Nine Days Menus
delicious meatless recipes and ideas~

What is Tisha b'Av? After the sin of the Golden Calf, Hashem saw that in order to regain our spiritual potential we needed a physical channel to connect to Him. He told us how to build the Mishkan and later, the Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Hashem then dwelled among us via these direct channels for a total of over 1250 years. However, because we forgot our holy purpose, His presence left and both Holy Temples were destroyed on Tisha B'Av, the 9th of the Jewish month of Av.

We cannot imagine the the magnitude of this loss, but at this time of year we try by taking on the Jewish laws of mourning. For instance, since we can no longer offer sacrifices, we do not eat meat during the days prior to Tisha b'Av. These practices diminish distractions that bring us pleasure and allow us to focus on our purpose as a People. That purpose, to bring Hashem's presence into the world is severely inhibited by the Destruction of our Holy Temple.

Two thousand years ago the Second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed and until today we mourn its loss and the level of intimate closeness to the King of the Universe the Temple afforded us. Hashem still yearns for us to connect with Him, through our prayer and mitzvos and our kosher diet, which affords us a direct channel with which to connect to our Father, our King.

How does the Queen in the Kitchen cope with creating family pleasing Nine Days Menus and Recipes? A week without chicken and hot dogs presents a particular challenge to kids and cooks. No need to scour the web or serve pasta every night. It's all here for you, pulled from the pages of Cooking for The King and The Kosher Channel.

Ten Tempting Fish Recipes~ Oven Bar-b-que Salmon with a chili kick, cooling frugal Creamy Seafood Pasta Salad, trendy Fish Tacos, kid pleasing Fish Croquettes that sneak in some veggies, and a couple of Sephardic Classics

Tex-Mex Ratatouille~ rises to main dish status when you top this delicious side dish with shredded cheese, serve over our favorite rice recipe and top with shredded cheese

Frittatas~master recipe, make it the Queen in the Kitchen way

Pareve Caesar Salad~is the basis for a filling main course when tossed with hard boiled eggs, soy based chicken fingers or Planned Over fish

Garden Vegetable Chili~So chock full of healthy vegetables they'll never miss the meat!

Roasted Leeks, Peppers, Carrots and Zucchini~colorful, fresh and easy pasta topper

Cook Once, Eat Twice Recipes~ One night's fish dinner becomes the basis for Pasta Primavera the next.

Two delicious and different dinners~ with the effort of one night's cooking. Tonight’s tacos and rice give you a tray of delicious Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers tomorrow using soy based ground "meat."

Other Ideas:

Baked Potato and Salad Bar~teens really like this, in fact they can make this dinner & give you a night off

Make your own pizza~store bought pizza crust or enlist the kids and make a summer project of making pizza dough and chopping vegies

Breakfast for Dinner~pancakes, waffles & if you're feeling tapped out: cereal and mIlk is a noble dinner when served with a smile as your crown