Passover Friendly, Matzah Free Bowls

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. DON'T BE MATZAH

Eating on passover makes me anxious. I obsess over questions like, will I have access to real food at my parent’s house? Will I be able to eat how I usually do? Will I show restraint or will I binge eat coconut macaroons because they’re just there? Will I or won’t I be bloated for three straight days? Can I pull off not eating even one morsel of matzah for the entire holiday? Because you know, it’s inedible and all.. Also, how many matzah farfel cookies will I eat, and when will “but these cookies have been in my family for generations” no longer be a legitimate justification for eating the aforementioned cookies?

These questions plague (!) me each time Passover rolls around. Which is why I decided to take a look at how I normally like to eat - whole foods, plant based, eating with the seasons- and inject that framework into passover friendly recipes - dishes that do not have chametz. What’s chametz you ask? It’s an esoteric category of restricted ingredients including foods that contain any amount of wheat, barley, rye, oats, and spelt- essentially anything that can leaven, or “puff up.” The reason for the tradition is to pay homage to that time when the Jews became free, fled Egypt with haste and so didn’t have time for their bread to rise. Oh, and you’re also not allowed to eat seeds, beans, chickpeas, corn, or many other things delicious. That I can’t really explain.

But diet concerns aside, I am grateful to have strong Passover traditions (thanks Mom & Dad!). My Dad, for example, constructs a tent in our living room, held up and jerry rigged with shower curtain rods, waste bins and bricks. After 5 years, it’s never collapsed, but it has come close, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re on borrowed time. Each year we sit underneath the rickety yet beautiful tent, surrounded by a panoramic painted background of ancient Egypt and sarcophaguses made from old cardboard boxes. And we tell stories about the history of the Jewish people, what it means to be free, fortunate, and privileged, and how that translates to our current reality. And underneath the many rituals and liturgies, we find ourselves in deep discussion about philosophy and politics. The table becomes a platform for us to connect and speak openly, passionately about our unique points of view about the world. It’s a pretty incredible thing…  I hope you can make it to our Passover table one day. Until then, here are my three passover friendly, matzah free bowls. Because, again, matzah is indigestible.

Spiced Carrot & Lemon Yogurt Bowl

• 2 lbs of carrots, roasted with cumin, salt, pepper, smoked paprika
• 2 cups of quinoa, boiled for 20 mins with 4 cups of water
• ¼ cup of golden raisins
• ¼ cup of almonds
• ¼ cup of mint chopped
• 1 cup of yogurt with ½ lemon, squeezed, 1 clove of garlic, minced

Roasted carrots with spices on a pan at 425 for 45 mins. When finished, place quinoa in bowl and top with carrots, raisins, almonds, lemon yogurt and mint.

Root Mash & Mushroom Bowl

• 1 lb of carrots
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 tbs coconut oil 
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• cinnamon
• paprika
• chili powder
• 2 cups of mushrooms
• ¼ cup of white wine
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tbs thyme
• pistachios
• micro greens

Boil carrots and sweet potato for 30 mins until soft. Blend with 1 tbs. coconut oil, salt, pepper, and 1 pinch of cinnamon, cumin, paprika and chili powder, until smooth. Meanwhile, heat a pan on med heat with 1 tsp butter and 1 stalk of thyme. Add mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are crispy, they add 1/4 cup of white wine. Let simmer until evaporated. Place root mash in bowl and top with mushrooms, pistachios and micro greens

Spaghetti Squash, Honey Roasted Radish & Radish Green Pesto

• 1 spaghetti squash, roasted for 45 mins with 1 inch of water
• 1 lb of radishes, roasted with salt, pepper, and honey
• ¼ cup of radish greens
• ½ cup of olive oil
• ½ cup of pistachios
• ½ cup of mint
• ¼ cup of scallions
• salt
• pepper
• 1 clove of garlic

Blend olive oil, pistachios, mint, scallions, salt and pepper and garlic in a blender. Assemble shredded squash, pesto and top with radishes and parsley.

Shakshuka with Black Olives and Soft Egg

MOVE OVER WHEATIES....

There's a new champion in town. 

Shakshuka (Moroccan dish with stewed tomato and baked egg) is the perfect breakfast meal. It's hearty but won't leave you with that weird carb hangover feeling you get after you eat pancakes or almond croissants. 

And while I wax poetic about my dear stew, I can't help but smile when I recall the first time I was introduced to to it. Interestingly, I discovered Shakshuka not on my many trips to Israel, but many years before I even stepped foot in the country, as a child on a beach vacation in Myrtle Beach with my family. We visited the one kosher restaurant in town, a Mediterranean joint run by sun-kissed Israelis, a detail which normally would have excited me, as I always relish running into Israelis in unexpected places. But in Myrtle Beach it wasn't so novel, because we frequently ran into Israelis all over the city. They peppered the board walks, peddling crass T-shirts and sugary snow cones, and license plate magnets advertising names like Kelly, Daniel, Justin, and Amy. Anyways, it was at that Israeli kosher restaurant that my cousin Franny (12 at the time, while I was 10) introduced me to my first bowl of shakshuka. 

Since then I've tasted many iterations of the classic dish- green tomatillos, red pepper, shakshuka & hummus... and I've tested a few versions of my own - tomato and watermelon, fennel tomato, tomato & pesto... but this version is my all time favorite- stewed tomato with black olives, sun dried tomatoes and za'atar. I top it off with a bit of silan (date honey), and tons and tons of herbs. It's transcendent. 

I debuted the dish publicly this morning at our 7th Wandering (wow!). And I've made this recipe many times before, but this time, there was a twist. Instead of baking the eggs directly in the stew, I soft boiled them separately. This technique renders the dish accessible for both vegans and non vegans alike and preserves the eggs (they last in the fridge for about 5 days, stored in an airtight container). And so it was the perfect example of a recipe that could be prepared ahead of time, stored for many days, and applied in many ways, throughout the work week. These are qualities that I seek out in most dishes that I make. These are the qualities that make healthful eating EASY.  And easy breezy wellness  just so happened to be the focus of our brunch....

The brunch was hosted by Logan Exchange, a new co working space in DC. Inspired by the space, Aley and I sought out to use the space to discuss strategies to effortlessly and organically infuse wellness into the workweek.

And so we kicked off the morning with a batch plant based cooking workshop - tips and hacks to make healthy eating easy throughout the week- and a desk friendly yoga session. We then migrated upstairs to the main conference room, a dazzling space that overlooks Logan Circle, and pours in buckets of soft natural light. 

While Aley and I have actively tried to avoid the topic of work at our gatherings, we saw a true desire to discuss tactical plans to reduce work stress and create routines to support a healthful life at work and beyond. This shakshuka is just one example of a dish that can be prepared on a Sunday, and used throughout the week in a multitude of ways, such as: 

• soft boiled egg as a topping for a grain bowl
• soft boiled egg as a topping for a salad
• shakhuka stew on whole grain pasta
• shakshuka stew on a sandwich with grilled chicken
• shakhuka stew with chickpeas and lentils
• shakhuka stew with polenta
• shakhuka stew with spaghetti squash and melted cheese

It's a dish that's easy to make, easy to store and easy to enjoy. Healthful and mindful eating is a powerful force in combating stress. It's an important act of self care and helps you become strongest, sharpest, most nourished version of you. If time is the biggest barrier to eating well, this dish (and others that we shared at The Wandering) could change the way you respond to stress. Eating is an impactful act on your body and mind, and it's one of the most powerful tools we have in alleviating stress. After all, how could we possibly manage to stave off anxiety & stress, and truly be mindful & present, if we've got a weird pancake hangover to deal with? ;) 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 white onion 
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 cup of black olives
• 1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes
• 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can of pureed tomato
• 1/4 cup of vegetable broth
• 1 tbs of date honey
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup of chopped dill
• 1/4 cup of chopped scallions
• 7 eggs, soft boiled (5 mins, rolling boil) 

DIRECTIONS

Saute onion in olive oil, salt and pepper, on med heat until translucent. Then, add chopped garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add the olives and tomato, cook for a few mins. Add the tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 mins. 

Drizzle date honey on top of stew. Add all the chopped herbs. Top with soft boiled eggs and coarse salt.