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    raw blueberry pie with microwaveable filling and graham cracker crust

    This mostly-raw blueberry pie is a snap to make and very versatile--the filling microwaves in a few minutes, and you don't even have to bake the zippy gingered graham cracker crust--perfect for a hot Fourth of July and all summer long.

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Oy, Chanukah, Already!

Posted on November 27, 2021 by DebbieN
Artichoke-Olive spanakopita for Chanukah
Artichoke and olive spanakopita tastes authentic even though it’s
completely nondairy. The party round is pretty quick to put together, too.

Haven’t we just finished one holiday? Are we really ready to rummage through the candles and see if we have enough for tomorrow night? Do I really want to cook or fry anything at all today or tomorrow? I mean, I just got my booster shot and it’s starting to hit home. So I’m feeling a bit wrung out. But yes.

If you’re kind of in the same boat, and you’re also trying to behave a little–not too much–just enough so you won’t be size-challenged for party clothes by the time we hit New Year’s… well, I hear you. My husband and I are actually going to a potluck party for the first night of Chanukah tomorrow, and I’m making spanakopita again–why? because it’s got olive oil but not a ton, I’ve done it a number of times for Chanukah parties in the past several years and now I have it on the brain as Chanukah food. And it tastes good and looks like party food, but it’s a lot easier and quicker than you’d think, and folding fillo is a bit like origami or paper airplanes, which is always fun. And you can do the spinach in the microwave…so. Beats standing over a pan of oil frying latkes while everyone gets impatient–we’ll let our friends do that part since they said they would. And someone else promised a salad, so I’m happy.

If I can just pick my wilting carcass up tomorrow and put it together, and then remember where we put the candles from last year and my much-neglected party clothes (of course, here in California that could just mean a clean pair of jeans, I’d go for that) we can get it to our friends’ and have an actual celebration without too much trouble. Maybe.

I just have to convince myself. I have to convince my husband. Most of all I have to convince my cat that yes, I’m going to bed early tonight and that does not mean she should start poking her nose under my chin and trying to dislodge me just so I’ll pay attention. I used to have a similar problem with my kid, but now she’s grown up, mostly…

So–for anyone who needs a few mostly-fresh Chanukah ideas using olive oil–not too stodgy, and not too oily either–here’s the quick list to date, with a few fractured fairytales mixed in (I was always a fan of Rocky & Bullwinkle on Saturday mornings as a kid, and I just haven’t forgiven Robert deNiro and co. yet for the live-action dud).

But first, a (short, considering it’s me) health hock from your slightly wiped-out host:

—–HOCK—–

Give yourself the immense benefit of living! Get your COVID vaccines and/or boosters asap! A day or so of feeling schvach after getting your shot is nothing compared to being hospitalized or, worse, ending up with a long, hard aftermath that can include Type 1 diabetes, which is on the rise because of the huge spread of this virus. Type 2 may be caused by being a bit zaftig, but Type 1 is an autoimmune reaction to viral infection, and it’s for life. And no we didn’t know that either until my daughter was diagnosed in the wake of H1N1 bird flu 11 years ago. So take it from me, because I’m telling you you DO NOT WANT to try and “immunize” yourself or your kids by catching COVID or any other virus. Step up and get your shots and keep getting them as needed until this is actually over.

—-End hock—-

…and now, the ever-expanding Chanukah food list, which unlike all the newspaper food sections, Kosher.com and so on, actually features a few fresh vegetables here and there. Plus, as promised, a few geschichtes and bubbe meises…

OK, Fried PLUS Dairy for Chanukah

Posted on December 17, 2014 by DebbieN | Edit

Well…I figured out something quick to fry for the first night of Chanukah: slices of panela cheese, a white rubbery fresh cheese that’s almost exactly like halloumi. Only it’s Mexican rather than Greek, so it’s locally abundant.

Lightening up for Hanukkah (aka Chanukah)

Posted on December 16, 2014 by DebbieN | Edit

Tonight’s the first night of Chanukah, and not only haven’t I thought of presents, I haven’t thought of dinner. Here are links to Chanukah-worthy dishes from my previous posts.

Rugelach and the Chanukah Fairy

Posted on December 23, 2012 by DebbieN | Edit

You may be asking what on earth rugelach have to do with Chanukah. However, let me warn you, they’re entirely relevant to the holiday treats vs. self-control dilemma. Old-style rugelach are designed to prevent both tameness and pigging out.

Microwave Tricks: (Passover Haste and) Fresh Apple Sauce (which was actually from last Chanukah and very handy…)

Posted on March 26, 2021 by DebbieN | Edit

(What? no pictures of apples? How could this be?!! Somehow I’ve never taken any during Passover–maybe Tuesday…) I know, I know, it’s already Friday afternoon, Passover starts tomorrow night after sundown, and have I cleaned out my fridge? Have I found the all-important kosher-enough-for-me chocolate and kosher-enough-for-anyone cocoa powder? Um…no. I did just bake the […]

Artichoke-olive spanakopita for a party crowd (the big round pan done easily, vegan without seeming vegan, and taka with a fancy slideshow and everything)

Posted on January 2, 2015 by DebbieN | Edit

If you can’t have feta cheese in your spanakopita, this is definitely a good way to go. And making a big festive round tray is a lot easier than it looks. So I’ve put in a slideshow demonstration along with the recipe.

Cauliflower pakoras, lightened up (oh, yeah)

Posted on December 30, 2017 by DebbieN | Edit

By the time I was ready to start lighting candles and sing I had made two extra credit (but simple) sauces for the cauliflower pakoras. I was in the groove and feeling righteous and like I could do no wrong because the pakoras were smelling good. There has to be some time when it’s fun to be in the kitchen, right?

How to fly with a pie (for the 10-minute microwave-to-pan-browned brussels sprouts with hazelnuts recipe)

Posted on December 7, 2015 by DebbieN | Edit

How to fly with a pie…In which yours truly finds herself invited to a magazine-worthy Sonoma idyll for Thanksgiving and feels totally outclassed. Luckily Thanksgiving is about cooking together as much as eating, and we all got down to both pretty handily. I even got the honors of being up to my elbow prepping the turkey (the food glam magazines somehow never show that part; too much like an episode of “ER”).

More things to fry in olive oil (because)

Posted on December 3, 2010 by DebbieN | Edit

Even with mechanical assistance in the form of a food processor, I’m a one-latke-night-per-year-is-enough kind of person. I want something other than potatoes at Hanukkah if I’m going to be frying stuff in more than a spoonful or so of olive oil. Therefore I look for other maybe less starchy and more flavorful (one can always hope) things to fry.

And also….

Continue reading →

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More things to fry in olive oil

Posted on December 3, 2010 by DebbieN

Thanksgiving has barely ended and Hanukkah is already upon us–which means more food! This time with olive oil to commemorate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a war in which the Assyrian Greeks trashed and piggified it in hopes that we’d be so abashed we’d immediately convert and become a convenient tribute-paying way station for their marches around the edge of the Mediterranean to Carthage.

I know the official story credits Judah Maccabee, but really, it happened like this:

The Assyrian Greeks thought we’d be too frightened to complain when they marched through Israel, taking what they wanted and getting their muddy footprints everywhere. They hadn’t yet heard of chutzpah. They also hadn’t reckoned with a little-known secret force:  Jewish grandmothers. These bubbies could out-argue G-d. Weekly. And the lectures? …

“Carthage, schmarthage!” the grandma said. “Wipe your feet already, what are you, a Hannibal?”

Then she hefted a mighty frying pan at the intruders and that’s all she wrote.

So the real hero of this geschichte is clearly not Judah Maccabee, aka “The Hammer” — but Judith ha-Machvat, or “Judy with the Frying Pan Handy” — a woman who could really scare off the goniffs! And so in her memory, we fry up all kinds of goodies for Hanukkah and none of the calories stick to our hips at all. Really. It’s a miracle.

So…enough bubbe meises. Back to the present day.

Last night I made latkes without benefit of a food processor–after a slight kitchen drawer reorganization last spring, I forgot where I put the shredder disk. But for a smallish batch for the three of us–only two spuds and half an onion–it’s not so difficult to grate them by hand, as long as you use a fork to hold the stubs (of the potatoes, not your fingers, I hope) to avoid getting extra “proteins” in there…

The Obligatory Latkes (very basic, but tasty in a good way)–about 12 or so 2-3-inch latkes, enough for 3 people for supper, so scale up as needed

Carbs: 2 big potatoes weighed 480 g total on the food scale before peeling. An estimated 1/6th of the weight of nonsweet potatoes is carb–so about 80 g carb total for this recipe. A 4-latke serving would be about 20-25 g carb.

  • 2 big russet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, shredded on large holes of grater/food processor blade
  • 1/2 medium onion, grated on fine holes into the same bowl OR chopped finely in the food processor BEFORE changing to the shredder blade and doing the potatoes on top of the onion
  • 2 eggs
  • spoonful of olive oil
  • 1-2 t. flour
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of baking soda (which I completely forgot last night, so it’s optional)
  • olive or vegetable oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onions by hand or food processor into a big bowl. The grated onions will help prevent discoloration in the potatoes. Take handfuls of the mixture and squeeze them nearly dry, and pour off most or all of the liquid that collected in the bottom of the bowl. Return the potatoes to the bowl, add the eggs, spoonful of olive oil, flour, salt and baking soda and stir until evenly mixed.

Heat several tablespoons of oil in a nonstick pan until shimmering and dollop soupspoonfuls of the latke mixture in, flattening them as they start to fry. Swirl the pan a little to get the oil touching each latke and maybe keep them from sticking to the pan. Wait until you see brown edges at the bottom of the latkes, then flip and fry the other side, swirling the oil a little or adding another spoonful in droplets where the pan seems to need it. You want these really brown and crisp on the outside, not pale yellow.

Drain on napkins or paper towels on a plate, and at the end, if no one’s snatched them as they cooked, you might want to reheat them all together in the pan or microwave them on the plate for half a minute on HIGH. Serve with applesauce and sour cream or labaneh or plain yogurt.

–  –  –  –  –

That’s the only recipe I’m giving here with set quantities–latkes are more like pancakes, everything below is like a stir-fry.

Non-Latke Options

Even with mechanical assistance in the form of a food processor, I’m a one-latke-night-per-year-is-enough kind of person. I want something other than potatoes if I’m going to be frying stuff in more than a spoonful or so of olive oil. Therefore I look for other maybe less starchy and more flavorful (one can always hope) things to fry:

Pre-nuked (microwaved) eggplant slices, fried in a couple of spoonfuls of olive oil after heating a little garlic and curry powder, maybe a dab of z’khug, for a few seconds first. Onion and red bell pepper are good in this mix too.

Marinated artichoke hearts, perhaps drained slightly and shaken in a plastic bag with a spoonful or so of flour or almond meal or chickpea flour and a little grated cheese and/or some oregano or thyme–no extra salt needed

Pre-nuked cauliflower, breaded as for the artichoke hearts

or–pre-nuked cauliflower, stirfried in a spoonful or so of olive oil with a dab of z’khug if you like things hot, with red bell peppers, onions, and another Continue reading →

Filed under: Beans and legumes, cooking, DASH Diet, Food Blogs, haute cuisine, history, holiday cooking, Microwave tricks, Vegetabalia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More things to fry in olive oil