Author: chanie

Maple Lemonade

I’ve got a budding entrepreneur on my hands! My oldest daughter has been dreaming up business ideas since she was four. At nine, she’s already lined up her classmates to work in her salon (which she named, “Make It Up”) and she’s been saving up her Chanukah gelt for years! Entrepreneurial spirit is definitely in the genes, so it’s no surprise that she’s so business-minded.

When the weather starts to warm up, my little businesswoman starts dreaming up her lemonade-stand strategy. This year, she decided to sell brownies and saltwater taffy in addition to watermelon lemonade. Pink lemonade is always a good seller with the kids, and it’s so much fun to watch their faces when they take their first sip. We’ve done watermelon limeade before, so we went with lemonade this time. I made some chewy brownies with colored sprinkles and we headed to the Bay Parkway waterfront to set up our stand. It was such fun to watch my daughter in action! She would light up with every customer, and she took each sale so seriously. The passersby were so impressed! She netted $30.75 profit, which she put aside with all her savings, after tipping her sister $5 for helping.

My kids are huge lemonade fans, and not just for selling. Our absolute favorite recipe is one that I tasted at one of Levana Kirschenbaum’s cooking demo’s. She actually made it for my kid’s camp last year and I’ve been making it ever since. Traditionally, lemonade is made by making a syrup out of sugar and water, but with Levana’s maple version, there’s no need for that! I also love that the maple syrup is a natural sweetener, so it’s healthier than the traditional. Thanks to Levana for allowing me to share this recipe with you all!

Maple Lemonade
reprinted with permission from The WholeFoods Kosher Kitchen
More lemonade variations on LevanaCooks

3 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup

Place all the ingredients in a jar or pitcher and stir well. Mix again before serving as the maple syrup tends to settle at the bottom.


Related Recipes:

strawberry limonana
watermelon limeade
cherry basil limonana

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Summer Scenes + Pack-and-Go Recipes


One of the perks of being a food blogger, is getting to really know my camera, and over the years my photography has steadily improved. Once you understand the basic principles of photography, you can take pictures anywhere, and of anything. I only shoot in manual mode and my favorite thing to shoot is MY KIDS. Every time the season changes, it’s like a whole new backdrop to take beautiful family photos. Here are some summer scenes for 2015.






This post may be dedicated to family but we still gotta eat, even at the beach! So, here’s a little roundup of the best BIB pack-and-go recipes, great for family trips to the beach, the park or anywhere on-the-go!

hummus with pita chips
yogurt parfaits with homemade granola
chili pie in jars
quinoa burgers
pesto chicken salad (add tomatoes and avocado to the chicken recipe)
curried chicken salad
sushi salad
tuna pasta salad
salmon pasta salad
roasted chickpeas
roasted edamame

What are you favorite on-the-go recipes and ideas? Share them with me in the comments below!

Other Summer Attractions:

Bushkill Falls
Governor’s Island
Kelder’s Farm 
Hershey, PA

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Turkey Meatballs with
Red Wine Cranberry Marinara

Ah the classic childhood favorite, meatballs! We all love them, but we get so bored of them, don’t we? I’m always trying to reinvent the classic meatball, whether it’s quick and easy lazy beef meatballs, melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs, or even baked chicken meatballs, there’s something for everyone. One thing I hadn’t tackled yet is turkey meatballs.

Now when KOL Foods sends you 100% pasture raised ground turkey, you can’t just make any meatball. You gotta be good to your meat (or in this case, poultry) and make sure it doesn’t dry out! And that my friends, can only be done with REAL bread. Yes, real, organic, GMO-free poultry deserves only the best, so mass-produced dry breadcrumbs just doesn’t cut it. Soaking the bread in almond milk creates a wet binder to keep the turkey super moist. Say goodbye to the dry, bland turkey balls of your past because KOL turkey is about to change your meatball horrors forever!

Now the perfect, moist turkey ball can’t just swim in boring old marinara either. I had to up the ante on that too, starting with a Casa Del Cielo Cabernet reduction from kosherwine.com. You can’t go wrong with cabernet now can you? The red wine reduction gives the marinara a great depth of flavor, and the addition of cranberry sauce just brings everything together for a thick and rich sauce.

It’s not every day that I spike my marinara with cabernet, but KOL is hosting a special Rosh Hashanah Cooking with Wine contest, and I created this recipe in it’s honor! They’ve got a whole roundup of recipes featuring different wines from kosherwine.com, so head on over to the contest page to check them out! You can also enter their GIVEAWAY to win $150 gift certificates to KOL Foods and KosherWine.com! Click here to enter!

Can you believe someone is already having a Rosh Hashanah giveaway? Are the high holidays really just around the corner?! {Insert Meltdown}… Bring on the kosher wine ‘cuz I’m going to need a few glasses!

Speaking of the holidays and wine, I’ve got plenty of boozy recipes on the blog, like this mulled wine cranberry sauce, cherries in red wine syrup, and my very first blog post ever (!!) chicken with port wine cherry sauce. This honey roasted za’atar chicken with red wine and dried fruit is my favorite Rosh Hashanah dish, and these Moscato poached apricots make the most of the summer fruit before they go out of season.

Whether you’re cooking with wine this holiday or not, we can all use a glass or two (or three), especially with the month-long cookfest that’s coming up soon, so lets raise a glass…L’chaim!

Turkey Meatballs with Red Wine Cranberry Marinara

Enter the Cooking with Wine Giveaway to win $150 worth of grass-fed meat/poultry from KOL Foods or $150 to spend at KosherWine.com!

for the meatballs:

1.5 lbs. KOL Foods ground turkey
3 cups bread, cut into cubes (use bread that is at least a day old)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts, optional
3 tbsp olive oil

for the red wine cranberry marinara:

1 medium onion, diced small
1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1 cup Casa Del Cielo cabernet sauvignon
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 tsp allspice
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

In a small bowl, soak the bread in almond milk until wet and squeeze to remove most of the milk.

In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread, egg, garlic, parsley, pine nuts (optional), salt and pepper. Mix with your hands to incorporate.

Using wet hands, form the mixture into small meatballs. If the meatballs start to stick to your hands, just rinse your hands again with water.

Heat a large skillet with oil and brown the meatballs in batches, so that they are golden on all sides. Set the meatballs aside.

In the same pan, add the onion and saute until golden (add more oil if needed). Add the dried cherries and wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, stirring to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and glazed with sauce. Serve immediately.

NOTE: if you like a lot of sauce with your meatballs, you may double the sauce recipe.

TIP: If your sauce gets too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.

This post is sponsored by KOL Foods & kosherwine.com. All opinions are my own. 

Related Recipes:

melt-in-your-mouth veal meatballs
2-ingredient lazy meatballs
baked chicken meatballs

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S’mores Corn Flake Clusters

I can’t let summer go by without a s’mores recipe. I mean, what’s summer without s’mores, right? I’m a huge fan of the classic, and so are my kids. I try and whip them up whenever we have a BBQ. I just wrap up my s’more sandwich in foil and throw it on the grill for a quick and easy dessert everyone loves.

I don’t know what it is with me and breakfast s’mores, but here I am at it again, trashing up my most important meal of the day. OK, so these are not exactly breakfast munchies, but they are made with cereal, and one of my favorite ones at that. Corn Flakes are my all-time-favorite coating for so many things, from shnitzel to ice cream. I use Corn Flake crumbs in my homemade kishke, throw them into patties instead of bread crumbs, and sprinkle them over kugels and quiche for some sweet crunch. One of my favorite snacks are those chewy Corn Flake crunchies made with corn syrup and that’s what inspired these S’mores Corn Flake Clusters.

Like Jerry Seinfeld, I’m a total cereal fanatic, and I would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I could. After Pesach, when everyone is out getting their pizza fix, I just go to my nearest supermarket and have an all-out cereal party! I buy like 4 or 5 kinds, and I get to skip the whole pizza-line-around-the-block thing to get my chometz fix.

Cereal doesn’t have to be a bowl-only food, but these marshmallow-infused Corn Flake clusters do sorta taste like Corn Flakes and milk. Enrobe them in chocolate and it just takes it to a whole ‘nother level! And I don’t use just any chocolate either. I am legit obsessed with the California Gourmet brand. It tastes like the finest Belgian chocolate that’s not too sweet, just how I like it.

How much do I love California Gourmet chocolate? Let me count the ways…

1. it’s vegan
2. it’s got 45% cocoa
3. it’s got the nicest packaging (hey, I was trained in graphic design so that matters, ok?!)
4. it comes in red or blue bags, soy-based and soy-free, respectively.
5. it’s kosher pareve
6. it’s gluten free
7. it’s allergy friendly
8. it’s got great recipes on the back of the bag (amazing chocolate chip cookies on the red one and my chocolate ganache tart on the blue one).
9. it’s available in 100 stores!
10. it’s rich and chocolatey with few ingredients that I can recognize and pronounce.

What have I done with my all-time favorite chocolate? Well, I made this chocolate ganache tart with a macaroon crust that is so decadent, guilt-free and delicious, that they printed it on back of the bag! I also made this easy homemade nutella with just 3 ingredients! I also showed my love for Israel with these halva krembo’s that are the ultimate remake of the classic kid snack.

You can never have too much chocolate, so while I add these chips to my homemade trail mix and I melt some up for homemade fondue, I don’t mind just eating ’em straight from the bag, no recipe required!

What’s your favorite way to use chocolate chips? Share it with me in the comments below!

S’mores Corn Flake Clusters

5 cups lightly crushed Corn Flakes cereal
8 oz. marshmallows
2 tbsp butter, margarine or coconut oil
1 cup California Gourmet chocolate chips
4 cinnamon graham crackers, crushed

Method:

Over medium heat, melt the butter and marshmallows and stir in the cornflakes, mixing until they are well-coated. With damp hands, roll the corn flake mixture into balls and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze the clusters until they are set and no longer sticky.

Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler. Dip the corn flake clusters into the chocolate, and then into the graham cracker crumbs. Place them on a baking sheet and refrigerate until chocolate hardens.

VARIATION: Try using Rice Krispies instead.

QUICK & EASY: Spread the Corn Flakes mixture into  a 9×13 pan. Cover with a layer of chocolate and graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate until set and cut into squares.

TIP: If your chocolate is too thick for dipping, add a bit of oil to thin it out.


This post is sponsored by California Gourmet Chocolate Chips. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   View the list of stores that carry the brand here).

Related Recipes:

smores oatmeal
s’mores cookies
s’mores chocolate toffee bark
corn flake crunch ice cream
leftover cereal bar treats

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Harissa Whipped Feta w/ Za’atar Eggplant Chips

I recently did a spice roundup of some of my favorite spices and seasoning blends on Instagram. I love cooking with spices because I can pack on the flavor without piling on the extra sugar and additives that are found in sauces and marinades. Spices keep things clean and healthy, without sacrificing on flavor.

If I had to choose a favorite spice, it would probably have to be za’atar. Za’atar is a spice blend that is native to the Middle East. It includes sumac, oregano, thyme and sesame seeds – a bright combination that’s great with just about everything. I love it on pita chips, chickpeas, chicken, fish, eggplant, cauliflower…like I said, everything!

Another one of my favorite spice blends is harissa. Harissa is a North African chili paste that adds amazing depth of flavor to fish, meat, poultry, veggies and sauces. I love to mix it into my shakshuka, tahini, Moroccan fish, sour cream and even nacho cheese! There’s a reason that Time Magazine called harissa the “new sriracha” of 2015. And as a MAJOR sriracha fan, let me assure you that it’s quite the compliment!

The crazy thing about za’atar and harissa is that, while they are both good on their own, they are amazing together! I never realized just how well these spices complemented each other until I developed this recipe. And I. am. obsessed!!

So first, the chips, because I am a chip fanatic. I love that these eggplant chips are baked and not fried – but they are still perfectly crispy. The za’atar adds such an amazing unexpected punch of flavor to the breading that you can literally go through an entire tray in one sitting.

And the feta? Oh. Em. Gee. If you’ve never whipped feta before then GET ON IT! Most people don’t think of feta as a creamy cheese, but when you whiz this stuff up with a little Greek yogurt – it’s like a silky smooth dip that’s perfectly salty. Dunk those za’atar chips in and it’s a full on an explosion in your mouth.

What are some of your favorite spices and seasonings? Share them with me in the comments below!

Harissa Whipped Feta

1 7 oz. block of feta (not crumbles)
3 oz. Greek yogurt
1 tsp harissa, or, to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil and harissa, for garnish

Method:

Place the feta cheese, yogurt, harissa and lemon in a food processor or blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Place the creamed feta in a serving dish and garnish with olive oil and harissa. Serve with za’atar eggplant chips.

Crispy Baked Za’atar Eggplant Chips

1 large eggplant, sliced in half lengthwise, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
2 cups panko bread crumbs
3 tbsp zaatar
salt and pepper, to taste
2 eggs, beaten

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the eggplant slices in half to create triangular wedges and set aside. Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk the panko bread crumbs with za’atar, salt and pepper. Set up a dredging station with the eggplant wedges on one tray, the eggs in another and the za’atar panko crumbs in another.

Dip the eggplant wedges into into egg, shake off the excess, and dredge in the seasoned panko crumbs. Spread eggplant out on two well-greased cookie sheets (make sure not to overcrowd them) and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes until browned and crispy.

Related Recipes:

za’atar roasted chickpeas
malawach cheese pastries with za’atar
confetti latkes with harissa sour cream
cauliflower nachos with harissa cheddar sauce

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