My Top 10 Housewares Show 2016 Gadgets for Pesach

Every year the International Housewares Show is here in my very own hometown, Chicago!  This year was no exception and I had a fabulous time seeing all the awesome and cool new products that are available.  Here are the best of the best that will help your Passover prep.  I’ll even attach amazon.com affiliate links so you can get them asap!  Let me know which is your fave!

1. The Gefu Spirelli 2.0 spiralizer

I actually watched a demo of this mini wonder in action.  It really truly works.  What’s great about it is that it’s mini.  For those that store their Pesach stuff every year this is small, compact, and it works.  When you want zoodles (zucchini noodles) or sweet potato noodles - which we all do on Pesach when the wheaty real deal is nowhere to be found.  Unlike some of the other mini spiralizers this comes with a little pusher so you don’t have to cut your fingers off.

2. Kitchenaid (Mini) Mixer

One of my most used appliances on Pesach is my Kitchenaid mixer.  I can’t imagine whipping all those eggs without one.  Oh, and make sure you get an extra bowl - for when you need to whip those egg whites separately!

3. Hamilton Beach Chopping Food Processor

Back in the day when my parents made the seder they purchased a food processor (you know the one that starts with C).  I inherited it when I took over the privilege.  It’s great for grinding nuts or making charoset.  It’s the second tool I feel that I would have a hard time doing without.  Well at the housewares show Hamilton Beach came out with a fabulous new food processor - it actually dices.  Really and truly.  The dice is even and a beautiful thing to behold.  If you are looking for a food processor this is one to seriously consider. It's available at Hamilton Beach: Hamilton Beach 70825

4. Pencil sharpener peeler

One of the more fun companies that I came across was Monkey Business.  It’s an innovative Israeli company that had so many adorable and clever products I had trouble deciding which I liked best.  I absolutely fell in love with the Pencil Sharpener peeler.  It looks like a big yellow old fashioned pencil sharpener with a vegetable peeler on the back.  Remember how, when you used to sharpen your pencil, the shavings came out curled?  Imagine doing that with a carrot, or zucchini.   I plan on using mine to make carrot and zucchini flowers as a garnish for my gefilte fish this year.  Check out their web site...each gadget is cuter than the next!

6. French Bull acrylic Serveware

There were a bunch of fun companies but I particularly loved French Bull.  They have fabulous acrylic cups, platters, plates, and serving pieces in super fun and bright patterns and colors.  The display completely caught my eye.  Check out their stuff!!!

7. Chefman Immersion blender

Chefman is a company that makes competitively priced small kitchenlectronics.  I personally know people that work there and they are really committed to their products.  The immersion blender come in a bajillion colors and are not costly - perfect for helping to keep Pesach costs down.

8. Bella Coffee Maker

I personally own one of the original Bella Coffee Makers in a bright red and I love it.  I got it on sale for $9.99 at Macys.  It’s a single cup coffee maker that makes a great cup of coffee in under 5 minutes.  The only downside is that you can’t use those wonderfully convenient pre-measured coffee containers (you know the ones by the “K” company).  Well, now Bella has come out with one that you can use like mine, with your own coffee, or with those pre-measured containers!  For the price you really can’t beat it!

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9. Levoons & Savel

As a baker, I know that measuring precisely is super important.  I was really excited about the clever Levoons by Dreamfarm.  They are self leveling measuring spoons!  How great is that?  They come in tons of colors too.  They also make other useful gadgets like the Savel which you put in an avocado, or other fruit,  after you cut it to keep the unused half from turning brown. 

10. Paradox Timers

One of the best thing about the housewares show are the products that are brand spankin new and haven’t been brought to the market yet.  One of my absolute favorite products was the Paradox timer.  It comes in different varieties (there’s an egg timer for example), and contains different colored liquid combined with a water like liquid inside.  When you turn the timer over, the colored liquid goes UP instead of down!!!  It’s a paradox...get it?!!!  Super cool!!!!

11. SodaStream

I had to add the fantastic Israeli company, SodaStream!!!  It’s perfect for making carbonated beverages even on Shabbat and Yom Tov!  A huge money saver, especially for Pesach!!!

So my honorable mention product is the Masha mashed potato masher by Salton.   They named it after my daughter Masha.  Just kidding, however they did give me one for that reason!!!  Thanks Salton!!! I’m saving it for Pesach and haven’t used it yet, but it looks like an immersion blender that makes perfect mashed potatoes...and who wouldn’t want that?  Especially with a name like Masha!!!

I’d love to hear about your favorite “I can’t live without them” gadgets.  One of mine is the Hindy Chopper (a.k.a the Vidalia onion chopper).  Post your faves below in the comments.  I’m sure everyone would love to hear how clever you are!!!

After Passover...the everyday fabulous gadgets and tchotchkies that were super fun at the show...stay tuned…

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,

JewishExponent.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!!

Dr. Praeger's House Call... A review of the latest & greatest Dr. Praeger's products (great for Thanksgivingakkuh!)

I’ve missed you!!  I’ve missed chatting, corresponding with you, and keeping in touch.  It seems that life, work, life, and more work, have gotten in the way of Kosher Everyday!  Sigh.  Thank G-d, our family had a major milestone last week - our youngest daughter’s Bat Mitzvah (KIH)!  Considering that with a few minor exceptions, I personally catered the Shabbat Kiddush at shul, the extended family meals, and our Sunday brunch, and tried to keep up with Edible Experience and my family (oh right…the family!)  it’s a wonder I was still standing after it all!  It was SO CRAZY that I needed the help of a doctor, preferably one that made house calls!  Well, sometimes you get sent exactly what you need.  A while back I received an email from the Dr. Praeger’s rep, asking if I would be willing to review some of the new products the company was introducing.  I was very interested and also asked if the company had gluten-free items as well (I’m a GFE along with quite a few of my readers).  It turned out that most of the products were actually GFE friendly.  The representative was so accommodating and offered to send me samples of a large selection of their products.  Cool, right?  Then I promptly forgot about the whole thing and got back to trying to keep up with my super hectic life.  One day, amidst the chaos, a huge box arrived at my door.  We opened it up, and guess what - just when there was complete pandemonium in my house the doctor made a house call!!  There were all different types of latkes, fishies, little fun shaped vegetable patties, and fish sticks.  There was vast variety and most of the products in the boxes were individually wrapped so that everyone could pick their favorite, with the rest saved for another dinner (no spoiling!).    

Dear Son, was kind enough to prepare dinner for everyone and take the pictures for this article (I should have had him write the review…hmmm….).  

We had a great time sampling the different Dr. Praeger’s  flavors (I grabbed a few in between work recipes), and overall we thought they were just great!  We especially liked the California Veggie Burgers (GFE!), the Roasted Corn Cakes, and the Asian Veggie Burgers (it had a delicious oriental flair).  The Sweet Potato Pancakes (GFE!), Broccoli, Spinach, and Potato Pancakes would be great to eat as latkes on Thanksgivingakkah - flavorful and no mess!  

Dear Youngest Daughter was super happy with her one of her favorite foods – fish sticks (go figure!) being on the healthy menu.    The Potato Crusted ones were even gluten-free!

The food was quick and easy to prepare and I didn’t have to worry that my family wasn’t eating right.  Dr. Praeger’s has a great philosophy: “… good-for-you food should actually taste good, especially if you don’t let artificial ingredients, colors and fillers get in the way. That’s why our products are made with ingredients you recognize, including flash-frozen vegetables and fish from cold Northern waters. Our hearty California Veggie Burger doesn’t conceal its tasty spinach, broccoli, peas, carrots and onions – it puts them right where you can see and taste them! And our gluten-free options are an easy way to keep wheat out of your diet, while keeping the good things in, like fiber and taste bud-pleasing flavor.”  Even Dr. Oz recommends them so they must be good for you!! Thanks Dr. Praeger’s – your house call was the perfect prescription for success in our house!

For more information about Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods go to: http://www.drpraegers.com/

Well, the Bat Mitzvah was wonderful (B”H)!  We were incredibly proud of the Youngest Daughter who had spent months Learning outside of school and prepared a beautiful d’var torah.  She also did an awesome chesed project with a few friends, creating an upbeat music CD – Songs of Strength and Hope, to give to Chai Lifeline girls. Baruch Hashem!!

So…here are a few pictures of some of the things I made.  And yes…they taste as good as they look!  Mazel Tov!!

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!!

Way Cool Gefilte Fish and Two "Cheese" Meat Lasagna Rolls

Happy 2013!!  It’s that time of year when our resolutions are fresh and new – and we’re still motivated to fulfill them!  This year I’m resolving to exercise more and to try new, exciting, and fun things.  Less than two weeks into the year and I’m doing pretty well.  I’ve actually managed to get on the treadmill a few times.  Once I got on the treadmill in a moment of self-preservation, when the heat was out and I was in the basement watching Big Bang Theory…I needed something to help me stay warm (I did get mocked a little by the family…4 layers of heavy clothing while exercising and I deserved the good natured ribbing!).  I figure if I keep the treadmilling up I may even be able to go faster than 2 mph (just kidding I go way faster than that…3 mph!).  I’m hoping to get to the point where I don’t need a huge nap afterwards too…

How cool is that??!!

I’ve also been trying new and fun recipes and ingredients.  When I was at Kosherfest this past year, the A&B Gefilte fish company had a really awesome Gefilte fish display.  I know it’s hard to fathom putting the words “Gefilte Fish” and “Awesome” together in a sentence but trust me when I tell you that fish looked awesome!  What they had done was blend some regular and salmon gefilte fish together to make interesting patterns in the fish.  I spoke to the rep and she told me how to make similar fish at home.  In a moment of throwing caution to the wind I made the Way Cool Gefilte Fish last Shabbat for an appetizer.  It was so pretty and everyone was completely impressed.  Truthfully it wasn’t hard to make at all, but I would have defrosted the fish loaves a little longer…sadly some of the pieces didn’t stick together after they were cut and would have if they had been a little softer to smush together better before being cooked.

Hey meat...say "Cheese"!!

My second recipe adventure began after dropping one of my girls off at a class in Skokie this week.  For those of you that don’t know, I live in West Rogers Park which is around ten minutes by car away from Skokie.  Considering that her class was less than an hour, it didn’t seem prudent to drop her off, go home, and then turn around and come right back to pick her up.  I remembered a produce market that some of my friends had spoken highly about not too far from where my daughter was and decided to explore.  SO fun!!  The store had a lot of interesting kosher products that I hadn’t seen before.  I found some great dried fruit (stay tuned for fabulous Tu B’Shvat recipes coming soon!), interesting vegetables, and pareve ricotta and mozzarella cheese!!  The ricotta was by a familiar company, Tofutti, so I figured it couldn’t be too bad – and besides….I’m trying new, fun and exciting things right?  Now, I’m one of those people that really fulfills the mitzvah of keeping kosher – I love the idea of eating milk and meat together but because I keep kosher it’s never to be.  I usually use ricotta for lasagnas, so when I found pareve mozzarella cheese I knew I was set to make a meat lasagna of some sort.  I have to admit I was a little scared when I was making the Two “Cheese” Meat Lasagna Rolls.  I’ve used mock meat but I haven’t ever used mock cheese before (not counting cream cheese).  The idea of using real meat in the recipe was very appealing to me for obvious reasons.  The fake cheese looked a little funny when I was mixing it, and I kept thinking – “Be afraid, be very afraid!”  In order to ensure that the cheese tasted reasonably good, I added some extra garlic to it – the flavor of garlic masks everything.  I also didn’t know if this “cheese” was going to melt.  For all I knew, after it was baked the mock cheese could have been one big gross clump.  Ugh.  And to complicate matters I even used gluten free lasagna noodles (great for the GFE) for most of the rolls –who knew how this would really end.  Well, guess what,  they were great!!!  Shocking!  The cheese was creamy and gooey, and the spiced meat was fabulous.  Wahoo! 

(And as a bonus these recipes are great for the GFE (Gluten Free Eater)!!

Finally, the Joy of Kosher “Best of Kosher” Awards is back!  And…Kosher Everyday is one of the nominees!!!  How cool is that!!  SO, as a Kosher Everyday reader and fan – YES YOU! – PLEASE vote for Kosher Everyday on this web page: http://www.joyofkosher.com/nomination-category/best-kosher-food-blog/  You can actually vote once every day so as they say in Chicago politics, “Vote early and often!”  Thanks!! 

Way Cool Gefilte Fish

1 loaf regular gefilte fish

1 loaf salmon gefilte fish

2 large carrots sliced, or ½ pound baby carrots

½ teaspoon black pepper

Water

1 9”x13” inch pan with a lid

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

Remove fish loaves from the freezer.  Allow to defrost for an hour to an hour and a half until the loaves are soft enough to cut.  Remove the fish from the parchment, reserving the parchment.  Cut each fish lengthwise into 4 long pieces.  Swap two regular pieces with two salmon pieces.  Piece the fish pieces back together to create two salmon/regular loaves (see photos below).  Re-wrap the fish loaves  in the original or fresh parchment paper.  Place the loaves in the 9”x13” inch pan.  Add carrots, pepper and enough water to come halfway up the fish.  Seal tightly and bake for 90 minutes.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve topped with carrots on a bed of lettuce. 

Two “Cheese” Meat Lasagna Rolls

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 pounds extra lean ground beef

2 cloves garlic crushed, or two cubes

2 medium sweet onions, finely diced

1 large red pepper, finely diced

1 small can tomato paste

8 ounces soy mozzarella

2 cartons pareve ricotta cheese (16 ounce each – I used Tofutti Better Than Ricotta Cheese)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 large eggs

1 pound lasagna noodles (regular or gluten free)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 26 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Non-Stick vegetable spray

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Spray a large baking pan with non-stick vegetable spray. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water,  2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil.  Add the lasagna noodles to the pot and cook according to the package directions, gently stirring occasionally to separate the noodles, slightly undercooking the noodles. When the noodles are done cooking, do not remove them from the water or pot, add additional cold water to the pot until the noodles are submerged in cold water.  Set aside.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet.  Add the onion, pepper and the meat.  Sauté until the meat is browned.  Add the tomato paste and stir until thoroughly combined.  Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the “ricotta”, “mozzarella”, garlic powder and eggs. 

Place a large paper towel on the counter.  Carefully remove a noodle from the pot and dry it with an additional paper towel.  Place the noodle on the counter paper towel.  Spread some of the “cheese” mixture on the noodle, then spread some of the meat mixture on top of the “cheese”.  Roll the lasagna noodle then place in the prepared pan.  Top with the pasta sauce.  Seal tightly with a lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Serve hot with your favorite crusty bread.

Way Cool Gefilte Fish

Two loaves of fish...

One salmon one not.

 Defrost the fish so you can cut and smush it...

Unwrap the fish...

Cut the fish into 1/4ths...

Swap and interchange the fishes...

 Piece the fish back together with

alternating colors.

 Wrap them back up

(you can re-use the parchment or

grab a new piece)

 Place the fish loaves in the

pan with the carrots & pepper...

 Add the water then seal tightly.

 Cool then slice!

How pretty is this?!!!

And SO cool!!!

(Your family and friends will be amazed!)

Two “Cheese” Meat Lasagna Rolls

Use the Hindy Chopper with

the fine dice insert to chop the

onions and peppers...

Tomato paste & oil...

Cook the noodles then keep them in cool water until

it's time to rock & roll...

 Sauté the meat, onions & peppers...

 Add the tomato paste then stir!!

 It's "TWO" "Cheesy"!!!

It really is kosher pareve!!!!

 Put it all in a bowl...

(At this point I was very afraid!!)

 Add the eggs....

 Rock & Roll time!

 Place them in a pan...I ended up using two

pans and two kinds of noodles!!

(GFE & regular)

 (These were the GFE noodles)

 Add the sauce & cover tightly...then into the

oven they go!

 Out of the oven...saucy and delicious!!

 (My second pan...)

 It's a (Yummy!) photo op! 

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!!

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