Warmth On A Winter's Night

 January is cold.We need fortifying dishes and drinks to see ou through the chills and blizzards , the snow and frost. There's nothing like a good chill chaser to make us feel warm - and happy.

Yewande Komolafe, a regular contributor for the New York Times Food section wrote gave us some good warming recipes in yesterday's issue. They are not heavy rib sticking casseroles or chilis but soups. Soups are great because they flood you with heat while not overwhelming. Ms. Komolafe keeps a good stock of infusions , broths and tinctures. Her mother was an excellent influence this way being a food scientist and nutritionist who always was able to hunt out nutrition rich elements. She passed this down to her daughter who suffers from chronic ailments. Ms. Komolafe has to be careful when ti comes to cold and flus. Her pantry has spices roots and herbs. She puts lemongrass stalks in a tea made with lemons , oranges and ginger. It is Vitamin C rich  Her broths are fortifying as she drinks it on long and short walks  her recipes are rich with turmeric and garlic , She recommends a container that will not retain their flavors.

You can start with her tonic.It's a citrus and herb one, rich with a variety of citrus such as lemons limes and oranges. Lemongrass stalks and turmeric. There's also ginger and oregano - another great antibacterial herb and also rich in Vitamin K added after the others are brewed in eight cups of water. Serve hot as a tea, You can also store it and reheat.It will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge. (You could probably have it chilled in the summer as well.) The soups are a bone broth enhanced with ginger and turmeric too along with iron rich greens such as spinach, kale and mustard greens. Dandelion or beet greens can also be added. It's cooked with either bone or chicken stock with garlic added.A squeeze of lemon tops it off. Think of it as a light lunch or light snack. A heartier recipe is her  brothy Thai curry with silken tofu and herbs. This is a stew of tomatoes, curry paste,silken tofu and vegetable stock. A Dutch oven is used to cook the shallots in oil, then then curry paste ginger and garlic are added. It's then the tomatoes , followed by coconut milk and vegetable broth  The tofu, which is cut into three slices. is added to a bowl and seasoned with soy and cracked pepper. The broth is then ladled on top.

This is the time to fortify yourself and your body. Eat healthy .Eat right with these tasty  dishes and tonic , rich with ginger and turmeric. They'll make you feel better.

A Very Vegan Hannukah

Hannukah is a time to remember miracles and for many vegans, the lives of all creatures are miracles. They want to celebrate but can't because of animal products being used to create treats. However there are meatless recipes along with ones that eschew eggs and dairy. Vegans and vegetarians can have their latkes and sufganiyot without any worries about harming their fellow animals.

A cold December night calls for a hot soup and what better than a vegan matzoh ball one. It starts with vegetable broth, whether homemade or bought, If you make it from scratch remember you can add whatever veggies you want. Start with carrots and celery and toss in tomato and bell peppers if you want. Onion is very flavorful and then also add such herbs as marjoram, rosemary and thyme. Here comes the hard part - making eggless matzoh balls. Can it be done? Eggs are the binding force that keeps the dough balls from coming apart once they hit the hot soup.Instead use aquafaba that  all purpose and on trend  bean water left from chickpeas. They have a composition similar to egg whites and can be used in the recipe.You will have to par bake them . For a simpler take use silken tofu instead of the aquafaba.This is taking about half a cup of firm silken tofu, pureeing it and then adding  one half cup matzoh meal and two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Boil them separately from the soup and drop them into the cooked broth.

Of course it's not Hannukah without  latkes. These crunchy potato pancakes traditionally have used eggs to bind and shape them.  You can omit them and continue on with the recipe.It's taking two large russet potatoes and combining them with a diced yellow onion ,flour and baking powder. Fry in vegetable or light olive oil. Latkes are always good with sour cream and vegans can still enjoy this -  by using vegan sour cream. You can buy it or make it by using silken tofu and mixing it with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.Then add minced garlic and sea salt and blend. Jelly doughnut or sufganiyot are treats that Israelis love at Hannukah, It taking yeast  and mixing it with almond milk and then adding it to the blend of salt, flour and sugar.Coconut oil and ground flax seed is also incorporated into the dough. Fry them first in vegetable oil, then roll the hot doughnuts in a bowl of granulated sugar. It 's now time to fill them. Fill a pastry bag with raspberry or apricot jam, Put the insertion nozzle tip on the bag and stick in the doughnuts. One squeeze should fill them.


A vegan Hannukah is a fun one. It is still full of tasty treats but without harming animals. Celebrate the miracle of all life on earth.