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…

Pollo Fritto Artistico

Before presenting to you, Beautiful People, a unique Chanukkah recipe originating in Italy and inspired by non-Jews, it is my great pleasure to share a lovely poem composed by a non-Jewish blogofriend Jonathan Coswell who chronicles every day events in limericks. Please click on the link to enjoy the poem and come back for the…

Tofu Can Bite, Too!

When Avrohom (Abraham) Our Father was traveling in the desert, he would make sure to position his tent at the crossroads and make entrances on all four sides, open to travelers coming from every direction. He would then treat them to a sumptuous feast, making sure every guest was offered food of his preference. After…

Count Your Blessings – Quinoa Pomegranate Salad

The Holiday of Sukkos is called Zman Simchoseinu – The Time of Rejoicing.  We are commanded to rejoice for eight days, and to do it outside, open to elements. For the duration of this holiday, eight days, we dwell in the sukkah – a booth, or tent, erected outside. Some people actually sleep in the sukkah, but we only eat there. During this…

Mushroom Barley Soup

We are not done with holidays yet, Beautiful People! On Sunday, we start Sukkos (Sukkot), the Holiday of Booths, that lasts for eight days and concludes the High Holidays. Throughout next week, I will be repeating some of my Sukkos recipes. Traditional Jewish comfort food, with history more ancient and undoubtedly more venerable than the…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 7, Strudel.

This Sunday we start celebrating a series of holidays commonly called The High Holidays. In Yiddish, we simply say Yontoivim – The Holidays,  and everybody understands which holidays are meant. That’s because there are four holidays that follow each other not only on the calendar, but also in meaning and significance. In this chapter, you will see the…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 6, Main Course.

The story of Odessa synagogue and the unsavory characters who ran it continues in this chapter (click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 7). *Top of this page was included in Part 5 * 16. Alexander Matrosov – a World War II military hero who sacrificed his life by putting his body in front of the embrasure…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 5, Soup

My grandparents’ teenage romance continues in this chapter (click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6, Part 7). *This is not an error; I included the top of the next page in order to finish a paragraph and to leave you, Beautiful People, in suspense.  The synagogue story will continue next week. 11.  Mazel Tov – Congratulations (lit. Good Luck)…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 3, Appetizers.

We are up to holiday appetizers and Part 3 of my story, Beautiful People (click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7). 3. Hassidic Jews – from Hassidism, a religious movement originated in Southern Poland in 18th century 4. Reds – supporters of the Red (Bolshevik, later Communist) Army 5. Whites – supporters of the…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 2, Leikach.

We continue to delve into my grandmother’s holiday menu, as well as my story, with Part 2. If you missed Part 1, please go here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. 2. Tzaddik – a righteous person, outstanding for his faith and piety. This part comes with…

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…

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

It has been popularly reported that the Nazis ordered all Danish Jews to wear an identifying yellow star, as elsewhere in Nazi controlled territories. In some versions of the story, King Christian X opted to wear such a star himself and the Danish people followed his example, thus making the order unenforceable (Wikipedia). Here is…