Inaugurating the Expanded Kitchen

I inaugurated my new kitchen this week (officially) by baking my first batch of gluten-filled challah for the husband, completely with a shehechiyanu, believe it or not.

Jonesing for a pot pie of some variety, I managed to find and execute probably one of the most savory and delicious things I've ever made that would make my simple, Midwestern kin pretty darn proud of me. I timed out the bits and pieces with making the challah, too, and I even came up with a clever way of making the challah in a single pot that relieves my poor KitchenAid from duty.

(Oh, and I also threw together some crockpot rice pudding, which I've been eating as a snack topped with milk, maple syrup, golden raisins, and pecans.)

I started with the most giant stewpot that you can find at Ikea, filled it full of 14 cups of flour and all the other ingredients, kneading the entire thing by hand (with gloves, of course ... I might need a face mask next time, too). Leaving it to rise, I tackled the first component of the pot pie: vegan mushroom gravy.

When the gravy was done, I punched down the dough and moved on to the second component of the pot pie: the gluten-free almond-based crust.

The crust was quick to throw together, so after I put it in the fridge to chill, I moved on to the veggie mixture for the pot pie.

I quickly threw together the gravy and veggies, nabbed the dough from the fridge and rolled it out, and put the pie together. Throwing it into the oven, I grabbed the challah and with my brand new huge kitchen counter space, began braiding the dough. For the first time in my life, the challah was braided quickly and ready to rise for the third time while the pot pie finished up.

The pot pie came out of the oven, the challah went in, and the husband and I devoured the goodness of a classic comfort food. Mr. T ate probably half the pie, which told me I was doing something right. I don't know how often I'll be making this pot pie, because it was a little time intensive (or maybe it felt that way because I was doing double-duty with the challah), but it was so worth it. The homemade gravy, especially, will come into play in the future whether over mashed potatoes or with my Vegan Veggie Loaf.

On Friday I threw together a complete hodge-podge of a Sundried Tomato, Feta, and Spinach Crustless Quiche (complete with creamed tofu mixed in with the eggs) and this Gluten-Free Black and White Cake, which we took out to dinner Friday night. (Alas, I didn't realize my SD Card wasn't in the camera while I was taking the photos, so ... not pictures of that sweet, delicious, gluten-free goodness.)

This week, I'm planning on trying these Buffalo Cauliflower Bites with Vegan Ranch Dressing, Slow Cooker Bean and Spinach Enchiladas, and this trio of delicious smoothies! I'm already thinking about next week's Shabbat menu, and I envision some stuffed peppers and perhaps some vegetarian chili for Friday night since it's been hella cold out here in Neve Daniel over the past week (which I'm loving).

What's on the menu for you this week? 

Hot Drinks on Shabbat: Part Two

In the last post, I spoke about the issues involved with making tea on Shabbat, and in this post I want to talk about coffee -- specifically the French press.

The major concerns about coffee and tea on Shabbat that Mr. T and I considered were borer (separating) and bishul (cooking). The latter is forbidden on Shabbat and the former is allowed only when you're removing the good from the bad, or the desirable from the undesirable. That is, you can pick cashews out of a bowl of mixed nuts, but you can't remove all the mixed nuts to get to the cashews.

Instant coffee is the no-brainer of coffee drinking on Shabbat, because it's already cooked and in Judaism there is a law of "no cooking after cooking" (ein bishul acher bishul), which means that once something is cooked, you're never "recooking" it on Shabbat. Instant coffee is just hot water from the urn in a cup plus instant coffee (for more, see Mishneh Berurah 318:39).

When thinking about the French press, my initial thought was that by pushing the plunger down, you're  removing the bad from the good. Mr. T, in all of his genius, pointed out that you're really just moving it out of the way, like if you push around the peanuts and almonds to find more cashews to pick out of the bowl. Pushing the coffee grounds downward in a French press is completely allowed, and when you're pouring the coffee out of the French press into a cup, you're actually taking the good away from the bad. So borer isn't an issue, is bishul?

Much like instant coffee, regular old coffee grounds used in a French press are roasted, and if you apply "no cooking after cooking," then there also should be no issue, right? There's a concept that is mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch (318:5) that "there is cooking after baking" (yesh bishul achar afiyah), and some consider "roasting" to be baking and not cooking. Even if you want to hold to this more stringent opinion, just make sure you pour the hot water from your urn or hot water pot into the French press before you add the coffee, making the French press a kli sheni (second vessel), and all is right in the world since there is no cooking in a kli sheni (ein bishul bekli sheini).

So I shall enjoy my coffee on Shabbat, my quality coffee on Shabbat, in the giant Bodum French press that Mr. T has even though he doesn't drink coffee. 

Hot Drinks on Shabbat: Part One

Mr. T and I were on our way to pick up iBoy from school when we got into an in-depth conversation about the use of loose-leaf teas and French presses on Shabbat. (Don't ask me why, but this is our life -- halacha, kashrut, movies, jokes, bliss!)

I'm a big coffee drinker, and Mr. T is a big tea drinker. The main things that can come up with tea and coffee on Shabbat are borer (separating) and bishul (cooking). Let's start with tea, and I want to mention that all of these "rules" are for Shabbat only and are not necessary to observe on holidays where cooking is allowed.

There are varying opinions about tea on Shabbat, and the Star-K takes the most hard line approach to tea on Shabbat, saying,

One should not use tea/herbal bags or loose teas on Shabbos. This is because tea is part of that group of foods known as kaley habishul, or easily cooked foods. These foods are considered so sensitive to heat since they will cook in circumstances that other foods will not.

Why? Because from picking to factory processing, tea isn't cooked, but rather dried and then packaged in tea bags or sold loose-leaf style. Thus, there are problems with bishul because the water that comes out of your standard urn or hot water pot on Shabbat is hot enough to "cook" the tea leaves, which is forbidden on Shabbat. The way that we avoid this problem is by using multiple kelim or vessels to make the tea. Essentially you have your hot water pot (this is your kli rishon or first vessel), a kli sheni (second vessel), and a kli shlishi (third vessel).  

Tea-Making Choreography: The hot water goes from the hot water pot into the kli sheni after which you pour it into the kli shilishi where you put your tea bag. 

Why? The idea here comes from Rav Moshe Feinstein z"l, who ruled that by the time the water goes from your hot water pot (kli rishon) to the cup for your tea (kli shlishi), the water is no longer at a temperature that can cook tea leaves. 

That being said, you also have to worry about borer (separating) once you've steeped your tea bag and your tea has hit the perfect color/flavor. Why? On Shabbat, borer is forbidden, but only when you're removing bad from good. What does this mean? It means that if I have a bowl of mixed nuts and only want the cashews, I am absolutely forbidden from sitting and removing every nut so only cashews are left in the bowl. I can, however, sit and pick out the cashews as much as I want. So when we apply this to tea, removing the tea bag would be removing the bad -- or what we don't want -- from the good, which is the tea we wish to drink. If the tea bag in your cup is annoying you to no end, you can go ahead and remove it, but only with a spoon and you have to make sure not to squeeze the tea bag as you take it out (that also being a Shabbat prohibition). If you're feeling wary about even this, go ahead and pour your tea into another cup, because in this instance you'll be taking the good from the bad and all is well in the world (except for your sink, which will quickly fill with tons of cups). 

For the super paranoid/strict, tea essence seems to be the rule of the road. Mr. T prefers to do tea essence, not because he's super crazy religious, but because it tends to be a bit easier. It took me a long time to really get what "tea essence" was, but if you think of it more as "tea concentrate," you'll be in a good place. 

Essentially, you brew tea very strongly before Shabbat, then use the concentrate/essence on Shabbat mixed with water to dilute it to the strength of a normal cup of tea. (Some people also do this with a French press for coffee, but that will be the next installment.) The problem here is how to keep your essence hot over Shabbat if you want hot tea, which would require you to put it on a blech or hot plate throughout Shabbat without removing it because you can't put liquids on to heat up on Shabbat. Oh the problems!

My advice? Learn the choreography, drink your tea fast so the tea bag doesn't bitter your tea, and do it often enough that it becomes old hat!

Stay tuned for the next installment, which is on the use of the French press on Shabbat!

It's a MoSHY Life for Me!

Motzei Shabbat cooking ... sweet squash stuffed with lemon-pepper rice.

I've returned to the classic tradition of some of our greatest scholars ... the tradition of MoSHY -- Meat on Shabbos and Yontif. After spending a good bulk of the year as a vegan, I recently started eating fish again, and then with the holidays appearing I realized that my dietary restrictions made me a tough guest for people. So I've opted to be MoSHY for the time being. So the things I'm not eating? Dairy, gluten, and "added" sugar. And meat. But only during the week. 

Food is so complicated, but I've discovered that my body isn't absorbing the right nutrients, at least not in the right capacity, so I'm hoping consumption of fish and some meat will get my body back on track. My aliyah flight is kind of a bummer because I have two options: Gluten Free w/Meat or Vegetarian w/Gluten. Clearly I have to order the former. Chances are good I'll be bringing my own nosh on-board. 

So for Shabbat, I whipped up some delicious Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Salmon Chowder. This recipe was me kind of winging it. I combined roughly four different recipes I found online but didn't like in full, so I picked them apart and put my own together! In the future, I anticipate adding some corn starch to thicken it up a bit and a bit more fish. But overall? Amazing. 

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, diced 

1 can corn 

2 cups fingerling potatoes, diced 

1/2 bunch kale, roughly chopped 

2 carrots, peeled and diced 

4 cups vegetable broth 

1/2 cup almond milk (or other dairy-free milk)

1/2 cup Original So Delicious Coconut Creamer 

1 1/2 pound salmon fillet, skinned, boned and cut into small cubes 

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 

1/2 teaspoon dried dill 

1/4 teaspoon sea salt 

Plenty of pepper 

Directions

1. Saute the onion and celery until onion is translucent. Add potatoes and saute 5 minutes more. Do not brown. 
2. Add carrots and stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are fork tender about 15-20 minutes. You really want the goods to be fork tender.
3. Add milk, half and half, salmon, kale, parsley, dill and pepper. 
4. Simmer over low heat 5-10 minutes or until fish is cooked through and liquid is steaming, but not boiling. Throw on some minced chives if that's your fancy.
5. Add plenty of pepper and salt to taste.

Motzei Shabbat cooking ... a random rice concoction including wild rice,

corn, red pepper, tomato, tangerine, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and ...

I think that's about it. Completely random ingredients I had around.

My Unorthodox Shabbat

If there's one thing in the world that I miss about being married, it's the big Shabbat meals I would prepare. The apartment filled with the scent of challah as I lit candles. The smell of cholent on Saturday morning filling every bit of air. Lots of vegetables and chicken and dessert and ... people.

Yes, I can make my own gluten-free cholent (I prefer the Moroccan variety with brown rice in place of barley and lots of beans and sweet potatoes and fragrant spices), but I'm not big on leftovers -- or eating cholent alone. I could make challah, but as I can't eat it, there would be no one to eat it. (I'm talking the real stuff here, folks. Yes, I still make gluten-free oat challah for me, but I miss being able to braid and serve my own delicious challot.

So, for now, I have unorthodox Shabbat meals alone. And for now, it will suffice. Items below consumed Friday night with some New Planet Beer (gluten free!).

A Mediterranean-style gluten-free, vegan pizza with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes,
kalamata olives, spinach, and Daiya vegan cheese!

A dessert pizza! Gluten-free crust with a homemade cashew spread,
grilled pineapple, blueberries, and pistachios!

Yucca fries! Boiled for a bit, then baked with olive oil and paprika.