Until I learned about the simanim, the symbolic foods of the Rosh Hashana meal I had no idea that Jews ate black eyed peas. Like chitterlins and collard greens, I thought they belonged to the genre of African American cuisine known as soul food. Little did I know that this lovely legume feeds our neshomos too. … Continue reading
I suspect that the custom of eating turkey on Purim to commemorate King Ahashverosh’s reign (Mi Hodu Ve’ad Kush) as well as his limited intelligence (a turkey brain) is based on a mistaken word play. In modern Hebrew the bird is called a Tarnegol Hodu, literally an Indian chicken referring to the now outmoded name for the … Continue reading
It is mind-blowing to consider the ways that Torah teachings show up in Jewish cooking.This week is Shabbat Shira, when we read the Song of the Sea, Moses’s poetic prayer uttered after the sea split. This is one of the peak moments in Jewish history when, our people achieved a perfect faith and the simplest maid servant … Continue reading
Being a born and bred Ashkenazi, I’d never heard of svinge, but then my daughter told me that was the Hanuka treat her Morrocan born mother in law was raised on. That naturally picqued my curiosity and when I saw a recipe for Svinge in the Modia kids section. I had to try it. Svinge … Continue reading
