Parve* Planet
There was a time, and it will come again,
when I have cut dairy out of my diet.
It was a great way to reduce cholesterol and fat as well as to open a
door to better breathing (I’m a chronic asthmatic). Now that I am living in Israel this is a little more challenging
as soy products tend to be a lot pricier and dairy products tend to be a lot
tastier! But I look forward to
returning to my non-diary ways. I also
tended to avoid meat more. But I ate my
share of fish. During this time, I enjoyed
describing my eating as simply Parve.
People would say, “Oh, are you vegetarian?” “No, no not really,” I would say, “I’m Parve.” It was fun.
I was always thrilled to happen upon a restaurant that would serve me
bean nachos with soy cheese. Or my
dreamiest favorite: steamed soy milk with almond essence. Yum – that’s living large in my book.
It was during this time that I thought the
world needed a cookbook of all parve recipes, Parve Planet. I still have that dream, but it is still
very much in development. In the
meantime, I’m here in Jerusalem where to my delight I found Parve Planet by why
of a small deli in Mea Sharim – an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood here where I was
shopping for a tallit for my spouse’s 35th birthday. Fact is, I don’t belong in Mea Sharim as a
Modern Balabusta - but it's the cheapest place to buy a tallit. So, the friend I was with, Andy (whose
girlfriend Janet was visiting from the States, so really they were checking out
Mea Sharim – I tagged along in my frum costume to accomplish my errand), was
hungry and saw this place which he thought had some rugelach that he was
jonesing for...turned out what he really saw from the street were tofu-pups in
blankets! We went in and the guy told
us that everything was parve. "B'emet,
lo chalvi?" (Really no milkich?) I
asked, "kol parve" (all parve) he responded. Well, you can just imagine how thrilled I
was. I mean usually places carry soy
products because they are either meat OR dairy places - this was truly ALL
parve – all veggie. And I was
INSPIRED. He had veggie stuffed
peppers, kasha knishes, awesome potato knishes, all kinds of salads, all kinds
of pastry things stuffed with veggie mixes, potato mixes, potato w/soy meat
mixes, etc, etc..oh, and latke and kugel (yes, non-dairy noodle kugel). he also had fried fish, gefilte fish, fish
cakes, fish kubeh-shaped things....it goes on.
And the shop owner was a cheery, sweet, and friendly man - he even
WANTED us to take his picture. But
unfortunately by the time we got back with film the kosher police were there -
which of course means “no way” in that neighborhood where there are posters
forbidding sightseeing and photographing.
We stopped back by later because we were going in circles looking for
the tallit store someone had recommended - and by this time there was an older
man behind the counter - who, when I asked "effo od gever?" (Where is
the other man?), proudly told us the other guy was his son. To which I responded, "Tov meod, hu
chaver shelanu" (Very good, he is our friend). He probably thought we were crazy.
Crazy or not, I was in love. I had found a like-minded friend and home in
Mea Sharim.
If you are as enthusiastic about parve food
as I am, or if you are simply curious or in need of a parve dish to complete a
meal check out these: Parve Planet Recipes (link)
* Parve food refers to any food which is
kosher but fits neither into the Dairy (Milkich) category, nor the Meat
(Fleishich). This includes vegetables,
fruits and grains…and, perhaps surprisingly, fish and eggs.
Parve Planet
Kasha,
which is actually a fruit and not a grain as commonly believed is an awesome,
low fat source of fiber. With serious
roots in Jewish ghettos, it is even more important to celebrate and incorporate
in a healthy Modern Balabusta diet of conscience, so use it a lot. I do. I’ve got other kasha recipes in the
regular recipe section. Also check out www.wolffskasha.com – where you’ll find
a lot of recipes, including my holishkas recipe which won the wolffskasha.com
1999 Summer Recipe Contest – if I may be so bold.
4 Red peppers
Canola oil
1 medium onion - sliced
2 cups hot veggie broth (mushroom ok)
1 cup of Kasha
Salt (or Bragg or Tamari) & pepper to
taste
Gravy:
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup mushroom or veggie broth
2 tablespoons flour
Olive oil
Slice tops off peppers, clean out seeds,
remove stems and reserve tops for dicing.
Heat Canola oil and brown kasha.
Season broth to taste. Place
browned kasha in bowl, cover with broth and cover bowl. In kasha pan, sauté onions. Add diced pepper
tops when onion is translucent. When
kasha has fully absorbed broth, mix in onion and pepper. Brush outside of peppers with a small amount
of olive oil and stuff with kasha mixture.
Bake on medium heat until peppers soften and brown slightly. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and sauté
mushrooms. Once wilted and releasing
juices, place aside and heat 2 tablespoons more of olive oil in same pan. Whisk in 2 tablespoons flour and brown
slightly. Whisk in broth until fully
combined and smooth – mix in mushrooms and their juices. Spoon over stuffed peppers before serving.
Pasta with Spinach-Olive “Cream” Sauce
Lb. of spinach
1/2 Lb. of nice green olives, chopped or sliced
A block of silken tofu
Lots of garlic, chopped
Olive oil
Whole grain spinach linguini or fettuccini
Cook pasta.
Process tofu to yoghurt-like consistency and put aside. Sauté spinach in olive oil and garlic - when
wilted, sauté in olives. Process
spinach-olive mixture to blend, pour tofu in.
After well blended, pour mixture into saucepan and heat. When hot enough to heat, toss in pasta and
serve.
This
recipe is derived from a meal I walked in and found my dear friend Dawn Rivera preparing
with ground turkey (she was still carnivorous at the time). It’s easy, healthy, yet it exudes the
comforting nature of our otherwise gluttonous Cuisine Americana.
Canola oil
Lots of chopped garlic
Small onion, chopped
2 chopped red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
2 medium sweet potatoes
1 cauliflower cut into small pieces
1 can red or white beans
1 can corn kernels
1 small can crushed tomato
Splash of Worsteshire Sauce
2 Cups Barbeque sauce (or to taste)
Heat Canola oil in large skillet or wok. Sauté onion until translucent. Add peppers and continue sautéing until
onions and peppers begin to brown. Toss
in garlic and heat. Stir in sweet
potatoes and as they begin to soften, stir in cauliflower. Cover and cook until all veggies are soft. Add each other ingredient one at a
time. Serve over brown rice.
Chatzalim (grilled eggplant salad)
For marinade:
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Dijon Mustard
Maple Syrup, molasses, or date honey
Chopped garlic
Eggplant
Kosher salt
Mayonnaise (tofu mayonnaise is my first
choice)
Slice eggplant and place in colander. Sprinkle salt on all slices and let sit for
several hours to release moisture. Make
marinade. When brown liquid has
sufficiently drained from eggplant rinse and marinate covered in the
refrigerator for 24 hours. Grill or
broil all eggplant and process with mayonnaise (or without for a less rich
texture).
Medium onion, sliced
9 carrots, sliced
Olive oil
Chopped garlic (the more the better in my
book)
Pinch of ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
Cup veggie broth
Date honey (or molasses if not available)
Caramelize onion in olive oil with a pinch of
salt and place aside. Sauté carrots in
olive oil until golden – add garlic, ginger, and nutmeg and sauté until
fragrant. Place mixture aside. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive
oil and add flour to make a roux. When
fully combined and browning, whisk in broth until fully mixed and smooth. Add onions.
Add date honey to taste and replace carrot mixture back into pan with
sauce. Stir to heat and cover all
carrots with sauce.
The
odd name for this dish comes from my sister (a fabulous rabbi and modern
balabusta) and I abbreviating one of our favorite finger foods to make and eat
together: tofu wontons. The name stuck
for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it hearkens the relaxing
thought of a bed (futon) and the glorious possibility of sleep. I also must add that I originally learned
how to make tofu wontons from the first Hawaiian Modern Balabusta I ever met, a
choreographer back in college. Her name
is Kristin Seaver and if you know her or are she – please contact me
immediately
.
1 package wonton skins
Canola oil
1 block tofu
1 can waterchestnuts, finely chopped
Bragg to taste (or soy or Tamari)
Pinch of ground ginger
Lots of chopped garlic
Mush tofu with fork and mix in all
ingredients except skins. Place a small
ball of mixture in the center of wonton skin and fold. Secure with a small amount of water to
“paste” skin closed. Heat a pot of
canola oil to high heat (test with drops of water). Gently place wontons in oil until cooked.
Marok Ya'akov
In the Tanach we
encounter "Red Stuff" being prepared by Ya'akov and traded to
famished brother Esau for his birthright.
commentary aside, this is my take on what that "Red Stuff"
was.
300 grams uncooked red lentils
1/2 can crushed tomato
1/2 large tomato paste
Olive oil
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tbs. Cumin
3 tbs. Cinnamon
1 tbs. Thyme
1 tbs. Rosemary
3 tbs. of honey
6 cups broth
Cook lentils in 2 cups of broth (also season
to taste). When all water is absorbed
and lentils are tender remove from heat, drain if necessary and set aside. In a big soup pot, sauté onion until translucent. Stir in garlic and all spices and
herbs. Sauté until fragrant, then stir
in tomato paste and tomatoes, then honey.
Cook about a minute or two then stir in lentils. Cook three minutes then add broth. Cook another three minutes then remove from
heat and process in pot (hand‑processor/blender). Replace on stove and cook, stirring
frequently another three minutes and serve.
Believe It or Not Mousakka
3 medium eggplants, sliced
6 medium potatoes, thickly sliced
Olive oil
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp. Cumin
3 tbsp. Cinnamon
2 cups fake ground meat
1 can tomato paste
Water
Salt
2 cups soy milk, heated
1/2 cup flour
Salt eggplants and set in strainer for
several hours to strain brown liquid.
Cook potato slices (in microwave if possible) until just tender. Meanwhile, sauté onion in oil with a little
bit of salt until translucent. Add
garlic, then cumin, and cinnamon, then fake meat and stir until fake meat is
cooked. Stir in tomato paste until
blended - add water until consistency is that of a thick sauce. On the bottom of a large deep baking dish (I
prefer clay or glass) spread a small amount of sauce. Follow with a layer of all the potatoes, then all the eggplant,
then all the sauce. In a small saucepan,
heat 1/2 cup of oil. When hot, whisk in
flour - when well blended, slowly whisk in heated soymilk to make. Spread evenly over top of mousakka layers in
baking dish. Cook on medium high heat
until potatoes are extremely tender.
For more parve recipes, check out the other
recipe sections here!
Jenni Person ©2000