Chana Masala

I’ve wanted to test out Indian food for a while now. I’ve experimented with all sorts of cuisines far away from my comfort zone, but Indian is one thing I reserve for restaurants. Until now, that is. If you were anything like me, it’s time to go spice shopping, because this is a great introduction to Indian cooking!

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Guinness Stew

The Irish are very proud of their Guinness. So even though I’m not Irish, and St. Patrick’s day has nothing to do with Middle Eastern Jewery, They do say, “On March 17, everyone is Irish,” so I’m sticking to that. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, Dear Internet Friends!

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Honey Mustard Chicken

Honey and mustard are a classic combination, and while I don’t like the taste of either of them plain, they are both good at making other things tastes better! I am happy to dip my apples in sugar rather than honey on Rosh Hashana, and I never put mustard on my pastrami sandwich! But honey in tea? mustard in salad dressing? Yes, please!

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Meatless Monday: Black Bean Soup with Crispy Tortillas

Happy Monday! Today we’d like to share with you a hearty and healthy soup that serves as a main course. It’s a great meal for Meatless Monday!

This black bean soup comes together so quickly and easily. Sure, you have to fry up the tortillas, but you can always skip that step and use store-bought tortilla chips, especially if you don’t have a package of corn tortillas in your fridge that you can’t remember when it was purchased…

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Corniest Corn Muffins

I didn’t make these muffins “corniest,” since I didn’t have any frozen corn, and it’s the winter so I definitely didn’t have access to fresh corn. I made them even though I was missing an ingredient because I was stuck home and really wanted to bake, and had everything else handy. I also thought corn muffins would be a fun breakfast! I think omitting the corn was a mistake, because they could have used some of the moisture and sweetness from the kernels. Still, cut in half and toasted with a bit of butter, they made a great breakfast! They would make a great companion to a savory meal too. Maybe some vegetarian chili?

I still have most of a bag of cornmeal left, so I’ll try these with the corn next time and I’ll keep you updated.

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Slow Cooker Meat and Tomato Sauce

I’m pretty obsessed with my Crock Pot right now. I love to come home to the smell of a slow-cooked meal and to not have to cook dinner when I come home. It’s win-win. It’s pretty amazing how everything I make in there turns out delicious. I don’t even have to cook meat in it, vegetable stews work great, too. I always tell myself I will use it more often, then go through a slow cooker phase, and then put it away and leave it there for a couple of months. I hope this phase lasts longer!

I’ve been making a lot of stews to eat over rice lately, and I was in a pasta mood, so I decided to cook up a tomato sauce to serve on top of spaghetti, though it would be equally delicious with rice.

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The Kosher Food & Wine Experience 2011

I just got home from Royal Wine Corporation’s Kosher Food and Wine Experience, and WOW! From the selection of kosher food stations provided by a variety of restaurants in the area to the selection of kosher wines and wineries, this was the event of the year for any kosher foodie!

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Meatless Mondays: Easy Tomato Soup

I wanted to make tomato soup to accompany the grilled cheese I planned to make with my amazing pita bread! I decided to balance out all of the work it took to make the pita (although it really wasn’t hard!) with this simple recipe I found on the Food Network site, much easier than the version Jessica made, but also delicious. There were so many recipes to choose from, but this one looked easy and had great reviews.

We needed something green for this Meatless Monday dinner, too; I guess that’s where the pickle and avocado come in.

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Syrian Bread, aka Pita

Pita bread isn’t hard, and it’s much better that the kind you can get at the supermarket (but not better than Shore Pita. What’s their secret!?). The photo below is my Syrian bread grilled cheese for dinner Monday, but before that I also used it for hamotzi on Friday night and with eggs for Sunday’s breakfast.

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