In a Nutshell:

Tomato Vegetable Soup

Sauté 2 diced medium onions, 4 minced cloves garlic (or frozen cubes), 2–3 large carrots, 4 stalks celery, and 1 parsnip. Then add a 16-oz (450-g) can tomato sauce, and water to cover. Add 1–2 Tbsp salt, ¹⁄₄ tsp pepper, and 1 Tbsp onion soup mix. Simmer until vegetables are tender.

—Chanie Nayman

FT, help me!!

How do you successfully refrigerate challah dough to bake it the next day? Do you let it rise before or after refrigerating, and for how long?

I don’t usually do this, but the few times I did, it worked out just fine: I oiled a garbage bag and placed the dough inside and put it into the coldest spot of my fridge. I took the dough out a while before I was ready to work with it, to allow it to fully come to room temperature, and then I proceeded as usual.

I’ve also prepped it — braided, egged, and all — and then frozen it and removed from the freezer the next morning a good few hours before I needed to bake it. Once it came to room temperature, I continued with my usual rising and baking method.

—Faigy Grossman

Reader Feedback

I wanted to share with your readers an interesting kitchen tip. When my sourdough starter is fed frequently during the week and doesn’t smell sour, I’ll use the discard or even the active part (before I feed it again before Shabbos) to coat baked schnitzel before breading it. I don’t even need an egg — just the cutlets mixed with starter and a bit of olive oil. Dip each piece into the seasoned bread crumbs, and that’s it! I’ll also coat fresh cauliflower (mix in some salt and pepper and/or garlic powder) in it and fry. Delicious.

—Esther Freedman

Ok, Quick:

What’s one small gadget that deserves the real estate in your kitchen?

I use my trusty Zyliss garlic press constantly for salad dressings, soups, etc. — although I hate cleaning it unless I’m wearing gloves (don’t like my hands smelling of garlic). Sometimes during Yom Tov cooking marathons, my hand starts to feel the strain of squeezing it!

—Barbara Bensoussan

Just Sayin’

What are your ideal sandwich toppings?

Pure Food by Estée sauces are made with only top-quality ingredients and are the perfect topper to a rich sandwich. Red Wine BBQ Sauce (no added sugar) is rich and deep in flavor, as are the no-sugar-added Ketchup and BBQ Sauces. Red Wine Sauce and Honey Garlic Sauce add deep flavor too. A small amount goes a long way!

Of course, a healthy heaping of coleslaw dotted with celery seed adds the old-world deli flavor to any deli or fish sandwich as well!

—Estee Kafra

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 821)