Author Archives: Jenna

Cookbook review (giveaway closed): The Healthy Jewish Kitchen

The giveaway winner is . . . comment #2, which is Layla! Congratulations!

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY, JUST LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW BY JANUARY 30th, 9AM CENTRAL. THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER THAT DAY AND CONTACTED VIA EMAIL FOR SHIPPING DEETS.

I recently received a copy of Paula Shoyer’s new cookbook The Healthy Jewish Kitchen for review. So (as you may have guessed) I’m not Jewish and I don’t eat Kosher–but I was intrigued anyway. I like eating healthy, and I’ll cook anything that’s delicious-looking. And roasted carrots, which she features on the cover, speak to me. Bright green mush also speaks to me. And no, I’m not being sarcastic. Like, I want to be eating it right now. And maybe dip a French fry in it.

If they speak to you too, guess what? You have the chance to get a free copy! *imagine a really cute animal doing a really cute dance at this moment* *thank you*

I just love doing giveaways–it gives me the warm fuzzies. To enter to receive a free copy of this cookbook, just comment below on this post by Tuesday January 30th, 9am Central. Any comment! Like, “I imagined a Preying Mantis doing an adorable Fox trot.” Or “I loathe sharks” (so do I!! We should be best friends).

Anyway. Leafing through the cookbook, I loved the variety of recipes, with everything from Paula’s take on Pho to Fish Tacos (YUM) to Tuna Poke (yes, I love fish, the rawer the better) to Sourdough Challah bread (with a cool explanation on why sourdough is way healthier). I love the focus on health, which is present but not taken to the extreme either. (There’s a way, apparently, to reduce the calories in your rice by 10% which I find slightly mind-blowing.) I love that Paula marks which recipes are Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, etc.–and that there are so many recipes that fit those qualifications. I also think her substitutions to make a recipe Kosher (like switching out the ham in her Split Pea Soup recipe for pink beans) are smart and appealing to those of us who don’t do the whole Kosher thing. (I’d still like to try it with pink beans!)

Overall, the photography is lovely and homey-looking. I seriously can’t get over the Fish Tacos. I mean, look at ’em, people.

Photography by Bill Milne; Copyright owned by Sterling Publishing under a work-for-hire contract;

It was also wonderful to get a bit more educated on what it means to eat Kosher.

If I had one complaint, I’d say it was related to the Pho recipe. The recipe is called “Vietnamese Pho.” But then, in her explanation, Paula says she basically took her chicken soup recipe and added “Asian ingredients” for an “Asian-flavored broth.” One of those ingredients is dark miso. Well, miso is a Japanese ingredient. Don’t get me wrong–I have no problem with taking a recipe, upending it, and putting in whatever the heck ingredients you want–but maybe you shouldn’t call it “Vietnamese Pho” if nothing about it is Vietnamese. Maybe call it Miso Chicken Soup? Or Pho’s Distant but Delicious Second Cousin? Or something like that?

Okay, maybe I’m getting a little cray-cray about this Pho thing.

Yes. Getting off my soap box and moving on.

I’ll counteract the negative with a positive–Paula has a super playful take on Spaghetti and Meatballs that I just found delightful. She does spaghetti squash instead of pasta and little balls of red quinoa rather than meatballs. I don’t know why that tickled me so much. But now I really want to try it. And I’m imagining, from a Kosher perspective, that allows you to put cheese on it.

So! When I have the time, I like to make something from a cookbook before reviewing it. Because that’s the most important part–are the recipes delicious? And you can’t know til you taste them.

I decided to make the Moroccan Lentil Soup. Here it is in its beginning stages:

And . . . *whaddabam, whaddabam, whaddbimbambop* . . .

It was super yummy, guys. Simple (and vegetarian), hearty and lovely. We had it for dinner with sliced pieces of buttered Turano bread (our absolute FAVORITE bread) and an awesome Spanish soft goat cheese.

And I get the share the recipe with you! Woohoo! (my note: I added bouillon cubes and lots of extra salt)

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Moroccan Lentil Soup

Parve, Gluten-free, Vegan • Serves 10

PREP TIME: Lentils soak 6 hours to overnight; 8 minutes • COOK TIME: 55 minutes • ADVANCE PREP: May be made 3 days in advance or frozen • EQUIPMENT: Measuring cups and spoons, cutting board, knife, vegetable peeler, garlic press, large bowl, colander, large saucepan or soup pot, immersion blender

1 pound (450g) dried lentils, soaked in water to cover for 6 hours or overnight, and then drained

¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped into ¼- to ½-inch (6- to 12-mm) pieces

1 large or 2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, quartered the long way and sliced (see Tip, page 25)

2 stalks celery, cut into ¼- to ½-inch (6- to 12-mm) pieces

2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼- to ½-inch (6- to 12-mm) pieces

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper, divided

8 cups (2L) water

  • In a large bowl, cover the lentils with water and cover for 6 hours or overnight. Drain the lentils and set aside.
  • In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, leeks, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the thyme, cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper, and cook for another 3 minutes.
  • Add the drained lentils and 8 cups (2L) of water to the soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Let the mixture cool for 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup for 10 seconds, so that just about one third of the soup is thickened. Add more salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Click here for the printer-friendly version: Moroccan Lentil Soup

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Thanks Paula for a great cookbook!

If you want to add this cookbook to your collection, here’s a link to the book on Amazon:

The next recipe I want to try from her cookbook are those fish tacos. Just look at that picture again and tell me you don’t want to make them yourself. I dare you. Unless you don’t like fish, in which case, I NEVER KNEW YOU.

Okay, that was a little extreme. Life’s too short to let a piece of fish divide us. Oh, and you might not eat fish because you’re vegetarian or vegan which I TOTALLY RESPECT. In conclusion, ignore everything that I ever said and let love reigneth supreme.

But I will add that because the publishers were nice, they also shared the fish taco recipe. Here it is in case you want to join me:

Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Rice

Good luck and see you on the other side of the giveaway!




Cookbook review (Giveaway closed): The Complete Month of Meals Collection

The winner of the giveaway is comment #5–Melanie! Congrats! Thanks everyone for participating!

I recently received a copy of The Complete Month of Meals Collection to review. I was especially pumped to review it because I’m able to offer a giveaway to one of YOU! And I love doing that. (to skip to that part, just leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered!)

Here’s the skinny: it’s a diabetes-friendly and family-friendly cookbook. It has that classic (à la Betty Crocker) spiral bound thing going on–and the recipes inside also reminded me of Betty Crocker, slightly updated.

Which I don’t mean as a negative thing–we keep our Betty handy and reference her frequently. She has very handy diagrams of cow parts. Most recently, I whipped Betty out to make our yearly Christmas Angel Food Cake. So I’m not hating on Betty. However, if you’re looking for innovative recipes with a more global or cutting-edge feel, this cookbook is probably not the one.

And if you’re looking to curl up in bed with a cookbook and read all night about the author’s life story and why making meatballs by hand is her therapy, this is also not the one–it gets straight to the point, so no extra reading is within its pages.

However, if you want to make classic Betty-type recipes like Cucumbers with Dill Dressing, Potato Salad, Smothered Chicken or Broccoli Corn Chowder, it is the one. Or this very interesting-looking raisin bread, mmm.

What might you find in its pages? Think traditional American fare (and Americanized international-inspired fare), like stuffed peppers, but revamped to be healthier, with ingredient substitutions and so forth.

And there are numbers. Lots of nutritional numbers. So if you care about things like saturated fats, carbs, sodium, cholesterol and the like, you’re in luck! This book has got you covered.

The coolest feature is that it has this funky split-page section that I’ve never seen before in a cookbook. I’ll show you:

Basically, for all you calorie counters out there, it enables you to mix-and-match recipes in order to plan three meals in a day and see very quickly what your calorie count is between all of them.

There are pretty much no pictures (cue sad face), except to headline the various sections, but the pages have that nice, glossy Betty feel to them.

Also, the Seafood Gumbo looks delish.

One of my complaints is that it has no introductory statement about its recipes. So I’m leafing through a section on Dressings, Salsas and Sauces, see a recipe called “Mastokhiar,” and I have no idea what it is. I see the ingredients. I see the instructions, but . . . what is it, please? And do I serve it with chips?

My other complaint is that the ingredients that make it diabetes-friendly are presented with no alternative. For example, I’m seeing “1/4 cup egg substitute” in an ingredient list. What if I’m making this for a non-diabetic, like myself? I’d like to know if that equates to one egg, or what. I’m guessing the answer is two eggs? Ish? Still, it would be nice if it listed options.

Positive things: the recipes, overall, are easy. The ingredient lists are low-maintenance–there’s nothing I saw you’d have trouble finding at your regular old grocery store. And there’s a cool introduction with tons of information about what foods to seek out and what foods to avoid (and why). This intro includes lots of coo lists–Diabetes Superfoods (mmm–citrus fruits!), starchy versus non-starchy vegetables, foods that contain healthy fats, a seafood guide (“Best Choices” versus “Good Choices” versus “Choices to Avoid”), etc. This was my favorite part of the cookbook.

If you’d like to sample a couple recipes, these links will take you to printer-friendly versions of two that caught my eye:

Spanish Omelet

Chicken Kale Meatballs

If you think this cookbook might fit nicely into your cooking habits (or your friend’s, or your friend’s mother’s cousin’s ex), or help you (or any other of those people) create new ones, then you’ve come to the right place! Because I get to give one away.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below (anything! Like, “Snurgh.” Or, “Bikini.”) before 9am on Monday January 15th. I’ll use the random number generator to choose a winner, and the cookbook will zoom your way.

And if you want to purchase it, here’s a link to the oh-so-convenient Amazon.

Good luck!