Blintz & Babka

I've had a lot of fun lately raiding the library shelves and learning about Jewish cuisine. Here's my attempt at a bissel lunch (a little lunch). First, a veganized potato- cheese blintz. I made tofu crêpes (another masterpiece from Bryanna Clark Grogan) and filled them with mashed potatoes and crumbled "Betta Feta" from Ultimate Uncheese,to replace the farmer's/cottage cheese called for in the recipe (I've always thought "Betta Feta" tasted more like "Betta Cottage Cheese" to me). I was told no blintz would be complete without a serving of applesauce, so I packed some in the large lidded container.

Tzimmes reminded me of compote; it's a sweet, spiced mixture of vegetables and dried fruit. I made mine with sweet potato, carrot, raisins, and prunes, but I had to make sure shmoo's portion only contained carrots and raisins (more prunes for me!).

And for dessert I couldn't resist making chocolate babka -- yeasted sweet dough rolled with a chocolate-cinnamon filling and topped with streusel. Normally it's baked in a loaf, but when I read that "Barney Greengrass on Manhattan's Upper West Side" serves individual babkas baked in muffin tins, I had to give it a try for the lunch box. Hey, it's as close to Manhattan as I'll ever get (but if you try it at home remember to spray the muffin liners with nonstick spray, or the chocolate filling will stick).

Verdict: Such a production? The tofu crêpes were absolutely amazing -- so easy to make and work with, so tasty, and so, so crêpey! And excellent served cold -- shmoo practically inhaled it. The tzimmes, not so much. But, oh, the babka! Somebody stop me before I babka again! 5 stars.