The Holy Hole-less Doughnuts

When Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden in a hurry, they hadn’t thought of packing a lunch box. Supposedly, He Who had kicked them out, sent them a comfort parcel with a dozen hole-less doughnuts filled with jam. Yum! The Hebrew word for doughnut, sufgania, is here presented as an abbreviation of…

Ukrainian Borsht for Sultana

Nobody seems to know where the word borscht came from. The best guess is that it is a combination of schti(Russian cabbage soup) and buryak (beetroot in Ukrainian).  It is first mentioned in the legend about the two-month siege of the Ukrainian fortress Rohatyn by the Crimean offshoot of the Turkish army in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Trying…

Coconut Latkes Full of Light

On the second night of Chanukkah, two lights are on, spreading their warmth and glow throughout the house.  We use the old-fashioned olive oil and wicks, rather than candles, as it has been done since that original cruse of oil in the Temple that lasted for eight days (for explanation of Chanukkah miracle of oil, please see But Hannah…

Pollo Fritto Artistico

Tonight is the first night of Chanukkah. I am repeating a Florentine Chanukkah recipe that I published quite a while ago. Happy Chanukkah – enjoy! I have a long-standing love affair with Florence, Italy. It is my second favorite city in the world, after Yerushalayim, or course, and on par with my native Odessa. Listen…

How Stanislavsky Ate the Grandmother

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
Technically, these are also retchene latkes, even though they don’t look or taste anything like my grandmother’s stellar creations. What makes them different is a ton of plump juicy HUGE blueberries which we obviously did not have in Russia in December. Enjoy this healthy treat, Beautiful People, and don’t forget, Kool…

Gambling for Education and Retchene Latkes

To continue with the story of Chanukkah and latkes, Judea was eventually captured by the Romans. Some of the Roman rulers could care less about various religions of the occupied territories, or provinces, as long as the taxes were collected regularly and accurately. Some others, however, persecuted Jews relentlessly; Emperor Hadrian even earned the nickname “Destroyer of the…

“All You Need Is Love” – Zoodles, Part 4. Chocoodles.

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
This might be a difficult concept to understand, but love is an obligation, a duty. This is contrary to the image created by popular culture, from Ancient Greeks and Romans, to Shakespeare, to romantic movies on Netflix. The mythical Amur, or Cupid, is a cute mischievous child armed with bow and…

Divine Tenor’s Favorite Dish

Enrico Caruso was born in Naples at the end of 19th century. He is considered by many “the greatest tenor ever lived.” His divine voice an exquisite presence on stage captivated opera audiences all over the world. This is an excerpt from The Great Caruso, a biographical film made in 1951, starring Mario Lanza, a…

But Hannah Did Not Have Potatoes! Latkes with a Tropical Twist.

Chanukkah is coming, and kids are looking forward to stuffing their faces with latkes – potato pancakes. When I was growing up, we had all kinds of latkes on Chanukkah, and sometimes my grandmother skipped the deruny (potato latkes) altogether because of the variety of other, more interesting ones: carrots with apples, zucchini with raisins, and my father’s favorite rechene (buckwheat) latkes. When a guest inquired about…

Placinda – Flaky Pumpkin Pie

A prominent Rabbi picks up an apple, pronounces the appropriate blessing, and bites into it. One of his students also picks up an apple, mutters a blessing, and takes a bite. Then he stops and asks: “Rabbi, what is the difference between you and me eating an apple? We both say the same blessing, yet…

Cranberry Pizza for Thanksgiving

Happy National Cranberry Day, Beautiful People (https://foodimentary.com/november-holidays)! And a very happy Thanksgiving, of course! Dear Beautiful People, I am cheating! I don’t have a step-by-step set of photographs of this crazy creation because I’ll assemble it tomorrow, right before serving. All I have is my cranberry sauce, ready for tomorrow. However, I promised a recipe…

Sweet Rose of Thanks

This beautiful rose and a beautiful sentiment by Paolo Coelho is for all of you, Beautiful People, with all my love and best wishes for Thanksgiving! I also have a delicious sweet potato rose to grace your table with love and heartfelt promises. I have been asked to post “something new to do with sweet…