Kosher Food Blog

I bake challah every Friday for Shabbat using any of these challah recipes. I enjoy doing it, and my family has gotten used to the smell and taste of fresh, homemade challot. If you have a mixer, then it really only takes 5 minutes to prepare the dough. And you can leave the rolling and braiding to your kids. The kids can also learn a bit about their Jewish legacy via challah baking if you include the blessing for separating the challah.

An annual new year for trees was established by Talmudic rabbis so that Jews could calculate the age of trees and know when they could be harvested. This tree birthday is called Tu (15th day) B'Shvat (in the Hebrew month of Shvat). This year Tu B'Shvat begins at sunset February 7, 2012 and ends at nightfall February 8, 2012.

Jews today celebrate the festival of Tu B'Shvat in a variety of ways, such as learning about the environment, planting trees in Israel, and serving dishes containing fruit and grains mentioned in the Bible either for a regular meal or for a Tu B'Shvat Seder ceremony. You can celebrate Tu B'Shvat this year with these kosher Tu B'Shvat recipes.

And this Tu B'Shvat menu is designed to include the seven species (shivat haminim): wheat, barley, grapes, fig, pomegranate, olive and date.

Vegetarian Chopped Liver is very frequently served as a Sabbath appetizer in Ashkenazi homes. There are many versions of pareve chopped liver, but this one made of onions, peas, beans, nuts and hard-boiled eggs is one of the most popular. Vegetarian chopped liver is lighter and healthier than real chopped chicken livers, but the taste is quite similar.

_{Photo © 2007 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

Sometimes, for a special occasion, it is worthwhile to invest in a dish. This Moussaka, from Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Entertains cookbook, is one of those dishes. The recipe requires a few more ingredients and a bit more effort, but your guests will remember dining with you in your home.

Looking for some delicious dairy meals to serve during these hot summer days and the Nine Days before Tisha B'Av? This Spinach and Cheese Pasta is one of our favorite summer family dinners. It can be easily prepared in just 10 minutes, and it contains a starch, protein and green vegetable all in one. Plus, the pasta-spinach-cheese combination is so delicious that even those who are not pasta enthusiasts will like it.

_{Photo © 2010 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

This Mushroom Barley Soup is a nice change from chicken soup for Shabbos dinner, especially for Tu B'Shvat Shabbos meals.  It is easy to make, healthy, tasty and satiating. And it will fill your home with that warm, homemade feeling we all seek during these winter months.

_{Photo © 2009 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

I like this Mandelbrot recipe, contributed by Meryll Page, because the cookies are toasted through, rather than cake-like. And while Mandlebrot literally means almond (mandel) bread (brot), the addition of chocolate to these cookies makes them tastier to today's audience.

_{Photo © 2008 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

Deborah Cigary emailed in this recipe for kosher Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies. Give this easy, three-ingredient (peanut butter, sugar, egg) recipe to your kids, and let them prepare a delicious, parve dessert for the whole family this Shabbos. I just made a batch, and my son walked into the kitchen and said "how'd you do that so fast?" And then he took a bite, and said "yum!"

This kosher parve Green Beans and Peanuts side dish is nice to serve with a meat entree for an evening Sabbath or holiday meal. Add red peppers for additional color and flavor.

_{Photo © 2006 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

I had frozen deep-dish pie crusts in my freezer left-over from Thanksgiving and a bunch of fresh mushrooms in my refrigerator. I combined the frozen pie crusts and fresh mushrooms to form this pareve Mushroom Pie, and everyone enjoyed the delicious side dish next to the Roast Chicken for Shabbos dinner.