Home Blog

Sobol

North Shore Bagels

Easy Easter Eats

Even if Easter hosting duties fell on your plate this year and added one more thing to your holiday to-do list, that doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. After all, Easter is a time meant for fun and fellowship with the food just one part of the celebration.

Building the menu around simple, one-pan dishes can keep the focus where it needs to be: spending time and creating memories with family and friends. These dishes call for short lists of ingredients, many of which you may already have in your pantry, and simple preparation to create a full spread perfect for sharing with loved ones. Plus, using only one pan makes cleanup a breeze, so you can get back to the festivities quickly.

A dish like this Easter Roast lets you check both the main course and side dishes off your list, relying on the oven to do most of the work for you after some quick prep work. Similarly easy to prepare, these Refrigerator Rolls can also be made up to six days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to bake – a perfect complement to the savory roast and veggies.

Finish off your feast with an adaptable dessert like this Blueberry Crumble. Made using just five ingredients and ready in about an hour, you can swap the blueberry pie filling and yellow cake mix for any combination that suits your guests’ tastes like apple pie filling with spice cake or cherry pie filling with chocolate cake; the sky’s the limit when it comes to satisfying that sweet tooth.

Easter Roast

Yield: 1 roast

Salt

pepper

garlic powder

1          roast (3 pounds)

1          bag (1 pound) baby carrots

1          bag (1 1/2 pounds) trio potatoes or potato of choice

3          cups beef broth

1          can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup

1          tablespoon garlic pepper

3          tablespoons brown sugar

1          onion, roughly chopped

1          bundle asparagus

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder over roast and rub into front, back and sides. Place seasoned roast in middle of large roasting pan.

Place carrots on one side of roasting pan and potatoes on other side.

In large bowl, mix beef broth and cream of mushroom soup with garlic pepper. Pour mixture over roast, potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle brown sugar over carrots and add chopped onion. Cover and cook 2 1/2 hours then remove from oven, add asparagus and cook uncovered 30 minutes.

Serve from pan or place on platter for more formal presentation.

Refrigerator Rolls

Yield: 18 rolls

2          packages yeast

1/2       cup sugar

2          cups lukewarm water

6-7       cups all-purpose flour, divided

2          teaspoons salt

2          eggs

1          stick softened butter

oil, divided

In large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. When yeast is foamy, add 3 cups flour. Mix in salt, eggs and butter.

Once mixed well, add remaining flour 1 cup at a time and knead dough into ball in bowl. Remove dough from bowl and place on clean surface.

Wash and dry bowl then grease with drizzle of oil. Place dough in bowl and let rise 1 hour or store in refrigerator if making in advance.

When ready to use, grease muffin pan with oil. Roll dough into hand-size balls and place in each muffin hole; cover 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls 30 minutes.

Note: Dough can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator up to six days. If making ahead, punch down dough, cover and place in refrigerator. Punch down daily until ready to use.

Blueberry Crumble

Yield: 1 cake

1          can blueberry pie filling

1          box yellow cake mix

1          bag (4 ounces) chopped pecans

1          stick butter, melted

1/4       cup oil

whipped cream, for serving (optional)

vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread pie filling on bottom of 9-by-11-inch pan. Sprinkle cake mix and pecans on top. Do not mix.

Drizzle melted butter and oil on top of cake mix and pecans. Do not mix. Lift pan and tilt from side to side until cake mix is completely covered in butter.

Bake 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

 

 

 

(Family Features) For more Easter recipe inspiration, visit Culinary.net.

Health & Wellness: Advocate for your own health

Being an advocate for your health can be empowering.  However, there can be a lot of pushback within the medical community when a patient asks a practitioner questions about their own health.  I personally experienced this for a couple of decades before I became the kind of doctor I had actually been seeking.

National Doctor’s Day is March 30th.  This is a good month to reflect on if you are getting the proper medical care.  Going to a doctor should be enlightening where you get answers about your own health.  You should be learning about yourself.  Instead, there’s a lot of medical shunning going on.  Patients get ‘written up’ or talked down to by their doctors if they choose not to take medication.  Doctors even tell patients that their physical ailments are ‘in their head’ when doctors don’t see abnormal results on bloodwork.  None of this is OK and that behavior should not be tolerated within the medical community.  As patients, you deserve better.

As a patient, you have to set realistic expectations.  You can’t walk into a pizza shop looking for tacos and vice versa.  What this means with medical care is:  if you want quick medicine for a symptom then go to a conventional medical doctor.  Sometimes, that is what is needed, and for emergency care, we should be grateful for it.  However, if you are looking for answers to your health with proper recommendations for testing, imaging etc then you have to find a root cause doctor who does that work for you which is a Naturopathic Doctor.

For years, I found myself in the wrong ‘pizza shops’, because I simply did not know there was another type of medicine.  I understand that a lot of people are in the same situation which is why I have been educating the community for years about Naturopathic Medicine -it truly is life changing.  Identifying and reversing chronic conditions does turn someone’s life around.

Naturopathic Medicine gets to the root cause of symptoms and is the supreme medicine for preventive care.  As a Naturopathic Doctor, I also do a great deal of educating my patients about their specific health.  I give them the tools to understand their own bodies.  Furthermore, I review comprehensive labs and assess the optimal ranges ( not normal values) so they understand what their lab values actually mean for their specific health concerns.  This information is invaluable because it empowers them for the rest of their lives.

I am an advocate for my patients.  In turn, patients learn to be an advocate for themselves.  Being an advocate for someone’s health is important at any age.  I do think our elders deserve more respect in the medical community.  If you think you know someone who can benefit from this article please share.  Going to the doctor should be an enjoyable experience, not a chore or a fear…

Out & About: Spend a Day in Stony Brook

On a rainy day, ET spent the day in Stony Brook Village to scope out the best indoor spots to enjoy before the harbor-side town defrosts for the summer. Here’s our guide to spending the day in Stony Brook!

Breakfast
Start the day at Crazy Beans!  A family-owned cafe with a retro aesthetic and an array of different breakfast and lunch options to choose from. Even better than the food is the coffee. Choose from one of more than 20 flavors, or create your own unique blend to customize your cup of joe.

Lunch
Sweet Mama’s has a wholesome, country atmosphere with friendly staff and hearty food. We devoured the James Dean sandwich and South Beach omelette. For an afternoon or happy hour libation, sit at the bar in Grandpa’s Shed, attached to Sweet Mama’s restaurant.

Shopping
Stony Brook Village has plenty of boutiques to stroll through. Visit Cottontails for the little ones in your life, or Madison’s Niche for chic clothes and classy home decor. D.K. Brothers is your one-stop-shop for men’s clothing, accessories for your pooch, and accents for your home bar.

Dinner
Finish the day at Luca, a chic Italian spot with a luxe vibe. Don’t miss out on the Short Rib Agnolotti and the mouthwatering New York Strip – they’re absolute must-tries.

Activities
In between shopping and eating, squeeze in time for an activity or two. Visit the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame’s Billy Joel exhibit, or the Reboli Center for Art and History. In the summer, rent a kayak or paddleboard and go for a ride through the harbor.

Legends Bar & Grill Holiday Fundraiser Gives Back To Local Families

While the holidays may be behind us, the spirit of giving back to the community is evergreen. Legends of Kings Park has embraced this notion for the past six years with their annual holiday fundraiser, in which they collect donations for the Smithtown Children’s Foundation and Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

Having worked in restaurants his whole life, owner Mark Torkelsen channeled his passion for the food and service industry and opened Legends in 2016. Located in close proximity to Main Street and the Kings Park train station, Legends offers a variety of classic American bar food with weekly takeout and happy hour specials.

Legends was quick to start giving back with the first annual fundraiser kicking off in 2018, and has grown every year since. The fundraiser takes place every December with support from family, friends, local businesses, and community members. There’s fun for the whole family, as the event features live music, raffle prizes, and even an appearance from Santa and Mrs. Claus on a firetruck! In addition to receiving sponsorships from other local businesses, donations in forms of money and toys go directly toward local families in need.

When asked what inspired him to start the fundraiser, Mark put it simply: he grew up watching his parents impact local communities through their work in schools and hospitals and loves being able to give back to the community that raised him. He quotes President Ronald Reagan, saying “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” Mark credits partner Todd Feldman and Smithtown Children’s Foundation President Christine Fitzgerald for helping him make the fundraiser such a huge success year after year.

The most recent fundraiser accumulated $39,000, bringing the overall total to $126,000 raised since its inception. Mark is proud to say that every single dollar raised has gone back to the community and local families in need. He hopes to see the event get bigger in the future with more support from community members and local businesses, continuing to provide support to families and organizations like the Smithtown Children’s Foundation.

Don’t wait for the holidays to support a good cause, or to stop by Legends! They have delicious food like Buffalo Mac n Cheese and Steak Egg Rolls with signature drinks like the K.P. Express. Keep an eye on the holiday editions of ET later this year for more information on the annual fundraiser.

Family Features: Easter Eats

Building the menu around simple, one-pan dishes can keep the focus where it needs to be: spending time and creating memories with family and friends. These dishes call for short lists of ingredients, many of which you may already have in your pantry, and simple preparation to create a full spread perfect for sharing with loved ones. Plus, using only one pan makes cleanup a breeze, so you can get back to the festivities quickly.

A dish like this Easter Roast lets you check both the main course and side dishes off your list, relying on the oven to do most of the work for you after some quick prep work. 

Finish off your feast with an adaptable dessert like this Blueberry Crumble. Made using just five ingredients and ready in about an hour, you can swap the blueberry pie filling and yellow cake mix for any combination that suits your guests’ tastes like apple pie filling with spice cake or cherry pie filling with chocolate cake; the sky’s the limit when it comes to satisfying that sweet tooth. For more Easter recipe inspiration, visit Culinary.net.

Easter Roast

Yield: 1 roast

  • Salt, pepper, garlic powder
  • 1 roast (3 pounds)
  • 1 bag (1 pound) baby carrots
  • 1 bag (1 1/2 pounds) trio potatoes or potato of choice
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1 can (10 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 tablespoon garlic pepper
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 bundle asparagus 

Preheat oven to 350° F. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder over roast and rub into front, back and sides. Place seasoned roast in middle of large roasting pan. 

Place carrots on one side of roasting pan and potatoes on other side. 

In large bowl, mix beef broth and cream of mushroom soup with garlic pepper. Pour mixture over roast, potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle brown sugar over carrots and add chopped onion. Cover and cook 2 1/2 hours then remove from oven, add asparagus and cook uncovered 30 minutes. 

Serve from pan or place on platter for more formal presentation.

Blueberry Crumble 

Yield: One Cake

  • 1 can blueberry pie filling
  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 bag (4 ounces) chopped pecans
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread pie filling on bottom of 9-by-11-inch pan. Sprinkle cake mix and pecans on top. Do not mix. 

Drizzle melted butter and oil on top of cake mix and pecans. Do not mix. Lift pan and tilt from side to side until cake mix is completely covered in butter. 

Bake 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

#16960 Source: Family Features