Shortly before Pesach, I was telling a friend of mine how much I enjoy cooking and baking in advance in my Pesach kitchen, and how it had magically rekindled my enjoyment of cooking. My friend shared a realization of her own: She’d recently had a staff lunch at work, where they played a game of human Guess Who. One of the questions posed about her was “Does this person love to cook?” She’s become known for her love for cooking, but as she stood there awkwardly, midgame, it hit her.

It’s not cooking that she loves. The love she has for cooking is just about feeding her family. She doesn’t actually enjoy cooking for cooking’s sake at all.

This thought accompanied her over the next few days as she pulled and flagged recipe after recipe for the quickest, simplest, one-bowl dishes, which she took further shortcuts on. Yet somehow, she still manages to produce delicious meals and gets requests for her recipes from guests.

While the vast majority of us provide meals for our families on a regular basis, some of us really don’t enjoy being in the kitchen, while others get a thrill out of so many different aspects related to cooking. The satisfaction could be in the efficient output or the creative process of dashing a little of this and that onto a simple protein, or plating and presenting in a pleasing way. For those of us who enjoy it, it doesn’t matter what the impetus is, all roads lead to the kitchen.

We’re starting to think about Lag B’omer and Shavuos, and especially if we’re hosting for either of those, we may be starting to think about filling our freezers. Whether you’re cooking for the love of it or just for the love of your family, don’t miss our recipes this week for baked goods that hit all the right notes.

CHANIE NAYMAN
Food Editor, Family Table
Editor in Chief, Kosher.com 

Iced Coffee Boba

Boba has been a strong trend, but I’ve barely seen it in the kosher world. It’s usually found in black tea, but since I like coffee a lot more, I decided to try it with a coffee base. I bought tapioca pearls on Amazon and cooked them with some black coffee and water before draining them and pouring them into my iced coffee. The resulting texture is something fun to try!

SERVES 10

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup black coffee
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup tapioca pearls (large is best, but I used small)
• cold brew coffee
• milk
• sweetener of your choice

Place water, black coffee, and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. When it starts to boil, add the tapioca pearls and cover the pot.

Boil for 20 minutes, then uncover and stir. Keep stirring every 5 minutes or so to ensure that there is no clumping.

Strain pearls in a colander and run water over them. Allow to cool fully. Then add the pearls to the bottom of a cup and pour coffee over them. Add milk and sweetener and enjoy!

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 893)