- SAP Managed Tags:
Hello everyone :)!
Happy holidays!
Cooking has always been for me a source of pleasure, joy and pride. As a child, I was inspired by a special cooking book for children that I got as a prize. Cooking was a way for me to be creative and experiment. I really enjoyed it. Later, when I grew-up, it became more of a necessity. But then, the Corona came and I spent a lot of time at home. That made me invest more time in hobbies and brought me back to my old passion for cooking. I found myself cooking all sorts of new dishes such as childhood snacks and more complex dishes (you can see some examples in this post). While I was advancing in my cooking journey I noticed what impact food can have on people and especially on their feelings.
My holiday season was back in October. During that period I thought how cooking became a way for me to make the people I love happy and to show them that I care and think of them. During the holiday meals, I made special dishes to my family and friends and they also made some for me, which made me very happy:).
Below I share pictures of dishes I made recently and the background story that spiced them:).
I would love to see pictures you've taken of your day-to-day cooking/holiday dishes and to hear the stories behind them in the replies below:).
Please be sure to subscribe to this discussion to be updated when I and others add new pictures and stories and maybe even secret recipes and useful techniques 🙂.
I wish you a great holiday and a happy new year :).
Moshe
Let's start:
Family holiday celebration - finally all of us came together:)
In October we had our holiday season which included the new year’s celebration. For the first time in many years, the extended family was able to celebrate together. I was very moved by the event and decided to take the crazy challenge and cook for everyone and invite them over to my house :).
It wasn’t easy to cook for eleven people, including six children 🙂 but everyone loved it and almost I didn’t have to use the dishwasher as the dishes were mostly emptied ;).
Here is a zoom-in on the special dish :):
The power of meatballs!
We all know how children can be picky about food. Well, my youngest Peleg is :). I tried different dishes and methods, but he mostly kept eating Pasta Bolognese and schnitzels. He always kept speaking of the amazing meatballs he loved in the kindergarten when he was 5 years old (he's 7.5 years old). After few attempts to make them on my own, I thought why not contact the cook who made the food in that kindergarten and ask for recipe. So, I did, and he gladly shared the recipe and the results were astonishing 😁:
Peleg ate them every day for at least 2 weeks. It became a hit as another mother asked for recipe after I shared with her a sample for her kid:).
I have a habit to cook once in two months all sorts of dishes, so the kids will have a variety of dishes to choose from and this dish became one of the regulars in the menu:).
This is my daughter’s favorite and she shared that girls in class always ask for a bite:
Cooking together
Cooking is also a mean for bonding and enrichment. On weekends, we now have a habit of cooking together. I let the kids take different roles in the cooking process: preparing the ingredients and vegetables, inventing recipes, designing and eating 🙂 :
And Segev invented a recipe for fried Cheder balls:
They also helped me make these Falafel balls (Peleg loved them as well)
Thanks a lot for reading so far. As mentioned in the beginning, please share your cooking and food pictures in the replies below and stories behind them.
Please continue to follow this discussion as I will upload new stories and pictures from time to time.
Happy holidays!
- SAP Managed Tags:
I prefer recipes that are simple with the fewest ingredients that are local staples. It's fun to try new things but it's no so fun to end up with a fridge or pantry full of half used sauces and other food stuff.
This is a classic Sephardic dish called Keftes de Carne: meatballs in tomato sauce. It's an easy way to feed an army with minimal effort.
- Make the meatballs by combining the following into golf sized balls
- 600 grams beef or other protein
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- half an onion, diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Coat the meatballs in flour, then dip them in eggs (beaten) before shallow frying on both sides. (Tip: Add a carrot in the drying oil to stop the oil from burning!)
- After frying, place the meatballs con a wire rack
- When all the meatballs are done, place them in a very liquid simmering tomato sauce (can even be 2 jars of store bought sauce combine with 1/2 cup of water).
- Cook on medium heat for 30 min or so, uncovered (I keep the lid half on). Spoon some sauce over the meatballs halfway through or turn over slowly.
- Add water to keep the sauce from turning too thick as needed.
- Serve with spanish rice (traditional) or even plain rice or a pasta if you prefer.
- SAP Managed Tags:
My whole family (minus one nephew) was together for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. This is the spread that my mom put together for all of us (14 people). My mom is an amazing cook!! 
- SAP Managed Tags:
A couple of nights ago I had my mother over and we celebrated the holiday of lights together.
I made creamy pasta with mushrooms as my oldest really like this dish in an Italian restaurant we went to:
And I also made the traditional Latkes with a twist:) ( I added garlic and parmesan cheese)
Today I'm going to celebrate the new year and I expect they will serve very interesting and well decorated dished. Pictures to come!
Happy new year everyone!
- SAP Managed Tags:
Happy new year everyone!:)
So, as promised, I will share pictures from our new year's celebration. It was my second time ever celebrating it this way (and not in a big dance party). I really enjoyed the atmosphere and each person brought dishes they made. Also, afterward there was a play where each guest had a role and I was the prince:). Good time!:)
Now to the important part😁:
And this was my contribution to the feast as some connected less to the traditional food:)
And some food decor:)
I made the Pita bread snacks in the oven. I sliced the Pitas to quarters, mixed them with Oliver oil, Satureja spice and chopped Garlic. I baked them in the oven until they became crunchy. However, be aware that this snack is very sneaky! Before you notice, you realize that you ate two Pitas:) Unfortunately, even if you eat it quarter by quarter, it will still sum-up to a whole Pita:)
- SAP Managed Tags:
Hello everyone!
On Saturday we celebrated a birthday in the family. I debated whether we should go to a restaurant or have the kids engaged in enabling their mother with an amazing birthday celebration. We decided to cook at home:). It was a win-win situation as the kids also spent enjoyable and meaningful time and it also came-out great and tasty.
Here is what they/we made:):
