Who Knows Three? Cheese Kreplach for Shavuot


For some reason, the cheese kreplach has been overshadowed by it’s better known “relation,” the cheese blintz. That is too bad because cheese kreplach are soooo symbolic.Here’s just a few meaning that have been attached to these soft, doughy stuffed triangles. Shavuot is in the third month–that’s when you count from Nissan. The Torah tells … Continue reading »

Mamaliga


Last week a brick of bright yellow cornmeal sitting on a supermarket shelfl sent me into gastronomic ecstasy. This wasn’t just any cornmeal It was KiTov, a  food manufacturer specializing in insect free products. Insects, warehouse beetles, ants, moths and other things that creep  are  the scourge of the food industry. Nobody wants to eat … Continue reading »

For Chanukah Heavenly Cheese Latkes


Don’t think we food bloggers don’t work hard.  I attempted this  recipe at least three times before hitting upon the winning formula.   My first batch, made with old fashioned farmer cheese was leaden. After that I tried a recipe that included  milk  and ended up runny, but I didn’t give up. I persisted and … Continue reading »

Tefillin Cake


For some mysterious reason, it has become customary for the  mother of a  Bar Mitzvah boy to bake a tefilin cake.  Not a cake shaped like a pair of tefilin , though I’m sure  someone out there is baking one of those. What I’m referring to is a cake decorated with chocolate tefilin, an edible replica  of the phylacteries, … Continue reading »

Feeding the Inner Child: Rakott Krumpli, Hungarian Dairy Casserole, A comfort food from pre War Europe.


Kids don’t think their parents need comfort or comfort foods. Kids, especially really teeny ones don’t think their parents need anything at all–not food or sleep or privacy.  But they do. As a battle scarred veteran with 23 years on the front lines of motherhood, I know that  Moms sometimes need to  scarf down a meal returns … Continue reading »

Metaphysical Blintzes for Shavuos


Forget Zen koans, trips to the Dalai Lama, meditation retreats. You can find life’s secrets in a  cheese blintz. Says the Rebbe Rav Naftoli of Ropschitz , the cheese (in Hebrew gevina) whose   numerical value is 70  (gematriya) stands for the 70 paths to Torah wisdom which enlightens the soul of the Jew.  The pancake wrapper is a … Continue reading »