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
Many years ago a couple lived together in a small Polish shtetl . Though they were both basically good people, they had a disagreement they couldn’t resolve. In time their difference grew so severe that they were contemplating divorce. But before throwing in the towel they sought counsel from the local wise man who happened … Continue reading
While I grew up eating honey cooked carrots every Rosh Hashana, I never realized this was holy food until I read Rabbi Dovid Meisel’s account of the every day life of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the previous Satmar Rebbe. In case you’re unfamiliar with his story, the old Satmar Rebbe walked out of Bergen Belsen alive. … Continue reading
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
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
Amazing as it sounds, Alaska Sourdough Soda bread is cheaper and easier to bake at home than it is to buy, even without a bread machine–unless you happen to live in close proximity to an excellent and extremely inexpensive bakery. I got this recipe from Ruth Allman’s 1979 classic ”Alaska Sourdough“ a lovely volume that is equal parts … Continue reading
As much as I detest the addiction metaphor , (chochoholic, fashion addict , etc) I can’t find a better way to describe my relationship to sourdough. I’m hooked! Sourdough also known as wild yeast, is of course a magical combination of flour, warm water and a bit of fermented dough . Until commercial yeast became … Continue reading
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
I never baked for Pesach. Frankly, the entire subject led me to despair. What can you possibly bake with matzo meal and/or potato starch that justifies the ingestion of hundreds of empty calories?Because of that, my standard Pesach desserts were strawberry fluff(two egg whites, one cup sugar, one bag frozen strawberries, process together and then … Continue reading
My mother always served Intagashlinganah Borsht at lunch on the second day of Pesach but I never knew why. It certainly wasn’t to please me. I mean which kid, especially a non Russian one likes borsht? Even my husband who is a blessedly non picky eater still complains about how his parents served it at his … Continue reading
