7 Minute Apple Plum Compote

I just made this up tonight and I think it could be great for a quick dessert for Shabbat or a boring weekday night (like tonight!)

1 apple, sliced

2-3 blue plums or 1 black plum

2 splashes of dry red wine (preferrably wine that you enjoy drinking; I used a nice Merlot)

1 Tbs brown sugar

2 shakes of cinnamon

Put all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Give a stir. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, stir around and make sure the apples are face down in the wine. Cook for another 3-4 minutes till everything is soft.

Enjoy!

Serves 1. You can multiply if you're feeling friendly.

'No Leftovers' Shabbat

I generally love cooking a ton of food for Shabbat, thus minimizing my cooking for the rest of the week. However, since we're leaving at 5 am on Sunday morning for our trip, no leftovers for this week. I guess I could have frozen the leftovers, but the food I like to cook doesn't freeze very well (roasted veggies and roasted chicken aren't very freezer friendly, IMHO.)

So I was going to cave into my husbands' constant pleas and buy takeout. Now, my husband doesn't plea for take out because he dislikes my food. He just thinks I work too hard and there's too much clean up, so why not spend about the same amount of money and buy it (he doesn't take into account leftovers, probably because he doesn't really eat them. I'm the leftover eater in the house).

So, I was planning on picking up a few last minute food items for the trip at the super (PB, tuna, pitas, hot dogs, and I actually bought some packet soups which I've never in my life bought, but I thought I'd give them a whirl. I got some kind with no MSG or preservatives. We'll see how they taste... ). I had baby E with me and since he generally enjoys supermarket trips, it wasn't a problem.

While at the super, I suddenly felt like I didn't have the strength to go to yet another store for the takeout. And I had some stuff in the fridge I had to get rid of anyway... So...

I bought a chicken and whipped up a few things before my husband saw and laughed his head off that I couldn't get take out even for this shabbat.

The menu is:

Friday night:

Golden Fruit Soup (peach, nectarines and apricots cooked with cinnamon and ginger, purreed and chilled. Recipe below)

Roasted chicken

Roasted Butternut squash

Cumin Scented Chipeas and Spinach (awesome recipe, good hot or cold)

Shabbat Lunch:

Leftovers from the night before

Cold cuts and salatim

I bought little containers of salatim, so I hopefully will still have an empty fridge when we leave.

Golden Fruit Soup

Large Bowl of ripe nectarines, peaches and apricots (I can't remember how many there were, but I'd say about 10 pieces of fruit altogether. There were some grapes in there too)

1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 - 3/4 cup light brown sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you like your fruit soup)

Water to cover

Cut up fruit into chunks, cook with spices, sugar and water until soft. Let cool, puree with a stick blender. Chill. For dairy meals, serve with a big dollop of full fat yogurt. Try freezing in popsicle molds for fresh fruit bars ( you can layer with yogurt for fruit and yogurt bars)