Norwitz Notions

I have lots of memories of food my mother cooked when I was a child, but her strudel is one of my very favorites. She made it sometimes with poppyseed filling (from a can) and apple filling (from scratch). I made it many times with her and a bunch of times without her. Just like […]

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Making your own soup stock is easy peasy, costs practically nothing, and tastes so much better than anything you can buy (unless you get it from a restaurant). Now that I have an Instant Pot, making stock is even easier. Instructions Save trimmings for the stock pot in freezer Dump trimmings in Instant Pot (or […]

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These days we’re deep into the shelter-in-place order for the Covid-19 pandemic and we’re trying to use up items from the pantry and freezer. We still shop, but a lot less often, so we don’t always make it to the store as we’re planning upcoming meals. I’ve been making soup stock and a variety of […]

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My husband has been in search of blueberry (or other berry) syrup for years. Nothing satisfies. He wants a sugar-based recipe, though maple is okay. It has to be completely natural, preferably organic. And it has to taste good with a strong fruit flavor. There were some decent brands in the past, but he hasn’t […]

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April 28, 2018 Congregation Ner Shalom Cotati, California     This is a private web page.  Please do not link to it (or to the links below) or share in groups.  You may pass along the web address to individuals you know well.  If not sure, ask us at family@norwitz.net Video of the Service (2:00:34) […]

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Thanksgivukah, Thanksgivukah Come light the cranorah… Friends, family, and a once in a lifetime holiday.  And how else to celebrate the first, and probably only, mashup of Thanksgiving and Chanukah but with sweet potato latkes and cranberry applesauce? I’m no stranger to vegan latkes (due to my dairy allergy and my daughter’s egg allergy) and […]

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How do you turn a grain into a vegetable?  With spaghetti squash!  It’s lowcarb, it’s healthy, and it has a texture unlike any other squash.  Tastes good too.  It’s also pretty easy to cook, with a few tips. Every squash is different.  The size, density, and water content will all change the cooking time.  So […]

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Back in 2008 I created a post about vegan pesto.  It’s still a great recipe, but here’s an update, made with cashews instead of pine nuts.  Why use cashews?  Well, they’re a lot cheaper than pine nuts.  I switched back a year or so ago when pine nut prices went through the roof, if you […]

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It’s October, so it’s prime tomato processing time here in California.  I headed back to Greenstring Farm in Petaluma for 60 lbs of red Romas and a few miscellaneous paste tomatoes thrown in.  Biodynamically (and organically) grown heirlooms of all possible types, for $1/lb. This was my second time canning and I made marinara sauce. […]

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September means tomatoes here in California.  They’re still green on my plants but Greenstring Farm in Petaluma, has bushels of them.  Biodynamically (and organically) grown heirlooms of all possible types, for $1/lb.  I bought Golden Romas and tomatillos (plus a few extras for fresh eating) and made salsa. I’ve made fresh salsa before.  It’s pretty […]

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A couple of years ago, I came up with a glorious recipe for fried fish minus gluten, dairy, or egg.  Everyone I made this for loved it, but boy was it a pain to make.  Not just the breading, but standing over a hot frying fan (or two) for about an hour.  And I’m not […]

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Masa, the corn dough used to make tortillas, tamales, pupusas, and more, is quickly becoming one of my favorite kitchen staples.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to get good quality product.  Even in Mexico, shops with fresh masa for home use are disappearing in favor of the powdered stuff. I began my quest in early 2008.  My […]

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Inspired by the chunky eggplant salad at a local Turkish restaurant, Real Doner, I decided to create my own.  I make baba ghanoush, a creamy eggplant dish, all the time but have never made it any other way. The hurdle was how to cook the eggplant.  Eggplant goes from hard to creamy fairly quickly.  I […]

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I’ve made a variety of dessert/snack bars based on the simple ingredients of dates and nuts.  Sometimes I substitute prunes for half the dates to bring the carb count down.  Sometimes I add banana or other fruit.  And I use a bunch of different flavorings. You can make these raw (with a dehydrator) or cooked.  […]

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Once a month, our synagogue, Ner Shalom in Cotati, California, holds a family Shabbat dinner.  Sometimes it’s a potluck, other times they order platters from a local restaurant.  A few months ago, I volunteered to do the cooking.  I had two motives here: 1) I love to cook for large groups of people.  Seriously, I […]

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