Shlissel Challah – a Key to Wisdom

Controversy is raging around this tradition, dating back to Middle Ages. Since we have laboriously and thoroughly divested our homes of all leavened bread in order to celebrate Passover, as we are commanded, Jewish women are faced with a task of baking the first challahs of the year. So we get creative and insert a…

A Joke a Day Keeps Unhappiness Away

Originally posted on Lasting Joy Club:
With an apology for yet another glitch caused by technology sabotaging my work, I am happy to report to you, Beautiful People, that our May Lasting Joy club get-together was successful, inspirational, and a lot of fun. In addition to club members who were physically present, the number of…

Blogiversary with Chocolate Tacos

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
Happy Cinco de Mayo, Beautiful People! It coincided with my blogiversary – a year since I clicked on wordpresss.com and jumped into the blogosphere without the slightest notion as to what to do and what to expect.  I thank all of you, awesome bloggers, for letting me learn from you and…

United Colors of a Rainbow

A beautiful shimmering symbol of peace, both a natural phenomenon and a Divine promise to protect and preserve the world, the rainbow is a living statement, a map, if you will, of what really transpires in our lives.  A rainbow is formed when pure white light refracts into seven shades. Red is nearest the original…

Light the Bonfire of Love with Chocolate Logs!

Happy Mother’s Day, Beautiful People! Our sages said, “Who is wise? One who learns from every person” (Ethics of Our Fathers, 4:1). The first person in our lives we have a chance to learn from is MOTHER. From her we learn kindness, caring, and most importantly, unconditional love. Sometimes, it’s not a biological mother who does…

Zucchini Caviar from Beyond the Sea

Tzar Ivan the Terrible was a cruel tyrant. Everybody knows that. And just like many things that “everybody knows” and thus nobody questions, the sobriquet “Terrible” should be taken with a grain of salt. Since we are in the middle of Pesach (Passover), I recommend Kosher for Passover Red Sea Salt. True, he did accidentally kill his son…

Hello, Stranger, Have Some Soup!

Passover starts tonight, and the most important part of the celebration is called a Seder which means order. The order is prescribed in a little book called Haggada that we read at the table. The most important part of that is called Maggid which is the actual story of redemption and exodus from Egypt.  And the most important part of the…

Preserving Jews and All Sorts of Fish: Escabeche

An innovative and highly profitable method of borrowing money was practiced by King Edward I of England: you borrow from the Jews, as there was no one else to borrow from (usury was forbidden by the church), then, since legally all Jews were the King’s property, all debts payable to them instantly become payable to…

Coconut Chocolate Macaroon Muffins by Necessity

To all of you, Beautiful People, who had wished my oven speedy recovery, I hasten to report that it has finally gotten repaired. Meanwhile, right before it went on strike last week, I had been planning to try out a new Pesach (Passover) dessert recipe, while, at the same time, getting rid of sundry leftovers…

Smorgasbord Afternoon Video – Something for #chocolate lovers

Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Thanks to   Scrumdiddlyumptious 

Growing Super Soup

Generations of kids grew up hearing about the super-power of spinach. Of course! They were told by the most reliable authority: A can of spinach – and Popeye The Sailor Man was ready to defeat all the wrongdoers of the world! Without a doubt, spinach has powerful properties, essential for our health, but so do…

Eat Your Beer

Beer is liquid bread. They discovered it in Ancient Mesopotamia, when someone was grinding barley (some sources claim it was wheat), and the rain started. That “someone” ran into the house, got busy with other household chores, and forgot about the unfinished job. A few days later, she happened to walk by that place (yes,…