Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Finger Citron or "Buddha's Hand"






Will you look at this thing?!? The phrases “get a load of” and “have a shifty at” seem suddenly pale and inadequate to the task of carrying on about this multi-limbed citron I picked up at a local grocer recently. This is a finger citron or Buddha’s hand, Citrus Medica Digitata, or Citrus medica sarcodactylus, a close relative of Citrus medica ethrog, commonly known as esrik. They are permitted for ceremonial use on sikes (under certain circumstances).

I love having this thing around and just looking at it, but I am going to have to do something with the monster pretty soon. I will probably infuse a couple of bottles of vodka and then candy the rind. I wish I could candy the whole thing without cutting it up, but can’t handle that project right now. I will let you know what happens and I will bring along the vodka to the next person who invites me over.

Look at more pictures! Wow! Here’s an enthusiastic review of Buddha’s hand flavored vodka, which oddly enough assumes that the reader knows exactly what kind of fruit a Buddha’s hand is. You can buy sauce made with buddha’s hand at Local Harvest, and plant your own BH tree (or esrik tree). Have a shifty at these facsinating pages of unusual citrus (our guy is on page three, but see pages one and two as well).

This charming article by David Karp says our guy looks like a “cross between a giant squid and a lemon.” David Lebovitz found these lovely chocolate-dipped citrons last week. Harmonic esrik convergence or hashgokhe protis? I think this must be their peak season. Could it be that sikes is too early for really ripe citrons? This citron is far more lushly fragrant than any sikes-esrik I have ever encountered and I suspect they may have been underripe. Maybe we do need calendar reform.

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Monday, November 28, 2005

Late November health tonic


If by chance anyone is recovering from immoderate indulgence this week, I recommend this potion. I have no idea if it works or not, but it probably can’t hurt.

Late November health tonic


1 cup pot-liquor, left over from cooking collards or kale
1 sprig parsley
one small garlic clove smashed, but not peeled
juice from one small beet
3 drops Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 or 2 tablespoons water, to taste

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Pumpkin with cornbread stuffing



It would have been more public-spirited to post this recipe last Wednesday, but, you see, I didn’t know this recipe last Wednesday. I had been thinking about perhaps underlining the coconut in the cornbread by seasoning the stuffing with peanuts and cilantro, but I will have to try that another time.
Pumpkin with cornbread stuffing
1 jarrahdale pumpkin, cheese pumpkin or hubbard squash, any size you need.
Salt, pepper, paprika, wine or vinegar
1 coconut cornbread, minus a few snacks for the chef, about eight ounces, cut into cubes.
About eight ounces (six slices) toasted whole wheat sourdough bread, or any other kind of bread, cut into cubes.
Olive oil
One medium to large onion diced (1 ½ cups)
5 or six ribs of celery diced (1 ½ cups)
3-5 carrots diced (1 ½ cups)
½ of one large red chile, diced
2 eight-ounce packages wild rice tempeh, or any tempeh, cubed or crumbled
balsamic vinegar
1 more onion, diced
5 or 6 eggs
salt, pepper, Tabasco, shoyu and soymilk
½ teaspoon thyme
Wash the outside of the pumpkin and place it in a pyrex baking dish so that it has just a little space around the sides. Poke a few holes around the area you will later cut out the lid. Place the pumpkin into the 425 degree oven in which you are baking the cornbread. When the cornbread comes out, lower heat to 350 and continue baking until pumpkin is tender.
When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, cut a round lid out of the top and scoop out seeds and strings. Season the inside and lid with salt, pepper and paprika, remembering to tilt the pumpkin to get at the walls. Rub seasoning into the flesh gently with your fingers. Put a few tablespoons of wine or wine vinegar into the cavity. Pour a bit onto the underside of the lid. Tilt the pumpkin occasionally as you work so that the wine soaks into all sides.
Toast the cornbread cubes in a slow oven for about 45 minutes. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add the diced onion, celery, chile and carrots and cook until tender and just barely golden. Set aside.
Put some more oil into the skillet and cook the tempeh over high heat until deeply auburn. When the tempeh is done and the pan is quite hot, quickly pour in about ½ cup balsamic vinegar. Allow to cool.
In a large bowl, combine cornbread, bread cubes, tempeh, the cooked onion mixture, and the raw diced onion. Toss well to mix. Beat the eggs and season with salt, shoyu, soymilk, Tabasco, and pepper. Add eggs to bread mixture and mix gently but thoroughly. Crumble in the thyme. Taste and correct seasoning.
Loosely spoon stuffing into the pumpkin. Resist strenuously the urge to pack more stuffing into the pumpkin. Spoon leftover stuffing (of which you will have lots, unless your pumpkin is bloody enormous) into shallow baking dishes and cover the dishes with foil (or leave them uncovered for crispier out-of-body-stuffing). Place the pumpkin and out-of-body-stuffing in the oven and bake at 350 for about an hour depending on the size of your pumpkin.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Coconut Cornbread



This just came out of the oven and smell is intoxicating. The exquisite Jessica Harris has a recipe for sweet coconut cornbread in Sky Juice and Flying Fish, which made me think about making a savory version that could be made into stuffing.
Coconut cornbread
3 tablespoons oil (safflower or other neutral oil, or coconut oil if you have some)
EITHER Two cups cornmeal mix OR
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons ground coconut(optional)
1 ½ cups coconut milk, or 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 egg
½ of one large red chile, diced
Preheat oven to 425. Put the oil in a nine-inch cast-iron skillet and place in the oven. Sift together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the beaten egg with the coconut milk and diced chile and pour into a well in the dry ingredients. Mix gently. Pour the hot oil into the batter and scrape the batter into the hot skillet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden around the edges.
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Harris, Jessica B. Sky Juice and Flying Fish : Traditional Caribbean Cooking. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.

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What kind of kitchen utensil are you? (I am a "fridge")

I am a fridge!

This quiz is very funny and alarmingly accurate. Here are my results:

"You are a fridge! You can keep your cool, even when faced with a heated situation. You enjoy being the center of attention, and people come to you for advice or when they want something. People also like to stick things to the front of your body."

Try the quiz here: What kind of kitchen utensil are you?

Thursday, November 17, 2005

דער הדרסטער הדר

גיטס נאָר אַ קוק אױף דעם. אַ שהחינו איז װײַט נישט גענוג. איך דאַרף בענטשן עשׂה מעשׂה בראשית. אױבן איז אַ פֿינגער־אתרוג, אַ װײניק־באַקאַנטער (כאָטש בײַ מיר װײניק־באַקאַנטער) װאַריעטעט פֿון אתרוג. ער איז יאָ אַן אתרוג, אָבער, און ער איז יאָ מותּר צו די ארבע־מינים (אָדער אפֿשר נישט. גײ װײס). איך האָב אים צופֿעליק געפֿונען הײַנט בײַ נאַכט אין אַ געװײנלעכער שפּײַז־קראָם דאָ אין געגנט. ער פּאַרפֿומירט שױן די גאַנצע שטוב. דער ריך איז שטאַרקער, רונדער, און זיסער װי בײַ אַ געװײנלעכן אתרג. דאָס איז די מוראדיקסטע פּרי װאָס איך האָב אין לעבן געהאַט פֿאַר די אױגן.

איך האָב אַ מאָל געלײענט אַ מעשׂה פֿון י.ל. פּרץ װעגן אַ ייִד אַ גבֿיר װאָס האָט דעם „הדרסטן הדר אין שטעטל.“ איך װײס נישט צי דער פֿינגער־אתרוג איז דער „הדרסטער“ צי דער שרעקלעכסטער. ער איז אַן אתרוג שכּלו פּיִטום! זעטס נאָר װי די װעלט איז באַשאַפֿן געװאָרן!




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Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Jarrahdale pumpkin



Please meet some of the pumpkins and squashes from Maxwell Farm, at Union Square New York on Mondays. The blue lobed pumpkin in the center is the one I took home. According Elizabeth Schneider’s vegetable book, this is a Jarrahdale Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima, hundert-funtike dinye). This variety has the purest deepest clearest flavor of any of the pumpkins. It seems so mild, but steely strength is wrapped up in its purity and clarity. It is the Lillian Gish of pumpkins.
Almost all recipes will tell you to cut open the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds and fibers before baking. I find that it is easier for me to put the whole pumpkin in the oven in a pyrex pie plate of a suitable diameter and then eviscerate the pumpkin when it is nice and soft. The only thing you need to watch is that the whole pumpkin will exude lots of water while baking, so you need to tip the dish and drain it out once or twice during baking. This is still easier than breaking into a honking great pumpkin.
You can use the baked and drained pulp for pies, pumpkin cheesecake (recipe coming soon), or The Chocolate Lady’s gorgeous pumpkin challah, but this pumpkin is so pretty that I like even more to keep it whole and fill it with my grandmother’s cornflake stuffing and braised wild rice tempeh. Here's the challah recipe for now:
Pumpkin Koyletsh or Khale (Challah)
(yummy, meltingly toothsome, yellow as yellow can be)
½ cup water
3 packages yeast
1 cup Jarrahdale pumpkin pulp (or cheese pumpkin or butternut squash pulp)
1/4 cup olive oil or other oil
1 ½ eggs
4 yolks
1 tablespoon salt
¼ cup honey
6 cups bread flour
½ egg
1 teaspoon water
poppy seeds (or sesame, maybe a few pumpkin seeds)
Sprinkle yeast over warm water in mixing bowl and allow to proof. Add oil, salt, sugar, pumpkin and eggs and mix well. Add the flour and mix and knead until a stiff dough forms. Set aside and allow to raise in an oiled bowl about one hour or until doubled in size. Divide into twelve pieces and roll each piece into a smooth seamless sphere. Roll each dough lump slightly to elongate. Go back to dough lump number one and roll each one a little more. Continue until you have twelve ropes about 12-15 inches long. Braid into two khales of six strands each.. To braid six strands, fasten them at the top, then move the leftmost rope to the center, and the rightmost but one to the left. Then move the rightmost to the center, and the leftmost but one to the right. Continue to the bottom and pinch the ends together.
Allow the khales to rest 40 minutes or so. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush with remaining half egg beaten with a teaspoon of water and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 30 minutes or until brown.
This recipe, along with some wonderful pictures, appears in Yiddish here.
Bonus Lillian Gish trivia: “Lillian Gish” is Cockney rhyming slang for “fish” See the Cockney Bible eg: “They told 'im, ‘We've got five loaves of Uncle Fred and two Lillian Gish’.”
Have a shifty at pictures of some squash varieties.

Schneider, Elizabeth. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini : The Essential Reference : 500 Recipes and 275 Photographs. 1st ed. New York: Morrow, 2001.

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Monday, November 14, 2005

אַז נישט קײן זמירות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט




אַז נישט קײן זמירות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט, װאָס זשע זינגט מען אױף דער װעלט? אַז נישט קײן ייִדיש צוזאַמען מיטן געלט, װי אַזױ רעדן ייִדן אױף דער װעלט? שױן. אָט זענען די װערטער פֿון „אַז נישט קײן אמונה“ זײער אַ באַליבט זמרל. איך האָב דאָס ערשט געהערט פֿון מײשקע אַלפּערטן אין דער ייִװאָ זומער פּראָגראַם מיט יאָרן צוריק. דאָס זמרל געפֿינט זיך אין „זמירות ישׂראל באידיש“ אַנדערע נוסחים קען מען געפֿינען אױף „ייִדישע קאַלסיקס ג פֿון סוקי און דינג“ און אַ זמר װאָס האָט ענלעכע װערטער געפֿינט זיך אױפֿן „זמירות פּראָיעקט

אַז נישט קײן אמונה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע אַרבעטסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
בינה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע ברױכסטו די גאַנצע װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
גמילות חסדים צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע גײסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
דעת צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע דאַרפֿסטו די גאַנצע װעלט?

אײַ דײַ דײַ. . .

אַז נישט קײן הכנסת אורחים צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע האָרעװעסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
װתיקות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע װילסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
זכיות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע זוכסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
חסידות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע „חאַפּסטו“ די גאַנצע װעלט?

אײַ דײַ דײַ. . .

אַז נישט קײן טהרה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע טױג דיר די גאַנצע װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
יראת שמים צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע יאָגסטו דיך אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
כּבוד התּורה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע „כּריכסטו“ אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
לימוד התּורה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע לעבסטו אױף דער װעלט?

אײַ דײַ דײַ. . .

אַז נישט קײן מדות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע מאַכסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
נאמנות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע נעמסטו די גאַנצע װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
סײַעתּא דשמיא צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע סאַפּעסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
ענװה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס װעסטו ענטפֿערן אױף דער אמתדיקער װעלט?

אײַ דײַ דײַ. . .

אַז נישט קײן פּדיון שבֿוּים צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע פּלאָגסטו דיך אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
צדקה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס פֿאַר אַ ציל האָסטו אױף דער װעלט?

אײַ דײַ דײַ. . .

אַז נישט קײן קדושה צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע קױפֿסטו אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
רחמנות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס זשע רײַסטו די גאַנצע װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
שמירת שׂבת צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָסעט שעפּסטו חיות אױף דער װעלט?
אַז נישט קײן
תּמימות צוזאַמען מיטן געלט,
װאָס איז דײַן תּכלית אױף דער װעלט?!?

אײַ דײַ דײַ. . .

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What I did with the eggplants



I started out with five little red eggplants, each just about the size and shape of an egg. The constraints I faced in coming up with a recipe were that on the one hand, I wanted to preserve to the extent possible their amazing shape and color, and on the other hand, I had been warned that this variety of eggplant requires lots of cooking to tame its wild bitterness. As soon as I cut them open I could tell that they were very intensely flavored. They had a much more concentrated eggplanty aroma than your usual eggplant. I cut off the tops on the bias and trimmed their adorable little stems with garden shears so each eggplant had a mini-beret. Then I scooped out the insides and salted the shells and innards and let them rest. I tried to remove as many of the very tough seeds as possible.

One of the eggplants had some dark spots inside, but I was able to reach and remove them with my very tiny melon-baller. About twenty years ago I came across this gadget, which makes melon balls the size of a pea, and I just knew that the day would come when I would need exactly such an implement.

I cooked the shells and insides over high heat in a fairly prodigal amount of olive oil. Then I removed the eggplant from the skillet and cooked one diced onion, three large cloves minced garlic, a very small diced sweet pepper, a tomato, the eggplant innards, and a tiny bit of a hot pepper.

You may have noticed by now that I very seldom dice or mince onions and garlic. I usually prefer to make pretty thin slices for a more interesting flavor, but I thought a dice would be more amenable for the eggplant filling. I mixed the cooked diced vegetables with about a half cup each of toasted whole wheat breadcrumbs and grated parmesan (two ounces crumbs and about one ounce cheese), two tablespoons toasted pine nuts, two good pinches crumbled oregano (1/4 teaspoon), lots of black pepper, and four sprigs minced parsley (1/4 cup). I spooned the filling into the eggplant shells. You can probably skip this next step, but I wanted to give the little guys a cozy medium in which to simmer, so I sliced another onion and tomato (slices this time) and cooked them in some of the remaining oil. I had a head of garlic with tiny little cloves, so I left those whole. Then I nestled the stuffed eggplants, each jauntily sporting a mini-beret, among the stewed tomatoes and onions, and let them bake in a moderate oven for about an hour. There was enough filling remaining to stuff three tomatoes, who went along into the skillet. I tried to make some pictures, but they all just looked red. It was lovely though. The vivid wild flavors of the eggplants came through beautifully, but were not overwhelmingly bitter. I do recommend cooking this variety of eggplant if you find them. Just be prepared to give them enough time and olive oil.

Here’s a summary of the recipe:

The eggplants

5 to 10 little red eggplants (I had five, the recipe would have filled ten)
kosher salt
1 prodigal amount of olive oil (about 10 to 12 ounces, I think)

The filling

1 medium onion, diced
1 very small sweet pepper, diced (or 1/3 to 1/2 of a regular bell pepper)
3 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 very small hot pepper, finely minced
1 peeled seeded tomato, or insides of two seeded tomatoes
Cooked innards from the eggplants, diced
2 ounces toasted crumbs from whole-grain bread
1 ounce grated parmesan
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)
¼ teaspoon crumbled oregano
¼ cup minced parsley
black pepper

The ambient vegetables

1 onion, sliced into thin half-moons
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 very small sweet pepper, thinly sliced
5 very small cloves garlic

Scoop out the eggplants, salt lavishly, and allow to drain for an hour or so. Gently squeeze and pat them dry. Cook the shells, tops, and innards in oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat. Remove eggplants from oil and set aside.

Strain the remaining oil. Pour half of the oil back into the skillet and set over low heat. Add the diced onion. When the onion becomes transparent, add the peppers and garlic. Continue cooking until the garlic becomes fragrant and add the tomato and cook for a few more minutes.

In a bowl, combine the crumbs, cheese, oregano and pepper. Mix in the diced vegetables and add parsley and pine nuts. Spoon the filling into the eggplant shells. Spoon extra filling into tomato shells.

Heat oven to 350

Pour the remaining oil into the skillet. Cook the onion slices over low heat until they become transparent. Add the garlic cloves, pepper slivers and tomato and cook for 15 minutes longer. Gently place the filled eggplants and other filled vegetables into the skillet and set in the oven. Allow to bake for one hour, basting with the pan juices once or twice.

These went very nicely with the rice with spinach on page 462 of Claudia Roden’s Book of Jewish Food.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

עסן דאָס שענסטע און דאָס בעסטע



איך װײס נאָך נישט װי אַזױ צו שרײַבן מוזיק אױפֿן קאָמפּיוטערל, און איך טאָר זיך נישט לערנען ביז נאָך דער „דאָסערטאַציע איכל פּרוװן געפֿינען אַן אױפֿן איבערצוגעבן די ניגונים. עץ קענט הערן אַ ביסל פֿון ישׂמח משה דאָ. טוט אַ קנעקל אױפֿן ערשטן ליד „שבת.“ איך האָב ערשט געהערט דאָס זמרל אױף אַ װוּדערלעכן זאַמלונג װאָס הײסט „זמירות ישׂראל באידיש“ [אַזױ] אױב עץ קען דאָס אין ערגעץ געפֿינען איז עס גאָלד. זײַטס מוחל װאָס איך רעד ענק אײַן אַ לונג און לעבער אױף דער נאָז, אָבער קױפֿט שױן די צװײ קאַסטלעך. צום באַדױערן, קען מען זײ מער נישט געפֿינען אין „Mostly Music” אָבער אַ סך אַנדערע געשמאַקע ניגומלעך האָבן זײ יאָ. אַן ענלעכער נוסך ישׂמח משה געפֿינט זיך אױף „ייִדישע קלאַסיקס ב“ פֿון סוקי און דינג.

ישׂמח ישׂמח משה במתּנת במתּנת חלקו
כּי עבֿד נאמן, כּי עבֿד נאמן קראת לו.
כּליל תּפֿארת בראשו בראשו נתת,
בעמדו לפֿניך על הר סיני, על הר סיני,
ושני לוחות אַבֿנים הוריד בידו
וכּתובֿ בהם שמירת שבת
וכּן כּתובֿ בתורתך

ישׂמח ישׂמח משה במתּנת במתּנת חלקו
כּי עבֿד נאמן, כּי עבֿד נאמן קראת
לו.

דעם שבת האָט דער בורא געגעבן
נאָר פֿאַר אונדז ייִדעלעך אַלײן
און אַזױ שטײט אין דער תּורה געשריבן
אַז שבת דאַרף מען פֿרײלעך זײַן,
עסן דאָס שענסטע און דאָס בעסטע,
לױט װי אײנער פֿאַרמאָגט,
קלײדער אָנצוטאָן די שענסטע
װײַל אַזױ האָט אונדז די תּורה אָנגעזאָגט

ישׂמח ישׂמח משה במתּנת במתּנת חלקו
כּי עבֿד נאמן, כּי עבֿד נאמן קראת
לו.

דאָס ייִדעלע איז נעבעך אין גלות
לײַדן לײַדט ער צרות אָן אַ שיעור
שבת פֿאַרגעסט ער אין אַלעם
און לעבט זיך װי אַ גבֿיר.
אין שבת געפֿינט אַ נחמה
זײַן אױסגעמאַטערטע נשמה
נפֿש כּי נאנחה
בא שבת בא מנוחה

ישׂמח ישׂמח משה במתּנת במתּנת חלקו
כּי עבֿד נאמן, כּי עבֿד נאמן קראת
לו.

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Thursday, November 10, 2005

Lots of hymns and just a little pasta



A sakh zmires un veynik lokshn (Lots of hymns and just a little pasta) is a Yiddish expression meaning great effort expended for a disappointing result—a long run for a short slide. Zmires are the para-liturgical hymns sung at festive meals, and lokshn (noodles) are especially associated with the Sabbath in Ashkenazic tradition.

For much more on lokshn in the Yiddish language and Jewish life see the hilarious dialogue Lokshnby the eternally amazing Noyekh Prilutski. Yet more on lokshn, including a Romanized version of Prilutski’s “Lokshn” can be found in The Mendele Review Special Lokshn Issue, parts one and two. Have a look at A. Almi’s poem about Prilutski while you're there.

I’ve added a couple of sidebar categories to make it easier to find previous posts. More zmires are coming soon to “A sakh zmires un veynik lokshn” which I’ll give the English title “Sacred songs for the welcome table

I've taken some of the sidebar titles from John Evelyn’s Acetaria: a discourse of sallets. I really like that he has a chapter called “Of composts, and stercoration, repastination, dressing and stirring of the earth and mould of a garden” (all punctuation is in the original), so I’ve used this for my compost entry, even though I have no immediate plans to write any further about compost. For the Yiddish title of this category I used the saying “emes vakst fun der erd aroys” “The truth grows out of the earth.”

I had to look up stercoration (the action or act of manuring with dung) and repastination (the action or process of digging over again).

In Jewish practice, when you first taste a new kind of fruit or vegetable, or taste it again for the first time in a new season, the blessing “Shehekheyonu ve kiyemonu” (“who has kept us alive and sustained us”) expresses thanksgiving for having remained alive to experience this time. Think of those first crunchy apples in the fall. These words, along with John Evelyn’s “A garden deriv'd and defin'd; its dignity, distinction and sorts” are the titles for the category of posts about the delights and curiosities of the plant world.

Evelyn, John, and Howard Coppuck Levis. Acetaria. A Discourse of Sallets. The 2d ed. London,: B. Tooke, 1706.

Prilutski, Noah. Dos Gevet: Dialogen Vegn Shprakh Un Kultur. Varsha: Kultur lige, 1923.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

גראַנאָלע



איך האָף זײער עץ זאָלט אַ מאָל פּרוּװן מאַכן די אײגענע גראַנאָלע. עס איז גאָר גרינג און אַ סך געשמאַקער װי די אינדוסטריעל־געמאַכטע.

גראַנאָלע
6 טעפּלעך האָבער (675 גראַם)
1 טעפּל װײַץ(110 גראַם)
1 טעפּל קאָרן(110 גראַם)
(אָדער פּשוט 8 טעפּלעך האָבער (900 גראַם))
צום טעם׃ סעמישקעס, סום־סום (סעזאַם, קונזשוט), קאָקאָנוס, װעלשענע ניס, מאַנדלען, אאַ"װ, 2 אָדער 3 טעפּלעך.
זאַלץ אױפֿן שפּיץ מעסער
1 טעפּל פּוטער(250-200 קילאָמעטרי)
1 טעפּל האָניק(250 צענטיליטער


מאַכט װאַרעם דעם אױװן 325 פֿ (170 צ) מאַרק 3-4

מישט צונױף די תּבֿואות, זױמען, און ניס. װאַרעמט אָפּ דאָס פּוטער עס זאָל צעגײן, און גאיט צו האָניק. גיסט האָניק־פּוטער איבער די תּבֿואות, און מישט גוט.

לײג די גראַנאָלע אױף צװײ באַק־ברײטלעך, אַן ארך 12"מיט 17" (30 מיט 42 צענטימעטער) באַקט 30-40 מינוט און מישט נאָך פֿופֿצן מינוט עס זאָל זיך גלײַך באַקן. װען זי איז גאָלד־ברױן נעמט זי אַרױס. זי װעט זײַן נאָך נאַס און קלעפּעװדיק, אָבער זי װעט זיך באַלד אױסטרוקענען.

װען די גראַנאָלע איז קיל, צעברעכט זי מיט די הענט אין קלײן שטיקלעך און לײג זי אַװעק אין גוט פֿאַרמאַכטע פֿלעשער. זי װעט בלײַבן פֿריש 3-4 װאָכן. אױב 12 טעפּלעך גראַנאָלע איז ענק צופֿיל, מאַכט נאָר אַ העלפֿט.

גראַנאָלע איז געשמאַק מיט מילך אָדער סױאַמילך אין דער פֿרי. גראַנאָלע איז אױך גוט צו נאַשן װי זי שטײט און גײט.

די גראַנאָלע granola

דער קאָרן rye

דער האָבער oat

װי (עפּעס) שטײ און גײט as is

Note that the Yiddish word for “rye” is pronounced “korn.” This is the reason for the confusingly labeled “corn bread” or “corn rye” in many Jewish bakeries.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

There’s nothing common about beta vulgaris



Some things to do with beets and leaves

Roasted beets vinaigrette
Clean but do not peel beets. Wrap them well in aluminum foil and place them in a hot oven. If you have beets of very different sizes, maybe make a packet with the bigger ones and another packet with the smaller ones. Roast until done (depending on size and age 40 minutes to over an hour) test for doneness by sliding a bamboo skewer into the package (you don't have to
unwrap them to do this).
Allow the beets to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Now cut off the tops and tails and slide off the skins. The feeling of skin sliding off a roast beet is one of my very dearest pleasures. Cut the beets into slices or cubes and dress with oil, vinegar and salt. Add minced dill, cilantro or parsley.

Spaghetti con le barbabietole
Bring lavishly salted water to a rolling boil. Throw in whole wheat spaghetti and baby beets. Cook ten minutes add the beet greens. Fry desired number of eggs sunny side up. Drain pasta and vegetables after total 12 minutes. Put the drained pasta and beets in bowl and add butter, salt, pepper. Add the eggs and mix well so that the yolks become the sauce. Sprinkle copiously with freshly grated parmesan.

The colors of the cooked dish are gorgeous; purple beets, deep green leaves, blushing pink pasta. It does need lots of dairy and eggs, though, so that the greens won’t irritate your teeth.

I urge you also to have a look at these two recipes:
Riso Rosso, a traditional Rosheshone dish from Edda Servi Machlin's first book on cuisine of the Italian Jews (116-117), and the wonderful beet, carrot and zucchini dish from Alfredo Viazzi's Cucina e Nostalgia (76-77). This recipe makes me so happy. It’s perfect.

Ahh, I just took down this book to look at the recipe. I want to live in this book. What I really want is to have the kind of reading life I had about 19years ago when I read this book.

Machlin, Edda Servi. The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews. 2 vols. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1984.

Viazzi, Alfredo. Alfredo Viazzi's Cucina E Nostalgia. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1983.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

זיס איז אַ כּזית מרור



אַ סך פֿון ענק האָבן מיך שױן יאָרן לאַנג דערמאָנט איך זאָל אױסקלאַפּן די װערטער פֿון עטלעכע ייִדישע זמירות װאָס אונדז זינגען מיר אױף דער ייִדיש־װאָך. אָט הײב איך אָן ביסלעכװײַז זײ איבערגעבן. דער ערשטער זמר הײסט „װיכטיק“ פֿון ר' אפֿרים װאַקסמאַן. איך האָב עס ערשט געהערט פֿון מײשקע אַלפּערטן. עס געפֿינט זיך אױפֿן דיסקל „ייִדישע קלאַסיקס ב׃ הײמישע ייִדישע געזאַנג“ פֿון סוקי און דינג. דאָס לידל געפֿינט זיך אינעם גרעסערן ליד „אודה לק־ל“.

מיר געפֿעלט שטאַרק די שורה „זיס איז אַ כּזית מרור“ אַ מעטאַפֿאָר װאָס נעמט אַרײַן אין זיך די ספֿערעס פֿון תּורה און קיך.

„װיכטיק“ פֿון ר' אפֿרים װאַקסמאַן

װיכטיק איז אַ שבת־קודש,
אַ גוטע װאָך און אַ גוטער חודש;
װיכטיק איז אַ גלאַטע סבֿרה,
װיכטיק איז אַ בלאַט גמרא,
װאָס איז װיכטיק און װאָס איז נישט, מע טאָר נישט װערן צעמישט.

װאָס איז שײן און װאָס איז מיאוס?
װאָס איז ביטער און װאָס איז זיס?
שײן איז אַ ייִנגל מיט לאַנגע פּאות,
מיאוס איז אַ רשע מיט פֿאַלשע דעות,
ביטער איז אַ קרומע סבֿרה און
זיס איז אַ כּזית מרור!

(װיכטיק איז אַ שבת־קודש, ו”כ)

װיכטיק זענען סיפּורי־צדיקים,
אַ װאָרט אױף דער סדרה, רמזים עמיקים.
װיכטיק איז אַן אתרוג אַ שײנער,
װיכטיק איז אַ האַרץ אַ רײנער,
װאָס איז װיכטיק און װאָס איז נישט, מע טאָר נישט װערן צעמישט.

(װיכטיק איז אַ שבת־קודש, ו”כ)

געשמאַק איז אַ װאַרעם ייִדיש ליד,
װיכטיק איז לױפֿן אַ טובֿה טאָן אַ ייִד;
װיכטיק איז אַ זאַך װאָס בלײַבט,
נאַריש איז אַ זאַך װאָס די צײַט פֿאַרטרײַבט.
װאָס איז װיכטיק און װאָס איז נישט, מע טאָר נישט װערן צעמישט.

(װיכטיק איז אַ שבת־קודש, ו”כ)

גלאַטע סבֿרה proper explanation

סיפּורי־צדיקים tales of the righteous

רמז עומק (מערצאָל׃ רמזים עמיקים) wise deduction


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