Chocolate Rolls

Chocolate Rolls made with challah dough, tahini, Silan (Date Syrup), Cocao and Cinnamon.

As I have written my first cookbook was Betty Crocker’s Century of Success Cookbook; The Best Gold Medal Recipes of 100 Years (1979). My Mom – and maybe yours – had the Betty Crocker Cookbook and I love all things Betty.

For years I instinctively turned to Betty Crocker to make sweet rolls for my family which while delicious includes substantial quantities of both butter and sugar that is not healthy really at any age, let alone your Second Middle Age.

Now we know better. We understand that reducing processed foods including added sugars is a great way to reduce inflammation and reduce the likelihood of what are called Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of inflammation, which include high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers. That is a big part of the Microbiome Diet.

And even if your misspent youth – like mine – included quantities of sugar-intense processed foods it is never too late to make healthy habits. That is what your Second Middle Age is all about, learning from the past to feel good now and for the rest of your life.

I have been looking for ways to remake my sweet roll recipe for Second Middle Age without sacrificing taste and enjoyment. After all, it does not matter how healthy something is if no one wants to eat it.

In place of higher-fat, higher sugar sweet roll dough I have used my Traditional Challah recipe; I have swapped out sugar in favor of Silan (Date Palm Syrup), and exchanged Tahini for Butter/Margarine. I also increase heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory Cinnamon. The result are a beautiful Chocolate Rolls that taste great.

This recipe is a result of those efforts. These Chocolate Rolls that taste as good – or better – as traditional cinnamon rolls with healthier substitutions consistent with the Microbiome Diet.

Ingredients

1/2 of the dough from the Traditional Challah recipe

1 Cup Tahini (Whole Sesame Paste)

1/2 Cup Silan (Date Palm Syrup)

1/3 Cup Cocoa

1 T cinnamon

Directions

  1. Follow instructions for Traditional Challah.
  2. After the second rise, separate the challah dough into two sections, refrigerating the remaining dough.
  3. Stir together the Tahini, Silan, Cocoa and Cinnamon until smooth – if the mixture is too thick for spreading add water a Tablespoon at a time until you get it to a consistency which will be easy to spread on the dough.
  4. Roll out the challah dough into a rectangle, approximately 14 x 10 inches (or 35 x 25 cm), and spread the chocolate filling onto the challah dough, leaving a margin of approximately 1/2 inch (or 1.25 cm).
  5. Roll up the filled challah dough tightly, and seal each end.
  6. Move the rolled-up challah dough to a cutting board and with a sharp knife cut it into 1.5 inch (approximately 3.5 cm) slices.
  7. Place the slices into a greased casserole or other baking dish, allowing room for the chocolate rolls to double before baking.
  8. Spray the chocolate rolls with water and cover in a warm place for the final rise (proof) before baking – approximately 45 minutes to an hour should be sufficient, unless the room is very cold. If the room is very cold, you can put them in a warm – not hot – oven to proof.
  9. Once the rolls have doubled in size bake them at 350 degrees for 20 – 40 minutes. All ovens are different (and I have been cooking for the last 6 months in a toaster oven believe it or not). So it is good to check to see if you need to rotate the pan or otherwise adjust the rolls in the oven for even baking.

Enjoy!!

  • Last week’s yield of Chocolate Rolls and Challah Bread from one recipe of Traditional Challah

Traditional Challah

When you make home-made challah for Shabbat or festivals, you gain a three-fold blessing in  your own home:  sanctifying  the everyday with the special experience of challah-baking,  bringing the aroma of this timeless Jewish ritual into your kitchen, and of course sharing a taste  of the ‘world to come’ with our loved ones.

You can also make a combination of loaves and rolls – which are easy to make and great to have on hand!

Understanding the importance of following a Microbiome Diet for healthy aging, yet there is something special about traditional challah for Shabbat and Jewish holidays. There are many great challah recipes – and also substitutions to meet special needs – and of course our own experiences and family memories play an important role in personal preferences for how challah should taste.

This is my favorite challah recipe, the one that I have been using for the better part of 40 years at home and for teaching the Jewish Study Center Challah Class in the past. This recipe yields  6 – 8  medium-sized challot, or 3 – 4 large challot for special occasions.

This recipe may be cut in half or you can use some is the challah the dough to make Chocolate Rolls which are great for breakfast.

Ingredients

2 scant Tbs yeast (2 American packets)

1.5 C warm water

3 Tbs sugar

4 eggs + egg to separate for egg wash

1/2 c oil + 2 tsp oil for bowl & trays

1/4 c honey 

2 tsp salt 

6 – 7 c bread flour + extra for  kneading and braiding challah 

poppy, sesame seeds 

Equipment

Large bowl for mixing, rising

Wooden spoon for mixing

Custard cup or small bowl for checking eggs

Measuring spoons, cups

Baking tray for challahs

Sunflower seeds or pine nuts for baking trays

Napkin/foil for taking challah

Saran wrap or kitchen towel to cover the rising bread

Instructions 

  1. Mix together yeast, warm water and 1 Tb of sugar into a large bowl and wait until the yeast becomes activated.
  2. Stir in remaining sugar.
  3. Break eggs one at a time into your egg cup to be sure that each one does not have any spot of blood, before adding it into the bowl.
  4. Measure and add the oil and then the honey using the same Tbs or 1 cup measure – this makes it easier because then the honey does not stick to your measuring spoon or cup.
  5. Stir in salt.
  6. Add flour one cup at a time until the dough is sticky but pliable. (This may require some practice – don’t worry about the first few times!)
  1. When you can gather up the dough so that it makes a ball that can be removed cleanly 
    from the bowl, then turn it onto a floured counter or board for kneading.
  2. Knead the dough for 10  minutes until it is smoother and more pliable.
  3. Wash the bowl and add 1 tsp oil to coat the bowl.
  4. Return the bread dough to the bowl and cover with damp kitchen towel or saran wrap.   Leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes or un6l doubled.
  5. Punch down the dough and allow to rise again until doubled.
  6. After the 2nd rising, punch down again and divide into 3 sections.  
  7. Take the 1st section out of the bowl for shaping on the floured board or counter.   Depending on the number of braids that you want in your challah, divide the 1st  section  into 3, 4 or 6 pieces to roll into strands for braiding.  This takes some practice and you  should not worry if your braided challot are not perfect.  It is also traditional to roll the  larger pieces into coils to make a snail shape, particularly at the time of the High Holidays.
  8. Aeer you make each braided challah, you will probably end up with a little piece of dough  that did not fit into the braid.  Pinch these off and aggregate them into a ping,pong ball sized piece of dough that is taken for the ritual challah and put into foil.  (When you bake  the challah you can put this in the bottom of the oven where it may burn.  Some people  also discard it in a paper napkin or kitchen towel.)
  9. Place each completed braid on a greased cookie sheet with or without pine,nuts, according  to your taste.  Spray each challah with water to keep them moist while they are rising.  
  10. Separate the last egg and add 1 tsp water to the egg yolk; mix to make an egg wash.  Using  a pastry brush, sparingly coat the challot with the egg wash.  Add the egg wash to each  challah one at a 6me, sprinkling each with seeds before adding the egg wash to the next  challah so that it does not dry out before you sprinkle the sesame seeds and/or poppy  seeds.
  11. Allow the challot to double in size, this should take another 45 min., and con6nue to spray  with water from 6me to 6me to keep them moist.
  12. Preheat oven to 350 and bake challot for 20 – 30 minutes.  Times vary depending on how  “hot” your oven runs, so check the challot at intervals to see if they are golden,brown.  
Loaves and special round Challah shapes for the Jewish High Holidays at the final proof stage before baking

Once you become accustomed to baking challah at home it is hard to ever go back to the store, bought variety! It may seem difficult at first so stick with it. 

Like many other things, the only  way to get better at it is to practice. Let me know how it goes!

Alternative (Vegetable) Piecrust

In full disclosure, this is more of a snippet than a full post….

It is great to receive comments/questions/and requests in response to blog posts, and I am writing today to respond to a request for an alternative piecrust for vegetable pies/quiches, and specifically gluten-free, vegan and/or lower-carb substitutions for the traditional wheat-based crust.

In the past, I have used shredded potatoes seasoned with onion or shallot and garlic for a Passover-friendly pie crust, and so I thought I would try using different vegetables to see how they would taste. One alternative, shown above here, uses zucchini and carrots. It is fairly straightforward and tasty.

On the positive side, I found the sauteed vegetables very easy to work with, and they did not require any eggs or other binders to stay put in the pie pan. It also does not require any pastry skill, and definitely gives the look of a pie crust without any flour of any kind. It does not taste the same as a wheat piecrust, of course. I found the flavor to be mild – this is a good thing for a pie crust as the filling should be the real star of the show.

I did have to spread the vegetables a bit thinly and you can increase the quantity of grated zucchini and carrot if you prefer a thicker crust, and you could also substitute other grated vegetables, depending on what you have on hand.

This is a flexible recipe. Here in Israel zucchini is plentiful in early summer, so use what is in season and convenient.

Ingredients

1 T Extra Virgin Olive (EVO) Oil

1 T Sunflower Oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 medium zucchini squash

1 small carrot

1/4 tsp salt (or just a pinch of salt), black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat the EVO and Sunflower Oil in a sauce pan large enough for all of the ingredients.
  2. Saute the shallot and garlic until transparent (3 minutes or so)
  3. Add grated zucchini and carrot and cook until soft
  4. Remove from heat and let the vegetables cool to the point that they can be moulded into a pie pan
  5. Bake the vegetable pie crust at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes or until the edges start to look crisp. (If pressed for time, you can skip this step, and add your filling to the crust and bake them together.

If you have been looking for a gluten-free, low-carb pie crust alternative, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Black-Eyed Pea Salad aka Aaron’s Appetizer

Black-eyed peas are a traditional Jewish New Years food dating back to the Talmudic period over 1500 years ago, and eaten with the accompanying blessing: “May it be Thy will … that our good deeds shall be plentiful as the black-eyed peas.”

More broadly, black-eyed peas for New Years are a multicultural phenomenon, eaten around the world to usher in the new year, as a symbol of luck, prosperity, and/or in association with other milestone events, including Emancipation of African-American slaves in January 1963. There is no reason to wait for the holidays to make this delicious black-eyed pea salad as an easy summer salad or nutritious add-on for your Buddha bowls.

And black-eyed peas are first among equals in terms of legumes – despite their modest size they pack an amazing nutritional prebiotic punch:

Black-eyed peas are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and other key micronutrients. One cup of black-eyed peas (about 2 servings) contains approximately 194 calories, 13 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, 35 grams of carbs, 88 percent DV folate, 50 percent DV copper, 23 percent DV iron, and 21 percent DV of both phosphorous and magnesium.

The Spruce Eats

Black-eyed peas and other Prebiotics are critical for good nutrition and gut health; what I like to call the unsung heroes of the Microbiome Diet (more about that here).

Black-eyed pea salad is a traditional New Years food in many cultures, including Judaism.

While I had grown up eating chickpeas, lentils, spit-peas, etc., and considered myself fluent in the language of legumes, my initial efforts with black-eyed peas were not a success. To be totally transparent, I found black-eyed peas baffling. After a number of valiant efforts to make black-eyed peas palatable my family while we were living in Manila, Philippines in the mid-90’s, I took a break. (We enough on our plate in Manila.)

So for a time black-eyed peas were ‘the legume that got away;’ I kept them in the back of my mind while cooking other things. Then late one December I ran across a special New Years Eve recipe that I was able to modify for my family.

With this recipe, I was truly able to go from zero to hero.

The resulting Black-Eyed Pea Salad immediately became one of my son Aaron’s favorites, so much so that after a while he would simply ask for his appetizer – and we understood exactly what he wanted. We began to call it “Aaron’s Appetizer” and it has never fallen out of rotation.

This Black-Eyed Pea Salad is vegetarian and kosher (dairy); and can easily also be made vegan (see details below):

Ingredients

To Do Ahead: Simmer 1 bag of dried black-eyed peas (app. 2 cups / 450 – 500 grams) in water with 1 bay leaf for 30 – 40 minutes, until tender.

While the black-eyed peas are cooking, prepare the vegetables which are all diced in 1/2″ (or 1.25 cm) pieces:1

1 shallot OR 1/2 cup mild onion, 1/2 cup red pepper, 1/2 cup green pepper, 1.2 cup carrot, 1/2 cup cucumber

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1 T julienned basil (optional)

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese*

Dressing

1 – 3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon (1 whole lemon if it is small)

1/2 – 1 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Reserving the cooking liquid (its great to use in soup), drain the tender black-eyed peas and discard the bay leaf.
  2. Assemble the salad with diced fresh vegetables, herbs, and feta cheese.
  3. Stir in the salad dressing
  4. Season with black pepper to taste

*To make vegan Black-Eyed Pea salad, omit the feta cheese and stir in 1/2 tsp salt, to taste. You can also try this with vegan feta.

Leek-Mushroom vs. Spinach-Feta (Pie)

The back story:

Last month we started to receive weekly produce boxes from the organic farm that delivers to our neighborhood here in Zichron Yaakov. We do go through a surprising amount of fresh fruits and vegetables and so I was hopeful that the organic produce boxes would work out – I really love the idea of receiving organic produce boxes every week.

I like everything about getting a weekly box except for the reality that we just don’t have enough people to consume its contents. This is particularly problematic in our temporary apartment – our 5th in case you’re counting – in that we don’t have great storage.

We also don’t have hungry teens ready to pounce on anything and everything edible. We went through that stage while my husband was serving for a year in Kabul, Afghanistan about ten years back, where he thought we might have taken in a lodger because our grocery bills spiked suddenly – they were just eating everything in sight. Now we are just two older adults trying not to eat like there is no tomorrow; our son Aaron is here with us a few days a week and I am still shedding the last of my COVID-weight.

And there is one other problem … sometimes whatever is in season and provided in ample quantities in our box is not something that we eat on a regular basis. For example I cook with leeks for Passover – it is a traditional Pesach food and I have a few really good recipes like Egyptian Potato Leek Soup and Leek Feta Patties. Then after Passover I feel like we are done with leeks for a while. So when we received leeks in our box last week I was initially stymied and stowed them at the bottom back of the produce bin in the refrigerator while I figured out what to do.

We also had received a huge bundle of spinach; I knew what I wanted to do with that. It only takes a few minutes to sauté an onion and a few garlic cloves, and A LOT of spinach is just what you need to end up with the right amount for a Spinach-Feta pie. The pie crust is super easy and does not require butter or margarine. As long as I am making one pie crust, its about 5 minutes more to make two, and that gave me the idea to use the leeks to make a Leek-Mushroom pie for my husband Matt.

The Spinach-Feta pie I have made many times before; the Leek-Mushroom combination was a first-time pie that I will definitely do again given my husband’s enthusiasm. Within a day the two pies had shrunk to 1/2 size and fit neatly into one pyrex for easier storage (see above).

Leek-Mushroom Pie and Spinach-Feta Pie

Now for the big questions:

If I write down and share these recipes who will make them at home?

Do you have a favorite?

Please let me know in the comments if you would like more information about Leek-Mushroom Pie, Spinach-Feta Pie and/or if there are other vegetable pies that you would like to know more about.

Bon Appetit!

Tossed Salad (American Salad)

American Tossed Salad may include lettuces, carrots, cucumbers and red peppers; the possibilities are limited only by your imagination

Salad is an amazing source of the Prebiotics that your body needs every day. This is an easy recipe that anyone should be able to make at home and that will be a colorful and delicious addition to your Microbiome Diet.

Ingredients

1/2 head of romaine/red leaf lettuce/oak leaf other lettuce

1 cucumber

1 carrot

1/2 red pepper

Simple Dressing

wedge of lemon

extra virgin olive oil

Salt, pepper

Optional:

cooked or canned chickpeas

feta cheese, rinsed and crumbled

cubed firm tofu (1 inch/2cm cubes)

1. Tear washed lettuce or other greens and place in a salad bowl or shallow platter. For romaine lettuce, tear the lettuce from ribs in 1 – 2 inch pieces. It is very nice to have two or more types of lettuce or greens in the salad, but this will depend on the size of your salad eating household.

2. Slice carrots in small rings, or cut 5 – 6cm cross sections into carrot sticks.

3. Slice cucumber in half lengthwise, and chop into 1/4 inch half moons, and add to lettuce with the prepared carrots. Slice bell peppers into rings (or half rings) and lay on top of other vegetables in the salad.

4. Serve with a wedge of lemon – to be squeezed onto the salad – and a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Optional add-ins: Ingredients listed above like chickpeas, feta cheese, cubed tofu, as available, can be added to make the salad even more attractive, interesting and nutritious.

Here’s a tip: make a salad ahead of time to have it on hand for dinner.

Meditations on Moving House, Finding Community & the Sellers Market

Yes, we are in our fifth apartment after our second move to Zichron Yaacov. Our first landing here in October 2018 was like a warm bath, and we had looked forward to returning after our sojourn in Jerusalem.

Yes, now that we are here and looking in earnest, the market has turned. Earlier predictions of a real estate boom in 2021 in our corner of the world have been dead-on; so now we are buying in a Sellers Market.

Yes, we are navigating a foreign (to us) real estate market, where our single buying experience was a long time ago, and where all the important information is (of course) in Hebrew. As a realtor friend from the US pointed out: there is no Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

All of that aside, my greatest challenge has turned out to be – ironically – accepting that we are looking for a new home in Second Middle Age.

The vast majority of the time, I am affirmatively happy to have (finally) entered my sixth decade. As I have been writing about for the last eighteen months, there are so many reasons to welcome second middle age and its renewal of creativity, perspective and time to focus on what is really important now.

It genuinely never occurred to me that I had any blind spots — i.e., areas where i would find it hard to ‘act my age.’

Simply put, I did not contemplate the difference between our lives in 1997 when we bought in DC versus in 2021. (Where does the time go?!)

Of course I realized that we are not buying a house where we will raise a family. Since we started to look at houses, though, I have had to truly recognize and accept that we are buying a place for senior citizens – us in 10, 20 or even 30+ years. And I have found it challenging to get the reality into my consciousness.

When we were planning our big move overseas, I had just blandly assumed that we would buy a house with a garden- hopefully a bigger garden than in the .10 acre we had in Cleveland Park, DC.

Our compact front garden in Cleveland Park, DC

So 2ndMiddleAge blogger that I am, I am assimilating and practicing Radical Acceptance of the following:

While everyone needs a place to call home, that place may look very different at 60 than earlier in life.

When you are buying a new home in second middle age, it is important to keep accessibility in mind for the ‘you’ who will live there in future years.

And all things being equal, it may not be the best idea to take on a new house and its maintenance in your 60s.

For a lot of our friends who made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) in second middle age, the answer has been to buy, or even to rent, an apartment. (Apartments are much more prevalent here than in many countries.)

Here in Zichron Yaakov there are a lot of new semi-attached houses built for young families, big families or young, big families. There is very little demand for what we call in the US ‘empty-nester’ houses. In fact new construction here in Zichron is often bigger than our DC townhouse. It is also unusual to find a house on one level, or with bedrooms on the main level.

Instead of child-safety, we need to think about elder-accessibility to find a home where we can age in place.

It has taken some time for me to get this into my head. Now I am getting more comfortable with the reality that our next and hopefully last home will very likely be a one-level apartment. Last week we looked at a ‘Penthouse’ apartment (to paraphrase the old joke: to a real penthouse it’s not a penthouse); next week me may look at a garden apartment.

Everything will work out and we will find our new home. We are here, vaccinated and safe.

It’s all good.

Cream of Tomato Soup

This is soup is creamy and delicious without dairy. You have to taste it to believe how good it is.

Ingredients

1 small onion or three shallots, chopped

1 – 2 garlic cloves, finely cut

2 T Safflower Oil

1 T Olive Oil

1 kg tomatoes – 8 – 10 medium sized, roughly cut

1/4 cup parsley, finely cut

2 bay leaves

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric 

3 – 4 cups Soy or other non-dairy milk (not sweet)

Cream of Tomato Soup (hold the cream)
  1. Heat the Safflower Oil and Olive Oil in a soup kettle or pot large enough to hold all of the ingredients.
  2. Saute onion (or shallots) and garlic in the oil for 7 to 10 mins until softened. Stir in the paprika, turmeric and bay leaves and add the tomatoes, cover and cook until the tomatoes are softened.  
  3. Stir in parsley and soy milk and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 – 30 minutes. 
  4. Remove bay leaves, turn off the heat and blend the soup with a stick blender before serving.

Egyptian Leek-Potato Soup

This soup is also known as Batata Lamoun, and my recipe is a modified version Gil Marks’ (z”l) Egyptian Potato Soup from his amazing Jewish vegetarian cookbook Olive Trees and Honey (2005). Leek-Potato Soup – with emphasis on the Leek in this version – has become an annual Passover tradition for my family.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tablespoon Sunflower Oil

1 – 2 Large Leeks

2 – 3 Celery Stalks with leaves, chopped

2 – 3 clove garlic

1 tsp turmeric powder, or 3 pieces (1/2″ in length) fresh turmeric root

1 lb potatoes, unpeeled (wash carefully) and coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

6 Cups water or soup stock

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Add before serving:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

This is what the soup looks like before the vegetables. aka Prebiotics- cook down.
  1. Prepare the leeks by removing the dark green portions, which you can save for another use. Slice each leek part of the way through in four directions to make them easier to rinse and examine for any dirt or foreign objects. Wash the leeks carefully and then dice them.
  2. In a large pot or soup kettle, heat the oil over medium heat and add the leeks, celery, garlic, turmeric and bay leaves, cooking them until they are softened (5 – 10 minutes).
  3. Add the potatoes, bay leaves and water, bring to a boil. cover and reduce the heat to low, simmering the soup until the potatoes are fully cooked and softened (30 – 45 minutes).
  4. Puree the soup and season with Salt and Pepper
  5. Stir in the fresh lemon juice just before serving – for this soup you will really taste the flavor of the fresh lemon juice. It’s really worth going to the extra effort.

Gazpacho

This soup is excellent whenever the weather makes the idea of a cold soup appealing, and perfect on a hot summer day when you can’t stand the idea of actually turning on the oven. And it is such a great way to enjoy fresh, seasonal vegetables – aka Prebiotics. It is also great for entertaining – all of the work can be done ahead, leaving you free to enjoy your guests.

Gazpacho is super easy – no cooking required, just puree with a stick-blender.

Ingredients

4 Cups tomato juice (plus more for ice cubes)

Up to 6 lbs tomatoes (seeded, peeled, chopped)

2-4 cucumbers (chopped)

1-2 Cups diced, green/red/yellow peppers 

1 Cup finely chopped onions

1/2 Cup olive oil 6 T red wine vinegar

2-4 cloves crushed garlic

1/4 Cup chopped parsley

1 T fresh chopped oregano, or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Toppings – Reserve for Serving

chopped parsley

parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

tomato juice ice cubes

1.  Combine all ingredients (except toppings).  It provides a nice variation in texture, if you process up to two thirds of the soup in a blender of food processor.

2.  Stir, and chill for at least one hour (two or three hours is better), to allow the flavors to combine.

3. Serve accompanied with toppings along side in small cups / bowls.