Coconut Macaroons

2 large egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

140g caster sugar

100g shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325F/165C/Gas 3. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment and set aside.

Put the egg whites, vanilla and salt in a smallish bowl and beat to the soft peak stage.

Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly, until the whites reach the stiff peak stage. Gently fold in the coconut.

Drop a tablespoon for each macaroon on the prepared baking sheet. [They don't spread much, but become quite puffily large.] Bake one sheet at a time for 15 to 25 minutes until nicely colored and puffed.They will be very fragile right out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring gently to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

Optional: dip in melted chocolate when cool.

Hamentashen

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling of your choice (see below)

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the orange juice and vanilla. Mix in the baking powder, then gradually stir in the flour until the dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease baking trays.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch circles using a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place circles on the prepared baking sheets. Spoon 1 good teaspoon of filling onto the center of each circle. (Any more and it will ooze out) Pinch the sides of each circle to form a triangle, covering as much of the filling as possible. The hamentashen may be frozen on the trays if desired to help retain their shape while cooking.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until light golden brown. These are best undercooked slightly. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Poppy Seed Filling
1 c. (150 g) poppy seeds
3/4 c. (175 ml) milk
2 tbsp.honey
4 tbsp. sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp. butter

Put the poppy seeds in a pan with the milk and simmer for about 15 minutes or until thick. Add the honey, sugar, raisins, and butter and cook 5 minutes more. Add the lemon zest and juice and the butter and mix well. Let it cool.

Prune Filling 3/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 lemon, zest, finely grated

Combine ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over low heat until prunes are very soft. Puree with stick blender.

Date filling
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups pitted dates
A teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
Some grated lemon rind (optional)

Combine ingredients and process together until finely minced.
Date spread is also available in shops and an easy option.

Jam Option: Just use a good thick jam as the filling.

Apricot: Soak 1 pound of dried apricots in water for 15 minutes before pureeing them in processor with ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Note: For nut allergies, you can substitute a splash of cranberry juice for the almond extract

Potato Gratin

1 kilo potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
30 g unsalted butter melted
sea salt
freshly ground white pepper
250ml Cream

Take a small baking dish, copper pan or ceramic casserole, just large enough to contain the sliced potatoes.
Brush the dish with melted butter.

Slice potatoes very thinly, lengthways.

Layer the sliced potatoes, slightly overlapping, in a circular motion.
After one layer, season with sea salt and pepper and pour a small amount of cream over the top.
Continue in this way until the potato reaches just below the top of the dish.
The cream should just cover the potatoes.

Drizzle with some melted butter.
Add a touch more pepper.

Bake at 140 C for about 1.5 hours. until it has turned golden brown.

Creamy Spinach Soup

I'm going to make this with frozen packet spinach instead:

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tbs olive oil
1 brown onion, halved, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
1L (4 cups) vegetable stock
4 (about 1kg) sebago (brushed) potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 bunches English spinach, stems trimmed, washed
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
65g (1/4 cup) sour cream
Crusty bread, to serve

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic.

Increase heat to high. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add potato and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Add spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

Place half the spinach mixture in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Repeat with remaining spinach mixture. Place over low heat and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat. Taste and sea son with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup among serving bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream and season with pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Blueberry Apple Cake

This recipe is Parev: contains no dairy products. And it's delicious!

4 Granny Smith apples OR 2x 410g canned apple PIECES

1 punnet blueberries

tablespoon caster sugar
flaked almonds
*********
1.5 cups raw sugar
4 eggs
1.5 cups SR flour
half cup lite olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Line cake tin with baking paper.
Peel and thinly slice apples.
Put into a bowl with the blueberries and a tablespoon of sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Fold in apple and blueberry mixture.  If using canned apple pieces, drain first. Top with flaked almonds.  Bake in moderate oven 180 degrees for approx 75 mins or until skewer tests clean.

Salmon

Bookmarking this site: Great Salmon Recipes

Zucchini Soup

3 large onions, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

6–8 medium zucchini, sliced

1 medium potato, cubed,

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 rounded tablespoon pareve chicken soup mix or 2 chicken cubes

7–8 cups water, to cover

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large soup pot, sauté onions in oil until tender. Add zucchini, potato, garlic, soup mix/cubes, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper 5 minutes before finished cooking. Remove from heat. With a hand blender, purée vegetables until smooth. Serve hot as is or with croutons.

Serves 10–12.

Broccoli variation: substitute broccoli (fresh or frozen) for the zucchini.

Summer Salad w/ Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients
Romaine lettuce, shredded
½ red onion, sliced into rings
2 avocado, cubed
Strawberries, sliced

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. vinegar

1/3 c.up sugar

1/4 cup soy milk

2 tbsp. poppy seeds

Place ingredients in a jar. Cover and shake until blended. Dressing keeps several days in refrigerator.

Debbie's Apple Cake

I love this cake. Even Hanna likes it.....

First of all cut up about 6 large apples into neatish slices, put into a bowl and mix in about half a cup of caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon powder. Mix well until apples are coated.

Line a large baking pan with baking paper, and spread the apples mixture evenly over the base.

Then mix up the cake batter, and spread evenly over the apples.

Bake in moderate oven for about 1 hour, test with a skewer.

Turn out upside down so the apples are on the top.

Cake Mixture:

230g butter or margarine, softened

1 cup caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk (or water)

2 cups self raising flour

Beat eggs and sugar well, then add remaining ingredients. Mix well, spread over apples and bake.

Cheese and Spinach Lasagna

9 oz pasta lasagna sheets (no boil)
2 Tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
5 cups whole milk, warmed up 1 minute in the microwave or sauce pan
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp black pepper
18 oz fresh baby spinach, prepacked
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz tomato sauce

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. For the Cheese Sauce: In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat
3. Bring the heat back up to a medium high (it should be hot and golden) then add the flour to form a paste (roux) and stir with a whisk.
4. Slowly stir in the milk on a slightly higher heat while constantly stirring for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella. Turn off the heat.
5. For the Spinach: Roughly chop all the spinach leaves.
6. Sauté the garlic with the oil in a pan.
7. Add the spinach and a bit of salt to the pan and stir on low heat until the spinach is wilted. Set aside the excess water from the spinach in a bowl.

Assembly: In a 14” x 10” x 3” high rectangular pan, pour the whole can of tomato sauce first, then a layer of lasagna. Spread a layer of spinach, then sprinkle some cheese. Spread a bit of the cheese sauce, then add another layer of lasagna. Repeat two more times or until ingredients are used up. Be sure to finish with the rest of the cheese sauce. It should cover the whole tray, then sprinkle the remainder of the shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 375°F (until golden brown). When it's cooked, remove the tray from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Hazelnut Gateau with Strawberries and Cream

For the cake
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
50g vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp white vinegar
200g hazelnuts, ground (freshly ground, preferably)
1 tbsp espresso
2 tbsp cornflour
For the ganache
120ml cream
160g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
To finish
2 cups cream
1 tbsp castor sugar
2 punnets strawberries
icing sugar for dusting

Method
For the cake
Pre-heat oven to 160C. Whip egg whites till firm, gradually add sugars, then vinegar and whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in ground hazelnuts, coffee and cornflour and spoon into a fully lined 27-28cm springform tin.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Cool. The gateau can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container.
For the ganache
Gently heat the cream until almost simmering, add the chocolate and remove from heat. Leave to sit for a few minutes then stir until combined. Pour over gateau and allow to set.
To assemble
Whip cream with sugar, spoon onto the gateau, top with berries and serve dusted with icing sugar

Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower
30 g butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup coarsely grated well-flavoured Cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method
Trim the cauliflower into small-ish pieces and boil for 10–15 minutes, or until the floret stems are only just tender.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the milk and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat and cook for 2–3 minutes more.

Add three-quarters of the cheese, some salt and pepper and stir until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

When the cauliflower is just tender, drain well and put into a baking dish (or into small individual dishes). Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and put into a moderate oven for about 15 mins until the cheese browns slightly.