Kitchen to Kitchen: You think chocolate grows on trees?

My friend from college, Dorit, used to send us a Tu Bi'Shvat card every year. Only problem was, she did not acknowledge any other holiday (religious or secular) except Tu Bi'Shvat and she called it Arbor Day. Which it is not. I found it all very confusing.

A truly awful music teacher I've met last year had bad mouthed the holiday, claiming it was invented by the priests of ancient days who wanted taxes. And what makes it worse is, he was almost right. Tu Bi'Shvat is first mentioned in the Mishna in relation to tithes (which were sort of like taxes) http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3264/jewish/Tu-BShevat.htm

That being said, there is no call to speak ill of either the priests (hey, everyone has to make a living and, in any case, it was ordained in the Torah) or the holiday itself. Tu Bi'Shvat is a nice little holiday with no strings attached, only good stuff. Why be mean?

OK, but you have logged on for food ideas, not a legal discussion of taxes in Mishnaic times. So let's talk food.

The best part of Tu Bi'Shvat is that the main food is fruit, which means you can pretend that the food you're eating is healthy, maybe even slimming. Of course, my daughter tells me that chocolate is made of cocoa beans which grow on trees so technically, we should eat chocolate for Tu Bi'Shvat. My chocoholic brother is responsible for this corruption of young people's minds.

The internet is filled with ideas for Tu Bi'Shvat Seders and as we all know, a Seder must include a meal. Here it comes:

Appetizer - bruschetta with olive tapenade

You can buy bruschetta toasts or slice a french or Italian bread and toast it yourself (of course after rubbing it with olive oil and a cut garlic clove. Duh.). Tapenade can also be store bought but you can puree green or black olives with spices and olive oil yourself.

Salad - Baby greens with pears and walnuts

Toss baby greens (one or more types, you can use a mix) with sliced pears (that you have brushed with oil, sprinkled with cinnamon and broiled very quickly until just slightly caramelized), toasted walnuts (or you can buy sugared ones) and a vinaigrette made with olive oil, pomegranate (or some other fruit) vinegar, honey mustard, salt and pepper.

Chicken - with dried fruit

In a lightly oiled, deep baking pan, layer slices of one medium onion sliced thin. On top of the onion place a whole chicken cut into pieces and about 2 cups of mixed dry fruit of your choice (whole fruit, not chopped or cubed). Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander, turmeric (all or some). Mix a cup of orange juice with a tablespoon of honey. Pour all over everything. Cover tightly with foil. Bake one hour at 400 degrees. Remove cover and continue baking another 20 minutes or until nicely browned. If you wish, sprinkle some chopped parsley or cilantro on top before serving. I also squeezed half a lime on the chicken before I served it. It brightened the flavors and balanced the sweetness of the fruit.

Rice with cranberries, dried apricots and almonds

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil (not olive oil) in a pan, add 2 cups of long grain rice (I use Basmati) and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until rice is toasted (It will turn opaque and some of it will turn very light brown). Season with salt and pepper to taste, add 4 cups of boiling water in which you have dissolved 1/4 teaspoon of saffron (powdered or crushed strands). Return to a boil, lower heat to low, cover tightly and cook for 25 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and immediately mix in 2-3 Tbs dried cranberries and 2-3 Tbs chopped dried apricots. Cover tightly and let stand for 20 minutes. Before serving, mix in 1/4 cup of toasted almond slivers.

Dessert - Awesome baked apples

We all love my cousin Francie. We visited their succah a few times in the past and it is always so much fun. And her daughter is this super gifted cook who makes the best soups ever. Anyway, this year we visited their succah erev Succot and Francie's sister in law was there and it turned out she is an amazing cook, too (she also designs baby clothes with magnetic closures, so she's talented all around). She made a dessert that took my breath away. You all know about baked apples, right? I'm sure you have also heard of stuffing the apples with all kinds of things before baking, right? Well, listen to this: Take 4 apples (Cortlands are perfect) and carefully cut off the top of each one with a paring knife so that you have a "lid". Remove stems. Hollow out the apples without going all the way through to the bottom. It's sort of like prepping tomatoes to be stuffed. Meanwhile, soak 1 cup of cubed mixed dried fruit (the kind that comes already cubed into small cubes) in a mix of orange juice and sweet red wine or some delicious brandy (or you can soak it in juice alone but it won't be as much fun) for an hour and drain. Mix in 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts. Stuff the prepared apples with the fruit and nut mix and return the lid to each apple. Put a cinnamon stick through each lid to hold everything together like a toothpick. It will look as if the stick is the apple's stem. Place apples in a roasting pan and pour some orange juice (about a cup or so) around them. Bake at 375F, basting the apples every 10 minutes, until apples are fork tender (1-1 1/2 hours). Carefully remove from pan, place in individual bowls or plates and pour the pan juices (they will turn into a syrup within minutes) over them. This is for 4 servings.

stuffed before baking

after over baking

Note of apology: I went surfing in cyberspace and forgot to remove the apples on time. They got over-soft and were very delicious but not as pretty as the original ones. Trust me, if you don't neglect them, they will be as impressive to look at as to eat.

And let us not forget - chocolate.

As explained above, it seems that chocolate is a fruit. On the other hand, tradition calls for fruit from Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel). What to do? what to do? No problem: Israeli chocolate balls. These little gems were extremely popular when I was a kid in Israel, mainly (I think) because even a child can make them. Come to think of it, a child is the best person to make these. And, we can improve on the original by using Oreos, which we did not have back then. Start with Oreo type cookies (you can get parve ones for this meal or dairy ones if it's just for a fun afternoon). Break each cookie into quarters. Place in a sturdy zip top bag, close and crush with a rolling pin or by rolling a can over the broken cookies until you have crumbs that resemble wet sand (some large crumbs are OK). This is much easier to do in a food processor (in pulses) but way more fun for kids to do by hand. Transfer crumbs (they might be sticky) to a large bowl (much larger than you'd think is necessary if your chef is under 12). Add enough liquid - one tablespoon at a time - to make a dough that feels like grainy play-dough (For liquid, use milk if it's not for a meat meal, almond or soy milk if it IS a meat meal). This is where the child chef comes in handy since kids love to get all messy with this thing. And it's perfectly safe to eat as is. You notice I'm sort of vague about amounts. You will need to add ingredients as you see fit. Start with small amounts and add as needed. Once the dough holds together without too much sticking, have your little chef make small balls (about the size of a walnut) and (optional) roll them in sprinkles or shredded coconut or cocoa powder. These are even better if you chill them really well before serving, because they become less squishy.