Norwitz Notions

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 [...]

[Read more →]

I’m not going to pretend that making your own pumpkin puree is just as easy as opening a can and everyone should do it, but it is more satisfying, it tastes better, and does double duty using up your Halloween pumpkins.  And it’s not particularly hard.
Start with the right pumpkins.  Your fabulous jack-o-lantern is not [...]

[Read more →]

Shhh…don’t tell anyone it’s vegan: they’ll never guess.  The first time we made this was Thanksgiving 2007 and it (along with all the cashew cream) was devoured. Someone else’s pumpkin pie (homemade with traditional ingredients) still had half left.  In 2008, this Thanksgiving treat was one of 3 pumpkin pies (all gluten-free as it happens) [...]

[Read more →]

So what’s wrong with cranberry sauce made with oranges, you ask? Nothing. It’s delicious. But the slightest trace of oranges makes my daughter sick for hours. So I developed a version with lemons instead. I think it works better than oranges for cutting fatty foods and providing a clean crisp taste. You will need to [...]

[Read more →]

This is a simple recipe but difficult to get just right. You need a good blender and some finesse.
I made the cashew cream to go with a vegan pumpkin pie I took to a Thanksgiving Potluck in 2007 and again in 2008, though it’s delicious on anything sweet.
Recipe:
2 cups raw cashew pieces (I keep [...]

[Read more →]

On a recent trip to Vancouver, Canada, I admired my hosts’ towering apple tree, as well as the superior taste of the apples.  When I found out they simply composted them, I vowed to turn them into something useful.
First, I collected 24 hours worth of fallen apples.
Next, I cut away the bad parts (nice organic, [...]

[Read more →]

Episode seven of the Next Food Network Star still takes place in Las Vegas and we’re down to 3 contestants: Aaron, Lisa, and Adam.
Challenge #1: Prepare a 30 second promo for what could be their new show. Unlike in previous versions of this, each promo was carefully scripted (including wardrobe) by the Food Network [...]

[Read more →]

My favorite seller was at the Petaluma Farmer’s Market the other week, Chris the peach guy.  Chemical-free, great prices, and amazing flavor.  He had a “rejects” box he was selling at $1/lb (half the usual price)–mostly ones with small blemishes that most people wouldn’t even notice.  I was picking through it when he said, oh [...]

[Read more →]

Popsicles are an easy summer treat that feels like dessert but can be very healthy if made with the right ingredients.  I always use whole fruit, never juice.  And I don’t sweeten them either.  But you can make them any way you wish.
The basic recipe is:
Pureed fruit
Liquid to make them pourable

For this batch, I used [...]

[Read more →]

If you ask an Ashkenazi Jew (of Eastern/Central European origin, most American Jews) the recipe for charoset, you will generally get one answer: chopped apples, honey, wine, nuts (walnuts and pecans are popular), and (often) cinnamon. This version is so popular that many Haggadahs list it as such and I’ve had Jews tell me [...]

[Read more →]

I made this lovely torte (or is it a tart? or maybe a cheesecake?) for Passover this year. It was a gamble, since we had never made it before, and didn’t have much of a recipe to go on, but it came out wonderful. Many thanks to Jessica of Foodlab for the [...]

[Read more →]

When I was at the Marin County Fair on July 4th, 2007, one of the booths was promoting healthy eating for kids and they had samples of a blender drink. All fruit (no juice) and no added sugar. It was fabulous on that blindingly hot day (about 100*F).
Their slushie recipe:
Ice cubes (between 1/3 and 1/2 [...]

[Read more →]

Miriam has been planning her birthday party all year. When we would ask what she wanted, all she would say was: “Carrot cake and all my friends to be there!” That would be the same carrot cake we had last year, for her 2nd birthday party. Fortunately, she loves it.
When you’re dealing with food allergies, [...]

[Read more →]

My daughter adores Lara Bars, which are raw (dehydrated) bars of a very smooth date paste mixed with finely minced nuts and various flavorings. Unfortunately, they’re not organic and they’re expensive. Even the Costco box (only 3 flavors) is still nearly a dollar a bar. Other flavors cost $1.20/bar and more.
I’ve tried my hand at [...]

[Read more →]

Who says you need dairy or sugar to enjoy ice cream? Though I make lots of sorbets and ice milks, this one is full cream.
Recipe
3 cups pureed strawberries
1 can coconut milk (lite works better but regular is fine)
A couple tsps vanilla extract
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Pinch salt
Stevia to taste
If you have an ice cream maker, [...]

[Read more →]

One of my favorite recipes but one I can’t have any more (I can cheat with the dairy, but not the eggs).
Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking by Michael Norwitz
For the regular versions (with sugar) see cheesecake and pumpkin cheesecake
Ingredients:
2 well-beaten eggs
3/4 lb to 1 lb firm cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
3/4 to 1 [...]

[Read more →]

This cake came from a mix:
Sylvan Border Farm
Gluten-Free Products
Lemon Cake Mix
1 lb, 10.7 oz (762.6 g)
Mendocino Gluten-Free Products, Inc.
P.O. Box 277, Willits, CA 95490
(800) 297-5399; Fax: (707) 459-1834
http://www.sylvanborderfarm.com/
INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Potato Starch, White Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour*, Aluminum-free Baking Powder, Amaranth Flour, Quinoa Flour*, Xanthan Gum, Lemon Juice Powder, White Cornmeal*, Garbanzo Bean Flour*, [...]

[Read more →]

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 for [...]

[Read more →]