Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free!) and Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella Paninis

I love a good food dare.  One of the surest ways to get me to try a new recipe is with a food dare. Now, there are several different types of food dares.  The first is a Direct Dare from friends or family.  This type of dare includes challenges such as “Hey Sharon, I dare you to make this recipe!” or “Hey Sharon, check out this recipe I found – can you make it?”  Friends know that a surefire way to get me to make a specific recipe is to throw down the gauntlet and challenge me with a simple Facebook tag under a posted recipe – Sharon Matten.  That’s all it takes.  Sometimes “what do you think” may be added, but usually just my name is sufficient to have me studiously planning my next new recipe.

The next type of food dare is a Suggestive Dare.  A Suggestive Dare is usually done at a family or Shabbat meal.  Somehow, I can’t imagine why, the subject of different types of food or recipes will come up for discussion and someone will say “Hmmm…I wonder how one would make that” while looking directly at me.  It really doesn’t take much.  Suggestive Dares are very subtle and extremely powerful.  I mean, we’ve all heard of “the power of suggestion” right?

Gooey, crispy & SO cheesy!

The final type of dare is a Personal Dare.  It’s one where I dare myself to make a specific unique recipe. Pesto and Fresh Marinated Mozzarella Panini.  (In case you were wondering last week why I happened to have Garden Fresh Pesto in my fridge…here’s your answer!) I took my Personal Dare so seriously that when we got home I actually purchased an inexpensive George Forman grill at Target to make the Panini’s.  Another type of Personal Dare is the MacGyver Dare.  Similar to an episode of the Food Network Show Chopped, I sometimes find that I have to make some sort of appetizer or soup out of whatever ingredients I happen to have on hand.  MacGyver Dares can be the most fun and creative which is why I love them so much. For example, when Dear Husband and I were in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, at Café of Paris, DH ordered an awesome Panini sandwich.  He loved it so much that I personally dared myself to remake a version of the sandwich – a

Each dare tests my cooking depth and skill.  It’s fun because it’s a new challenge, uncharted territory to discover, and a fresh way of making something novel.  How fun is that??!!

And they're Gluten Free too!!

Recently a friend Facebook tagged me on a gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  There was nothing subtle about it – it was a direct challenge and I took the trial seriously.  Mind you, other Facebook friends also goaded me into trying the recipe with “So Sharon…did you try the recipe?  How did it turn out??”  Are you kidding me?  How am I supposed to pass up that type of Direct Dare?  It’s equivalent to suggesting to someone who loves roller coasters “Hey, want to go to Great America Sunday?”  To be truthful, I was a lot suspicious of the cookies.  How could you possibly make a cookie that’s gluten-free, sugar-free, and egg-free too and have it taste good?  And not only that…there were CHICK PEAS in the recipe!!  That’s right - CHICK PEAS!!  Complete and utter insanity.  SO EXCITING, SO FUN!!  There was the test.  I set out to make the cookies, and ironically happened to have all the ingredients in the house.  They turned out so well that people couldn’t believe that they were gluten-free.  I also had a rousing good time having friends and family guess what the ”secret ingredient” was in the cookies… CHICK PEAS of course.  That’s right CHICK PEAS!!

I’m sure I have you all revved up for next week’s Kosher Everyday article.  Come back and check it out at www.koshereveryday.com – I dare you!

Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella Panini 

(Can be made Gluten Free by using GFE bread!)

Use a crusty, hearty bread for these sandwiches.  Café of Paris used a wonderful ciabatta bread, but when I went to our local kosher Breadsmith I found out that they had stopped making ciabatta bread and I ended up buying a few loaves of rustic French sandwich bread.  It was also fabulous!

2 tablespoons Garden Fresh Pesto

Sliced fresh marinated mozzarella cheese, or sliced mozzarella cheese (enough to cover one slice of bread)

2 slices crusty bread

1 large tomato slice (optional)

Nonstick vegetable spray

Preheat a Panini maker, mini indoor grill, or skillet. Spray one slice of the sandwich bread with nonstick spray and place sprayed side down on the grill/skillet.  Spread the two tablespoons of pesto evenly over the bread, leaving around ½ inch un-pesto’ed around the edges.  Top with the tomato (if using) and then layer the cheese on top.  Spray the remaining slice of bread with nonstick spray and place it sprayed side up on top of the cheese. Close the grill lid, or press down lightly on the sandwich with a spatula if using a skillet.  Allow the sandwich to cook for around 5 minutes.  If using a Panini maker or grill, rotate the sandwich 90° and cook until golden brown.  If using a skillet, flip the sandwich and cook until golden brown on both sides.  Remove from grill/skillet and slice diagonally.  Serve hot. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie – Great for the GFE (Gluten-Free Eater)
I spent some time online trying to find the origin of this recipe.    I found it on a number of blogs, food websites and Facebook pages.  They are best served warm, when the chocolate chips are melted and gooey, but are still really peanut buttery and rich even after they cool.  I know you won’t believe it until you try the recipe yourself but you really can’t taste the chick peas in this recipe.  Really truly!!  Please let me know how yours turn out!

1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (I used crunchy and they were awesome! )
1/4 cup (80 grams) honey or agave (I used honey)

1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (Use the best ones you can find!)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to combine.

Wearing gloves, or with wet hands, form the cookies into tablespoon size balls.  (I used a scooper and then rolled them into ball shapes.)  Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet.  Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.  Bake 10 minutes.  Serve warm.

Pesto and Fresh Mozzarella Panini (Can be made Gluten Free by using GFE bread!)

All the ingredients (no tomato in this sandwich!)

 Garden fresh pesto on the bread...

(Check out my new Forman!)

 Top with the fresh marinated mozzarella cheese!

 Another slice of crusty bread...

 Cheesy & gooey!

(They ate it before I could photograph it cut!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie – Great for the GFE (Gluten-Free Eater)

All the cookie ingredients...

Note the CHICK PEAS!!

(I almost always make a double recipe!)

 I love these cool measuring pushers!!

 All the ingredients in the processor...

 Whirrrrrrr.......

SO smooth!

 Dump in the chocolate chips...

  Whirrrrrrr.......

 I used a scooper!

 Ok...they look good so far...

 Woa!  Gooey & Fabulous!!

(And you can't even taste the CHICK PEAS!)

Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

 

Garden Fresh "Gourmet" Pizzas

Fresh, gooey & delicious!

At this point in the summer, our Optimistic Garden begins to yield some of its initial bounty. It’s fantastically exciting to pick our first little tomatoes, mint, chamomile, rhubarb, basil and peppers.  This year we bought some unique hot pepper plants: jalapeno, Kung Pao, Hot Banana, Chili and others.  I actually picked the super-hot peppers wearirng gloves!  My favorite pepper plants are the jalapeno purple peppers.  They are really beautiful, with little purple flowers and eggplant colored peppers. I wondered though, at the wisdom of planting so many varieties of hot peppers. I mean, what am I going to do with all the hot peppers we’re picking?? (Read: Sharon picked a pack of purple peppers). The rest of our “crops” don’t take a lot of creativity to figure out how to use.  The kids eat the little tomatoes as fast as I can pick them!   I use the mint and basil for pesto and other recipes. I have started drying out the mint and storing it in mason jars to use for mint tea (the chocolate mint is particularly awesome…think peppermint patty tea), and have started to dry out the chamomile flowers but haven’t yielded more than enough for a single, but superb, cup of fresh chamomile tea. 

Hungarian Black Jalapeno Peppers!
(They're really purple though!)

Chamomile tea anyone??

I have been very perplexed about those hot purple peppers.  I really wanted to find a recipe that would not only highlight the great hot and spicy flavor of the peppers, but would showcase the gorgeous color of the unusual peppers.  Luckily inspiration struck when we were in LA while walking down Pico Avenue.  One store had a menu taped to its window advertising a “cool” hot pizza using marinara sauce, jalapeno peppers, and cheese.  Lightbulb moment!!  What if I made my ubiquitous pizza crust using whole wheat pastry flour (to make it a little heartier), topped it with a light layer of our favorite marinara, finely diced the fabulous purple jalapeno peppers and sprinkled them on top of the sauce, topped that with some marinated fresh mozzarella cheese, then baked it on a pizza stone for a super crispy crust?  Crazy right?  Holy Cow – it was insanely, awesomely, delicious!!  Surprisingly, the purple peppers weren’t quite as hot as I thought they were going to be, so while the pizza was a little spicy it wasn’t “OMG get me a glass of water crazy spicy” and in fact had a nice little spicy after taste. 

While I was already making Gourmet Pizza, I figured…what other kind of pizza can I make using ingredients from our Optimistic Garden?  I had some Garden Fresh Pesto in the fridge and extra whole wheat pastry flour pizza dough.  I spread a thin layer of the super fresh tasting Garden Fresh Pesto on the crust, placed a handful of Optimistic Garden green and purple basil leaves on top of the pesto, then topped a single piece with Trader Joes goat cheese feta (I wasn’t sure how the feta would go over with the troops), and sprinkled the rest of the pizza with shredded pizza cheese.  All I can say is good things happen when I MacGyver in the kitchen (BH!).  The pizza was SO fresh tasting!  I liked the feta cheese piece, and the crowd at home inhaled the rest.  I was a little surprised that both pizzas went over so well.  I had also made some more traditional pizzas too (just in case), but the hands down favorites were the “gourmet” ones.  Who would have thunk it??

During the warm, sunny, Chicago summer days, we go outside to tend to our Optimistic Garden and inspect the newly flowering plants.  We make great optimistic plans for what we will do with the bountiful harvest that our garden yields.  More garden fresh pizza’s in the Matten family’s future perhaps?  B”H, it’s all good.

You can find additional articles and recipes relating to this blog via: Garden Fresh Pesto and Pizza to the Rescue.

Pizza Dough 

2 ½ - 3   cups       whole wheat pastry flour

1              cup         apple juice (or warm water)

1              envelope rapid rise yeast (2 ½ teaspoons)

1 ½         tbsp       olive oil

½             tsp          salt

Nonstick vegetable spray

Combine apple juice and yeast.  Allow mixture to sit for 3 minutes until yeast is dissolved and starting to bubble.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, olive oil and salt.  Stir in apple juice/yeast, and knead for 3-5 minutes until dough is smooth.  Remove dough from bowl and spray with non-stick vegetable spray. Return dough to bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap or towel and allow dough to sit for at least 5 minutes.  (Makes one 16” pizza crust or two thin 12” pizza crusts)

Garden Fresh Pesto

This pesto has a little kick to it from the crushed red pepper.  For a milder, less spicy pesto reduce or omit the crushed red pepper and black pepper.

4                                              ripe plum tomatoes, cubed

1              cup                         fresh parsley leaves

½             cup                         fresh mint leaves

½             cup                         fresh basil leaves

½             teaspoon             crushed red pepper

½             teaspoon             black peper

⅓             cup                         extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor bowl.  Pulse until ingredients are coarsely ground.  Add the olive oil and pulse until thoroughly combined.  Transfer to container with a lid and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend. 

Spicy Jalapeno Pizza with Fresh Marinated Mozzarella

(Makes one 12” pizza)

½ recipe Pizza Dough

¼ cup marinara sauce

1 medium jalapeno pepper finely diced

8 ounces fresh marinated mozzarella cheese, sliced

Preheat oven to 375° F Convection or 400° F Bake.

On a lightly floured surface, roll pizza dough to a 12” round.  If not using a pizza stone, lightly grease a 12” pizza pan with non-stick vegetable spray.

Place dough on a round pizza stone or prepared pan.  Evenly spread marinara sauce over the dough.  Sprinkle the dough with the diced jalapeno pepper.  Top with the fresh marinated mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Pesto Pizza with Fresh Basil

(Makes one 12” pizza)

½ recipe Pizza Dough

¾ cup Garden Fresh Pesto

¼ cup fresh basil leaves

8 ounces shredded pizza or part skim mozzarella cheese (or feta cheese)

On a lightly floured surface, roll pizza dough to a 12” round.  If not using a pizza stone, lightly grease a 12” pizza pan with non-stick vegetable spray.

Place dough on a round pizza stone or prepared pan.  Evenly spread the pesto over the dough.  Sprinkle the dough with the fresh basil leaves.  Top with the shredded cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

 Spicy Jalapeno Pizza with Fresh Marinated Mozzarella

Start with Dear Husbands favorite cheese...

Dice a spicy jalapeno pepper...I seeded

this one so it wouldn't be too hot!

(Purple ones are prettier!!)

 Spread the sauce...

 Top with the peppers...

 Silly me...thought I could use only 1/2 a package

of cheese...wait and see what happens...

 Who was I kidding??

Add the rest of the package for 

heaven's sake!!

 Much better!!

AMAZING!!!

That piece is MINE!!!

Pesto Pizza with Fresh Basil

Start with super fresh ingredients...

It doesn't get fresher than this!

After making the pesto, spread

it on the pizza.  Not too much

or it will be too liquidy.

Top with fresh basil.  Yes...

we're growing purple basil too!! 

 Top with your favorite cheese...

here's the feta (it was really good!)

 Or...shredded cheese...

Bake until bubbly... 

 BEST PIZZA EVER!!

And now...

a little optimism from our garden...

So...

Here's what I do with my time....

(when I'm not writing the fabulous Kosher Everyday!)

Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Angel Hair Rice Pasta with Spinach, Shiitake Mushrooms & Roasted Garlic and a tour of LA Kosher Restaurants

Trip inspiration!

Sometimes you just need to get away.  Last week Dear Husband and I escaped the madhouse for the first time ever, by ourselves, no kids with us, for a little over 4 days.  It was in honor of our special anniversary (KIH) and we really needed to get away, by ourselves, no kids.  I personally had a few requirements: 1. No kids with us 2. No kids with us 3. I wasn’t cooking a single meal (so we had to go to a place that had restaurants/prepared food) 4. Good weather 5. No kids with us.  We ended up fleeing to Los Angeles where there are tons of Kosher restaurants, good weather and lots to do.  So, last Sunday we dropped our youngest daughter off at the bus for her sleep away camp, waved as the bus drove away, and high tailed it out of here!  We arrived in LA Sunday evening checked into our hotel, and then had to decide where to eat.  Now the idea of this trip was to de-stress big time, and ironically there are SO many Kosher restaurants I was actually starting to feel a little stressed about picking one!  Goofy, right? For those of you that don’t know LA, there is a long main street called Pico, that has a bajillion Kosher restaurants and stores up and down the street.  It’s pretty impressive.  Dear Husband and I decided for our first dinner we’d punt and go with the easy choice – our favorite, Chinese food.  We ended up going to the fabulous Shanghi Diamond Garden.   Dear Husband (DH) noticed that we could get a special for two that was only a few dollars more than just an entrée.  We ended up with the best wonton soup I have ever had with fresh vegetables, chicken and incredible wontons. We also had an assortment of super appetizers, egg rolls, fried wontons, and chicken satay.  DH ordered his favorite beef with broccoli and I ordered my favorite hunan beef.  Both were great and came with a huge plate of vegetable fried rice.  Delicious!  Bonus, the wait staff was incredibly friendly and efficient too.  

We were off to a great start! We ended up walking all the way up and down Pico after dinner (otherwise we would have rolled home we were so full!) to check out the local stores and grab menus from the other restaurants along the street.  SO fun!! 

We had ordered the “Go LA Pass” in advance and ended up doing all the touristy things that LA is known for: Studio tours, La Brea Tar Pits, Getty Museum and gardens, Hollywood walking tour, Rodeo Drive and an amazing bike ride along the Pacific coast near the Santa Monica Pier.  We also made it to the Farmers Market where we checked out all the interesting goods and found purple apricots!  Super fun, but the biggest bonus was…not having to cook!  For all of you that are planning a trip to Los Angeles here are the places that we ate at, they were all great – shocking but true!

Monday Lunch – Nagila Pizza

After a fun walking tour of Hollywood, we wanted a quick filling lunch so we went to the Nagila Pizza Shop.  They have different varieties of pizza and we ended up ordering a few types (we were hungry from all the walking!).  The best was the stuffed crust pizza.  I had mine with extra mushrooms on top.  The crust was filled with gooey cheese and diced mushrooms.  YUM!!!  DH also had the eggplant topped pizza which he rated very highly.  As the sign outside the store says: Have-a Nagila Day!

Monday Dinner – Mexikosher

It turns out that DH has one family he’s related to in LA, so we were so happy to go out to dinner with Ronit and Alan for dinner on Monday night.  We don’t have a Mexican restaurant in Chicago, so Mexikosher was an obvious choice.  The food there is authentic Mexican and you can build your own meal with different options.  We each had a different meal and they were all great.  Mexikosher also has a vast assortment of sauces, a lot of them spicy (hooray!), which were really fun to try.  If you go, ask the guys behind the counter for advice – they are really helpful in suggesting the best combination to fit your tastes.

Tuesday Lunch – Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

It turns out that there is a coffee house in LA called the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and in the LA area they are all kosher!  So after enduring a majorly packed Universal Studios in the blistering heat, we grabbed a quick bagel and cream cheese lunch at the Coffee Bean at Universal.  Always looking for new and delicious pastries, I also ordered the cheese Danish – YUM!  There are Coffee Beans everywhere you turn, so if you’re looking for a quick grab-and-go sandwich or coffee this is the place.

Tuesday Dinner – Jeff’s Gourmet Kosher Sausage

It was almost sacrilegious to go to Jeff’s Gourmet Kosher Sausage considering that we have the world’s best sausage factory here in Chicago – Romanian Kosher Sausage Company, but given that we know what sausages are supposed to taste like we couldn’t pass up Jeff’s.  It didn’t hurt that the night before when we were doing our restaurant investigative work, we passed by Jeff’s and saw someone eating the best looking chicken hot wings and chili fries.  We actually stopped and talked to the guy eating the wings and he said they were fantastic – we were sold!  We ended up ordering a ton of food (we had to try a good assortment….otherwise how would we know if they were good or not) and had to take some of it home there was so much.  We order 4 sausages and an order of hot wings.  We really liked the Cajun chicken, Mergez, and Borewors sausages, but our winning sausage was the chorizo: Extra spicy traditional Mexican beef and chicken sausage served on a French roll crowded with hot fajita style onions, peppers and tomatoes – with a 4 pepper spicy rating!  The hot wings came with a ranch style dipping sauce (which you needed because they were so hot!).  We recommend Jeff’s – it’s really fun to try all the different sausages and fun menu items.  Although, nothing can surpass Romanian sausages, Jeff’s sausages were really good too.

Wednesday Lunch – Café of Paris

To sum it up, Café of Paris: The best quiche, Panini, and vegetarian chili we have ever had.  I ordered the goat cheese and marinated artichoke quiche.  It was light and fluffy, flavorful, and the crust was incredibly buttery and delicious.  The vegetarian chili was wonderfully fresh tasting.  DH had the pesto and fresh mozzarella Panini on ciabatta bread and still talks about how good it was.  We also had the low fat cheesecake – outstanding.  We strongly recommend the Café of Paris…great food and reasonably priced.

Wednesday Dinner – Pat’s

Since the trip was an anniversary trip, we had decided in advance that we were going to go to one “nicer” restaurant on our trip.  Pat’s came highly recommended, and a friendly young lady we met while eating lunch at Nagila advised us to order the Bread Pudding for dessert when making our reservation.  She said that it takes a while to make the dessert so you have to order it in advance.  We also found out later that because it’s so popular the restaurant actually runs out of it.  DH thought I was nuts (bread pudding?!!), but I followed her advice anyway.  We split a Chinese Chicken Salad for an appetizer (With grilled chicken, crispy noodles, and sesame dressing).  DH had the Rib Eye Steak and I had the Mixed Grill.  The food was delicious!  Then the dessert came and DH was very happy to literally eat his words.  Considering that we both had no idea what to expect, the bread pudding was a fantastic surprise.  Crusty, hot, filled with chocolate, and accompanied with whipped cream – it was a dessert dream for a pair of self-proclaimed pastry snobs!  The bread pudding was so big that we wrapped it up and I polished it off the next day.  It pays to listen to friendly strangers!

Thursday Lunch – Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Beverly

It was so nice to know that there were Coffee Beans everywhere.  After walking around Rodeo Drive (where we were pleasantly surprised by all the modest dresses in the windows!), we wanted to grab a quick lunch nearby – Coffee Bean to the rescue!  I had a terrific smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich, and DH had an egg salad, fresh spinach and cheese sandwich.  It was July 4^th, and the store was selling coffee to send to the troops –how nice is that?!  We also really liked the iced teas that the store offered, they were flavorful and refreshing.  Now if only they’d come to Chicago!

Thursday Dinner – Got Kosher?

For our last dinner in LA we went to Got Kosher?. Got Kosher is known for it’s cool “pretzel challah” and has even won awards for it.  We got to taste some with our dinner and it was great!  The meat menu has a “Tunisian” influence.  We ordered the chicken noodle soup and the “Shwar-guez” (GK?'s unique take on schwarma: ground beef seasoned with our merguez sausage spices and grilled on a schwarma pit. Served with shredded cabbage, tomatoes, onions & creamy lemon-garlic sauce & pita).  It was very unusual and the schwarma had a distinct sausage “fennel” flavor.  The owner was super nice and overall we had a great experience.  I was tempted to take home a pretzel challah for Shabbat – but realized that we really had no luggage space and it would have gotten pretty smashed on the way home. 

  

We came home Friday morning after taking the red-eye Thursday night.  Our wonderful kids (KIH) made Shabbat for us (mostly) and the house was still standing when we got home (whew!).  I was inspired by a dish that we saw on the menu at Pat’s for Capellini con Spinacih - Angel hair pasta with spinach, shiitake mushrooms and roasted garlic in a light tomato sauce.  I decided to do a take on the dish for Shabbat, using angel hair rice noodles and left off the tomato sauce.  We loved the idea of fresh spinach, shiitake mushrooms and roasted garlic in a pasta dish.  By using the rice noodles we also make the dish Gluten Free (great for the GFE!).  I also added some toasted sesame oil and soy sauce to give the dish a little more flavor.  The roasted garlic in the dish was fantastic, added a lot of flavor, and roasting the garlic mellowed it and gave it a rich almost sweet flavor.  You also could add more spinach or mushrooms according to your family’s preference.  The pasta came out el dente, and we debated over Shabbat whether I should have added a little more toasted sesame oil or not.  I actually think in retrospect that if we wanted the noodles to be a little softer we could have added a little vegetable stock to the whole thing and sautéd the pasta dish until the stock was absorbed.  You can try it and let me know how it turns out!

Now we’re back home after a much needed time away and back to our personal rat race.  We’re a little rejuvenated but still looking forward to our next secret getaway in the far future.  Any suggestions?

 

Angel Hair Rice Pasta with Spinach, Shiitake Mushrooms & Roasted Garlic

8 ounces angel hair rice noodles

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (divided)

1 tablespoon olive oil

¾ pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced

5 ounces fresh spinach, washed, dried and coarsely chopped

2 heads garlic

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water.  Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes until soft.  Wrap the whole garlic heads in a double layer of foil.  Bake for 45 – 60 minutes until soft.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Remove roasted garlic from the skins and slice thinly.  Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil and 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add the shiitake mushrooms and sauté until soft.  Add the spinach and sauté until wilted.  Drain the rice noodles then toss with the vegetables, garlic, the remaining tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, and the soy sauce.  Sauté until warmed through and the flavors are blended.

Finely slice the mushrooms...

 Soak the rice noodles...

 Wash, check & dry the spinach...

Sauté the mushrooms...

 Add the spinach...

 Sauté until wilted & tender...

 Peel the roasted garlic...

 Slice the roasted garlic...

 Add it to the pan...

 Add the pasta, toasted sesame oil & soy sauce.

Sauté until blended.

 So good you have to see it close up!

 Inspiring!

 AND NOW...

A few fun photos from our trip 

to the Farmer's Market..

Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!