BIZZY BAKES

I have posted, in the past, an Apple Strawberry Crisp which I did make for the first days of Passover.  What I did though was to make some extra topping and make a Mango Squash Crisp following the original recipe and subbing in these two ingredients.  It was good and I used it as a side dish rather than a dessert. I would think, this recipe, leaves itself open to many different substitutions giving us an easy recipe to make in a variety of guises.  It good me all fruit with cherries and blueberries or sweet potatoes and pineapple.  This is the place to use your imagination and have fun creating it. Mango Squash Crisp 1 bag of Butternut squash cubes  1 - 2 mangoes cut into small pieces ( about the size of the cubes) ½ cup sugar  2 teaspoons lemon juice  ½ teaspoon cinnamon  Crumb Topping:  2½ cup potato starch  1 cup sugar  1 egg  1 cup oil  4 oz. ground walnuts  In a 10 inch ba...

You probably know that I love, love , love spinach so when I found a recipe for a spinach kugel for Pesach, I jumped to make it.  I had forgotten that I had previously made it which makes no difference.  This is a good kugel. I hope to make if often in the future throughout the year. Spinach Kugel adapted from Taste of Pesach Ingredients:  16 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed  2 tbsp. oil  2 onions, diced  2 tbsp. mayonnaise  2 tbsp. water  2 eggs  1 tbsp. potato starch  1 tsp. salt   ¼ tsp. onion powder  Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onions and sauté until translucent. Drain  liquid from spinach.  Add spinach to onions and cook 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.   Cool slightly, and then add mayonnaise and water.  Beat eggs in a small bowl, and then add to skillet, stirring constantly....

Potatoes have become a mainstay of Passover.  Potatoes are versatile and can be used in probably hundreds of ways.   Some people moan and groan about how many potatoes they "have to" eat because there is nothing else.  Huh?  Fortunately, there is a plethora of vegetables to cook and be creative with. How many different squash are there?  What about root veggies?  Although, we do not eat beans and peas, there are many other greens,  Kale is big of recent times and spinach and bok choy as a few examples. Eggplant, carrots, radishes, lettuce, parsnips, turnips.........need I say more?  If you are a vegetable eater, the opportunities to make the holiday one of good eating, is endless. I love potatoes and have no desire to run away from them.  I like sweet potatoes and use them throughout the year.  For the potato avoiders butternut squash is a good substitute.  This is an easy and yummy side to make on Pesach or any other day. ...

In  my pre-Passover shopping,  I made   sure to buy two mangoes.  What a perfect fruit for Pesach. (Passover)   I had no idea what I would make with them but I knew they would be used.  One of them went to this sweet and enjoyable recipe.     Mango and Almond Sweet Potatoes Ingredients: 2 large sweet potatoes 1/2 cup brown sugar  1  teaspoon cinnamon  1 mango  1/8 cup margarine 1/2 cup almonds, sliced Method: Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a baking dish - medium size. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks.  Add chunks to a pot of boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to mangoes and sweet potatoes in baking dish.    Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with sliced almonds and bake for an additional 20 minutes. This is a yummy dish.   Linked to:...

These are the Pesach (Passover) cookbooks, I use to help me make a tasty holiday.  I put stars next to my favorits and the ones, I get the most recipes from.  I use some every year and others, I make a point of trying new ones or different versions. I am not advertising these books but I included the Amazon links if you want to find out more information about each.  For those of you who are cooking for Pesach, enjoy the preparation.  Try not to get hassled.  Take breaks throughout the day and try to do your prep work sitting down.  I don't have back problems but I find that cooking throughout the day is causing me some discomfort and sitting down makes a difference. I enjoy cooking so this part is fun and that includes washing dishes.  I love using practically new dishes and utensils.  Even though the same dishes come out year after year and have done so for decades, they are like new, only being used for a little over a week.   I also...

As I cook for the holiday, I am attempting to get some of the recipes here, for you so that if you are looking for new recipes, you will have choices.  Since, I am one of the biggest mini-fans, this is one of my favorite kugels in mini form. Potato Kugelettes Ingredients: 1 onion 2 potatoes 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons potato starch 1 tablespoon oil paprika spray cooking oil Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 6 cups of muffin tin. Chop onion fine. You can use a food processor but I find they get mushy. Shred potatoes and combine with onions. The potatoes, I do shred in food processor. Add eggs and dry ingredients. Mix well. Fill muffin tins almost to top. Top with paprika and spray with cooking oil. Bake 400 degree for 20 minutes. Linked to:   Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

This is another Passover recipe, I have to share.  Passover is a funny holiday when it comes to food.  Some people feel deprived because we do not use many  of our normal choices. There are others and I count myself as part of this group who glory in what can be done with a more limited array of  ingredients.   When you think about it, there is one week, we eat without using flour and foods with gluten.  No pasta, no bread, no "normal" cake or cookies, no rice for Sefardic Jews, no beans as well.  It is different but I welcome it.  I think we eat as well if not better for this week than the entire year. Honey and Walnut-Crusted Chicken Ingredients: 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat  non stick cooking spray (olive oil) ½ cup honey ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 3/4 cup potato starch ¾ cup fine chopped nuts (I used walnuts but pecans would be better, in my opinion.) ...

I  made this soup during Passover and again recently,.  I had to  make it because it was unusual in the way it was made.   This time, I added some vegetable broth to it to thin it out.  Look at the photo.  It almost looks like sauce and that is slightly thinned down. It has very few ingredients for such a wholesome full tasting soup. Ingredients: 2 zucchini 2 onions 2 red pepper olive oil 1 cup vegetable broth salt and pepper to taste You can add any seasoning you want to this.  We liked it as is but now that I have my  herbs growing in the garden, I would throw them into the mix. You do not have to peel the zucchini if you prefer. Red Pepper Zucchini Soup Method:   Cut onions into thick slices. Cut zucchini into about half inch pieces. Red peppers should be cut into chunks.  Remove the seeds. Heat olive oil in saucepan.   Add the vegetables.  Cover and cook over low heat for abo...

Ingenuity is called for when Passover arrives.  There are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables that can keep one satiated and happy for days but there is still that craving for the "good stuff".  Cakes, noodles, muffins, pancakes and the likes, suddenly turn into the important foods in your life.  If you can't have them, you want them, and most of us have come up with ways to make all of these without any flour.  Potato starch is the secret ingredient and I make brownies, pies, blondies, sugar cookies, cakes and candy from this wonderful ingredient. As the wife of one afflicted with celiac, potato starch is a staple in our lives but during the year, it is mixed with a variety of flours.  We use rice flour, sorghum, almond, coconut, nut, tapioca, etc.  There are too many to name. For Pesach, it is potato starch and fortunately, it works just fine.  I am not saying, the finished product is the same; it is not.  What it is, is delicious. Pesa...

I have mentioned, several times, how much I love minis.  I turn many dishes into minis, anything from muffins to meatloaves.  Thus, it is not surprising, I did the same with these delicious mini spinach kugels.  This is another Pesach recipe. I love my Passover cookbooks and manage to buy a new one each year.  Good thing, the Jewish publishers accommodate my wants and publish these almost annually.  This particular book has been sending a paper booklet to homes across the country for a number of years.  The recipes have been proven and I mean by me.  They are some of the best Pesach recipes, I have come across.  When I found out, a book was being published with those recipes and more, I immediately ordered it.  The book was not out yet but it could be pre-ordered and that is what I did. I couldn't wait for it to arrive and when it did, I found a quiet place and checked out each page and wrote down page after page or dishes, I just had ...

I made some unique and fabulous dishes over the Passover holiday.  I had no time to post them, at that time , but now I would like to share them with you.  They can be made all year and certainly flour can be subbed in for potato starch.    It is amazing how good the food is considering our limitations.  There are some different customs amongst groups of Jews and ours is not to use rice, beans, peas and corn along with any of our usual flour.  Sephardic Jew use these. Some of us don't wet matzah which means no matzah balls.  I know there are some who make these with potato starch.  I tried one year and we did not like them.  The truth is we eat kneidlach (matzah balls) throughout the year so we don't miss them for a week. My kitchen is filled with fresh fruit and vegetables.   It seems like we peel and chop for the entire week.  Fortunately, I have a food processor which does make a major difference in the work load.  We ...

This month, Kosher Connection is making desserts for Passover (Pesach).  I had planned to do this way before the holiday but had no time.  Here the deadline is due and my kitchen is not ready for Pesach but I have packed away all my baking and cooking wares.  My dilemma was how do I make this work. For those of you who don't prepare and celebrate this holiday, I am not sure, if you can understand the complexity of changing over one's kitchen. We literally pack up or shut down everything from the year and bring in different items, which we store from Pesach to Pesach.  I am fortunate, having an extra buffet that a relative gave us and I store myself there and do not go into that piece for the entire time between the annual holiday. I have already cleared out the cabinets, I will be using, and filled them with my Pesach pots and pans and gadgets, flatware, dishes, etc.  I purchased new spices and they are in place.  I got lots of potato star...

Sorry, I did not get a better photo. Of course, if these are gluten-free, they have no matzah, at least no traditional matzah.  My husband uses oat matzah for Passover and it isn't particularly good. This year, Yehuda came out with a new matzah, made out of potato starch.  While, it does not qualify for acceptable matzah (from one of the list of specified grains), we think it is delicious.  I think it is the onion in the matzah that makes it so tasty.  I am sorry, we did not buy more boxes, and I may order it, online. I did make "matzah" balls with this and it came pretty close to the real thing.  I followed a basic kneidlach recipe and adjusted the amount of matzah meal to the right consistency.  It was a treat to have "matzah" balls on Passover, something we have not been able to do, in a while. Gluten-Free Matzah Balls 1 cup Yehuda potato starch matzah meal (ground matzah in food processor) 2 tablespoons water or chicken soup  (you ca...

I have not even read this post from My Sweet and Savory, to see what it actually says, but hundreds of people have looked at it, in the past few days, so I decided to share it here and check it out, after the holiday, which starts in a few minutes.  If there are errors, please excuse me. Here it is: T uesday, March 23, 2010 Apple-Sweet Potato Kugel - for Passover and the whole year Apple-Sweet Potato Kugel This kugel was surprisingly good.  Considering, I put a little bit of this and a little bit of that in a bowl and mixed it up, I did not expect too much.  Then, there were all the mishaps that happened along the way. Picture this:  You wake up, one morning, and come down to quickly make a cake for that night's dinner.  When you enter the same kitchen, you have been cooking in, for twenty years, every aspect of the room has been altered.  You open up a cabinet that usually has cereal and find huge pots.  You look into y...