Norwitz Notions

Todai is a small buffet chain specializing in sushi and a variety of Japanese and Chinese foods, with a smattering of other things. They started in Hong Kong I believe and had a strong presence in California. But they’re growing. They have many restaurants in South Korea, a couple in mainland China, and one in […]

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Sweet and Natural: More than 120 Sugar-Free and Dairy-Free Desserts Meredith McCarty St Martin’s Press, NYC 1999 (this review was written October 8, 2006) The first thing about the book is that the title is misleading. The recipes are actually vegan, not just dairy-free, and most of them are full to the brim with sugar […]

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(This review was written Jan 21, 2007.) Ethnic Cuisine: The Flavor-Principle Cookbook by Elisabeth Rozin Revised edition, 1983 (original 1973) This is one of those books that all cooks should be exposed to at least once. It organizes the world of food in a completely novel, but understandable, way. The idea is that each cuisine […]

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(This review was written September 1, 2007) I got the recommendation for Alive last year, when Michael and I were planning a special dinner for our first wedding anniversary. But I got very ill and we canceled. This year, our second anniversary, we found ourselves needing to be in San Francisco the day after our […]

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(This review was written October 12, 2007) We had an appointment in San Francisco last Wednesday and got together with friends at a Korean restaurant I’d read good things about on the net. It did not disappoint. Han Il Kwan 1802 Balboa Street, San Francisco, CA 94118 (Outer Richmond neighborhood) (415) 752-4447 Review & Menu […]

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Written Dec 12: I got a wooden bed frame with drawers from Freecycle December 9 to use for Miriam. It is quite old and solid wood with some plywood. It was pretty filthy, since it was sitting in a walled-in porch for years. I spent a couple hours yesterday scrubbing it all down. When it […]

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Why is this recipe listed under Chanukah? Because my daughter can’t have chocolate and I wanted an alternative for dreidle gelt. I promised her we’d made cookies for Chanukah (we eat very few traditional sweets). The cookies are gold like gelt with golden raisins and jeweled cranberries. It was too messy to actually use cookies […]

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I was at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago and they had a tasting and a coupon for Toby’s Tofu pate. Regular price was $4 for container that was 16 oz I believe. My daughter loved it and I thought it was decent, so I got some, thinking, ya know, I can make this […]

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Your traditional latkes are grated potato, diced onion, egg, matzoh meal, and seasoning all mixed together and fried in olive oil. But what do you do when all you can eat is fried salt and pepper? Well, alternative latkes have always been part of the tradition: despite what many think, it’s not just about potato […]

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