Lets Bake!
Do you still bake?...I think we no longer bake as much as we used to...we no longer invite people for "coffee"...we really do not need the 'intake' of sugar...the nuts are bad for us...I was send to a dietician the other day, and she cut out all nuts from my diet!...NO way! Nuts are a good source of everything! When I am hungry, 5 almonds stop the hunger pangs and I can go on...give up nuts? She is nuts!...she even told me to stop using seeds...I love pumpkin seeds in my salads...she asked me what I eat; I told her...NEVER asked me what I drink! SO, I did not tell her...she insisted on making another appointment for me...I cancelled it the next day.

Remember my sum-sum cookies?...Well, I decided to make them for Yom Atzmaut, and so the butter, 200gr., went into the mixer and a cup of sugar joined it, and then I went hunting for my sum-sum...(sesame seeds)...and could not find them; I knew I had two packets of them, my-daily-who-comes-in-once-week, hid them, because according to her, they are "chometz"; right; I did not find them, so, went looking for flour and there was none...she chucked it out! We once had quite a discussion about flour...we both agreed that matza was made out of it, so it can not possibly be 'chometz'...she obviously decided on a new tactic, and there was no flour in the house... The L&M was put into action and dispatched to get the flour...2 cups were needed, plus a teaspoon of vanilla and instead of the sum-sum, I dumped in 200 gr, of chopped pecans...it was a stroke of genius! They were delicious, completely different and we had quite a lot left over; the 'older' they became, the better they tasted...they got moist and goowy...and IF you hide them in the back of the fridge, on the lowest shelf, they will stay for ever...ya; right! But, DO give them a try. I also made some brownies the other day, (column 25), always a great stand by...I was going to visit somebody in hospital and made quite a lot; but my visit was cancelled; so, I hid them in the freezer; guess who is going to find them in the middle of the night?...

Figs are in season at the moment, and there are so many things you can do with them. If you want them for dessert, just roll them in brown sugar, stack them in a pan, "chupchiks" up, pour cognac into the base of the pan, and bake for half an hour...I think we have had some recipes with figs in our past columns...I WISH somebody would suggest how to make an index...somebody out there?...please?...alright: those baked figs, served after a dinner, with parve ice cream as dessert?...the best! But, try a fig-cake: easy and really great...can be served as dessert as well...you have a spring-form-pan which you 'shmir' with butter or 'marge' quite well; slice the figs in half, and place them into the pan, cut side UP; they should be touching....OK: into the mixer goes 100 gr. butter or margarine, and a cup of sugar; let it GO; sift together a cup of flour with a teasp. of baking powder, set aside; crush well 150gr. of walnuts...into the mixer go the walnuts, then the flour...some cognac, mix-mix...pour this mess over the figs, and into a 350 oven they go for 40 minutes...they may need more, OR less, test it with a tooth pick before you drag it gently out of the oven...leave it to cool then flip it over and you can drip come more cognac over it, or not... Lets have a sure-fire chocolate cake; everybody, but everybody loves chocolate cake; this can be served as dessert, after a festive dinner, and you will have everybody going home smiling...this was my mother-in-law's Pesach cake; no flour! Only goody-goody stuff, OR we can call it the 200-cake... you will soon see why. A medium sized orange, plus peel, gets chopped in a processor; crush 200 gr. almonds or walnuts; sat both aside; melt 200gr. chocolate...you will need 8 eggs and Cointreau...into the mixer go 200gr. butter or margarine, and 2 cups of sugar; let it go until it becomes fluffy and pale; add egg yolks, one at a time, beating like mad! Slow down and add nuts, chocolate, orange, a good pinch of salt, and as much of the Cointreau as you dare. Beat the egg whites, mix both gently, pour into a buttered, ('margarined?') spring form and bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes...check mit the tooth pick; it must come out clean...so, it may need more time in the oven...let it cool completely before you release it from the pan and flip onto a plate...its very rich, so I really do not think it needs a cream topping, but you can dust it with cocoa...or powdered sugar...or not.

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Debbie Morgenstern is the author of "My Life in Israel" and other short stories.
http://www.trafford.com/robots/04-0655.html

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