Six days down and two to go. The eight-day Passover holiday is nearly over and we’ve run through our cookies and our brownies and our sponge cakes. Time to make macaroons. I grew up thinking of macaroons (as opposed to the French macaron) as Passover cookies. My mother would buy a couple of cans of macaroons (one coconut, one chocolate… and yes, I said cans) every year with her Passover groceries. Even today, when the Passover food displays appear in the grocery store, the predominant sweet lining the shelves is macaroons. And then — they disappear. Poof!

There’s no rational reason for that, of course. Macaroons can be enjoyed all year-round, and flavored to suit your tastes and the season. They’re also entirely gluten-free. My adult tastebuds were asking for something a little different, this year – a little fresher and less cloying. My eyes landed on a pile of fresh limes I’d just bought, and I thought, “Aha! What’s a more natural pairing with coconut, than lime?” And so, the Coconut Lime Macaroon was born:

Coconut Lime Macaroons
(Makes 20-24 large-ish cookies)

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1-1/4 cups sugar
8 oz. (by weight) fine almond meal
7 oz. (by weight) unsweetened dried coconut
Grated zest and juice of 1 large (or 2 smaller) limes

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare 2 cookie sheets by either lining with parchment paper or silicone liners.

In a large glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff. While continuing to beat, add the sugar in 4 parts.

Fold in the almond meal, coconut, and lime zest and juice, continuing to fold until everything is completely incorporated. There should be no streaks of whites and you should have a very thick, scoopable batter.

Mound by tablespoonfuls (I used a scoop 2” across) onto the prepared pans, about 1/2″ apart, and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely on the pans.

Notes:

If you can’t find unsweetened dried coconut (got mine at Whole Foods in the nut/snack aisle), you can use the usual sweetened coconut that you find in the baking section of your grocery store. Just reduce the sugar to between 3/4 cup – 1 cup. I think this makes the macaroons less cloyingly sweet and you don’t have big shreds of coconut to deal with. Your choice.

No almond meal? Just weigh out 8 oz. of blanched almonds and run them through the food processor until they’re finally ground. No need to sift as you might for French macarons.

The lime really enhances the flavor of the almond and coconut, while at the same time cutting the sweetness a bit and adding a fresh note.

These Coconut Lime Macaroons are such a hit around here (my husband said they were the best I’ve ever made), that I’m adding them to the roster of treats I’m making for our National Food Bloggers Bake Sale, benefiting Share Our Strength / No Kid Hungry.

If you’re in the South Florida / Miami area on May 14th, I hope you’ll come out and join me and our roster of fabulous South Florida food bloggers and baking talent, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – one of my favorite spots on Earth! We’ll have wonderful treats, both sweet and savory, and an incredible Raffle – all to raise money to feed hungry children here in the U.S. Click here to get more information or to donate.

This post is part of Share Our Holiday Table, a seven-day, online progressive dinner series that we hope will encourage you to support and donate to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign during this critical holiday period. I’m honored to be one of more than 50 bloggers who are participating. If you’ve been following along, the dinner has been unfolding for the last week across 7 courses and in 4 tracks (Gourmet, Family-Friendly, Gluten Free and Vegetarian).

Today’s featured course is the Side Dish and I’m offering you one of my favorite Vegetarian dishes, Kasha Varnishkes. My mom used to make this as a side to pot roast and turkey, and I’ve been cooking it through my adult life, frequently as a main course.

You see, kasha is actually roasted buckwheat kernels and is one of the healthiest grain products out there. A complete protein on its own, high in fiber, yada yada yada, kasha can be used as a main dish, side dish, stuffing, and even as a delicious hot breakfast cereal. It’s also gluten-free, so if that’s an issue for you or someone you love, you can also prepare the following recipe without the pasta as a Kasha Pilaf.

This recipe will feed a crowd on your holiday table or buffet, and makes an attractive change – or addition to – the usual potato fare. If you have less than a crowd, you can easily make half the quantity.

Kasha Pilaf Varnishkes
(serves 8-10 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main course)

Ingredients:

1 14 – 16 oz package Farfalle (Bowtie) pasta

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup carrots, split & sliced thin
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
1-1/2 cups medium or coarse Kasha
1 large egg or egg white (optional – see Preparation)
2 Tbs canola oil or butter
3 cups vegetable broth (divided)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

If not using the egg, skip to the next step. If using the egg or egg white: Beat the egg or egg white until well-blended. Add the kasha and combine with a fork until the grains are coated well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the kasha and stir while toasting, till the grains are mostly separate and you smell a pleasant, toasty aroma.

Add the vegetables and 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth, stir well, and saute until the vegetables soften slightly, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add the remaining broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan tightly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the kasha is soft. Uncover, and cook an additional 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the kasha to dry out a bit.

Check the seasoning, and add the farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, tossing together until thoroughly combined. Serve hot.

Notes:

You can find kasha in your regular grocery store in either the pasta/rice aisle or the ethnic foods, kosher products section. I’ve only ever seen Wolff’s brand, but feel free to use any other you may spot. It comes in Fine, Medium, or Coarse granulations. Only use the medium or coarse granulation for this recipe. The fine granulation is mostly for cereal and will turn out mushy.

A variety of liquids can be used to prepare this, including beef or chicken stock (although using these would render this no longer vegetarian), or even water.

The word “varnishkes” refers to the bow-tie pasta. No, I don’t know what it means.

As noted earlier, if you omit the pasta, this Kasha Pilaf is an excellent gluten-free choice, too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this special holiday post on behalf of Share Our Strength, and that you’ll visit the other participating blogs to see what they’re serving up for Share Our Holiday Table.

In fact, I hope you’ve enjoyed it enough to click on one of these links and make a donation to Share Our Strength and sign the No Kid Hungry Pledge. Approximately 17 million children right here in the United States go hungry because of lack of access to programs that can change that, and lack of access to healthy foods. A hungry child can’t learn.

Even though my husband and I have no kids, we recognize that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. And can yank our Social Security in a heartbeat.

Will you join us in the No Kid Hungry Campaign?

Today’s side dishes in each track are brought to you by:

Gourmet

• The Urban Baker
• Heather Christo
• We Like to Cook, and Eat
• Plum Pie

Family Friendly

• What’s Cooking
• Dine and Dish
• The Evolving Cook

Vegetarian

• My Kitchen Addiction
• Taste as You Go
• Flamingo Musings (that’s me!)

Gluten Free

• The Whole Gang
• Jenn Cuisine– A mostly gluten free cooking blog.
• Creative Cooking Gluten Free

For the final Can Jam of 2010 – but hopefully, not the last Can Jam ever – Tigress herself picked the key ingredient: Dried Fruit. I knew I wanted to use something a little bit out of the ordinary, and settled on one of my favorites – dried mango. And since I haven’t canned a chutney this year for Can Jam, I thought it was high time that I did. I was inspired by some of the flavors common to Bengal, in northern India. This isn’t a terribly traditional version, but delicious nonetheless!

Bengal-Style Chutney
(yield: 3 pints)

Ingredients:

10 oz. carrots
1-1/2 lbs apples
1 large onion (about 8 oz)
2/3 cup dried mango (chopped into roughly 1/4 – 1/2″ pieces)
4 dried chili peppers, crushed
1 cup raw sugar (turbinado or demerara)
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 Tbs ground ginger
1 Tbs curry powder (I used hot Madras curry powder)
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 Tbs honey
1-2/3 cups cider vinegar

Preparation:

Peel the carrots and slice into thin coins – about 1/8″. Peel and core the apples, then chop roughly into about 1/2″ dice. Peel the onion, cut in half, and slice into very thin half-rounds. Place everything into a large saucepan (at least 4 quart).

Add all of the remaining ingredients, stir well, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for about 45 – 50 minutes, or until reduced and thickened.

Ladle the hot chutney into hot, sterilized jars – leaving 1/2″ head space, cover with new lids, and tighten rings finger-tight. Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes. Check your seals in 24 hours. Any excess can be put into a sealable container and refrigerated.

While you can certainly eat the chutney right away, it’s at its best if allowed to meld for at least a couple of weeks. Try to control yourself.

This Bengal-Style Chutney is sweet, savory, and spicy all at the same time. Don’t wait for an Indian meal – this is a condiment that compliments so many different foods! Try it with chicken, turkey, and I imagine, even pork or a nice tofu steak.

Happy Holidays to all of my fellow Can Jammers!

By the way, have you been following
Share Our Holiday Table is a progressive holiday dinner party consisting of 7 courses over 4 tracks (Gourmet, Family Friendly, Vegetarian, and Gluten Free), with over 50 bloggers participating, to raise money for Share Our Strength during the critical holiday season. I’ll be posting a vegetarian side dish on Monday, December 13th, but here’s what’s been happening so far:

December 9: Soup

Gourmet

• edible cville
• The Runaway Spoon (read the post)
• A Girl, A Market, A Meal (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Ladles and Jellyspoons (read the post)
• Two Dollar Dinners (read the post)
• All About Alton Brown
• Cookie Central’s Great American Bake Sale (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Good Life Eats (read the post)
• Feed Our Families (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Celiac Teen (read the post)
• Celiacs in the House (read the post)
• Gluten Free Life with Jen
• And Love it Too! (read the post)

December 8: Salads

Gourmet

• The Bitten Word (read the post)
• girlichef (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Food For My Family (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Glugle Gluten-Free (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Add a Pinch (read the post)
• Gluten Free Diva (read the post)

December 7: Drinks

Gourmet

• Food Woolf (read the post)
• The Gringo Chapin (read the post)
• Neo-Homesteading (read the post)
• Three Many Cooks (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Fat Wuz Here (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Lexies Kitchen (read the post)
• Simply Sugar and Gluten Free (read the post)

Gluten Free

• Gluten Free Easily (read the post)

December 6: Appetizers

Gourmet

• The Italian Dish (read the post)
• Recipe Girl (read the post)
• Neo-Homesteading (read the post)

Family Friendly

• Family Fresh Cooking (read the post)
• Giving Up on Perfect (read the post)

Vegetarian

• Two Peas and Their Pod (read the post)
• Smith Bites (read the post)

Gluten Free

• La Fuji Mama (read the post)
• Wenderly (read the post)

Please visit these terrific blogs and consider donating to Share Our Strength.

Inspired by my good friend Judy at No Fear Entertaining (and a fellow South Floridian, albeit on the left coast), I’m adding my voice to others around the world through Bloggers Unite for Haiti, in asking that you take a few seconds of your time to make a quick donation to your favorite charity to assist Haiti in recovering from the disaster of this week’s earthquake.

Recovery? I take that back. Recovery is a very long way off for the island nation of Haiti – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The need has always been there, but the urgency this week is overwhelming. Hospitals, schools, and even the National Palace, are nothing more than piles of rubble right now. Thousands of people may still be trapped and hoping for rescue. People are being turned away from the few medical aid stations running because there is no space for them and no supplies to treat them. Bodies are piling up like cordwood because there is currently no way to organize and control the crowds hoping to find and claim their loved ones’ bodies, much less identify them.

Right now the horror is unimaginable to those of us on the outside, and honestly, I don’t want to imagine it.

From mobilegivinginsider.com:

A bunch of great organizations have launched mobile fundraising campaigns today to provide disaster relief in Haiti. Here’s how you can help:

Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross

Text FRIENDS to 90999 to donate $5 to the U.N. World Food Programme

Text HAITI to 20222 to donate $10 to the Clinton Foundation

Text HAITI to 25383 to donate $5 to International Rescue Committee

Text HAITI to 45678 to donate $5 to the Salvation Army in Canada

Text YELE to 501501 to donation $5 to Yele

Text HAITI to 864833 to donate $5 to The United Way

Text CERF to 90999 to donate $5 to The United Nations Foundation

Text DISASTER to 90999 to donate $10 to Compassion International

For those of you who are wondering, yes, text donations are a completely legitimate way to donate to 501(c)3 organizations, and no, the carriers do not take a percentage. All contributions are tax deductible, just like any other donation.

Also, if you’re located in the southern end of Miami-Dade County, Fellowship Church located at 6767 Sunset Drive (305) 661-4289 is also accepting donations of over-the-counter first-aid products, rice, beans, and clothing on behalf of the Red Cross. A plane to Haiti is apparently scheduled for early next week.

And if you’re going to donate goods, use your common sense, people. Bring these people only SEALED, NEW products and food. Only gently used and clean clothing. This is not the time to get rid of your stinky old stained and ripped t-shirts or your old prom formal.

As long as you’re sitting there in traffic and before you make your Happy Hour plans, send one text message first – to one of the numbers listed above.

Yes, I know it’s Tuesday. What’s your point?

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, is coming up in a couple of weeks, beginning at sunset on Friday, September 18th. In case you’re unfamiliar, Rosh Hashana begins a ten-day period of introspection, atonement for misdeeds during the previous year, and of giving charity and doing good deeds, to hopefully have your name sealed in God’s “Book of Life” for the next year.

We wish each other a Sweet Year and mark the occasion by eating special foods, such as apples dipped in honey and other foods touched with sweetness, like honey cake. For Rosh Hashana, the challah bread you might be familiar with, is not braided, but coiled into a smooth round shape, signifying the Circle of Life and God’s Nature – there is no beginning and no end.

MJ and I will be spending the first evening at my mother’s and the second evening at my brother’s, so I won’t be doing any of the actual cooking, this year, but I am baking the challahs and honey cakes for both dinners, by special request. I’m even baking challahs and honey cakes to order for my co-workers at $10 apiece, and donating the money to the Komen Foundation to find a cure for Breast Cancer!

Some people equate the New Year honey cake with the Christmas fruitcake – traditional, but more useful as a doorstop. I proudly admit that I like fruitcake – properly aged in a fine Irish whiskey – and I love a good honey cake. This is one of them.

I posted a recipe for my favorite Honey Cake, last year, but as with all things, evolution happens. I’ve tweaked this a bit further, adjusted a couple of measurements, and added a little ground cardamom for even more dimension.

This is my new favorite.

Honey Cake

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup hot strong coffee

Handful of sliced almonds (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325º F.

Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan.

Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat together the wet ingredients in a large bowl until blended, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the dry ingredients in 2 additions, alternating with coffee, until batter is smooth.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. If using sliced almonds, sprinkle them on top of the batter in 2 columns, on either side of the center. Bake until cake is brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour (test with a wooden skewer).

Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack; cool completely.

Wrap cake in plastic wrap and store at room temperature or if preparing ahead, seal in freezer storage bag and freeze.

Makes about 8 servings.

Of course, you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this honey-sweetened spice cake! It’s the perfect first taste of Fall – try it topped with a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream and cup of coffee or tea on the side. Mmmm… This freezes really well, too, so make it now, wrap it well, put it in a plastic freezer storage bag, and you’ll have one less thing to think about, when preparing your holiday meal!

And speaking of charity and doing good deeds, now would be a really good time to donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to cure Breast Cancer through my page! Remember – I’ve pledged to add $2.00 out of my own pocket per donation made through my page, no matter the size – so please click here and do a good deed! Thanks!

If you’re good, I’ll give you the challah recipe next week!

You want to save children? Open your eyes to the world and do what you can to save the ones who are already born, and who are in desperate straits of their own. Right now. As we speak.

Go to TOMS Shoes and buy a pair of comfy kicks. Or a hat. Or a t-shirt. For yourself, for a Father’s Day gift, or for no reason at all. For every pair of shoes or article of clothing you buy at TOMS, they will give a poor child somewhere in the world a pair of shoes. One-for-one.

Most children in the world are living in the worst possible conditions and they have no shoes. These kids have to walk on dirt paths or dangerous roads to get anywhere. In many places the soil is contaminated. Their feet are subject to injury and infection. Or they can’t go to school because shoes are required. What’s the solution? Shoes. What’s the big deal about shoes? Okay, go walk around your downtown, a construction site or your city dump for a day – barefoot. Go ahead. Then talk to me about the importance of shoes.

The Zoo Lady has been after me for quite some time to talk about TOMS. She’s a fan and so am I. Besides, anytime you can do some good in the world by shopping, it’s a very good thing.

I know! We’re in the middle of Chanukah and Christmas Eve is, like 5 minutes away! And you forgot to get Cousin Bluebell anything! What are you going to do?!?

Don’t panic. You can still get Cousin Bluebell a gift certificate from

The Hunger Site
The Breast Cancer Site
The Child Health Site
The Literacy Site
The Rainforest Site or
The Animal Rescue Site

They e-mail the gift certificates to you, and you can cut-n-paste them into your own personal e-mail to the giftee, or your can print them out and present them in a lovely card.

Cousin Bluebell or your little niece Dottie can use the gift certificate at any of these sites’ shopping areas. And there are hundreds and hundreds of things they can get, ranging from jewelry, clothing items, accessories, and even coffee. You know that’s high up on my list! And while they’re shopping, they’ll learn all about these great causes and have a good time doing good.

Happy Holidays, Everyone! Please do stop by Flamingo Fotos for A Flamingo Christmas / Chanukah!

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You’re the glue that holds everyone together.

No kidding? Dammit! I was hoping to be something a tad more exciting. Like, umm, the Turkey or the Yams. Mashed potatoes, indeed! Hmmph!

We had a great day, yesterday. The deep-fried turkey was to die for. If you’ve never had it before, you simply must, sometime. I took a portrait of it for my Saturday PhotoHunt post, tomorrow on Flamingo Fotos (it’ll be up after midnight – the beauty of scheduled posting!).

I toyed with getting up at the crack of dark to do some early shopping, but the comfort of my bed and the warmth under the covers (you have to understand – once the mercury drops below 80 and the humidity below 60%, we open all the windows and don’t close ‘em again until it goes above those conditions – no matter how cold it gets at night. And it had to be in the low 50′s or high 40′s last night!) acted like some kind of super-gravitational force, and I didn’t even open my eyes until almost 10:00 a.m.! I couldn’t believe it! I never sleep in that late! Yeesh!

So, instead I did a lot of damage at Amazon and at my Daily Click sites (I repeat, you must do some of your holiday shopping there – it’s great!), enjoyed what MJ and I call “coffee on the veranda” for about an hour and a half, late this afternoon, and watched the parrots – all of them! – descend on the feeders one last time for the day.

Charla gave us some leftovers to take home – no pie, though – and I’m going to add some mashed potatoes, and we’ll be happy to do it all over again…. yum!

So, what did you do today?

No, you’re not seeing double. I’ve pretty much duplicated this post on Flamingo Fotos. Why? Well, mostly because I can. And also because, among the things I’m thankful for, are that MJ and I have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and the ability to provide the same for a kitty or two.

JJ was a shelter kitty. MJ and I went to the southern branch of the county animal shelter to donate an extra piece of cat furniture. While he was filling out the donor paperwork, I went into the “kitten room” – a screen enclosure very thoughtfully located just inside the front door (hee!) – to play with the kittens. As I bent down to pet some of them, a small black striped ball of fur shot vertically into the air and landed on my shoulder, purring wildly. “Look, Honey! A volunteer!” It was, of course, all over after that.

I tell you this story because I’d like you to consider an alternative to some of the traditional places you might do your holiday shopping. Namely, The Animal Rescue Site. Or The Breast Cancer Site. Or The Rainforest Site. Or The Hunger Site. Or The Child Health Site. Or The Literacy Site. If you’ve ever clicked on any of the buttons on my sidebar, you know that you can click every day and – without any cost to you – by clicking you are helping your favorite cause, or all of them. But did you realize that you can shop, too? Serious.

There’s such a variety of things to choose from, ranging from t-shirts to jewelry, house and garden, and on and on. Lots of really cute stuff for kids and teens and adults. And the prices are really reasonable! Look, I know there’s a lot of competition for the few bucks any of us has left, but when you give a gift this holiday season, wouldn’t it be nice to know that your purchase is not just going to make someone smile, it’s not going to cost most of your right arm? And that it will benefit something you believe in?

Like feeding and finding a good home for JJ? C’mon, look into those eyes!

And now a short break from beating up on politicians:

Along with everything else that’s happening around us these days, please remember to Click to Give. It costs you nothing and means everything to women without means. Your Daily Click will help provide mammograms to women who can’t afford them. While you’re there, you can also click to help save the rainforests, support animal shelters, feed the hungry, and more.

So, please take a minute and Click!

Back soon with our regularly scheduled politician bashing!