Home-Made Fish Sticks


What is it about kids and sticks? It seems like they’ll eat anything as long as it’s a straight line – even fish. Cucumbers, carrots, you can even get them to eat celery (with peanut butter and raisins – traditional aunts on a log!). Which kid doesn’t love pretzel sticks? I don’t know about yours, but if I were to offer my kids pretzels twists vs sticks, they would definitely go for the sticks. Try frying french fries in circles instead of sticks, would your kids eat them? Mine wouldn’t. I think you get my drift :)

And it’s not just kids. I once did an experiment with waldorf salad. I made a traditional recipe with diced apples, celery, and walnuts and it just didn’t go. I tried the same exact recipe again, but this time, I cut the apples into thin matchsticks. It was gobbled up.

What is it about the texture of sticks that we all love? Maybe it’s that word that rhymes with stick – shtick :)

For this “sticky” supper, I made some homemade fish sticks with tilapia (as long as I call them “fish sticks” my kids will finish them off. Call it fried fish and they won’t touch it), shoestring fries, and carrot and cucumber sticks. Serve it alongside some ketchup, and your “shticky” kids will thank you!


Home-Made Fish Sticks

tilapia fillets
eggs
Panko bread crumbs
spices of your choice (I use salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder)

How to:

Cut tilapia fillets into strips. Beat eggs and season with spices of your choice. Dip tilapia into eggs and then into panko crumbs, coating well. Fry until crisp and golden.

Tip: when breading and frying fish or chicken, set up a dredging station. Some people like to dip into flour, then eggs, and then bread/panko/corn flake crumbs. I skip the flour step because I don’t find it necessary. I like to use tongs, instead of getting my hands dirty all full of crumbs, and having to keep rinsing them. If you have a few pairs of tongs, like I do, you can use one at each station.

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Sundried Tomato Olive Tapenade


After tasting a delicious olive tapenade at a restaurant a few years ago, I started playing around with different olive dip recipes to serve on Shabbos, alongside the fish. I tried the typical spanish olives with mayo, green olives with garlic and olive oil, and finally this recipe, which proved to be by favorite. The sundried tomatoes add a delicious flavor and color to the dip. When I was plating this for photographing, my two year old daughter asked if she could have some in a sandwich. I put two pieces of crostini together, and she ate the whole thing! If a two year old can appreciate its deliciousness, imagine how much you, and your guests, will!

Sundried Tomato Olive Tapenade

1 19oz can black olives (I use manzanilla)
1/2 jar of sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil, about 10
4 tbsp oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes (or extra virgin olive oil)
3 garlic cloves

Method:

Add olives, sundried tomatoes, garlic and oil to a food processor. Pulse until it reaches desired consistency (I like it a bit chopped and piecey otherwise it will have a sandy/grainy texture).

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6-Spice Moroccan Stew

This stew is really chock full of flavor. All the warm earthy spices complement the naturally sweet vegetables for a satisfying meal, when served over couscous. If you wish, you can add beef or chicken as well. The stew freezes very well so I like to freeze single-serving containers that I can eat for lunch. I just cook up some fresh couscous, which takes no time at all.

6-Spice Morrocan Stew

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp coriander
1 32oz. container vegetable stock
bottom half of butternut squash (I reserve the top for butternut squash fries), diced
2 medium zucchini, diced
4 small carrots, diced
1 small sweet potato, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 lg handful golden raisins
1 1/2 tsp salt
slivered almonds, toasted, for garnish
Couscous, prepared according to package directions

How to:

Saute garlic until fragrant but not brown. Add diced onion, saute for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, chilli and coriander. saute for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add stock, vegetables, salt, chic peas and raisins. Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Ladle stew on top of couscous and top with slivered almonds.

NOTE: If desired, add stew beef or chicken with the vegetables and cook for an additional 30 minutes (or longer for the meat).

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Banana Dates Milk & Honey Smoothie


For all those Brooklynites out there, you may remember a certain little establishment on the corner of Coney Island and Avenue P called Bissale. It used to be opened till the wee hours of the morning (I’m not sure if it ever really closed) and hailed its own psychic, who’s only charge was to pay for her meal! The place had the absolute best Israeli food, but there was some shady business going on there (not to mention it was far from clean, but we turned a blind eye). At one point they opened up a secret hooka bar in the back (there might have been more than just hooka going on there!). Anyway, my friend Dina and I used to frequent the place and we always ordered up the same thing: ftut, french fries, and a banana, date, milk and honey smoothie. The ftut was basically some chopped malawach dough, mixed up with cheese and mushrooms, with a tomato dipping sauce. The french fries were incredible. But the prize, for me, was the smoothie. It was creamy and sweet, full of delicious flavor! Bissale closed its doors a few years ago, and while I miss the great food, and even better memories (not including the calories!), I’m happy to savor my favorite shake in my favorite place, home sweet home.

The original recipe uses whole milk, but I use almond milk to pack a protein punch and nutty flavor. Also, to eliminate the need for ice cubes (which will just water it down), I freeze the banana and dates a few hours in advance.

Banana Dates Milk & Honey Smoothie

1 cup almond milk
1 banana
3 dates
1 tbsp honey

Method:

Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.

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Meat Lasagna

Growing up, we weren’t big dairy eaters. I think it had a lot to do with the milk allergies around the house. There was the occasional pizza, and the once-in-a-blue-moon fettucine alfredo. But on Shavuous, my mother went all out. She made the most delicious cheese blintzes, eggplant rollintini and her famous mouthwatering lasagna. We couldn’t get enough of it. The situation seems to be repeating itself in my house, having a daughter who is severely allergic to milk. We too have the occasional pizza, macaroni and cheese and cheese latkes. We reserve the other delicacies for that once-a-year milchig binge. But no-one can make lasagna like Ma’s, so I haven’t even tried. We always make sure we are free for her milchig meal so we can savor her delicious recipe!

Why am I rambling on about Ma’s milchig lasagna in a meat lasagna post? Well, since we absolutely LOVE the dairy recipe, I basically adapted it into a meat one that we can eat all year round! Of course nothing will ever replace the original, but this version is really delicious, and worth the effort (you’ll need a lot of pots to make it!) My kids just gobble it up, without even noticing the spinach!

Meat Lasagna

1 pkg lasagna noodles
2 lb. ground beef
1 medium spanish onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, finely diced
1/2 yellow pepper, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
20oz. frozen chopped spinach
3 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 12 oz. cans tomato paste
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

Boil water for lasagna noodles. Add salt and a little oil to keep them from sticking. Cook no longer than al dente.

In a separate pot: saute onions and garlic, add peppers when onions are translucent.

In another pot, brown the meat, breaking it up as you go. Drain, return to pot and add sauteed onions and peppers.

In the microwave or pot, defrost the spinach (or take it out early and thaw in a strainer). Squeeze well to remove water.

Mix the tomato sauce, paste, sugar, salt, oregano, basil and pepper. Stir, over low heat, to smooth out and incorporate the tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings, if needed. Add spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.

Assemble the lasagna:

Start with a layer of noodles in a greased 9×13 pan, add the meat mixture and then tomato sauce mixture. Repeat. Top the last layer of noodles with the tomato sauce mixture.

Bake, covered, at 350 until the flavors have blended and the lasagna is piping hot (about 30-40 minutes).

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