Sweet and sour unstuffed cabbage with Fruitchup {Paleo, keto, low carb}

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My Grandma Rose made the best stuffed cabbage, sweet-and-sour style with raisins and lemon slices. But she didn't make it often because it was a *bleeping* pain in the *bleep* to blanch the cabbage, separate the leaves, and roll up all those little suckers.

Right after I launched my new Fruitchup Paleo ketchup, which is sweetened with raisins and dates instead of added sugar or artificial sweeteners, I realized that it was the perfect ingredient for Sweet and Sour "Unstuffed" Cabbage, because it actually contains everything Grandma Rose would have put into her stuffed cabbage, except for the meat and the cabbage.

This Sweet and Sour Unstuffed Cabbage recipe is Paleo and Whole30 compliant, requires only four ingredients, takes only 10 minutes of actual work (plus a few hours to simmer on the stove), and will bring my Grandma Rose right into your kitchen. I gave some of my last batch to a friend and her whole family loved it, including a preschooler and a baby.

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Sweet and Sour Unstuffed Cabbage {Paleo, keto}

by Erika Kerekes May-6-2017

This delicious, hearty stew comes together in just a few minutes and uses only four ingredients, including Fruitchup Paleo ketchup. A variation on my Grandma Rose's classic stuffed cabbage recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1/2 large head of cabbage)
• 1 bottle Fruitchup Paleo ketchup
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks.Add the onion, cabbage, and Fruitchup Paleo ketchup. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.Turn down the heat, cover the pot, and simmer 1.5 to 2 hours, until the cabbage is wilted and the flavors are well combined.Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. For those not following a Paleo or Whole30 way of eating, the Unstuffed Cabbage can be served over rice.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 10 mins Yield: 8 servings

I cut out sugar and carbs to treat my type 2 diabetes, and here's what happened

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(Are you trying to cut down on sugar too? You might like this free ebook I put together with some of the sugar-busting tricks I've collected - click here to get it.)

In August 2015, more than a year and a half ago, I got the doctor's call I'd been dreading: diabetes.

After an hour of full-on weeping and feeling sorry for myself, I dried my tears and decided to do something about it.

Luckily, one of the first videos I found was the one above from Dr. Sarah Hallberg, an M.D. who runs a diabetes clinic in the Midwest. Her argument is amazingly sensible:

To lower your blood sugar, stop eating the foods that raise your blood sugar the most (carbohydrates) and add more of the foods that don't raise your blood sugar at all (fats). 

So that's what I did. That very day, I decided to say goodbye to sugar and carbohydrates, including grains, starchy vegetables, legumes, and most fruits. I started eating a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet. I eat protein, fat, and non-starchy vegetables. And that's just about it. (Click here for more details on what I eat.)

Here's what happened when I cut out sugar and carbs - the good and the bad. Brutal honesty ahead.

With my older son Emery on an early morning hike

The good things are very, very good.

Elevator door selfie

• My blood sugar went down and has stayed down. Within three months it was normal. Now, after more than 18 months of eating this way, it's lower than it's been since I was in my 20s.
• I lost weight - more than 40 pounds - although that was not my goal. Not having diabetes was my goal.
• I no longer have to take medications for diabetes and acid reflux, and I was able to reduce other meds as well.
• I have much more energy, and it's steady throughout the day. I don't get the after-lunch nap craving anymore.
• I sleep better.
• My breath is better.
• I have had to replace my entire wardrobe, including my underwear, because it got too big. Twice.
• I am rarely hungry and it doesn't take a lot to fill me up.
• My feet don't hurt anymore.
• My digestion is much more regular. I know a lot of people get constipated on a low carb high fat diet, but I have not had that problem.
• My dentist and dental hygienist tell me that my teeth and gums are much healthier than they were a few years ago. Fewer cavities, less plaque, less gum recession.
• I feel good about my body. Some things are still annoying (triple chin that will probably never go away, relatively big belly, stretch marks, thin hair) but they bother me much less. When I look in the mirror, my first thought is "I look healthy."
• I rarely crave sugar or carbs. When I tell you that the white-flour foods used to make up 90 percent of my diet, I am not exaggerating. I never imagined that I would not only be able to live without them, but would not mind living without them. Truly, I do not mind.
• I feel proud that I've taken control of my health. This spills over into other areas, too. I'm proud of myself in general.
• Overall, I'm in a much better mood.

The bad things have required some adjustment but aren't too bad.

There's a lot of meat in my life these days

• Our family meals have become somewhat repetitive. Protein, vegetable, salad. Protein, vegetable, salad. Feeding people is one of my favorite things in life (that's why I started Not Ketchup, my condiment business - feeding people on a large scale!), so serving boring family meals makes me cringe. My husband and kids haven't complained much, but I fear they're just being polite.
• I have missed out on social opportunities with my family. We used to spend a lot of our family time on food-centered outings, exploring the various ethnic cuisines of Los Angeles. My husband and sons still go from time to time. I choose not to participate in most of those now, not because I'm afraid I'll be tempted, but because they just don't interest me as much.
• I am less motivated to blog about food. I've been writing In Erika's Kitchen since 2008 and have gotten great pleasure over the years in creating recipes and photographing delicious food. But because food is no longer as big a part of my life, I'm not as interested in writing about it. This makes me sad. 
• My skin looks worse (to me). After years of being heavier, the skin on my face and certain parts of my body is looser now that I've lost weight. Although I am not into the idea of plastic surgery for myself, I see why it appeals to some people.
• It is actually harder now for me to buy clothes, not easier. When I was bigger, plus sizes fit fairly reliably. Now I am oddly shaped, still carrying more weight in my middle than in other places. Things that fit me in the middle are way too big on top and in the seat and legs. Only certain styles flatter my body. Alterations are expensive.
• I'm irritated with myself that it took me so long to make these positive changes. I try to focus forward - glad I finally saw the light! - but in dark moments I think about all the years when I could have been feeding my body differently and thus perhaps avoided some of the damage I'm now trying to undo.
• I am no longer an easy dinner guest. Or house guest. Or travel companion. 
• My eyesight has gotten worse. Of course, I'm 50, so that was bound to happen at some point. Might be coincidence.
• Our food bills have gone up. Without cheap fillers like rice, beans, and bread, our family meals are more expensive. On the other hand, my health costs, both present and future, have gone down, so I try not to worry too much about this.
• I eat more meat than I'd prefer. In a perfect world I probably wouldn't be vegetarian, but I always enjoyed non-meat proteins like beans. Now they raise my blood sugar too much. I try to work in more fish, but it's not my favorite. 
• "On the go" food is more challenging. I can't assume I can pick up a snack wherever I am. I have to bring my own. I keep emergency low carb protein bars in my purse and car.
• I've gotten a little preachy, especially with my kids, about what I believe to be the dangers of excess sugar and carbohydrate intake. I don't want to be the Food Police, but given their genetics (sorry, guys) I feel compelled to try to influence their eating habits. 

Overall, of course, I'm glad I made the lifestyle changes I did. Because good health > diabetes. Period.

Have you ever tried giving up or cutting back on sugar and carbs? What changes did you notice? I'd love to hear about your journey.

Conquering diabetes: A gift to my family

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These three men: That's why I need to deal with my diabetes

Someone asked me recently why I have been so motivated to get my diabetes under control when so many people fail to take it seriously.

See the three guys in the photo above? They are the reason.

And it's not some kind of fluffy "I need to be here for my family." I mean, YES, of course I want to continue to live, and I want to live a healthy life, and I want to see my grandchildren someday and all that.

But there's a much more concrete reason I need to take responsibility for my health, keep my blood sugar under control and try to avoid the long-term damage diabetes can cause in my body.

I do not want to be a burden on my family.

No one does. No one wants their spouse or children to have to take care of them.

And sometimes it happens, and we get sick, and it's beyond our control. If we're lucky it doesn't happen until we're very old and we've lived a long, meaningful life.

But diabetes, if uncontrolled, can quickly lead to all kinds of awful and debilitating problems. Heart disease. Kidney disease. Infections that require toes to be amputated. Blindness.

And diabetes is something I can control, at least for now.

So if I choose not to control it...

...if I ignore it, eat candy (and other stuff), fail to exercise, and let my blood sugar run wild...

...isn't that me telling my husband and kids that I don't care about them?

Isn't that me putting a pretty big burden on them that I can choose to avoid?

Taking control of my health is my responsibility as a parent and a wife.

Celebrating our 20th anniversary

Over the past few months I watched one of my friends take care of her husband. Complications of his diabetes led to kidney disease, heart problems, and I think a stroke. He died recently.

I was and am extremely sad for my friend and her kids. Their loss is huge.

But watching the toll it took on my friend - who went from working mother and wife to working mother and wife and full-time caregiver in an instant, who saw her entire life turned upside-down - made me even more determined that I was not going to do that to my husband.

When I get on the elliptical every morning, I'm doing it for me. But I'm also doing it for Michael. If I keep my diabetes under control, maybe he'll never have to spend his afternoons driving me to dialysis.

When I avoid sugar, bread and pasta, I'm doing it for my kids. If I keep my blood sugar under control, maybe they'll never have to push me around in a wheelchair because I had to have my toes amputated.

To be clear, I know that some health problems are beyond all control. If I were to get cancer or some other serious, unavoidable illness (God forbid), I know my family would take care of me.

But diabetes is not beyond my control. There are things I can do, and am doing, to keep it at bay.

It's the least I can do for my family.

Arianna Trading Company organic tomatoes: A "good news, bad news" story

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GOOD NEWS: Last week I got to see my friend George Menzelos of Arianna Trading Company. George has been importing the most beautiful single-estate organic olive oil from Greece for a few years now, and this year he's also bringing in organic tomatoes, currants, and a sesame herb salt. George left me samples of all his products to inspire my cooking and, we hoped, a blog post or two.

BAD NEWS: After George's visit, I got buried in work, both for a new client and for Not Ketchup. A few days after I saw George, I was stuck in my home office until after 10pm. I didn't even have time to make dinner for my family.

GOOD NEWS: My 15-year-old son Emery decided to make dinner. He cooked up penne pasta with a rich tomato meat sauce. Emery even brought a bowl down to the office for me.

GOOD NEWS: That was the most delicious bowl of pasta I've ever eaten - not only because my child made it for me (what mother could resist the charms of that?) but because the tomato sauce was sweet, thick, and intense.

BAD NEWS: A few hours later I realized that I might have heard Emery say something like "I decided to make pasta because you had all these tomato products." I went to the refrigerator. George's tomatoes were gone. And on the drying rack I found this:

BAD NEWS: I hadn't taken any pictures and we'd eaten all the pasta. Hard to write a blog post without pictures.

GOOD NEWS: I found some leftover sauce in the refrigerator, so I photographed that instead. It was so delicious that I ate it the next day straight from the plastic container with a spoon. Cold.

GOOD NEWS: See the line above about "the most delicious bowl of pasta I've ever eaten."

Arianna's organic strained tomatoes will be available very soon - and when they are, I suggest you run right out and get some (keep an eye on the Arianna website to find out where to buy them). Here's what George says about his organic strained tomatoes:

Our organic heirloom tomatoes are hand-picked ripe from the vine, then peeled, seeded, and strained by mechanical means in an allergan-free facility. These GMO-free "true breed" tomatoes have been cultivated by the Gousiaris family in the village of Ilias in central Greece for over 100 years. It takes 5 kilos of tomatoes to produce about 1 kilo of our strained tomatoes, which are pasteurized in the jar the old-fashioned way. They are tomatoes your grandmother would love.

CONCLUSION: Emery's pasta was indeed a happy accident. I'm thrilled that I'm no longer the only cook in the family, but clearly I need to get better about labeling the food in the refrigerator if I need to keep it for blogging!

California Sunshine breakfast sandwich with pesto and peppers

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For many years I made my boys a hot breakfast every single day.

But as they've gotten older and I've gotten busier, I've left them to their own devices in the mornings more and more.

They're pretty self-sufficient on school days. Neither kid loves cereal, but between leftovers, toast, smoked salmon (the elder), Nutella (the younger), and the Keurig, they do pretty well.

One morning not long ago, I saw my older son rummaging dejectedly through the refrigerator and took pity on him. While he got his stuff together, I threw together a quick open-faced breakfast sandwich: a Stonefire Mediterranean Pocket Pita with pesto, a fried egg, and a quick saute of colored bell peppers. It tasted great and looked even better.

Every time I see this photo it reminds me of mornings in our Santa Monica kitchen: sunny, bright, warm, and cheerful, with a pure golden light that slants in through the southeast windows. Thus the name: California Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich. May it bring sunlight and warmth to all of your kitchens too.

Disclosure: Stonefire sent me their flatbreads to try. I have to tell you - they're fantastic. The pita bread is soft, pillowy, with just the right amount of chew, and it's not dry at all. We also enjoyed the naan and pizza crust, but the pita was the hands-down winner. Other than the free bread, for which my family was very grateful, I got no compensation for this post. We ate the samples faster than I could photograph them. Luckily, Stonefire pita is now available at my local Costco, and possibly at yours too. 

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California Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich

by Erika Kerekes April-9-2014

Pesto, a fried egg, and sauteed tri-color bell peppers top a soft pita bread for this delicious breakfast sandwich that looks like California sunshine.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup mixed color bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 pita bread round
• 1 Tablespoon basil pesto sauce
• 1 egg
• chives, for garnish
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

In a small nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers; cook until wilted and starting to brown around the edges, 3-4 minutes. Put the pepper mixture on a plate.While the peppers are cooking, put the pita in the toaster. Toast until warm and soft. Spread the pita with the pesto sauce.In the same skillet in which you cooked the peppers, crack the egg. Fry the egg until it is done to your liking.To assemble the sandwich, slide the fried egg onto the pita and top with the pepper mixture. Garnish with the chives and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Yield: 1 sandwich

Potato latke burger sliders for Hanukkah

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Move over, ramen burger. It's Hanukkah, and we're making potato latkes.

Let me introduce you to Potato Latke Burger Sliders.

Take one of those crispy, salty, delicious potato latkes (pan-fried shredded potato pancakes, the traditional Hanukkah dish). Top it with a big meatball or a small hamburger. Add a healthy dollop of your favorite applesauce. Lay a second potato latke on top.

And that's how we make the Potato Latke Burger Slider. Ramen burger, we'll eat you some other time.

Happy Hanukkah to those of you celebrating - may your week be full of light and latkes!

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Potato Latke Burger Sliders for Hanukkah

by Erika Kerekes November-27-2013

Move over, ramen burger. It's Hanukkah and we're surrounding our mini-burgers with crispy, salty potato latkes. The fried potato pancakes make an excellent wrapper for your favorite burger or meatball. A fun dish for any Hanukkah dinner.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 large Russet potato, peeled
• 1/2 medium-sized yellow onion
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour or potato starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil, for frying
• applesauce, for serving (my favorite applesauce recipe)

Instructions

Make the sliders: Divide the ground beef into four small portions and shape into burgers. Pan-fry in a hot, heavy skillet until done. Put the sliders on a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.Make the potato latkes: Grate the potato and onion into a large bowl. (Many people eschew the food processor here, but I go back and forth between the food processor and a hand grater depending on my mood.) Gather the mixture into a ball in the bowl and put a few layers of paper towel on top of it. Squeeze and massage the potato mixture through the towel. When the towel is wet, discard it and use another. When the potato mixture is no longer giving off a lot of water, you have squeezed enough.Add the egg, flour, salt, and pepper to the potato mixture and blend thoroughly with a spoon.Heat the oil in another large, heavy skillet until shimmering. Add the potato mixture, using a very scant 1/4 cup for each latke. Press down the latke mixture in the pan so each latke is round (more or less) and thin. Fry on each side until golden brown, then drain on a sheet pan lined with paper towels or topped with a rack. This mixture should make 8 latkes total.Assemble the sliders just before serving: Place a latke on a plate, then top with a burger. Add a dollop of applesauce and lay another latke on top. Serve immediately (this is very important - the bottom latke will get soggy after just a few minutes.)

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 4 sliders

Breakfast at work: Egg drop soup with bean thread noodles

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I may have to change the name of this blog.

"In Erika's Kitchen" is no longer accurate. Both my boys - Emery (14) and Weston (11) - now happily spend time in the kitchen turning out delicious creations the whole family enjoys.

Emery carried this bowl of egg drop soup with bean thread noodles down to my home office this morning. The tiny bowl on the side held black vinegar. I mixed the vinegar into the soup and slurped it down.

I have never had a more delicious bowl of soup.

I love summer vacation. And I love having big kids.

By the way, they also take out trash and recycling, put away laundry, carry in the groceries, and sweep when asked.

Signed,
The Luckiest Mom In The World

Grandma Rose's rugelach on The Shiksa in the Kitchen

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My grandmother Rose Chankin Sharron and me, c. 1989

Tori Avey, also known as The Shiksa in the Kitchen, came over a few weeks ago to bake my Grandma Rose's rugelach with me.

My mom was visiting at the time and the three of us sat around the dining room table for hours, talking about family, cooking, and "the olden days," as my kids refer to them.

I think you'll like the way Tori captured the essence of this family recipe. My grandmother's rugelach don't look or taste like any other rugelach I've seen. But to me, they're traditional. They're my tradition.

And she kindly left out the part about my great-grandmother possibly running a brothel in western Russia at the turn of the 20th century.

(pause)

Oops. Cat's out of the bag.

Read Tori's post: Erika's "Unorthodox" Rugelach on The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Fruity braised chicken thighs for my mother

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Plump braised chicken thighs - perfect for my mom's next dinner party

My mother (hi Mommy! Love you!) is one of my most devoted readers.

This surprises me only because my blog is about cooking.

My mom cooked our family meals when I was growing up, but she didn't like it much. And it showed.

I grew up on baked chicken breasts (sprinkled with paprika for color), baked fish (sprinkled with paprika for color), frozen vegetable medley, and the occasional baked potato. I don't believe any baked good ever emerged from our ovens.

(Don't worry, she won't be insulted that I'm sharing this. She admits it freely.)

These days, though, my mother is throwing dinner party after dinner party.

Why the sudden change of culinary heart?

We lost my dad more than four years ago. Since then my mother has done an admirable job rebuilding a social life.

Like me, she's decided to be the organizer. The one who issues the invitations instead of waiting for them.

My mom has asked me to help plan the menus for a half-dozen parties. She uses my recipes and then, when her friends ask, she proudly points them to this blog.

My mother loves my blog. But she's had the same complaint suggestion for a few years: "You need more chicken recipes."

So here I am with a chicken recipe. An easy one, too. Perfect for my mom's next dinner party.

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Fruity braised chicken thighs

by Erika Kerekes March-2-2013

Start this chicken dish on the stove to crisp the skin, then move it to the oven to finish cooking. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs yield the most flavorful meat.

Ingredients

• 6 large chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup apricot jam, quince jam, or orange marmalade (your choice)
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Heat a large, heavy, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. (A cast-iron skillet works perfectly for this dish.) Sprinkle the chicken thighs with the salt and place them skin-side down in the skillet. Leave them alone for at least 5 minutes, then lift one up with tongs and peek. You want the skin to be deep golden-brown and crisp around the edges. When it's so, remove the chicken from the skillet and park it on a plate for a moment.While the chicken is browning, whisk together the wine, mustard, garlic, and jam. Add a good amount of freshly ground pepper and whisk again to combine.Turn off the heat. Pour off the rendered fat in the skillet. Put the chicken back in the skillet, skin-side up this time. Pour the wine mixture over the chicken and put the skillet in the preheated oven. Bake the chicken about 40 minutes, until the skin is dark and caramelized and the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 50 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 6 servings

National Blogging Day of Remembrance

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Weston and the whipped cream

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What do you do when your sensible, responsible, self-motivated, self-sufficient 10-year-old son asks to do something crazy?

I said yes.

The crazy thing in question involved a hot summer Saturday, two cans of whipped cream (did you know about chocolate-flavored whipped cream?), a plastic bowl, the backyard, and Weston's face. And then, later, the hose.

We had fun.

Bacon and egg salad for my mom

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Bacon and egg salad: Yet another way bacon and eggs were meant to be together

Mother's Day is coming right up, and to get in the mood our local food blogger posse (Food Bloggers Los Angeles) had a potluck brunch where members brought dishes inspired by their moms.

It took me a while to figure out what to bring. My mother is not the world's greatest cook. She never baked cakes. No homemade bread. No elaborate Julia Child-inspired anything. My mother made baked fish sprinkled with paprika, frozen vegetables, and reservations.

However, my mother does like to eat. And one of her favorite meals, day or night, breakfast or dinner, is egg salad.

She's also spent the last few years on and off the Atkins diet. Which means there's been a not insignificant amount of bacon in her world.

Bacon and eggs go great together in every form. So I made a big bowl of egg salad, cooked a pound of bacon, and slapped them together. No meat-eater on the planet will object to this egg salad. It's just plain fantastic.

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Bacon and egg salad

by Erika Kerekes April-29-2012

If you like egg salad and you like bacon, you'll love everything about bacon and egg salad. The secret ingredients: bacon fat and pickle juice. Don't laugh! I know it's over the top. Just splurge and thank me later.

Ingredients

• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 pound bacon
• 3 large ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp dill pickle juice (from a jar of dill pickles)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Put the eggs in a pot in which they fit snugly. Cover the eggs with cold water, put the pot over medium-high heat, and bring the pot to a boil. When the water boils, cover the pot, turn off the heat, and leave the pot of eggs sitting on the stove for 15 minutes - they will cook in the hot water even though the stove is turned off. After 15 minutes, dump out the hot water and run cold water into the pot until the eggs are cool enough to handle. Peel under running water and dry on a paper towel. Put the eggs in a large mixing bowl.While the eggs are boiling, cook the bacon until crisp. I cook my bacon in the microwave, laying the strips in a single layer between layers of paper towel. The time to cook the bacon depends on how thick it is; thinly sliced bacon can cook in as little as 3-4 minutes, while thick-cut bacon can take 7 minutes or more. Check it every few minutes to make sure it's not burning. Or, if you find it easier, cook your bacon in a skillet or in the oven. When the bacon is cool, crumble it into little pieces, reserving a few slices to garnish the top of the bowl if you wish.Use a potato masher to crush the boiled eggs until all the whites are in tiny pieces. Add the celery, green onions, mayonnaise and pickle juice. Mix thoroughly, then add the crumbled bacon and mix again. Taste and add salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper.Scoop the bacon and egg salad into a serving bowl and garnish with the reserved slices of bacon, if using. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: 8-10 servings

Passover recipes, holiday traditions

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Matzoh kugel with apple and cinnamon - one of my Passover traditions

I've collected a lot of Passover recipes over the years. In 2009, during my first year writing about food, I asked local chefs, caterers and home cooks in Los Angeles to share their favorite Passover recipes in my LA Cooking Examiner column. I got a dozen or so, each more interesting than the next. (Click here for the entire list - it's worth perusing, I promise.)

I love the diversity of southern California's Jewish cuisine. For a girl of Russian-Polish descent from Long Island, Los Angeles's Sephardic leanings feel very exotic. I wrote about Tunisian carrot salad, Persian "celebration rice," lamb tagine with artichokes. I read about haroset with avocados and bananas, which sounded a little weird. I planned imaginary seders in which matzoh balls were laced with ginger, nutmeg, foie gras.

And yet, when it comes right down to it, my own holiday table has remained fairly boring. I keep it simple and use Passover as an opportunity to celebrate spring. I add sliced snap peas and fresh dill to my matzoh ball soup at the last minute. I cook fat asparagus in the oven as a side dish. I roast my chicken with a sprinkle of garlic salt, crisping the skin under the broiler. Sometimes I put together a matzoh kugel, but other years I serve new potatoes cooked in salt water and call it a day. We always have a big salad, fruit for dessert. Other than the lack of bread, it could be any other dinner on any other night.

Next year, maybe, I'll try that haroset with avocados. Or maybe not. Because, strangely enough, I don't mind that my Passover food is less than memorable. When my kids think back on Passovers past, they'll remember the Seuss-inspired seder, the 10-minute haggadah, bumbling the words to "Dayenu," a gaggle of kids searching for the afikomen in the backyard after dark. And that's okay.

A happy Passover and Easter season to you all. May your holidays create many wonderful memories.

What are some of your Passover and Easter holiday traditions? Share your favorites in the comments below.

Grandma Rose's split pea soup with flanken (beef short ribs)

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My Grandma Rose was a good Jewish cook. We had dinner with my grandparents most Friday nights, not because it was Shabbat - we weren't observant - but because my brother and I had piano lessons on Friday afternoons close to their house.

Grandma Rose's repertoire wasn't huge, but what she made was very good. Chicken fricassee with little meatballs, my dad's favorite. Matzoh ball soup, which I later found out was Lipton's instant chicken noodle soup with matzoh balls from a mix. Stuffed cabbage, done sweet-and-sour Russian-style with golden raisins. Her famous rugelach once or twice a year. And, when we were really lucky, thick split pea soup with flanken beef ribs.

When Grandma Rose made split pea soup, she made a lot - enough to send us home with a few zip-top bags for our freezer. This soup warmed my belly on many a cold New York day.

If Grandma Rose had a recipe for this soup, I never saw it. I'm sharing with you my best guess. I know she used flanken (beef short ribs) and dried dill. I think I remember carrots and celery. My mother says Grandma used tiny pasta, but I like the chew of pearl barley.

A note about ingredients: If you can't find flanken (pronounced FLAHN-ken), regular short ribs or boneless English short ribs will do. I used dried dill weed from Spice Islands, which I find particularly flavorful (the Spice Islands people sent me a sample specifically to use in this recipe). They harvest the dill as it's flowering and include the tiny yellow flowers with the leaves when they dry the dill, which they say accounts for its potency.

By the way, the bowl in the photos is from a set of china that was handed down to me by my grandmother via my mother. No one else in the family wanted it because it can't go in the dishwasher. Lucky me!

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Split pea soup with flanken (beef short ribs)

by Erika Kerekes September-25-2011

My grandmother's stick-to-your-ribs split pea soup - the perfect dish for a chilly day. It's much better after it sits for a day or two in the refrigerator, so plan ahead.

Ingredients

• 2 large yellow onions
• 6 ribs of celery
• 6 carrots
• 2 Tbsp grapeseed or canola oil
• 2 pounds flanken (or regular short ribs)
• 1 pound green split peas
• 1/2 pound pearl barley
• 3 Tbsp dried dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop the onions, celery and carrots. Aim for 1/2-inch pieces, but don't get all OCD about it. You want them all roughly the same size, but a little bigger or smaller won't make a difference at all.Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the ribs on all sides. Remove the ribs to a plate, then add the chopped vegetables to the fat in the pot. Stir a minute or two until everything is coated in fat and starting to soften.Put the meat back in the pot, then add the split peas, pearl barley and dried dill. Add enough water to cover it all and bring the pot to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and simmer the soup at least 2 hours, until it is thickened and the meat is tender.Shred the meat with two forks (or your fingers if you've let the soup cool for a while). The bones will have slipped out of the meat, so fish them out from the bottom of the pot with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper - you will need much more salt than seems reasonable, but keep salting until it tastes right to you.Serve hot for a hearty one-pot lunch or dinner.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 2 hour Total time: 2 hour 10 mins Yield: 12-14 servings

Rosh Hashanah with The Shiksa

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Tori Avey, the Shiksa in the Kitchen

I've been on back-to-back business trips for the past few weeks, which means I've had zero time to get started on (or even think about) cooking for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the upcoming Jewish high holidays. To get me in the mood, I asked Tori Avey, who writes the wonderful blog The Shiksa in the Kitchen, about her high holiday habits. Tori, who converted to Judaism in 2010, describes herself as a culinary historian, and her blog explores both the past and present of Jewish cooking.

For those of you who know no Yiddish, shiksa means "non-Jewish woman" in Yiddish, and often it's a term slung around with claws - as in, "Why are the most eligible Jewish men always attracted to the shiksas?" (Which they are.)

Erika: Tori, who hosts your Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holiday meals? What's your routine through the two holidays? 

Tori: My family and I host the Rosh Hashanah meal, unless we’re in Israel or out of town. That’s actually how I got my nickname “The Shiksa in the Kitchen” — I started cooking our Rosh Hashanah and Passover meals close to 10 years ago, long before I converted to Judaism. My annual Passover meal has close to 50 guests! Rosh Hashanah is a bit smaller, usually around 30. Cooking for that many guests is tough, but I’ve found a few ways to make things easier. A week before the meal, I create a “holiday game plan.” The game plan includes my menu, the recipes I’ll be using, grocery list, cooking times, what time I should start cooking each item, and how much of everything I’ll need. I also have a list of the items we need for the blessings. I try to cook certain food items ahead of time, things that do better after a night in the fridge (brisket, certain marinated salads). I start two days before the holiday so I have a jump start on everything. The more I can prepare in advance, the more I’ll enjoy the actual holiday and spend time with my family and friends! 

Yom Kippur is a very quiet day in our home. We usually don’t have guests and we keep the break fast meal very simple. This year we’ll be breaking fast with our friends from Israel, who will be in town with us, so that will be fun. 

E: Do you cook the same things each year for the high holidays, or do you try to change things up from year to year? 

T: I try to change things up every year, but there are certain dishes that are expected. I always make matzo ball soup — that’s a given for both Rosh Hashanah and Passover. Brisket is also on the menu, but I tend to change the type of brisket that I’m serving from year to year. This year, I’ll be serving brisket with a pomegranate molasses marinade because I’m currently obsessed with homemade pomegranate molasses. I’ll be posting the recipe for that next week.

Tori's Honey Apple Cake, a traditional Rosh Hashanah sweet

E: What's your signature Rosh Hashanah dish? 

T: My Honey Apple Cake. Everybody loves it! It’s full of moisture and flavor from the shredded apples, and it’s dairy free! It also happens to be very pretty. I make it as a Bundt cake, dust it with powdered sugar, and decorate it with drizzled white frosting. 

E: Challah: Do you bake your own? Raisins or no raisins? 

T: I love baking my own! It wouldn’t feel like a holiday without the smell of freshly baked challah in the air. The round challah is my favorite. I usually make a few with raisins and a few without. I like to make the round shape using the Linked Loops method on my challah braiding blog. So pretty! 

E: Do your non-Jewish relatives join you for the high holidays? What do they think of the whole thing? 

T: Yes! They love it. My mom often helps me in the kitchen. She’s my partner in crime. I think I was destined to become Jewish, even though I wasn’t born that way… when my mom married my dad, she walked down the aisle to “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof. A hint of things to come, perhaps? 

E: What traditions did you inherit from your husband's family, and which did you develop on your own after you married? 

T: My husband was born in Israel; he’s half Ashkenazi (Russian Jewish) and half Sephardic (Israeli Jewish). His mom’s Jewish family goes back at least six generations in Haifa, Israel. Because of the two different Jewish backgrounds in our family, we cook what I like to call “Ashkephardic” style, blending Ashkenazi and Sephardic cooking traditions to inspire new flavors. Ashkenazi food is rich, comforting, stick-to-your ribs…brisket, cholent, gefilte fish. Sephardic food is Mediterranean/Middle Eastern/Spanish inspired. It’s all kosher, but the flavors are so diverse. It’s really fun to merge the two cuisines. For example, our family cholent recipe has an Ashkenazic base (meat, potatoes, barley, beans), but we spice it with Sephardic spices (cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne) and we add eggs, which is a North African tradition that we picked up in Israel. 

I’ve been cooking since I was a child; my mom taught me our family recipe for egg noodles when I was 8 years old. In college, we used to have a “Tori Cooks Night” where all my USC friends would gather and I’d cook dinner for everybody. But I never went to culinary school, and I’m certainly not a “trained” chef in the traditional sense. After I met my husband, I wanted to learn to cook the foods he grew up with. Jewish food fascinated and inspired me. I enlisted the help of family members and friends to teach me their favorite family recipes and cooking methods. As I became more confident in the kitchen, I started experimenting on my own and combining flavors to create new recipes. I also studied vintage and antique cookbooks to find out how things were done “way back then.” I’m a food history nerd. 

Nowadays, a lot of what I do in the kitchen is improvised — if something makes sense in my imagination, I throw it together to see if it works. It doesn’t always. I’ve had a few notorious flops (like a terrible pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving a few years ago…yikes!). But if it turns out yummy, more than likely it ends up on my blog. I only share recipes that I really, really love.

E: Which Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur food do you most look forward to? 

T: Okay, I know this might sound so boring, but the Rosh Hashanah food I most look forward to is matzo ball soup. I guess technically that’s a Passover food, but we eat it every Rosh Hashanah, too. I bind the matzo balls with schmaltz and mix in some fresh dill. I slow cook the chicken all day long with vegetables, seasonings, and nutmeg to make a really flavorful stock. The chicken falls off the bone when you take it out of the broth, it’s so tender. Then at the end of cooking, I mix some fresh dill into the broth for an extra burst of flavor. Holy moly. It’s the best! 

For Yom Kippur, we usually break the fast with a dairy meal, so it’s all about a fresh toasted sesame bagel with thinly sliced lox and whipped cream cheese. Doesn’t get any better than that!!