My Shavuos Menu

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 this unique menu is explained in…

Chicky Chaulent

On the seventh day of Creation, “G-d blessed the seventh day and He hallowed it, for thereon He abstained from all His work that G-d created to do” (Bereishit 2:3); therefore, He commanded us to “guard and remember” this day called Shabbat, or, in my Eastern European dialect, Shabbos. While most Jews in the “shtetlach”…

Light the Bonfire of Love with Chocolate Logs (reiteration)!

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…

Preserving Jews and All Sorts of Fish: Escabeche (reiteration)

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

Strange Bedfellows: Banana Peanut Butter Bread

Once again, our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com has welcomed me as a guest on his wonderful blog. I managed to get it under the deadline, too; it was published in February, which is a Black History Month, albeit on the last day of it. This is what happens when you teach eight courses, when…

Catherine the Great Needs a Diet (The Tsar Blini)

What would I do without dear Carol of Retired? No one told me! who is on top of every International Food Holiday! Since today is an International Pancakes Day, I am repeating this post about a great woman who loved her pancakes. Well, she loved Tsar Blini, but blini is but a Russian version of…

Chocolate Roses for Valentine’s

I’ve been getting an impression that you, Beautiful People, like reading my historical improvisations more than my recipes. I am happy to accommodate. As we say in Odessa, “If it’s songs you want, I’ve got them for you.” This is Frida Kahlo, a great Mexican artist famous for her self-portraits and paintings of flowers. She…

Thankful Burgers

When we wake up in the morning, we say a simple prayer of gratitude called Modeh Ani (I am thankful), here performed by an Israeli duet Pumpidisa: A couple of weeks ago, while walking by the New World Symphony Garden, my almost-thirteen grandson Ariel was entranced by the rehearsal of Tchaikovsky’s 5th “Winter” Symphony projected…

Going Nuts Over Coffee Chocolate Cake

This is the first time, Beautiful People, that I am answering a challenge published by a blogger. I am only doing it to support a delightful and talented Marla of https://marladragon.wordpress.com/2023/01/23/challenge-for-january-23-2023 who has just come up with her first challenge. Here it is: Consider this challenge a “Wordle” lite. Pick at least three bullets from…

Of Love and War and Broccoli Salad (reiteration)

Once again, I am reprising a guest post written for the best friend of all bloggers, dear Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com. Contrary to George Bush, we love broccoli. Thus we are sincerely grateful to the Etruscans, the famed horticultural geniuses of the ancient world, who “engineered” this “flowering crest of cabbage” – broccolo in Italian – almost 3…

Wondering What Life Is For: Broccoslaw (reiteration)

There is much talk in the blogosphere about post-holiday diets and weight loss goals. Here is a reprise of my guest post, published by our gracious host Renard of https://renardsworld.wordpress.com, describing one of the most effective ancient diets, as well as a new recipe. Zeus was in a quandary. The supreme and most powerful of…

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…