Norwitz Notions

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Real Doner Traditional Turkish Food (Petaluma, CA)

July 1st, 2009 · 3 Comments

A few months ago, a new cafe opened in downtown Petaluma near Walnut Park.  Foodies in the know thrill because the owners are family of the owners of a now-defunct Turkish restaurant in Santa Rosa, Real Gryo, which I never had the pleasure of trying.  Real Doner is a small place with a deli feel.  […]

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Categories: Food · Restaurant Reviews · SF Bay Area Restaurant
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Shabbat Dinner for 20

May 17th, 2009 · 2 Comments

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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Categories: Desserts · Food · Grains · Judaism · Main Dishes · Meals & Events · Recipes · Religion & Holidays · Shabbus · Vegetable Dishes
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Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms with Tofu & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

April 24th, 2009 · 2 Comments

I was at Whole Foods the other day with crimini mushrooms on my shopping list.  These are the brown mushrooms that look very much like the common white button mushroom.  They tend to cost a bit than white mushrooms but they’re actually cheaper.  How’s that?  The white ones are mostly water, so they cook down […]

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Categories: Food · Main Dishes · Recipes · Spreads & Dips · Vegetable Dishes
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Nut Burgers

March 11th, 2009 · 3 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for high-protein, lowcarb, vegan, and gluten-free recipes that don’t have soy.  None of us react to soy but it makes up a lot of our protein foods and I want more variety.  So I was thrilled when a friend told me about a recipe for nut burgers she found and […]

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Categories: Food · Main Dishes · Recipes
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Gourmet Garden (Petaluma, CA)

December 26th, 2008 · 1 Comment

It’s Christmas Day and time for our annual tradition of Jews eat Asian food on Christian holidays (why? you ask…because we get the day off and nothing else is usually open, though that’s changed in recent years).  Normally we go down to Todai, a chain of buffets with huge amounts of decent sushi and other […]

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Categories: Food · Restaurant Reviews · SF Bay Area Restaurant
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Namaste Cafe (Petaluma, CA)

December 11th, 2008 · No Comments

My brother, his girlfriend, and my 10 year old niece came to visit us and shop at the local outlet mall.  Last time I saw them all (at the Marin County Fair the 4th of July) I brought a huge picnic lunch for everyone but this visit I decided not to cook.  I’d been wanting […]

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Categories: Food · Restaurant Reviews · SF Bay Area Restaurant
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Edamame Salad with Red Pepper or Red Cabbage

December 8th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Okay, so this isn’t a classic Thanksgiving dish, but it’s mine.  To people eating turkey or other meat, it is a nice side dish. For a vegetarian, though, it’s a good way to get significant amounts of protein without filling up on starch. This recipe disappears fast and gets raves (even from the meat-eaters). I […]

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Categories: Food · Main Dishes · Recipes · Religion & Holidays · Thanksgiving · Vegetable Dishes
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Homemade Pumpkin Puree

December 6th, 2008 · 4 Comments

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 […]

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Categories: Desserts · Food · Recipes · Religion & Holidays · Thanksgiving · Vegetable Dishes
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Vegan Pumpkin Pie

December 1st, 2008 · 2 Comments

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) […]

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Categories: Desserts · Food · Places to Go · Recipes · Religion & Holidays · Snacks · Thanksgiving
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Homemade Cranberry Sauce (without oranges)

December 1st, 2008 · 3 Comments

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 […]

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Categories: Desserts · Food · Places to Go · Recipes · Religion & Holidays · Spreads & Dips · Thanksgiving
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Cashew Cream

November 30th, 2008 · 7 Comments

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 […]

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Categories: Desserts · Food · Places to Go · Recipes · Religion & Holidays · Snacks · Thanksgiving
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Roasted Squash & Pumpkin Seeds

November 24th, 2008 · 2 Comments

It’s fall! It’s pumpkin time! So what do you do with those seeds?  Well don’t waste them, turn them into a healthy nosh. Start with any winter squash: pumpkin, acorn, red kuri, whatever you like.  In these pictures, I used butternut squash. Cut the raw squash in half lengthwise.  Use a fork to pull out […]

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Abyssinia (Ethiopian/Eritrean, Santa Rosa, CA)

November 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

Some comfort foods come from childhood (the one that fills my soul is very soft, very slow cooked scrambled eggs over buttered whole-grain toast, something I can no longer have) and others are with you all along but hidden until you happen upon that food.  My adult-found comfort food is Ethiopian.  The sour spongy bread […]

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Categories: Food · Restaurant Reviews · SF Bay Area Restaurant
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Cucumber Pickles

November 17th, 2008 · 1 Comment

With all the various fermented vegetables I’ve made, somehow I never got around to making cucumber pickles.  But that changed this summer when I tasted a friend’s potluck offering and realized how much I missed them.  The vinegared pasteurized version from the store just doesn’t taste the same. My friend used slicing cucs (the kind […]

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Categories: Food · Recipes · Snacks · Vegetable Dishes
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Homemade Corn Dogs

November 14th, 2008 · 1 Comment

In my ongoing quest to discover 1001 things to do with masa, I came up with this little gem.  Guaranteed to please three year olds everywhere. Start with fresh masa if you can get it.  Reconstituted masa harina if you can’t. Grab a chunk, roll it into a ball, then flatten by hand into a […]

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Categories: Food · Main Dishes · Recipes · Snacks
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