I have been obsessed with herring since I was a kid. The texture of the fish combined with the tang of shmaltz and those delicious onions mixed in may be the only reason I loved to go to shul.  Usually when telling someone I love herring, I am accosted with comments such as “ewwwww, that is disgusting,” or “You are like an old Jewish man!”  As of late, herring seems to have become quite popular with the younger generation.  There are special websites www.shmaltzking.com where you can order gourmet quality herring in shmaltz or wine sauce.  You can also go to your local fish store, where you can order the herring filet and make the herring yourself.  This trend has become very popular in many communities.  Recently, there was an article on a guy in NYC who will only date women who love herring - it kind of  makes you wonder why he is almost 40 and can’t find his soul mate.  Either way, I like it all; I like reading the articles related to herring, I like looking at the websites of all the herring I can order, and most of all, I love to eat that slimy delicious treat you always find at an orthodox shul’s lunch.

My brother in law Yaak happens to be one of my favorite cooks. It may be the fact that he enjoys food as much as I do. Lately, our mutual thrill of food is herring. Friday night I feasted on 2 of the best types of  herring I have ever had, courtesy of Yaak. One was the original flavor and the second, a cilantro version.  The fillet was perfectly moist, the shmalts (oil) had seeped into the fish just enough to give it extra smoothness with out making it to mushy.  The onions had absorbed all the flavor of the fish and shmaltz and yet, it still maintained a satisfying crunch when you bit into it. Yaak and I grabbed some crackers, which in case you did not know happens to be the best accompaniment to this food. In one sitting we happily crunched and munched our way through most of the Herring dish.

Recipe for Standard Schmaltz:

Ingredients:
Herring fillets from the kosher market  (do this 48 hours prior to serving)
1 onion
Canola oil

Directions:
Cut the onion into bite size slices. Place 1/2 onion at the bottom of a small sealable container.
Pour oil from herring tray into container and add more canola oil to coat onions. Slice herring into 1/2 to 1 inch strips then add herring to container and add 2nd 1/2 of onion and more canola oil to coat.
Seal and refrigerate. Best served with whole wheat snacker crackers (very crispy and hold up well will scooping/dipping) Add cilantro to the above recipe for a cilantro version.

~ Recipe submitted by Aura Schwartz of Beauty and Food

The following recipe has been adapted from “Food from the Family Tree” by Pat Bell and Bonnie Rasmussen. These squares are very tasty and perfect for summer, just the right combination of salty and fresh, light yet filling.

Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon butter
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour (I used Whole Wheat)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
4 tablespoons minced fresh basil or 1 tablespoon crumbled dried
½ teaspoon finely grated nutmeg
350g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (I used 5% fat ‘Bulgarit’ cheese)
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno (I used parmesan instead)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan cook the onion and garlic in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened.
3. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the milk until the mixture is well blended, stir in the flour, baking powder, thyme, basil and nutmeg, then fold in the onion mixture, spinach and cheeses.
4. Spread the mixture in a 9-by-12-inch baking dish, well coated with cooking spray, and bake it for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the mixture pulls away slightly for the sides of the dish.
5. Let the mixture cool in the dish on a rack for a few minutes and then cut it into bite-size squares for hors d’oeuvres or larger squares for brunch.

Serve the squares hot, at room temperature or chilled. Serves 12 as an hors d’oeuvre or 6 as a brunch dish.

~ Recipe submitted by Joanne Mandel of the delicious food blog, Eat Love Jump

Two of my favourite dishes are kugel and quiche, so when a friend of mine presented me with a recipe that was essentially those two combined into one beautiful work of culinary art, you can imagine I was pretty darn excited. I’ve had to alter the recipe to make it work the way I’d like, but with these changes, it comes out very nicely. This is another dish that my two children will eat without complaint which automatically turns it into one of my favourites. Aside from tasting great when it’s first made, it is also quite tasty the next day, even served cold. For this reason, we’ve found this is a great dish for Shabbes or any Yom Tov.

Ingredients:

Crust:
2-3 medium Potatoes, peeled and grated
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp Salt

Filling:
1/2 lb Broccoli, sliced thinly
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
3 Large Eggs
1 cup Milk or Cream
1/2 Cup Grated Cheese
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Basil
Paprika for dusting

Directions:
Combine ingredients for crust in a large bowl. When thoroughly mixed, form into a crust in a 9 inch pie dish, pressing down the bottom but not the sides. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. Cover and continue baking for another 10 minutes. While crust is baking, prepare the filling; Saute onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil until translucent. Add broccoli, stir and cover, cooking about 5 minutes, or until tender. When the crust has finished baking, spread half of the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Spread cooked vegetables on top, and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Beat eggs and milk together and pour over top. Dust with Paprika. Bake uncovered at 375F for 35 minutes.

~ Recipe submitted by Moishe Callow of Stay At Home Tatty

My husband has been in school for the past 6 1/2 years. Just this week he finished. It’s the most unbelievable feeling for me, even though it is his accomplishment. He was doing the work and getting the straight A’s, while I was home taking care of our home. Not only will he have more time to himself, but he will also have more time to spend with us without reports and finals on his mind. Because of this huge occasion, we hosted a little get together with his classmates. We wanted it to be the one last hurrah to get his class together before they were to take the next steps in their lives.

I had many meal ideas planned out in my head for this event when my husband informed me that two of his classmates were vegetarian. It was not a big deal until I realized the majority of the dishes I was thinking of, were made of chicken and meat. I had to come up with something that was filling and tasty. I wanted to make something that also resembled the other foods I was making so as not to single anyone out. One of the dishes I made were a variety of wraps. So I figured one of the variety could be vegetarian. But then I had to think of what to fill the wrap with. I wanted it to be hot and have the same tasty flavors as some of the other wraps. And so I came up with this spinach vegetarian wrap.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 large flour tortillas
3 tbl. Olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic
5 white button mushrooms
1 bag fresh baby spinach
Schwarma spice + a little olive oil
2 roma tomatoes
1 avocado
thousand island dressing

Directions:
Heat up the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan on a medium flame. Chop the garlic and add to the pan. Saute till you smell the garlic or when it begins to sizzle. Slice the mushrooms and add to the garlic. Saute until mushrooms absorb a lot of the oil. Then add the bag of spinach a little at a time. Cook all together in an open pan until spinach begins to wilt. It should not become too soggy. Remove from heat. Take 1 1/2 tbl. of the shwarma spice and add to a little bit of olive oil until becomes thick. Pour over the spinach and mix until it’s entirely covered. Chop the roma tomatoes and avocado and pour thousand island on top until mixture is covered. Take flour tortillas and put a little of the spinach mixture onto the bottom middle. Pour tomato and avocado mixture on top. Roll it together like a burrito. Slice in half and serve hot or room temperature.

~ Recipe submitted by Becky Brownstein of Spits & Giggles

Ingredients:
Broccoli (frozen or fresh)
Spinach (frozen or fresh)
Mushrooms
4 eggs
2 tablespoons mayo
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of onion soup mix
a hanful of cornflake crumbs for the topping
Pie crust

Directions:
Cook the broccoli & spinach. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix it so it’s combined fully. Pour into pie crust and sprinkle on the cornflake crumbs then bake it uncovered for an hour on 350.

~ Recipe submitted by Tova Berger

My wife really loves Scalloped Potatoes. As a matter of fact it’s her favorite dish, and if it were up to her we’d probably eat it at least once a week. The only problem for us is that we live in an area where the availability of kosher cheese is equal to that of Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Rings. That is to say it isn’t available. It was always an assumption of ours that good Scalloped Potatoes needed cheese, but I’m happy to announce that this is not the case. This dish rivals the best cheese filled potato dishes out there, and if you happen to live in a place where pareve margarine is available, this dish could be either pareve or even fleishig. Of course, if you’re having a dairy meal, you can go ahead and use good old fashioned butter. I’ve also had this dish where we put cheese on top with just about 10 minutes left in the cooking time and it came out delicious. Both of my children really like this dish as well, and as anyone who has two children under the age of three can tell you, if they’ll eat it all up and then tell you it was yummy, it’s a good thing.

Ingredients:
5 Large Potatoes
3/4 cup Chopped Onion
3 Tbsp Butter(or pareve margarine if it’s a meat meal)
1/4 cup Flour
1 3/4 cup Chicken Broth(use pareve chicken broth if you’re using butter)
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise
3/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper

Directions:
1. Wash, peel, and slice potatoes thinly(about 1/2 cm thick)
2. In a greased casserole dish layer potatoes and chopped onion
3. In a saucepan melt butter and stir in flour until smooth
4. Add remaining ingredients to saucepan gradually and stir until sauce has thickened
5. Pour sauce over potatoes and bake at 325F for 2 hours

~ Recipe submitted by Moishe Callow of Stay At Home Tatte

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion diced
1 large tomato diced
1 loaf of gefilta fish

Directions:
Saute the onions and tomatoes. Drizzle some olive oil into a small loaf pan then place the gefilta fish in it (remove the paper beforehand) Pour the veggies on top and bake it on 400 for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Uncovered for the first half hour and covered for the remaining time)

~ Recipe submitted by Shany Baitz

Ingredients:
1 salmon, about 6-7 pounds, thoroughly cleaned, boned and butterflied

Stuffing:
1 cup finely ground almonds
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and grated
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 bunch flat parsley, minced
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking liquid:
1 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 good pinches saffron
4 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 medium size onions, finely sliced
2 lemons, unpeeled, finely sliced

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix stuffing ingredients thoroughly. Stuff the fish, and wrap it tightly in foil.
Mix all cooking liquid ingredients and place in a baking pan only large enough to hold the fish. Place the fish on top. Bake about 1 hour. Serve hot or at room temperature, with some of the cooking liquid on each serving.

~ Recipe submitted by Levana Kirschenbaum of www.levanacooks.com for more great passover recipes go to, Levana cooks for Passover!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and diced small
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/3 cup black or golden raisins
2 tablespoons sucanat
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted (300 °F about 12 minutes)
8 snapper or tilapia fillets, about 6 ounces each

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the tomato and sauté 3 more minutes. Add vinegar, raisins, brown sugar, parsley, salt and pepper and sauté 3 more minutes. Place fish fillets in an oven-proof pan just large enough to hold them. Pour sauce over them. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the pine nuts on the fish and serve hot or at room temperature

~ Recipe submitted by Levana Kirschenbaum of www.levanacooks.com for more great passover recipes go to, Levana cooks for Passover!

Ingredients:
1 package extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Cups White Flour
3 Egg Whites
1 package frozen broccoli
½ Cup Olive Oil (or more to coat bottom of pan and then some)

Directions:
Cut tofu into cutlets or squares about 1 inch thick.
Drying:
Place on plate with a paper towel both under and over the tofu. Place cutting board or other flat surface (i.e. a book you don’t mind getting a little wet) and press firmly to extract as much moisture from the tofu without squishing it. This is a very important step and not doing it prior to cooking usually leads to you hating Tofu forever)
Prepare frozen broccoli as per package instructions.
Mix flour with salt and powdered ginger.
Once the tofu feels dry to the touch dip once in flour pressing firmly to coat lightly, and then dip into the eggwhite and back into flour a second time.
Prep frying pan with oil, test heat with a bit of egg and flour. If the mix sizzles as soon as it hits the pan, you’re ready. Slowly lay the cutlets into the oil and let it fry about 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown.
After frying all of your cutlets, place broccoli on plate then cutlets and drizzle a liberal amount of your favorite teriyaki sauce on it. This recipe can be served with rice, or, in a wrap as a sandwich.

~ Recipe submitted by Yehuda Jason Schupper of One For The Good Days - A blog about music…