I’ve always loved the way Shoshana at Couldn’t be Parve turns out gorgeous gourmet marshmallows in flavours like Blood Orange, Rose and Raspberry Lemonade.  She makes it look easy, and the truth is, I’ve followed her recipes and they’re not difficult. But as with most marshmallow recipes, they involve hauling out a thermometer (and I don’t have a real candy thermometer, just a digital one that I dunk into things as needed).  Most marshmallow recipes also call for corn syrup, though Shoshana does offer a liquid invert sugar “marshmallow syrup” recipe that I’ve used several times.  It works, but it involves extra steps that add to the “patchke” of making marshmallows from scratch. When we were invited to gluten-free friends for lunch, I saw it as a great opportunity to make marshmallows again.  But I REALLY wasn’t looking forward to monitoring the temperature or doing the invert-sugar step.  Out of curiosity, I started googling thermometer-free recipes,...

You know that feeling?  When you’re expecting something really, really good in the mail?  Like a tasty treasure-trove of Starbucks instant coffee from your sister Canada?  Because there IS no Starbucks in Israel, only Aroma, which isn’t nearly as good?  (okay, only Aroma, and Greg, and Roladin and Maafah Na’aman, and a million other chains, which is fantastic, but they are NOT Starbucks) And everywhere you turn… (and by the way, Starbucks is NOT not here because of antisemitic or anti-Israel or anti-Zionist anything ) Even nestled in the weeds… Hiding in the neighbourhood olive trees… And twisted into the branches of even weirder trees…

Just testing the picture-taking capability of my new BlackBerry Playbook… not bad; better resolution AND colour than my actual camera.  Even with no flash! Making my Auntie Sally’s Challah recipe… as you can see here, each week I print out a new recipe sheet.  Terrifically wasteful, but one doesn’t want to bring any kind of electronic device within splashing range.  I suppose a whiteboard would do the trick… but for now, I print it off from the spreadsheet, which automatically calculates what I need based on how many finished challahs I want. Another trick that will throw off my quantities a bit but greatly increase the yumminess of the finished product:  any bread dough left over from the week – in this case, a bit of a batch of no-knead dough from Tuesday’s boule – becomes an instant pre-ferment for the weekly challah.  I did use regular yeast as well, though since I’m leaving it overnight, I probably didn’t have to.     One of the most...

Oh my goodness… I have the most gifted, artistic husband in the whole entire universe. Here, for your delight and perusal, are his awesome Birthday in BreadLand Cartoons: Nothing more I can say.  Though I love how I’m sleeping bareheaded but modestly be-ticheled in the (full-colour!) dream sequence… To all my loyal readers, happy birthday from me!  Thank you for giving the gift of reading my blogs and (if you haven’t already) Liking my ever-expanding MamaLand Empire !!!

I was so excited when I saw that Shoshana of Couldn’t be Parve (one of my favourite kosher food blogs!) had posted this Round Woven Challah Tutorial .  She used beautiful coloured dough – there’s even a video. In previous years , when it comes to round challahs, I have done one of two things:  made a very long  EVEN braid (normally, I make the braids FAT in the middle, but that doesn’t work for round) and then just wrapped it in on itself.   Or… um… just made a big, fat snake, and wrapped it up like a snail.  Easy!  (Plus, that’s what my mother does, so it’s not only easy, it’s a TRADITION!) (click the link above & scroll down to see both models) I’ve always thought of myself as a klutzy,  non-dextrous person, but the truth is that my regular 4-braids come so easily now that I am starting to think maybe I just needed practice all along.  (I have been partly emboldened along the way by various paper-folding things, like Curious George...

Onion and poppy – how do I love thee!  Let me count the Jewy ways to your Jewish Jewy goodness.  Whether it’s on a pletzl or a bagel or here, there is something utterly old-world and PERFECT about the combination.  Whereas lemon-poppy strikes me as innately goyish.  Strange! I already did a step-by-step for this recipe last year , but what the heck… Maggie Glezer lists this as a “beginner” bread in her Blessings of Bread book, but I really don’t think so.  In terms of the dough, it’s simple; in terms of technique – hardly.  So here we go! Two ballies… basic “Czernowitzer Challah” recipe from the book. Become two snakes…     Become roadkill.   I used purple onions this year, and judging from the pics, they’re not as finely diced as last year.  Or perhaps last year, I fried them… I dunno.  I did use butter last year and for whatever reason, I opted for oil this year.  I wouldn’t say the loaf suffered at all from b...

The big kids are coming home tomorrow, so I hauled out my trusty soft-pretzel recipe (it’s also a decent “in-a-pinch” bagel recipe!) this afternoon to whip some up for Elisheva, because it’s been impossible to find the frozen kind in the stores lately.  Okay, not just for Elisheva; also for me.  I love these! Here I am, rolling the snake, twisting and flipping it into the classic pretzel shape!  Easy as pretzels!   (if you aren’t seeing this animation, it could be because your browser – or blog-reading software – doesn’t support animaged GIFs… try Firefox or IE for best results) Waiting under the fruit-fly umbrella… sigh.  I hate those things!  The good news is that they’re almost gone !   Dip in the solution.  I don’t measure, just dump baking soda into this pan of warm water.   Then bake – they only need about 7 minutes!  They come out of the oven looking dry, but when they’re cool enough, you dip them in butter ...

Here’s what I’m baking with the kids this morning: Chocolate-Chip Cookies (henceforth, ccc’s!)! Yeah, yeah, this blog is supposed to be for breads and cakes only. But it’s baking, and I haven’t posted here all week, so forgive me. These may not be as delicious as butter ones, but with the oil, they are fast, easy and delicious. Pics to follow! Step by Step! Mix the cookie dough – quick n’ easy Roll in two identical logs, inside parchment and tinfoil – and freeze at least 1-2 hours. Remove one log from freezer and unwrap. Slice half the log thinly into 12 cookies. Place on baking sheet and bake 12-14 minutes at 350°. Repeat with the second half of the dough! Shiputzim Cookies Recipe borrowed from the teenagers at http://ourshiputzim.blogspot.com/2010/07/freshly-baked-friday-chocolate-chip.html Cookies 2/3 cup oil 1½ cups brown sugar 2 eggs plus 1 yolk 1 TBSP vanilla 2½ cups flour 2 tsp baking powder (i.e. one envelope for my Israeli readers) ½ tsp baking soda ...