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

This dish serves 2 people, adjust according to how many people you are serving.

Ingredients:
Rigatoni pasta, half a box or 8 oz.
5-10 pieces of garlic 1-2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon sundried tomatoes
3/4-1 cup of strained or crushed tomatoes. (I tend to use canned whole tomatoes. Fresh is fine too, preferably skinned.)
2 tablespoons heavy cream.
1 tablespoon vodka
2 pinches of kosher salt
1 of pinch fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
Start by pan roasting garlic till slightly & evenly brown. Keep in mind roasted garlic is sweeter and less strong & pungent compared to fresh garlic. Add in chopped sundried tomatoes. Stir in and then add tomatoes. Let them simmer for at least 10 minutes. You want to see the color change from bight red to a darker deeper color. Mash with potato masher or fork the tomatoes & garlic till desired consistency.
Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Add 1 tablespoon vodka in sauce, more if you need. Add 2 pinches kosher salt, pinch fresh ground black pepper, and additional spices to suit your personal tastes.

Pour water out of pasta but leave a small amount of the water. Pour pasta into sauce pan including 1-2 tablespoons of pasta water. This mixes with sauce and fills the tubes with the creamy sauce. If done right it makes for a different textural eating experience. It’s also why I use rigatoni which is larger than ziti and thus allows for more sauce flow. Sautéing seals the sauce in.

For this pictured version I took a tablespoon of chopped sundried tomatoes and mixed in pepper, chipotle and a bit of balsamic & basil. A note of green garnish will impress with color.

Additional Notes:

Garlic is central to many of my dishes. Browning it evenly makes the taste just right. I love to take leftovers and top with mozzarella cheese and bake till crispy. My recipes are guides. I never follow a recipe exactly. You can but I encourage experimenting with slight changes of your own. Use different tomatoes. Use your own favorite spices. Sauce consistency can vary but should always be well simmered while not runny or dry. You can experiment by adding cream to garlic & sundried tomatoes which will give the cream a richer taste. But careful not to burn by lowering heat first.

Think you can rock this dish? Send in photos of yours by emailing nina@kosherinthekitch.com !

~ Recipe submitted by David Zimand of creagency

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

Crepe Batter:
18 eggs
3 cups of water
3 cups of potato starch

Cheese Batter:
4 containers of cottage cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar

Directions:
Mix the Crepe batter ingredients together than form the crepes by pouring some batter into a frying pan and cook the “pancakes” until solid. Once ready mix together the cheese batter ingredients and fill in the crepes and form the blintzes. Once the blintzes are formed prepare by frying them.

~ Recipe submitted by Yehudis Baitz

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 medium red potato, diced
1/2 medium onion or 1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp (approx) dried ginger, or about 1tsp fresh grated (to suit taste)
2 tsp prepared curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil (approximately)
chili powder or chili peppers to taste, start with one teaspoon (optional)
1 tbsp butter or margarine (approximately)
1 3/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Garam Masala (optional garnish)
Chopped Cilantro (optional garnish)
fried egg(s)

Directions:
Heat olive oil and butter in a sauce pan. When hot, add onions and potatoes and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Sautee until onions are translucent. Add cinnamon, curry powder, chili peppers (if using) and ginger, and cook until fragrant.

Add water and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, and turn heat down to medium/medium low, cover pot, and simmer about 15 - 20 minutes, until quinoa has absorbed all the water. Quinoa will be translucent and break away slightly from the more opaque circular germ when it is done. As a side note, it’s almost impossible to overcook quinoa, so no need to worry if it’s your first time! Stir in frozen peas, and cover.

While quinoa is cooking, cook eggs according to taste (I like any style of egg with a runny center for this dish).

When eggs are finish, fluff quinoa with a fork and serve alongside eggs for a nice brunch dish or a light supper. Sprinkle with garam masala and cilantro, if desired.

**Note: This is a Passover friendly recipe. Each community has different traditions regarding Passover, check with your Rabbi to verify your communities particular customs. If you are Ashkenazi, you can simply use olive oil for Pesach if no margarine is available. If you want a more “authentic” Indian flavor, use a little bit of Ghee (clarified butter) or regular butter for a dairy dish. This dish can also be made with any number of veggies you have on hand. Steamed, chopped cauliflower, diced carrots, diced tomatoes or sauteed sliced mushrooms can also be good additions. If using more than two kinds of veggies do not use more than 1/4 cup of each.

~ Recipe submitted by Allaya Diep

Ingredients:
2- 9″ pie crusts
3 lrg onions, sauteed with salt
1- 16oz. can mushrooms
1 1/2 tbsp flour
2 eggs, beaten
6 oz. pkg shredded muenster (I use mozzarella)
2/3 C whip (rich’s whip)
pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix the above ingredients together using half of the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes then add the remaining cheese on top and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes.

~ Recipe submitted by Mimi Friedman -silber

Ingredients:
1 box of cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 small eggplant, chopped into little cubes
2 cloves of garlic, diced
spices such as salt, pepper, and basil
about 1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Pasta of your choice
feta cheese
fresh basil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Place the cherry tomatoes, eggplant and garlic onto a baking sheet. Add the olive oil and spices. Cook for about 25 minutes or until soft. Once it is ready remove from the oven and put into a bowl. Toss with pasta, feta cheese, and fresh basil. Add more spices and oil if necessary.

~ Recipe submitted by CK Rogatsky

Date nut bread, sounds dead-good-for-you-serious, doesn’t it? That is until you taste it. Plump and moist and chock full of goodies. I make it with spelt flour too, so it’s a win-win.

Ingredients:
1 cup diced dates, packed
1 cup dark or golden raisins
2 1/2 cups flour, all purpose, whole wheat pastry or spelt (as always, spelt is my favorite)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup hot strong tea, decaf ok

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix the first set of ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the second set of ingredients in another bowl. Combine both mixtures, making sure not to overmix. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan, or 6-cup loaf pan, and bake 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Muffins: Pour the batter into greased muffin molds (about 12 medium) and bake 30 minutes

~ Recipe submitted by Lévana Kirschenbaum of www.levanacooks.com

Ingredients:
Trader Joe’s raw whole wheat pizza dough
6-8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
8 black olives, sliced into rings
6 oz of chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1/3 of a small onion, chopped
pizza sauce
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 of Trader Joe’s marinated mozzarella (O-U), chopped

Directions:
Turn oven on 500 degrees and put pizza stone in. Meanwhile, chop/slice veggies and cheese and roll out dough (if needed). Take the stone out of the oven and sprinkle corn meal on the stone. Stretch the dough over the stone and press the edges onto the edges of the stone.
Spoon pizza sauce over dough, sprinkle only the shredded cheese over sauce, sprinkle veggies over cheese (I sprinkle spinach first, then onion, then olives, and then tomatoes). Then sprinkle TJ marinated mozzarella cheese, and then spices. I use garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano.

Turn oven temperature down from 500 to 450 degrees and bake for 15 - 20 minutes (usually 20 minutes since it is whole wheat dough and takes a bit longer to bake).

~ Recipe submitted by Sarrit Kovacs