Shabbat meal

Shabbat meal Was so good

Mung Bean Hummus

I’ve had a bag of Mung Beans sitting around for a while. I was thinking with Shabbat coming on and me loving Hummus, why not make some hummus with them. The issue was, I have never done it before. So, like with any amateur cook, I searched the internet and came across this recipe. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/mung-bean-hummus-recipe.html

So here is what I did with a few variation, (of course). Visit the page to get full recipe.

At the end I added some Olive Oil, and Salsa. It takes so good. Not going to shelving your chickpeas, but still a nice change. Hope you enjoy!

Hummus! But

I love following my friend Michal who runs a vegetarian Facebook page for cooking. You can find her here: Foodesigns From The Land of Milk and Honey

https://www.facebook.com/FoodesignsFromTheLandOfMilkAndHoney

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.416378208430074.96329.315981911803038&type=3

Click the above link for recipe.

I planning on making this for Shabbos. I love Hummus and elevating it just seems even more yummy. 🙂

Check out her page. It is full of wonderful treats and healthy cooking ideas. She give step by step instructions that are very easy to follow and she does not mind answering questions when you run into a problem. I will let you know how it comes out after Sabbath!

Just something for him

My husband and I don’t really get into the Valentine’s Day thing. We like to show our love all year-long. hahaha

I wanted to make something special for him, and this is what I did on Shabbos. He loved it!

It was so simple to make.

2 cups sugar, 1 cup soft butter, 4 eggs, 2 3/4 cup cake flour, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 cup soy milk, 1 cup strawberry puree (I used frozen ones), fresh strawberries for topping.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add strawberry puree and vanilla extract to milk.
Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool.
Remove from pan and add your favorite icing and strawberries.

Oatmeal Patties with Pomegranate infused Craisins

My husband and I both eat Oatmeal patties on a regular basis. I’ve never changed the recipe because it has always worked. Now that I am in the process of converting to Judaism, I’m finding new ways to jazz up my food. Having grown up a non-jew, I find much of the food to be out of my taste range. Also the fact that we are vegetarian doesn’t help a lot. lol

This week I was planning my Sabbath menu, as I do each week, and wanted to do something different. I was mixing together the ingredients for my patties when it occurred to me that I could make them a little better. I’ve not tried this before so I wanted to make two patties to see how it would taste. I took my old recipe and added some Pomegranate infused Craisins. WOW! It was super good. I was so happy with the way they came out that I added it to my menu for Sabbath. Normally I make gravy for our patties, but I’m not sure I will do that this week. These are good all by themselves……

If I do make a gravy, I will try something with the Pomegranate in it. That way I still keep the wonderful flavor I’ve acquired.

Here’s what you will need (remember I cook for two so you may need to double according to your family size)

1 cup oatmeal (uncooked)

1 cup chopped pecans

3 tsp chopped onions

3 tsp chopped celery

1 tsp ground thyme

1 egg

2 Tsp each cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup

A handful of craisins

s&p to taste

Mix everything together and form into patties (size is up to you) and fry until golden brown on both sides.

That’s it. Enjoy! 🙂

Some harsh realities.

I wrote this blog a few months back in November 2013. I was not sure if I should post it due to the title I gave it. I don’t like to put in anyones mind that conversion is something you should not do. I feel if a person is “called” who am I to say don’t.

I’ve honored Sabbath all my life but during my conversion process I’m finding it hard, financially, to keep up. My husband serves in the US Army and I’m a full-time student. We are currently spending an extra $400 a month to have two “lavish” Sabbath meals. This month has been especially hard on us. We are now faced with many of our bills falling behind due to this extra expense. This has caused Sabbath to become a burden instead of a joy for us. This does not feel right to me. Sabbath should be a time of joy. Before we made this choice we enjoyed Sabbath. We had a nice meal with family and friends and I did not spend 8 hours cooking on Friday to get it ready. Now I feel more pressure to get all the house work done, all the cooking done, and still have time to shower and dress up for our meal on Shabbat. By the time we eat dinner, I am exhausted. The joy I once had is overshadowed by all the work.

Then there is the cost for all the items you need to have. A challah board, (they are not cheap), a special knife for cutting the challah, a Kiddush cup and some small ones to serve others, silver tray for Kiddush cup and challah bowl, mayim acharonim, grape juice (this cost $8.00 each week), wine, matches and so on….you get the point. I’m not complaining but I do wonder if this is really what Sabbath is all about? I feel often that the love of Sabbath is missing for us due to trying so hard to fulfill all the “requirements” of Sabbath. We honored Sabbath before we knew that you “needed” all the things we now have to buy. More than that, my cooking was only a few hours at the most. I was able to enjoy our guests because I did not feel the need to serve a 3- or 4-course meal. Most of the meals were buffet style. Now it is always a sit-down meal and I am up and down like a jack-rabbit serving each course. I really want to find that joy I once had on Sabbath……. I must ask myself, “Why am I going into debt trying to have all this food?” Most of it we don’t even eat. Then there is the fact that I was told by some friends you must eat Jewish food. Well, we’ve done that but we don’t like most of it. We are African-American and we have a very different way of cooking our food. Moreover, the type of food we eat is almost never sweet. Most everything I cook from a Jewish cookbook has honey. So after spending all that extra money and cooking for hours, we don’t even get to enjoy the food. Often the best things on the table are the salads and the Challah. This just can’t be right. I really need help and understanding on this.

UPDATE: Well, here I am 7 months later and I have come to understand a lot. One, Shabbat is not all about having the best of things you can’t afford. One should not allow all the “hype” they read on the internet to confuse them about what Shabbat is all about. I’ve come to understand that Shabbat can and is a joy for me. I don’t try so hard to fulfill others expectations of what Shabbat “for me” should be like. The joy I once had has returned. Why? I now understand what Shabbat really means and what it is all about. It was never about things. I still cook a wonderful meal. Now I stay within my budget. I enjoy so of the Jewish food but I’ve also understood that “Jewish” food is relative. You see, it is all about which type of Jew you interact with. I’ve found I like some of the Sephardi traditions but yet, I still enjoy some of the Modern Ashkenazic ways. I don’t think there is anything wrong with finding the sect that you fit in best.

So for my “harsh realities” I’ll say this: lesson learned, for me that is. 🙂