Essig Fleish and the Meaning of Life

Of all Rosh Hashana foods, this is the most significant, at least in my family tradition. It is only made once a year, and it requires plenty of time and patience. The name, derived from German, actually means “vinegared meat”, but there is no vinegar involved. It is rather sweet, especially in my grandmother’s interpretation,…

Let’s Play Ball!

Chicken soup without kneidlach (matzoh balls) is like Batman without Robin, Superman without a cape, Harry Potter without Ron and Hermaine – I think I’ll stop right here and go on with the recipe. I’ve heard from so many people that they have never managed to make fluffy matzoh balls, and  – eureka! – I…

Yukh – A One-Eyed Soup

You’ve heard of a one-armed bandit, but what about a one-eyed soup? Hershele of Ostropol, a famous prankster and jester who lived about 200 years ago (I believe I’ve mentioned him before), traveled to another town and went to an inn. “Do you have a yukh – chicken soup?” – he inquired. “But of course,…

Fun-gi

Originally posted on brianandlily:
Dolly from koolkosherkitchen has asked me to write something for her blog. Which was as flattering as it was intimidating. She envelops her wonderful recipes in the most beautiful stories, not always just about food. I will not be able to live up to the expectations of her readers, I’m afraid. …

Tzimmes mit Fasoles – Red Beans with Honey

The word Tzimmes insinuated itself into languages of all countries where Jews have lived during the two thousand years of exile. Its meaning evolved from something sweet eaten on Rosh Hashana with a hope for a sweet year to anything sweet, delicious, beautiful, a bargain, an advantageous deal, etc. “Have a got a girl for…

Onik Leikach – Honey Cake

Honey cakes are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashana. Onik is Yiddish for honey, and Leikach  is most probably derived from German leck – lick, as in “licking the honey.” That’s easy. We use honey all over the place on Rosh Hashana in order to have a sweet year; we even wish each other “a zis…

Gefilte Fish Heads the Year

How do you recognize a Jewish fish? It swims with a carrot in its mouth. I think this joke is older than the gefilte fish itself.  In truth, even though eating fish on Erev Shabbos  (Friday night) and holidays is an ancient custom that had been developed for several reasons, the actual gefilte (stuffed) fish…

Meet and Greet: 09/25/2016

Originally posted on Sherrie's Always Write:
It’s the Meet and Greet weekend!! Ok so here are the rules: Leave a link to your page or post in the comments of this post. Reblog this post.  It helps you, it helps me, it helps everyone! Source: Meet and Greet: Taking the Weekend Off Meet and…

Round Challah for a Sweet Year

We are getting ready for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and we are baking traditional round challahs that symbolize the cyclical nature of life, the end which is also the beginning. There are two statements in this sentence that fall into the “everybody knows” category. However, as everybody knows, most of the things known…

Fast Fish Almondine

This is a fast dish, but a long story, going back to ancient Rome. You think that almondine means “made with almonds,” and you are right. But google it, and you’see a different word – amandine. Google that, and it means – surprise! – made with almonds. Scroll down a little, and the Urban Dictionary…

Oriental Veggie Burgers

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
What is it: big, green, hanging on the wall and squeaking? It’s a herring. Why is it big? It grew that way. Why green? My herring, I paint it the way I want. Why is it hanging on the wall? My herring, I hang it anywhere I want. And why squeaking?…

Update – Fellow Bloggers: “Sharing is Caring” Recipe Exchange

Originally posted on The Recipe Hunter:
    We have received such good and overwhelming response with this “Sharing is Caring” Recipe Exchange project and have thus decided to open up a second slot per week for your Guest Posts. A  will now be released every Tuesday and Friday at ±1 am Vancouver, Canada time.  Yes, I am live in wonderful Vancouver, British Columbia…