lemon dill barley salad

Such a fresh, springy wholesome taste for such little effort. I have been eating this for the past week and I can't get enough of the powerful fresh flavor that hits your mouth. It also keeps so well in the fridge!

So far it has been a welcome companion at spring picnics, with some lentils added, or with some sharp cheddar melted on top.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried barley
• 4 cups water to cook the barley
• 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (yes, it must be fresh squeezed. Put that bottle down).
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 bunch of fresh dill, washed and finely minced. (stems and all).
  
• dash of fresh ground pepper (optional)

Directions:

• cook the barley in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. wait till all the water is cooked off.
  
• Note- this is much easier in a rice cooker
• wash, dry and mince the dill (stems and all)
• combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and mix
• when the barley is done cooking, dress it with the lemon mixture
• add the dill.
• Taste. Add more lemon, oil, salt and/or pepper to taste if desired.
  

Fudgy Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola coil
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 3/8 cup milk or soy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (white flour can be used as a substitute)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup or more chocolate chips.
• 2 tsp cinnamon/cinnamon to taste

Directions:

• mix all ingredients except for the chocolate chips.
• pour into a loaf pan
• pour the chocolate chips on top, and stir them into the top half of the batter. Make sure they are covered with batter so that they don't get burnt (they will sink as they bake, so no need to mix them into the bottom).
• bake in over at 350 until done, ie. when you
• insert a knife it should comes out clean (baking time is approx 30 min, but will often take longer).
• do not refrigerate- it will get dense and sticky. it does, however, store well in the freezer.

Savory Hamentaschen

Hamentaschen are a traditional Eastern European Jewish sweet triangular cookie made for the holiday of Purim.

This year, with the help of some friends, we decided to make savory tasch. Sort of like triangular empanadas or knishes.





For the dough:

• I used the knish dough recipe from my favorite cookbook, Olive Trees and Honey (the Ashkenazic Oil Pastry Dough on p. 154)

Fillings:

• finely chopped onions, caramelized
• finely chopped mushrooms- sauteed, with a touch of marjoram
• defrosted frozen spinach, drained
• curried eggplant with tomatoes
• minced garlic, sauteed

Cut the dough into circles, fill with small amounts of filling, and bake for 12-14 min on 350.

Mix and match fillings.

Majedderah

One of the many spellings for the classic middle eastern rice & lentil dish. The classic way is great, but i honestly prefer the shortcuts.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium to large onions
• 2 cups brown lentils
• 2 cups brown rice (I prefer short grain, but any kind works)
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

A- Directions (the classic way)

slice the onions into long slivers (dicing works, but the final result has a much better mouth feel when you go with the long slivers)

1. saute the onions in the bottom of a large pot with approx 2-4 tbs of olive oil (the oil should generously coat the bottom of the pot)
2. when the onions are well caramelized, take out 1/2 of the onions and set aside.
3. add the lentils and 4 cups of water. bring to a boil
4. when the water is fully absorbed, add 4 more cups of water and the rice. add a dash of ground black pepper. bring to a boil.
   
5. cook until the rice and lentils are tender and all of the water is absorbed
6. mix in the remaining onions, and add salt and pepper to taste.
   

B- Directions- (The easier way):

I personally don't always have the time to wait for the onions to saute, and only then start cooking the lentils. To save time:

1. cut the onion into slivers. Place 1/3 of the cut onion in a large pot with 1-2 tbs of olive oil, 4 cups of water and 2 cups of lentils. Let it boil.
   
2. in a separate frying pan, saute the rest of the onions until caramelized.
3. then follow steps 5-7 above- when the lentils are cooked, add 4 cups of water and 2 cups of brown rice.
   
4. mix the caramelized onions in when the rice and lentils are done cooking

C- Directions (the easiest way)
So now you are probably wondering why add the rice and lentils at separate times. In short, lentils take longer to cook than rice, so if you added them at the same time, the rice would be mushy by the end. If this bothers you- follow directions A or B above. If it doesn't bother you- then:

1. either just follow Recipe B above, except add all of the water, some onions, lentils and rice in at the beginning (this won't take less time to cook, but it will be less time to tend to it
2. OR- use your rice cooker!
   
3. Place 8 cups of water, 2 cups rice and 2 cups lentils in the rice cooker and turn it to the whole grain setting. Don't forget to add some slivered onions, olive oil and a touch of black pepper.
   
4. While the rice cooker is on, saute the onions.
5. combine all ingredients at the end.
   
6. Comes our perfect every time. No fuss, no muss.
   

Other comments:

• use red lentils (not everyone finds them as filling, but if you do, its delicious too)
• serve with yogurt or labne!
• kid friendly, crowd pleaser, not a liquid-y dish, so its easy to take to work, and it stays good in the fridge all week.
  

Kitchen Equipment Basics

I started cooking for myself when I was 18. My kitchen was the size of a small bathroom, and I had 2 burners and a toaster oven as my cooking gear. From there I progressed to the luxury of college dorm kitchens, and after a brief layover in an industrial kitchen in a food co-op, I moved on to my own place in NYC. Which, of course, meant a small kitchen I shared with two friends. I didn't have a lot of money to invest in kitchen equipment at any point in this journey, nor did I have the space to store a lot of bulky stuff. But that didn't stop me from cooking all my meals at home and potlucking with friends.

Here is my short guide to high quality kitchen items to buy on a tight budget.

pots and pans:
There are only 3 pots or pans you need in a starter kitchen. Yes, I said 3.
First: The 6 qt pot.
Second: The Chicken Fryer (any of these other options are great too)
Third: The Frying Pan (this is a high quality non-stick pan. Once the teflon comes off, the pan is very carcinogenic, so make sure to get a sturdy one. I like this cuisinart one.

In general:

• go with stainless steel
• aluminum core is good for heat conduction, copper is better but very expensive

utensils:

• any sort of basic stainless steel spatulas, ladels, and such will do
• basic measuring cups. (Though I do love my Adjust-a-cup if you want to splurge).
  
• basic measuring spoons (only really required if you plan to bake)
  

With measuring equipment, make sure that the measures are engraved and not painted onto the handle. Paint rubs off, and then you will be trying to guess which measure is which.



For the Oven
I don't do much conventional baking, but I do roast things all the time. and to that end, I recommend getting:

• one roasting pan/ lasanga pan, either in stainless steel, pyrex, or corningware
• one pyrex bowl (more if you are so inclined).

Appliances:
Basics:

• an immersion blender- its such a necessity. You can get the fancy model with the attachments, or the basic. Either are great.
• a crock-pot (crucial for people with too little time)

Extras:

• hand mixer
• rice cooker (I love this thing)
• food processor (the basic, or the amazing 3 in 1).
  

Dishes:

• always Corelle (microwave safe, dishwasher safe, union made in the USA, and will look brand new 30 years later).
  

Where to shop:

• Amazon has great deals (frequently 4 for 3 on kitchen items)
  
• Macys frequently has big sales- check the circulars (during college I got a set of pots, a roasting pan, measuring cups & spoons, and mixing bowls for a total of $50). Their "tools of the trade" brand is high quality and frequently on sale.
• If you live in NYC, check out the following for good deals on cookware:
  

1. El Mundo (134th & Broadway)
2. Lot-Less (97 Chambers St)
   

Cauliflower "mashed potatoes"

Super easy, homey comfort food. The touch of sweet potato masks the cauliflower flavor just enough so that its a very kid friendly recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup vegetable stock (could try it with water, but it will be significantly less flavorful).
  
• 1 medium sized sweet potato
• 2 heads cauliflower (medium sized) (or 2 bags of frozen. no real difference).
  
• salt to taste
  
• 1 tsp butter or 2 tsp canola or other mild oil
  

Equipment:

• 6 qt stock pot (or something else in this range)
• immersion blender

Directions:

• place stock in the pot, and turn on high with the cover on
• peel and chop the sweet potato and place it in the stock
• wash and cut the cauliflower into florets, and place it into the pot.
  
• Let the cauliflower steam until it it easily mushed with a fork, then add the butter/oil and the salt
• puree it all with an immersion blender and eat with a spoon.
  

Intro to nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast is one of those wonder foods that far too few people know about, but it tastes heavenly with a touch of oil and salt. Its a great source of B vitamins and protein as well.

Pasta:
Ingredients:

• mini shell pasta- 1 large salad bowls worth
  
• 3 tbs nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 6 roasted brussel sprouts

directions:

• coat pasta with olive oil, add the yeast and salt, and then the sprouts.
  

notes: obviously I wouldn't roast just 6 brussel sprouts for this recipe. but expect to roast about 6 brussel sprouts per serving, or make an appropriate amount of pasta.




Broccoli:

• nutritional yeast also takes great ontop of brocolli with a tad of either toasted sesame oil or olive oil