Merguez Spice Mix

4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp Kosher salt
1 tsp fennel seeds, freshly ground
1 tsp harisa
1/2tsp cayenne pepper, ground
1 tsp black pepper, ground

Grind together and store in a cool area. Smear into grilled or stir fried chicken, fish, steak, and vegetables. Merguez is made with lamb or beef, and flavored with harisa, a hot chili paste which gives it a red color. It is traditionally sun-dried and eaten grilled or with couscous.

ROAST VEAL BRISKET WITH Vegetables

2 1/2lb Veal Brisket
Taste Dried thyme
1 onion, quartered
8 oz mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 c veal stock, vegetable broth, or water
4 garlic cloves
1/8tsp ground allspice
Taste Kosher Salt
Taste Pepper
Potatoes
Carrots

Season veal generously with dried thyme, salt and pepper. Place the veal in a roasting pan and place under broiler until each side is golden brown. Drain any accumulated fat. Add onion and sauté until brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to large roasting pan, spreading onions in center. Add button mushrooms, stock, mushrooms, garlic and allspice to same skillet. Bring mixture to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Cover tightly with heavy-duty foil. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Roast until briskets are very tender, about 2 hours. Uncover; let cool at least 30 minutes. Then add potatoes and carrots, or other vegetables if you wish. Cook 30-45 more minutes or until both meat and vegetables are tender. Allow meat to rest 10-15 minutes, then place meat on a cutting board and carve 1/2-inch slices, cutting diagonally against the grain.

Blackened Seasoning Mix

1 tbsp Paprika
2 ½tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Ground red pepper
1 ½tsp Ground Black pepper
½ tsp Dried thyme leaves
½ tsp Dried oregano leaves

Mix all of the ingredients together until well-blended. Store in a cool area. Apply to meat, chicken, fish, and vegetables

Lemon Rosemary Shoulder Lamb Chops

4 Lamb shoulder chops
1 tsp Lemon juice, fresh
1/4c EVO oil
1 tbsp Rosemary, fresh, chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
Taste Kosher Salt
Taste Pepper

Dry chops well, and arrange in a shallow glass baking dish just big enough to hold them in single layer. In small bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, rosemary and garlic. Pour over chops, turning to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before grilling. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper, place on oiled grill for about 5 minutes per side, and brushing often with marinade, until chips feel soft but springy.

Microwave Applesauce

2 apples, Gala or other sweet apples
1/8c water
1tsp brown sugar
1/2tsp EVO oil
1/4tsp cinnamon
1/8tsp nutmeg


Use an apple corer to core and slice apples into 8 pieces. Chop the 8 pieces into 1/4 inch slices.
Place in a microwave safe bowl with water. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on apples.
Sprinkle oil. Microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes until apples are soft. Can also be mashed or blended after removal from the microwave for a finer consistancy.

Turkey Chops with Grilled Root Vegetables

4 turkey chops, thick cut dark meat
Dry Rub of choice
Peanut oil, or EVO oil
Grilled Root Vegetables


Rub the turkey chops with the dry rub liberally. Put in a closed container and shake. Let sit 1 hour at room temperature. Remove from container and lightly brush with peanut oil. Grill for 10 minutes on first side and 6 minutes on second until cooked to 170-180F. Serve with Grilled Root Vegetables.

How large must the dough mass be to require the taking of challah? One must take challah if the dough is at minimum the size of an omer, equivalent to a volume of forty-three and one-fifth eggs. (The omer is the standard of measurement for food in the Torah.) There is a disagreement concerning the precise measurement of an omer. There is a consensus that dough weighing five pounds meets the minimum size requirement. A consensus exists as well that dough weighing less than two and one half pounds is too small to require the taking of challah. Therefore, when one kneads five or more pounds of dough, she recites the blessing. If kneading less than two and a half pounds, she does not take challah at all. When kneading dough that weighs between two and a half pounds and five pounds, one does take challah, but should consult a competent Orthodox rabbi regarding the recitation of the blessing.

The blessing made for the taking of challah is “who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to separate challah.” A common custom is to say “. . . to separate challah from the dough.” This latter version is not recorded in the Shulchan Aruch, and the Taz, one of the principal commentators on the Shulchan Aruch, notes that he does not know the basis for it. Nonetheless, the custom in many circles is to add the words “from the dough.”

Challah is taken only from five grains: wheat, oats, rye, spelt, and barley. Challah is not taken from rice, corn, or other grains with which dough may be made. Also, challah is taken once the flour and water have been mixed; it cannot be taken before the kneading has been done. And it should be taken before the dough is baked; nonetheless, if one neglected to separate challah before baking, she does so after baking. (In Passover matzoh baking, where we must complete the baking process quickly, we take challah only after baking.)

We separate challah from cake doughs as well as from bread doughs; however, if the majority of the liquid content is juice rather than water, we do not make the blessing. If none of the liquid is water, it is preferable to add a little water and separate challah. (For a detailed, practical exposition of the challah laws, see Spice and Spirit: The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook.)

The mitzvah of taking challah serves a number of purposes. It connects the mundane act of food preparation to G-d, by reminding us that He is the true owner of the land. It also establishes a bond between the common folk and the kohanim, the priests, who are ideally the recipients of the challah. The kohanim, by virtue of the fact that they were deeply involved in the service at the Temple, were unable to engage in farming on a regular basis. Challah, terumah, and the other gifts given them afforded the kohanim sustenance as they performed their work.

Today we do not give challah to the kohanim. While we do have kohanim in our midst, we are unable to verify their lineage beyond any doubt. A non-kohen is not permitted to eat challah. Therefore, we destroy the challah by burning it to the point that it is inedible. (Walk into a kosher pizza store, and you will often see a crisply burned ball of dough resting on top of the oven. This is the challah.)

How Much to Separate?

The Torah does not specify an amount that must be separated for challah, bikkurim, or terumah. By contrast, it does specify that one-tenth of the crop is given to a Levi as ma’aser. The Sages determined that a professional baker separates one out of forty-eight parts, while a lay baker separates one out of twenty-four parts.

Why does the professional give less challah? The Ateres Zahav states that the Sages were more lenient with a baker because baking is his livelihood, and the Sages wanted him to enjoy more of the fruits of his labor. The Rambam writes that whereas a baker generally deals with large portions of dough, the amount that he separates, even at the smaller one-forty-eighth ratio, generally is large enough to make a suitable gift to the kohen. A housewife kneads smaller quantities, so that a larger percentage, one-twenty-fourth, is required to make her gift suitable.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe advances a more esoteric reason for the difference. He explains that G-d wants us to perceive His providence in all that we do. A professional baker is heavily reliant upon a good planting season and a good harvest. He carefully monitors these and thereby witnesses G-d’s providence throughout the process of flour manufacture. A non-professional sees only the final product. He must give a greater percentage, so that he will have a greater awareness of G-d’s manifestation.

Today, because the mitzvah of challah is Rabbinic in nature, there is no minimum amount that must be taken. In Israel, there is a widely observed custom to take a k’zayis, the size of an egg.

While both men and women have the obligation to separate challah, this is among the mitzvos that were specially entrusted to women. Where both husband and wife are involved in making dough, it is preferable for the wife to separate the challah.



By Yitzchak Hanoka More articles... | RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author

Rabbi Yitzchak Hanoka is a Rabbinic Coordinator at the OK Labs

Originally published in The Jewish Homemaker

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