Chocolate Cake and Never Eating while you are standing!

Rosh Ha’Shana is gone and Yom Kippur is just around the corner.  This moist chocolate cake is a great way to break your fast!

Just about everyone loves chocolate cake, especially if it is thick, rich and has that great chocolate aroma.  This is the ultimate chocolate cake recipe!  One of the greatest things about my cake recipes is that you can add in the ingredients in ANY ORDER you wish, so long as you add the eggs at the end! 

Another plus to these cake recipes is that you can mix these cakes by hand with a large spoon or spatula and you only need a hand mixer for the egg blending and egg-white whipping at the end of the recipe! You do not have to schlep out the big mixer for these sweeties!

 Yochi’s Ultimate Chocolate Cake!

Ingredients:

·        1 cup whole wheat flour

·        1 teaspoon baking soda

·        1 teaspoon baking powder

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

·        1 1/2 cups sugar substitute

·        1-2 tablespoons of coffee in about an eighth of a cup of water

·        200 grams applesauce

·        1 1/2 cups water

·        3-4 teaspoons of vanilla extract

·        1 whole egg

·        4 egg whites

·        PAM spray

What to do:

·        Sift flour into a large bowl and then add the baking soda, baking powder and salt.

·        Slowly add in the cocoa powder. Use the best quality unsweetened cocoa powder you can find!

·        Add the sugar and mix.

·        A note of caution: Be careful when you begin to add the liquid ingredients, as the cocoa powder doesn’t “like” to be mixed with water and tends to start flying up in the air.  “Wet” the powder by slowly pouring some liquid over it and then blend slowly.  As more liquid is added to the mix, the cocoa powder will begin to behave itself!

·        In a separate cup or small bowl, mix one to two tablespoons of coffee in about an eighth of a cup of water. The water does not have to be hot!  I love a good strong coffee-chocolate mix.  If you are not a particularly big fan of coffee, use only one to two teaspoonfuls of this stuff.  

·        Add applesauce and mix well and carefully!

·        Add water and vanilla.  As usual, I love vanilla and love to add a very generous amount to all my cakes!

·        Make sure all ingredients are mixed very well before you add the eggs.  Remember that whole wheat flour tends to stick to the bottom of the bowl.

·        Next add the whole egg.

·        In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they are stiff (usually you will quadruple the original volume of the egg whites) and then gently fold them into the mix.  You can add a bit of sugar into the eggs as they whip. This step is key to creating a light textured cake.

·        Spray a round Bundt cake pan with PAM.

·        Pour the mixture into the cake pan.  The cake should fill the pan until almost the very top.

·        Bake in a preheated oven to 180°C for about 40 minutes.  Baking time may vary according to oven, baking pan thickness and season, so check the cake after about 30 minutes of baking.  The top should be golden brown.  Cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

·        I do not invert the cake and remove it from the pan, but rather cut slices as needed.

Portion size:

I cut 8-10 slices from my Bundt pan for a very points-friendly dessert.

How to store:

Always store these cakes in the fridge. 

Be’Tay a’Von!

Ess – Never Fress!  Never eat while you are standing!

I was always taught that only animals walk around with food in their mouths; that people must sit down and eat, even if it is just a simple snack.  This is the difference between “essing” – how people eat and “fressing” – how animals eat. 

Obviously house cats are the exception to this rule and everyone knows that!  My cats always take their time eating and never walk around with food in their mouths. Mine only eat dry premium food and bite each morsel in half and only eat one half – leaving the other half in the bowl, don’t ask!   Fair enough, they are also finicky and know a thing or two about training humans, but that’s another story.

Back to never standing while you eat!  You can drink a bottle of water standing, but anytime you have to chew something – it should be done while sitting!

This little piece of logic is very important for healthy eating and successful dieting!  One of the hallmarks of healthy eating is becoming aware of what we put into our mouths.  This cannot be achieved when we are standing and eating.  While standing, we simply cannot pay attention to what we eat let alone how much we eat. 

Think about it: at wedding receptions we are “forced” to eat a large selection of dishes off of small plates, while walking around looking for friends, avoiding relatives and making sure not to get our nice Shabbas clothing dirty two minutes after arriving at the Hall.  It’s a nightmare, especially when we know that (a) the food at the reception is usually better than the meal served after the chuppah and (b) we will eat too much and then not want the meal anyway.

Several issues are at play here.  First of all: it’s a kind of “out of sight out of mind” game our brains, mouths and stomachs play on us.  When we stand and eat we cannot pay attention to what foods we are putting (ok, stuffing) into our mouths.  Even as women, we cannot multitask the standing, eating and paying attention actions all at once.  So I really cannot tell if I just ate carrot sticks, mini-meat balls or sushi!

Next I cannot keep track of how much of each food/ingredient I just ate: one tablespoon? five tablespoons? or a whole plate?  My legs are moving, my brain is doing all kinds of stuff and my mouth is moving, but “there is no one home” to check on how much I am eating.  My brain cannot tell me when I am full.  I will probably only stop when the hall either runs out of a certain food item or the chuppah begins!

Lastly, I cannot enjoy my food while in transit.  I cannot possibility enjoy the aroma, taste, chewing, and sensation of each bite.  This whole enjoying-your-food-experience is still kind of new to me! Heck chewing my food is still a novelty, but I do enjoy it. 

Today, when I feel myself rushing or not chewing each bite, I put down my fork and knife (or spoon) and c-h-e-w.  No, I do not chew one hundred times.  That’s ridiculous!  But I do chew each bite and I do try to get the most pleasure out of each one! 

So listen to your momma – chew your food slowly, enjoy your meal and DON’T WALK AROUND WITH FOOD IN YOUR MOUTHS – only (some) animals do that!  So ess and don’t fress!

Gmar Chatima Tova!  Tzom Moeil!

Chicken in Parchment Paper and Good Snacking Choices

It’s been a crazy few weeks and I have not published a recipe in almost three weeks – shame on me!  

Here’s a great recipe that can be dressed up for a “special” Shabbat or Chag meal, plated and presented to each guest or served anytime you want to “do something different with your chicken"! The colors of the vegetables and the tenderness of the chicken make it a special treat!

Yochi's Chicken in Parchment Packages

Ingredients:

·                        Chicken quarter, skinless and halved. One quarter chicken per diner.

·                        Vegetables, thickly sliced:

o   Onions

o   Carrots

o   Peppers

o   Onions (red or white)

o   Zucchini

o   Mushrooms

·                        Spices:

o   Garlic (freshly chopped or minced)

o   Paprika

o   Freshly ground pepper

o   Freshly chopped parsley/dill and/or basil

·                        Parchment paper – one piece per portion

·                        PAM spray

·                        Optional: Balsamic vinegar or wine

What to do:

·     Remove the skin from the chicken quarter.  You can cut the leg from the thigh if you wish, to shorten the baking time (by a bit).  You can make this dish with chicken breasts or the top quarter of the chicken and get the same wonderful results.

Each parchment package will contain a quarter chicken and several slices of each vegetable.

·     Slice the vegetables into roughly the same size and shape.  I like thickly sliced vegetables, so that the cooked vegetables are still a bit crunchy and not too soft and wilted.

·     I do not recommend using eggplant, spinach, or even cauliflower; as I believe these vegetables can be too bitter for this delicately spiced dish.

·     Take out enough parchment paper sheets to match the number of diners.

·     Prepare a baking tray that is long and wide enough to comfortably fit the number of parchment paper packages you will make.  If your tray is not big enough, cook these portions in two or more batches. 

Cover the baking tray, so it does not get dirty and also to make your clean-up quick and easy.  I always cover my baking tray witha layer of tin foil and then on top of that I place parchment paper.  This double-protects the trays and I can re-use the tin foil to cover my dish later on.

·     On a clean surface, set up all your ingredients: parchment paper, chicken, vegetables and spices.

·     Place a quarter chicken in the middle of the parchment paper, pile an equal amount of vegetables on each piece of chicken. These piles should not be too high or it may tear the paper or not allow the chicken to cook properly.

·     Sprinkle with spices, PAM and Balsamic vinegar or wine (optional).

·     Fold the paper over the chicken and vegetables:

o   First fold the left and right-hand sides.

o   Then fold the bottom half up and then the top half down over the bottom half. 

I used to tie string around the packages – but there is no need to!  If you close the packages and place then correctly, they will bake just fine without the string. 

·     Simply and carefully place the chicken packages on the prepared baking tray with the FOLD SIDE DOWN.

·     Bake in a preheated oven to 180°C for about 45-55 minutes.  Baking time may vary according to oven.  

·     How do you check if the chicken packages are done? You can carefully open a package and then insert a fork into the chicken at its thickest point.  If the juices that flow from the chicken are CLEAR, then the chicken is done.  If they are pink, the chicken still needs to be cooked a bit longer. 

I have a very hot oven, so many times I will cook chicken or meat for a bit less time than is called for and I then let the chicken or meat sit in the closed oven for another half an hour or so.  The converse is also true, if I am afraid of burning or drying something out – I will take it out of the oven immediately – since it will continue to cook in the oven even when it is turned off.

Portion size:

One wrapped chicken quarter and vegetables is one portion size.

How to store:

In the fridge, like any other perishable.

Be’Tay a’Von!

 

Good Snacking Choices

You know that we always talk about good and bad choices.  In life, as in eating, there are good and bad choices.  Sometimes there are only bad choices and really bad choices.  Sometimes the choices are obvious; sometimes there are only subtle differences between the choices.

Snacking

So let's talk about snacking.  You may note that I am not using the word “nosh”, which in my book is always ends badly.  Noshing has no good value.  Let's cut the word from our vocabulary and use the word “snack”. 

Let's think and calculate snacks as PART OF THE MEAL – yes, you heard it here first (!), treat snacking as part of your meal.  This part of the meal is eaten and enjoyed a few hours after the meal, but I really believe that by taking the negativity out of the concept and out of the word, we will do ourselves a world of good.

Good Snacks

Do I really have to list 'good' snacks?  Yes!

·        fruits

·        vegetables

·        a portion of high fiber cereal

·        a no-bread sandwich  (I’ll talk about that later in this article)

So choose your poison: sweet?  salty?  chewy?  crispy?

The key to success is to work within the confines of your craving.  Don't wait for your next meal, give yourself a small amount now, relax and go from there.

Several good tips:

Fruit and vegetables

Always keep on-hand snacks that are cut, peeled and ready-to-eat, like fruits and vegetables.

If fruits and vegetables are as easy and accessible as snacks (packaged and ready to eat) - you will eat them!  Do I have to tell you to NOT BUY any junk foods - I hope so - I hope we are way past this point.

Keep on hand foods you like.  Don't keep carrots and celery, if you detest them (I don’t know why you would, but that is for another time).

Chocolate and Energy Bars

I have mixed feelings about keeping “special treat” foods in the house, such as chocolate.  To paraphrase a line from that famous movie – “if you bring it home, you shall eat it”. 

Want to treat yourself, then work for it!  Walk down and up the stairs, walk to the store and then buy chocolate or ice cream.  Don't have a store close enough to walk to?  I guess then G-D did not want you to have the chocolate or ice cream in the first place!

Have an energy bar.  When I have an energy bar, I make eating this snack into a coffee break.  I’ll eat the energy bar with a coffee or with ice cold water or seltzer.  I sit down and enjoy it, somewhere other than my computer or work area!  I give myself 10-15 minutes to enjoy it.  I drink more water and then go about my business.  I make the snack WORTHWHILE.

Back to vegetables and fruits!

Cut and peel vegetables, such as carrots, celery, peppers and cucumbers, into easy-to-eat bites or long sticks.  Cut only enough for one day - these vegetables will not be as crisp and appealing the next day.

Cut fruits, such as apples, pears, melon, watermelon and peaches, into quarters or squares.  Grapes are great - perhaps a bit heavy on points - but lovely ice cold.

High Fiber Cereal

A small plastic cup (or two) of a good fiber cereal- is incredibly filling.  It is great for any time you have a hankering for “something”.  Usually this cereal is pareve as well, which is a plus!

Popcorn

Did someone mention popcorn?  If they didn't they should have.  Popcorn popped in an air popper is a GREAT snack. Personally, this is my favorite winter snack.   Did you say that without the oil it is tasteless?  Nonsense (and get used to it!)!  Just for the record: microwaved popcorn should be considered a sin against humanity!

Breadless Sandwiches

So breadless sandwiches?  They are a snap to make: prepare tuna or egg (whites-only is even better) salad with a bit of low calorie mayo and spices.  You can cut up pickles or just about any vegetable and mix into the salad.  Then fill lettuce or spinach leaves with the salad - roll up and eat - yum!!! 

By the way, filled spinach leaves, along with a good salad and a bit of brown rice is an excellent meal all by itself!

So snack - think of it as the desert part of your meal - eaten a bit late.  Already had desert?  Don't confuse the issue!  Enjoy and get over it! There is going to be another meal in a few hours!

Surviving Shavuot: To Cheese or Not to Cheese – that is the question! And a Great Lasagna recipe that is points-friendly!!!!

Shavuot is just around the corner.  Everywhere we look there is a conspiracy to have us eat as much cheese as possible.  I am sure that if it were in the hands of the cheese and pasta industries, Shavuot would be extended to a full week!  As it is every company from Tnuva and Tara to boutique cheese companies, pasta manufacturers and even the fashion industry is clamoring to get into the act of selling us anything that is white and cheesy. 

The question has to be – how do we deal with all that cheese?  There are two schools of thought (aren't there always??).

1)   Shavuot is only one day (two days abroad and I have to say that I think a two-day holiday would be nice) so eat a little bit of everything and enjoy!

or

2)   Shavuot is a cholesterol nightmare and you should make your "own" food and eat correctly without disturbing your diet.

Both schools of thought have their merit.  If you can truly, really and honestly have just a small portion of each dish, then go forth my child and have fun.  I also feel that if you are going to eat something points-heavy – then it should be WORTH it.  Eat a really good piece of cheese cake!  Eat a really worthwhile portion of Fettuccini Alfredo!  Don't waste your points on foods that are not "too die for" (that's a professional term!).

I, for one, cannot live according to this school of thought!  I need to have my own food items or I will not survive!

So how will I deal with the Shavuot meals?  Simple!  For the "swarm" I will make: WARNING IF YOU HAVE HIGH CHOLESTOROL, HEART PROBLEMS OR HAVE WILLPOWER ISSUES YOU MAY WANY TO SKIP THIS: lasagna with five cheeses, a cheese and mushroom soup, Fettuccini Alfredo, focaccia, salad with feta and cranberries and a cheese cake that is so decadent and dense it takes two and half hours of oven-time.  There usually is another dish or two, but I won't bore you or tempt you.

For myself and Sidney, I will make fish, a wonderful cheese-less/noodle-less lasagna (see recipe below) and a big salad.  A piece of the real cheese cake is optional!

What I want you to take away from this week's second blog article is shop carefully and thoughtfully for Shavuot, as this is only a one-day "performance".  While learning all night, just remember to take a few good walks around the neighborhood!

And now for that Lasagna (sorry no picture this week – hopefully I will have one up just before chag!)  

Yochi's Cheese-less Noodle-less Lasagna

Hints and Tips:

·        I buy small cherry tomatoes whenever I can, which seems to be nearly all year long.  I have nearly zero-waste, as these good, firm, small tomatoes last longer than the larger ones and the crushed, not-so-nice ones are GREAT for sauces and soups.  This is a great time to put all the not-so-nice ones into your lasagna sauce.

·        I don't use disposal baking dishes, unless I am bringing a dish over to a friend for Shabbat.  The disposable ones are not made for baking heavy dishes such as lasagnas and meats (sorry about that juxtaposition); they are easily punctured and are just not nice looking on the table.

I prefer the good sturdy glass baking dishes in a variety of sizes and depths. 

·        To make a "super points-friendly version of the lasagna", I make the lasagna with long slices of skinned eggplant instead of lasagna noodles.  Make sure to always soak the eggplant once it is sliced to prevent bitterness in your dish.  Eggplants also tend to blacken or darken the dish as well if they are not pre-soaked.

·        The best way to prepare the vegetable layers is to work in the "oriental cooking manner": cook all the hard, slow-to-cook vegetables first and then add the softer, quicker-to-cook vegetables.  This way the vegetables will cook well and thoroughly and you will not end up with a half undercooked-half overcooked mess.

 Ingredients:

·        Eggplants or lasagna noodles

·        Mushrooms – sliced for garnish

·        Vegetable layer:

o   Chopped red peppers

o   Chopped carrots

o   Chopped celery

o   Chopped onions

o   Chopped garlic

o   Chopped squash (optional)

o   Chopped Eggplants (optional)

o   Chopped mushrooms (optional)

·        Sauce layer:

o   Fresh not-so-nice crushed tomatoes or cans of crushed tomatoes

·        Spices for both layers: garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, paprika, chopped fresh parsley, fresh or dried basil, fresh or dried oregano, fresh or dried thyme

·        water

·        PAM

How to work:

1.   First prepare the eggplants. Peel the outer skin and slice lengthwise.  Make sure the slices are about the thickness of a pinky or less. Soak in water for about an hour.  Rinse and then press out all the liquid before using them.

2.   Now prepare the vegetable layer(s).  Prepare and chop all the vegetables. Spray a wok or deep frying pan with PAM and then, as described above, cook the hard, slow-cooking vegetables first.  Watch the vegetables carefully so you do not burn them. 

3.   Once these vegetables become a bit soft and change to a deeper color you can either add small amounts of water and then the softer vegetables or just add the vegetables alone.  In either case, once the vegetables are cooking "nicely" you will need to add water and the spices.

4.   Here is the tricky part: you will now add enough water and spices to create a semi-thick sauce that covers about half way up the vegetables.  This sauce is very important to the softness and texture of the final dish.

5.   I love oregano and other, what I call, Italian spices.  I add very generous amounts to my lasagna. 

6.   Once the vegetables are cooked.  Take the pan off the flame and leave the vegetables in the pan to cool.

7.   Now prepare your sauce.  I have long since stopped making a cooked tomato sauce.  It is simply too much work and, in my opinion, does not add anything to the overall dish.  In a very large bowl I mix the crushed tomatoes, canned or fresh with all the spices mentioned above. You need to make a good amount of sauce for this dish.  Any leftover sauce can be froozen!

8.   Once again, you need to add enough water to make a sauce that is the consistency of a slightly watery soup.

9.   Slice the mushrooms for garnish.

10.                Now it is time to assemble the dish.  I like to have all my ingredients in an "assembly line" – so I place my baking dish, next to the sliced eggplants, pan of cooked vegetables and bowl of sauce.  I also make a plate of sliced mushrooms and extra oregano to either add on the top of each layer or just sprinkle on the very top layer.

11.                The number of layers you place in your dish depends on the depth of your baking dish and how thick you like your lasagna.  I like a thick lasagna and will usually have about four to five layers.

12.                Start with a layer of eggplant slices placed side-by-side on the dish.  Try to make one flat, even layer.

13.                Next add a ladle or two (depending on the size of your dish and your ladle) of cooked vegetables.

14.                Next pour over this layer a ladle or two (or even three) of tomato sauce.

15.                Add mushrooms and oregano for garnish, if desired and then start a new layer.

16.                Continue layering till the very top of the pan. The final "layer" should be a thin layer of sauce, sliced mushrooms and oregano.

17.                I warmly recommend that you line the rack in the oven underneath the lasagna with parchment paper, since the lasagna's sauce has a nasty habit of bubbling over.

18.                Bake in a preheated oven to 180°C for about  30-35 minutes.  Cooking time may vary according to oven, baking pan material (glass or metal) and number of layers of the dish.  The dish is ready once the sauce begins to bubble and the mushrooms are browned.  Remember, the ingredients in this dish are already cooked!

Have a wonderful Shavuos!!!!  If anyone wants my decadent cheese cake recipe please send request on my FB page or email me at yochi.eisner@gmail.com

Do you have any questions? Any comments?  Write me or facebook me!  B'TeyAvon!