Beautiful Hamentaschen

Hamentaschen for Purim in the making.

Minna Blumenthal work of art!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Minna)

Beautiful Hamentaschen

Doggie Apron

These dogs are hungry for some good cooking too!

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Doggie Apron

Presenting Chicken Schnitzel

Wow, look at that chicken schnitzel. 

Right out of the frying pan. 

That is hot and so oh good to eat!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Presenting Chicken Schnitzel

This Is The Way We Make Our Hummus

(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)

This Is The Way We Make Our Hummus

Who Wants to Clean That Pot

This is just one of the reasons I don't like cooking. 

Who wants to clean that pot?  :-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Who Wants to Clean That Pot

Lots of Green Beans

Imagine having to hand pick all the green peas out of these green beans!

Patience my dear, patience! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Lots of Green Beans

Love Mushrooms

Love love mushrooms!

Especially fried up, crispy, and sweet. 

They make everything else taste better.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Love Mushrooms

That's Spicy

How many of these do you cook with (do you have a favorite)?

• Garlic Powder
• Turmeric
• Parsley
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Black Pepper

Some are full and some are nearly empty. 

Time to reorder (hope they're not backlogged at the port).  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

That's Spicy

Gourmet Butternut Squash

Wow, my daughter made this amazing gourmet butternut squash.

Kale, pine nuts, lemon, and a little butter. 

Made a beautiful display and it tasted wonderful, especially for something healthy. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Gourmet Butternut Squash

Oodles of Noodles

Big cooking wok!

Fry it up in the pan. 

Oodles of noodles. 

Sautéed with soy sauce.

Wrapped around the large spoons. 

Looks filling, gut-busting perhaps.

But ooh so satisfying.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Oodles of Noodles

Getting Schwarma On The Spit

So that's how they get the schwarma on the spit!  LOL

It looks better after a little roasting around the fire.  ;-)

(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Getting Schwarma On The Spit

Beautiful Cookware

Thought this was beautiful cookware at the Amazon 4-Star Store.

BTW, can't believe Amazon is now getting into bricks and mortar too!

These enameled cast iron dutch oven pots are colorful and useful. 

In a way, they are too good-looking to use.  

Maybe just put them on the stovetop and let them look pretty. 

There is always the microwave for the real food. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Beautiful Cookware

Wow, Good Enough To Eat

Wow, the chocolate and poppy pastry rolls look pretty awesome. 

Salivating to take a serious bite. 

But don't advise for that before taking a drug test.

I heard the poppy seeds may give a false positive.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Wow, Good Enough To Eat

Copper Pots, Pans, and Bowls

Really liked this set of matching copper pots, pans, and bowls. 

Lighter than cast iron and conducts heat 5x better.

They look good and if coated with a non-stick substance are very functional. 

Not just as a wall hanging but on the stove. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Copper Pots, Pans, and Bowls

Cheesecake Heaven

So I never met a piece of cheesecake that I didn't like. 

This was an awesome display of the varieties of it at the Cheesecake Factory.

I remember my mom used to make a pretty darn great cheesecake (and a lot of other good food)!

I still can see the graham cracker crust with the sweet hot creamy cheese filling coming out of the oven. 

Unfortunately one of the conundrum of life is that all the good tasting things are so darn fattening and bad for us. 

I think though if they can make fake burgers like Beyond that taste like the real thing, then surely at some point they will figure out how to make a skinny cheesecake that tastes good. 

There are still some mysteries left in this universe for us to unravel. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Cheesecake Heaven

Making Chocolate

Making Chocolate

Sushi Night In

My son-in-law did such an awesome job making Sushi from scratch.

He took such painstaking care on the rice, the fillings, and rolling and serving them. 

Even the multitude of dips to choose from. 

It was an awesome treat. 

Worth the wait after Shabbat and then some.  

Thank you so much for inviting us.  ;-)

(Source Photo: Rebecca Blumenthal)

Sushi Night In

Preparing Simchat Torah Dinner

It was great going to Magen David Synagogue today to help prepare for the big Simchat Torah Dinner tomorrow night. 

First, we started with great ingredients.

Then all the prep.

The cleaning, slicing, dicing, mixing, laying it all out, and braising.

Then the cooking--stovetop, and oven.

And before you know, it comes out all done and ready for the scrumptious shul dinner to honor the Torahs.

I want to thank all the women and men that helped out today and many other times to prepare.

But especially, I want to call out Naomi Elimelech who coordinates everything and is the brains behind all the delicious and healthy food. 

She and her husband, Itzik, who is also the President of the synagogue, are truly wonderful, caring, and giving people and a role model for all of us--and it's not just the cooking!

B'tayavon everyone and Chag Sameach!  ;-)

(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)

Preparing Simchat Torah Dinner

Got Skills?

I thought this was a very telling sign right off the highway in Washington, D.C. 

"Does your child have life skills?"

And then it lists things like:

"Cooking, budgets, sewing, ironing, time managment, communication, and fun"

The classes are offered by ActualLifeSkills.com.

I took a look online at what a typical 6-week class offered on Sundays for 3-hours at a time and at a cost of $345. 

It even covered things like:

"Handshakes, eye contact, and conversation starters
Voice projection and confidence
Party/guest etiquette, gifts and thank you notes"

And of course, aside from the cooking and budgeting already mentioned, there were more of the foundations such as laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping.

I would suggest adding things like computer basics, child rearing, human relations, home maintenance, car mechanics, hunting, fishing, gardening, first-aid, fitness, and even self-defense. 

Since, we spend so much time teaching book skills, I have often thought why we don't spend more time teaching these fundamental life skills. 

We are raising a generation of kids that can score 1500+ on the SATs, but they don't know sh*t about real life and couldn't survive a week without electricity, Internet, or mom and dad taking care of them. 

Back to basics. 

Back to life skills. 

Back to survival. 

Back to being self-sufficient. 

There is no reason that we can't add these items to our broken school curriculums. 

You shouldn't have to go to special classes to learn to live life. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Got Skills?

Pizza And Brew With Wonderful Friends

Yesterday, we had a beautiful little get together at our place. 

In the party room with pizza and brew and lots of nosh--almost reminded me of the "Chometz Party" we had a number of years ago in our old neighborhood (great way to clean out your kitchen pantry before Passover),

Many of our wonderful friends from Magen David Sephardic Synagogue came to visit with us and celebrate one year plus in our new home in Maryland. 

Truly some of the nicest and accepting people I've had a chance to come to know in quite some time. 

I want to thank our friends for coming and especially thank my dear wife, Dossy, who did all the heavy lifting to make the event so beautiful for everyone. 

One lesson was how to keep the pizza piping hot over many hours with people coming and going at different times--can anyone say melted cheese? 

Another was how to schedule anything this time of year with Mother's Day, Father's Day, Passover, Shavuot and Memorial Day holidays, Men's Club/Sisterhood/and other community events, baby showers, weddings, vacations, and more--gee, there almost wasn't a free Sunday on the calendar. 

Overall though, we had such a nice time with everyone, and Dossy is already asking about planning the next event and she says she is cooking, so watch out world! ;-)

(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)

Pizza And Brew With Wonderful Friends