The Kitchen Guru

Shakshouka My favorite  indulgence   It has been reported the best way to eat is  according to the old British idiom, breakfast like a king ( large) lunch like a prince (medium ) dinner like a pauper ( small, light) . There is no doubt that breakfast is the most important meal of the day; although by many it is often skipped. It has been proven that children who skip breakfast do not do as well at school as those that have a nutritionally balanced start to the day. When one thinks of a British breakfast one thinks of a heavy fat induced heart attack on a plate British fry up eggs sunny side up, with all the trimmings, even the   kosher version omitting the bacon, and pork sausages   adding kosher chicken sausages, baked beans, fried mushrooms, tomatoes and sliced fried potatoes, followed by toast and orange marmalade is a force to be reckoned with. In Israel, breakfast is a major social event mainly at the weekends, but the breakfast is serv...

Still cooking chili in the pot I have been trying for a long time to perfect a Chili without the meat for my vegetarian and vegan friends, and have finally got there. No meat or meat substitute, no gluten was used in this recipe;  I made yesterday and served it today to 14 very fussy Israeli female  students for lunch;  I  said what is any leftover let me know I can make it into a soup freeze it and you can have it next week… I will have to make something else next week. The students declared it tasted like meat, it had the texture of Chili con carne and it hit the spot on a blustery day. It was served with rice seasoned with bay leaf  and  flax seeds, and a baby leaf and bean sprout salad in a light lemon garlic and honey dressing …a great success . The whole secret is in the textures and seasoning . So here is my Vegan Chili no carne serve 14 portions. 3/4 kilo mixed dried beans I used a mixture of kidney beans, black eye b...

We all have family favorites and comfort foods; one of my all-time favorites is Sheppard's/ Cottage pie. This takes me back to my childhood; it is easily digestible and warming from the inside out. Actually traditionally Sheppard's pie is made using minced lamb, and cottage pie typically was made with a crust of mashed potato at the bottom, the layer of minced beef in between and a layer of mashed potato on top. It was the dish of rural farmers in Britain first recorded in 1791 when potatoes were considered edible crop. In my childhood there were many different varieties of this quintessentially British nursery food; my paternal grandmother made it the traditional way with lamb, in thick onion gravy, my maternal grandmother used minced beef, topped with a thick layer of ultra-creamy mashed potatoes. My mother added carrots, and one aunt baked beans to their basic meat mixture,  while another aunt would top the mashed potato with grated cheddar cheese and ...

I have a problem , I am a foodie with a weight issue: I really enjoy certain textures and flavors and have a body that craves   chocolate  sugar  & carbs; I was and possibly still am  a mayo maiden, loving the silky texture and flavor of mayonnaise… Over the years I have body imposed dietary restrictions so the list of what I can't eat is longer that what I can, I don’t eat wheat, but can manage rice, I am totally dairy free, and under my daughter in laws advice http://daniellasilver.com/ (a board certified holistic health coach,) cut right back on soya, sugars, and certain raw vegetables that can create an unhealthy reaction for people with thyroid related problems. (More about that later) One of the things I miss most is mayonnaise, I don’t eat raw eggs , so homemade went out the window years ago, and Helmans my preferred brand is certainly not in the healthy bracket so I have set about producing an alternative version that works. After trial ...

Its a new Gregorian  year, and that is a time when we all make resolutions to clean up our lives in one way or another  smokers try to give up smoking , drinkers try and cut back, and those of us with weight problems examine our eating habits. I have many food restrictions and health issues. For many years I have followed a gluten and dairy free diet, but with recent research I have come to the conclusion that I should give the Paleo  eating  a whirl at lest for a couple of months to see if my breathing, heart, thyroid,  auto immune system and digestive system work better, after all what have I got to lose? I have seen with my own eyes the amazing results of this way of eating and thing it must be the way forward for me. According to Wikipedia  the definition of the Paleo The  paleolithic diet  (abbreviated  paleo diet  or  paleodiet ), also popularly referred to as the...