BIZZY BAKES

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 pamper myself with gadgets to make the

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

I looked back in this blog and have listed some of the Passover (Pesach) recipes I have made.  I hope someone benefits by this.  Click on the recipe and you will be linked to all the details. Pesach Noodles      Veggie Latkes (Pancakes)    Apple-Sweet Potato Kugel          Cherry Tomato Crisp     Chocolate Chip Cookies      Charoset Cashew Butter Cookie s        Brownies Filled Cinnamon Blondies Zucchini Tomato Gratin     Golden Potato Cakes Creamy Potato Soup Creamy Carrot and Parsnip Soup     linked to  Foodie Friday       Foodie Friends Friday      Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

Once in  a while, we find a recipe that everyone likes and wants again and this is an example.  I ate two good sized bowls before I shared with my  husband.  I wanted to hide the rest so he wouldn't find it but he did and then he ate his share of the soup.  Somewhere in the middle, I added water to the pot and stretched the soup.  I did not add more seasonings and the soup maintained its goodness,  We got another day out of it but hubby put it in the back of the refrigerator and he got even more.  I kept adding water and the goodness remained. I wonder if I had added water each day, the soup would have multiplied forever.  It would have been well worth it.  You can guess, we loved this soup and hubby is already asking me to make it again.  Let me quote: "If you would make this soup on a regular basis, you would not have to make any other soup, ever again." Sausage, Cabbage & Root Vegetable Soup  (adapted from Eating Well ) Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra

I fell in love with recipes by Ellie Krieger in our original group CEiMB and have done that again in our new group Eating with Ellie, EwE.  I probably say this every week but that is what happens with true love.  Ask my hubby. This week, I chose a simple vegetable recipe which had spinach and corn, two of my favorites and zucchini which fits anywhere.  I made this about a month ago and all I remember is that we liked it.  It is an uncomplicated  side dish, won't be spectacular but it should be good to eat and goes with everything. To see what the other gals did this week, stop by Eating with Ellie (EwE )

Kayte chose Chicken Poached in Coconut Curry . I had thought about selecting this one also. I am a fan of chicken and coconut, only in certain forms. I do not like a cake with lots of coconut coating the frosting but I love using coconut milk in recipes or added shredded coconut to fruit salads. Chicken is good in almost any form with almost any seasonings. I did most of my cooking for Wednesdays with Donna Hay and Eating with Ellie ahead of time because of the oncoming Jewish holiday of Passover (Pesach). Ask any Jewish woman who keeps this holiday strictly how she feels the weeks before the holiday and I am betting , she will say, "Tired!!!!!!". I enjoy the work but I am exhausted and the blog has to take a backseat to other parts of my life. I did want to keep up as best as I could with the two groups mentioned ahead and I cooked whatever was possible ahead of time. I made this Chicken Poached in Coconut Curry, weeks ago and I don't remember the details bu

We often make a honey mustard sauce to be used in many ways but I have run out of honey and chose to substitute real maple syrup.  What a good move that was.  The maple blended beautifully with Dijon with a bit of horseradish for a little bit of bite. The sweetness was just right for the salmon and to counter-balance the mustard and horseradish. Baked Salmon with Maple Mustard Sauce Ingredients: 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons real maple syrup 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish 1/4 reaspoon ground black pepper 2  fillets salmon Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the mustard, maple syrup, horseradish, and  1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.  Cover the bottom of a baking pan with water, a minimum just to add a little liquid. Add the salmon to the baking pan. Pour the Mustard Maple Sauce on top. Bake for 15 minutes. Eat and enjoy.

This week, Peggy has chosen  Blueberry Chicken with Crispy Bread Crumbs   found on page 155 in Weeknight Wonders.  Each recipe brings me closer to Ellie and her wonderful recipes. Blueberries don't make for a good photo compared to peaches and peaches and New York don't go together well, in the winter.  Most of us are waiting for the warm weather and the peaches .  We had a lovely warm day and it is back to below freezing. I made this a few weeks ago since this is a super busy time of the year with Passover coming in a few short weeks and so much to do in preparation.  I hate to say, I don't remember too much about it other than we liked the chicken, but this is the case.  I am not sure if the blueberries were a good substitution . To see if anyone did find peaches and what they did with this chicken recipe, check out Eating With Ellie.

Cauliflower, Caramelised Onion and Fontina Thank you Gaye for selecting this week's WwDH recipe.  I could not get enough of it.  It is a different way of making cauliflower but one I plan to repeat many times. I did not have Fontina and subbed in a smoked cheese which worked beautifully.  I made caramelized onions and differed from the recipe by  layering the cauliflower, onions, cream and cheese.  It was rich in flavor.   This is another, easy to make recipe, from Donna Hay.   Go on over to Wednesdays With Donna Hay page and see what the other cooks are making.  Please feel free to join us and find yourself some delicious recipes which are easy to make.

This winter has been a COLD one with lots of snow and ice.  That makes it the perfect weather for soup and more soup. The magic of soup is that almost any soup is delicious, or at least, we think so, in our home.  I have proven it by the number of soups that have been made in my kitchen in the past month and we honestly loved each one. I found this soup, aptly called Sunshine Soup in Nigella's book, "Nigella Kitchen."   I could leave this book out and read it, any time, I have a few minutes.  It is a wonderful way to learn about Nigella's life and her thinking about cooking.  There are so many tips punctuating not only her recipes but also her stories. The soup is rich in vegetable broth with corn, garlic and roasted peppers.  Roasted peppers are delight by themselves; put them into a soup and the rich flavor permeates every aspect of the soup. Look out the window at the snow and eat this soup.  You will see the sun reflecting from the snow and oh how beautif

Margaret at Tea and Scones  selected this dish for our weekly Eating with Ellie.  I really couldn't make it since as a kosher cook, I don't combine cheese and poultry or meat.  Dairy and meat are kept completely separate even to the point that we don't eat them at the same meal. I did make the chicken dish without the Parmesan but the cheese is really the star of this recipe. You can see what the other women made by visiting the Ellie website . Next week, we will be making  Peach Chicken with Crispy Bread Crumbs. Are you an Ellie fan or do you want to simply try out a new cook or new recipes?  We welcome you to join us.  There are no requirements and the participants are the most warm and friendly group of women.  Just link up at Eating with Ellie.   (EwE)

When I make salads, I tend to stay away from macaroni salad, cole slaw and potato salad.  Maybe, that is because, they are the only salads, other than tossed salads, I had - growing up.  I can't say that I don't like them.  I usually do.   With all the new style salads with fruits and vegetables that were not popular when I was a child, I am inspired to be more creative.  I do like cabbage so cole slaw does show its head at times but rarely potato salad and almost never, macaroni salad. This is a hearty salad and despite my hesitation, it is really good. Mom's Potato Salad Ingredients: 4 medium potatoes, peeled 2/3 cup mayonnaise  (I tend to cut down on mayo and use less than this.) 1/2 cup frozen pea  2/3 cup shredded carrots 6 hard boiled eggs 3 half and half pickles 1/4 cup Dijon mustard salt and pepper to taste Method: Peel potatoes and cut in halves Place in a large pot filled with boiling water. Cook for about 18 minutes.  They shou

Since, I learned to appreciate vegetables, I look for dishes like this one.  The variety of veggies that can be used makes it pleasing to a majority of people.  Use your imagination and see what happens..  I saw this recipe on  The Veggie Table .  I believe it comes from the Moosewood books, originally. Recently, I have been cautiously making dishes from India and loving them.  I still do not know enough about Indian cooking to jump in but I can follow recipes.  I stayed pretty close to this one although I was missing a few ingredients.   Vegetable Biryani   (adapted) Ingredients: 1½ cups brown rice (Basmati),    3 tablespoons Canola oil,   pinch turmeric,    ½ teaspoon salt, 2¼ cups hot water,  1 cup chopped onions,   2 teaspoons fresh ginger -  peeled and grated,   1½ teaspoon ground cumin,  1½ teaspoons ground coriander,   ½ teaspoon cinnamon,   pinch of cayenne,  ½ cup water, 1 small sweet potato -  peeled and diced,  2 cups small cau

Disclaimer:  I am not going to remove the saga of this wonderful chicken dish.  My terrific hubby found a way to rescue my photos and here it is, my Chicken Paprikash.  Under the line, you will find past history and a frustrating evening. Yummy.  Thanks to Kayte who selected this chicken dish.  I am not fussy about chicken dishes.  I usually like them but this time, we both loved this particular recipe.  Again, it was not a difficult recipe to make and  the results for us were cheers all around. ____________________________________________________ The dish is called Chicken Paprikash and I HAD some nice pictures of it until tonight.  My card filled up so I went to the computer to delete some of the older blurry photos that were taking up space.  When I tried to see the photos, nothing appeared.  It turned out, there is a computer problem. Hubby plugged it in somewhere else and I was ready to go until I tried to transfer the good photos and Picassa wasn't working.  At this

This week, was my turn to pick a recipe for our Donna Hay group, Wednesdays with Donna Hay.  My husband loves blueberry muffins and with the title of Too Easy Blueberry Muffins, how could I resist, making this my selection. In all honesty, I am not sure how this is easier than other blueberry muffins.  Sometimes, I add nutmeg to mine or nuts but generally, any kind of muffin takes little effort to make.  As Donna proclaimed, this also was a simple recipe. Today is a Jewish fast day preceding the holiday of Purim so I have not tasted the muffins but they look good enough to eat and I plan to have one when the fast is over. If you are a blueberry fan or simply like Donna Hay, join us by making the recipe and sharing your link HERE! You will also find the links for other participants. Next week, we will be making Sarah's choice a Breakfast Parfait. Sounds intriguing.

When I saw the additions to the quinoa, in this recipe from All Recipes. Com, I knew I had to make it.  How could you go wrong with it?  Actually, I did goof, big time.  I must have put too much liquid in the quinoa and it was mushy.  Despite this, the added flavors made it worthy of eating and I would make it again, just with more care. Tropical Quinoa Ingredients: 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed 1 cup water 1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple 1/2 cup dried mango 1/2 cup cut-up apple 1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes 1/4 cup nuts, chopped                Method: Mix the quinoa and water in a saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the water is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove from heat, and stir in the dried pineapple, dried mango, coconut flakes,  nuts.     Eat and enjoy. Serve hot. Linked to  Full Plate Thursday

I try to stay away from processed meats and salt so why use sausage?  I am going to stick to the old adage "All things in moderation and moderation in all things".  We have sausage a few times a year because it is so good but honestly, I usually put it in the freezer and forget about it until I clean the freezer or when I see a really good recipe using sausage. The idea of potatoes and sausage and of course onions and spinach seemed to be too good a combination so I put it together and we had a hearty soup. Potato Sausage Soup Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 sweet sausages, diced 1 onion, chopped 1 teaspoon dried basil 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes  1 teaspoon herbs de provence   salt and pepper, to taste 2 cups chicken broth (from the freezer - mine) 3 Idaho potatoes or potato of choice 2 cups baby spinach, rough chopped 1 cup Rice Milk Method: Heat oil in a large saucepan.   Add sausage and cook until browned, about 4

I don't make salads enough.  I really do love them but I just don't bother making them.  It is funny how I don't mind chopping and shredding for hot food but I do mind for salads.  I did make this combination and we liked it.  And.......I don't like olives. Pepper, Olive, and Mozzarella Salad  Ingredients: 24 Cherry Tomatoes, halved 1/2 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper 1/2 Cup pitted Olives Mozzarella Balls (I used small chunks instead.) 1 teaspoon dried parsley 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1/2 teaspoon RiceVinegar with basil and oregano Pinch of ground cumin Salt and fresh ground Pepper to taste Method: In a large salad bowl, mix together the tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, mozzarella, and basil. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and enjoy! Results: I took my first bite and my mouth was filled with pops of flavor. This is delicious. I would make it again, happily and I will eat olives, from now on. We