What
if your regular fridge-stock “go-to” wasn’t some carb-filled repeat but eggplant boats? You could
creatively fill them with chicken or cheese or tahini on different days and be
so much less bored with dinner.
What
if your favorite weekend breakfast got a cocoa kick by swirling up Marble Cake
Pancakes?
And
maybe you’d feel better about keeping ramen noodles in the house if you discard the flavor packets they
come with and season with your stock to make something like Ramen Shakshuka.
This could be your second breakfast fave with marinara sauce, eggs, and
sometimes spaghetti squash and that handy eggplant.
It’s
Chanie Apfelbaum who comes up with these ideas in her beautiful book,
“Millennial Kosher: Recipes Reinvented for the Modern Palate.” Maybe you know
her from Busy in Brooklyn, a food site/blog that shows this woman “gets it.”
The “it” here being delicious real food and an appreciation of respecting
recipes, cultures, travel, traditions and family. I ran out of space on my note
pad marking tidbits I wanted to share with Culinary Thrill Seeking readers.
I
love her style, concepts, outlook and passion. I’d love to try her roasted
sweet potatoes with gooey pecans, Frangipane Fig Galette and cornbread funnel
cakes. These are twists on the foods we already love in the south.
To
me, the recipe below is a fun twist. To the author, it’s easier than washing
sand from basil and accidentally burning expensive pine nuts for traditional
pesto. The spinach also keeps the pesto very green if you have leftovers to
store in the fridge. I love pesto with everything from pasta and bread to eggs.
Here’s one from the book (The SHAAR Press) I’m ready to enjoy:
frin
Spinach
Pistachio Pesto
3
cups (packed) baby spinach
two
thirds cup toasted unsalted pistachios
1
large or two small cloves garlic
2
tablespoons lemon juice, plus more to taste
one
fourth to one half cup olive oil
Salt
to taste
Pepper
to taste
One
half cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional, for dairy meals
In
a large food processor, pulse spinach, garlic, pistachios, lemon juice and
Parmesan cheese (if using) until finely minced. While the processor is running,
slowly drizzle olive oil through the feeding tube until all the ingredients are
pureed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Season
with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice to taste.
Darragh
Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who loves sharing her Cajun culture as much
as she enjoys learning about others. Trade stories with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com
