My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 1, Round Challah.

Years ago, when my grandmother was still around, it has occurred to me that only my mother and I knew her recipes, and we knew them by heart; they were not written anywhere. I decided to write them down, organizing them by Jewish holidays. Then my memories took over, plunging me into family stories, and…

Elephants in War, Opera, and Instant Pot

Don’t worry, Beautiful People, I am not cooking elephants! Ancient Greece is famous for great art, great culture, great poets and philosophers, and last but definitely not least, Alexander the Great. There are many sculptural portraits of Alexander III of Macedonia, some of them idealized as was the prevalent style in the Golden Age of…

The Scone of Stone

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
The Scone of Stone was stolen! It was stolen from the most unexpected and the best guarded place, The Dwarf Bread Museum. Of course, dwarf breads were substantially different from our breads; that is, different in substance. In fact, they included gravel as one of the main ingredients. According to the…

Pyshka – Sweet Roll and a Baby Kitten

Calling all cats and their humans: HAPPY INTERNATIONAL CAT DAY! To celebrate, I am repeating a post I wrote four years ago, when little Pyshka was about four weeks old. Now she is a big and beautiful four-year old kitty girl, heavier than Auntie Beba, who is 12, but still playful and mischievous like a…

Cold Red Borscht

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
I am sure most of you, beautiful people, know what a borscht is. I am equally sure that everybody has a different idea of what it is. It reminds me of the four blind men and the elephant story: remember how each one of them felt a certain part of the…

The Rivers of Exile: Nine-Day Pie

I repeat this post every year at this time, and with it, I wish all those of you, Beautiful People, who observe this tragic day of mourning, an easy and meaningful fast. Traveling through the streets of Paris with his entourage, Napoleon passed a synagogue and heard heart-wrenching wailing from within. “Why are my Jews…

Chocolate on Chocolate with Extra Blessings

Happy World Chocolate Day, Beautiful People! Jewish people are obligated to say one hundred blessings every day, and observant Jews are making every effort to do it, well, religiously. There are two reasons for it. First, in Deuteronomy, Moses poses a rhetorical question to the people:”What does G-d ask of you?” Says the Talmud that the word…

Fishy Mystery

I have a three-volume set of Confucius teachings. Years ago, when we were all young and passionate, and tended to argue earth-shattering issues till wee hours of the morning, with guitars and Georgian wines (that’s a country, not a state), sometimes, when an argument hit a dead-end and voices got hoarse, one of us would…

Magic Curried Mushrooms

Why did people in Ancient Egypt call mushrooms “the plant of immortality”? Did they truly believe that eating mushrooms would make them immune to human frailties, deceases, and ultimately, departing this world? Not really. They never had a chance to see for themselves because the pharaohs loved mushrooms so much that they declared it royal…

Parval Sabzi Try

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
Yes, beautiful people, I mean it. It’s not a typo. I mean “try,” not “fry.” Who am I to presume to attempt an authentic Indian recipe? I can only try. This is what happened. I was finally so consumed with curiosity that I made a trip to Fort Lauderdale and went…

Say CHEESE for Shavuos!

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
Contrary to all other Jewish holidays, when we prepare festive meals that include both fish and meat, signifying rejoicing in His benevolence that grants us abundance, traditional Shavuos table is laden with dairy dishes, from blintzes to cheesecakes, and anything milky delicious you can think of.  One of the reasons for…

Fruit Rainbow: Light, Love, Laugh

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…