time to lighten things up on this blog

Because I can…

and when I say lighten up..

I am soooo not talking about

recipes for Shavout.

It is the one time a year where…

Butter, Heavy Cream & CHEESE…..

or what I like to call the “essential food groups”

is acceptable to serve at a Yom Tov meal

& Because I can…

I am totally reinventing that

Oh so “traditional” Shavout fare…

the CHEESE BLINTZ!

yes…

that’s right

I have DARED…

& for those of you reading with your

snobby food noses in the air….

chill…

Because I can…

guarantee you

that this is truly outrageously DELISH!

Inspired by something I ate on my latest  trip to Israel

at the Greg cafe in the Netanya Mall.

The combination of crispy wonton skin, the salty tanginess of the savory garlic zucchini ricotta filling…

& the perfect sweet blend of pure vanilla & honey…

just makes this dish

my new favorite thing to serve for Shavout this year…

& did I happen to mention by chance?

this dish takes half the time to make…

all because you are not slaving away at the stove making blintz crepes!!!

so my friends…

it’s okay to applaud me now…

I created this especially for you

all because I can…

Zucchini Ricotta Wonton Blintz W/ a Honey Vanilla Drizzle

Ingredients:

1 Package of Wonton Eggroll Wrappers

16 oz Ricotta Cheese

2.5 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 large zucchinis)

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. black pepper

3 tbsp. coconut oil (or canola oil) for frying

1.5 tablespoons of Pure Vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure clover honey

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, zucchini, and all the spices

2. Fill a small bowl with warm water, and using your fingers dampen the edges all around the sides of one wonton wrapper

3. Dollop about 2 heaping tablespoons of your ricotta filling into the lower center of your wonton wrapper

4. Now it’s time to fold your egg roll: first pull one corner over to cover the filling on an angle5. then fold in both of the edges to meet in the middle

6. then gently roll to fold, creating a mini pocket roll – sealing the end with a little dab of water in necessary (repeat with the rest of the egg roll wrappers until filling is done)

7. heat up the coconut oil in a large frying pan until it is hot enough to fry. Add the ricotta rolls one at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan and pan fry on all sides for about 2 minutes each side. Remove and Plate.

8. In a separate  small frying pan, heat on medium flame the honey and vanilla for about 2 minutes. Pour over the Ricotta Wonton Blintzes and serve immediately.

The post Zucchini Ricotta Wonton Blintz w/ a Honey Vanilla Drizzle (Because I Can!) appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

It has been a year

a year since I started this blog 

because I needed it’s therapy..

It has been a year filled with more lows than highs…

a year of trying to figure out the 

who, what, where…

of my new reality.

it has been a hard, long road….

bananas…if I were to be honest.

but last night…

I noticed…

sometimes you just need to pull apart

apart from the noise of everyone – everything…

that is all around you…

literally

and in your head.

I am at my best…when I do my own thing.

it is and has been..

hard

to not get distracted

hard not to feel inadequate, envious, or defeated

when the the last 2.5 years….has been like mine.

but it is time to focus…

head down…

blinders on, earplugs in..

and just do what 

I

think is best.

it’s what I did when I started this blog…

and decided to ignore the noise of those who disapproved 

of my need to 

share….

so…now to ignore the other noises in my life…

time to pull apart

and then maybe things

will finally…

come together.

Shavout is a week away and as my way of thanking all of you (old & new readers) who have been so wonderful and supportive of me & this little blog,

I am giving you one of my all-time favorite Shavout recipes that is so OUTRAGEOUSLY good! 

It is the quintessential Patchke Princess recipe – a little effort – all very easy & simple – with HUGE RESULTS!! 

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter

Super Cheesy Pull-Apart Garlic Parmesan Bread 

Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 packet active dry yeast

1 1/3 cups warm water

2 tsp. sugar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

3 1/2 cups all purpose (or bread) flour

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

 Directions:

In a small bowl, stir together the yeast, water and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy. In a large mixer bowl, mix in the olive oil, salt, and flour. If you have a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, or until elastic. If you are doing this by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic, 7-10 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until dough is doubled in size.

In a small bowl, combine melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic. Set aside.

Punch down the dough. Tear off small pieces of dough (roughly the size of a ping ong ball).

coat in the butter mixture, and place in the bottom of a bundt pan.

Repeat this process until you have one layer of dough balls.

Sprinkle on 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese & shredded cheddar cheese.

Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until you have 2-3 layers. Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit until dough has doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Serve hot with a side of marinara or tomato sauce.

Turn over on to pan & serve!

The post Pull Apart…Super Cheesy Garlic Parmesan Bread (Happy One Year Anniversary!) appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

my life is coco – NUTS!

there is really nothing I can say

it never ends.

when I think I have things under control

conquered the hurdles & obstacles…

another one pops up

I feel like I am the the hamster in that carnival game…

every time I finally pop up on my feet…

someone comes with a hammer…

& knocks me down.

I truly need to escape…run..hide – get away from the insanity

because I have no idea

how I am actually getting the strength to pop that hamster head up again.

that hammer has no mercy…won’t even give me a day of rest…

literally and I kid you not…

within the last 3 hours…

I have been bopped on the head

HARD

3x….

I am bruised…badly

hurting…praying it to end …

praying for a chance to just get as far away from the hammer that

is making it hard for me…

to keep on going…

but I have no choice…

pop up little hamster

pop up……

Salmon Coconut Balls with my “Tastebuds” Tropical Salad

I had so many plans for the blog for this pre-Shavout season. I had created so many new  recipes galore that I was and hopefully still can share with you.

I just don’t have the time or the energy  these days to post. Just another thing for me to deal with right now…LOL. But I appreciate all of you who have been following my drama ad have been so gracious in the emails and comments….every kind word sent my way adds to my power bar that gives me the strength to get up – So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I created this recipe close to 2 years ago & the drama of tastebuds had already started (my excuse as to why I look like dreck in this video!) It is really easy and for those of you who remember my Tropical Salad from the cafe – the Coconut covered salmon balls – just make it all the more fantastic and delicious.

Check out the You tube video for step by step instructions – also let me know if you guys like seeing me cook – I am seriously thinking about starting my own You Tube Cooking & Home Channel!

Also if you live near or in Lakewood – I am cooking and selling many of your favorite Tastebuds & Dairy Gourmet dishes for Shavout – orders are coming in quick – so if you would like to get the price list please comment with your email address or email me at thepatchkeprincess@yahoo.com.

Salmon Coconut Encrusted Balls Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup corn starch

2 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 cup coconut milk

1 ½ cups shredded unsweetened coconut

¾ cup panko crumb

1 can salmon

1 egg, beaten

Vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Mix the corn starch, salt and pepper in a plastic bad. Pour the coconut milk into a bowl. Combine the coconut, panko and a pinch of kosher salt in a paper plate.

Drain the salmon from the can and pour into a small mixing bowl. Add 1 egg and mix well. Using your hands take some salming and roll into a small ping pong ball size ball. Lay the salmon ball onto a parchment lined baking sheet until you are ready to start coating.

Toss the salmon ball in the corn starch mixture in the plastic bag. Remove  and then dip coated salmon in the coconut milk. Then finally dredge the salmon  in the panko mixture; and set on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining salmon pieces.

Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until salmon balls are a light golden brown.

For Tropical Salad Romaine Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup Mandarin oranges

1 red pepper, diced

½ cup Crushed walnuts

1 Mango, diced

Directions:

Plate as desired

Tropical Dressing:

¼ cup Mayonnaise

¼ cup apricot preserves

2 tbsp.  duck sauce

Q tsp. garlic powder

1 heaping tsp. ginger powder

1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients for dressing in a bowl well serve over salad.

The post Just Coconuts…dreaming of a Tropical Escape. appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

I am in chains…

with every breath that I take…

I want to fight my captives…

but…

inorder to be free…

I have no choices left to me

& need to give in to their demands…

I have no will

as a woman

in a jewish marriage.

I am having a hard time understanding it all…

so all I can do is make sure that this does not happen to others after me…

THIS IS A WARNING!! DANGER AHEAD:

To all those doe eyed girls about to be wed….

protect yourself

it does not matter how much you love them…

does not matter what kind of “good” family they come from

does not matter how much money you or they might have…

when you sign your ketubah..

you are chaining yourself.

and if unfortunately there comes a day that you need to be FREE of your chains…

you need to make sure BEFORE you sign the ketubah

that you have a WRITTEN contract (a jewish pre-nup & you MUST get a civil marriage BEFORE the wedding) that can break those chains.

Because the SAD FACT is…

if you live in NJ especially…

there is NOT much (rabbis, law, organizations) you have on your side

that can actually help you.

and you will be a hostage…

in the cruel war that is…the Jewish GET proceedings.

The post Agunah… appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

Sababa…

my new favorite word.

for some reason this is the first time after countless times being in Israel…

that I actually noticed this word being used….ALL THE TIME.

it is the Israelis’ answer for everything…

their version of Ce’ sara sera

or the less verbal …”shrug of the shoulder”

it can also be used

to appease someone who is getting worked up….

or to make a point….at the end of  your sentence.

It is literally the BEST word for every life situation.

it is my ultimate word…

the word that is right now taking me through my everyday life…

these days.

Because no matter the situation…

I just say

Sababa….

and the sun shines

& I am still smiling.

Sababa…

What’s For Dinner Tonight? (Israeli Style “Thailandi” Salmon Stir Fry)

In honor of Yom Haatzmaout (Israeli Independence Day) & my current withdrawal from the country of my Heart & my Family…

I am making this delicious dish that you can find on almost every dairy Israeli cafe menu. 9 out of 10 times you will find me ordering it, because I know that no matter what it is always a sure-fire hit for my tastebuds. Talking about “tastebuds” I put this dish on my menu the first month I opened, and it is one of the most remembered dishes people stop me on the street about. I have made so many different variations of the dish,(fish, chicken, meat)  that it’s hard for me to actually write a recipe….because every way is truly delish.

Here is my latest version…Eat Up & Sababa!

If you want to see more recipes, & Photos of my Everyday Kosher Crazy Life in REAL TIME –  FOLLOW ME NOW PLEASE on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook - & Don’t Forget to Pin it on Pinterest!

Israeli “Thailandi” Salmon Stir Fry

Tip: You can use any type of noodle for this recipe (whole wheat, soba, udon, regular thin spaghetti) I love the healthier Udon noodles that you can find in the freezer section at your local grocer.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

2 1/2  cups cubed fresh salmon (about 2-3 6oz fillets)

2 cups, shredded cabbage

1 large red pepper, julienned

1small red onion, julienned

2 cups thin green beans

1 cup shredded carrots

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ginger powder

1/2 cup sweet teriyaki

2 tbsp. peanut butter (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts for garnish

1 package of thin spaghetti or udon noodles, cooked

Directions:

 In a larger heavy duty skillet, on a high-medium flame, heat 1 tbsp. of your sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add your fresh salmon and cook on all sides for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same hot pan add the rest of the sesame oil, and the cabbage, peppers, and onions. Stir & cook uncovered for about 5-6 minutes, until they are fork tender.  Then add the green beans and carrots to the mix, stir and cook for about 3-4 minutes. 

Add the garlic powder, ginger powder, teriyaki, and peanut butter to the vegetables and mix well. Then add the salmon back to the pan and cover and cook for about 6 minutes.

Remove lid, add the noodles, mix well (add some more teriyaki if you like it more saucy) and serve on to a platter. Garnish with the chopped peanuts.

The post answer: SABABA…..(Israeli Thai Salmon Stir Fry) appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

TOP 5 PASSOVER DESSERTS

#1 Aunt Rachel’s Passover Cheesecake

FOR RECIPE PLEASE CLICK HERE

#2 Tunie’s Favorite Mango Lime Granita (or any fruit flavored granita)

FOR RECIPE PLEASE CLICK HERE

#3 Sarah’s Chocolate Mousse Cake

a>FOR RECIPE PLEASE CLICK HERE

#4 BEST EVER Pesach Blueberry Muffins

FOR RECIPE PLEASE CLICK HERE

#5 NEW & LIGHT Plum Brule Tart

FOR RECIPE PLEASE CLICK HERE

BONUS RECIPE:
I love this recipe that my friend Rivky Eisenberg of The Viennese Table (best cheesecake’s in the world) first introduced me to from the Gourmet Magazine – Over the years I have made something similar – But I can honestly say there is just something about this original recipe that is SOOO GOOD!

MATZAH ALMOND BRITTLE

FOR RECIPE PLEASE CLICK HERE

The post 5 Easy & Yummy Pesach Desserts appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

my passover prep is minimal.

It’s one of the perks of going away to family…

especially when my sister is a good cook – & has my mother’s disease..

NO ONE IS ALLOWED IS THE KITCHEN with her when she cooks!

kinda makes me laugh…but I have learned to just back seat cook from the kitchen stool as I watch her slave away

I do feel sorta badly that my sister is working so hard…so yesterday Tunie B & me went shopping for a present

in Mamila Mall we came across this Kitchen store called SOHO that had the coolest QUIRKIEST  kitchen gadgets that

I just have to share with all of you!

Many of them made me laugh outright – some even had me knocking my forehead thinking

“why the heck didn’t I think of that!”

COOL & QUIRKY KITCHEN MUST HAVES:

#1 Carrot Sharpener

Now who doesn’t want a carrot sharpener that can not only peel your carrot, but also can give you a pencil sharp deafly point? But seriously if this things works imagine all the cool things you can do with beautifully curled carrot slices! Garnish salads, makes curly carrot crispy fries, carrot rollantinis…I could really get creative. Also, FINALLY I have a sharpener for those giant pencils I always won at my school carnivals!

#2 Dish Washing Gloves with Attitude: Or create your own “Soap” Drama.

Now who really thinks that doing the dishes can be fun? Well with these dish washing gloves, not only do you keep your hands from getting chapped, you can also star and narrate your own dish soap opera theater! Who knew all the Drama there could be when fork snubbed spoon for fish knife!?

#3 CoolAMARI Ice Cubes: Apparently these ice cubes are 8 times the FUN than regular boring square ones! How can you NOT want these for your next pitcher of homemade sweet ice tea?

#4 The Table Saw: Now I don’t know about you, but the last time I tried cutting through my 7 layer cake with my dinky cake knife and having a hard time cutting through all the gooey layers, I was totally wishing I had a table saw to do the job! Well I have to wish no more! I just don’t get the whole cross-cut the lettuce thing…But then again when I bought my ginzu knife from the late night tv commercial, I never realized how much I would use it to cut all those soda cans with!

#5 CORKERS:  Cry no more!  All those bottles of wine that we are going to be opening this Passover, will come to double use! or..at least their corks will. Now you and your kids can create corkers – cork animals that will be fun for the whole family & give you a terrific keepsake of your LONG seder meal this 2013! Imagine all the fun you can have with these babies during the Seder- reenacting some of the 10 Plauges!  Move over Chia Pets – there is a NEW animal in town!

#6 The PLUNGE Cork: Now that you are making all the cork animals – you are going to need a way to close up your extra wine. How about this bottle closer? certainly very appropriate considering that plungers and Matzah go hand in hand for most people during passover! (just pointing out the obvious people! – please don’t write me hate letters)

#7 The Ring Peeler:  Yes I know this is another carrot peeler gadget – but my sister could so use this on all those Potatoes she is planing on peeling this year!

 #8  The Sardine Paperclip: (no oil added) I can’t begin to count the number of times I was in the middle of making a terrific new dish when I had to just stop cold because I did NOT have a paperclip to finish my cooking task. Thank you to who, ever invented these sardine paperclips – because now I can have an “office” supply blend in to my kitchen beautifully, instead of being a junk drawer eyesore!

#9 The Geppetto Pencil Sharpener: it is true I am always using pencils in my kitchen to mark up recipes etc.. My one issue – why is it named Geppetto? that sure looks like Pinnochio to me.

#10 Chefs’s Stand -The iPad Cooking Holder: OK I must admit – this is THE gift I ended up buying my sister (I also bought one for myself!) My poor iPad has been abused and for Pesach I had to really scour the crevices for all the dried up bits of dough, batter, & other food particles I left behind while cooking with it (I am serious!)  I truly believe the best gift is one that you would give and appreciate if it was given to you – so my darling sister….ENJOY! maybe now she will actually get a chance to use her iPad for something other than letting her kids play angry birds!)

Now for a Really Quirky Recipe  - I made this up because I just wanted something different that was NOT your typical potato or zucchini kugel!

Passover Sweet Potato Apple Fennel Onion Crumble Kugel

yields 2 small loaf pans

tip: This is my version of a sweet potato kugel that is meant to be served on a platter & sliced into loaf sizes on the table. The key to making this kugel is to make sure to pack your ingredients very tightly and compact into your baking pan. Make sure to use a disposable aluminum pan, for easy removal of loaf.

Ingredients:

3 large onions, diced small

3 Tbsp. 0live oil

5-6 large sweet potatoes

2 cups diced apples (3 large apples)

1 head fennel, diced

3 tbsp. potato starch

4 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

salt & pepper to taste

For the crumble:

1.5 cups of crushed candied nuts (I used pecans) 

1/2 stick of margarine, room temperature

1/2 cup of ground almonds

3 tbsp. Matzah Meal or Potato starch

Directions:

 Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.

1. In a frying sauté your onions in olive oil on medium heat until they have turned brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes.
2. While the onions are cooking, pierce the skin of your sweet potatoes all around with a fork. Place them in the microwave and nuke them for 5-8 minutes until they are soft. (you might have to do 2-3 potatoes at a time)
3. When the sweet potatoes are soft, remove the skins and mask the potatoes until creamy smooth. Add 2 eggs and the 3tbsp. potato starch to the mashed potatoes, mix together well. Set aside.
4. After your onions are finished cooking, set them aside on a plate. In the same frying pan sauté the apples and fennel for 5-6 minutes on medium high heat with 1 tbsp. olive oil until they are soft. Remove from heat.
5. Whisk to eggs together and then add them to the apples & fennel and mix together.
6. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for your crumble. Using your fingers as you mix, crumble everything until you get a sand like texture with the mixture.

ASSEMBLE YOUR LOAF:

1. Spray your loaf pans well all over with non-stick spray.
2. On the bottom of your pan, layer your crumble mixture. Make sure to pack it in very tightly and evenly.
3. Next layer is the apple & fennel mixture. Spoon on top of the crumble and then press down with the back of your spoon, until they are a thick compact layer. 
4. Then layer the sweet potato mixture. Pack in the mashed sweet potato almost till the top of the pan leaving about 1/2 inch.
5. Lastly layer the fried onions over the sweet potatoes till the top of your pan
6. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before removing from pan.
8. To remove from pan, flip over onto your serving platter and then tap the bottom with the back of a knife until the kugel loosen. Gently remove from aluminum tin and serve. This kugel loaf can be served warm, or at room temperature.

The post Top 10 Kitchen Quirky ….. (Passover Sweet Potato Apple Fennel Onion Crumble Kugel) appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

(my yummy nieces & Tunie B. having a blast!  just pure cousin love & friendship that will last forever between them  - I pray)

Ahh the luxury ……

my Tunie B. hanging out having a blast with her cousins…

as I had a adventure filled Sushi morning!

SOLO!

Something that I simply don’t get the option of doing back in the states too often without major planning & babysitting coordination.

But what a FUN filled Isreali Morning I had!

thanks to a great recommendation from my friend Miriam Stienhart! (Miriam you rock!)

who told me about the Ramala flea market near Kinyon Malcha (Jerusalem Mall) under the overpass

It happens only on Mondays & has everything from mens Prada boxers, kids clothing, cooking supplies, flower arrangements & your delicious Israeli nuts, pastries & spices.

With my Shekels in hand, I spent a fun filled 2 hours going down the few aisles, handling over stickers & little girl dresses

trying some of the yummiest Pesach Moroccan Marzipan treats & fresh dates.

the sign says : To all our customers, next week there will be kosher for passover cakes from Morocco for Pesach Memuna ( A Moroccan celebration that occurs on the last night (Esru Chag) of Pesach) The ones that I tried were already Kosher for Passover & reminded me of my grandmothers – simply delicious!

After the Shuk I headed off to the Jerusalem Mall that was a 2 minute walk away

I don’t go often to the Mall in the states, and here in Israel, I laugh that the Mall is more one big food court

than actual stores.

And of course I was only a little surprised to see the OSHI OSHI kosher Sushi Kiosk in the middle of the first floor

There has been Sushi in Israel for at least 10 years now

at first it was only something you could really get decent but VERY expensive Sushi in the David Citadel or the one store in Amek Refaim.

Slowly I would hear about one or two places that carried it…but always with the warning it was not edible.

Even my last trip 6 months ago…Sushi was NOT in my radar here in Israel.

Now just a brief disclaimer…I LOVE Sushi  - I literally grew up on it

and in Lakewood I was the first ever restaurant to bring it in – that was 12 years ago & I made a point of only serving it 3 days a week – to keep it special & exciting.

Now it seems that there is not a Kosher eatery in Lakewood, or in NY for that matter that does NOT serve Sushi…

it is my biggest pet peeve…(hypocritical I know)  - But I HATE that every pizza store & deli also serves sushi…

So when I saw this kiosk in Israel I had a little mix feelings…but certainly did not stop me from trying it.

& Happily it was very delicious…and was Sushi DONE RIGHT!

Just a few things to know about OSHI OSHI: Located on first floor of Kinyon Malcha under the escalators on the left hand side. The people behind the counter DO NOT SPEAK English & are not the friendliest. The Menus are all in Hebrew only, but if you have a pretty decent working knowledge they are quite easy to translate – especially with the help of a photo for every dish. Sushi prices are average and besides the rolls there are some delicious Japanese salads & soup to choose from also. Overall it was a great place to have a quick cheap Sushi fix for Lunch.

The sushi I had was a spicy salmon, asparagus, sweet potato roll, that had tempura chips & peanuts with a spicy mayo sauce.

After a  morning and afternoon galavanting I headed back to my mothers.

Where my sister & sister in law came with all the kids an hour later…

and of course everyone was hungry….

So my sister suggested Sushi Rechavya – her treat.

Not one to pass up a meal…I figured Sushi was the food of the day.

& happily had Sushi for Dinner – 2x in one day in ISRAEL!

What to Know about Sushi Rechavya: – A fairly big place, it serves not only Sushi but chicken & meat dishes as well Asian Style. I loved that they had iPads for you to order with & see what the food looked like before you ordered. We had a little of everything, sushi, salads & chicken nuggets & steak.

My favorite dish was there Asian Green Salad with chicken – it had a gloriously light ginger dressing, with crispy sesame chicken bites, sprouts and fresh veggies – & the perfect candied pecan garnish to top the whole thing off. I also loved there Uden Soup & had a surprisingly terrific glass of their PLUM WINE – that was so YUM & a must try if you are there. I also loved the little packets of wipes they handed out after the meal!

An 8 minute walk from my mother & Rechov Ramban

we headed to a very delicious Meat Sushi Meal for early dinner.

it seems that Sushi is here to stay in Israel & they are smart about it – keeping the restaurant & their food dishes totally Asian themed and appropriate for a Sushi restaurant.

there is no Shwarma or Falafel in sight!

But still….

my brother had the best line of the day…

Sushi in Israel is like Chumus in NY!

The post Sushi the new Chumus? A “typical” vacation day in Israel appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

but first I wanted to give Tunie B. a little taste of what I had growing up…

some over seas TRAVEL ADVENTURE!

Tunie B. & Flying = all  you can eat nosh, videos & uninterrupted mommy time – can it get better for this 3 year old? She packed her own bag with her menchies, essential nosh items, blues clues notebook & hello kitty wallet!

So when I booked my flight – I purposely…yes purposely

decided to have a 15 hour stop over in London, England.

The iPad – the mother’s #1 way to keep a kid busy & quiet through out a long flight! 

From 6AM – to 10:40 PM me & my Tunie B. would have a real European Mommy & Me Fun!

Buckingham Palace, a walk along the Thames, a wave to Big Ben, some Harrods shopping, & a really great meal…

all were in the cards…

but HA. Joke is always on the one who plans….

In all my lists & ideas… I never actually considered the WEATHER!

& from the second we landed & had to trek that very very long walk in Heathrow airport to Passport control..

the air hit us with a bone chilling biting cold that seeped through our clothes no matter the layers…

making me consider for a very brief moment…

checking in to the Siravus Lounge in Terminal 3, paying my 40 pounds for a bedroom with a shower & taking a very long nap…

But I was on a mission…

&… I am a single mother whose middle name is “go-with-the-flow” & whose theme song is “you can’t phase this!”

so …instead of my sunny fun filled dream day in England…

we played “Find the Queen” …..

I bought one of many Queen Elizabeth image post cards that every kiosk in Heathrow airport carried & told Tunie  - this is who we are looking for.

She is the Queen & she wants us to go to her palace for some tea & prizes, but I forgot her address so we need to find her.

This little “tall tale” kept us going the whole day…& it got us a few laughs & some special fast track treatment when she told the airport security check in girl, (who gamely asked her “who’s the lass in the photo?), that the Queen was lost & needed to eat her tea with us!

& in every train, automobile, double decker bus..we took

Tunie had to look out for the Queen..& if she saw her….well then it was time for a Tea Party!

Because of the cold I really wanted to do things the fast and easy way – take a cab to buckingham 

wave hello, and then go get something to eat…. 

But with the airport cabs charging 75 pounds or $115 one way…we hopped the Heathrow express to Paddington Station instead. ($45 round trip)

Starving at 10 AM & Tunie out for the count after the train ride, I decided food was a MUST. 

The ticket agent was supremely helpful in giving the best directions and local advice. He also saw that I was with a carriage & a sleeping kid, and called a fellow colleague to personally escort me to the platform (a 6 minute walk), to ensure that I make the train and had help in those places where my carriage would be difficult to maneuver as to not wake her up! All I can tell you is, this American was in shock, these English folk could not have been MORE cordial & helpful to this Yankee – I was so grateful!! 

Having heard about a local Kosher dairy restaurant from all my Facebook UK fans

I had marked IsolaBella Cafe as my one English Food Stop.

Originally wanting to hit the Golders Green location, (since it was where I lived as a kid for a year and wanted to share it with Tunie)

I changed last minute to the Westfield London Location…since it was in a HUGE shopping center & out of the freezing cold!

It was the perfect place to let Tunie sleep as I high end window shopped some Dior, Louie Vitton, tried the London version of Starbucks (tastes the same!), charged my iPhone at the Apple store, and ate a surprisingly tasty English Kosher Dairy Meal!

This mall had everything, including a champagne restaurant, where you can get a glass of bubbly with your sushi lunch before you shop for your Dior. Tunie & I really enjoyed IsolaBella. I loved the decor, the lucite chairs with their hot pink fabric seats & clashing colors mixed with wood. The service was friendly & the food was more than passable – I was hesitant but hopeful with all the recommendations. I loved that they had a kids menu which had the English standard and kid favorite Fish n Chips. For $14 the kids portion was really an adult size portion, with a drink & dessert included! The fish n chips were the perfect combo of crunchy coating to soft juicy fish!

I opted for something a little different, and was excited by the Asian/Indian inspired part of their menu – and ordered the perfect meal for that freezing day. The Silium -A hot soup filled with noodles and Chinese vegetables and some fried egg rolls! Their was just something so surprisingly delicious about the sweet & salty hot broth with veggies & noodles with  the added bonus of tasty bites of soggy egg roll – Who knew?! I am definitely going to have to recreate this one day when I get home!

My total bill with the additional add on of a hit-the-spot hot cocoa with a nip of rum & whip cream (yes I most definitely kept to English tradition and added a shot of alcohol to my hot drink to ward off the bitter chill!) was a total of $34 dollars (24.35 pounds). Not bad for a meal that could have really fed 4 people.

Tunie & I never got to see the Queen…we sat on the bus for 2 hrs because of a Traffic light outage around Picadilly Circus, before I gave up.

But we had our English tea…and a really very fun….LONG day…despite the cold…

Would I do a stop over again?

Yup in a heart beat – but you can be sure it will be SUMMER weather!

Now for my Pesach version of a delicious dessert that is definitely worthy of being served at High Tea with the Queen!

Plum Brule Tart

yields 1- 9 inch round tart

note: this recipe can be made in advance and frozen if tightly wrapped.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1/2 cup crushed candied nuts (I used Pecans) or you can use any ground nuts not candied

3/4 cup ground almonds

3 tbsp. potato or tapioca starch

1/4 stick of margarine, room temperature

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

For the filling:

1 large egg

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups non-dairy whip topping

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. orange extract

2 tsp. orange rind (optional)

4-5 ripe plums, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl mix together all your crust ingredients. Use your hands to crumble everything together into a sand like texture mixture. 

Spray the bottom of your tart tin with non stick spray and then press the crumble compactly to pans bottom, creating a crumble crust.

Place tart pan in oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.

As the crust is baking, assemble your filling. 

In a sauce pan over medium-high heat bring the non-dairy whip to a scald (right before it starts to boil & bubble). Remove from flame and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the eggs, sugar, extracts and orange rind. Pour in the hot cream and mix well.

When the crust has cooled, place tart pan on a baking tray, and arrange your plum slices all around your crust.

Then pour your filling mixture into the tart pan till the top.

Bake tart in oven for about 25 minutes until the Brule custard has turned golden and firm.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before placing it into the fridge.

Let the Plum Brule cool & set in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

The post The Queen & IsolaBella ….A Pesach Plum Brule Tart appeared first on the Patchke Princess.

A wonder

what a little thing like sunshine…

& a day of 50 degree weather

could do for your overall psyche!

I use to make friendly fun of my friends

who complained about Seasonal Disorder…

but I realized yesterday …

I total suffer from it as well.

Because after spending an entire day soaking up all that glorious vitamin D yesterday…

as I Pesach cleaned my car (2.5 hour job – no joke – how does it get dirtier than my entire house combined?!)

I felt like a different person…or more like the real me.

full of energy, chipper…..just happier & plain good.

nothing in my life had changed…just the daylight hour & the first warm day in a long time.

a wonder…this little thing called sun.

time to think seriously …about moving…

Talking about wonders….I spent the last few weeks testing Passover side dish recipes. I also had taken a trip to the new super-sized  WALMART in my area

recently and after 2 hours leisurely going up every aisle, I walked away with a $19.99 Farberware Mandoline & this idea for a recipe!

I must tell all of you, that if you get one new kitchen gadget for your Pesach kitchen this year – I highly recommend a MANDOLIINE. With the amount of vegetables that we go through during Pesach, this tool makes life in the kitchen so much easier & quicker! AND I love that my slices are now uniformed and the exact thickness or thinness that I desire – keeps things looking so professional and appetizing.

My good friend Miriam Konigsberg had me over for Purim this year and besides her killer Pastrami, made a truly  delicious potato gratin that looked like the dairy cheese & cream filled ones that I love & use to make all the time in Tastebuds. I was so impressed that it was Non-Dairy, that I could not stop talking about it at the meal LOL.

After generously sharing with me her gratin filling recipe, (ok I might have harassed her endlessly for it) I kept Miriam’s recipe in mind when I was creating this gratin Passover version of that recipe.

Miriam’s original recipe called just for  2 layers of potatoes & was very liquidly when you cut in to it, perfect for her meal but I was looking to do something a little different with it. I wanted a gratin that was more hearty, something closer to a lasagna then a gratin , just with all vegetables.

What I was so impressed with, is the crust that formed on top of the gratin, it looked like cheese, and tasted crusty and creamy like a great cheese topping but just Pareve!

The secret WONDER ingredient in Miriam’s recipe was MAYONNAISE! – I could not believe it. For some reason it had never occurred to me to substitute mayonnaise to achieve this creamy – cheesy texture.

I really LOVE when I discover something new & amazing to play with in recipes!!

And I owe Miriam K a big thank you for this opening my eyes to this WONDER & helping create a new Passover MUST on my menu!

Passover Vegetable Gratin Lasagna 

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, sliced into thin very thin rounds

1-2 large white onions, sliced into thin rounds

1large eggplant, sliced into very thin rounds

4 Large beef stake tomatoes, sliced into very thin rounds

for the spice mixture: (you will need about 2 tsp. of the following spices)

garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper, oregano & basil

1 cup mayonnaise

2 eggs

1/2 cup potato starch

2 cups water

2 Tbsp. oil

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F
2. In a bowl, mix together all your spices for your spice mixture.
3. Spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. 
4. Layer the bottom with your sliced potatoes, overlapping them as you place them down. 
5. Sprinkle generously over the layered potatoes some of your spice mixture.
6. Then layer the onions over the potatoes, and sprinkle spice mixture.
7. Next layer the eggplant, and sprinkle the spice mixture.
8. Then top with a last layer of sliced tomatoes, and sprinkle the spice mixture.
9. Repeat steps 4-8, until you have an 8 layer vegetable gratin.
10. Once you finish layering, whisk together well the mayonnaise, eggs, potato starch, water, and oil in a small bowl.
11. Pour the entire mixture over the gratin, making sure to evenly portion it all around.
12. Place in oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until the top is a golden brown and the vegetables are fork tender.

The post A Wonder…Passover Vegetable Gratin Lasagna (Pareve & Gluten Free) appeared first on the Patchke Princess.