Completely nontraditional and aligned with entirely the wrong Jewish holiday, these are definitely not your Bubbie’s matzah balls. Bound together with roasted pumpkin puree, I prefer to think of them more as matzah dumplings, since they bear a denser, more toothsome texture than the fluffy pillows of Passover lore. The goal of this wintery interpretation was not to perfect the vegan matzah ball, but to create something with the same sort of comforting flavors, revamped with a more seasonal spin.
Pumpkin Matzo Dumpling Soup (WFPB)
This easy salad does double duty, serving for both International Mediterranean Diet Month and National Salad Month. It offers loads of vibrant flavors and, unlike many eggplant recipes, is easy on the oil. Enjoy with tabbouleh, hummus, and other Mediterranean marvels as part of a mezze—small plates that make up a meal.
I’m a bit late in posting for the month of Av which includes the day of mourning, Tisha b’Av, and Tu b’Av, often called the Jewish Valentines Day. The dichotomous holidays take us through a range of emotions from sadness and sorrow moving towards comfort and joy, as we start to prepare for the high holidays. In fact the month is often called Menachem Av, which means comforter or consoler. Literally, as we move through the day of Tisha b’Av, we gradually move to a more hopeful emotional state and towards one of more comfort. We go from sitting on the floor, as is customary with mourners to sitting in chairs. Emotionally, despite the pain of Tisha b’Av, we also have hope. In Judaism, because of our history we always carry narrative of pain and sorrow but are never defeated by it and always look for redemption in even the darkest places. We are steadfast in our optimism.
Traditionally the final meal for the Tisha b’Av fast, one would eat an egg and bread dipped in ashes. Using the month’s themes of comfort and nourishment, I wanted to create a recipe that conveys them. I am visiting family in Chicago where fresh summer corn is readily available and delicious. I used the ingredients from the Angelic Organics CSA box, run by the famous Farmer John. I sprinkled a tiny bit of corn husk ash on each bowl of soup, as a reminder of the ash eaten before Tisha b’Av. The recipe is adapted from one I found on the Minimalist Baker.
For those who like falafel, yet not the extra calories, this is a great, lighter version. I created my own version of baked falafel, though I did not compromise the taste. It is not as crispy as the fried falafel, but, in a whole wheat pita with tahini and tomatoes, it has just as good of a flavor. Low in calories and low in fat—great substitute for the real thing!
I grew up eating my mom’s chocolate pudding from a boxed mix. It was a bit lumpy and thick, with rubbery chocolate pudding skin (My mom gave me permission to tell this story), but it was warm and chocolate and homemade, and I liked it. On the East Coast, there was only one brand worth knowing: My-T-Fine, the premium pudding. It wasn’t exactly instant since the mix had to be cooked with dairy milk. Somewhere along the way Mom decided cooking pudding and washing the pot was not worth the effort.
We moved over to Jell-O brand—really instant pudding: put the mix in a bowl, add milk, and mix with a rotary egg beater. Still, if the bowl wasn’t deep enough (especially if I was doing the mixing) it spattered, and then there were still beaters to wash. And the finished pudding was cold!
That’s why I love this recipe so much: in the same time it took my mom to make sad chocolate pudding or less, you can make Almost-Instant Chocolate Pudding that is real chocolate pudding the way we always wanted it to be: warm, thick, and chocolaty. Plus this one is additive, dairy, and cholesterol-free.