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Ashley Available as Private Vegan Chef

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Photo by Liyuphotography

Ashley Goldstein is a vegan chef and baker, currently located in the Tri-State area, who strives to create delicious and satisfying meals the whole family can enjoy.  She has an extensive repertoire, spanning from casual weeknight meals to more extravagant fare, perfect for larger dinner parties and family celebrations.  Ashley bases her cuisine around seasonal and local ingredients, and creates lively menus tailored to each of her client’s specific dietary needs.  She is the founder of Tipsy Shades of Earl Grey, a boutique, vegan cupcake company, specializing in tea and spirits infused cupcakes that have been enjoyed both at home and abroad.  She is a licensed driver and can be reached at [email protected].

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Snapshot of a Meal

I know I usually post recipes, but today I just wanted to share my lunch from the other day. No, no, I promise I’m not that person who takes a picture of every meal I eat, just ones I make that I feel I’ve put a good amount of thought or effort into.

One of those days when plating just wasn't my friend

One of those days when plating just wasn’t my friend

This was inspired partially just by my mood, but partially because I wanted something that felt like it would help me kick this little cold I have. So I put together a super colorful meal, packed with veggies, and flavored with lots of garlic, onions, and ginger. It comprised of mashed sweet potatoes with garlic sauteed mangold and caramelized onions, plus a little hint of musky white pepper.

Close up on mashed sweet potatoes

Close up on mashed sweet potatoes

The second part of the meal was based around this tomato “jam” I made (because I somehow got it in my head that I had to eat a gingery tomatoey jam with my lunch). It was actually very simple with a base of garlic and red onion, then two chopped tomatoes, a few teaspoons of grated ginger, two bay leaves and some rosemary. I sauteed the onion and garlic first, then added the rest of the ingredients, which I let cook until the tomato had become smooth, save for their skins. I realized that tomato jam on top of mashed sweet potatoes maybe wouldn’t be the best texturally speaking, but I didn’t have any bread, and quite frankly, I didn’t really want to add bread to this meal. In a stroke of genius, I remembered we had a bunch of tofu in the fridge, which I quickly dipped in a few tablespoons of tamari mixed with a touch of liquid smoke, and then pan seared to perfection. All in all, quite a delicious late afternoon lunch.

Close up on smokey seared tofu with ginger tomato jam

Close up on smokey seared tofu with ginger tomato jam

One final note on this meal, since I finished the leftovers last night, is that I completely transformed the last of the tomato jam into an asian fusion pasta sauce.  I added some cubed, roasted butternut squash, a splash of Cava, a touch of coconut milk, and a touch of red curry paste.  It was completely delicious, and completely different.  Which I guess is to say that one of these days I’ll do a post on transforming leftovers, but in the meantime, don’t throw them away!

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Thanksgivukkuh Recap!

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Almost the whole gang!

First off, I need to apologize for how long it took me to get this written. I’ve been in the throes of opening a show ever since Thanksgiving (which entails quite a bit of craziness), but I’ve wanted to give an update as to how everything went, especially given the complexity and breadth of the menu I’d planned. Most fortunately for me, we got an oven and stove in my apartment a week before the holiday, so I no longer had to worry about where to cook everything. Really the most important piece of advice I can give when it comes to serving large holiday meals is to plan and cook in advance. While I’d written a shopping list and plan of action far in advance, when it came to the week before Thanksgiving, my planner was no where to be found…so I ended up frantically rewriting both my shopping list and action plan on a napkin in a cafe (how J.K. Rowling of me…also, I did end up finding my planner, after the fact).

Original action plan and list compared to make shift action plan and list.

Original action plan and list compared to make shift action plan and list.

I started my week off by taking a long, late afternoon trip to the shuk (the outdoor market, where produce prices are best). After experiencing the absolute craziness that is the shuk on a Friday, it was delightful to be able to go on a Monday afternoon and meander up and down the stalls, looking for the lowest prices. While this dinner was not exactly cheap, I was still amazed at the sheer amount of produce I could get for a relatively small amount of money. Two boxes of mushrooms for example cost about 10 NIS. I think potatoes (or maybe onions) were 4.50 NIS per kilo. After loading myself with as many kilos of produce as I could carry, I (foolishly) walked home (which was about 2 km, not a bad walk, just not when you’re carrying your weight in veggies), and resolved to get the rest of the produce the next day.

Balagan in the kitchen as meal prep begins

Balagan in the kitchen as meal prep begins

So many mushrooms and onions!

So many mushrooms and onions!

I started out, as I usually do by making the cornbread. I also caramelized onions for as many dishes as I remembered needed them (aka I forgot and had to caramelize more the next day), baked the sweet potatoes, and roasted the huge hunk of squash I got for the pumpkin baked ziti. Because my beautiful, new Vitamix had to remain in the US, I didn’t have a blender or food processor of my own, which did make preparations a little tricky. A friend of mine had an immersion blender with food processor attachment, which she kindly let me borrow, so I spent the better part of a day making anything and everything that needed blender, from soup, to the pumpkin, to the french onion dip, the cashew ricotta, the sweet potatoes, hazelnuts, and caesar dressing. Unfortunately, this blender wasn’t exactly what you’d call powerful, so I had to take breaks quite frequently in order to not kill the motor (and then be completely out of luck). This definitely put me a little behind schedule because despite all my planning, I woke up bright and early Thursday morning, only to cook literally until the last moment, with maybe an hour break.

Massive bowl of butternut squash soup

Massive bowl of butternut squash soup

Wednesday night prep complete: all components for the ziti, plus soup and sauces

Wednesday night prep complete: all components for the ziti, plus soup and sauces

Due to time issues, I decided to bake off the stuffing, rather than attempting to fry it while I had hungry guests over, which I think turned out for the best. I also decided to make broccoli instead of brussel sprouts, because I could only find those in the freezer section, and nobody wants frozen brussel sprouts on Thanksgiving. I also couldn’t find fresh or frozen cranberries anywhere, so I used dried cranberries in the apple sauce (as detailed in the soufganiyot post). The last thing I had to coordinate was the reheating of all the food. I live too far from where the dinner was being hosted to have food stay warm, but two of my friends live closer and graciously warmed food in their ovens. I cooked the tempura at my friend’s place in order for it to be hot and crispy when I served it.

Beautiful kale and argula Caesar salad with cashew based dressing and pecans

Beautiful kale and argula Caesar salad with cashew based dressing and pecans

A lone fried string bean with onion dip in the background

A lone fried string bean with onion dip in the background

Cranberry apple sauce isn't very photogenic.

Cranberry apple sauce isn’t very photogenic.

As I expected, literally everyone was running late (we’re on Israeli time after all), but it gave us a chance to complete some last minute preparations. Our guests were a nice mix of Israelis, Europeans, and Americans. I was so happy to be surround by such wonderful, caring people. From my friends who insisted on helping and got the food set up more quickly than had it been just Cathleen and I, to the friends who made me drink, and the friends who made me sit down and eat. Quite a few jokes were tossed around about me actually being a Moroccan mother (whereas in the US we would just say Jewish mother), or else asking me if I thought I made enough food (there was a tray and a half of ziti leftover and I was still worried). In fact, the only thing we actually finished that night were the latkes, though the soufganiyot came close.

2nd night of Hanukkah.

2nd night of Hanukkah.

Pumpkin baked ziti, soup, stuffing and gravy pictured

Pumpkin baked ziti, soup, stuffing and gravy pictured

Friend peruse their options

Friend peruse their options

I do think the soufganiyot trifle was the surprise hit of the evening. Initially I’d planned to fill some with apple sauce and some with a macadamia nut creme, but due to my makeshift filling equipment (ziploc bag with the corner cut off), the creme wasn’t cooperating as a filling. In a stroke of genius (aka great way to salvage dessert mistakes), I decided to turn it into a trifle (pulled the same stunt last year when I had an excess of chai cake). I cut each soufganiyah in half, arranged them on the bottom of the bowl, and proceeded to layer the soufganiyah halfs with the macadamia creme. Right before serving, I dusted the whole thing with powdered sugar. It was so good, some of my friends even went back for thirds! All in all, it was a wonderfully successful meal, with great company, a mix of traditions new and old, and last but not least, I made it all vegan!

Last but not least: soufganiyot macadamia trifle!

Last but not least: soufganiyot macadamia trifle!

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Better Than Buzzfeed’s Thanksgivukkuh Ideas

About a month ago, there was a link being passed around the interwebz, that happened to not be about a certain pop star, but rather about what could quite possibly be the best holiday ever: Thanksgivikkuh. After reading their suggested menu, I found I was rather let down. While many of the items were Thanksgiving classics re-imagined, I felt that in some aspects, it missed a lot of what I love about Hanukkah. As usual, it took me about 10 minutes to imagine what I would make, and I wanted to share that menu with you here.

5th Night of Hanukkah, December 2012

5th Night of Hanukkah, December 2012

While much of the inspiration for this menu is centered around the oil theme of Hanukkah (aka frying) I couldn’t quite bring myself to fry everything. I also don’t have a list of things I always make for Hanukkah because Hanukkah was the first holiday meal I got to plan (and execute as I say on my resume) myself. When I was 16, I decided I really wanted to make the family Hanukkah meal for my dad’s side of the family, so instead of paying attention in Chemistry for a month, I planned a menu, down to the timing of when I would make everything. While my very first Hanukkah dinner wasn’t entirely vegan, I gave the meal a theme of olive oil/Italian inspired dishes. The next year, I had a second chance to make Hanukkah (this time entirely vegan!) so I chose a Southwestern theme, and based everything, including the latkes (to which I added cilantro) around that theme. While I had told myself the next Hanukkah theme I was going for was an Asian inspired meal, with Thanksgivikkuh happening for the first and probably only time, I knew this years theme had to be Thanksgiving. (Of course it’s also the first time I am not in the US for Thanksgiving, but yay for having so many American friends over here who want to celebrate Thanksgiving, and so many non-American friends who are interested in seeing what this Thanksgiving thing is all about.)

Latke with apple sauce, December 2012

Latke with apple sauce, December 2012

The way I’ve decided to tackle this is by posting my menu this week, and then posting what recipes I can from it once or twice a week in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Unfortunately, several of these items are (as usual) things I’ve dreamed up in my head, so I won’t be able to give recipes until after Thanksgiving. But on the bright side, Hanukkah is 8 days long! So there will still be plenty of time to make everything.

I’ve organized the menu into Appetizers, Mains and Desserts, but let’s be real, categorization is arbitrary, I say eat what you want when you want it. In fact, when I serve each of these things is definitely subject to change (I’m looking at you Kale Caesar salad!)

Appetizers

  • Mushroom crusted green bean tempura served with a cool and creamy French onion dip. How about that for green bean casserole in one bite!
  • Sage flecked latkes with Cranberry Apple sauce (the sauce is the one thing I liked from the Buzzfeed menu).
  • Massaged Kale Caesar salad with spiced pecan “croutons”
  • Roasted squash soup with fried sage leaves (and maybe some fried capers because they rock)

Main Dishes

  • Mama’s “Shabbos” tofu cutlets (marinated with sherry and tarragon)
  • Cornbread sausage stuffing fritters with sherry mushroom gravy
  • Pumpkin baked ziti (rather than sweet potato noodle kugel) from Veganomicon
  • Oven roasted brussel sprout fries

Desserts

  • Sweet potato soufganiyot (that’s Hebrew for doughnut) filled with either cranberry or pecan pie*

*I actually don’t usually make pecan pie. My mom started a tradition of making macadamia nut pie, so as long as I can find macadamia nuts here in Israel, I will be making macadamia filled soufganiyot.

Macadamia nut pie, November 2012

Macadamia nut pie, November 2012

A note on the menu items: a few of these things are definitely items from Thanksgivings past, such as the cornbread sausage stuffing, which I make every year, just like my mom (though of course mine is vegan). I also made the Kale Caesar with pecan croutons several years ago for a Thanksgiving spent with my dad and their neighbors. Everyone loved it so much, I figured it needed repeating. The pumpkin baked ziti is one of my mom’s favorite recipes that I made for the day after Thanksgiving a few years ago, but I put I’m adding it to this menu because of the sweet potato noodle kugel suggested on Buzzfeed’s menu. It’s a pretty similar concept, and boy is it good. As for the mains,I don’t usually make any kind of “centerpiece roast” because despite all of my cooking and food loving, I always have more than enough food between the side dishes the host makes, and the 2-3 sides I make. However, I wanted a delicious protein packed main that is easy to make (and can be made in advance) that I will also be able to make here in Israel, so I added the tofu, inspired by the Shabbos chicken my mom used to make when I was growing up. As I’m sure everyone has also noticed, I’ve completely reimagined green bean casserole for this menu. To be quite honest, I’ve never had it because no on either side of my family likes it. But at my friends’ insistence, I wanted to add something that was a nod to the classic dish, while also updating it, and giving it more of a Hanukkah twist. Let me know if you make any of these and how they come out, or how you plan to celebrate Thanksgivikkuh!

Up next: Recipe for Kale Caesar salad with spiced pecan croutons.

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Everything’s Bigger in Moscow: Vegan in Russia

Going to Russia was pretty scary. Not only do I not speak the language, but I also couldn’t even read the language (until I started doing major night before flight research).  Now why would anyone go to Russia you ask? Because the Russian airline Transaero had the cheapest flight to Israel by over $100 less, so I went to Russia.  The options were a three hour layover and a thirteen hour layover, and I figured when else would I go to Moscow practically for free, so I got a visa and gave it a go.

The first mistake I made was not calling my airline to double check that they had my dietary needs noted.  To be fair, I was moving 9000 miles and there are a lot of things I forgot to do. (My second mistake was not insisting that my carry on was too heavy because it contained electronics, which I found out were exempt only after I was transferring stuff to another suitcase in the middle of check in).  I only assume a vegan diet can be accommodated because on the way over they did have a vegan meal for me (after I asked, and clumsily explained I couldn’t have dairy).  Definitely make sure you know how to say “milk” and “eggs” in Russian, though “vegetarian” seemed to be easily understood.  My meal was rice with veggies in tomato sauce, plus some fruit, a slice of bread and smart balance.  In the morning however, the breakfast options were pancakes or omelets, though I can’t be sure what the kosher breakfast was.

Aeroexpress train at Kievskaya Station

Aeroexpress train at Kievskaya Station

My seat mate on the way over was a Marine Corps veteran from West Virginia, who chewed tobacco the majority of the flight, asked very loud questions concerning the habits of the Hasidic Jews (inspired by the preponderance of black hats on the flight),  and had a Russian wife, who was still in Russia.  In the nine hours we were next to each other, he told me about training in Israel, Britain, Morocco, and the Philippines, plus how badass he thought Israeli women were after army training, and a few of the stupid things he did that got him docked a pay level (they included swimming in the English channel and getting tattoos).  He also told me he hates flying now since he doesn’t have a parachute strapped to his back anymore, so he always gets drunk before getting on the plane.  He detailed why his grandmother’s biscuits were so good, and how he learned to make Italian food from a friend’s mother in Brooklyn, and told me stories about being a truck driver.  Honestly, this guy had to be at least as entertaining as an in-flight movie would have been, but of course, there was none on the nine hour flight over, just one on the three and a half hour flight from Moscow to Tel Aviv.  I’ve determined this is because Transaero expects all of their customers to be so ecstatic about going back to the Mother Land, that they don’t need any other form of entertainment.

"Metro Kievskaya"

“Metro Kievskaya”

The weather in Moscow was cold and grey, which I found to be instantly depressing.  As I made my way from the airport on the express train, Aeroexpress, to the city center, I formed a plan of action which revolved around getting to the Le Pain Quotidien in the Red Squarea as soon as possible because I needed breakfast.  As I quickly discovered upon disembarking from the train, metro rides can only be purchased with cash, and as I had planned on using my card for everything, had none.  A nice Russian guy took pity on me wandering aimlessly around the metro station and swiped me into the most architecturally grandiose metro station I had ever seen.  I luckily found my train, thanks to my newfound ability to read Cyrillic, and took it to “Plotshadt Revolustuii” or Revolutionary Square, one of the three metro stations to serve the Red Sqaurea.

The tunnels of Kievskaya metro station

The tunnels of Kievskaya metro station

While my immediate concern was to find something for breakfast as soon as possible, I exited the station onto an enormous, but largely empty plaza, with no way to possibly find my bearings.  While I knew the address of the restaurant was only a few blocks north of the square, I had no map street map to guide me. Based purely on hope (and maybe a little bit of instinct), I just began to walk towards the big buildings looming in front of me.  After about 5 minutes of walking through the square, seemingly getting no where, I saw a big sign for Starbucks!   Everyone from New York knows that Starbucks is the international sign for free bathrooms and free wifi.  So, I went to Starbucks inside an exceedingly fancy mall and got a soy chai tea to drink while I charged my phone, contacted my parents to let them know I hadn’t been thrown into a Soviet prison, and screen capped maps on my phone in order to get to my ultimate destination, Le Pain Quotidien (or Хлеб Насущный “Khlebb Nasushchnyy” in Russian).  While I found it quite ironic that I’d flown halfway across the world to end up in Starbucks, it was also a great place to stumble upon since the girls who worked there spoke more English, and I knew they would (almost) definitely have soy milk,  a great snack in a pinch.

Where I found myself upon exiting the metro station

Where I found myself upon exiting the metro station. Disheartening, I know.

While Le Pain was in fact only a few blocks away, I found while dragging my suitcase over the cobblestones that blocks in Moscow were rather large.  In fact the buildings on them also seemed to be larger than those in NY.  I guess maybe they thought buildings and streets should be proportional to the size of the country.  It was a relief to enter into the warm restaurant, where I sat in the cozy non-smokers section.  Like the Le Pain Quotidiens in New York, everything that was vegan was very clearly labelled on the menu by an orange carrot, so unless you had any additional dietary restriction, it was unnecessary to ask any questions.  I got the “Mediterranean platter” which came with a delicious eggplant spread, plain hummus, and the seasonal pumpkin hummus.  Now I love hummus, but the pumpkin definitely didn’t work.  It was served with three different kinds of bread.  Nice and simple, though maybe not entirely culturally appropriate.  I mean who goes to Moscow to eat hummus on their way to Israel?  I do.  After my meal, I figured it was high time to do a little sight seeing, and convinced myself to exit out into the cold.  Had I done a little more planning, I could have gone to a vegetarian restaurant called Avocado near the city center that I saw recommended on several websites.  Of course I would have worried a little about the language barrier, they supposedly did have some good vegan options.

The Kremlin is in the background.  Also, it's closed on Thursdays

The Kremlin is in the background. Also, it’s closed on Thursdays

Around the corner from Le Pain.  Notice the building to person ratio (and the comically large windows)

Around the corner from Le Pain. Notice the building to person ratio (and the comically large windows)

This is not the one I went to, but the other one didn't have a Cyrillic sign

This is not the one I went to, but the other one didn’t have a Cyrillic sign

And yes, I made sure to snap some pictures of St. Basil's Cathedral

And yes, I made sure to snap some pictures of St. Basil’s Cathedral

G.U.M. the former Soviet mall, now populated exclusively by high-end designers

G.U.M. the former Soviet mall, now populated exclusively by high-end designers

I made my way back to Vnukovo airport several hours early, with enough time to grab a snack before my flight, before remembering that that would be nearly impossible.  I also had some rubles left that I had wanted to use up, so after wandering the international departures terminal for far too long, I settled on going to a dessert place whose only vegan options seemed to be a few drinks and some vegan snack bars made of fruit and nuts.  I drank a rather delicious Raspberry Basil frozen concoction, which had a rather smooth texture, rather like it was made with sorbet, rather than fruit and ice.  I was glad because there was no accidental vegan meal on the next flight, and I was so hungry by the time they were serving food I almost cried (again, totally my fault for not calling ahead or packing adequate snacks).  The male flight attendant once again rescued my and gave me surprise! more hummus, as well as 4 fruit cups.  The female flight attendant had basically told me too bad they didn’t have anything, so I was especially grateful for bread, hummus, and fruit. I then happily settled in for a nap for the remainder of the flight to Tel Aviv, tired but brimming with excitement for what was to come.