Matzoh Savory and Sweet

 Matzoh is one of those Passover essentials that can be used in a variety of different ways.It is a bread substitute as well as a flour one. It can be used for both savory and sweet recipes, all adding to the seder.

Matzoh is eaten during the entire Passover  and can be served soft like pita or crispy like crackers It has to be made from one of the five ancient grains, wheat, spelt barley rye or oat. Some sephardic communitiies allow it to be made with eggs ot fruit juice.it not only symbolizes redemtion and freedom but also humbleness , being called poor man's bread. It also commemorates when the Jews had to flee Egypt  and couldn't wait for their bread to rise. it can be used in all sorts of recipes. One of the most traditional is matzoh brei, an egg and matzo combination.This makes for a good breakfast or even a light lunch.It's  a mix of crumbled sheets of crumbled matzohs , caramelized onions and eggs. You can add chives if you want for more color or flavor. Of course there is matzoh ball soup, These are made with matzoh meal, eggs , chicken stock and schmaltz or chicken fat. If the last is too fatty for you then use kosher vegetable oil.  The're shaped into ping pong ball sized rounds and thne dropped into lightlly salted water to cook. They're then transferred to chicken broth for a satisfying light dinner.

Matzoh can do double duty as a base for sweet recipes. Keep in mind that matzoh brei can also be made sweet.It's still the same egg and crumbled matzoh base but orange water and a pinch of sugar are added.It's cooked in butter and served garnished with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Kosher apple sauce or jam can also be served with it.Matzoh is becoming popular in holiday candies. There is the famed matzoh crack which is homemade butter toffee evenly spread over four sheets Dark chocolate chips are scattered on top to melt over the hot toffee. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate over the sheets and top with chopped pecans and sea salt. Place the entire pan in the fridge to set and chill for forty-five minutes. Cut into squares and serve.Surprisingly enough matzoh can be turned into an ice box cake. Layers of matzoh are interspersed with vanilla or chocolate pudding mixed with Cool Whip. It's topped with a mocha ganache icing and then chilled.It can even be turned  into tiramisu . Soak the matzohs in a good strong brew and layer with a chocolate creme. Top with a chocolate ganache and sprinkle with espresso.

Matzoh can be in both savory and sweet dishes Try it as a savory lunch or a delicious dessert. It's versatile anyway you use it.

Vegan For Holy Week

 Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy week. Some fast while ohers just observe Good Friday. However if you want to observe but not fast so muc then think about going vegan for a week.It's an easy practice for avoiding meat and other indulgences.

Home chefs can take a page from the Greak Orthodox. They forgo all meat , dairy and egg for their Lenten period which started on February 27th. Their's is a  strictly vegan until  their Easter Sunday which is a week after ours. it is an easy to do thanks to all the vegan products that have exploded on the market in the last few years. You can easily make both red and white chili using soy crumbles or plant based chicken strips.The crumbles cna be used to make a vegetarian Bolognese too, perfect with penne or spaghetti. Kids will love the chiocken nuggets that both Gardein and Morningstar Farsm sell. You may want to try the last's Veggetizers, small fun bites in such flavors as pizza and popcorn chicken for a quick weeknight meal.  Tey also have plant based taquito bites chorizo nacho bites and buffalo chicken wings.Their bacon is excellent , especially when served with Just Egg's egg substitute. This last is perfect for scrambles  and makes for a good breakfast or even breakfast for dinner. It can even be used in baking too.

Holy Week is also a good time to forgo dairy too. Again this is easy thanks to all the plant based milks out there. There are even chocolate versions sold in handy boxes with straws.Keep in mind that oat milk has the highest calories with 120 a cup. You may want to try almond or soy milk for lesser calories. What about ice cream, whipped cream and cheese.Again there are so many to choose from thanks to people going vegan. even Ben and Jerry have their own line featuring some of the best loved flavors like mint chocolate cookie and Colin Kaepernick's Change The Whirled. That ice cream giant Breyer's also sells  non dairy version of their most popular flavors. You can make your own using coconut milk maple syrup or cane sugar and vanilla extract. It will have a coconut taste but you can off set this with fruit juice to create a sorbet or  chocolate bits. THere is also vegan whipped cream thanks to Reddi Whip  producing both a coconut and almond version of their original. as for cheese, try Chao's . Theyy have both sliced  and shredded that are perfect for grilled cheese or in salads.

You can do some fasting for Holy Week by forgoing meat, dairy and eggs. It's easy nowadays, thanks to all the different products. You may continue it even after Easter.