Tabouli Salad

I could eat a heaping bowl of this; it is so refreshing and satisfying.

yield: Serves 6: Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fine grain #1 bulgur
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup finely diced tomatoes
• 1 cup diced cucumber
  
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 2 pinches of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin, or more to taste
  
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (optional)
  
• 2 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup slivered fresh mint leaves
• Tender romaine leaves

Preparation

1. Place the bulgur in a fine sieve, rinse under cold running water, squeeze dry, and soak in the lemon juice for 45 minutes. Use a fork to fluff the bulgur.

2. In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, cinnamon, cumin, and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Drizzle on the olive oil and toss (you can omit the olive oil, however it will help bring all the flavors together and round out the acidity from the lemon juice). Fold in the bulgur, parsley, and mint and mix well. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally.

3. Taste and correct the flavors with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Serve with crisp inner leaves of romaine lettuce for scooping up the salad.

*Some variations that I like is to add diced avocado, or radishes. I also like to add bit of seasoned rice vinegar to taste.

Asher's got a green thumb!

Cedar Plank Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper and Caper Sauce

This is one of my favorite recipes from one of my favorite cooking magazines, Fine Cooking. I like to make extra sauce to freeze and have on hand as well as the spice rub.


For the sauce:
1/2 cup jarred piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers
1-1/2 Tbs. sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 Tbs. brine-packed capers, rinsed and chopped
1-1/2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salmon:
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. hot pimentón de la Vera (Spanish smoked paprika) or Hungarian hot paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Four 6- to 8-oz. skinless salmon fillets (preferably at least 1 inch thick)
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

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Make the sauce:

Put the peppers, vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a blender and begin to puree. With the blender running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in the capers, parsley, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed.

Prepare the salmon:

Soak a cedar plank in cold water for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cumin, pimentón, 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Sprinkle the mixture over the salmon and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

Prepare a two-zone fire on a gas or charcoal grill: On a gas grill, set two of the burners to high (one if your grill only has two burners) and leave one burner off. On a charcoal grill, push all of the lit coals to one side of the grill.

Set the cedar plank on the grill over the hot zone, cover the grill, and wait until the plank starts to smoke, 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, rub the skinned sides of the salmon fillets with the oil. Slide the plank to the cooler zone and arrange the salmon on top, oiled side down and thicker ends closest to the hot zone. Cover the grill (vents open on a charcoal grill) and cook until the fish is almost cooked through with just a touch of pink in the center—make a nick with a paring knife in the thicker part of a fillet to check—or an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thick part registers 135°F, 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer the fish (still on the plank) to a serving platter and serve with the sauce.

Organizing Mom's Cupboards

Hello Everybody!

More Fun In the Tub

9 month Stats...

Asher went in for his 9 month well check visit today. Dr. Omar says he's doing great! Asher was relieved when he heard them say he wasn't getting any vaccinations this time.

Here were his measurements:
Height 29 1/4 inches (75th percentile)
Weight 18.12 pounds (25th percentile)
Head circumference 44.5 cm (25 percentile)

Havdallah

Here we are just finishing havdallah. Asher looks forward to the leftover wine from the havdallah cup. For those unfamiliar with havdallah, it is a Jewish ceremony observed at the end of Shabbat (on Saturday night, when three stars are visible in the sky), in order to mark the distinction between the departing sacred day and the coming ordinary weekday. It includes three blessings... over wine, spices, and candle light.

Spicy Dill Pickles

These are soooo good (and easy)! I can easily polish off a whole jar myself. I love that they are crunchy too, unlike the recipes that require boiling.


Spicy Dill Pickles

• 12 pickling cucumbers
• 2 cups water
• 1 3/4 cups distilled white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups packed coarsely chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon pickling spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dill seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Combine all ingredients except dill sprigs in large bowl. Stir, let stand at room temperature 2 hours until sugar and salt dissolve.

Transfer 4 cucumbers to each of three 1 1/2-pint wide-mouth jars. Pour pickling mixture over to cover. Place a few dill sprigs in each jar. Cover jars with lids and close tightly. Refrigerate at least 10 days. Pickles will stay fresh for up to 1 month. Keep refrigerated.

Blue Cheese Spread

This is a recipe I got from my mom. It is delicious and very addictive.

BLUE CHEESE SPREAD with CROSTINIS

For the spread:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tbs. heavy cream (I just used milk because I didn't feel like buying a whole container of cream)
6 oz. Stilton blue cheese
½ cup plus 3 tsp. chopped toasted pecans
fresh ground pepper to taste
Pear slices for serving

For crostinis:
1 baguette, cut crosswise into ¼ – inch thick slices
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing

To make crostinis:
Preheat an oven to 350
Brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Arrange the baguette slices on the sheet in a single layer. Brush the tops with oil and season with salt. Bake until crisp and golden, 15 to 18 minutes. If not using immediately, let the crostini cool, then store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use.

For the spread:
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, or in a mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer fitted with the beater attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until soft and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream and continue beating until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the blue cheese and beat on low speed until the cheese is crumbled and no large pieces remain, about 1 minute. Stir in the pepper and the ½ cup pecans until evenly distributed.

Divide the blue cheese mixture among 3 small ramekins, smoothing the tops with a spatula. Cover the tops of the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Let the spread stand at room temperature up to 2 hours before serving. Just before serving, sprinkle 1 tsp. chopped pecans in the center of each ramekin and press down lightly. Serve with the crostini and pear slices alongside.

Serves 10 to 12.

If desired, replace ¼ cup of the pecans with ¼ cup chopped dried cranberries and stir them into the spread along with the pecans. The spread can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated; add the chopped-pecan garnish just before serving.

Freezing Tofu

I happen to really love tofu and all the things you can do with it. I recently learned that if you freeze tofu it takes on a chewier, meatier texture and will soak up marinades and rubs like a sponge.

All you need to do is drain a package of firm tofu, freeze it in a plastic bag, thaw it, squeeze any excess water from it and either crumble or cut it into the size pieces you want and then it's ready for your marinade.

You can leave it as is or bake it. To bake it you will heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 25 minutes on a lightly greased baking sheet turning or stirring halfway through.

You can add it to salads or sandwiches as you would meat. I recently made a vegetarian chili with it after marinating it in the following:

1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Wisk all the ingredients together. Pour mixture over tofu pieces and squeeze it in so that it all absorbs evenly.

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Custard

I love this because it's not too sweet and makes a satisfying, healthy snack (very appropriate for the new year!). You can eat it as you would pudding or custard, or you can dip apples or pears in it.


1 12-oz. package soft silken tofu drained (most grocers carry this in or next to the produce section with all the other tofu, it has a much finer, silkier texture)
1 cup pumpkin puree (I think sweet potato would be really good too but I haven't tried it)
1 1-oz box sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Blend all ingredients together in a large bowl using a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate before serving.

Two New Pearlies!

I forgot to mention a couple of weeks ago Asher popped his two top teeth. Yay!

SPEEDY!

Happy New Year!

To celebrate the new year we went out to a nice dinner and cracked open a delicious bottle of champagne that we had been saving for a special occasion such as this one.
Asher called it a night before we got our main course. He is definitely the "early to bed, early to rise," kind of guy.