While my husband and I were living in Israel, we were scheduled to visit New York and decided to take a five-day detour through Switzerland. It was summertime and breathtaking. We went through several different cities, picking up kosher food where we could. In the grocery before Shabbos, we chose a wide selection of food, a little of this and a little of that, kind of like a tasting menu, because I’m always to curious to try new things. (I remember feeling overjoyed when I found a copy of Mishpacha. I wasn’t working for the magazine back then, but I never missed a week; that was some delicious Shabbos treat.)

Came Shabbos day and a little cholent surprise. For some reason, the cholent we ordered (and depended on) wasn’t warm enough overnight, and it was spoiled by Shabbos morning. We had to make do with the rest of our pupu platter of options. Obviously, we lived to tell the tale, but thinking of this week’s feature on food that packs well for a vacation made the memory of my foul-smelling cholent surface.

For this week, we weren’t looking for indulgent or exotic recipes. Food on this kind of vacation is there to fuel you and keep you going till the next meal. We all know that having appropriate and sufficient foods can make or break an outing. When you pack right, you don’t need to travel with a U-Haul carrying your packed refrigerator and a suitcase of equipment.

Rivky Kleiman created recipes that hit all the right notes for your vacation: easy, filling, crowd-pleasing, and delicious enough that you’ll make them again and again as soon as you get back home.

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

The Line-up

If you’re making a few blended dips at a time but you hate taking out your food processor, place all the ingredients in quart-size containers and go in with an immersion blender one by one! Less time, and no attachments to wash!

Portobello Eggplant Salad

Dice one eggplant into small squares. Salt it. Wait an hour, then squeeze out all the extra moisture in the eggplant. Sauté half an onion in 1–2 Tbsp oil til lgolden. Add the eggplant and sauté. When the eggplant is golden, add diced portobello mushrooms, then add in 2–3 clove sgarlic, salt, and pepper. Add ½ Tbsp duck sauce or sweet chili. When done, add chopped parsley and chopped scallions

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 726)