Cafe Liz

Mina (Passover spinach pie)

This is another family recipe that simply means Passover to me. My mother learned this recipe from her Turkish grandmother and aunts growing up in Brooklyn. Apparently the word mina means pie in Judeo-Spanish (commonly known as Ladino), and the proper name for this recipe is actually mina de espinaka — spinach pie. My family seems to have shortened the name to mina, since we don’t really make any other kinds of traditional Turkish pies.

Believe it or not, my mother’s recipe calls for canned spinach — by the time my mother was a child, her grandmother had already switched to prepackaged convenience. I’m lucky enough to have an easy supply of fresh spinach, which I use instead — I get no strange flavors from the can or the freezer, and this is probably closer to how this recipe was made back in Turkey for generations (or so I’d like to believe).

Like all family recipes, this one was handed down to me without any actual measurements. So these are the quantities I use, and my preparation style. Continue reading Mina (Passover spinach pie)…

Tomato sauce with spinach, wine and pine nuts

This is a simple tomato-based pasta sauce with wine, spinach and pine nuts. We tend to have open bottles of wine around, since we never finish them. One word of caution regarding the tomatoes: Since the sauce is based on them, they need to be ripe and sweet; otherwise the sauce will be lacking. Fortunately, tomatoes are just starting to come into season. Continue reading Tomato sauce with spinach, wine and pine nuts…

Vegan potstickers

There are lots of gorgeous recipes for potstickers online. The problem? Most are filled with pork, or shrimp, or a combination thereof. There’ll be none of that here. I was inspired to make these dumplings after viewing some beautiful potsticker photos, and was inspired to create some fillings based on the wonderful assortment of vegetables in our fridge.

More of my vegan recipes.

I filled half with a mushroom-ginger filling, and the other half with a garlicky mix of greens and bean sprouts. Quite good indeed. Continue reading Vegan potstickers…

Bean spinach soup with a tomato base

I wasn’t going to post another soup, since they all kind of look the same, but this one came out really well. The cinnamon adds a nice touch, and all that spinach adds good flavor. In any case, I think it’s great to show what you can do without soup mix or premade broth — it’d be nice if certain restaurants were to catch on that you really don’t need these things in proper cooking. Continue reading Bean spinach soup with a tomato base…

Crunchy tofu stir-fry in soy-maple sauce

I like it when my tofu has a crunch. In this dish, I fried the tofu separately first, so that the outsides would be crispy while the insides stayed soft. The maple sugar, which I picked up in the U.S., added a nice roundness to the mixture of wine and soy sauce. Continue reading Crunchy tofu stir-fry in soy-maple sauce…

Spinach shakshuka brunch

Our kitchen floor is covered with bags of vegetables — I hadn’t been to the Carmel Market in weeks, due to our trip to the U.S., and the attempt to empty the fridge that preceded it, so when we went this Friday, I got a little overexcited. The advantage to this is that everything is in plain sight, which means I’m more likely to use all the fresh vegetables. So this Saturday, we wound up with a spinach shakshuka for brunch. Continue reading Spinach shakshuka brunch…

Winter salad with beet, citrus and snow peas

The beet is a nature-made, all-in-one salad: Its big, red-veined leaves provide the leafy base, the roots make for nice, solid chunks and the stems are like a thin, red celery. Once you have your beet, everything else is just decoration. Continue reading Winter salad with beet, citrus and snow peas…

Saturday brunch with spinach bake and Italian salad

This Saturday brunch included a personal-sized baked spinach shakshuka, an Italian-style chopped salad, chocolate chip cookies made with the New York Times’ recipe, and more. Brunch is always a pleasure. Continue reading Saturday brunch with spinach bake and Italian salad…

Saturday brunch with oatmeal waffles, omelets and more

Today’s version of our weekly ritual included oatmeal-whole wheat waffles, a spinach-cheese omelet, a nice fresh mixed-green salad, a few of our homemade olives, and, of course, coffee from David’s Coffee at 49 Levinsky, my favorite coffee roaster. Continue reading Saturday brunch with oatmeal waffles, omelets and more…