Who’s in the kitchen Substitute adds taam, subtracts calories

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Just when I thought I had heard every adventure about my husband’s youth, he came up with another one over the weekend. While sitting around our dining room table with good friends, he recalled a weekend, long ago, at a hotel in the Catskills.

His dad had become very involved in Rambam Yeshiva and the entire family was going to the yearly weekend retreat. Jerry and his brother were very excited, as they had been to Grossinger’s and loved time spent in the huge indoor pool. Being that the weekend was taking place in the early spring, they looked forward to swimming indoors. Once they arrived and checked in, they went in search of the indoor pool, as this was their first visit to this hotel. To their dismay they were told that the hotel did not have one. Hmmm, the prospect of spending the entire weekend without a pool on a Rambam retreat with his parent’s friends, Rabbaim and board members, suddenly didn’t appeal to Jerry and his brother very much. His dad told the boys to go upstairs and unpack with their mom and he would try to scout out some fun activities for them.

Those of you who knew Jerry’s dad, know that he not only made the best of every situation, he also made it a lot of fun. When something didn’t go as planned, he would always say “life is beautiful” followed by “don’t be upset.” Although Mr. Joszef, a’h wasn’t familiar with the movie, Life is Beautiful, he was very much like the lead character in the film, an Italian Jewish man who tries to protect his son’s innocence during his internment at a Nazi concentration camp by telling him that the Holocaust was an elaborate game and he must adhere very carefully to the rules to win. He didn’t dwell on the horror of the situation, he tried to make it as pleasant as could be for his son. So it wasn’t surprising when Jerry’s dad returned to their room a half hour later with a huge grin on his face, exclaiming “put on your bathing suits, kids, I found a small indoor pool.” He didn’t have to ask twice. Within two minutes, both boys were in bathing suits, towels in hand and a ball to play catch with. Their dad led them downstairs, past the locker room to a waiting area of sorts. There, on line, were men of all ages, some with towels around their waist, many with nothing on at all. The boys looked on with horror. This was not what they had envisioned. This was nothing like Grossinger’s. “They’re naked!” the boys exclaimed to their dad. To which he replied, whispering, “Don’t worry, some men swim naked, but we will be in a private room, just the three of us, we won’t be with them. After what seemed like an eternity, it was their turn. They were led to the “indoor pool room.” “This room is tiny,” said Jerry, “and the stairs take up half the pool.” His dad assured him that it would still be fun and to check out how nice and warm the water was. So there they were, the three of them in the mikvah (unbeknownst to the boys). Jerry and his brother played catch and took turns throwing the Spalding ball against the walls. After a few minutes they realized it was also fun to stand on the top step and jump down to the water. Just as they were starting to enjoy themselves there was banging on the door, “Hey, let’s go, time’s up.” His dad replied, “Ok, just a few more minutes --there are three of us in here, you know.” Jerry, who found it a challenge to swim the length of Grossinger’s pool underwater while holding his breath, found it a breeze to do here. He could do at least 10 laps without coming up for air. When the banging on the door became deafening, Mr. Joszef said it was time to let the other men have a chance in the “pool.” As the boys walked past the men remaining on line, Jerry said, “You should really try out the indoor pool at Grossinger’s. It’s much better than this one, but I’m warning you, you have to wear bathing suits there.”

Just as Mr Joszef, a’h, found a substitute for the indoor pool, and made sure his sons had fun, I thought I would share a recipe with you that mimics a yummy, fattening potato kugel, has a minuscule amount of fat, few calories, but tastes just as delicious.

ZUCCHINI KUGEL INGREDIENTS

n 8 large green zucchini (the size of an English cucumber) peeled and cut into chunks

n 5 extra large egg whites

n 1 packet artificial sweetener of your choice (if you wish, you can substitute 1 tsp of sugar)

n 1 packet “Washington’s Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth” (can be purchased at Gourmet Glatt)

n ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper

n 1 teaspoon salt

n 1 large onion peeled and diced

Pam

CRUMB TOPPING

n 3 Tbs. Kellogg’s Corn Flake Crumbs (60 calories)

n 3 Tbs. French’s Fried Onions (68 calories)

n Crunch both between your fingers and scatter on top of the kugel

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil the zucchini, onion and salt for 20 minutes, and drain very well, as zucchinis hold a lot of water.

Place the egg whites, Washington brown broth packet, artificial sweetener and pepper, followed by the zucchini in a blender. Blend till smooth. If you don’t have a blender you can use an immersion blender stick, which works just as well. Place in an ovenproof dish and top with crumb topping. Bake, uncovered, until set, approximately 45 min – 1 hour.

Serves 10. Approximate calorie count per portion is 60.

Judy Joszef can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com