Glad We Don't have Strict/Rigid Food Traditions

No, I'm not talking about kashrut,which is Jewish Law, not tradition.

The only really required food is mtazh for the Passover Seder and the special ritual food at the seder. And there are different customs concerning exactly what is to be eaten.

When people tell me they must cook a certain food for a certain holiday with the exact side dishes, recipe etc, no flexibility... And then they get all stressed, because a crucial ingredient can't be bought.

Thank Gd I didn't grow up in a home like that. And I didn't raise my family to expect specific menus, foods etc.

It makes my life so much easier and so much more foun.

Now that we're empty-nesters, we need less food. This year, for the first time, and maybe I'll do it again, I served the same thing before and after Yom Kippur. For years I made a totally different meals. This year I decided that it wasn't worth the bother.

By not having rigid menus, I can be spontaneous is there is a sale on a certain food. I can invent a recipe.

I'm glad it works for me and my family.

When You Need Some Catered Food...

When I have guests at home I cook, but the other evening we ended up having a family event in Jerusalem for which we couldn't cook. The logistics and ambiance in a restaurant also wasn't a good idea. So I decided to contact Coney Island Bakery, 0526684005.

Even though Coney Island Bakery had closed that great little place they had on Jaffa Street, in the center of Jerusalem, that they are still in business. Now they just do catering. Coney Island Bakery has multiple kitchens, five separate ones:

• dairy
• meat
• vegan/vegetarian
• gluten free
• bakery for every taste

Coney Island Bakery does everything, from small orders to large weddings. We ordered a few quiches, of which one was vegan, plus a few salads and desserts. Here are the pictures:

 

Everyone enjoyed themselves eating the tasty foods. There was a really nice selection, and the food was custom-cooked.  Prices depend on what you order, or if you have a strict budget, they will do their best to come up with an affordable menu. They also delivered, which was very helpful. Coney Island Bakery aims to please. They care about their customers. We plan on ordering from them, again.

What's Hidden in Your Simple Tomato Paste?

We generally by the same brand of concentrated tomato paste (the 28% variety) all the time. When I first discovered it, it just had tomatoes and nothing else. But every once in a while there an unpleasant surprise.

I've been checking various brands, and they all have lots of added junk. This new one has 8% garbage (sugars and who knows what else) in it. And the warning that it "May contain celery, mustard, sesame, eggs, soy and sulphite." really ruins my appetite.

The 5 Shekel Food Place, Review #1

As promised, here's a review of the new five shekel food place near Jerusalem's Central Bus Station.   A friend wrote it:

Not anything to really get excited over.  The salad was crisp and fresh, but about as small as you would expect for only 5 shekels.  It had lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a carrot curl -- attractive as well as crisp and fresh.  There was only one kind of salad dressing, which was rather nondescript -- I think it was supposed to be thousand island.  I didn't get a sandwich, as they were all pre-made and wrapped, and I couldn't tell what else besides the tuna.  I also ordered an iced vanilla  which was awful.  It didn't taste live vanilla, wasn't at all sweet, it didn't even taste like milk.  More like iced, ice.
The biggest drawback was that all the seating was outside and there were half a dozen smokers clustered between us and the door to the tachana mercazit*.  That was so unpleasant that we just sort of gobbled our salads and left quickly.

G-d willing I'll get more reviews for you.  I hope to sample the salad and ice cafe sometime soon.  I still think it's a good deal.  Now we must also see if prices go down inside the bus station.  Nowadays with the reduced security checks, people with time can rush out to save money and buy coffee, pastries and sandwich for just ns5.

*bus station

The First Kosher Cooking Carnival of 5774

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is a monthly blog carnival dedicated to all aspects of kosher cooking and kosher food.  I began it many years ago after a "recipe carnival" rejected my post, because the edition's theme was pork.  As a response, I got the message and instituted this blog carnival.  You can submit links via blog carnival, and we use our facebook page as a forum to volunteer to host and announce the posting of editions etc.  Please share this edition of the carnival and the various posts included, thanks.  If you have any questions, just contact me at shilohmuse at gmail dot com.

fruit head, 5774

And don't forget to have a wonderful, healthy, joy-filled year, 5774.

Welcome to the September 8, 2013 edition of kosher cooking carnival-kcc. Some of these posts came via blog carnival, and others I added from blogs I follow.


Reesa Stone presents reesasworld: Cookies, Elul, and G-d posted at reesasworld.

any time dishes

Jennifer's Fresh & local! Find out what...
Batya presents me-ander: Delicious, Easy and Low Carb Musakka posted at me-ander.

anything kosher!

Ruti's "only in Israel" kosher of course food story: Neve Daniel to the Rescue!

Batya presents me-ander: It Was Worth it! posted at me-ander.

My Right Word: I Have a Hot Idea posted at My Right Word.

Yosef presents Fried Green Tomatoes – Gluten Free Recipe posted at This American Bite, saying, "Bringing a little bit of the South into the kitchen!"

 

Every day meals

Batya presents me-ander: Baked Onion Omelet and the Story Of Course posted at me-ander.
Hannah's Cauliflower and Chickpea Soup

Halacha

Ben-Yehudah presents Esser Agaroth: What could happen to a Rabbi who does his job? posted at Esser Agaroth.
Reesa's Cookies, Elul, and G-d, food for thought.

Jewish Shabbat and Holiday food

Devo K presents In the middle, on the right: Rosh Hashana roses posted at In the middle, on the right.
Hadassa presents Challah Demos in Bergenfield
Lorri's Honey Cake for the New Year
Hannah's Salmon and Kiwi Verrine

Restaurant or Cookbook Reviews

Ben-Yehudah presents Top Ten Hidden Gems of Jerusalem posted at Esser Agaroth.

Batya presents me-ander: More in My Coffee Saga posted at me-ander, saying, "coffee review"


That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of kosher cooking carnival-kcc using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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It Was Worth it!

When I first began planning the large Sheva Brachot, post-wedding celebration for my son and his wife, I, with the encouragement of one of my kids, thought I could somehow do it without a caterer.  I figured I'd combine my cooking, my daughter's and various take-out and store-bought things.  But then the various additional logistics such as finding and setting up enough tables, chairs etc. made it seem a bit more complicated. Neighbors, younger than us, who have married off quite a few kids told us to get realistic and hire a full-service caterer.

That's what we did. We actually took our next-door neighbor who had been recommended by many.  He and his staff did it all.  They got the tables, chairs, tablecloths, plates etc.  He bought and cooked all the food, set it up and cleaned up afterwards.

 

My husband, family and I were able to just enjoy ourselves and the guests, food etc.

The fancy challot were gifts from a neighbor and the popular Herby's Bakery from Beit El.

I just made a few decorations to make sure that it looked like a real party.

I didn't even bring my camera.  These photographs were done by my neighbor Linda Fairman, who's a professional photographer.