My Hybrid Charoset

Well, better late than never, I say. We’re having first Seder at my friend Debbie’s, but will have 18 for second Seder at our house.

Here’s the menu:

• Wine
• Matzo
• Gefilte Fish, Horseradish
• Hard boiled eggs
• Saltwater
• Charoset
• Relish Tray
• Jon’s Chicken Soup & Matzo balls
• Roast Chicken
• Crispy onion potato kugel (from The Gefilte Variations)
• Fresh broccoli salad
• Frozen lemon torte
• Mocha pudding cake
• Passover Strudel Roll (from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking)
• Decaf Coffee

Most of you know that my charoset recipe was featured in the Tallahassee Democrat last year. For those of you that don’t have a copy of the recipe, I’ve added it below:

Barbara’s Hybrid Charoset

A food processor is very helpful for preparation. Make at least 1 day in advance.

• 10 oz package pitted dates, chopped fine
• 6 oz (or similar) package dried apricots, chopped fine
• 6 oz (or simiar) dried figs (remove any stems)
• 10 oz pitted dried plums, chopped fine
• 1 cup baking or jumbo red flame raisins, chopped
• 3 small or 2 medium apples, cored and chopped fine
• 1 cup pecans (or other nut of choice), chopped fine
• 1 can dark sweet cherries, drained and rinsed (Oregon brand uses no corn syrup and therefore is safe for Passover)
• juice and grated rind of one large orange
• 1/4 tupelo honey
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup white passover wine or grape juice
• 1/4 teaspoon EACH: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, dried ginger, coriander, cardamon

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust spices to suit. Refrigerate for a day or overnight. Check moisture level the next morning, adding more wine, grape juice or orange juice if mixture seems too dry.

Post-Seder uses for this haroset:

• Serve with mazto brei and sour cream
• Spread Passover cream cheese and haroset on matzo or a Passover ‘roll’ for a delicious lunch
• Mix with cream cheese and stuff celery sticks
• Great on Passover pancakes
• Mix with coconut and Passover cookie crumbs and form into ‘truffles’

Butterscotch Pecan Bars

Adapted from the classic magic cookie / 5 layer bars recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cornflake crumbs
• 1/4 light brown sugar
• 1 stick butter melted (salted or unsalted, your choice)
• 1 12 oz package butterscotch chips
• 1 small package flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

 Equipment

• 9×13 cake pan, bottom lined with parchment paper, with overhang. Spray exposed pan lightly with no-stick spray
• Measuring cups
• Bowl
• Rubber spatula/scraper
• ‘Church Key’ can opener
• Firm plastic (or other non-stick) spatula
• Heavy knife or baker’s bench knife (my fave tool)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a bowl combine cornflake crumbs and brown sugar, mix thoroughly to evenly distribute sugar. Add melted butter and stir to combine. Pour crumb mixture into the prepared pan and using the rubber spatula, press into an even layer to form the bottom crust.

In order, layer these ingredients evenly over the crust: chips, coconut, chopped pecans.

Open the can of sweetened condensed milk with the opener – one small hole and one big hole. Drizzle the milk over the entire pan of ‘stuff’. You should be able to completely cover every bit with the milk.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is barely golden.

Let cool on a rack for about 15 minutes. Using the firm spatula, loosen the sides of the cookie from the exposed sides of the pan. Leave in the pan until completely cooled.

If necessary, use the firm spatula to make sure the cookie hasn’t reattached itself to the pan. Using the overhang of parchment paper, lift the cooled cookie out of the pan.

Cut into 1 to 1 1/2″ squares.

Next time, I might sprinkle these with a teensy bit of kosher salt for that salt-caramel ‘thing’. If you try that, let me know!

For the Base:

2 eggs whisked until pale yellow
Slowly add 3/4 cup sugar and continue whisking.
Whisk in 3 cups Silk Vanilla Coconut Milk and one envelope coconut cream powder. (you can purchase coconut cream powder at a well-stocked Asian or Thai market)

Chill the base for 4-6 hours in the fridge and the churn in your ice cream machine as directed by the manufacturer. Before it comes out of the churn, add in 1/4-1/3 cup toasted unsweetened coconut and a similar amount of chopped or grated good quality dark chocolate. I use Bob’s Red Mill unsweetened coconut.

Decant into a freezer safe container and let rest in the freezer for several hours.

Scoop up and enjoy!

I want to spend time with you, not just pay to attend the event you are hosting.

If I give my time, it’s because that’s all I have to give. If my involvement in your organization is tied to my bank balance, social standing or being the ‘right’ religion, that’s your loss. I really thought that Creed meant the same thing to everyone.

My depression problem is not a secret. Ask what is going on in my life and if you can help. I’d do the same to you.

I know you are busy. I’m busy too. Maybe we both need to try harder to keep in touch.

Not all my knowledge is based on a Google search. I have a college degree and life experience, too.

I will fight passionately for what I think is right, I will support you when I think you’ve been wronged. Don’t take advantage of that aspect of my personality. I’ll also work hard to make sure you stand on your own damn feet and then help you celebrate your successes when they happen.

Running a business with your spouse is hard.
Being a parent is hard, parenting an Aspie is even harder.

I don’t read every post on Facebook. If you have news you want me to know, call or write me personally.

If I say No, don’t take it personally. I need to have some boundaries in my life so I can carve out some time for me and my family.

We haven’t had time to plan our weekly menus, but we have managed to keep the house stocked with items that, for us, are staples. We’re pretty imaginative cooks, for example one night several years ago Jon and I actually found a recipe that used cabbage, brown rice and peanut butter (all on-hand). The bonus was that it was actually pretty darned good.

So, back to the present…we all love Indian food. Most days I’d plan ahead and make all my own sauces, etc., but yesterday was not one of those days. On hand was a jar of Patak’s Korma Simmer Sauce, a pound of ground turkey, a small butternut squash and some baby portabello mushrooms. Flash of inspiration…and, voilà, dinner.

Turkey Meatball Korma with Butternut Squash and Mushrooms

For the meatballs, combine the following and form into 1″ balls

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 large or x-large egg
• 1 good sized clove of garlic, minced or put through a crusher
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 cup finely minced fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs (or panko)
• salt & pepper

You will also need:

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and sliced down to approx 3/4″ thick half-moon slices  (you could substitute with yams)
• 8 oz, give or take, mushrooms (cleaned, stemmed, halved)
• 1 jar Patak’s Korma Simmer Sauce
• 1 cup broth, divided (chicken or veggie or use water)
• nonstick spray
• neutral flavored oil like canola

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, spray with nonstick, and add oil. In batches, brown the meatballs and set aside temporarily.

Deglaze the pan with about 1/2 cup of the broth, scraping up the brown bits. Add the squash, mushrooms and meatballs back to the pan. Pour the Korma sauce over the contents of the pan and use the remaining 1/2 cup of broth to get the last bit of goodness out of the jar.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the squash is tender but not quite done. Remove the lid and reduce the sauce to thicken it. By that time the squash should be cooked through but not mushy.

Serve over rice, couscous, quinoa or just in a bowl. Garnish with cilantro and grated, unsweetened coconut if desired.

Even indoors, the need to cool off doesn’t go away, and cold drinks of all sorts often fit the bill. Although I’m officially a Yankee transplant to Florida, I’ve embraced some of the more traditional beverages of the region such as sweet tea or mint sweet tea, or for something a little more tart, the classic Arnold Palmer. If you are lucky enough to have a Meyer lemon tree in your yard (or have a generous neighbor), homemade lemonade is the way to go. Although it’s almost sacrilege down here, some folks prefer a well-made glass of iced coffee.

Since the Watermelon Festival is this coming weekend, you might choose to indulge in a watermelon margarita or even this totally kid-friendly faux salad caprese.

If you’ve got melon leftover, try my tropicalized fruit salad:

2 cups each seedless watermelon, cantelope, and honeydew melon chunks
1 cup seedless grapes
2 firm bananas, sliced
2 cups strawberries, halved if large
1 tin of guava paste, cut up*
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted (set aside)

Combine all the fruit ingredients a few hours before serving. Add the coconut and stir before serving – some of the guava will have ‘melted’ to coat the other fruits, giving everything a lovely sheen and sweet-tart tropical edge.

*You can use a 1/2 tin if you like, check this link for some more guava recipes

In other news…I did get a little craft time in for Mother’s Day and created cards for the Moms and Grandma in our lives. They didn’t turn out magazine-perfect, but that’s OK and they all loved them.

Enjoy the gallery – click on an individual image to view full-size.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup passover oil
1 t salt
1 1/2 cups matzo meal
5 eggs

Bring water, oil, salt to a boil. Add matzo meal all at once, stir to combine. Remove from heat, let cool slightly. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.

Allow mixture to rest for 30-45 minutes – this is critical and cannot be skipped.

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper*.

Moisten hand with water or oil. Form balls about the size of large lemons. Bake about 45 minutes or until golden brown and tops appear crusty. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DURING BAKING TO CHECK PROGRESS – use your oven’s window.

When finished remove from pan and cool on a rack. they will deflate a bit, but will be tender inside and can be split to make sandwiches, French toast etc.

*if you don’t have parchment paper, you can oil the pan really really well. Remove the rolls from the pan quickly so oil isn’t absorbed too much.