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Home and Family
WHAT'S COOKING?
by Yaffa Shepsel

Reintroducing YAFFA SHEPSEL, a culinary expert by virtue of experience, tenure and seniority, a grandma a few dozen times over, bli ayin hora, none of whose children or grandchildren are undernourished. A hit-or-miss, hit-and-run cook, she works by rule of thumb-and-forefinger, that is, a pinch here, a toss there. Her recipes are not exact and must be taken with a grain of salt, or sugar, or allspice, whatever your own instinct and sense of taste tells you. She's intuition, ready to share her experiences, good or bad.

Yaffa believes in cooking by feel and taste and acquiring a sixth sense that lets you look at a recipe and know how it will come out - and make half a dozen improvisations and variations the next six times round.

So here goes, try to get the hang of it and you'll become an intuitive cook as well.

STRAWBERRIES - In General and For Pesach

When I started giving - and getting - strawberries for shalach monos, I realized that people don't know what to do with them, and when they receive them even in their basic form, they are amazed how good they are.

I RECEIVED them as-is, as if all you do is use them for decoration. I GAVE THEM sugared. "How do you get such delicious syrup? Do you add water?"

Don't you dare! Here's how to treat this treat: cut off stems, wash according to halachic regulations, slice into about thirds or quarters, then place in your storage container/bowl and sugar them. A kilo of strawberries needs about 3/4 kilo of sugar. Toss lightly to make sure the sugar coats them all. Cover. After an hour at room temperature, or a few hours in the frig, they will have made their own syrup.

You can pour off this syrup for use, and sugar again. I don't know how many times you can `milk' your strawberries and still get that delicious syrup, but go ahead and try - and let me know.

Let me tell you what happened to me: I had an open bowl of sugared strawberries in the frig. when my son's shipke (canned chili peppers, real hot stuff) tipped and some juice poured into the bowl. I had to throw away the syrup, and rinse the remaining strawberries, but I started all over again with sugar, and the syrup I got very shortly after was just as good as new.

Oh, the wonderful things you can do with strawberries and syrup (except for dieting)! 1) Serve as is, as a dessert. 2) Serve with sour cream. 3) Serve with whipped parve whip during the year or with a white whip of your own for Pesach (see below).

(And an aside at this point - in our home, we don't eat any fruits or vegetables on Pesach that cannot be peeled. So how do strawberries slip in? There is another rule that if something is already treated and wet - halachically called lach b'lach - by the time you recite Kol chamira, whatever was chometz on it is nullified already. So we prepare kilos of treated, sugared strawberries in advance, freeze, and use it on Pesach. This is also how we have cooked peppers in tomato sauce etc. prepared in advance.)

4) STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

Take three egg whites and some strawberries with syrup, about 2 cups. Start whipping as is! You may have to cover the mixer with a towel or plastic bag since to begin with, this shpritzes. You will surely be very skeptical about this mixture getting stiff, but trust me, Savta Strawberry-Girl, that it will. It'll get stiffer and stiffer, and by this time, you will be able to add more strawberries to increase the amount. (Listen to your editor and add a grain, only a grain, of salt, to keep the mixture stiff.)

This strawberry dessert is good frozen or refrigerated as is, garnished with some real strawberries with syrup.

5) STRAWBERRY JAM. Sure, you can buy it by now, but Pesach is the time for exercising your homemaker's talents and doing-it- yourself. Most jam recipes call for one kilo sugar per kilo fruit. I personally think this is too much and use about 3/4 kilo.

You can have whole strawberry jam or preserves. For each kilo, add two finely grated sour Grand apples, to provide the pectin needed to coagulate the jam. For preserves, you can blend the strawberries with the apples. Add juice of one lemon (careful not to let any pits sneak in), and then cook. Put in a big saucepan, since this has a tendency to overflow. Stir over low flame, preferably with a wooden spoon, often, until it becomes thick, but not too thick.

The thicker it is, the more difficult it will be to spread. The thinner, the more mileage you'll get out of it. And you'll need that mileage, it will be so good.

6) COOKED STRAWBERRY COMPOTE. Take your s/w/s (strawberry with syrup), about two cups, add 2 cups of water, lemon juice and cook. Before it boils, dissolve about 3 tablespoons potato starch in half a glass of water and then pour into pot, stirring well to avoid lumps. When it boils and thickens, turn off flame.

7) VARIATION ON STRAWBERRY COMPOTE. Cook as above 6) but in the potato starch mixture, add 2 egg yolks and mix well, then pour into pot, mixing well, until it boils and thickens.

Beat up whites until stiff, then SLOWLY fold the HOT compote into the whites. This will puff up to a light and delightful dessert. Serve hot or cold, not frozen.

*

WHITE WHIP - BASIC WHITE FROSTING

I promised you a parve white whip. This is a basic frosting to be used all year round, but can also serve as a topping for a fruit dessert. Beware, it's very sweet.

(In one of your cake recipes, preferably a brownie or chocolate cake, substitute two yolks for one whole egg and you'll have the two egg whites necessary for this frosting.)

INGREDIENTS: Two egg whites, one cup sugar, few grains of salt. Optional: some vanilla.

In saucepan put the whites and sugar/salt. Turn on low fire for a few minutes until you feel the upper side of the saucepan hot to your touch. Start beating right away with your handmixer. When the pot is hot, turn off flame and continue beating until very stiff. It will be if you get the hang of it. That's all there is to it. Experiment with one white if you're leary.

TIPS ON GEFILTE FISH

Housewives are always complaining that their gefilte fish won't hold together on Pesach without matza meal. I haven't had any problems, that is, with carp.

Carp is a gluey fish when ground. Add the normal amount of grated onions and carrots and eggs (I use two per kilo of ground carp). Mix very well. Let stand for about ten minutes and you'll see that there is no liquid. Mix again. You can drop balls into boiling water containing your favorite spices, onions and carrots. By the way, I use my peeler to make very thin slices of carrots which look very nice on the serving platter.

Another trick I have is to pour some mixture in sandwich bags. I think they have kosher l'Pesach plastic bags, since one kind was questionable. Anyway, smooth and round off the mixture into the bottom half of the bag and fold under. Should look like a sausage. Pierce a few times with fork or knife so that it will interact with the juice in the pot.

Cool for at least a day in frig before removing the plastic bag and slicing. Another nice serving trick is to embed a carrot into the middle of the mixture in the bag. When you remove to slice, you will have the carrot right there!

*

And finally, from fish to nuts. Make your own SOUP NUTS or CREME PUFFS. Same recipe, just the size differs.

I refuse to take responsibility for this one but I know my daughter made it and it came out scrumptuous. I am just suggesting the idea, which is a basic creme puff recipe, with the potato starch cut down to half the flour and oil substituted for margarine.

INGREDIENTS: 2 cups water, half cup oil, one tsp. sugar, dash of salt, 1 cup potato starch, 6 eggs.

INSTRUCTIONS: In large saucepan over medium heat, boil water, oil, salt and sugar.

Turn off fire, add potato starch and mix very well with wooden spoon. Turn fire on again and mix energetically until mixture separates from side of pot.

Put mixture into mixture bowl, beat and wait a few minutes until cool. Add whole eggs, mixing well after each one. You are ready for baking. Place small or large spoonfuls or put batter into plastic bag with one corner cut out and swirl onto greased sheet and bake in HOT oven until golden. Let cool.

Creme puffs can be filled with whatever and confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top. Soup nuts may be eaten as is or with soup.

[FEEDBACK, PLEASE.

Your editor would very much like to know, for future reference, if you like this style of cooking advice or if it annoys you. Or what, in general, you would like to see in a Cooking Column. Gourmet or basic?]

Happy Family Eating. Chag Somayach!

 

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