Isn't that the sweetest deal? Whenever I see this in any store's circular or advertisement, I can't help but check it out. Even when it is obviously not something I will ever consider buying (Jewelery, pork chops, fur coats, ready made meals, etc.) Why are we so fascinated by it? And don't pretend you're innocent here. Everyone loves a freebie.
Except that was soooo not the deal Ya'akov was offered. Or wanted. Which sort of sucks. Unfortunately, he dealt with Lavan, who was a crook. How do I know? Because later in the parasha, when Ya'akov wants to go back home and discusses it with his wives (two-for-one, remember?) they both say the same thing: "Hello? Why should we care about Dad? He treated us like property and has been getting fat and rich on the fruits of our labor." And let that be a lesson to all Dads anywhere re:You may get away with treating your sons like cheap labor, but woe be to the father who mistreats his daughters. Just ask hubby. The poor guy has to walk on eggshells around his womenfolk. The girls make fun of him, get angry with him, roll their eyes every time he tries to talk and in general treat him as a relic from another era. True, they treat me the same way, but I am sort of immune to it because, unlike fathers, most mothers not only accept the fact that children grow up and become disillusioned with their parents' supposed wisdom and omnipotence, they actually welcome it. I know I feel endless relief every time my girls prepare dinner while I take a nap. It's the reward for all the years of hard work I have put into raising them. Men, on the other hand, have huge trouble with the concept of their little princess growing up. And no wonder. Suddenly they lose the only female in the household who thinks they're smart, strong and capable. It's tough.
But! That does not justify what Lavan did to his girls. Which was, as they said, treating them like property. If he really cared about Leah's feelings, he should have found her another husband. Or, at the very least, discussed it with all parties involved. Because think how everyone felt the next morning:
Ya'akov, understandably, was angry.
Leah was probably beyond humiliated. Your brand new husband stomps through the camp, screaming that he was burdened with a woman he did not want.Ouch.
Rachel must have been heartbroken. She wanted to marry Ya'akov and had to suffer through seven more years. Not fun.
The only happy campers that day were Lavan, who felt he got rid of Leah (the, apparently, unmarriageable one) and is about to get seven extra years of free labor from the gullible yahoo from Kna'an, and, of course, the servants and neighbors, who were supplied with years' worth of gossip material.
The moral of the story is: when a deal looks too good to be true, you better check and double check the small print. Also, don't do business with corrupted uncles.
Still, two for the price of one is a good deal. Especially when it is only offered once every 40,000 years or so. I am speaking, of course about Thanksgivukkah. The rare holiday when Chanukah and Thanksgiving happen on the same day.
This, of course, is a huge day for cooks. Just think of all the possibilities. Deep fried turkey, latkes with apple-cranberry sauce, challah based stuffing, pumpkin sufganiyot. The mind boggles.
Now, as you know if you've been following this blog for a while, there is no way that I will ever do what is expected of me like a good little woman. Nuh-Ah. So I will not discuss Thanksgivukkah other than to recommend that you surf the net about it and incorporate whatever ideas you find into your holiday/s. Because it's fun and creative and, well, why not?
I will, however, give you a whole bunch of proper fall/Thanksgiving/ Chanukah recipes over the next few weeks and you can do whatever you want with them.
For example:
Pumpkin soup
1 Tbs oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic (about 1 large clove)
1 tsp fresh, chopped ginger root
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 Lb pumpkin, peeled and cubed
3 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (the kind you sometimes put on pizza)
3/4 cup coconut milk (or coconut cream if you want it extra rich)
Chopped cilantro and croutons, for serving.
Heat oil over medium heat and add onion, garlic, ginger and cumin. Cook until onion is soft but not brown (5-10 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Add pumpkin and mix well. Continue cooking 5 minutes until the edges of the pumpkin cubes start to soften a bit.
Add broth, increase heat to high and cook until the pumpkin is very soft and the liquids are reduced to the point where the pumpkin is barely covered by them (20-30 minutes.)
Add chilli flakes and coconut milk and re-heat.
Puree soup in blender or with an immersion blender.
Serve with fresh chopped cilantro and croutons.
serves 4.
Don't sell your daughters short. And don't expect them to meekly accept the fate you choose for them. Times have changed. You no longer have to marry the older one off before the younger. You can no longer marry both off to the same man. You can no longer cheat your kids and their future spouses and get away with it. And you can no longer expect to live off the fruits of their labor. Actually, that part was probably true even back then, as Lavan eventually found out.
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Say WHAT???
Now what would you say if your husband came home one day and announced that he was moving the whole household to another country? When it happened to me, I was totally fine with it because it was just the two of us, we had almost no possessions (being practically newly weds) and our destination was not on a need-to-know basis.
But what if he had asked me to pack up a houseful of dishes, furniture, clothes, tools, animals and servants? And when I ask "where are we going?" (just so I'll know what sort of clothes to pack, you understand), he would say "Not sure, dear, we'll get instructions on the way." How would an average woman respond to such a request?
The torah doesn't say but, knowing what we later learned about her temperament, we can safely assume Sarai did not take this calmly. I suppose it went something like that:
"Oh, you impossible, exasperating man. How in the world do you come up with these cockamamie plans? What do you mean 'we're leaving'? Did it even occur to you to consult me on the subject? Wasn't it enough that you took me away from Ur Kasdim? Now you want me to move again? And for what? Do you have any clue about what is involved in such a move, even if I was to lose my mind and agree to it? How do you plan to carry all of our possessions? Or do you think I should leave everything behind? Because I am telling right now, it ain't gonna happen. And what will the neighbors think? Not only are we the only monotheists in the whole world, we are now to also be the only ones leaving without a forwarding address. What am I supposed to tell my friends? How am I supposed to keep in touch with them? Facebook will not be invented for thousands of years yet. Look, Abe, I like city life. I like living in a modern house, going to the market, gossiping with the girls by the well, having an afternoon tea with my friends. Why, just the other day I got this awesome recipe from my friend Firoozeh; she's new in town. She says she comes from some land called, if you can believe it, "paras", where they talk with a funny accent but cook some really interesting food. She gave me this recipe for an amazing soup and dumplings, and I know how you love dumplings. If we leave, I do not think I will ever be able to acquire the ingredients for this dish. Are you absolutely sure you want to risk it? Wait, where are you going? You are not seriously leaving me to do all the packing by myself, are you? Hmpf. Typical."
In the end, he talked her into it. Just as later, he talked her into passing as his sister, and he talked G-d into reconsidering the destruction of S'dom, and he talked Efron into taking money for the cave of Makhpelah. Very convincing fellow, our ancestor.
And so Sarai organized the servants to pack the pots and pans, and the clothes, and the tents, and the animals. And, like any woman worth her salt, she must have packed the special herbs and spices of her native land because she knew what men usually tend to forget: that, while traveling exposes one to new and exciting adventures, it is the familiar smells and flavors of home cooking that make the strange new place feel, at least a little bit, like home.
And as time went by, I hope Sarai learned to love the new land she came to call home, made new friends and exchanged new recipes, knitting patterns and gossipy tidbits. And found happiness.
I know I did.
A little before Rosh Hashana, my friend Mara (who is, Baruch Hashem, doing much better) sent me a link from her Rabbi about interesting recipes for the chag, and asked if I knew what chickpea flour was. Do I ever. It's a staple in Iranian cooking and might have been the above mentioned recipe Sarai learned from the woman who came from a land where they talk with a funny accent.
I am bringing it here exactly as it appeared in the email. Give it a try. You can buy chickpea flour in the special flours isle at Shoprite (where they also have stuff like rye flour and rice flour, by a company called Bob's Red Mill. Their hechsher is K)
Dumplings:
2. In a large pot, add the olive oil, sliced onions and celery and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, turmeric, and salt and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the gundi, cover, and simmer until the gundi are tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Add some chopped fresh herbs to your soup bowl. Spoon dumplings and broth over herbs and serve.
Aren't we all glad Sarai was willing to leave everything familiar (again) and travel to an undisclosed destination (through the desert, no less) and make it her home, thereby starting the "wandering Jew" trend which led, eventually, to space exploration? Because how else would we know what Mars looks like?
But what if he had asked me to pack up a houseful of dishes, furniture, clothes, tools, animals and servants? And when I ask "where are we going?" (just so I'll know what sort of clothes to pack, you understand), he would say "Not sure, dear, we'll get instructions on the way." How would an average woman respond to such a request?
The torah doesn't say but, knowing what we later learned about her temperament, we can safely assume Sarai did not take this calmly. I suppose it went something like that:
"Oh, you impossible, exasperating man. How in the world do you come up with these cockamamie plans? What do you mean 'we're leaving'? Did it even occur to you to consult me on the subject? Wasn't it enough that you took me away from Ur Kasdim? Now you want me to move again? And for what? Do you have any clue about what is involved in such a move, even if I was to lose my mind and agree to it? How do you plan to carry all of our possessions? Or do you think I should leave everything behind? Because I am telling right now, it ain't gonna happen. And what will the neighbors think? Not only are we the only monotheists in the whole world, we are now to also be the only ones leaving without a forwarding address. What am I supposed to tell my friends? How am I supposed to keep in touch with them? Facebook will not be invented for thousands of years yet. Look, Abe, I like city life. I like living in a modern house, going to the market, gossiping with the girls by the well, having an afternoon tea with my friends. Why, just the other day I got this awesome recipe from my friend Firoozeh; she's new in town. She says she comes from some land called, if you can believe it, "paras", where they talk with a funny accent but cook some really interesting food. She gave me this recipe for an amazing soup and dumplings, and I know how you love dumplings. If we leave, I do not think I will ever be able to acquire the ingredients for this dish. Are you absolutely sure you want to risk it? Wait, where are you going? You are not seriously leaving me to do all the packing by myself, are you? Hmpf. Typical."
In the end, he talked her into it. Just as later, he talked her into passing as his sister, and he talked G-d into reconsidering the destruction of S'dom, and he talked Efron into taking money for the cave of Makhpelah. Very convincing fellow, our ancestor.
And so Sarai organized the servants to pack the pots and pans, and the clothes, and the tents, and the animals. And, like any woman worth her salt, she must have packed the special herbs and spices of her native land because she knew what men usually tend to forget: that, while traveling exposes one to new and exciting adventures, it is the familiar smells and flavors of home cooking that make the strange new place feel, at least a little bit, like home.
And as time went by, I hope Sarai learned to love the new land she came to call home, made new friends and exchanged new recipes, knitting patterns and gossipy tidbits. And found happiness.
I know I did.
A little before Rosh Hashana, my friend Mara (who is, Baruch Hashem, doing much better) sent me a link from her Rabbi about interesting recipes for the chag, and asked if I knew what chickpea flour was. Do I ever. It's a staple in Iranian cooking and might have been the above mentioned recipe Sarai learned from the woman who came from a land where they talk with a funny accent.
I am bringing it here exactly as it appeared in the email. Give it a try. You can buy chickpea flour in the special flours isle at Shoprite (where they also have stuff like rye flour and rice flour, by a company called Bob's Red Mill. Their hechsher is K)
Chicken and Chickpea Dumplings (Gundi) in Chicken Soup
Adapted from Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil MarksDumplings:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1.5 cups chickpea flour
- 2 medium yellow onions, grated
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- About 1 teaspoon salt
- About 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- About 2 tablespoons water
- 2 quarts/boxes chicken broth
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Salt to taste
- Assorted chopped fresh herbs: any combination of basil, parsley and cilantro
2. In a large pot, add the olive oil, sliced onions and celery and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, turmeric, and salt and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the gundi, cover, and simmer until the gundi are tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Add some chopped fresh herbs to your soup bowl. Spoon dumplings and broth over herbs and serve.
Aren't we all glad Sarai was willing to leave everything familiar (again) and travel to an undisclosed destination (through the desert, no less) and make it her home, thereby starting the "wandering Jew" trend which led, eventually, to space exploration? Because how else would we know what Mars looks like?
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Beats me
I have already mentioned my aversion to home made kreplach (I'm talking about having to make them myself, of course; home made kreplach are the best when they are made by someone else.) My mom was making a bunch once (about 3 or 4 hundred is her usual amount to make at one sitting) and was in a mellow mood so I asked why she makes them for Succot when it's still too hot for soup (that was back in the ancient days of my youth, when I lived in Israel, where it is always too hot for soup.) She explained that kreplach are traditionally eaten on occasions when beatings take place, like Yom Kippur, Hosha'na Raba and Purim. I did not quite believe her because if what she said had been true, we would have been eating kreplach every week.
This shows the importance of study. I always tell my kids that it's all good and well to follow tradition and keep mitzvot, but if you have no clue why you're doing what you're doing, you are missing a large portion of your heritage and that's a shame. My mother in law showed the same level of knowledge when I asked why Iranian Jews eat dairy on Purim (when they so overwhelmingly prefer meat.) I will leave the reasoning for that one as an exercise for the student and concentrate on the kreplach issue.
It all stems from the fact that the word for 'beaten' and the word for 'chopped' are the same in Yiddish ('gehacked'). Therefore "chopped liver" is actually "beaten liver". Why? because in the days before food processors or meat grinders, our great great grandmas used to chop everything by hand. My own grandma used to chop things this way and I still remember her standing at the cutting board (a thick slab of hard wood), beating down on the meat with a heavy cleaver. The poor liver never had a chance. To this day, proper kebab is made by hand chopping the meat, instead of the easier method of grinding it in a machine. Hand made is usually better tasting and certainly more authentic than machine made, isn't it?
So the kreplach, filled with chopped ("beaten") cooked meat, was traditionally served on those occasions when something or someone was beaten (again, they did not include corporal punishments in this category, which is totally unfair). On Yom Kippur, men are supposed to be whipped in shul (and guess what, they won't let the women watch; never mind yield the whip themselves. Oh, well, at least they get a whippin' for the way they behaved during the rest of the year...) On Purim, we beat out the name of Haman, of course. And on Hosha'na Raba, we beat the aravot. Anyone knows why? Please enlighten me.
At any rate, the women (of course) will be toiling away in the kitchen, making kreplach. Which, let me tell you, is an endless, exhausting and mind numbing ordeal (and that's just for the one watching the process.) And, as I explained on a previous occasion, I have no patience for this back breaking chore. So how will we eat a 'beaten" food this coming week?
By stealing a recipe from and Israeli website, naturally. This comes from a chef called Ruthy Kaynan who has completely circumnavigated the issue of rolling, cutting, folding, sealing (usually imperfectly, resulting in exploded kreplach) and storing until ready. Ms. Kaynan claimed that, since the point was the 'beaten' part, why bother with the dough? Genius, pure genius.
Non-kreplach
1 Lb. ground chicken breast (or you can chop it by hand, mwhahaha)
2 eggs
2 Tbs each: chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh dill, chopped scallions.
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 heaping Tbs bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste (I recommend a lot because, hey, it's chicken breast. We all know how flavorful that is, right?)
1 and 1/4 qt chicken broth (home made or bought)
Mix all the ingredients except the broth and let rest 10 minutes.
Bring broth to a boil. Meanwhile, with wet hands, shape chicken mixture into small balls (like matzoh balls, but smaller) about the size of a walnut.
Drop chicken balls into boiling broth (you may have to do this in batches), wait until they float and cook over medium high heat for another five minutes after floating.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Serve in chicken soup.
Makes 4-6 servings.
What else can you serve this week to keep with the 'beaten' theme? smashed potatoes, chopped liver, coleslaw, chopped salad and, of course, chocolate chip cookies.
Enjoy Succot. It's not every year that we are lucky enough to have weather warm enough to sit outside until all hours, yet cool enough to serve soup.
This shows the importance of study. I always tell my kids that it's all good and well to follow tradition and keep mitzvot, but if you have no clue why you're doing what you're doing, you are missing a large portion of your heritage and that's a shame. My mother in law showed the same level of knowledge when I asked why Iranian Jews eat dairy on Purim (when they so overwhelmingly prefer meat.) I will leave the reasoning for that one as an exercise for the student and concentrate on the kreplach issue.
It all stems from the fact that the word for 'beaten' and the word for 'chopped' are the same in Yiddish ('gehacked'). Therefore "chopped liver" is actually "beaten liver". Why? because in the days before food processors or meat grinders, our great great grandmas used to chop everything by hand. My own grandma used to chop things this way and I still remember her standing at the cutting board (a thick slab of hard wood), beating down on the meat with a heavy cleaver. The poor liver never had a chance. To this day, proper kebab is made by hand chopping the meat, instead of the easier method of grinding it in a machine. Hand made is usually better tasting and certainly more authentic than machine made, isn't it?
So the kreplach, filled with chopped ("beaten") cooked meat, was traditionally served on those occasions when something or someone was beaten (again, they did not include corporal punishments in this category, which is totally unfair). On Yom Kippur, men are supposed to be whipped in shul (and guess what, they won't let the women watch; never mind yield the whip themselves. Oh, well, at least they get a whippin' for the way they behaved during the rest of the year...) On Purim, we beat out the name of Haman, of course. And on Hosha'na Raba, we beat the aravot. Anyone knows why? Please enlighten me.
At any rate, the women (of course) will be toiling away in the kitchen, making kreplach. Which, let me tell you, is an endless, exhausting and mind numbing ordeal (and that's just for the one watching the process.) And, as I explained on a previous occasion, I have no patience for this back breaking chore. So how will we eat a 'beaten" food this coming week?
By stealing a recipe from and Israeli website, naturally. This comes from a chef called Ruthy Kaynan who has completely circumnavigated the issue of rolling, cutting, folding, sealing (usually imperfectly, resulting in exploded kreplach) and storing until ready. Ms. Kaynan claimed that, since the point was the 'beaten' part, why bother with the dough? Genius, pure genius.
Non-kreplach
1 Lb. ground chicken breast (or you can chop it by hand, mwhahaha)
2 eggs
2 Tbs each: chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh dill, chopped scallions.
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 heaping Tbs bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste (I recommend a lot because, hey, it's chicken breast. We all know how flavorful that is, right?)
1 and 1/4 qt chicken broth (home made or bought)
Mix all the ingredients except the broth and let rest 10 minutes.
Bring broth to a boil. Meanwhile, with wet hands, shape chicken mixture into small balls (like matzoh balls, but smaller) about the size of a walnut.
Drop chicken balls into boiling broth (you may have to do this in batches), wait until they float and cook over medium high heat for another five minutes after floating.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Serve in chicken soup.
Makes 4-6 servings.
What else can you serve this week to keep with the 'beaten' theme? smashed potatoes, chopped liver, coleslaw, chopped salad and, of course, chocolate chip cookies.
Enjoy Succot. It's not every year that we are lucky enough to have weather warm enough to sit outside until all hours, yet cool enough to serve soup.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
For what I did wrong
"I'm sorry for what I did wrong" sing the pre-K kids this week. It is a time for recalling our deeds of the previous year and apologizing for the wrong ones. Then concentrating on atonement during Yom Kippur itself. Meanwhile, everyone wishes everyone else "Easy fast". Well if it is to be easy, what sort of atonement is that?
For the confused, the fast is not to atone for our sins. It is to concentrate our attention on nothing but our thoughts and prayers. If you recall last week, services were probably interrupted by thinking about the lunch to come. Granted, we're supposed to pay close attention to the liturgy, but let's be frank here, now and then the thought of the brisket slipped in.
Not so on Yom Kippur. There is no food to think about (although many people talk of nothing else on Yom Kippur) so you can safely pray with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul.
But before that, we still need to eat the Se'uda Mafseket. The meal before the fast. Can we make that meal appropriate for the day ahead? Let's see. The theme of the day is being sorry for things we did wrong. Well I don't know about you, my friends, but I did a lot of wrong things in regards to food this year. Here's an incomplete list:
I'm sorry, Oh Lord, for every extra slice of pizza I had.
For the times I gave in and had chocolate.
For the days I just had to have cheese and more cheese.
For all the pitas I had in Israel.
Not to mention the burekas.
I'm sorry, oh Lord, for the third helping of non vegetable items (and please, Lord, if you don't mind too much, can we just forget about the fourth helping?)
For ice cream and cake and chips of all kind.
For anything fried.
Or smothered with cheese.
Or butter.
For candy I took from kids (my own kids, but still...)
For every time I could have had a salad but chose fries instead.
For the nuts (my one big downfall).
Forgive me, Lord, please overlook my overindulgence.
So there's a lot to be sorry for, as you can see. Now, about that meal.
Many years ago, my brother in law and his dad got caught up in New York traffic and arrived home with only minutes to spare before the beginning of Yom Kippur. My mother in law was besides herself "They did not have anything to eat before the fast. How will they survive? They will surely faint from hunger and have a very hard time." To this day, my brother in law Andy fondly recalls that Yom Kippur as the easiest fast he's ever had. All experts agree with him. Before a fast, we tend to over eat in order to over compensate for the upcoming deprivation. There is no need. Especially in my case, as the above list shows. Believe me when I tell you that healthy people have plenty of reserves to fast for days.
Fine. So what should we have this Friday afternoon? I asked my family what they want and they said:
Whatever. (Hubby is so sweet, isn't he?)
Chicken (Thank G-d she did not say steak)
Soup (A vegetarian soup, of course)
Soup's a great idea. It has none of the foods on my 'sin list' and it's filled with liquids. But which soup? Back to the family.
Whatever.
I hate soup.
Minestrone.
(Guess who said what).
Minestrone is sort of like chicken soup but in Italian. What I mean is: there are endless variations and each mama thinks hers is THE one. Basically we're talking a vegetable soup with beans and pasta. All recommended by nutrition experts for pre-fast meals.
Atonement Minestrone
2 Tbs oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups diced squash (zucchini or yellow squash)
2 stalks of celery, diced.
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
6 cups water
1 cup cooked small beans (you can used canned or leftovers)
A handful of small pasta (shells, elbows, orzo, whatever)
A handful of chopped fresh basil leaves
3 branches thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat for five minutes.
Add next 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 10-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add the rest of the ingredients and keep cooking for another 5-7 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
Serve hot.
Serves 6.
Have an easy fast. Why not? With this soup to start you on Yom Kippur, the fast part will be easy. The sins/atonement/apologizing/praying/not repeating your sins during the coming year - that will be difficult. Especially the pizza part.
For the confused, the fast is not to atone for our sins. It is to concentrate our attention on nothing but our thoughts and prayers. If you recall last week, services were probably interrupted by thinking about the lunch to come. Granted, we're supposed to pay close attention to the liturgy, but let's be frank here, now and then the thought of the brisket slipped in.
Not so on Yom Kippur. There is no food to think about (although many people talk of nothing else on Yom Kippur) so you can safely pray with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul.
But before that, we still need to eat the Se'uda Mafseket. The meal before the fast. Can we make that meal appropriate for the day ahead? Let's see. The theme of the day is being sorry for things we did wrong. Well I don't know about you, my friends, but I did a lot of wrong things in regards to food this year. Here's an incomplete list:
I'm sorry, Oh Lord, for every extra slice of pizza I had.
For the times I gave in and had chocolate.
For the days I just had to have cheese and more cheese.
For all the pitas I had in Israel.
Not to mention the burekas.
I'm sorry, oh Lord, for the third helping of non vegetable items (and please, Lord, if you don't mind too much, can we just forget about the fourth helping?)
For ice cream and cake and chips of all kind.
For anything fried.
Or smothered with cheese.
Or butter.
For candy I took from kids (my own kids, but still...)
For every time I could have had a salad but chose fries instead.
For the nuts (my one big downfall).
Forgive me, Lord, please overlook my overindulgence.
So there's a lot to be sorry for, as you can see. Now, about that meal.
Many years ago, my brother in law and his dad got caught up in New York traffic and arrived home with only minutes to spare before the beginning of Yom Kippur. My mother in law was besides herself "They did not have anything to eat before the fast. How will they survive? They will surely faint from hunger and have a very hard time." To this day, my brother in law Andy fondly recalls that Yom Kippur as the easiest fast he's ever had. All experts agree with him. Before a fast, we tend to over eat in order to over compensate for the upcoming deprivation. There is no need. Especially in my case, as the above list shows. Believe me when I tell you that healthy people have plenty of reserves to fast for days.
Fine. So what should we have this Friday afternoon? I asked my family what they want and they said:
Whatever. (Hubby is so sweet, isn't he?)
Chicken (Thank G-d she did not say steak)
Soup (A vegetarian soup, of course)
Soup's a great idea. It has none of the foods on my 'sin list' and it's filled with liquids. But which soup? Back to the family.
Whatever.
I hate soup.
Minestrone.
(Guess who said what).
Minestrone is sort of like chicken soup but in Italian. What I mean is: there are endless variations and each mama thinks hers is THE one. Basically we're talking a vegetable soup with beans and pasta. All recommended by nutrition experts for pre-fast meals.
Atonement Minestrone
2 Tbs oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups diced squash (zucchini or yellow squash)
2 stalks of celery, diced.
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
6 cups water
1 cup cooked small beans (you can used canned or leftovers)
A handful of small pasta (shells, elbows, orzo, whatever)
A handful of chopped fresh basil leaves
3 branches thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat for five minutes.
Add next 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 10-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add the rest of the ingredients and keep cooking for another 5-7 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
Serve hot.
Serves 6.
Have an easy fast. Why not? With this soup to start you on Yom Kippur, the fast part will be easy. The sins/atonement/apologizing/praying/not repeating your sins during the coming year - that will be difficult. Especially the pizza part.
Friday, April 26, 2013
We interrupt this program
Sometimes the Torah is very confusing. This week's parasha is progressing along nicely; discussing at length and great detail the care and feeding of priests; moving on to special holy days and then touching on specific items that we still use on Shabbat (lights and challah). Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the Torah turns aside and tells us about this guy whose mom was Jewish but his father was not and he had a fight with another Jew and used G-d's name in a bad way.
What in the world? I'm not saying the story is not worth telling. And certainly the verdict and the lesson learned about using G-d's name are valuable, but what is this doing here? In the middle of discussions about holiness, purity and priests?
As a teacher, I have encountered many (too many) times when I am in the middle of an exciting and important lesson and the class' current imp (and there is always one, isn't there?) pipes up with some irrelevant or, worse, inappropriate, comment or action. And then you have to stop mid-sentence, losing your momentum and the class' rapt attention to give the little upstart a piece of your mind. And sometimes, when you're done, you sort of temporarily abandon the previous topic to go on a rant regarding proper behavior in this and other matters, addressing general rules and what happens to those who break them.
It seems the same thing happened here. G-d was in the middle of talking about VERY IMPORTANT STUFF when this pipsqueak starts a fight. Now, normally, G-d can ignore fights the way parents ignore siblings squabbling. But in this case, somebody mentioned G-d's name and cursed it. W-e-l-l!!! This cannot be ignored. No sirree-bob. So G-d paused His lesson and dealt with the offender and then used the opportunity to explain that A. If you curse G-d - you die and B. As long as we're on the subject here's a bunch of other things that have to do with general violence. I.e. - don't.
It's interesting what new directions we take when something unexpected is inserted into our path. I went to the green grocer's this week and they had those beautiful leeks. Now, leeks come in many shapes and sizes: thin, thick, lots of white part, too much of the green, with or without brownish spots. Whatever. These were excellent. Thick, clean and with more creamy white part than dark green (less useful) one. So I bought a few. I wasn't planning on buying any and I had no idea what I will be doing with them. Then I got home and my daughter said: "You know how I did not want any soup yesterday because my stomach was bothering me? Can I have some soup now?"
She ended up eating some mushroom broth because she (or rather her tummy) rejected the idea of a leek and potato soup. But the seed was already planted.
Leek and Potato soup
4 thick, long leeks, white parts only, thoroughly washed, thinly sliced
4 Tbs butter (or olive oil)
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Water or vegetable broth (enough to cover the veggies)
Salt and pepper to taste
Over low-medium heat, cook leeks in butter or oil, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to brown a bit.
Add potatoes and cover with broth or water (if you use water, you might have to spice it up a bit and the flavor will be slightly different. I really recommend using broth, even if canned or from powder, just use quality brands).
Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes until potatoes are totally soft.
Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor (let it cool a bit first if using a food processor).
Season to taste.
Optional - you can stir a little cream in if you want it to be richer, and gently re-heat. But really, there's no need.
This will serve 5-6
And, speaking of G-d's name, I must quote our Christian friends "G-d's last name is not 'damn' " If you think about it, using this particular expletive is like blaming G-d for whatever got you riled up. Is it G-d's fault that you banged your finger in the door? Or that there is traffic? Or that someone annoyed you? Be fair.
What in the world? I'm not saying the story is not worth telling. And certainly the verdict and the lesson learned about using G-d's name are valuable, but what is this doing here? In the middle of discussions about holiness, purity and priests?
As a teacher, I have encountered many (too many) times when I am in the middle of an exciting and important lesson and the class' current imp (and there is always one, isn't there?) pipes up with some irrelevant or, worse, inappropriate, comment or action. And then you have to stop mid-sentence, losing your momentum and the class' rapt attention to give the little upstart a piece of your mind. And sometimes, when you're done, you sort of temporarily abandon the previous topic to go on a rant regarding proper behavior in this and other matters, addressing general rules and what happens to those who break them.
It seems the same thing happened here. G-d was in the middle of talking about VERY IMPORTANT STUFF when this pipsqueak starts a fight. Now, normally, G-d can ignore fights the way parents ignore siblings squabbling. But in this case, somebody mentioned G-d's name and cursed it. W-e-l-l!!! This cannot be ignored. No sirree-bob. So G-d paused His lesson and dealt with the offender and then used the opportunity to explain that A. If you curse G-d - you die and B. As long as we're on the subject here's a bunch of other things that have to do with general violence. I.e. - don't.
It's interesting what new directions we take when something unexpected is inserted into our path. I went to the green grocer's this week and they had those beautiful leeks. Now, leeks come in many shapes and sizes: thin, thick, lots of white part, too much of the green, with or without brownish spots. Whatever. These were excellent. Thick, clean and with more creamy white part than dark green (less useful) one. So I bought a few. I wasn't planning on buying any and I had no idea what I will be doing with them. Then I got home and my daughter said: "You know how I did not want any soup yesterday because my stomach was bothering me? Can I have some soup now?"
She ended up eating some mushroom broth because she (or rather her tummy) rejected the idea of a leek and potato soup. But the seed was already planted.
Leek and Potato soup
4 thick, long leeks, white parts only, thoroughly washed, thinly sliced
4 Tbs butter (or olive oil)
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
Water or vegetable broth (enough to cover the veggies)
Salt and pepper to taste
Over low-medium heat, cook leeks in butter or oil, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to brown a bit.
Add potatoes and cover with broth or water (if you use water, you might have to spice it up a bit and the flavor will be slightly different. I really recommend using broth, even if canned or from powder, just use quality brands).
Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes until potatoes are totally soft.
Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor (let it cool a bit first if using a food processor).
Season to taste.
Optional - you can stir a little cream in if you want it to be richer, and gently re-heat. But really, there's no need.
This will serve 5-6
And, speaking of G-d's name, I must quote our Christian friends "G-d's last name is not 'damn' " If you think about it, using this particular expletive is like blaming G-d for whatever got you riled up. Is it G-d's fault that you banged your finger in the door? Or that there is traffic? Or that someone annoyed you? Be fair.
Friday, January 4, 2013
The fire within
How do you choose a husband for your daughter? I am not asking from personal need, you understand. My girls are still young enough that my interest is purely academic. Nor will I live long enough to do much choosing if I dare to suggest that they let me choose for them. But what parameters would one look for?
You want the guy to be Jewish (or, to be P.C., compatible)
You want someone who is smart, has a sense of humor, kind, rich (or at least potentially so), handsome (think of the grandchildren) and with a strong sense of family. Right?
How did Yitro choose a husband for his daughter? He married her off to a complete stranger, who showed up one day with (in all probability) not a camel to his name. Why? Was Tzipora so unmarriageable? Was he dumb? Uncaring? Desperate to get rid of seven girls? Why Moshe? It's not as if there were no other men around. That was how the girls were introduced to Moshe to begin with. When some local yahoos bothered them at the well and he helped them out.
Oh.
Yitro, as we will see later on, is a very wise man, with great knowledge of human psychology. And he knows that kindness and compassion are the most important characters in a man. (Or a woman, for that matter. Remember how Eliezer picked Rivka.) Money comes and goes. Beauty fades. A sense of humor is nice but will only take you so far. Being smart is tricky to measure; there are so many ways to be "smart". But a kind husband will take care of his wife even when money is tight, or when she looks like death warmed over, or her family lives too far to visit, or she is in no mood to laugh, or to discuss astrophysics.
But Yitro did not take G-d into account. As kind as Moshe was to Tzipora to begin with (and I'm sure he was), one day he was drawn to a burning bush and after that, he belonged to G-d and the Israelites more than to his wife and kids. Like the families of all great leaders, Moshe's family paid the price for the fire that burned inside him. We should acknowledge their sacrifice. We should remember it and appreciate it.
Here is a soup with some fire inside.
Black Bean Soup
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos, with seeds
2 cups dried black beans (13 oz)
1 Tbs ground cumin
2 tsp ground corriander
8 cups (or more, as needed) vegetable broth
1 cup chopped cilantro
Lime wedges (for serving, optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy pot, cook onion, garlic and jalapenos in oil over medium high heat until soft (about 5 minutes)
Add beans, spices and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add cilantro and puree soup (in blender or using immersion blender.)
Add salt and pepper to taste and more broth if necessary.
Serve with lime wedges.
Serves 8-10
You want the guy to be Jewish (or, to be P.C., compatible)
You want someone who is smart, has a sense of humor, kind, rich (or at least potentially so), handsome (think of the grandchildren) and with a strong sense of family. Right?
How did Yitro choose a husband for his daughter? He married her off to a complete stranger, who showed up one day with (in all probability) not a camel to his name. Why? Was Tzipora so unmarriageable? Was he dumb? Uncaring? Desperate to get rid of seven girls? Why Moshe? It's not as if there were no other men around. That was how the girls were introduced to Moshe to begin with. When some local yahoos bothered them at the well and he helped them out.
Oh.
Yitro, as we will see later on, is a very wise man, with great knowledge of human psychology. And he knows that kindness and compassion are the most important characters in a man. (Or a woman, for that matter. Remember how Eliezer picked Rivka.) Money comes and goes. Beauty fades. A sense of humor is nice but will only take you so far. Being smart is tricky to measure; there are so many ways to be "smart". But a kind husband will take care of his wife even when money is tight, or when she looks like death warmed over, or her family lives too far to visit, or she is in no mood to laugh, or to discuss astrophysics.
But Yitro did not take G-d into account. As kind as Moshe was to Tzipora to begin with (and I'm sure he was), one day he was drawn to a burning bush and after that, he belonged to G-d and the Israelites more than to his wife and kids. Like the families of all great leaders, Moshe's family paid the price for the fire that burned inside him. We should acknowledge their sacrifice. We should remember it and appreciate it.
Here is a soup with some fire inside.
Black Bean Soup
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos, with seeds
2 cups dried black beans (13 oz)
1 Tbs ground cumin
2 tsp ground corriander
8 cups (or more, as needed) vegetable broth
1 cup chopped cilantro
Lime wedges (for serving, optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy pot, cook onion, garlic and jalapenos in oil over medium high heat until soft (about 5 minutes)
Add beans, spices and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Add cilantro and puree soup (in blender or using immersion blender.)
Add salt and pepper to taste and more broth if necessary.
Serve with lime wedges.
Serves 8-10
Friday, December 28, 2012
Sibling rivalry
What is it with biblical characters? The younger sibling always gets the upper hand. Yitzcahk was the younger brother. Ya'akov was the younger brother. Yosef was the younger brother. Efrayim was the younger brother. Moshe was the younger brother. Even Rachel was the younger sister. What's going on? Why is the younger one always faring better than the older?
I wouldn't mind so much but I am, as I mentioned before, the oldest. And both my younger siblings have left me in the dust. So I suspect it's written in our genetic code. Which doesn't bode well for my oldest child. Oy.
And, again, I wouldn't mind so much, except we keep getting all that hype about "first-born". As if it's such a grand thing to be. The first child, my sister once said, is like the first pancake; you make all the wrong moves with that one.
Let's examine the evidence:
Avraham certainly treated his first born badly. He threw him out to the desert. Granted, he treated the next one worse. Hmm.
Rivka helped cheat her first born out of his birth-right. Then made her favorite leave. Double hmm.
Lavan forced Leah on Ya'akov and did not even try to make it sound pretty. On the other hand, he wasn't too nice to Rachel, either (we know both girls did not care for him at all.) Hmmm, again.
Ya'akov was famous for preferring Yosef. We know how well that worked for all involved. Oy.
Yosef tried to give his first born his due but Ya'akov (famous for preferring the younger ones, remember?) insisted on making Efrayim supreme. If you check with the Nevi'im, you'll find out how badly this ended. Double oy.
Aharon was the high priest but apparently wasn't quite thrilled with his little brother being more important than he is. Oy vey.
So, what have we learned? Because nothing in the Torah is random. There has to be a reason for this constant preference of the younger sibling. Or maybe the reason is in the result of said preference. It doesn't usually end very well for the people involved. Maybe it's the divine plan and maybe it's all bashert and necessary for the end result. But meanwhile, feelings are hurt, lives altered for the worse, families splitting, people alienated, wars and suffering. Is there any other way? Say, realizing that each of us is important in our own right, not in our order of birth? That G-d has a plan for all of us, not just the chosen few? And that we can stop being so jealous of each other's lot in life and start working on our own destiny?
My siblings and I used to compare achievements, hoping to get brownie points with our parents. It took a while but I think we're past this. It might be because we are so totally different from each other in our goals and ideals, or we're just too tired to fight any more. Either way, I enjoy the peace.
Now, if only the descendants of Yitzchak and Ishmael find a way to live in peace.....
Here's a gentle soup for cold winter nights. Everything looks better with warm soup. Peace negotiations should be held after everyone ate something warm and creamy and are feeling mellow towards mankind.
Cream of cauliflower soup
2 Tbs butter
1/3 Lb leek (white part only, sliced thin)
2 Tbs flour
2 Lbs cauliflower (1 large head), chopped
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
Saute leeks in butter over medium heat until soft but not brown.
Sprinkle flour over leeks and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add cauliflower and broth. Mix well and bring to a boil.
Lower heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes until soft.
Puree (using regular or immersion blender).
Add cream and season to taste.
Re-heat gently; do not boil.
Serve warm, garnished with fresh chopped herbs of your choice (I use chives, especially their pretty purple flower heads.)
Serves 8.
I wouldn't mind so much but I am, as I mentioned before, the oldest. And both my younger siblings have left me in the dust. So I suspect it's written in our genetic code. Which doesn't bode well for my oldest child. Oy.
And, again, I wouldn't mind so much, except we keep getting all that hype about "first-born". As if it's such a grand thing to be. The first child, my sister once said, is like the first pancake; you make all the wrong moves with that one.
Let's examine the evidence:
Avraham certainly treated his first born badly. He threw him out to the desert. Granted, he treated the next one worse. Hmm.
Rivka helped cheat her first born out of his birth-right. Then made her favorite leave. Double hmm.
Lavan forced Leah on Ya'akov and did not even try to make it sound pretty. On the other hand, he wasn't too nice to Rachel, either (we know both girls did not care for him at all.) Hmmm, again.
Ya'akov was famous for preferring Yosef. We know how well that worked for all involved. Oy.
Yosef tried to give his first born his due but Ya'akov (famous for preferring the younger ones, remember?) insisted on making Efrayim supreme. If you check with the Nevi'im, you'll find out how badly this ended. Double oy.
Aharon was the high priest but apparently wasn't quite thrilled with his little brother being more important than he is. Oy vey.
So, what have we learned? Because nothing in the Torah is random. There has to be a reason for this constant preference of the younger sibling. Or maybe the reason is in the result of said preference. It doesn't usually end very well for the people involved. Maybe it's the divine plan and maybe it's all bashert and necessary for the end result. But meanwhile, feelings are hurt, lives altered for the worse, families splitting, people alienated, wars and suffering. Is there any other way? Say, realizing that each of us is important in our own right, not in our order of birth? That G-d has a plan for all of us, not just the chosen few? And that we can stop being so jealous of each other's lot in life and start working on our own destiny?
My siblings and I used to compare achievements, hoping to get brownie points with our parents. It took a while but I think we're past this. It might be because we are so totally different from each other in our goals and ideals, or we're just too tired to fight any more. Either way, I enjoy the peace.
Now, if only the descendants of Yitzchak and Ishmael find a way to live in peace.....
Here's a gentle soup for cold winter nights. Everything looks better with warm soup. Peace negotiations should be held after everyone ate something warm and creamy and are feeling mellow towards mankind.
Cream of cauliflower soup
2 Tbs butter
1/3 Lb leek (white part only, sliced thin)
2 Tbs flour
2 Lbs cauliflower (1 large head), chopped
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
Saute leeks in butter over medium heat until soft but not brown.
Sprinkle flour over leeks and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add cauliflower and broth. Mix well and bring to a boil.
Lower heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes until soft.
Puree (using regular or immersion blender).
Add cream and season to taste.
Re-heat gently; do not boil.
Serve warm, garnished with fresh chopped herbs of your choice (I use chives, especially their pretty purple flower heads.)
Serves 8.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Wedding soup
When my friend Gail and I attended the wedding of our friend Debbie's son Akiva, we sat at the same table and discussed the soup.
This may sound shallow but that's because you did not taste said soup. It was butternut squash and we were trying to figure out how it was made and what was in it besides the squash so that I can replicate it for the benefit of all.
Soup is an important issue but really we should have been paying closer attention to the wedding. In our defense, we did pay close attention before and after the soup incident. The bride was radiant, the ceremony moving, the groom was jumping with joy (I mean literally jumping), the dancing was intense (as only dancing at a Jewish orthodox wedding can be) and the bride's girlfriends came up with endless props for entertainment while the groom's friends were trying to outdo them on the other side of the mechitza with impossible feats of dare-deviling.
Weddings are great. Jewish weddings are even better since even when people do get drunk (happens) all they do is make merry.
However, sometimes, at Jewish weddings, people do get drunk (or in some way disoriented) and make mistakes. Then they wake up in the morning and find out they married the wrong sister.
I feel sad for all the players in this drama.
That night must have been lovely. Clear and fresh. The smoke from the many fires around the campground must have blinded Ya'akov and being drunk with happiness (and probably with L'Chaim after L'Chaim, as well), he eagerly stumbled into the marriage tent and did not realize how horribly he was cheated until it was too late.
But it wasn't all bad. Leah gave him many sons and loved him through thick and thin. She probably was a good cook, too. Having so many kids and no time or inclination to dwell on physical beauty (what's the point, when your sister is always hailed as "the pretty one"?) is usually an incentive to develop other skills. So she must have made him delicious meals. Like soup.
Roasted Butternut squash soup
1 medium sized butternut squash (about a foot long)
1 medium onion chopped
1 large garlic clove sliced
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1/4 Lb tofu (any kind) drained and cubed
Pinch coarse salt
1 large branch of fresh thyme (about the size of your palm, including side branches)
4 cups vegetable broth (or you can use chicken broth)
Cut squash in half. Scoop seeds and discard. Cut each half into 4 pieces.
Arrange on an oiled baking sheet, spray pieces with oil spray.
Bake at 450F for half an hour. Scoop flesh out or peel pieces.
In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook over medium heat until soft and starts to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Add squash pieces, tofu, salt and broth to cover (you may need more than 4 cups).
Tie thyme branch with kitchen string and immerse in soup.
Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook for an hour or until squash is completely soft.
Remove thyme branch. Puree soup using immersion blender or food processor. Taste and add salt if needed.
Makes 4 servings.
So, anyway, the wedding was beautiful, the soup was delicious and Akiva and Tzivya have a beautiful daughter. I'm not saying it was because of the soup, but it sure didn't hurt.
This may sound shallow but that's because you did not taste said soup. It was butternut squash and we were trying to figure out how it was made and what was in it besides the squash so that I can replicate it for the benefit of all.
Soup is an important issue but really we should have been paying closer attention to the wedding. In our defense, we did pay close attention before and after the soup incident. The bride was radiant, the ceremony moving, the groom was jumping with joy (I mean literally jumping), the dancing was intense (as only dancing at a Jewish orthodox wedding can be) and the bride's girlfriends came up with endless props for entertainment while the groom's friends were trying to outdo them on the other side of the mechitza with impossible feats of dare-deviling.
Weddings are great. Jewish weddings are even better since even when people do get drunk (happens) all they do is make merry.
However, sometimes, at Jewish weddings, people do get drunk (or in some way disoriented) and make mistakes. Then they wake up in the morning and find out they married the wrong sister.
I feel sad for all the players in this drama.
That night must have been lovely. Clear and fresh. The smoke from the many fires around the campground must have blinded Ya'akov and being drunk with happiness (and probably with L'Chaim after L'Chaim, as well), he eagerly stumbled into the marriage tent and did not realize how horribly he was cheated until it was too late.
But it wasn't all bad. Leah gave him many sons and loved him through thick and thin. She probably was a good cook, too. Having so many kids and no time or inclination to dwell on physical beauty (what's the point, when your sister is always hailed as "the pretty one"?) is usually an incentive to develop other skills. So she must have made him delicious meals. Like soup.
Roasted Butternut squash soup
1 medium sized butternut squash (about a foot long)
1 medium onion chopped
1 large garlic clove sliced
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1/4 Lb tofu (any kind) drained and cubed
Pinch coarse salt
1 large branch of fresh thyme (about the size of your palm, including side branches)
4 cups vegetable broth (or you can use chicken broth)
Cut squash in half. Scoop seeds and discard. Cut each half into 4 pieces.
Arrange on an oiled baking sheet, spray pieces with oil spray.
Bake at 450F for half an hour. Scoop flesh out or peel pieces.
In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook over medium heat until soft and starts to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Add squash pieces, tofu, salt and broth to cover (you may need more than 4 cups).
Tie thyme branch with kitchen string and immerse in soup.
Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook for an hour or until squash is completely soft.
Remove thyme branch. Puree soup using immersion blender or food processor. Taste and add salt if needed.
Makes 4 servings.
So, anyway, the wedding was beautiful, the soup was delicious and Akiva and Tzivya have a beautiful daughter. I'm not saying it was because of the soup, but it sure didn't hurt.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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
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
Salt
- In a large pan, heat butter over medium heat. Do not let it brown.
- 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.
- Snap off tough ends of asparagus and gently steam stalks until tender firm. Do not over cook; they will continue cooking in oven.
- Pre heat oven to 400F.
- 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.
- 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”.
- 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.
- 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.
- Spread about 2 Tbs of the onion mixture over the open part of the ‘scroll’.
- Brush egg wash over every part of the dough that is not covered with cheese or onion.
- 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.
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.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
"A plague on both your houses"
There is a curious distribution of plagues this week. You'd think that since there are 10 plagues, and we got so used to thinking about them as one unit, they will all appear in one parasha. Not so. 7 appear in this week's parasah, and the last 3 are kept in reserve for next week.
Generations of rabbis, scholars and commentators have struggled with the reason for this division. They came up with some very interesting explanations and beautiful midrashim.
However, they were all men. And in the good old days, men rarely, if ever, had to cook. The truth about this plagues division is very simple. The plagues represent a suggested Seder menu (as every woman worth her brisket knows, Pesach is all about the food) and there is a perfectly natural and simple reason to pause after the hail. Look at the following menu:
Appetizer: Salmon wrapped asparagus bundles in vinaigrette sauce.
Soup: Tomato and roasted pepper soup with pesto dumplings
Main course: Brisket (how else?)
Side dishes: 1. Quinoa almond pilaf
2. Wild beets in a light garlic and lemon sauce
3. Radishes, new potatoes and scallions salad
4. Pearl onions in a red wine vinegar reduction
Dessert: Dark chocolate truffles.
Now, wouldn't you say that there is a need for a palate cleansing sorbet somewhere in there? A pause that refreshes? Think raspberry-sauce-filled lemon sorbet balls. Perfect, isn't it?
So, naturally, the bible pauses after the hail plague and lets us refresh ourselves before the final onslaught.
But, says the bewildered reader, how does the above menu relate to plagues? Fair question. OK. List of plagues. But with a twist. They will not be in the order we are used to. Ready?
Locusts (Arbeh)
Blood and Frogs (Dam, Tsefarde-ah)
Dead cow (Dever)
Lice (Kinim)
Wild beasts (Arov)
Death of the first born (Bechorot)
Boils (Sh'chin)
Darkness (Choshech)
And, of course, our great divider, Hail (Barad).
For those who still don't see the connection, compare the two lists (menu and plagues) side by side.
Don't mention this comparison to your guests. Men do tend to get all bent out of shape when we call their attention to anything they did not come up with themselves. And kids pay too much attention to what the food is called instead of how it taste. So let's keep it between you and me, huh?
Recipes for plagues in this week's parasha
Blood soup
4 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 red bell pepper, broiled, peeled and coarsely chopped
28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes in thick puree
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion in oil until golden brown. Add garlic and cook another minute.
Add tomatoes. Refill the can with water and add to pot. Season to taste.
Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook, covered, over low heat for half an hour.
Puree soup (in blender, food processor or immersion blender) and continue cooking another 15 minutes.
Add seasonings as necessary.
7-8 servings
Frog dumplings
1 cup mashed potatoes made with no liquid or fat.
1 egg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil processed in food processor (or chopped very fine) with 2 Tbs olive oil
3/4 cup potato starch
Mix all ingredients. Dough will be sticky and wet.
Shape with wet hands into dumplings the size and shape of large pecans and drop gently into a pot of salted boiling water.
Simmer over medium high heat for 10-12 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon into a colander (very gently), and immediately slide carefully unto a platter, separating the dumpling.
Note: Dumplings will be "slimy" and "rubbery" (sort of like a frog, I guess). Also sort of sticky when you cut them and very, very soft.
Add dumplings to soup and reheat gently.
Makes 22-23 dumplings
Very Important Note: You need to heat the dumplings in the soup but if you leave them there for more than a day, they become (to quote my family) "yucky". So only add the number you plan to actually serve that day, heat it up and save the rest in a covered dish to be heated with the soup next time. Oh, what the heck, you know you're gonna eat the whole thing on the spot. How else will you get to eat a frog?
Lice Pilaf
1 1/2 cup quinoa (The only kind that has a hechsher for Pesach does not need to be washed, which saves time and annoyance)
3 cups vegetable broth
1/8 tsp turmeric (optional)
1/8 tsp paprika (optional)
Salt to taste
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Bring broth to a boil. Add quinoa and spices. Cover and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Cool to room temperature. Fluff with a fork. Mix almonds in.
6-7 servings
Wild beasts with garlic and lemon
1 bunch beets with leaves attached (about 4 medium beets)
3 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of half a medium lemon (or more to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Separate beets and leaves. Boil or roast 2 of the bulbs. Peel and cube them. Save the other 2 bulbs for another use (why not make home-made ch'rain? Just kidding).
Wash leaves carefully and cut off the stems. Let the leaves drip dry, No need to dry them thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the garlic over high heat for a few seconds (don't let it get brown). Add leaves and immediately turn heat to medium and cover well.
Cook leaves for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally but keeping the cover on between stirs.
Remove to a flat serving platter, add cubed beets, salt and pepper (has to be freshly ground and be generous with it) and lemon juice. Toss very gently.
Serve hot or cold. Can be made a day ahead but won't be as good.
4-6 servings
Beef brisket
Brisket is sacred. Everyone claims theirs is the "right one", every family has their favorite and every balehboosteh knows (in her heart of hearts) that her way of cooking brisket is not only the best way but indeed the only way. The only thing we can all agree on is that in order for the brisket to work, the cow has to be departed from this world first and therefore this is an excellent dish to represent the fifth plague. Use your own (correction, "unique and best ever"), recipe.
Boils in red wine vinegar
2 Tbs margarine
1 Lb frozen pearl onions
1 Lb frozen pearl onions
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of black pepper
Thaw onions in a non metal colander (this will take a few hours).
Melt margarine in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onions. Turn heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes until onions start to brown (do not let them brown completely).
Turn heat to medium and add sugar and vinegars.
Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens.
Add salt and black pepper.
6 servings
Turn heat to medium and add sugar and vinegars.
Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens.
Add salt and black pepper.
6 servings
Hail sorbet
Buy (or make) parve lemon sorbet (or any other flavor where the sorbet is white). Scoop a ball of sorbet into a small serving dish.
Using a sturdy straw (or one of those cool gadgets that are used for inserting jam into a doughnut, or even a squeeze bottle with a long spout that is usually used for ketchup at a BBQ), fill the center of the sorbet ball with a tablespoon of raspberry or strawberry syrup (store bought or make your own by mixing seedless jam with a little bit of water until runny enough to use). This is much easier to do when the sorbet is a little soft.
Make one ball per person. You can refreeze the prepared ball (covered) until ready to use, in which case this can be made a few days ahead of time and kept in the freezer. Just soften it up a bit on the counter before serving
The idea for this came from my oldest daughter, who, as everyone knows, is a genius (and I am not saying this just because I am her mother or anything).
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