If You Are Looking for a Great Passover Dessert….

I wanted a change from the chocolate mousse that I usually make for Passover, and I found this lemon mousse recipe on the internet. It came out really well, and it was a lot of fun making it using the lemons from our tree in the backyard.

I froze it – partly because I like the consistency better and partly because I had more room in the freezer than in the refrigerator. It came out like ice cream (not slushy like ices).  If you are looking for a great pareve (non-dairy) dessert and are willing to spend some time, this is a winner.

Keeping Up With Other Bloggers

I feel a bit badly about this, but I haven’t kept up with other bloggers for awhile. Here and there I read other Jewish blogs, but I have been spending a lot of my computer time checking out the American elections (I am a news junkie, and will be until the day after the American elections) and the news sites.

So, with this in mind, I decided to make more of an effort to get back to the Jewish blogosphere, especially now that it is Elul. (Wish me luck).

Batya hosts this weeks Havel Havalim here.  A Soldier’s Mother will be hosting next week.

Batya is also in charge of the Kosher Cooking Carnival. Getting new recipes before all of the holidays in Tishrei sounds like a good idea.

 

Let the Cheesecake Begin….

The holiday of Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks) is known for its emphasis on dairy foods, and many Israeli households feature cheesecake for dessert. We love dairy foods in our house, so I make sure to make lasagna, quiche, fish, and of course, cheesecake.

Since it is difficult to find cream cheese (not to mention how expensive it is) I decided to try my hand a few years ago with the Israeli type of cheesecake. The no-bake version features sweet whipping cream, gevina levana (soft white cheese), and pudding mix. I know, it sounds like something that you make in elementary school (which they do here too!) but it is delicious! Since graham crackers are impossible to find here, the cheesecake also features crushed up biscuits (cookies, for the Americans!) mixed with butter and milk and pressed into the pan to serve as the base and topping. Here is the recipe I have used for the past few years (which I got from a promotional booklet for Tnuva):

For the base of a 24 cm. springform pan and the topping:

100 grams vanilla biscuits (I use Gattegno Brothers, but you can use any Petit Beurre type cookie)

100 grams chocolate biscuits (see above)

125 grams melted butter

two tablespoons sugar (optional)

For the filling:

375 ml.( 1.5 containers) 32% sweet whipping cream

200 grams (1 container) 15% sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

50 grams instant vanilla pudding mix

500 grams 5% gevina levana

Put each type of biscuits  into a separate zip lock plastic bag and crush them into crumbs. Put the crumbs into a bowl and mix each with half of the melted butter and the sugar if using. You may want to add a bit of milk to enable you to press them into the bottom of the springform pan. Mix both types of cookies lightly. Put baking paper into the bottom of the springform pan and press 2/3 of the biscuit mixture into it. Put the pan into the freezer.

Whip the whipping cream, sour cream, sugar and instant pudding mix with a mixer until it comes together. Mix in the gevina levana gently. Put the whole mixture into the springform pan with the crumbs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Kosher Cooking Coming Right Up

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is up at This American Bite. Go on over and take a look….

Time in the Kitchen Before Time in the Synagogue

We Jews are heading for the holiday of Rosh HaShana (the Jewish new year). Shabbat comes right after that, so the women are right now starting the marathon of cooking. (I’ve been baking and freezing things for a while yet, but most of the cooking can’t be done so far in advance.)

There are some things that people can do on the holiday itself to prepare food (the Jewish laws for holidays and for the Sabbath are a bit different when it comes to preparing food), but since I don’t have little children, I can spend the whole morning in the synagogue, and I prefer to do that than to cook. This means that all of the meals have to be prepared ahead of time.

This month’s Kosher Cooking Carnival has a lot of tips and good recipes.  I am making the following chocolate mousse (inherited from my mother-in-law) for dessert. It is convenient since you can make it ahead and freeze. Just remember to take it out of the freezer when serving the main course, so it is “melted” enough to serve.

8 oz. semisweet chocolate (226 grams)

1 teaspoon coffee (for those who love the coffee flavor, you can increase to 1 tablespoon)

1/4 cup boiling water

8 eggs, separated

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or in the microwave. Dissolve coffee in boiling water. Beat egg yolks and add sugar gradually. Add coffee and chocolate when the yolks are lemon colored (which is difficult to tell in Israel as the eggs are very orange to begin with!). Add vanilla.

In a clean bowl, with clean dry beaters, whip whites with salt until very stiff. Gently fold in half of the egg whites into the mixture to lighten it. Then pour egg yolk mixture over remaining egg whites and fold gently together.

 

Now That We’ve Survived the Fast…

Now that we’ve survived the fast (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av is a major fast day for Orthodox Jews) how about some great Kosher food recipes? The Kosher Cooking Carnival is up here.

Kosher Cooking

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is up here. Please go over and check it out!

Just In Case…

Just in case you don’t have enough delicious recipes for Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks, or for my Christian readers, Pentecost) the Kosher Cooking Carnival has what you need here……

Lots of Delicious Recipes

There are lots of delicious recipes at this months’s edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival. Take a look! Esser Agoroth hosts this week’s Havel-Havalim here.

Carnivals

Jack hosts this week’s Havel-Havalim here.  Mrs. S. hosts this month’s Kosher Cooking Carnival. Great stuff to read!