Archive for August 11th, 2011

Pesto Tilapia

August 11, 2011

This fish got attacked straight from the oven, so I didn’t have a whole piece left for a photo.

A very easy dish, especially if you have pesto already made. Just spread pesto on the fish (about 1 Tbl. per fillet) and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or so. About halfway through baking, sprinkle over some Parmesan cheese (about a Tbl. or so per fillet) and continue baking until the top is golden and the fish flakes easily. I tried added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes, but they burn pretty easily. If you want to add the sun-dried tomatoes, add them towards the end of baking.

I made Melissa Clark’s pesto from the NYT (1/2 cup toasted pignoli nuts, 4 ounces basil, 3/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp. salt). I froze a batch, then cut it up in cubes. Whenever I need a bit of pesto for a recipe, I pull a cube or so from the container in the freezer.

Parshat Va’etchanan, Shabbos Nachamu

August 11, 2011

Va’etchanan contains the words of the Shema, which states (among other things) the mitzvot of Torah study, tefillin and mezuzot.

“And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart.  And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for tefillin between your eyes. And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts (mezuzot) of your house and upon your gates.”

My kids wanted to incorporate this chocolate house kit into the parsha project. The obvious solution was to make a teeny-tiny mezuzah and affix it to the doorway.

More on mezuzah

Onkelos and the mezuzah

Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi and the mezuzah

Mezuzah syllabus

Shabbos Nachamu

Another Shabbos Nachamu