“I have one adventurous eater and she gives me great feedback,” said Chani. “The other ones want kid food.”
Some of the most popular recipes with Busy in Brooklyn readers include “Everything” London Broil, seasoned with onion, garlic, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread that cooks up quickly thanks to the inclusion of canned beans. Drunken Hassleback Salami, a whole salami sliced accordion-style, brushed with a brandy-laced sweet sauce was a big hit this past Purim.
Busy in Brooklyn also includes a crafts section featuring easy-to-make and fabulous-looking glitter moustache glasses for Purim and sushi creations: sushi hamantaschen, sushi snowmen, complete with nori scarves and wasabi berets, and even a three-tiered sushi wedding cake with wasabi paste leaves and a pickled ginger rose.
While Chani hopes to put together a cookbook one day, she has already taken the first step in that direction with an e-book released this past June titled Paleo 30-Day Meal Plan.
Eight months after the birth of her youngest child, Chani embarked on a Whole 30 Paleo diet, a month-long plan comprised of foods that would have been eaten in the paleolithic era including meat, fish, animal products and excluding gluten, grains, dairy, processed foods and sugars.
“I did it for 30 days, posting pictures on Instagram and a lot of people asked about the recipes,” said Chani. “I figured, let me save them and put them together as a book. I have always wanted to write a cookbook but right now that’s a far-off dream. Everything in the e-book was delicious – I tested it myself. It didn’t hit me until the very end when I started getting orders that I had actually sold an e-book. It was very exciting and I am getting great feedback.”
Chani, who does all her own photography for the blog, confessed to picking up various hobbies over the years including calligraphy and crocheting, but says that her love of cooking is something far more enduring.
“This is something that is constantly evolving,” explained Chani. “I wasn’t a professional cook when I started Busy in Brooklyn but I liked to entertain and over time I became more gourmet, healthier and I learned how to get things technically right. That evolution is what keeps me going.”
Visit Chani online at www.busyinbrooklyn.com or at BusyInBrooklyn on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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Pomegranate Coleslaw
Ingredients
4 oz. bag coleslaw
1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
2 scallions, sliced
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (how to deseed a pomegranate)
¼ cup grapeseed oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp whole grain mustard (with mustard seeds)
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Combine coleslaw, apples, pomegranate seeds and scallions. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey and mustard. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
VARIATION: For sweeter coleslaw, increase honey by 1-2 tbsp and add chopped pitted dates.
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Drunken Hasselback Salami
Ingredients
16 oz. salami
½ cup apricot jam
¼ cup spicy brown mustard
3 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Add all ingredients besides the salami to a pot and whisk over medium heat until jam is melted and mixture begins to boil and thicken. Remove the wrapper from the salami and place on a cutting board with chopsticks on either side. Holding the salami down with one hand, slice into thin, even slices (don’t worry, the chopsticks will ensure that you don’t slice all the way through).