purim-donation-button

Hafrashat Challah

On November 4, 2018 we came together in Boro Park in Mira Davidova’s shul to partake in an amazing Hafrashas Challah class with Rabanit Cohen. This was the first of a series of classes with a super PowerPoint Presentation that brought the mitzvah of baking challah to life. The Rabanit spoke beautifully and every woman there was inspired by the meaning behind the mitzvah.
Continue reading “Hafrashat Challah”

purim-donation-button

Purim Party 2018

Our Annual 2018 Purim Party was a blast. The evening began with a heart-to-heart talk by one of our endeared members of Ohel Sara, Tova Mashiyeva who spoke about her feelings concerning the organization, her experiences and how much inspiration she drew in her life and the life of her children. This heartwarming speech was followed by a beautiful welcoming of the Rabanit Kineret Sarah Cohen who was greeted by a loud round of applause and with gifts for her dedication to the women and Torah learning. The Rabanit proceeded to give an amazing but short shiur on the power of Purim and the strength of the woman.
Continue reading “Purim Party 2018”

purim-donation-button

Baked/Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Baked/Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Serving Size: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. fusilli or penne pasta
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges
  • 1 zucchini, cut into half-moons
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Coarse black pepper, to taste
  • 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 tbsp. chopped fresh or frozen basil

Instructions

  1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
  2. Preheat oven to 400° F. In a 9″ × 13″ pan, combine cherry tomatoes, red onions and zucchini. Toss with olive oil and garlic powder. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add pasta to vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Preheat oven to broil and broil for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.
  5. Add feta cheese and basil; stir to combine (the heat will melt the cheese). Serve hot or at room temperature.

Notes

You can add more veggies to the mix. We also love this pasta with red peppers instead of tomatoes.

https://www.ohelsara.com/bakedroasted-vegetable-pasta/

purim-donation-button

Chick Pea Pasta Salad

Chick Pea Pasta Salad

Serving Size: Serves 10

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 4 tablespoons oil
  • 2 cups cooked pasta (bow ties, shells, ziti, etc.)
  • 2 cups canned chickpeas
  • 4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup pimento, diced

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl combine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, and oil.
  2. Add pasta, chickpeas, chopped parsley, and pimento.
  3. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
https://www.ohelsara.com/chick-pea-pasta-salad/

purim-donation-button

Sweet Potato And Scallion Latkes

Sweet Potato And Scallion Latkes

Yield: 12

Ingredients

  • 3 Sweet potatoes peeled
  • 3 Yukon or russet potatoes peeled
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 scallion or green onion chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp. kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Grate potatoes finely and mix all remaining ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Preheat a large frying pan with about ½” of oil and drop by tablespoonful into pan. Turn halfway through. When brown and crispy, remove from oil and drain on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
https://www.ohelsara.com/sweet-potato-and-scallion-latkes/

purim-donation-button

Moroccan Butternut Squash Chickpea Soup

Moroccan Butternut Squash Chickpea Soup

Moroccans like squash in every way shape of form, and goodness knows it comes in countless shapes and sizes. They turn up in many Moroccan dishes (Couscous on top of the list). Their spicy sweetness is equally at home in savory dishes and in desserts. To the classical pumpkin, which can often be hit or miss inside I much prefer the more reliable butternut squash, but my great favorite is kabocha squash. I love its dense texture and low moisture, and mild sweetness. This soup is totally and naturally vegetarian, has lots of flavors going for it and needs no help from any stock or broth to be delicious. Perfect choice for a Rosh Hashanah Menu!

Don’t worry about peeling the squash: I use it peel and all. The peel dissolves during the cooking, and is actually very thin. The pairing of squash and chick peas is typically Sephardi, and a wonderful pairing, especially when rounded out, as here, with sweet spices. Please do take the trouble of using dried, not canned, chick peas, here: you will taste the difference in the finished dish! Using a hammer makes short work of cutting the squash and many other gigantic vegetables.

Ingredients

  • • dried chickpeas - 1 cup, soaked overnight in cold water and rinse, reserved
  • • olive oil - 1/3 cup
  • • onions - 2 large, quartered
  • • butternut squash - 1 medium, or 1 medium kabocha squash, about 3.5 lbs, seeded and cut in 1
  • • water - 3 quarts (12 cups)
  • • saffron - 2 good pinches
  • • turmeric - 2 tsp
  • • ground ginger - 1 tbsp
  • • salt - to taste
  • • cinnamon - 1 tbsp
  • • ground cloves - 1/2 tsp
  • • nutmeg - 1 pinch
  • • ground pepper - to taste
    Garnish:
  • • pumpkin seeds - 1/2 cup toasted, optional

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a wide heavy bottom pan. In a food processor, coarsely grind the onions, and add to the skillet. Reduce the flame to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very dark. Add brown sugar and cook 2 minutes more, stirring. Add the reserved chick peas and all but last 2 ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium low and cook 2 hours. Cream the soup in batches with an immersion blender. Add the ground pepper, and adjust seasonings and texture. Top each serving with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds, if desired.
https://www.ohelsara.com/moroccan-butternut-squash-chickpea-soup/

purim-donation-button

Avocado And Chicken Salad

Avocado And Chicken Salad

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • fresh lime juice - 2 tbsp
  • lime zest - 1 tsp
  • kosher salt - 1/2 tsp
  • ground black pepper - 1/8 tsp
  • olive oil - 2 tbsp
  • cooked chicken - 2 cups, cut into bite sized pieces
  • cilantro or parsley - 1/4 cup fresh chopped
  • salsa - 3/4 cup
  • tomatoes - 2, seeded and chopped
  • celery - 3 stalks, diced
  • avocados - 2 ripe, peeled and chopped (1/2 of 1 avocado set aside)
  • romaine lettuce - 1 head, shredded
  • tortilla chips - 1/2 cup, crushed

Instructions

  1. In a salad bowl combine the lime juice, lime zest, salt, pepper and 1/2 of 1 avocado. Mash the avocado and mix to combine. Add chicken and cilantro, tomatoes, celery and lettuce and mix to combine. Gently fold in the remaining avocado pieces and salsa. Mix to combine and coat. Top with crushed tortilla chips and serve.
https://www.ohelsara.com/avocado-and-chicken-salad/

purim-donation-button

Creamed Vegetable Soup

Creamed Vegetable Soup

Yield: 10 servings

A recipe is merely a guideline. Feel free to add more or less of an ingredient to personalize it a bit. You can even sub other veggies. I present it the way I make it and we like it. It’s light enough for a summer night and filling as well. All you need to round out the meal is a fresh salad with some feta cheese and a good piece of whole-grain toast.

Ingredients

  • • zucchini - 4 medium
  • • carrot - 1
  • • potatoes - 3 medium
  • • garlic - 6-7 cloves, peeled
  • • dill - almost 1/2 bag, including stems
  • • frozen cauliflower - 1 16-oz bag
    Cream Sauce:
  • • butter - 2-4 tbsp
  • • flour - 4 tbsp (whole wheat is fine)
  • • milk - 3-4 cups
  • • chicken soup mix - 2 tbsp, optional but reccomended
  • • black pepper, garlic powder, salt and nutmed - to taste
  • • grated cheese, croutons, and fresh dill - for garnish, optional

Instructions

  1. Cut all veggies, aside from cauliflower, into chunks and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Cover with water, add a bit of salt, and bring to a boil. Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add cauliflower and bring to a boil again. Cook another 8–10 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare cream sauce: In a 6-quart pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir together. Quickly whisk in the milk and soup mix. Stir together over a medium heat until thickened and well combined. Remove from heat.
  3. Add pureed veggies to the cream sauce. Perfect the seasoning according to your preference, adding black pepper, garlic powder, salt, and a bit of nutmeg. Allow flavors to mingle.
  4. This soup tastes even better the next day. Garnish with grated cheese or croutons and some fresh dill.
https://www.ohelsara.com/creamed-vegetable-soup/

purim-donation-button

Sweet Noodle Kugelettes

Sweet Noodle Kugelettes

Yield: 25 servings

Lukshen kugel is a staple in many homes on Friday night. Why not serve up a healthier version without telling anyone. This came out so good, that as the stylist was popping the kugelettes out of their tins, he popped at least two of them into his mouth without warming them up! Honestly, it tastes better than the original!

Ingredients

  • • fine or medium egg noodles - 12 oz
  • • whole wheat spaghetti - 12 oz, broken in pieces
  • • eggs - 6-8
  • • oil - 1/4 cup
  • • applesauce - 1/2 cup
  • • turbinado sugar - heaping 1/2 cup
  • • vanilla sugar - 4 pkg
  • • salt - 1 tbsp
  • • wheat germ - 2 tbsp
  • • ground almonds - 2 tbsp
  • • honey - 1/4 cup
  • • white pepper - 1/4 tsp
  • • cinnamon - 1 1/2 tsp

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Cook and drain noodles and spaghetti, but do not rinse. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, taking care that everything is very well combined. Pour into prepared pans (3 9-inch rounds or 16 mini kugelettes plus 1 9-inch round) and bake as follows: 9-inch rounds for 1 hour and kugelettes for 35–40 minutes, or until golden. Freezes beautifully.

Notes

This is based on a recipe in the Bobov cookbook — the original recipe calls for all white noodles, ¾ cup oil, 1 cup sugar, and ¼ cup bread crumbs. I subbed part whole wheat pasta (it doesn’t look brown after being cooked and doesn’t taste different here at all), reduced the oil and subbed applesauce (keeps it just as creamy), reduced the sugar and subbed healthier binders in place of the bread crumbs — wheat germ and ground nuts. I also upped the cinnamon because I felt it could use it, and used 8 eggs and not 6 as is called for because I felt it necessary for the texture.

Tip: Wheat germ and ground nuts should both be kept in the fridge or freezer to enhance shelf life and preserve freshness. Wheat germ can be added to many baked goods, replacing a small part of the flour and adding a lot of nutrition.

https://www.ohelsara.com/sweet-noodle-kugelettes/

purim-donation-button

Lemon Herb Chicken With Roasted Garlic

Chicken With Green Olives

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Fragrant, hard spices and green olives are a savory combination. Blanching olives softens the flavor and takes out some of the brininess, but leaves the fruitiness. Garnish this almost one-pot meal with cilantro leaves and sliced lemons.

Ingredients

  • 3 - 4 pounds chicken leg-thigh combination pieces
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, medium diced
  • 2 teaspoons ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups green olives, pitted and halved
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
  • Garnish: cilantro leaves, sliced lemons

Instructions

  1. In large deep skillet over medium-high heat, warm evoo.
  2. Sprinkle chicken pieces with one-half teaspoon salt and the pepper.
  3. Add chicken to skillet, skin-side down, and cook, turning, until well browned, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and remove chicken to a plate.
  4. To same skillet, add onion pieces, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic, bay leaf cumin, paprika, and cayenne.
  5. Cook together, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add remaining teaspoon of salt and stir well. Add chicken stock; raise heat to medium-high and return chicken to pan, skin-side up. Continue cooking at low simmer.
  7. While chicken is cooking, prepare olives by covering them with water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat; drain water and repeat.
  8. Add drained olives to chicken cooking on stove. Continue cooking until chicken is done, about 15 minutes total from the time it is returned to the pan.
  9. Add lemon juice and stir well. Add cilantro and stir. Serve immediately.
https://www.ohelsara.com/lemon-herb-chicken-with-roasted-garlic/