Traditional Sukkos – koolkosherkitchen

Strong and Sweet: Poached Pears (reiteration) and Shabbat Shalom from a Friend

With this post, the last of my holiday posts, I am also starting a new weekly feature, Shabbat Shalom from a Friend, hopefully followed by a recipe. These little nuggets of Shabbos greetings and food for thought are shared by a wonderful new friend who has recently joined our friendly, fun, and funky congregation Chabad…

Silver Chair, Polygamy, and Mount Sinai (reiteration)

Rabbi Gershom ben Yehuda, widely known as Rabbeinu (our teacher) Gershom, lived in the 10th century. He can’t really be called a Renaissance man, since he pre-dated Renaissance by a couple of centuries, so let’s call him a pre-Renaissance man. Like some other medieval Jewish scholars, he was also a scientist, a mathematician, and a physician, and…

Stuffed Peppers – Where Is the Beef? (reiteration)

You think veganism is a recent trend? Think again! You think feminism was invented in the twentieth century? Missed it by about 2400 years! Meet Orpheus, mythical Ancient Greek poet and musician, a hero of one of the best-known love stories of all times (if you are wondering about the black hole behind his lire,…

Tofu Can Bite, Too! (reiteration)

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…

Bitten by a Chicken – Honey Chicken Bites (reiteration)

I have been remiss, Beautiful People, both in reading your posts and answering your kind comments. Please accept my sincere apologies! Once the holidays are over, and I have a chance to catch up with reviewing student papers, I will start catching up with the blogosphere. Meanwhile, here is another holiday recipe. Have you ever…

My Grandmother’s Recipes: Part 8, Quinoa Pomegranate Salad.

This post takes us to the last two of the four holidays: Sukkot (Sukkos) and Simchat Torah (Simhas Torah). It also concludes my story with the celebration of Simhas Torah in Moscow Synagogue. *20. Leader of All Peoples – one of the multitude of epithets Stalin constructed to refer to himself. *21. The Big Brother of All Workers – see *20. *22. Expert of All…

Strong and Sweet: Poached Pears

Holidays are over, yet there is one more recipe for dessert that I usually serve on Shabbos Chol-ha-Moed (in the middle) of Sukkos. “For never was a story of more woeThan this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Do I really have to cite a source for this one? I’d rather have you enjoy the beginning…

Silver Chair, Polygamy, and Mount Sinai

Rabbi Gershom ben Yehuda, widely known as Rabbeinu (our teacher) Gershom, lived in 10th century. He can’t really be called a Renaissance man, since he pre-dated Renaissance by a couple of centuries, so let’s call him a pre-Renaissance man. Like some other medieval Jewish scholars, he was also a scientist, a mathematician, a physician, and as a…

Stuffed Peppers – Where Is the Beef?

Tofu Can Bite, Too!

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…