Lemon Blueberry Bread

My cousins are coming for New Years! All is well. We have all quarantined and isolated and done what we had to, tested and so on. We are all set!

So — we will have our usual, long New Year sleepover celebration.

For us, New Year’s Eve is an hors d’oeuvre fest. I wrote about that last week.

But then life goes on with the usual meals. We usually have a late breakfast, mid-afternoon snack and then dinner.

Breakfast — smoked salmon, whitefish, bagels, pickled herring. You know the drill.

After a couple of days it gets to be a bit overkill, so breakfast boils down to eggs. Period. With some sort of bread. Usually quick bread. Usually lemon. Frequently with blueberries.

Here’s this year’s version:

Lemon Blueberry Tea Bread

• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-1/2” x 4-1/2” x2-1/2” or  9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan. In the bowl of a mixer set at medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is well blended. Add the eggs and lemon peel and blend them in thoroughly. Mix the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Mix the milk and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients in thirds alternating with the milk mixture and beat to blend ingredients thoroughly. Fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Make one bread

Turkey Pot Pie

Our Thanksgiving celebration this year won’t be like any other. No kids or grandkids. No extended family. Just my brother and sister-in-law, who have committed to stay more or less quarantined so the four of us can have as safe a Thanksgiving dinner as possible, distanced even in my house.

Nevertheless, I am still thankful. So far everyone is okay. And although we are sad we won’t all get together, we are all in accord that we remain dug in until it’s safe to do otherwise. We look forward to — maybe Passover?

Still — I will make a more or less classic Thanksgiving dinner. Including roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, baked cranberries, stuffing, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie.

And of course there will be more leftovers than usual this year.

So: turkey pot pie is likely to be in the menu soon after the holiday.

Turkey Pot Pie

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 carrots, sliced 1/4-inch thick

• 2 stalks celery, sliced 1/4-inch thick

• 1 cup cut up broccoli (bite-size)

• 1 cup zucchini chunks (bite-size)

• 4 cups chopped cooked turkey

• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 3 cups chicken stock

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• pie dough or thawed frozen puff pastry sheets

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add the carrots, celery and broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and turkey and stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Sprinkle the flour over the ingredients and stir to mix it in completely. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the stock gradually, stirring constantly. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the ingredients, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the filling into a baking dish. Cover with the pie dough or puff pastry. Seal the edges to the dish. Cut 2-3 slits in the crust to allow steam to escape. Bake for about 35 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Makes 4 servings

Squash Bread with Cranberries

I’m thinking about Thanksgiving even though this year we won’t have our usual family get-together. We all know why. We’re just waiting this whole Covid era out. Then we will have a proper holiday celebration.

But I am roasting a turkey because roasted turkey is one of my favorite things to eat. Unfortunately my daughter, our family carver, won’t be around to slice her perfect slices.

I’m also making my usual baked cranberries, sweet potato casserole and a green vegetable, probably Brussels sprouts.

Not sure I’ll bother with stuffing.

But definitely making this squash bread with fresh cranberries, because it’s rich and gently seasoned and not-too-sweet so it’s perfect with dinner, but also is a good snack or breakfast treat the day after.

Dessert? Probably baked apples.

Squash Bread with Cranberries

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup mashed cooked winter squash (such as butternut, acorn, kuri)

• 3/4 cup fresh cranberries

• 1/3 cup water

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves in a bowl and set it aside. Beat the brown sugar and vegetable oil with a handheld or electric mixer set at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the squash and cranberries and beat the mixture to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Add the flour mixture, stirring only enough to blend in the dry ingredients. Mix the water and lemon juice and add it to the batter with the vanilla extract. Stir to blend the ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan 15 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one loaf. 

Hallowe'en Baked Apple

I’m not expecting too many — maybe no — trick-or-treaters this year. In an ordinary year the whole notion of going out in what usually turns out to be the first of yucky weather of the season to get an overload of junky candy always seemed preposterous to me, but maybe I’m just the Ebenezer Scrooge of Hallowe’en.

This year, during a pandemic, trick-or-treating sounds absolutely nuts.

I am hoping that parents throughout the country will at least take a year off and do something different this Hallowe’en.

Here’s one suggestion — what my parents did, back in the day when trick-or-treating wasn’t a thing.

First, we carved a pumpkin. My mother untangled the inside mess, separated the seeds and roasted them. It’s easy: rinse off the seeds, let them dry (use paper towels to dry them), place them in a small amount of olive or vegetable oil and toss them around, then put them single layer on a cookie sheet (parchment or foil lined helps with cleanup). Sprinkle with salt (herbs or blends such as curry powder or za’atar if you like) and roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are dry and crispy.

Second, my Dad placed coins in three apples (for three kids): one with a quarter, one with a dime and one with a nickel. He put them in a basin of water and we had to dunk our faces in the water and grab an apple with our teeth. One year he didn’t do the apple bobbing thing, he tied apples on strings on a line that he set up in our living room and we had to jump up and grab the apple with our teeth. Obviously the one who got the quarter was overjoyed and I realize that for today’s youngsters a nickel, dime or even a quarter may seem not worth it, but the bobbing or jumping is worth it. Good stuff for the memory bank.

Then we ate. I don’t remember any particular dish but I know it was likely to be baked macaroni. My mother always topped her mac-and-cheese with rice krispies. I tried that on my kids, who gave it a thumbs down, but I’m putting it out there for you anyway (click on the link).

My dad always made his famous hot chocolate.

Boy would I love some of that today.

Dessert? It was likely to be some apple thing my mother cooked up. So. How about some baked apples?

Baked Apples with Orange and Spices

• 4 large baking apples

• half a lemon

• 1/3-1/2 cup raisins

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

• 3/4 cup orange juice, apple juice or cider

• 6 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon butter, margarine or coconut oil, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples, then remove the core and seeds, leaving about 1/2-inch on the bottom. Peel the apples 1/2 of the way down from the stem end on top, then rub the cut surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the raisins, orange peel, 3 tablespoons of the juice and 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup. Stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix the remaining juice, maple syrup and water and pour over the apples. Bake the apples for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 

Greens with Figs and Roasted Hazelnuts

I find it incredibly sad that Ed and I will not be able to host our annual Break-the-Fast. Our group has been gathering together for what seems like forever, and unlike all the other holidays which we celebrate with family, our Yom Kippur break-the-fast included friends from our synagogue and community, people who got together, just for this occasion.

I can’t even remember when we started.

Decades ago.

Not everyone who came had fasted, but we had all done something — skipped breakfast or not had carbs or not had coffee — that reminded us to be mindful about the joy and meaning behind celebrating the new year as well as looking back on what had happened the year before, who we needed to be better to, what we needed to be better at. The Break-the-fast marked a real beginning.

But now we can’t begin because the end of what has brought us to this place doesn’t seem anywhere in sight.

Virtual break-the-fast just doesn’t cut it for me.

I will miss the food too. Our meal is always vegetarian/dairy. No fish because my daughter is allergic. Our must-haves have always been mujadarah, eggplant-mashed potato gratin, my friend Susan’s kugel, a giant challah. And much more, with some changes over the years.

Dessert of course.

But this year it’s just the two of us, so dinner will be salad and roasted salmon.

But ——— even with all the trials and tribulations of the past year as well as the health concerns and social unrest that continue into 5781, I try to be grateful. For my family, friends, my life.

As for food? It will be different this one year. Fortunately, fresh figs are now available! (But only for a short time — one of those get-them-while-you-can items.) Ed and I both love them and I’ve already made several recipes using both green and black figs.

But this salad is the fig dish I’ll be serving post Yom Kippur. It’s easy, festive enough for a holiday meal and easy on the stomach after not eating for a while.

Greens with Figs and Roasted Hazelnuts

• 6 fresh figs

• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for coating the figs

• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped hazelnuts

• 3 packed cups mixed soft greens such as spinach, frisee, Bibb lettuce, washed and dried

• 2-3 teaspoons white wine vinegar

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Parmesan cheese

Preheat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Brush the figs with a thin film of olive oil and cut them in half. Place them, flesh side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Broil for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the figs and set them aside. OR: grill them on an outdoor grill. Place the hazelnuts on the baking sheet and broil them for a minute or two to toast them lightly (or bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes). Remove the nuts and set aside. Place the greens in a bowl. Pour in the 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat the leaves. Add 2 teaspoons wine vinegar and toss, taste and add the additional vinegar if desired. Add the figs and nuts, toss, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Grate or shave Parmesan cheese over the greens and serve.

Makes 2 servings

Tomato-free Zucchini Parmesan Strips

My garden didn’t do so well this year.

:(

I got two measly zucchinis from three plants!

This is what I did with them: Zucchini Parmesan Strips.

I didn’t include the traditional tomatoes or tomato sauce because I didn’t get so many tomatoes either and besides, I served these when my brother came over for dinner and he doesn’t like tomatoes.

The dish was really good so I bought zucchini and made the dish again a couple of times.

Tomato-free Zucchini Parmesan Strips

• 2 medium zucchini

• salt

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 6 tablespoons ground Parmesan cheese

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry the zucchini, trim the ends and slice each zucchini lengthwise into three or four pieces, depending on width. Lightly salt each slice and let rest for about 15 minutes. Wipe the slices dry with paper towels. Place the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each slice with olive oil. Combine the Parmesan cheese, oregano, parsley and garlic and scatter this mixture evenly over the slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly crispy.

Makes 6-8 slices

Smoked Salmon and Cottage Cheese Pie

Last week I made the ideal dish.

By that I mean it is light and easy to eat during the scorching days of summer.

It’s meatless, so perfect for the Nine Days and any other time we don’t want to eat the usual meat-two-veggie or salad dinner.

I got to use up leftovers and bits of this and that (smoked salmon, cottage cheese, cream cheese).

It served as dinner and also as hors d’oeuvre — I rewarmed the leftover portion and cut it into bite-size pieces for some socially distanced company.

You can use any leftover fish. I happened to have smoked salmon, so that’s what I used.

Smoked Salmon and Cottage Cheese Pie

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 large shallot, chopped

• 1 partially baked pie crust

• 3-4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup cottage cheese

• 1 cup half and half

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks bubbly, add the shallot and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Spoon the shallot onto the bottom of the partially baked pie crust. Scatter the salmon pieces on top. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and scatter them on top. In a bowl, beat the eggs, cottage cheese, half and half, dill and salt together until well mixed. Pour into the pie crust. Bake the pie for about 45 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the custard has set.

Makes 4-6 servings

Whitefish Cakes with Asparagus and Egg

If you’re refraining from eating meat during the Nine Days, or because the weather is hot and humid and the thought or eating something heavy like meat is beyond your emotional capacity or you just love the occasional meatless meal, try these fish cakes!

I had leftovers from a large smoked whitefish that we didn’t finish — but it would work with any cooked fish (I’ve made this dish with smoked trout and cooked salmon).

It’s also the kind of amazingly versatile recipe you need during a pandemic when you may not be able to shop or find the exact ingredients you need and you also don’t want to waste any food.

So, for example, if you don’t have red onion, use scallion or chives or shallot or plain old yellow onion.

No matzo meal? Use dry bread crumbs. Or panko. No parsley? Substitute fresh dill, basil or thyme.

Add a fried egg, a vegetable (here I’ve shown it with asparagus but carrots, spinach, cooked kale and so on would work too) and the meal is complete.

Whitefish Cakes with Asparagus and Egg

• 2 cups mashed smoked whitefish

• 1/3 cup chopped red onion

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1/4 cup matzo meal

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup matzo meal, approximately

• 20-24 asparagus spears

• 2 tablespoons butter, margarine or vegetable oil

• 4 large eggs

Place the whitefish, red onion, parsley and 1/4 cup matzo meal in a bowl and mix briefly. Add the eggs and mix to combine the ingredients. Shape into 4 thick patties (about 1/2-inch). Place the 1/2 cup matzo meal on a dish and press the fish cakes into the matzo meal to coat both sides. Refrigerate the patties for 30-60 minutes. Heat the oven to warm (or use a warming drawer.) Heat the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Fry the fish cakes for about 3-4 minutes per side or until crispy. While the fish cakes are frying, steam the asparagus for 3-4 minutes or until crisp tender. When the asparagus are cooked, place equal amounts on dinner plates and top each with a fish cake. Keep warm in the oven or warming drawer. Heat the remaining tablespoon butter; when it has melted add the eggs and fry until desired consistency. Place one egg on top of each asparagus-topped fish cake.

Makes 4 servings

Buttermilk Bread

I use buttermilk a lot. I like it to drink but mostly I like the vaguely tangy flavor it gives to certain food, like salad dressing and cold summer soups, and the way certain kinds of baked goods, like biscuits and scones, come out so much flakier.

Last week I bought some buttermilk and made a dairy-based Three Cabbage Cole Slaw.

I had lots of buttermilk left, so I got busy and among the foods I made was buttermilk bread.

Big success!

It’s kind of a fluffy white yeast bread, but with a much richer flavor than regular white bread.

We discovered that it’s perfect for tuna fish, egg salad and first-of-summer tomato sandwiches. My husband says he likes it best toasted, dipped into olive oil (plain or topped with tomato).

Other uses? Base for bruschetta. Toasted, instead of pita for dipping into hummus. Spread with orange marmalade. Like that.

Next up for buttermilk —— pudding. Keep watching this space.

Buttermilk Bread

• 1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)

• pinch of sugar

• 1/3 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons honey

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 3-3/4 cups flour (preferably bread flour), approximately

• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt

• melted butter, seeds, etc., optional

Lightly butter a bread loaf pan (about 9”x5”) and set aside. Place the yeast in a small bowl, add the sugar and warm water and mix thoroughly to dissolve the yeast (a small whisk works best). Set aside for about 5 minutes or until bubbly. Heat the butter and honey together over low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat. Heat the buttermilk over low heat for 2-3 minutes or until just warm to the touch. Remove from the heat. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the warm buttermilk, the melted butter mixture and the yeast mixture. Mix and knead the ingredients for 3-4 minutes or until smooth. If the dough is sticky, add some more until the dough is soft but not sticky. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 55-60 minutes or until doubled in size. Knead the dough briefly and place it in the prepared bread loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. Brush the top with melted butter and scatter with seeds, if desired. Bake the bread for about 35 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

Makes one loaf

Three Cabbage Cole Slaw

These days we entertain outside.

By entertain I mean (other than my kids and grandkids) one couple at a time, six feet (at least) away from us on our back terrace.

Fortunately the weather has been good and the outdoor insects have cooperated by being elsewhere.

We recently had our cousins over for a feast: smoked salmon and really fabulous Long Island bagels (they brought). They also donated homemade potato salad. I made beet salad and this coleslaw. I call it three-cabbage because it has green and red cabbage plus shredded Brussels sprouts which, after all, are baby cabbages.

I like coleslaw made with buttermilk — it has a tang that other dressings don’t quite measure up to — but if you don’t have any, you can substitute plain yogurt plus lemon juice.

This might be nice for Father’s Day or July 4th or even Labor Day.

THREE CABBAGE COLE SLAW

• 3 cups shredded green cabbage

• 3 cups shredded red cabbage

• 2 cups shredded Brussels sprouts

• 2 medium carrots, grated

• 3 scallions, finely chopped

• 1 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt plus 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the cabbage and Brussels sprouts shreds, carrots and scallions in a large bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Whisk the buttermilk, mayonnaise, honey and mustard together and pour over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients, sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings