Asian Chicken Salad

I love coming up with ways to repurpose my leftovers. Lets face it. Life is busy, and putting a fresh and healthy dinner on the table isn’t always possible. I’m sure you’ve had to resort to fish sticks and french fries every now and then, just as I have. Sometimes, it helps to make a double portion of chicken or pasta so you can use the leftovers the next day in a different way. When I made this dinner, my daughter came home from school with a fever, and I had to run to the doctor at the last minute. I didn’t have time to prepare dinner earlier in the day, so I was glad to have lots of leftovers from the previous night when I made teriyaki vegetable linginui with marinated chicken breast. I decided to throw together an Asian-style salad to serve alongside some of the leftover pasta. I hadn’t started with the salad yet when my husband came home saying, “I’m not in the mood for salad.” I told him to at least give it a try because he would definitely get in the mood when he tasted it! Sure enough, he loved it, and had two bowlfulls! This salad is so light and fresh-tasting. You can go ahead and add in other veggies if you’d like. I think some white cabbage or bok choy would be a great addition, I just didn’t have any.

Asian Chicken Salad

1-2 heads rommaine lettuce
2 jars mandarin oranges (reserve 1/4 cup of the juice)
1 avocado, cubed
3 scallions, sliced
1/4 c craisins
1/3 c raw cashews
Grilled or pan-fried chicken, sliced

Dressing:

1/3 c oil
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c mandarin juice
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 heaping tbsp black sesame seeds

Method:

Strain mandarin oranges, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Slice romainne lettuce. Top with oranges, avocado, chicken, scallions, craisins and cashews. Mix dressing and pour over salad before serving. (I use about 3/4 of the dressing, you don’t need to use all of it).

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Purim Busy Bees


I like to look out for good deals on costumes during the post-Halloween season. I found these adorable bee costumes for my girls on Carters.com, and I just had to buy them.

After having a baby recently, I realized I would need a matching bee costume for him too. But instead of spending the money on a bunting outfit that would probably be hot and uncomfortable, I decided to crochet a bee hat, and just dress him in all black. With Purim soon approaching, I ordered black and yellow yarn, and crocheted the hat a few days ago. I love how it turned out!

How To:

size f hook
Tahki Cotton Classic Yarn Black (3002) and Bright Yellow (3533)

Abbreviations:
ch – chain
hdc – half double crochet
st – stitch
sts – stitches
mc – main color: black
cc – contrast color: yellow
fphdc – front post half double crochet
sc – single crochet

Rnd 1: with cc, Ch 5, join to make round
Rnd 2: 8 hdc in round
Rnd 3: [Hdc inc in next st] around. (16 hdc)
Rnd 4: [Hdc in next st, hdc inc in next st] around. (24 hdc)
Rnd 5: [Hdc in next 2 sts, hdc inc in next st] around. (32 hdc)
Rnd 6: [Hdc in next 3 sts, hdc inc in next st] around. (40 hdc)

Fitting Note: at this point, the circumference of your hat will be approximately 14″ (fits my 3 month old perfectly). If you want to make the cap larger, add another round of HDC here, increasing every 5 sts. You should have a total of 48 hdc.

Rnd 7,8,9: change to mc, hdc around
Rnd 10, 11, 12: change to cc, hdc around
Rnd 13, 14, 15: change to mc, hdc around
Rnd 16, 17, 18: change to cc, hdc around
Rnd 19, 20, 21: change to mc, hdc around
Rnd 22, 23, 24: fphdc around (this will create a rolled edge)
fasten off and sew in ends.

For the antennas:

ch 2. 4 sc into first ch. sc around for 6 rows. Pull on tail to stretch and form a cord.
repeat for the second antenna.
Create two small pom-poms and attach to antennas.
sew the antennas to the top sides of the hat.

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Oven Baked Organic Sweet Potatoes

Last year, we spent Purim in Asheville, North Carolina, by a friend of my husband. We drove about 12 hours to get there, the longest drive we have ever taken by car. It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be, but by the time we got there, I was definitely happy to be able to stretch and sleep! Lucky for us, our friends, the Rabbi and Rebbetzin of Asheville, had set up warm and comfortable accomodations. Purim in Asheville was a lot of fun. My kids enjoyed the Purim party, a magic show, and an adorable play put on by the Hebrew school kids. Even better was the delicious food that the Rebbetzin, Chana, prepared during our stay. One evening, she prepared oven baked organic sweet potatoes as a side dish. This was not new to me, as my mother always made them growing up. However, the organic part definitely was. I was never into the whole organic trend. It’s expensive, hard to find in my neighborhood, and since I turned out fine until now, I figured I’d take my chances. But Chana had recently given birth to twins, and she wanted to eat clean and healthy during her pregnancy, so she adopted a diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables. Being as I grew up eating oven baked sweet potatoes, I knew how they were supposed to taste. So when I put a spoonful of the organic stuff in my mouth, I immediately tasted the difference. It was so fresh tasting, full-bodied, and over-the-top sweet! It felt like eating a decadent dessert! Ever since then, whenever I plan on making oven baked sweet potatoes, I make it a point to buy organic ones. I really taste the difference!

I wouldn’t exactly call this a “recipe” because there is honestly nothing to it. I just find that sometimes we get so hung up on finding “recipes” for things that the star ingredient ends up getting lost. We’re busy taking delicious, wholesome, healthy sweet potatoes, adding butter, brown sugar, eggs and cream (amongst other things) to make sweet potato pie. What happened to baking a sweet potato just as it is? It is so sweet and delicious, it literally needs nothing! Don’t get me wrong, just a few days ago I took perfectly delicious baked salmon and mashed it up into salmon patties. I do it too. But I’m just saying, we definitely live in a “kugel” society and it’s nice to eat a vegetable purely for what it is every once in a while!

Oven Baked Organic Sweet Potatoes

Remove the stickers from the sweet potatoes, wash well (so you can eat the fiber-rich skin later) and dry. Put in a 9×13 pan. Place in a 400 degree oven. (I used to individually wrap the sweet potatoes in foil but I find that they come out a bit more watery that way). I can’t tell you exactly how long to bake them, since it depends on the size of your sweet potatoes. I go by the smell test. When the smell of sweet potatoes starts wafting through the house, I know they are almost ready. It should take about 1 1/2-2 hours to bake. Just give them the squeeze test with your hand, and when they are very soft, and you can see the delicious syrup has started dripping out of it, they are ready!

Since we weren’t home to give out shalach manos last year, I made Purim cards and sent them to family and friends, letting them know that we gave a donation in their honor in lieu of shalach manos.

Here is the card we sent out:


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Quick & Easy Chocolate Rugelach

My friend Dina and I have been friends since childhood. Growing up, we lived around the corner from each other, and after getting married and moving, we still do! We’re always swapping recipes and oohing and ahhing over the fabulous food we see on the food channel. Between the two of us, I am more of the cook and Dina is more of the baker. Whenever I see a great cake recipe, I send it her way, hoping that she’ll make it so that I can get a taste (she usually sends over a piece!). On a lucky day, she’ll invite me around the corner for a hot cinnamon bun and some coffee. One such day, Dina brought out these delicious rugelach. I thought they must be a patchke to make since they looked so good and tasted even better. But they are super easy and require only 3 ingredients! I have made them more than once when having company over at the last minute. They are totally floored when, without advanced notice, I manage to put out piping hot chococolatey flaky goodness!

Quick & Easy Chocolate Rugelach

Puff pastry squares
chocolate spread
Powdered sugar

Method:

Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight. It is easiest to work with when it’s chilled. With a knife, cut each square into 3 even strips. Smear with chocolate spread and roll up. Place on a cookie sheet seam side down and bake at 350 until browned, approximately 25 minutes. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Note: you can brush with egg-wash if you’d like, however, since you are dusting them with powdered sugar, it is not neccesary.

VARIATION: You may also use nutella, jam, or any other filling of your choice.

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Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods


I figured since we just passed Purim Katan, and shalach manos giving is right around the corner, I should share some shalach manos ideas. Two years ago, I made these yummy chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. A week or two before Purim, I started shopping for the ingredients. It’s lucky I did that, because for some reason, every single store was out of pretzel rods. I must have gone to every kosher supermarket in all the five boroughs until I found them. I bought so many bags that we were eating pretzel rods (sans coating) for the next couple of months!

To create these crunchy confections, I would recommend that you prepare a large working surface. This is a messy job! Make stations for the different coatings and cut sheets of wax paper to lay the pretzels. Make sure not to touch them until the chocolate has fully set. When you are done, you can mix up all the broken pretzels pieces with the leftover chocolate, sprinkles, nuts and nonpareils. Spread on a sheet of wax paper for an instant pretzel bark. That was the best part!

Crunchy Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

Pretzel rods
Semi sweet real chocolate chips
White chocolate chips
Colored Sprinkles
Chocolate Sprinkles
Chopped nuts
Nonpareils
Small glass vases or cups

Melt bowls of black and white chocolate (separately) in a double boiler, or in the microwave. Set up bowls of toppings. Dip half the pretzel rod in chocolate, and then in the topping. Lay on wax paper. Once the pretzels have fully set, fill each vase with 5 different pretzel rods. To set them in place, fill the vase with chocolate chips. Tie with cellophane and deliver in costume to your grateful recipients!

Pretzels Pairings:
White chocolate with black sprinkles
White chocolate with nuts
White chocolate with nonpareils
Dark chocolate with colored sprinkles
Dark chocolate with nuts

Other optional toppings:

Toasted coconut
Peanut/Pistachio/Hazelnut brittle from Bakers Choice
Chocolate lentils
Colored sugar
Crushed peppermint candy
Chopped Viennese crunch

Pretzels Pairings:
White chocolate with black sprinkles
White chocolate with nuts
White chocolate with nonpareils
Dark chocolate with colored sprinkles
Dark chocolate with nuts

Other optional toppings:

Toasted coconut
Peanut/Pistachio/Hazelnut brittle from Bakers Choice
Chocolate lentils
Colored sugar
Crushed peppermint candy
Chopped Viennese crunch

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