Eggless Challah made with Aquafaba

A beautiful egg-free challah made with aquafaba in lieu of eggs. The recipe makes three larger loaves or four smaller loaves. If you're making four smaller loaves, don't go beyond four ropes when braiding the challah. I found five ropes to be too skinny to produce an attractive loaf. Use a clean instant read thermometer to check the baked challah's temperature - when it reaches 190, it's done!

Ingredients

Dough

1 1/2 T Active Dry yeast - not Rapid Rise!!
2 c warmish water - warm to your wrist
1 c sugar + 1 T brown sugar
1 T table salt - not Kosher salt
1/2 c mild oil (I used grapeseed but you could use canola or another you like) + 1 T to oil the bowl
7 c AP flour (or bread flour, or a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and regular flour) + 1 to 2 additional cups, depending on how wet the dough seems after you mix it
1/3 c aquafaba (I defrosted 9 cubes that I thought would be a tablespoon each, and it ended up measuring 1/3 c. Next time I might try more.)

Glaze 

1 T mild cooking oil
1 T honey or agave
A bit of water

Steps

1. Put the yeast in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, add the water, let the yeast bloom for a couple of minutes.
2. Add the sugar and brown sugar, stir.
3. Add the salt, stir.
4. Add the aquafaba, stir.
5. Add the 1/2 c oil, stir.
6. One cup at a time, add about half of the flour and mix with the paddle attachment of the stand mixer until it's well mixed.
7. Change to the dough hook, and one cup at a time, add the remaining flour until the full 7 cups have been added. If necessary, add more flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to your finger when you touch it.
8. Remove the dough to a clean surface (if necessary, clean the bowl).
9. Oil the bowl you're going to proof the dough in. I use the mixing bowl from my stand mixer, but it has to be cleaned first.
10. Put the dough in the oiled bowl and roll it around so all sides have a very light coating of oil.
11. Cover the bowl with a towel.
12. Put the bowl someplace warm, like the oven with the light on. You want the environment to be about 100 degrees. Consider turning the oven on to a very low temp for just a teeny bit of time, but remember to turn the oven off before you put the dough in there to proof. 
13. After about one hour, check the dough. It should have risen. A lot. Punch it down and fold it over itself into a new ball. 
14. Put the towel back over the bowl and stick it back in the oven or return it to its warm spot.
15. After 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and punch it again.
16. Braid it as you normally would.
17. Brush the unbaked dough with the glaze. You want the glaze to be runny enough to brush the uncooked dough without ripping it.
18. Bake at 375 for 25 - 40 minutes. The total time will vary based on how many loaves you make and the shape you choose. A long braided loaf will cook faster than a round loaf.

Mom's "Notzah Balls"

Dairy-free/Egg-free/Nut-free

These aren't really matzah balls, but they're kind of like matzah balls. If you have your eyes closed. And you haven't had a matzah ball in a really long time. And you can't eat egg.

After what seemed like an endless variety of substitutes and (what we thought were) clever ideas to replicate the fluffy dumpling-ness of an egg-laden matzah ball, all without success, our mom suddenly had an epiphany. Our mom's mother passed away when our mom was just a little girl, and just when we needed it most, a memory surfaced of yummy dumplings that our grandmother used to make way back when our mom was a youngster.

They're not quite matzah balls. Matzah balls are mixed, rolled into balls, then cooked in boiling water. These are mixed, and then not formed but cooked (like hot breakfast cereal) to the consistency of polenta, then cooled in a baking dish. Just before serving, cut them into circles or squares (we don't like to waste any, so we always go with squares) and add them to your warmed chicken broth.

For egg-eaters, the hardest part is choosing whether you want your soup with matzah balls, or with notzah "matzah balls."

We're not really versed, at all, on being gluten-free. But, if you wanted to give these a shot with gluten-free chicken broth and Cream of Rice (is Cream of Rice gluten-free?) it just might work.

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, chopped, about 3/4 cup
• Olive oil
• 4 cups chicken broth
  
• 1 cup Cream of Wheat, not instant
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Just a smidge of garlic powder - not garlic salt
  
• Chopped fresh herbs - we used dill and flat-leaf parsley
• Chicken base, to add chicken-y salty flavor if the broth and salt aren't enough
  

Method

1. Slowly saute the onion over low heat, until they're just barely starting to brown.
2. Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil.
3. Once the broth is boiling, whisk in the Cream of Wheat. Take care to make sure the Cream of Wheat doesn't clump up. That's no fun.
4. Cook the Cream of Wheat for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. If you're using Cream of Rice, follow whatever cooking instructions are on the box.
5. Add the cooked onions and olive oil to the Cream of Wheat, then add the chicken base (if you're using it), the seasonings and any chopped fresh herbs you'd like. It's probably best to avoid the dried stuff here, although you might be able to add it to the broth as it warms.
6. Move the mixture to a rectangular baking dish - ours was 11 X 7 - then put it in the fridge to cool.
7. When you're ready to serve, cut into squares and add to hot chicken soup. Mmm, smells like Yom Tov.

Brisket Tacos

Egg-free/Dairy-free/Nut-free

This falls way outside of the range of foods we normally blog about. But these tacos were awesome. So awesome, that one of us ate WAAAY too much and had to take the dog for a walk, just to move around a bit. This is an amalgamation of a bunch of recipes found online, so there's no one to credit. But thank you anyway.

Ingredients:

1 3 lb brisket

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced (or the same in the delightful frozen crushed garlic from TJs)

1 T taco seasoning

1 t ancho chili powder

1 t dried oregano

1/2 t dried onion powder

1/2 t cumin

bottled green salsa

1. Brown the brisket on the cook top.

2. Put the browned brisket in a crock pot.

3. Add the garlic, then the dry seasonings, and finish with the green salsa (enough to cover the brisket).

4. Cook 10 to 12 hours on Low.

I put the brisket in the crock pot fatty side up. Then, about 8 or so hours into the cooking, I (gasp!) opened the crock pot (!) and scraped off the fat. Yes, I also scraped off some of the seasoning, but enough was already in the meat that it didn't matter. I shredded the meat on a cutting board and returned it to the remaining juices in the crock pot until we were ready to eat. I served it with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Finicky son LOVED it!

Leave off the offending toppers to maintain the dairy-freeness of this meal. The meat was so tasty, you probably won't miss them.