Author: Norene Gilletz

The following dishes are not only family-friendly, they’re also brain-healthy—just what the doctor ordered! Perfect for the yamim tovim and are ideal to serve in the sukkah.

Colorful, brain-boosting dishes for the Nine Days and all year round

Enjoy these family-friendly one-pan wonders selected from Kim Kushner’s third cookbook, I Heart Kosher: Beautiful Recipes from my Kitchen (Weldon Owen)—they’re perfect for Passover or all year round. As a bonus, they’re also gluten-free!

These easy chocolately sweets are perfect for Chanukah and great for gift-giving. Let’s bake up some mm-good memories!

In her new cookbook, Millennial Kosher (ArtScroll), Chanie Apfelbaum embodies her passion for new food for a new generation, featuring traditional Jewish dishes reinvented for the modern palate. Influenced by international cultural cuisine, her cookbook incorporates bold flavors and spices, using fresh seasonal ingredients and fewer processed foods.

These kid-friendly dishes are fun to make and will help children of all ages learn new cooking techniques.

If you’re looking for inspiration when planning your Pesach menus, these delicious dishes shared by some of my favorite kosher cookbook authors are perfect for Passover.

Latkes! Sufganiyot! This innovative collection of recipes from culinary mavens Joan Nathan and Paula Shoyer will be sure to impress the guests at your holiday table. Chanukah fare with flair! Zucchini Fritters (Kolokuthokeftedes) Adapted from King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World by Joan Nathan (Knopf) Yields about 36 […]

Cookbook author and caterer Naomi Nachman certainly knows a thing or two about putting a modern twist on traditional Passover dishes. Her new cookbook, Perfect for Pesach (ArtScroll), is packed with creative, imaginative recipes that are easy yet elegant, and are absolutely perfect for Passover. Passover will never be quite the same! Enjoy! Recipes and […]

These creative new spins on tradition will be winners on your Chanukah table!

This year, Sukkot takes place in the latter part of October, so unless you live in Australia, chances are the weather will be somewhat chilly. There’s nothing better than serving family and friends a big bowl of nourishing soup or some hearty chili to warm everyone up on those cool fall nights. These hearty, healthy, meat-free recipes are sure to please everyone at your Sukkot table, meat-eaters and vegetarians/vegans alike.

The following scrumptious summer recipes are packed with brain-boosting ingredients that can help you outsmart Alzheimer’s and dementia. They’re simple to prepare and use easily available ingredients, so they’re perfect for those hot summer days when you don’t feel like cooking heavy, time-consuming meals.

Preparing healthy, satisfying and delicious meals for family and friends during the eight days of Pesach is a huge challenge. The secret is to focus on plant-based foods, including a variety of colorful, fiber-packed vegetables and fruits, either enjoyed on their own or added to easy-to-prepare recipes. So much better for you than filling up on potatoes and starchy, processed carbs, eating far too many eggs and indulging on too much matzah shmeared with butter and jam.

These family-friendly dishes are perfect for any occasion, especially for Chanukah. They are creative, look fantastic, taste scrumptious—and they’re fairly easy to make. Old classics prepared with new flair, these delicious, diverse dishes come from three of today’s best-selling cookbook authors. Their culinary creations are sure to lighten up the mood when the weather turns chilly. Small bites, big flavors—these dairy dishes are sure to please the fussiest of eaters at your Chanukah celebrations!

Sukkot celebrates the final gathering of the harvest before the winter. Meals are served in the Sukkah, which symbolizes the temporary shelters in which our ancestors lived during their forty years in the desert. A wonderful way to celebrate the agricultural theme is to take advantage of the bounty of the fall harvest, focusing on the glorious produce that is so plentiful at this time of year.

Summertime is the best time to buy fresh produce at the peak of its season, when flavor is optimum. Farmers’ markets are the perfect place to find a super selection of ripe flavor-packed locally grown fruits and vegetables that are fresh from the fields. Juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, leafy salad greens, fresh herbs, sweet golden […]

Preparing meatless meals during the Nine Days means no brisket, chicken or meatballs, except on Shabbat. However, you don’t need meat or poultry for a really great meal. Here are some scrumptious meatless dishes that are nourishing and satisfying, not to mention just plain delicious! Most of these recipes are plant-based to help hydrate your […]

Summer is a terrific time to explore the great outdoors. Home gardens, roadside farm stands and farmers’ markets are overflowing with a wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruits that are ripe for the picking. Simple suggestions to make mealtime preparations a breeze: • Serve foods that can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature […]

The incredible aroma of food cooking on the grill is a sure-fire way to spark your appetite. Here are some ways to sneak some nutrition onto the plate the next time everyone gathers around the grill.

Ginger Pickled Salmon or Halibut Makes 8 servings 2 1/2 pounds Atlantic salmon fillets or halibut steaks (about 8 slices) 1 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 cups white vinegar or rice vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons pickling spices 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 6 thin slices of […]

Matzah balls evoke special memories for most people. In our family, everyone’s favorite part of the chicken soup is that wonderful white matzah ball floating in the center of the bowl. In addition to soup and matzah balls, there’s always brisket, kugel and potatoes in some form on my family’s Passover menu. I hope you […]

Even experienced cooks find Passover overwhelming because of all the extra preparations, shopping, cooking and meal planning. To minimize stress, plan your menus and shopping lists early. This year, why not add some gluten-free, wheat-free recipes to your regular repertoire? Wheat-free recipes are also ideal for those who refrain from eating gebrokts (matzah or matzah […]

Most traditional Pesach recipes are high in calories, carbohydrates and fat, but are low in fiber.

Do you feel a sense of panic when trying to plan your menu for the Sedarim? Do you struggle to keep your Pesach menus as healthy as possible? Do you need recipes that are gluten-free or non-gebrokts? Are you tired of hearing your family complain that they’re hungry? A constant complaint during Passover is: “There’s […]

Soup, glorious soup! It fills your tummy, nourishes your soul and brings you back for more. When the weather turns cold, there’s nothing more comforting than a steamy bowl of hot homemade soup. Soup warms you up on a cold winter day, spreading the feeling of contentment and satisfaction. Soups are extremely versatile, letting you […]

I’ve never met a latke I didn’t like. Chanukah is still one of my favorite holidays, and to me, hot, crispy latkes taste best straight from the skillet. Latkes always bring back wonderful memories from my childhood, counting my Chanukah gelt and spinning the dreidel at family Chanukah celebrations. My mother always made traditional latkes […]

It’s back-to-school time and harried parents everywhere are short on time! Easy, economical meals are ideal for time-starved families. SWEET AND SOUR MEATLOAF Yields 8 servings Instead of rolling ground meat into meatballs, make meatloaf! Same terrific taste, but half the work! Leftover meatloaf can be used in sandwiches and makes a perfect lunchbox addition. […]

Each family has its favorite “tried and true” recipes that it absolutely has to include as part of the Seder menu. Tradition, tradition! But preparing family-style meals during Pesach often becomes a challenge, especially when preparing for young children. I hope these easy Passover dishes, adapted from my cookbooks The Food Processor Bible (Vancouver, Canada, […]

Putting a healthy, wholesome meal on the dinner table every night can be quite challenging, especially if you’re a working mom. However, healthy doesn’t have to be complicated. The following recipes require minimal effort and provide maximum results, using ingredients that are readily available. They’re also perfect for the upcoming High Holidays or Shabbat. FOOD […]

Whether you spell it Chanukah or Hannukah, this festive winter holiday is associated with all sorts of latkes, sufganiyot and fried foods to celebrate the miracle of a small amount of oil miraculously lasting for eight days. The tradition of eating dairy dishes, particularly cheese, did not become popular until the Middle Ages. The story […]