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 I got a girl for…

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?…

Salad Out of Nothing

In Odessa, they used to say that a woman can make three things out of nothing: a hat, a salad, and an argument with her husband. My grandmother had a different saying; she taught me that a true Jewish balabusteh (lady of the house) should be able to make six family dinners out of one…

Mangold Pasta – Feel Like a Roman

I like browsing through recipes online, especially Russian and Ukrainian ones where I sometimes derive comfort from finding old favorites and often learn something new. That’s how one day I came across Mangold Salad. It looked interesting, so I googled it – in English. According to Wikipedia, it was simply Swiss chard. Back to the…

Kartofel’niki – Sweet Potato Zrazy with Mushrooms

Of all my historical anecdotes, this one is, probably, the most outrageous. Catherine the Medici, the Dowager Queen of France, mother of a succession of three kings, spared no expense (and no intrigue!) to secure kingdoms for all her boys. When the throne of Poland became available, she bought it for her favorite son, the…

Go Cuban – Rice with Black Beans

One of the world’s largest, unprecedented in history political exodus of unaccompanied minors happened barely fifty five years ago, right at our back door, from Cuba to South Florida. Called “Operation Pedro Pan” and kept in secrecy for many years, for fear of political retributions to those families who remained in Cuba, it brought over…

Mushroom Barley Soup

Traditional Jewish comfort food, with history more ancient and undoubtedly more venerable than the ubiquitous “Jewish penicillin” – chicken soup, Mushroom Barley soup was served in my family during the holiday of Sukkos, the final one of the series of High Holidays. The end of October – beginning of November was already pretty chilly, so…

Pozharski Cutlets

There was a Prince Pozharski, a famous personage who, together with a commoner Kuz’ma Minin, successfully defeated the false pretender to the throne Dimitry, rolled back a Polish-Lithuanian army and effectively cleared 17th century Russia of foreign invaders. Here you can see the famous monument to both of them on the Red Square where sculptor…

Korean Beet Salad

This is probably the shortest post I’ve written so far. It’s like those before and after pictures – good for a contrast between the two of them, and there is nothing more to say. Here are Harry, Ron, and Hermione before, ready for all kinds of exciting adventures. Many adventures, harrowing escapes, and life lessons…

Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes

In Russia, they used to believe that the French did not eat buckwheat but fed it to the frogs.  A rumor circulated in the early 20th, during the “Dictatorship of Military Communism” (Karl Marx’ concept implemented by Lenin) that one day Konstantin Stanislavsky, the renown theater director, received a parcel from Paris delivered by a…

Fish Rollatini

My granddaughter has informed me that she adores Catherine de Medici. Arguing with teenagers is the most futile endeavor in the world, but I couldn’t stop myself from casually dropping, “She was a mass murderess, you know. How do you feel about The Night of St Bartholomew?”  That was ignored, I as had expected. I…