Recipes at the end of this article.
Hello All,
At this time of year, people are all heated up about what it means to them to lose their eating of bread, even for a week. As one waiter winked to me last week when I finally convinced him that I didn’t want the home-made house specialty “laffot” (huge doughy, floppy delicious pitot) with my meal: “OK, I get it – I guess we’re just programmed to want our bread!” A few years ago, it seemed a shining bright spot on the Pesach horizon when the Rabbanim decided that quinoa could be eaten on the holiday. Turns out it’s a seed, not a grain, very protein and mineral nutritious, and a close relative of spinach and beets. The novelty wore off when many people realized they don’t really like it (including most of my family.)
The gluten-free among us struggle in a different way with Pesach, as they are used to no grains but rice – and if they are Ashkenazim (European Jews), the only things now taken from them are rice, barley, buckwheat – but not their bread, which they don’t eat anyway. From my point of view, I never understood why people don’t just eat a lot of vegetables – many can be cut and easily baked in the oven or made into unusual salads with a little olive oil and lemon juice, which we are lucky to have, since our ancestors did not have them in the desert. You can even buy them frozen if you don’t want to cut them up.
Since much of China did not traditionally grow wheat, the Chinese were able to discern that when it was eaten, the cold and sweet nature of wheat and other glutenous grains can cause a collection of dampness in the (Chinese) Spleen, the organ responsible for distributing our food effectively to the rest of the body. The outcome of imprudent wheat eating is evidenced in bloating, irritable bowel, loose, frequent or irregular stool, fatigue, poor concentration, and a general feeling of heaviness. The frequency of these AND OTHER complaints is more than interesting to me, who sees them all the time in the clinic, in light of our passionate love of our sandwiches, cakes, pastas, gebbetas (sp?), bagels, pretzels and bissli.
My eldest daughter Z (born on Pesach!) sent me the following recipe from a blog. It is a “bread” – or at least something to munch or spread something on – made out of nuts and seeds, and held together with psyllium husks, aka Metamucil. I personally have “issues” that would not permit my digestion of this, but it might be worth a try – with the proviso that it is not for Pesach. I would advise drinking at least 3 cups of non-coffee liquid per thick slice, and warn anyone with digestive issues, including heartburn or overweight, to steer clear. Both the chia and the psyllium husks must be accompanied with a lot of water in order to avoid “cement syndrome.”
The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread – not a Pesach recipe
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup / 135g sunflower seeds
½ cup / 90g flax seeds
½ cup / 65g hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups / 145g rolled oats
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
4 Tbsp. psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp. fine grain sea salt (add ½ tsp. if using coarse salt)
1 Tbsp. maple syrup (for sugar-free diets, use a pinch of stevia)
3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil or ghee
1 ½ cups / 350ml water
Directions:
1. In a flexible, silicon loaf pan combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a measuring cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C.
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).
4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!
For photos and the full blog, click here: http://mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/
Here are some of my vegetable ideas:
1. Steamed artichokes. Cut off tips and stem – the hairy choke is removed when eating. My family takes them in lunch boxes. Can serve with mayonnaise or other sauce.
2. Oven roasted eggplant (on broil for about 30 minutes, punctured) chopped with parsley, garlic and lemon.
3. Avocados with lemon, salt and tomato.
4. Salad of chopped tomatoes, red peppers, basil and walnuts. Red onion is nice too.
5. Fennel sliced with lemon juice and oil, add s and p. you can add sliced kohlrabi. This can be served as a salad or baked on 400F or 200C til browning.
6. Sweet potatoes OR cauliflower cut in small chunks and baked with a bit of olive oil on a big tray.
7. Very lightly steamed broccoli put in a salad with sun dried tomatoes, chopped red onion and walnuts, red wine vinegar and olive oil, s and p.
8. Mangold (the large green “selek” leaves) chopped and steamed, with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and garlic
9. You are in Israel!! how about chopped tomatoes and cucumbers? your kids will be happy to chop, they crave this salad! You can add parsley, red onion, mint leaves. lemon juice, salt and pepper. (olive oil)
10. Sweet potatoes this time of year are sublime. Wash them off and prick, bake 400F or 200C until soft when poked with a knife, and skin seems a bit hard. Does not need any condiments!
11. I make 5 cauliflowers at a time, on huge oven trays. Add to the florets large chunks of red and yellow peppers and even some peeled and sliced jerusalem artichokes. Olive oil, salt and pepper. Lemon juice or red wine vinegar optional.
12. Portobello mushrooms dressed in vinaigrette and put on the grill or in the oven as above. AMAZING!
12. A salad of chopped parsley, cuzbara (cilantro), perhaps dill, with chopped nuts and a handful of cranberries optional, with lemon juice, a bit of olive oil optional and salt and pepper. Very nutritious. Amazingly delicious. Learned this from my daughter Z who follows the example of her Persian in-laws with this kind of eating of “grasses” (asabim).
Now you think one up.
My sister Debbi in Chicago, a gourmet cook and world class specialty baker, contributes the following 2 recipes. If she says it’s delicious, you can believe her.
Mixed Vegetables with Anchovies and Olives (Crete)
2 medium eggplants, trimmed, peeled, cut into ¾ inch pieces
1 T salt
2 medium red bell peppers
8 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into ¼ inch thick rounds
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
¾ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 bay leaves
1 t coarsely ground black pepper
½ t honey
½ t ground cumin
(optional: 2 anchovy fillets, drained, chopped)
1 ½ t dried oregano
16 pitted Kalamata olives
Place eggplant pieces in large colander set over bowl. Sprinkle with 1 T salt. Let stand 1 hour. Pat dry with paper towels; set aside. Char peppers in broiler til blackened on all sides, a few inches from heating element, 5 minutes per side. Enclose in paper bag 10 minutes. Peel and seed peppers; cut into ½ inch wide strips and set aside.
Heat 6 T oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute til light golden, about 10 minutes. Mix in garlic. Add eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, half of parsley, bay leaves, 1 t pepper, honey and cumin. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer til tender, about 30 minutes. Add bell peppers; cook uncovered 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. (Can be made ahead, chill and rewarm before continuing.)
Heat remaining 2 T oil in small saucepan over low heat. Add anchovies, oregano and parsley – stir 1 minute. Add to vegetables. Add olives, salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature. (I think it might be good with feta cheese if served as a room temperature salad.) Serves 4 main-course or 8 side-dish servings.
If you have not seen the first in what seems to be turning into a series, “Is Bread Opium?”, click here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57505149/modern-wheat-a-perfect-chronic-poison-doctor-says/
If you want to clear your mind from Pesach prep, read about my upcoming offer to take you to China at https://judyrefuah.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/trip-to-china/.
Judy
judyrefuah 
May I just point out that there is water in the recipe. That should take care of some of the fluid requirement for the psyllium husk. I bake often with psyllium husk and, personally, have not had any digestive issues.
I like to cook simple – at Pesach and all year. One of my favorite vegetable combos is celery and mushrooms stir-fried with salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.