The holiday of pizza

 My oldest child said "Have you noticed that on Shavu'ot, one of the most (if not the most) important holidays in Judaism, when we were given the Torah, which is telling us how G-d wants us to live, we eat dairy? Not brisket. Not chicken. Dairy. Therefore, please make sure you do not make anything remotely healthy this Shavu'ot. No salads or vegetable pies or fruit masquerading as dessert or, heaven forbid, fish. I want cheese. And whipped cream. Make! Dairy! Food!". They tend to speak in italics and exclamation marks at this age, OMG.

 

Why do we eat dairy on Shavu'ot? The sages have a few answers to this question. My daughter has the (I believe) best one: "Because it's yummy".

Actually, when you look at the text, the answer simply jumps out at you. It says (Exodus 19:11) that the Israelites were told to get ready to receive the Torah and were given three days to prepare for it. Now, as we all know, no Jewish event can happen without an elaborate meal. So naturally, the women immediately tried to figure out what to cook. It probably went something like that: "Why were we given three whole days to prepare? It must mean we have to work on this meal for three whole days. Well, chicken takes about 10 minutes to prep and then you just toss it in the oven. Brisket takes about the same. Cholent is a "Set it and forget it" deal. Even stuffed cabbage is not more than a few hours' worth of work. What could possibly take so long that we need three whole days? Ah-Ha!!! Dairy. What with blintzes and quiches and complicated pasta dishes, not to mention noodle kugels and cheesecakes, and some fabulous new dish no one ever made before so the others will be jealous, well, three days may not be enough". Tradition does not always follow a rational path.

So we're eating dairy.  Can we make it meaningful as well as yummi-licious?

Now, if you ask your children what you should make for Shavu'ot, they'll probably give you  a one word answer: "Pizza". If they are the kind who plan ahead they may add "and ice cream". Luckily, we don't ask the kids or we will never eat anything but PB&J or macaroni and cheese.

What is Shavu'ot about? that depends on your geographical situation. If you live outside of Israel, Shavu'ot is primarily Chag Matan Torah. The anniversary of that monumental event when we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. If, on the other hand, you live in Israel, Matan Torah shares space with Bikkurim. The holiday of bringing the first fruits to the Holy Temple.

This is a lovely part of the holiday. Think about it: a day in late spring/early summer, clear blue sky, everything is green and young and full of promise, the air is delicious with the smells of tender new plants and moist earth, the sun is bright but not yet harsh, humidity is low, the world is bursting with life. We're traveling along the beautiful highways with our loved ones, on our way to visit the place where G-d's presence is the strongest and most holy. We do not come empty handed. With us we carry the first fruits: the first fig, dewy and blushing, the first olives, green and slick with oil, the first radishes, purple-pink and bursting with sharp flavor, the first lamb or calf, soft eared and spindly legged, cute as a button, the first sheaf of wheat, golden and heavy with grain. And on young women's hips, the first born children, soft skin and softer curls, wrapped up well against the morning's chill. And we're all going to Jerusalem to see our G-d and show Him how well we appreciate His many gifts.

OK. We no longer can do that. But we can remember a time when our ancestors could. And memory can be reclaimed through our senses.

I therefore propose a meal that will recall the first fruits and represent receiving the Torah. Here it is:

Watercress soup with chive flowers

They say Mt Sinai, which was all rocks and sand, was suddenly covered with greenery and flowers in preparation for G-d's presence. Some flowers are edible. Like those of chives. And their delicate lilac shade looks so pretty with this spring soup.

3 Tbs butter

2 cups chopped onions

1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)

1 cup white wine or vegetable stock

1 Lb peeled, cubed potatoes

6 cups water

6 cups watercress (stems and leaves) chopped

1/2 tsp black pepper

6 Tbs half and half

18-24 chive flower heads*

1. Saute onions in butter with 1 teaspoon salt until onions turn translucent (about 5 minutes over medium heat).

2. Add next 3 ingredients  and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and cook, covered, until potatoes are soft (about 1/2 hour).

3. Add watercress. Mix. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Puree in blender, food processor or using an immersion blender.

5. Season with pepper and salt to taste.

6. Mix in half and half.

7. Ladle into bowls. Float about 3 flowers in each bowl.

6-8 servings.

* If you can't find chive flowers, snip fresh chives (about 1 Tbs per serving) and sprinkle on top of the soup.

If you want to get fancy - you can add croutons or Parmesan crackers (just sprinkle Parmesan cheese on parchment paper and bake for a few minutes at medium heat. They form doily-like crackers).

When reheating this soup - do so gently. Do not let it boil.

Torah-scroll shaped puff pastry baked with asparagus,  red onions and goat cheese

 

8 squares (6X6 inch) of puff pastry (you can buy these already cut into squares or buy a sheet and cut it yourself.

1 egg, beaten.

32 thick stalks of asparagus

8 oz goat cheese, softened (or cream cheese, but it won’t be nearly as good)

2 very large red onions very thinly sliced (aim for 1/16 of an inch)

6 Tbs butter (or use olive oil but it won’t taste as good)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 or 2 tsp dried herb of your choice: rosemary, thyme or sage (if you use fresh herbs, double the amount and mince them). I used thyme and it was wonderful.
Salt

1. In a large pan, heat butter over medium heat. Do not let it brown.
2. Add onions and cook over medium high heat, stirring often until onions turn purple-brown, about 20 minutes. Mix the herbs, vinegar and salt in and cook for another minute or so.
3. Snap off tough ends of asparagus and gently steam stalks until tender firm. Do not over cook; they will continue cooking in oven.
4. Pre heat oven to 400F.
5. For each square of pastry: place on oiled baking sheet. Spread with 1 oz of cheese, leaving about ½ inch of a clear edge all around.
6. Using 4 asparagus stalks per square, lay two stalks at each end, bottoms touching, with their heads over the edge. These will be the “atzey chayim”.
7. Fold each end over the asparagus stalks and pinch the dough to seal the roll. Leave plenty of space in the middle. It should look like an open scroll. This process is  a bit messy so keep a paper towel nearby and wipe your fingers often.
8. Fold edges to form a raised edge on the top and bottom “unrolled” parts of the “scroll”. You just have to fold over about an 1/8 of an inch of each edge.
9. Spread about 2 Tbs of the onion mixture over the open part of the ‘scroll’.
10. Brush egg wash over every part of the dough that is not covered with cheese or onion.
11. Bake for 20 minutes or until dough is light brown at the edges.

Steps 1 through 3 can be made up to 1 day ahead. Keep in covered bowls in refrigerator.

 

Tomato and fresh mozzarella salad

This is one of those salads that don't count as cooking and are not really a salad.

Use the juiciest, ripest, largest tomatoes you can find. Slice them about 1/2 inch thick and arrange on a large platter.

Slice fresh mozzarella the same way (or cubes of feta, or tiny balls of Mozzarella, but it won't look as pretty) and arrange with the tomatoes. You can arrange alternating slices or overlapping or lay the cheese on top of the tomatoes. Whatever.

Drizzle extra virgin (do not dare use any other kind) olive oil  all over everything.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle sliced fresh basil.

Amounts: depends on the type of tomatoes but plan on 2 tomato slices (each topped with a cheese slice) per person.

Challah scrolls

I've been struggling with baking my own challah for almost a year now. My friend Aidella is an expert challah baker and she said it should be a simple matter to bake a challah that will look like a Torah scroll. I also heard of people who bake a pull apart challah that looks like a mountain, by piling balls of dough on top of each other. My suggestion will be to try and bake little challah rolls that look like sheaves of wheat. It takes some artistic creativity and a deft hand but if you are capable of baking an edible challah - in my book you are omnipotent, so you can surely achieve a little wheat design. Wish I could help you but I am still trying to figure out how to make the challah taste like food beyond the first 10 seconds after it comes out of the oven.

I did, however, manage to create a wheat sheaf design using refrigerated bread stick dough.You arrange the dough like a sheaf of wheat (sort of a Y with many branches) and then use kitchen scissors to snip "grain" design into each branch. It's less complicated than it sounds and very impressive.
Maybe you can bake a challah like that. Let me know how it came out.

Dessert: A mountain of cream puffs

I did this last year and it was a great hit. Make cream puffs or buy some. Arrange them in a mountain shape, using syrup or frosting to "glue" them together (if you start with cheesecake and pile everything around and on it - it's even easier. And I know you're going to make cheesecake, so why not make life easier.) Stick colorful candy here and there to symbolize flowers and serve to an awed crowd. This is a great project to hand to your grumpy children when you're trying to get ready and they want to whine. I mean: working with candy!!! How awesome is that??

We did not physically stand at Mt. Sinai. We did not physically bring our first fruits to the holy temple. But we can form a connection to our ancestors by (among other things) eating thoughtfully. 

Have a meaningful holiday meal.

What will we eat?

My husband is a night owl. He goes to sleep so much later than the rest of us that sometimes he doesn't get to bed until I am ready to get out of it. This has many advantages (we're both Olympic level snorers, for one) and various disadvantages (we hardly ever meet when we're both fully awake). It also has an impact on my mornings as some days I go downstairs to find that the perfectly neat and orderly kitchen I left last night has been visited by learning disabled elves who have misunderstood the meaning of "helping". On the other hand, there are mornings when I find that the dishwasher has been loaded, the counter tops wiped and the pots of food put away in the fridge. It makes for interesting life as I never know what I will find.

For example, this morning I found a bowl of baby arugula. Hubby is an avid gardener and this is his busiest time of the year. He grows everything you can think of. From the basics (tomatoes, basil, peppers) to the special (rhubarb, peaches, gooseberries) to the exotic (figs, blood oranges, etrogs). And last night he had apparently raided the arugula planter and left me a little gift. I happen to love arugula.

We don't always get the same type of produce. Some years we get so many tomatoes that we make them into sauce that lasts till the following April. Some years we need to use store bought tomatoes (the horror!). I remember one year when we did not even have enough tomatoes for one salad. And we live in New Jersey!!

Why do we get bumper crops one year and almost nothing the next? Hubby is very experienced and knowledgeable. Not to mention dedicated. You'd think he would get steady crops. What's going on?

The answer, of course, is that there is another factor at play. You can work hard, know much and care plenty but ultimately, the crop depends on G-d. If the rain comes at the wrong time (happened) or not at all (happened) or it's too hot (yup) or too cold (ditto) or the rabbits and squirrels held a population explosion rally (2 years ago) or whatever, you won't get what you worked for.

Luckily, there's Shoprite and while the produce isn't as good as hubby's, we don't starve. 

Not so for our ancestors who were totally dependent on their crops. If there were no tomatoes one year, they did not have tomatoes that year. Period. (OK, bad example. No one had tomatoes pre-Colombus). What a scary existence that must have been. Never knowing if all your hard work will result in feast or famine. And there was no famine relief, no US aid, no doctors-without-borders. Nothing. You starved and maybe died. And you never knew ahead of time. Never.

Well, not quite. In this week's parasha, the Jews are instructed to not work the land every seventh year. Got that? Not! work! the! land! At all! So they knew, for sure, that on that year there will be no crops. They will die of starvation.

Wait. What? 

Well, G-d anticipated this argument. And He said (Leviticus 25:20-22) that in case you're wondering "What shall we eat on the seventh year (when we're not allowed to work the land)?", have no worries, G-d will make the sixth year's crops so abundant that you will have enough for that year, the next year (the Sabbatical) and the year after that (until the new crops come in). Wow. That's some promise. The next chapter (26) lists all the other mighty and wonderful things G-d will do for us if only we will keep His mitzvot. There are some awesome things there: might, plenty, close relationship with G-d, peace. All good stuff. And the first goodie? "And I shall bring the rains at their appointed time" (Leviticus 26:4). As every good farmer knows, if there is too much rain, or too little, the crops are in danger. But the worst is rain that comes at the wrong time (this happened last summer). Not only do the seeds not germinate right, those that managed to survive will be drowned by the untimely rain. So you will have some hope only to have that crushed when it finally rains. Timing is everything, as I keep telling my husband. If you cut the arugula when the fridge is filled to bursting with leftover turkey (from Shabbat), BBQ chicken and beef (from the Mother's day picnic), soup (from the one cold-ish day we had this week), cakes (from the baking marathon I had with my friend Aidella), and various salads, it will not be accepted as gratefully as you want it to. 

Still. I need to find a way to use abundance. Here is a little salad I made with my class when we were discussing Shavu'ot last week. Feel free to save it for chag or use it for finishing off your own arugula abundance.

Spring abundance salad

8 cups arugula (or mixed baby greens)

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup caramelized pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (you can buy these at the supermarket or make your own)

8 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbs red raspberry syrup

salt and pepper to taste

As always - dressing ingredients' amounts are a question of taste. Play with it until you get just the right combination of sweetness and tartness that appeals to you. The dressing has to have a distinct sweetness, though. 

1. Whisk dressing ingredients together well.

2. Toss arugula, strawberries and dressing together.

3. Divide among 8 plates. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of nuts and 1 oz of cheese.

Midway to Mayflower

Some parashot are combined (Acharei mott/kedoshim; Tazria/Metzora; Behar/Bekhukotai). Some parashot end suddenly and it seems as if they should have gone on for another chapter or two (I've already talked about how the plagues are divided between two parashot).

Emor introduces a new twist. The first half of the parasha deals with who (and what) is not allowed to come before G-d. All kinds of unsavory disabilities and weird sounding deformities are listed. At times one is not sure if one is reading about the law or about medicine.

The second half, though, more than makes up for it. Oh, what a happy reading it is. G-d is ordering us to have holidays. Seriously, who ever heard of such a thing in the ancient world? Not only does the Almighty hands us a bunch of days of "No work to be done", He is making it a heavenly decree. So there is no way you can get out of..."No work to be done".

It is (in case you haven't figured it out) a list of all the Jewish holidays G-d orders us to celebrate. Now, here are two quick questions:

1. Which holiday is listed first?

2. Which holiday/s are not there at all?

For the second question - go check it for yourself (Leviticus 23). Most people refuse to believe me when I tell them the answer.

The answer to the first question may surprise you, too. The first holiday G-d speaks about, the one that must be the most important to Him (as in:  "First of all, I want you to..."), is Shabbat.

Really. Before Yom Kippur. Before Rosh Hashana. Even before Pesach (which, based on the number of times the Torah says "who has taken you out of Egypt" seems to be the most important of all). Shabbat is above all the other holidays. Good thing the Shabbat is usually depicted as a woman ("Queen", "Bride"). Heaven forbid someone would have put a male-metaphor as "most important". We never would have heard the end of that one.

Anyhow. What I find really interesting is the place where the two parts of the parasha (so seemingly clashing with each other) meet. After listing all kinds of rejected sacrifices, in meticulous detail, the chapter (22) ends with talking about a Thanksgiving sacrifice, about which no list of defects is given, just the somewhat cryptic "that it may be acceptable in your favor". Then we are reminded to be holy, to keep G-d's commandments and that He is the one who took us out of Egypt (told you). The next verse plunges straight into holidays, while we are still trying to figure out how to make the Thanksgiving sacrifice "acceptable in our favor". Hmm.

Is it at all possible that the Torah is trying to say something here about thanksgiving and holidays?

When we first came to America, we were invited to my mother's cousin's Hadassa's house for Thanksgiving. I didn't know much about the holiday but I knew it wasn't a Jewish one. So I asked why she, an observant Jew, celebrates this 'goyishe' holiday. She said Thanksgiving is about being grateful to G-d and it is always a good time for that. I ate my turkey and cranberry sauce and thought about it. She was right.

Why wait until November? You heard about 'half-birthdays'? I say we celebrate "Halfway-to-Thanksgiving". It's been almost six months since my favorite secular holiday and I don't want to wait another six months for it. Besides, I've spent enough at Shoprite before Pesach that they gave me a frozen Empire turkey for next to nothing and it is taking up too much space in my freezer. It will soon be too warm to cook a whole turkey. If not now, when?

And alongside the bird, I will serve my "Everything but the turkey" Thanksgiving salad.

"Everything but the turkey" Thanksgiving salad

8-10 cups Mixed baby greens

1 cup Butternut squash, peeled and cubed (1/2 inch cubes)

1/2 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)

1/2 cup toasted pecans (or you can use sugared ones)

1/2 cup Corn nuts (spicy or plain)

1/2 cup Baby Lima beans (cooked)

1 Tbs plus 1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 Tbs maple syrup

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Toss squash cubes with 1 Tbs oil and spread on a baking sheet. Roast at 425F for about 25-30 minutes until tender firm. Let cool.

2. Whisk together remaining 1/3 cup of oil and the next 4 ingredients.

3. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add dressing. Gently toss.

Serves 8.

Note: dressing ingredients' amounts can be increased or decreased according to personal preferences.

Cooking for Vampires

Acharei Mott is a bloody parasha. There is an almost obsessive discussion of blood. How to use it in ritual cleansing (who'd have thought blood, of all things, can be a cleansing agent), how to purify oneself when coming in contact with it (I thought it was a cleansing agent, no?) and how important it is to avoid consuming it in any way, shape or form.

Growing up Jewish, the idea of eating blood is repugnant to me. But I understand that there are many cuisines that make extensive use of it. Not to mention the recent population explosion of vampires who surely must have whole cookbooks devoted to the subject. Must be unbelievably difficult to be a vampire if you're Jewish, though.

So no blood.

But the Torah goes further and creates a whole set of restrictions on where, when and how we can eat meat. Never mind the blood. You can't even barbecue properly without involving a priest. Why? Why does G-d insist on putting so many restrictions on an already heavily restricted diet?

Some people think that G-d's ideal is for people to be vegetarians (my oldest child is doing a happy little dance now). It sure sounds like it when the parasha keeps repeating that blood is life ("nefesh") and we should not eat blood. I mean, draining the poor animal of its blood will kill it even if we don't actually drink the blood so we'll be 'taking a life' either way. 

Since people are so lacking in self control (I certainly have none), never mind being unable to follow even the simplest commandments (my husband, for example, cannot follow any of my commands), G-d has to contend Himself with limiting the scope of our feeding frenzy (would have been nice if He could enforce this one when I eat my third helping of pasta). So, only kosher animals and even of those, only certain parts and make sure you drain them well. My brother the atheist says all these rules kill the taste of meat. Maybe that was G-d's point?

My oldest daughter is a vegetarian. She hates meat. More than that, she hates vegetarian food that tries to imitate meat. 

We, being lesser people, like the flavor and texture of meat and if forced to go meat-less, we like to come as close as possible to the original. 

Last Pesach I made a mushroom dish that was amazing. This Pesach I could not remember what went into it. I knew there were mushrooms, ground nuts and balsamic vinegar involved. I even knew which dish I cooked it in (how's that for selective memory? I must be getting older) but for the life of me I could not recall how the ingredients were combined into the robustly flavored, savory-sweet, meat-like delicacy of last year's Seder.

Last week I finally managed to find a day to experiment. As I was driving my daughter to school, I mentioned my plans to reconstruct this dish and I said I cannot remember what else went into it. And she said "It was quinoa". 

Head-slap. Of course! 

I went home and put the following dish together with a minimum of trouble. Why didn't I think to ask her when I was desperately looking for something to do with my mushrooms during Pesach?

A word about this recipe. First of all, despite my husband's disbelief, yes, I did "invent" this myself. That is: I had various ingredients on hand and put them together without an actual recipe or even a description of what I was about to do. Second, the stuffing ends up looking, smelling, feeling and tasting like meat. So much so that it fooled my brother in law Andy, who comes from a long line of devout carnivores. I don't know how or why it comes out this way. That was not the original intention. And lastly, once again, this is one of those "a bit of this and a bit of that" recipes. Feel free to experiment with it. I did.

Blood-less mushrooms

You'll need very large white mushrooms. And I do mean very large. About 3 inches in diameter or so. Remove the stems (put them in the Ziploc bag marked "for vegetable stock" that you keep in the freezer) and gently peel the mushrooms. This is not essential but it does help them absorb the sauce better. You do it with your fingers. A little like peeling an orange. Just grub a bit of the edge and peel off. It's easier than it sounds. And don't fret if it doesn't work. Just clean them well and proceed.

Make the stuffing:

Fry finely chopped onions in oil (olive is good) until soft and starting to brown. 

Add ground nuts (a mix of nuts if possible. I used walnuts and almonds) and cooked quinoa.

Amounts: for 2 large onions you will need about a cup of nuts and a cup of quinoa. This will probably be enough for 8-10 mushrooms (depending on their size). This is all very approximately.

Spice it well: salt, pepper, paprika, coriander, turmeric, a touch (only a bit of) cinnamon and a little bit of finely chopped parsley. Play with the spices until you like the flavor (It will not taste like meat yet).

Heat up a little (2-3 tablespoons) olive oil in a large oven proof pan over medium high heat and saute the mushrooms slightly on both sides (they will just change color a bit. Say, a minute on each side). 

Place all the mushrooms facing up, in a single layer in the pan. Fill each mushroom with the stuffing. Heap it up. 

Drizzle about a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar over the stuffing in each mushroom. Pour quite a bit more vinegar into the pan (around and over the mushrooms). Be generous. A half a cup is not too much. 

Cover the pan and put it into the oven at 350F for an hour. Remove cover and continue baking for another half hour.

About the meat: Most research shows that eating a mostly plant based diet is beneficial to our health. And if we are what we eat, wouldn't you rather be a sweet pea than a cow?