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Tag: cooking

Food fosters connection

Food fosters connection

The mother-daughter duo of Bonnie Stern, right, and Anna Rupert brought this year’s L’dor V’dor lecture series to a flavourful conclusion last month. (photo from Bonnie Stern)

The mother-daughter cooking duo of Bonnie Stern and Anna Rupert brought the 2023-24 L’dor V’dor (From Generation to Generation) lecture series, hosted by Victoria’s Kolot Mayim Reform Temple, to a flavourful conclusion last month.

Emceed by former CBC television personality Anne Petrie, the hour-long presentation, Don’t Worry Just Cook: A Delicious Dialogue on Intergenerational Jewish Cuisine, shared their family’s culinary path, from Stern’s start as a chef to Rupert’s early childhood kitchen experiences as a 3-year-old making pies with her brother, through to the present.

“I always wanted my kids to feel comfortable in the kitchen and to want to be there, to help out or do whatever they wanted to do,” said Stern in a talk that explored the deeply tied relationship of Jewish food to culture and family.

“My mom would give us jobs in the kitchen when we were little,” said Rupert. “There was always a job for us if we wanted to participate, such as painting cookies, filling cookies or grating potatoes.”

In Stern’s view, cooking is a life skill – a person isn’t obligated to pursue a career in the culinary arts, but it is important for a person to know about food and to be able to cook. She added that her kids were fussy eaters, so the idea was, if they participated in the kitchen, they would eat what they made.

“Food without a story is just calories,” said Stern. And there were plenty of gastronomic tidbits to be told, often relating to the evolution of how variations on cooking are incorporated into family recipes.

For example, Stern’s mother had a technique for browning brisket at the end of the cooking process, rather than the beginning. And, at the current family dining table, as recognition of dietary intolerances became more widespread, there is a greater need to know how to prepare such items as gluten-free bread for a meal. Another way in which their family dinners have evolved is the move towards a contemporary buffet – guests are invited to move around and interact, creating even greater connections and more interaction than meals shared together in other ways.

More broadly, Stern explained how cuisine within a family alters when people move to another place. “It’s almost impossible to reproduce something the same way it was somewhere else. You don’t have the same equipment, the same ingredients or the same recipe. In the end, things change a little bit,” she said.

The topic of the diversity of Jewish cuisine arose. Both Stern and Rupert accentuated the myriad different dishes Jews have served up that go well beyond traditional Ashkenazi notions of matzah ball soup, blintzes and apple cake. Nowhere is that more true, they say, than in Israel, where cuisines from Jews around the world have converged in a land that has produced many talented and inventive chefs unafraid to take risks.

Some of the variations on traditional Jewish themes (mentioned in the talk and also found in their cookbook) were to do with Hanukkah dishes, specifically latkes served with guacamole and Middle Eastern sweet potato latkes, which may include hot sauce, cilantro and cumin.

Stern has studied and taught cooking around the world, written 12 cookbooks, hosted three nationally broadcast food shows and is a frequent television and radio guest around the country. She is also the founder of the eponymous Bonnie Stern School of Cooking in Toronto. Rupert, in her professional life, is a speech pathologist and researcher. 

Together, Stern and Rupert wrote Don’t Worry, Just Cook: Delicious Timeless Recipes for Comfort and Connection. With a foreword by Israeli-born chef Yotam Ottolenghi, the book goes beyond simply writing down recipes, to telling stories, giving lessons and sharing tips to improve readers’ skills and experiences in the kitchen. Rupert said she used to dream that the two would have a cooking show together. The publication of the book, in its own way, brought that desire to fruition.

Rupert credits the success of the book to her mother, whose vast amount of expertise as a cooking teacher allows her to anticipate questions a reader might have when following a recipe and offer productive advice and workarounds for potential hazards.

“Food has a unique way of connecting us to our roots and bringing generations together. We are excited to share our passion for Jewish cuisine and the joy it brings to families,” Stern said.

“Food and cooking are ways to find comfort, and definitely ways to connect with other people,” added Rupert. 

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Format ImagePosted on May 10, 2024May 8, 2024Author Sam MargolisCategories LocalTags Anna Rupert, baking, Bonnie Stern, cooking, Kolot Mayim
Eat well, while helping Leket

Eat well, while helping Leket

My new favourite dessert: Inbal Baum’s Coconut Cream Malabi. Baum is one of the contributors to June Hersh’s new digital cookbook, Cooking for a Cause. (photo by Ingrid Weisenbach)

I have a new favourite dessert: malabi. At least Inbal Baum’s Coconut Cream Malabi. Baum is one of more than 70 cooks, bloggers and others who have contributed to June Hersh’s new digital cookbook, Cooking for a Cause. All proceeds from the book’s sale support Leket Israel, whose focus is “rescuing healthy, surplus food and delivering it to those in need through partner nonprofit organizations.”

“By purchasing this digital cookbook,” notes Leket’s promotional material, “you will not only be supporting Leket Israel’s routine food rescue operations, distributing fresh, nutritious, surplus food to over 330,000 people in need each week, but you will also be part of Leket’s emergency relief campaign, providing much needed assistance to displaced Israelis throughout the country as well as to the Israeli farming community who has been significantly impacted by the ongoing war.”

Hersh has written several cookbooks “with a charitable flavour,” supporting various causes. She contributes to food blogs and magazines, appears on radio and TV, and gives talks on the importance of preserving Jewish food memory. Cooking for a Cause is a response to the Oct. 7 terror attacks, and Hersh and Leket Israel “reached out to everyone we could think of who has made an impact in the world of Jewish food,” writes Hersh in the introduction. “Additionally, we approached those incredibly outspoken Jewish and non-Jewish supporters who have taken a stand and used their moral compass to point the way. The response was overwhelming!”

image - Cooking for a Cause book coverThe result is a unique cookbook that is interesting both for its recipes and its stories – each entry tells users a bit about the contributor and/or the food being presented, and there are eye-catching colour photos throughout. The cookbook “is not arranged from starters to desserts and it is not consistent in its format,” writes Hersh. “I say this not as an apology but with pride, as this book is deliberately different. It reflects a cacophony of voices that have come together to support Leket and the people of Israel. Each contributor presents their connection to Jewish food and expresses it with a different perspective, writing style and point of view. You, the reader, benefit from diverse cooking techniques, interpretations of Jewish cuisine and fresh commentary with each recipe.”

Recipes that caught my eye as I skimmed through the book included Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Holishkes) by writer Joe Baur; Pandora’s Chicken with Artichokes, Oregano, Olives and Sundried Tomatoes by Joan Nathan, “award-winning ‘godmother’ of Jewish food”; Aunt Rini’s Tahini Cookies by Elise Addlem, founder of Feminists Against Antisemitism; and Olio Egg Salad by Ben Poremba, who “infuses his Israeli-Moroccan heritage into all his restaurants.”

I have bookmarked these recipes for future cooking/baking sessions, and will certainly try others as well. Between the Jewish Independent’s Passover and Israel special issues, I only had time to try out three recipes. In addition to Coconut Cream Malabi, which Baum writes was inspired by “Our Chef Sevim [Zakuto], with her Turkish-Jewish roots, [who] shared the cherished recipe from her grandmother,” I made Rachel Simons’ Fennel and Herb Salad (Simons is a co-founder of the company Seed+Mill) and award-winning chef and restaurateur Jonathan Waxman’s Steelhead Trout with Vermouth, Baby Sorrel, Chanterelles and Fingerlings.

The salad was as big of a hit as the malabi, and I enjoyed the meal part of the trout recipe but wasn’t so keen on the sauce, which contained vermouth. Not being a lover of vermouth, I had put the sauce on the side, and I thought the food was better without it. When I make the fish again, I’ll try to halve the vermouth or reduce it on the stove to see if that makes it taste less sharp.

COCONUT CREAM MALABI
(by Inbal Baum)

1 can coconut cream (fat content should be greater than 14% for the best results)
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup of water
1 tsp of vanilla extract, or rose or orange blossom water
crushed (or chopped) nuts, to taste
desiccated coconut, for serving
pomegranate molasses and/or silan, for serving
optional toppings: chopped seasonal fruit (strawberries, apricots, mango)

In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until well combined. Slowly add the cornstarch to the saucepan, continuously stirring.

Over medium heat, continue stirring until the pudding thickens – this may take 3 to 5 minutes. If needed to thicken, add additional cornstarch in small amounts until the mixture begins to thicken.

Mix in the vanilla extract, orange blossom or rose water, then pour or ladle into four small bowls.

Allow to cool before serving (approximately one hour, but can be less).

When ready to serve, top with a layer of pomegranate molasses or silan (date honey), desiccated coconut and ground nuts.

FENNEL AND HERB SALAD
(by Rachel Simons; 4 servings; 30 minutes to prepare)

1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced crosswise
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp flaky sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup parmesan cheese, thinly shaved (optional)

Place the sliced fennel into a bowl with the lemon juice and cold water. Let sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the fennel. 

In a large bowl, mix the fennel, mint leaves, parsley leaves, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and parmesan (if using). Mix to combine well. Serve the salad cold.

STEELHEAD TROUT WITH VERMOUTH, BABY SORREL, CHANTERELLES AND FINGERLINGS
(by Jonathan Waxman; serves 4)

4 x 4.5-ounce skin-on, boneless steelhead trout fillets
1/2 cup white vermouth
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup baby sorrel
1 cup cream
1 cup sliced raw fingerling potatoes
1 cup button chanterelle mushrooms

Season steelhead with sea salt and fresh ground white pepper.

Cook the potatoes in simmering salted water for 12 minutes. Set aside.

Wash mushrooms.

In a sauté pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter, heat to sizzling, add the trout, skin side down and sauté for 2 minutes.

When skin is crispy, turn over and add remaining olive oil and butter. Then add the potatoes and chanterelles to pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Remove steelhead to a warm platter. Ensure potatoes and chanterelles are cooked, add them to the fish platter.

Add the vermouth to pan and then add the cream. Turn off heat and add the sorrel leaves.

Taste sauce for seasoning and gently coat the potatoes and chanterelles with sauce. Serve hot.

* * *

To purchase Cooking for a Cause, go to chef.leket.org. For more on Leket Israel – including how you could join the organization’s approximately 54,000 annual volunteers “in gleaning, sorting and packaging rescued food for the Israelis in need” – visit leket.org. 

Format ImagePosted on April 26, 2024April 26, 2024Author Cynthia RamsayCategories Books, IsraelTags baking, cooking, Cooking for a Cause., fundraising, June Hersh, Leket Israel, recipes, tikkin olam
Tasty plant-forward recipes

Tasty plant-forward recipes

Chef and dietitian Micah Siva’s new cookbook, NOSH: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine, proves that plant-forward meals can be bursting with flavour and colour. (photo by Hannah Lozano)

“This is really good,” said my wife, as she tasted the steaming hot Spiced Cauliflower Chraime I had made from the new cookbook NOSH: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine (The Collective Book Studio) by chef and dietitian Micah Siva.

image - NOSH book cover“‘Plant forward’ is a way of cooking and eating that emphasizes plant-based foods without limiting one’s diet to being vegetarian or vegan,” writes Siva. “This book is meant for anyone who follows a plant-based diet or is looking to adopt a plant-forward way of eating.”

It’s also for anyone who appreciates delicious food, from what I can tell from the plates I tried. Nonetheless, Siva does offer solid advice for meat-eaters wanting to become more plant-forward. In that regard, she talks about getting enough protein and iron, what can be substituted for eggs, etc.

On the Jewish side, she gives milk and butter substitutions to make a recipe pareve (permissible for observant Jews to eat with milk or meat dishes) and offers sample holiday menus. I found the Shabbat Matrix interesting – the cooking time required (little, more and lots) is on one axis and the effort involved (low and high) is on the other. Siva offers some ideas to think about 

depending on the time and effort you can put into the meal. So, you can buy store-bought challah or make your own, make spritzers or just buy a bottle of wine and/or grape juice, for example.

Given that Passover is approaching, I focused on a few of the recipes Siva highlights for the holiday. Her list comprises Turmeric Vegetable Matzo Ball Soup, Vegan “Gefilte” Cakes, the aforementioned Spiced Cauliflower Chraime, Herbed Horseradish Salad, Cast-Iron Potato and Caramelized Onion Kugel, Passover Black and White Cookies and Passover Coconut Macaroons. In addition to the chraime, I made the kugel and the macaroons. For fun, and because I have a huge bag of sumac from another cooking experience, I also made two Olive and Sumac Martinis – though neither my wife nor I are hard-liquor folks, we enjoyed our sips.

The production quality of this cookbook is high. The layouts are beautiful, with lots of colour photos and easy-to-follow instructions, which are supplemented by dietary labels (ex. vegan, gluten-free, Passover-friendly), the time required to get the food or drink on the table and clearly listed ingredients, as well as a brief introduction to each recipe and notes about certain ingredients that may be new to some cooks, or variations that could be used, possible substitutions.

NOSH includes a glossary and I learned a lot perusing it. Amba, for instance, is a “tangy, spicy, pickled mango-based condiment or sauce of Indian-Jewish origin” and toum is a “garlic sauce, similar to aioli, made of garlic, oil, salt, and lemon juice.” Siva gives some hints about measuring, choosing ingredients and shopping efficiently. There is an index at the back of the book, plus conversion charts for liquid and dry measures, and a Fahrenheit-Celsius temperature table. Acknowledgements and a bit about the author round out the publication.

In the few recipes I tried – and Passover-friendly ones at that – the expansive flavour palette on offer was evident.  I look forward to making some of the 80+ other recipes in this cookbook, which illustrates the global diversity of Jewish culture. Siva may have grown up in Calgary, but her repertoire travels well beyond, to the Middle East, India, Africa, Europe and elsewhere Jews live or have lived. Her blog, at noshwithmicah.com, is worth checking out.

The cauliflower chraime was packed with spices – all of which I miraculously had in my cupboard! – and I will definitely make this dish again, as it was not only tasty but also easy to put together. According to Siva, it “is typically made with a whitefish poached in a tomato broth” and is often served in Sephardi families instead of gefilte fish during Passover. The recipe suggests serving it with couscous or rice, neither of which observant Ashkenazi Jews can eat during the holiday, so I plated it with mashed potatoes, which are OK for all Jews on Passover, and the two paired well. 

It is worth sharing Siva’s note in the cookbook, acknowledging that the recipes “that are ‘Passover Friendly’ will have kitniyot,” even though “Ashkenazi Jews typically prohibit kitniyot, which includes rice, corn, millet, and legumes (beans), as they look too similar to grains. While customarily left out of Passover menus, it is not technically prohibited by the Torah.” So, “[i]f a recipe is listed as suitable for Passover, please use your discretion, and do what feels more comfortable for you and your family.”

In the recipes that follow, all of which I recommend, I don’t include (for space reasons) the informative introductions that appear in the book. I made only one adaptation, choosing not to dip the coconut macaroons into chocolate, my personal preference being to just enjoy the richness of the coconut, brightened by the splash of lime juice and zest.

SPICED CAULIFLOWER CHRAIME
(serves 4, on the table in one hour)

photo - The Spiced Cauliflower Chraime from NOSH
The Spiced Cauliflower Chraime from NOSH will be an immediate favourite. (photo by Micah Siva)

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
4 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium, if preferred)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 small head cauliflower, cut into 6 wedges (if using a large cauliflower, cut into 8 wedges)
2 tsp date syrup or maple syrup
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro,  for serving
Cooked couscous or rice, for serving (I used mashed potatoes)

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the garlic, tomato paste, smoked paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, chili flakes, and salt, stir until combined, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the lemon juice, canned tomatoes, broth and raisins and stir to combine.

Place the cauliflower in the pan, cut side down in a single layer. Bring the liquid to a boil, decrease the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the cauliflower is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Drizzle with the date syrup and garnish with the cilantro. serve with cooked couscous or rice.

Note: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.  Reheat in a pan, oven, or microwave until warmed through.

Variations: Substitute chopped dried apricots or figs instead of raisins. Looking for more protein? Add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas along with the canned tomatoes and/or crumble some feta cheese on top.

CAST-IRON POTATO AND  CARAMELIZED ONION KUGEL
(serves 10 to 12, on the table in 2 hours)

photo - Micah Siva’s Cast-Iron Potato and Caramelized Onion Kugel
Micah Siva’s Cast-Iron Potato and Caramelized Onion Kugel can be a side or a meal. (photo by Micha Siva)

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
2 pounds (3 or 4) russet potatoes
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup matzah meal
sour cream, coconut yogurt, crème fraîche or labneh, for serving (optional)
fresh chives, chopped, for serving

In a 9-inch cast-iron pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Add the chopped onions, spreading them evenly over the bottom of the pan. Decrease the heat to medium-low and let cook, undisturbed, for approximately 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle the onions with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and broken down, 30 to 45 minutes. Once golden and caramelized, transfer the onions to a large bowl. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the cast-iron pan and place it in the oven to heat up while you prepare the potatoes.

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Using a food processor fitted with the shredding disk, or a box grater on the largest hole, grate the potatoes. The potatoes will oxidize, so be sure to shred right before use. 

Add the potatoes to the bowl of ice water. Let sit for 10 minutes to remove excess starch.

Drain the potatoes, transfer them to a clean kitchen towel, and wring out any excess liquid. The more liquid you can remove, the better! Add the potatoes to the bowl with the caramelized onions.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, eggs, pepper and matzah meal and stir to combine. 

Carefully remove the cast-iron pan from the oven and spread the potato mixture in the pan, pushing it down to compact the potatoes. It should sizzle on contact with the pan. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until deep golden brown on top.

Serve with sour cream and chopped chives.

Note: Prepare this kugel up to 4 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Variation: Add 1/2 cup chopped parsley to the kugel along with the matzah meal.

Substitution: This recipe uses russet potatoes, but you can use Idaho potatoes instead.

PASSOVER COCONUT MACAROONS
(makes 12 [large] macaroons, on the table in 45 minutes, including 10 minutes resting time)

photo - Lime juice and zest make Micah Siva’s Passover Coconut Macaroons specia
Lime juice and zest make Micah Siva’s Passover Coconut Macaroons special. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup potato starch
1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp sea salt
6 ounces (about 1 cup) dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the coconut, sugar, potato starch, coconut milk, lime juice, lime zest and salt until well combined. 

Using a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop (large enough to fit approximately 2 tablespoons), scoop up some of the coconut mixture and pack it very firmly into the scoop. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon to press it into the scoop. Gently remove the coconut mound from the scoop and place it onto the prepared sheet pan. Tap the back of the cookie scoop to release it, if needed, and reform the mounds after placing them on the pan. Repeat with the remaining coconut mixture.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Let cool on the sheet pan. Once cool, remove them from the pan and place them on a plate. Line the sheet pan with wax paper.

While the macaroons are cooling, combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, mixing well between each increment, until smooth.

Once the macaroons are cooled, dip the bottoms into the melted chocolate and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Refrigerate the macaroons until the chocolate is set, about 10 minutes.

Note: Once the chocolate has set, store the macaroons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Variation: Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to the mixture in place of the lime zest and lime juice. Fold in 2 tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles and dip them into melted white chocolate.

OLIVE AND SUMAC MARTINI
(serves 1, on the table in 10 minutes)

photo - An Olive and Sumac Martini is one of the unique drink options in NOSH
An Olive and Sumac Martini is one of the unique drink options in NOSH. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

1/2 ounce olive juice, plus more to rim the glass
1/2 tsp sumac, plus more to rim the glass
2 1/2 ounces gin or vodka
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
ice
2 or 3 olives, pitted

Pour a little olive juice into a shallow dish. Place some sumac in another shallow dish. Dip the rim of a cocktail glass into the olive juice and then into the sumac. Gently shake off any excess sumac and set aside.

In a cocktail shaker or a jar with a lid, combine the gin, vermouth, 1/2 ounce olive juice and 1/2 teaspoon sumac and fill with ice. Stir or seal and shake until well chilled, 20 to 30 seconds. Strain the liquid into the rimmed cocktail glass and garnish with olives. 

Format ImagePosted on April 12, 2024May 2, 2024Author Cynthia RamsayCategories Books, Celebrating the HolidaysTags baking, cooking, Micah Siva, NOSH, Passover

Knishes and relationships

My kids came home asking about knishes. Did I know how to make them? Where do we buy them? I thought this was weird. I asked for more information. 

Their school resource teacher and International Baccalaureate coordinator, Ms. T, plays an important role in their lives. She does lunch time enrichment clubs, coaches sports, and her responsibilities include supporting kids with disabilities, and the IB program. When I say that I’m not sure how she does it all, one of my kids springs up out of his seat, showing how she crouches in front of a computer in one office, typing madly. Then he dashes across the kitchen to indicate her rush to the next office, to crouch at another desk. She is, simply, everywhere.

This is when I learned that Ms. T said knishes were not, in fact, everywhere. In Winnipeg, people buy these ethnic foods from synagogues who cater, a Jewish deli or bakery. Due to a strange confluence of events, two Winnipeg synagogues are under renovation currently and without their usual catering kitchens. Other sources for knishes apparently hadn’t worked out. As a result, one of our favourite teachers was bereft of knishes.

As a kid in Virginia, I experienced knishes in two ways: one involved a street cart vendor when visiting New York with family members. The other came from a frozen packet from a far away kosher grocery store in Maryland. I’d never made one at home. I’d never considered it. It wasn’t eaten frequently in my house. Winnipeggers eat them more often. Of course, since moving here, I have, too, but I don’t miss them when they aren’t around.

I was thinking about our relationships with knishes, teachers and community recently, when I took a class from My Jewish Learning on the Hadran prayer, taught by Rabbi Elliot Goldberg. What’s that? Funny you should ask. When a person finishes studying a tractate of Talmud, they recite this prayer. I’d never heard of it until I started studying Talmud daily. When we got to the end of the first tractate, I learned that, when one finishes this kind of thing, there is a siyyum, a celebration of one’s completion of study. I’d never heard of a siyyum as a kid at a Reform congregation. When I first attended one as an undergraduate, it seemed like something that I would never be involved in. I remember an awkward party at the Jewish Living Centre with stale cookies, juice and cheers about the gawky guy with glasses who had finished studying … I’m not sure what. In a siyyum, there’s food, there’s a public teaching of something you’ve learned, and the community cheers you on. 

With the start of the pandemic, my own siyyum events have been online, usually through My Jewish Learning. There’s no food on Zoom, so that aspect of the celebration is muted, as is the cheering and crowd. Nonetheless, I have grown to love these events. It’s an hour that I pull out of my day at random, whenever it’s held online, and even during remote school or summer break or whatever, it’s “Mom’s siyyum time.” I’m learning with rabbis online via an iPad, even while making peanut butter sandwiches for lunch or hiding from the whole household to concentrate. It’s cerebral. It’s a shared learning community. It’s oddly emotional.

The first time I heard the Hadran prayer read, I cried. I found myself wondering what was wrong with me, but this class spelled out why it feels meaningful. The Hadran is usually said after studying a seder (order) of Mishnah or a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud, but sometimes it is said at a rabbinical school graduation, a Jewish high school graduation. It’s an acknowledgement. It starts with, “We will return to you, Tractate X (whatever tractate you’re studying), and you will return to us; our mind is on you, Tractate X, and your mind is on us; we will not forget you, Tractate X, and you will not forget us – not in this world and not in the next world.” The prayer goes on to talk about the blessing and value of studying Torah, and the hope that our descendants will have the same opportunities. It’s well worth a read. (Look up “Hadran” on sefaria.org.)

The entire text creates emotional ties and intellectual relationships. I’m connected to the mysterious 10 rabbis from long ago and to unknown great-grandchildren in this text. I’m connected to a cycle of learning and a return to sacred study. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and mindful that it takes work to study, even if it’s a holy endeavour. It’s a prayer that acknowledges that readers have relationships with texts, which mimics what I learned in graduate school about some literary theory, too. That long-ago English professor taught that, when we read novels or newspapers, our life experience, reading skills and emotions bring half of the meaning to the words in front of us. We’re in relationship with texts, just like we’re in relationships with our teachers and communities.

We had an afterschool Reach for the Top trivia tournament to attend with Ms. T. I knew what to do. I figured it out in advance. I made potato knishes. As we hopped out of our car, my twins recognized Ms. T’s bright blue Jeep. They rushed towards her, with carry-out containers full of potato knishes.

I joked, saying, “Who makes knishes?! They come from a cart in New York City!” With a sombre smile, she said, “My baba.” Her grandmother used to make her knishes. Oh. I gave a flip response, saying, “OK! I’ll be your baba now.” She put the knishes in the car and we went off to the three-hour tournament. Ms. T rushed out later. That night, she sent me an email of thanks, saying it made a delicious snack when she headed to her next meeting. 

We’re in a cycle of relationships in life, with lots of connections. A siyyum is an opportunity for us to celebrate and acknowledge hard work with a closure ritual. The Hadran tells us that “we will return” to a beloved text or, perhaps, to a beloved teacher.

The trivia tournament might not be Talmud. The knishes aren’t always round, or even necessarily knishes, but the connections between text, teachers, generations of learning, eating and love are real and they’re part of making Jewish meaning, too. A siyyum’s ritual of completion is always linked to food and a sense that we’re part of a bigger family and cycle of life. We return to you – whether it’s a knish made with love or a tractate of Talmud. 

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.

Posted on March 8, 2024March 7, 2024Author Joanne SeiffCategories Op-EdTags cooking, education, Judaism, lifestyle, relationships, Talmud
Don’t let your lemon loaf

Don’t let your lemon loaf

Lemon loaf using a recipe by Jo-Anna Rooney, creator of A Pretty Life in the Suburbs. (photo from aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com)

So, a husband walks into Costco … with no shopping list. And what happens? He comes out with $200 worth of steak, a 10-pound bag of lemons (which, by my calculations, will make about 300 whiskey sours), 12 jars of capers, eight boxes of latex gloves, a snow blower, two big boxes of chocolate truffles and 98 rolls of toilet paper.

I am left wondering: what the hell am I supposed to do with a snow blower? We live in an apartment in Vancouver. And we’re not the caretakers. I ask my husband, “What’s up with the snow vehicle?” He just shrugs. Like, maybe he plans on relocating us to Winnipeg? “It was on sale,” he says. 

I continue my interrogation. “So, are you planning to resell it on Facebook Marketplace, since you have it on good authority that there’s going to be a monstrous snowstorm coming to Vancouver? Or did you buy it as a gift for our cousins in Michigan?”

Just when I think he’s going to take up the challenge of my inquest, he demurs. I guess it’s not the snow hill he wants to die on.

My very next thought is: what the heck am I supposed to do with 10 pounds of lemons? Don’t say “make lemonade,” because, well, that’s seasonal. I consult with my BFF, Google, and she tells me that the best thing I can do with lemons is make lemon loaf. By now, she’s figured out that I love old school recipes. Being the compliant (and lazy) baker that I am, I gather my ingredients and have at it. Despite that it’s a classic 1960s/1970s dessert, I’ve never made it before. But, since everyone tell me a chimpanzee could make it (like that’s supposed to make me feel better about myself), I can hardly sidestep the challenge. 

Long story marginally shorter, my husband and I demolished the whole lemon loaf in less than 24 hours. OK, make that 12 hours. I’m pleading the fifth. Wow, look what I just did with the math there. Anyhow, I baked, I fought, I ate. The fighting came into play when the last piece of lemon loaf was left.

LEMON LOAF
(a recipe by Jo-Anna Rooney)

1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
zest of 1 medium lemon (but not the juice)
**
juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F and then prepare an eight-inch-by-four-inch loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper. Set it aside.

With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs, one at a time.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Then add half of the milk. Add the remaining flour mixture. Mix in the remaining milk and lemon zest. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, combine the juice from one lemon with 1/4 cup granulated sugar.

When the cake is baked, take it out of the oven and pierce holes in it with a thick bamboo skewer or a sharp knife – make sure to pierce to the bottom of the loaf so the lemon juice mixture can get right down into the cake. Pour the lemon juice/sugar mixture over the warm cake. Let it sit. This cake is even better the next day, and there is no need to refrigerate it.

Tip: I used parchment paper, like the recipe called for, but, next time, I’d just grease the loaf pan and bake it that way. The parchment paper allows for easier removal from the pan so that you can present it prettily on a plate, but who are we kidding, it won’t last a day, so just eat it straight out of the loaf pan. You’re welcome.

After I made the lemon loaf, I realized it was almost time for dinner. Not feeling particularly inspired, I browsed through my mother’s old National Council of Jewish Women Cookbook from the 1960s, hoping for a quick fix. Honestly, I have no idea how housewives raising families in the ’50s and ’60s managed to come up with a different dinner day in and day out for decades. Donna Reed, with her poodle skirt and kitten heels. How did she do it? I can only surmise that she wasn’t serving Michelin Star meals every night. It was probably more like shepherd’s pie, liver and onions, fish sticks or TV dinners (if the kids were lucky). Then I saw it: tuna noodle casserole! Thankfully, it wasn’t my mom’s version, which tragically included chow mein noodles and canned mandarin oranges on top. I want to gag just thinking about it. My version was neat but not gaudy, and it practically made itself. Once again, you’re welcome.

TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE

2 cans of tuna fish
1 can of mushroom soup
approx. 1 cup frozen carrots and peas
approx. 1 cup grated cheese (any kind)
pasta of your choice (enough for a few people)
Panko crumbs
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Boil pasta as per the package and grate the cheese.

Once the pasta is ready, drain the water and add the mushroom soup, tuna, peas and carrots, and salt and pepper. Mix it all together. Pour it into a large casserole dish and top it with the grated cheese and Panko crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and gets slightly brown.

Sure, you could fancy this up using Gruyere cheese and organic, gluten-free pasta, with chopped up fiddlehead greens instead of carrots and peas, but, seriously, why would you want to? Stick to the KISS principle – keep it simple, silly. The proof is in the pudding: my husband and I both loved it. Judging by how he hoovered it down, he probably wouldn’t mind if I made it at least once a week. Hmm … maybe that’s why he just bought 36 cans of tuna at Costco.

I’m fully aware of how unsophisticated this recipe is but, hey, I never claimed to be a connoisseur of food. I did, however, claim the title of accidental balabusta. And it fits, right? Bon appetit! 

Shelley Civkin, aka the Accidental Balabusta, is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the Richmond Review. She’s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.

Format ImagePosted on January 26, 2024January 24, 2024Author Shelley CivkinCategories LifeTags Accidental Balabusta, baking, cooking, lemon loaf, recipes, tuna casserole

Apple latkes a sweet change

There is no particular history associated with apple latkes that I can find, but they make a great accompaniment to any Hanukkah meal. Here are a few of my favourite recipes.

DAIRY APPLE LATKES
(makes 12)

2 large tart, unpeeled, cored apples cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk*
1 tbsp melted butter*

1. In a bowl, combine apples, brown sugar and cinnamon.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, sugar and baking powder.

3. In another bowl, combine egg, milk or non-dairy creamer and butter or margarine. Stir into flour mixture to form a thin batter. Fold in apple mixture.

4. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each latke. Flatten with a spatula and fry until lightly brown. Turn.

5. Drain on paper towels.

6. Serve with sour cream, or a bowl filled with one tablespoon of cinnamon combined with half a cup of sugar.

(*To make this pareve, substitute with non-dairy creamer and pareve margarine.)

APPLE PANCAKE
(This recipe came from Aliza Begin, the wife of Menachem Begin, with the compliments of the Prime Minister’s Bureau in the 1970s.)

2 large tart apples
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
dash sugar
dash cinnamon
oil

1. Peel and grate apples coarsely into a bowl.

2. Beat eggs slightly in another bowl and add to apples with eggs, flour, sugar and cinnamon. Mix well.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan. Pour batter into pan. Fry until golden on both sides.

4. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and serve warm.

APPLE LATKES
(This recipe came from Light Jewish Holiday Desserts by Penny Wantuck Eisenberg and appeared in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle many years ago. It makes 24 pancakes.)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and cut into large hunks
1 lemon, halved
1 cup flour
4 tbsp sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tbsp canola oil

1. Place apple pieces in a shallow bowl and squeeze lemon juice over.

2. Finely chop apples in a food processor. Measure 2 cups, and place in a bowl.

3. Place flour and three tablespoons sugar in processor and pulse to blend. Add two egg whites, milk and oil and process until smooth. Stir in apples.

4. Beat the other two egg whites in a mixer bowl until foamy. Add one tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold batter into egg whites.

5. Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and heat. Make two-inch pancakes from batter by tablespoon. Cook 40 seconds, turn, press down and cook until pancakes are cooked through.

6. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with sugar and serve. 

Sybil Kaplan, z”l, was a Jerusalem-based journalist and author. She edited/compiled nine kosher cookbooks and was a food writer for North American Jewish publications, including the Jewish Independent. We communicated regularly, but mostly in the leadup to a holiday issue. Not having heard from her in advance of this Hanukkah paper, we reached out, getting the sad news that Sybil recently passed away. It was a pleasure working with her for these past 20+ years and we will miss her. She always provided more stories than we could use, so, in this issue, we run a few we had yet to publish, honouring her in our way. May her memory be for a blessing.

Posted on December 1, 2023November 30, 2023Author Sybil Kaplan z”lCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags cooking, Hanukkah latkes
Appetizers for the holidays

Appetizers for the holidays

Cheese puffs (photo from jewishlink.news)

For a Hanukkah night gathering or on Dec. 31, as we move into a new secular year with a celebration, small or large, appetizers are a wonderful addition to any party. Here are some quick and easy recipes for appetizers when you’re hosting – or contributing to a potluck.

CHEESE PUFFS
(makes 40)

1 cup water
6 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 large eggs
1 cup coarsely grated kosher Swiss cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare several large cookie sheets with vegetable spray and flour.

2. In a saucepan, combine water, butter pieces, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, add flour and stir vigorously about two minutes with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball and is firm. Remove from heat.

3. Beat in mustard, eggs and cheese.

4. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheets one-and-a-half inches apart.

5. Place one sheet in top third of oven and one in bottom third of oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

6. Reverse position of sheets and bake five minutes more or until puffs are golden brown. Serve hot.

ARTICHOKE CHEESE SQUARES
(makes 8 servings)

2 six-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts
1 small finely chopped onion
4 eggs
6 crushed crackers
2 cups kosher shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a large baking dish.

2. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving two tablespoons of marinade. Place in a bowl.

3. Place reserved marinade in a frying pan and sauté onions.

4. Remove from heat and add artichokes. Add eggs, crackers, cheese. 

5. Pour into baking dish and bake 35-40 minutes.

6. Cut into one-inch squares. Serve immediately or reheat before serving.

photo - Garlic bread “fries”
Garlic bread “fries” (photo from jewishlink.news)

GARLIC BREAD “FRIES”
(Grace Parisi is a well-known chef, and she created this party snack for Food & Wine. It makes 8-10 servings)

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup olive oil
3 large minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 large split and halved baguette
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino-Romano or a sheep’s cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a frying pan, melt butter in olive oil. Add garlic and cook one minute.

3. Remove from heat and add parsley.

4. Place bread on baking sheet cut sides up. Spoon garlic butter on top, sprinkle with cheese and bake 10 minutes.

5. Turn on broiler and broil one minute.

6. Cut bread into half-inch “fries” so they look like bread sticks.

MARINARA “KETCHUP”

1/4 cup olive oil
3 peeled, halved garlic cloves
1 tbsp tomato paste
35 ounces canned, whole, peeled Italian tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of sugar
2 sprigs basil

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add garlic and cook, stirring, five minutes.

2. Add tomato paste and cook one minute. 

3. Add tomatoes, crushing them with the back of a spoon. 

4. Add salt and pepper.

5. Stir in sugar and basil and bring to a boil. Simmer until sauce is reduced to three cups and thick. Discard basil and garlic. 

Sybil Kaplan, z”l, was a Jerusalem-based journalist and author. She edited/compiled nine kosher cookbooks and was a food writer for North American Jewish publications, including the Jewish Independent. We communicated regularly, but mostly in the leadup to a holiday issue. Not having heard from her in advance of this Hanukkah paper, we reached out, getting the sad news that Sybil recently passed away. It was a pleasure working with her for these past 20+ years and we will miss her. She always provided more stories than we could use, so, in this issue, we run a few we had yet to publish, honouring her in our way. May her memory be for a blessing.

Format ImagePosted on December 1, 2023November 30, 2023Author Sybil Kaplan z”lCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags appetizers, cooking, entertaining, Hanukkah, hosting, New Year's Eve
New recipes for a new year

New recipes for a new year

A family performs the kapparot ritual with two hens and a rooster, circa 1901. (photo from Library of Congress via brandeis.edu)

Whether or not the custom of eating chicken for a High Holiday meal arose from a desire to replace the ritual of kapparot, roast chicken is often served at the holiday table. Here are a few chicken recipes you might like to try this new year, as well as sweet potato sides and desserts made with pomegranates – another food with holiday symbolism. A coffee cake is always good to have on hand for visitors, or to help break the Yom Kippur fast.

ROAST HERBED CHICKEN

1 3-pound chicken
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp melted unsalted pareve margarine
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp basil

  1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Grease a baking pan.
  2. Rinse and dry chicken. Rub skin with 1 cut garlic clove, then place it inside chicken with other cloves and bay leaves.
  3. In a bowl, mix margarine with salt, pepper, thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram and basil. Place 1 tablespoon inside chicken, tie legs together and place, breast side down, in baking pan. Brush the rest of the spiced mixture over the outside of the chicken. Bake 45 minutes. Turn it over and bake 40-45 minutes longer.

SIMPLEST ROAST CHICKEN

1 5-pound chicken
1 lemon cut in half
4 garlic cloves
4 tbsp unsalted pareve margarine
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken soup, water or wine

  1. Preheat oven to 500ºF. Grease a roasting pan.
  2. Remove excess fat, neck, gizzards and liver. Combine lemon, garlic, margarine, salt and pepper in a bowl and stuff inside chicken.
  3. Place chicken breast side up in a baking pan with legs facing the back of the oven. Roast 10 minutes then move with a wooden spoon to keep it from sticking. Continue roasting 40-50 minutes.
  4. Tilt chicken to get juices into roasting pan. Remove chicken. Put juices in a pan, add soup, water or wine and bring to a boil. Reduce liquid by half. Serve sauce in a bowl or pour over chicken.

CHICKEN WITH DRESSING
(this was a favourite of my mother, z”l)

1 5-pound chicken
salt to taste
3/4 tsp ginger
1 sliced onion
1/2 cup celery
your favourite stuffing
3/4 cup boiling water
4-6 sliced potatoes

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a roasting pan.
  2. Sprinkle chicken cavity with salt and ginger. Place in roasting pan. Stuff with your favourite stuffing. Add onion and celery. Roast 20 minutes.
  3. Reduce temperature to 350ºF and bake 20 minutes more. Add boiling water and potatoes and continue baking 1 1/2 hours more.

MY MOM’S (Z”L) CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

8 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup crushed nuts (optional)
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp non-dairy creamer
2 tbsp orange juice

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a casserole dish.
  2. Boil sweet potatoes in water until soft. Remove, cool and peel. Place in a bowl and mash.
  3. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts, margarine, non-dairy creamer and orange juice. Spoon into greased casserole and bake 30-45 minutes.

MY SABRA SWEET POTATOES

6 oranges
1/4 cup Sabra liqueur
6 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 cooked, peeled, smashed sweet potatoes

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a casserole dish.
  2. Cut oranges in half and scoop out pulp.
  3. Place mashed sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl.
  4. In a saucepan, combine Sabra, margarine, brown sugar and nutmeg. Simmer for three minutes. Pour over sweet potatoes.
  5. Spoon potatoes and sauce into orange halves. Bake 30 minutes.

APPLE-POMEGRANATE COBBLER
(This recipe is adapted from a Food & Wine recipe)

2 cups pomegranate juice
6 peeled, halved, cored, sliced 1/2-inch thick apples
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, or 1/2 cup unsalted pareve margarine
1 cup cold heavy cream or pareve cream
pomegranate seeds
pareve vanilla ice cream

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place an eight-by-eight glass baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring pomegranate juice to a boil over high heat, reduce to 1/3 cup (approximately 15 minutes). Pour into a bowl. Fold in apple slices, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Put into baking dish.
  3. In a bowl, whisk 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Add butter or margarine and cut until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1 cup cream.
  4. Gather topping and scatter over apple filling. Brush top with cream, sprinkle with sugar. Bake 60-70 minutes or until filling is bubbling and topping is golden. If crust is browning, tent with foil.
  5. Let cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Top with vanilla ice cream.

POMEGRANATE ICE
(makes 5 cups)

8-10 seeded pomegranates
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 cup sugar

  1. Whirl pomegranate seeds in blender. Strain and save liquid for 4 cups.
  2. Add lemon juice, lemon peel and sugar. Pour into a metal pan and cover with foil. Freeze 8 hours. Remove and break into chunks. Blend into slush. Refreeze until firm.

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
salt to taste
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts

  1. Preheat over to 350ºF. Grease a baking pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  3. Add butter or margarine, sour cream, eggs and vanilla and mix.
  4. Add nuts and blend well. Pour half into baking pan.
  5. In a bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Pour over batter. Add rest of batter. Bake 1 hour.

QUICK CRUMB COFFEE CAKE

2 1/4 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
salt to taste
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp unsalted margarine, melted
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp crumbled margarine
1/2 cup chopped nuts

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a baking pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Add sugar, margarine, egg, milk and vanilla and blend well.
  3. Spread batter on bottom of greased baking pan.
  4. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, margarine and chopped nuts. Sprinkle on top of batter. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Sybil Kaplan is a Jerusalem-based journalist and author. She has edited/compiled nine kosher cookbooks and is a food writer for North American Jewish publications. She leads walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English.

Format ImagePosted on September 1, 2023August 30, 2023Author Sybil KaplanCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags baking, cooking, recipes, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur
Homemade fun food & toys

Homemade fun food & toys

Healthy food can make for a fun snack. The website hello, Yummy has lots of ideas about cooking for and with kids. This banana car with strawberry wheels and a graham cracker bear driver is but one option. (photo from helloyummy.co)

If I had a dollar for every time I heard a parent tell their kid to stop playing with their food, I’d be a very rich woman. I might even be able to afford a kosher prime rib roast. That being said, I’m here to tell you that sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to play with your food. Like when there’s a banana strawberry car involved. Or maybe some peanut butter.

Anticipating the visit of my grand-nephew and grand-niece got me thinking about how we could have some fun together in the kitchen – without sending anyone to hospital or having to move afterwards. The 3-year-old, Raphael, loves to help his mom cook and bake, so I figured this would be the perfect way to bond with him. His 1-year-old sister, Ariel, might not be adept enough for the culinary process, but I’m sure she’ll eagerly participate in the finished product.

I think we can all agree that food is more fun when you can play with it. It brings out the inner kid in us, the one who’s just dying to squish mashed potatoes through our teeth. Unseemly behaviour for an adult? Sure. Have we all done it? You betcha. And who among us hasn’t rolled Wonderbread into soft little balls? The fact that edible toys are, for the most part, healthy, is a win-win. You just need to make good food choices.

For the super-fun banana car snack I found online (helloyummy.co) all you need is a banana, a couple of strawberries, some peanut butter to attach the “wheels” to the body of the banana car and a graham cracker “driver” (an animal cracker hippo or elephant works perfectly well, too). As for the strawberry “wheels” you could replace them with thick slices of kiwi, mango or even grapes. If you really want to get decadent, you could dip the banana wheels into melted chocolate, add a red licorice tailpipe, or tuck some raisins or blueberries into the “wheels” to simulate hubcaps. The possibilities are truly endless.

While the original recipe calls for using toothpicks to attach the wheels to the body of the car, I’m hesitant to do that, considering there’s a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old involved. It’s a foregone recipe for disaster.

Instead, I’m sticking with peanut butter as the adhesive (a glob of cream cheese could also work in a pinch). And, yes, I checked with their mom first to make sure neither of them is allergic to peanuts. Given that both kids were practically weaned on Bamba (the peanut-flavoured melt-in-your-mouth Israeli snack food), I figured I was safe on that count, but it’s always good to check with the parents.

Since I’m not sure of the practical play factor of these banana car snacks, there won’t be any makeshift racetracks as part of this edible experiment. (Will the wheels even turn? I doubt it.) Although I did see lots of great ideas on Google and Instagram.

Lucky for me that little Raphael and Ariel are the opposite of picky eaters. In fact, they’ll pretty much devour anything in sight. It doesn’t matter how esoteric, spicy, slimy, crunchy or smelly it is, they’re game to try it. And, if you transform the food into some kind of  insect, animal or character they recognize, even better. All it takes is a bit of ingenuity and some basic foodstuffs. The look of sheer wonder on a kid’s face when they see an insect made out of celery, apples and pretzels, and then you tell them they can eat it – well, nothing beats that.

So, go ahead and play with your food, make mealtime and snack time fun, and let your imagination soar. It’s unquestionably a healthier choice than plopping kids down in front of a screen, plus it encourages innovation, resourcefulness and artistic expression.

Aside from fun food snacks, I’m a bit addicted to Instagram for all the cool DIY toys you can make for toddlers and preschoolers using nothing more than leftover paper towel rolls, ping pong balls, a plastic straw, a bit of tape and some kids scissors. As a former children’s librarian, I have all sorts of craft tricks up my sleeve, and I love the uniqueness of homemade toys. But I definitely need a craft refresh now and again.

I’m always a little disheartened by the number of adults whose go-to gifts involve ordering overpriced toys online. I know that not everyone has the time or inclination to make a gift, but I sometimes think our culture has just gotten lazy. And how many times have you seen a well-intentioned adult (with a lot of disposable income) buy a 2-year-old a $75 toy only to have the kid show more interest in the box or the bubble wrap? Expensive does not always equate to fabulous toys. Put some time and thoughtfulness into it, and I guarantee your DIY gift will be memorable.

The second summer of the pandemic, I made a bunch of felt animals for then-2-year-old Raphael and, according to his parents, he loved them. He’d stick them on any surface within reach, and they were a great way to learn animal names and have fun doing it. I’m not saying they were newsworthy, but they were all handmade with love.

And making them was not as onerous as you might think. Just find some free templates on Google, print them out, buy some felt and glue at the dollar store, do some tracing, and boom – you’ve got yourself some mighty fine felt board animals. Aside from putting them on surfaces throughout the house, you can cover a poster-size piece of corrugated plastic with felt (again, dollar store material) and use the animals to make up stories on the board.

It’s my belief that, if you make it, they will come. If you buy it, they may just play with the box instead. See you at the grocery or dollar store.

Shelley Civkin, aka the Accidental Balabusta, is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the Richmond Review. She’s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.

Format ImagePosted on July 7, 2023July 6, 2023Author Shelley CivkinCategories LifeTags Accidental Balabusta, children, cooking, crafts, kids
A foolproof eggplant recipe

A foolproof eggplant recipe

Rebbetzin Chanie’s eggplant dish is “super-easy and ridiculously yummy.” (photo by Shelley Civkin)

A recent Shabbat dinner with Rabbi Yechiel and Chanie Baitelman and a few other guests was like waking into the light after being in darkness for three years. The isolation brought on by COVID, compounded by health issues leaving us feeling vulnerable, resulted in Harvey and I spending every Shabbat and all Jewish holidays by ourselves for three long years. It was our first Shabbat “out in the open” and we couldn’t have asked for a warmer or more welcoming environment.

Observant, but not very much so, Harvey and I are used to lighting Shabbat candles, and he always reads Eishes Chayil (Woman of Valour) to me. But that’s pretty much all we do on Shabbat. So it was truly a delight to spend it with the rabbi and Chanie, their two youngest children, and a few others. The Shabbat rituals added much to the sanctity of the evening, and reminded me why we do what we do, and why Jews are G-d’s chosen people. The singing, the chatting – really, just the feeling of being “home” – all contributed to this intimate and freilach (joyous) evening. And then there was the food.

No Jewish celebration is complete without spectacular homemade food. And Chanie hit all the right notes on that count. We started out the meal with a bunch of small dishes, including the best eggplant dish I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. There was also baked fish, another eggplant dip, a gorgeous salad, freshly baked challah and an Israeli couscous salad. And that was just to start! Having been a guest at their home before, I knew that this was just the beginning, and that I should pace myself. Juicy, delicious Shabbos chicken followed, along with zucchini and onion quiche.

The star of the show for me, though, was Chanie’s Middle Eastern eggplant dish, which is the stuff that Jewish dreams are made of. People always say delicious food is “to die for!” but, really, the saying should be: “It’s to live for!” Naturally, I asked Chanie for the recipe and she admitted that she doesn’t really use one, which is why it tastes different every time she makes it. I tried to nail her down, as I wasn’t about to let this amazing dish get away. A couple of days later, and after a lot of question-asking and prodding, she relented and texted me the ingredients. No measurements. Just ingredients. Her directions to me were simple: “Just taste it as you go along.” Not unlike what our grandmothers did. But this is not something you say to someone like me, who’s a bit compulsive, and a stickler for a recipe. Needless to say, I was a bit flustered by the meagre directions.

Not to be daunted by a challenge though, I did what I rarely do – I winged it. With great trepidation, I might add. Chanie’s eggplant dish was so spectacular that I just knew I had to figure it out on my own, no matter how many tries it took. And, whaddaya know, I hit it out of the ballpark on the first go! And now, as humbly as possibly, I will share (to the best of my memory) the ingredients and measurements that I recall, and if it doesn’t work out … well … just try again. All measurements are approximate. As if that helps.

REBBETZIN CHANIE’S EGGPLANT
(makes enough for four as a side dish)

3 smallish eggplants, cubed and with skin on
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 heaping tbsp tomato paste
2 heaping tbsp honey or date syrup (I used honey)
large handful of parsley, finely chopped
pepper to taste

Dice unpeeled eggplants into small cubes and sprinkle generously with olive oil. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of oil. Then sprinkle with salt. Bake at 375°F. until very soft, about 40 minutes. Turn it halfway through.

While the eggplant is baking, fry up minced garlic in a good amount of olive oil. Once it starts to brown, turn the heat down and add lemon juice, cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, tomato paste, honey or date syrup, and pepper. As you fry it up, taste it and adjust accordingly. There won’t be a lot of sauce but, trust me, the flavour is enough to permeate all of the eggplant.

Once the eggplant is nice and soft, mix it in with the garlic and tomato paste mixture, add the parsley, and you’re good to go. This dish is spectacular on its own, or with challah or focaccia to soak up the oil. It’s great served hot but it’s even better served cold the next day, once the flavours have had a chance to meld and marry. My husband declared it “company worthy” and hopes I’ll make it daily. Nice try, honey.

What I like about this dish is that it’s super-easy and ridiculously yummy – it’s sweet, smoky and slightly tart all at once. It’s also very oily, but that’s part of its Middle Eastern charm. You can adjust the amount you use, as eggplant tends to suck it up like a sponge. In our household though, you can never have enough olive oil.

I served this eggplant dish with steak, but it would go well with pasta, fish, rice, chicken or pretty much anything. Chanie told me that she makes up a big batch of the garlic tomato paste mixture and freezes it, so that when she’s in the mood for eggplant, all she has to do is cube the eggplant, bake it and add it to her defrosted pre-made “sauce” mixture. If I were a store or a restaurant, I’d put a money-back guarantee on this dish. Short of outrageously over-spicing it, you really can’t go wrong. I mean, it’s eggplant after all. The nightshade superstar. Enough said. Go dice your eggplant and call me when it’s done. I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll even bring the bread.

Shelley Civkin, aka the Accidental Balabusta, is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the Richmond Review. She’s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.

Format ImagePosted on June 9, 2023June 8, 2023Author Shelley CivkinCategories LifeTags Accidental Balabusta, Chanie Baitelman, cooking, eggplant, Judaism, lifestyle, Shabbat

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