SHABBAT RECIPES FOR BUSY PEOPLE
SHABBAT RECIPES FOR BUSY PEOPLE
Suggestions for Shabbat Meals for Busy People
Shabbat meals are special. The preparation takes place before Shabbat so no one needs to be in the kitchen during meals. On Friday we lay out our candles, wine, two hallot, a special tablecloth, dishes and flowers. During Shabbat we slow down and savor our food in order to add to the festivity of our meals. Shabbat meals should be spent with family and friends. There should be no time constraints; these are opportunities to relax, visit and enjoy each other’s company.
All this sounds wonderful, but how are you going to do this when you work all week, come home tired and don’t have time to prepare a special meal? This cookbook compendium is designed to help you do just that. It will suggest menus and recipes that are easy to cook and often can be done in stages instead of trying to do it all on Friday.
Some of these recipes will be identified as "30 Minute Entrées." One does not have to sacrifice flavor for speed, as these entrées will demonstrate. Add a jar of gefilte fish, vegetables, a starch and dessert – you’ve got a Shabbat meal in no time! Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of the recipes, either. They’re delicious!
Some of these recipes use the microwave. From a tool to reheat frozen foods the microwave has become a cooking appliance. For example, a medium baking potato can be microwaved instead: 3 minutes, turn the potato, and 3 more minutes. Take the potato out of the microwave and wrap it in aluminum foil for at least 1 more minute. A potato can stay hot for 45 minutes while wrapped in the foil. Fresh vegetables can also be microwaved with a minimum of water – more vitamins stay in the vegetables and they’re ready in minutes! Using these recipes as a springboard, devise your own menus and recipes to match your (and your family’s) taste and availability of time.
Shabbat Shalom
Background:
Although one may not cook on Shabbat, one may:
· reheat already cooked dishes during Shabbat as long as the stove is set before Shabbat and not adjusted during Shabbat.
· cut and mix to prepare cold foods and already cooked foods during Shabbat.
Helpful hints for the first-timer:
· If you can set the table or cook part of the Shabbat menu Thursday night, that’s less work for Friday. Sometimes we cook our chicken Sunday, freeze it and reheat it Friday afternoon.
· Your synagogue can help you find Shabbat candles, wine and hallah. Most supermarkets in major cities carry these items.
· All foods should be prepared before Shabbat and kept warm in an oven at 200-250o, a crock pot, an electric warming tray, or in a heavy pot set on a stove top bleh, a sheet of metal placed over a low fire. Once Shabbat has started, you may not adjust the temperature.
· Parve desserts are often difficult to find. Cut fruit, a fruit ice or sherbet are best bets for cold desserts. If you are having a dairy meal, frozen and packaged desserts are available from most supermarkets with rabbinic supervision. They will have a small D by the kosher symbol to indicate "dairy."
· Brands of parve breads will be regional; rye bread and french breads are two types that are usually available as parve breads.
· A large pot of water heated before Shabbat is good for both coffee and tea. Know the minimum amount of water you must have in the pot so it does not boil out before the end of Shabbat.
Since there are many places that do not have kosher butchers or bakeries, these recipes assume a difficulty in obtaining "Jewish" foods. Fortunately with the large availability of major name-brand foods that have rabbinic supervision, the ingredients for these meals should be easy to obtain.
BACK TO SHABBAT RECIPES FOR BUSY PEOPLE
