Gluten-Free Fairtrade Chocolate Covered Strawberries/Figs

These are fun and beautiful. A specialty of Laurie Hertz.

1 lb strawberries, washed and patted dry
(or another small fruit, like fresh figs or prunes)
1 chocolate bar (Equal Exchange Fairtrade preferred)
3 oz parve chocolate chips

Break chocolate bar and place in double boiler over boiling water along with the chips. For some reasons, the bar alone is a little too thin. The chips seem to have a thicker consistency. 

With an induction cooktop, but the chocolate directly in a small frying pan and set to 3. It will take 5-10 minutes to melt. 

Put a sheet of parchment paper on a flat tin. Dip each strawberry, holding it by the green stem. Shake off excess chocolate.

Set on the wax paper. If you  have extra chocolate, you can dip matzah, prunes, or add slivered almonds + raisins or craisins and make "haystacks". Or just dip matzah!

This was enough to dip 1 lb of strawberries + 1 lb of fresh figs.

It takes about 20 minutes for the chocolate to harden. You can speed it up by refrigerating.

Eyal dipping strawberries - last week of 4!

Mustachados - Walnut Macaroons

These lasted about 5 minutes - 2021

Mustachados are Sephardic cookies from Gloria Greene's original cookbook, The Jewish Holiday Kitchen. It was a gift from Judy Herzig-Marx and I used it a lot, and still go back to look for ideas. It's less complicated/pretentious than Joan Nathan and some of the other more recent Jewish cookbooks.

These are similar to Italian "Ugly but Good" cookies, which are hazelnut. These are not vegan, since they have an egg, but they are gluten free. I don't generally bake cookies but these are good, chewy, not-too-sweet cookies that pass the Passover test: I would enjoy them if it WEREN'T Passover.

Unlike a lot of Pesadik recipes, this doesn't require beating egg whites, so you don't need a hand mixer or egg whip.


1 large egg (does not need to be separated!)
1.5 cups (about 6 oz) ground walnuts.
      Food processor is fine, or you can buy them at Passover already ground.
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cinnamon

pinch of salt

Optional: chocolate for dipping

Shula - 3rd grade, 2024

Grease one large or two small cookie sheets very well. It makes about 20-24.

Heat oven to 325.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Add the other ingredients to form a thick paste.

These spread. Wet your hands and shape into scant teaspoon sized balls, about 3/4", flattening into domes.

Bake for 20 minutes or so until the edges have browned.

Pry under them with a spatula to cool. You can stick two together when they are just removed, they way they are served in Istanbul.

Using the induction setting of 1, leave the chocolate in a frying pan for 5-10 minutes and it will melt. Dip away. (In Philly, at 1 it says MELTING.)

Green Doula Soup

I like the sound of this, Green Doula Soup, named for the day I handed off some of this soup to Micah to finish it before Passover, and your doula was coming for dinner.

This soup is from a plant-based diet advocate, the Happy Healthy Long Life Librarian, whom Nancy turned me onto. The original of the recipe is called Healing Cream of Greens Soup, a recipe by Chloe Coscorelli. I modified it some.

2 T olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 apple , peeled and diced
4 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 t. grated ginger
5 cups (1 pound) broccoli florets
3 cups (5 ounces) baby spinach or kale
1 1/2 t. grated ginger
4 cups vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper, salt to taste

• [option: add a grain like cooked quinoa or rice]
  
  1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat and, add the onion, apple, ginger, and garlic . Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
  
  
  2. Add the broccoli, spinach, and broth . Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and the spinach has wilted.
  
  3. Remove the pot from the heat and purée directly in the pot using an immersion blender; return the soup to the pot. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of oil.
  
  4. Serve in bowls topped with some pepper. 
  This soup is also tasty chilled.

Dried Mushroom, Parsnip, Chickpea Soup

In the #zerowastePassover challenge, I needed a soup for Friday night that used a small can of chickpeas and dried mushrooms, two ingredients still in the pantry.

Abba actually liked this BETTER than mushroom barley soup, the reason I have the dried mushrooms to begin with. Hah!

1/2 c. dried mushrooms
1 to 2 T olive oil
onion, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 c or so dried potato flakes or mashed potatoes (these were leftovers, but they worked perfectly for thickening the soup.)
1 small can chickpeas
4 c. stock/broth (Telma)

Soak dried mushrooms in water.
Saute all the diced vegetables until soft.
Chop the soaked mushrooms, and add them with the water you soak them in, along with the chickpeas.
Bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes or so.

I barely seasoned it. The mushrooms have a nice, rich flavor.