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
Now I understand why nobody makes Teiglach anymore. You know, Teiglach, that ancient Lithuanian Jewish Rosh Hashana delicacy assembled from hundreds of tiny balls of honey soaked dough. My eyes light up when a recipe is labeled “easy” and “quick.” Teiglach is clearly not this. Teiglach harkens back to a time when women rolled their … Continue reading
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
If fish could be said to have families, then pickled salmon would rank as gefilte fish’s forgotten sister. Everyone remembers gefilte. The old ground carp has been frozen and jarred even served up in three layers like a petit four. Salmon does star on the foodie pantheon but that’s only when it’s grilled on cedar planks or … 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
Maybe blogging is making me crazy because last night I woke up after midnight worried that I’d left the sugar out of my cheesecake. With Ahmadijead wielding nukes, the US economy heading into freefall and Syria self destructing is this a reason to loose sleep? Instead of saying Tikun Hatzos, the prayer for the redemption … Continue reading
Growing up I thought I knew the scoop on L’ag B’Omer . The story I was told was about Rabbi Akiva’s students who disrespected one another and then died in a plague. On L’ag B’Omer (the 33rd day of the Omer count which spans from Passover until Shavuot) they stopped dying and we celebrate. Now that I lived in Israel … Continue reading
