Laura Kumin's Blog

I intended to go small and be simple this year, but never mind.

We’ll use my family’s Baskin Haggadah, and remember fondly family friend Marty Segal’s comment every Passover, “same as last year, let’s eat!” My beloved will lead the Seder, but I plan to interrupt whenever I feel like it, and told our guests to do so too.

Anyway, I now have plans for 16 participants, 3 types of charoset and 7 or 8 desserts. Oh well. Here is my Passover Seder menu and recipes for 2026 (5786.) By the way, the number in parentheses is the year according to the Hebrew calendar.

Seder menu 2026

Wine or water, bubbly water (Pellegrino), ginger beer, or sparkling apple cider/grape juiceCharoset or Haroset – 3 kindsMatzo balls in soupMatzo rolls and matzoA vegetable plate with gefilte fish and/or a hard boiled eggMain courseSalmon with lemon and/or dressingmatzo puddingString beans and shallotsLentil saladDessertsCoffee (decaf or regular), tea (black or herbal)Coconut macaroons Hazelnut macaroons a/k/a MustachudosLemon curdBerriesMatzo crackFlorentinesAlmond horns (if I get time)Flourless cake

Charoset or Haroset

However you spell it, this is one of my favorite parts of the Seder meal.

Continue reading Passover Seder Menu & Recipes 2026 (5786) at MotherWouldKnow.com

Whether you have a lot or a little, use these tips for saving broth or soup. You won’t be sorry and you’ll have broth or soup to use as the basis for lots of meals in the chilly winter months.

It’s wintertime and there is no better lunch or dinner than a cup or bowl of steaming hot soup. I love ramen and chicken soup. But honestly, in this weather almost any hot soup will warm the cockles of my heart as my mom used to say. these days, I’m loving vegan carrot coconut curry soup. I can’t even find the exact recipe I printed for this soup. But this one from The Kitchn comes close. In any event, I’m all about vegetables, warmth, and broth in whatever soup I make or get.

My Favorite Ways to Freeze Broth or Soup

If you have a lot leftoverFreeze most of it in a larger container or several smaller ones, noting how much each container holds. Save at least 1 cup for ice cube tray size portionsIf you have only a bit leftoverPut whatever you have in ice cube trays.

Continue reading Tips for Saving Broth or Soup at MotherWouldKnow.com

Some things are life changing. And so it was for me with this Lemon Curd. Before, I had always made lemon curd on the stove. Hoping that I would not turn my egg-based lemon curd into scrambled eggs by being too impatient, my lemon curd had always been a nail-biting time. Then my friend Stephanie introduced me to a Vitamix version of lemon curd.

Being a food-safety nerd, I was dubious. But after checking to make sure that the lemon curd reached an appropriately high temperature without stovetop cooking (160 degrees F/71.1 degrees C according to both the USDA and the FDA) and trying out Stephanie’s recipe with my adaptations, I became convinced.

Tips for Making Curd

The main requirement here is a Vitamix blender or a similar one with a “soup setting.” I have a reconditioned Vitamix, which I bought from the company as a present for myself during Covid. Having now done research online, I understand that there are Vitamix competitors that also heat ingredients on a “soup setting.” Any blender that heats ingredients is fine for this recipe.

Stephanie used Meyer lemons – I did not. My lemons, were the “regular” type you can find in any grocery.

Continue reading Simple and Easy Lemon Curd at MotherWouldKnow.com

Blintzes are the Ashkenazic Jewish version of crepes - with a few differences. the panckae is slightly thicker and there is filling. My favorites are cheese blintzes.

Continue reading Jewish Cheese Blintzes for Shavuot at MotherWouldKnow.com

Why a charoset recipe roundup? Three reasons:

I love charoset. I’m always on the lookout for a new version. This year, I’m going with my firend Beth Corman Lee (OMG Yummy) and her Pomegranate Charoset (Haroset). It looks and sounds amazing. Collecting charoset recipes seemed like an appropriate break from baking Passover rolls and cakes. After all, charoset is an important Passover symbol.  While we discuss and eat it during the ritual part of the seder, it’s also delicious.It’s the season. And while I do eat charoset long after the Seder is over, Seder preparation always turns my thoughts to which and how many types I’ll put on the table this year.

There are many variations on the charoset (also spelled haroset) mixture, ranging from simple ones using a single fruit, one type of nuts, and a bit of liquid, to much more elaborate and exotic blends. 

Ashkenazic Jews, who have roots in Europe, tend to use apples, walnuts or almonds, and sweet wine or juice, with only a few spices. Sephardic Jews, whose ancestors came from Spain and North Africa, tend to use the dried fruits and many spices found in the cuisines of their regions.

Continue reading Charoset Recipe Roundup for Passover at MotherWouldKnow.com

Apple pie hamantaschen are a Purim treat. Try them today. Mother Would Know

Continue reading Apple Pie Hamantaschen at MotherWouldKnow.com

Call this post counter-programming if you must. But with temperatures plummeting, I needed warm comfort food, not more cookies. While I love traditional beef and bean chili, I hoped for something healthier and easier to make. So I headed to my kitchen with a craving and some parameters, but no fixed recipe. The result was this Lightened Up Chili with Meat.

It fit the bill perfectly. Just spicy enough and topped with cheese, it managed to taste just like the chili I remember from my old edition (copyright 1961!) of the New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, yet it’s healthier and easier to make. This recipe uses just 1 large pan a 1 large pot. Cleanup is easy and the chili is great frozen into small portions (even single portions just for you.)

There are lots of ways to eat chili too. Cincinnati-style calls for spaghetti (although this version does not have either cinnamon or chocolate, apparently two ingredients typically in Cincinnati chili), other versions call for rice or cornbread, and if you’re avoiding starchy carbs, try it without any of those.

Now before you go criticizing a chili recipe during this holiday season, know that a good friend recently told me of her family’s Christmas Eve tradition – tacos!

Continue reading Lightened Up Chili with Meat at MotherWouldKnow.com

This Baked Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese is my new obsession for five reasons.

First, it does not require pre-cooking the macaroni or heating the liquid. A longstanding pet peeve of mine, I absolutely hate waiting for pasta water to boil. (Raise your hand if you love boiling macaroni and dirtying a pot when you make mac ‘n cheese. Hmm, I thought so. No hands raised.) Impatient as I am, heating milk and making bechamel for macaroni and cheese is not my favorite way to spend time. You do neither of those steps in this recipe.Second, it is infinitely variable. Although it calls for particular types of cheese, you can always change the cheeses up, as long as the substitutes are of similar consistency to the ones you’re subbing them for. And if you want to add additional seasonings or put more of one called for in the liquid or on the top, go right ahead. Third, you can make the components ahead of time or reheat the casserole. Put the liquid/cheese and topping parts of this easy dish in the refrigerator overnight and pull them out the next day to make the casserole fresh.

Continue reading Baked Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese at MotherWouldKnow.com

Galette tips and techniques are useful year-round. Free-form pies (galettes) work with sweet fillings or savory ones. No matter what season you’re in and whether you prefer sweet or savory, you can always make a free-form pie.

As summer winds down, consider making a fruit galette before summer fruit season ends. Then take the techniques for a galette into your repertoire, for any sweet or savory free-form pie your heart (or the season) dictates.

I’ve written about galettes many times before. Consider my apple rhubarb galette or my salted apple galette. I filled a galette with berries and mixed apricots and plums in another. I’ve even done other peach galettes in years past. As you may notice, all these galette adventures were sweet.

Next up I’m going to try a savory galette. Will it be a tomato-based galette, while tomatoes and fresh basil are still in season? Or should I try a more unusual one, with leeks and kale? In any event, the galette technique is useful for so many variations.

But before we leave sweet galettes, let me give you my galette tips and a bonus recipe for a peach galette at the end of the post.

Continue reading Galette Tips and Techniques at MotherWouldKnow.com

Why get an air fryer if you have a convection oven and a cookie sheet/wire rack? The latter is supposed to be an alternative to an air fryer. But I’ve tried both and frankly, I don’t think the convection substitute gets the job done. So I bought a small air fryer on sale and I’m here to say, it’s amazing. These Air Fryer Tuna Nuggets are a testament to the wonders of an air fryer.

Air fryer tuna nuggets are simple and delicious. Season them with your choice of herbs, fruit, nuts, and/or spices. Mother Would Know

Although it is rather large and a pain to store, I solve those issues by hiding it under a table until I need it. Then I pull it onto my bench and pre-heat. Presto! By the way, it’s a great way to avoid turning on the oven in the summer. And given this week’s heat wave, that’s a huge plus.

When I’m in a rush, Air Fryer Tuna Nuggets save the day:

They’re easy to make. How can you go wrong with a snack, light meal or appetizer that comes together in minutes? (Easy answer – you can’t)They’re simple.

Continue reading Air Fryer Tuna Nuggets: Crunchy Perfection at MotherWouldKnow.com