Posts Tagged ‘kosher food’

Okay moms, your kids are adorable. But there’s one thing at mealtime you just can’t stand. And you all know the feeling. It’s when they stick up that cute little nose of theirs at the beautiful healthy food you’ve prepared and say, “I don’t want it.” As a mom of such adorable children, I decided to pass along a little wisdom I learned in the last few months. Specifically, I want to share with you 5 kosher products that recently appeared on the shelves of my local supermarket. They’re healthy, wholesome, and yummy. And guess what? My kids tried them and actually loved them!

So here they are….check out these items and please comment. We could all use a little mommy wisdom!

Aurora Natural Granola Vanilla Crunch – OU-D

This lightly sweetened granola came in a number of other flavors including Cranberry Vanilla and Brown Sugar. The kids loved finding the biggest chunks. It’s been great as a snack and as a yogurt topper. Quite addictive actually for the adults too! And here’s the yogurt they eat the Granola Vanilla Crunch with…

Stonyfield Farms Organic Yogurt – 0% Fat – OU-D

Despite some initial skepticism, my kids absolutely loved the Vanilla and Strawberry flavors. The best thing is that they’re only 70 calories and have no artificial sweeteners. Incidentally, my kids have been enjoying their YoBaby line of drinkable yogurts for some years now. This product is definitely a hit.

Barilla Piccolini Mini Pipe with Carrots and Squash – OU

This items is so new, it doesn’t even appear on Barilla’s website yet! This orange-colored pasta is chock full of Thiamin and Folate and a whole host of great nutrients. Best thing for moms: it cooks in just 6 minutes.

Champion Raisels (The Fruity Flavored Raisins) Sour Peach Pucker – OU

We couldn’t find a website for this product, but we found this great video from ABC introducing it last year. This fruity snack even passed muster with the one who doesn’t like raisins, so I consider that a mom victory. Hey, it might be candy on the outside, but it’s definitely a raisin on the inside!

Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit Apple Cinnamon – OU

This item is great when a kid (or mom!) needs a fast meal, especially breakfast. The little cup microwaves in 45 seconds and there’s no need to add water or anything. Truly genius. And who can resist a nice hot oatmeal?

And there you have it. My new favorite products!

Please comment and let me know which of these sound interesting, or if you’ve purchased them. I’m curious to hear your experiences.

 

My Grandma Hilda was always full of life and loved to cook and entertain. Every year on Chanukah, she had a big party with friends and family. She always had a massive spread of food, gifts for the kids, dreidels, and chocolates. And her potato blintzes were incredible! I’ll never forget how the potatoes were always so smooth and sweet, they would practically ooze out of the blintz. There was just something about them that kept me coming back for more. Several years ago, she gave me the recipe over the phone. I made them this year based on my notes, and they were delicious. Even though she never really knew what a blog was, she sure knew what a blintz was. So in honor of Chanukah and her recent first yahrtzeit, here is her recipe.*

Grandma Hilda’s Blintzes

Makes: Approx. 24 small blintzes or 12 large blintzes.
Total Time: 1-1.5 hours
Tip: Start by boiling the potatoes. While they are boiling, prepare the batter mixture and fry the crepes. Then mash the potatoes, and then fold and fry the blintzes.

Potatoes

8-10 potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. butter
salt
pepper
fried onions (optional)
milk

Cut the potatoes into quarters or eighths and boil them in a large pot for 20 minutes or until soft. Remove from pot into a large bowl, retaining the potato-water in the pot. While the potatoes are still hot, add the butter to the potatoes and mash. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute onions in frying pan until brown and add to mixture (optional). Use small amounts of milk and potato-water to thin the mixture as desired. The potato mixture should not be runny; it should be solid.

Batter

8 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (optional)

In a blender or other type of mixer, blend all ingredients until very smooth and no lumps remain. (Mixing by hand is okay, but not recommended.)

In a small frying pan, on a very low flame, heat about 1 tsp. of vegetable oil. For the first crepe, pour in 4 tbsp. of batter at once (about 1/4 cup). (For a large frying pan, use 1 tbsp. of oil and 1/2 cup of batter.) Let it cook for a few seconds, then slowly tilt the pan in a circular motion to get the excess batter to even out, making a nice round crepe. Cook 3 minutes until browned on the bottom, then pile onto a paper towel.

The thinner the crepe, the better. If the batter is too thick, add a little milk and mix again.

Oil the pan before each subsequent crepe.

Putting it all Together

Place a large spoonful of potatoes into the center of a crepe. To create the “envelope,” fold the bottom of the crepe up over half of the potatoes, then fold the top down to meet the bottom, then fold the left inward, and then the right inward over the left. Turn the blintz over (the open side should be on bottom) and put it back into the frying pan for 1-2 minutes until browned. Flip them for 1-2 minutes more to brown the top. Serve hot.

*I kept to the recipe, only adding paprika and garlic powder to the potatoes. And I used whole milk. However, please let me know if you made the recipe and how it came out for you. I’d be happy to post edits or variations.

 

A frum man and his four kids walk into a restaurant in Central New Jersey.

How do I know they’re not from around here?

First, the man walks into the store, ascertains with one quick glance that there are frum people in the store and immediately feels at ease, knowing that he is, in fact, in a kosher restaurant.

Next, he asks the lady behind the counter, “Do I have to pay the meter?” “No,” she says, “not after 6 pm.”

The family proceeds to make a lot of noise, discussing the merits of ordering this or that dish. It seems like the whole restaurant is in an uproar.

Upon finalizing their orders, the man asks the lady which way is East. He and his two teenage sons immediately begin davening mincha in the middle of the restaurant, with no concern that there are individuals seated or walking in front of them. No, they aren’t from around here.

Then they continue to stand around and wander in the restaurant while waiting for their orders, despite the fact that everyone else is sitting and relaxed, and there are plenty of seats. They are making us all nervous.

One of the daughters is around 12 and is wearing a “biz” skirt and button down shirt. Yeah. Not our town. The other daughter is about 8 and already feels the need to wear huge black sunglasses as a stylish headband. Yeah, that’s not our town either. The father and the two boys are dressed EXACTLY the same as each other – white shirts, black pants, and black velvet kippahs.

Within 5 minutes of their arrival, I know this family is not from around here. If you will allow me to guess, I would guess they’re from Flatbush.

It’s amazing how culture is so specific to location. We are all “frum,” but clearly very different. Anyone know why? Do we create our own culture? What other factors influence us? What aspects of culture do we all have in common?