup, keep an eye out for my next post of Isreali Harvest Soup.