אין מױל ארײן

Learn Yiddish Already

2012-01-16T22:41:00.004-05:00

Remember the first time Harry gets to fly?

[U]p he soared, air rushed through his hair and his robes whipped out behind him -- and in a rush of fierce joy he realised he'd found something he could do without being taught -- this was easy, this was wonderful. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.
(Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone by J. K. Rowling London: Bloomsbury, 1997)

You know what I am going to say, right? Everyone together now:

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEARN YIDDISH!

We are celebrating the new moon of shvat (and a New Year of the Dragon), which means that while it seems winter will never end, it is in fact already time to start worrying about peysekh, which I hardly need mention is hurtling toward us, well, sort of like this guy,
and it is time to make plans for spring and summer Yiddish classes.

Register right now for spring classes at the Workmen's Circle! Best and most reasonably priced classes in town. Classes at all levels begin on February 13.

Summertime is Yiddish time. Don't spend another summer staring at addled prairie-chickens! enroll in a Yiddish summer program.

Obviously I am most enthusiastic about The Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language Literature and Culture, the first, best, and most comprehensive academic Yiddish Summer program. The Weinreich program offers six intensive, life-changing weeks of Yiddish boot camp for your brain.

If you are a college student, you might be eligible for the outstanding National Yiddish Book Center Steiner Summer Program.

"To what can I compare thee, Vilna?" Learn Yiddish in the capital of Jewish learning at the Vilnius Yiddish Summer Program.

Or come to Israel for the The Naomi Prawer Kadar International Yiddish Summer Program at Tel Aviv University.

If staying cooped up in a university classroom for all those beautiful summer days is not your cup of tea, consider the Yiddish Farm Summer Program. Learn Yiddish, agricultural skills and Jewish agrarian ecology while working on a beautiful organic farm in Goshen, New York.

Can't wait until summer? Classes at the Workmen's Circle are starting soon.

For dragon-related foods see dragon languerie beans, yellow dragon fruit, and red dragon fruit.

Cold in Yiddish די קעלט

2012-01-04T11:37:00.006-05:00

קאַלט װי אײַז

Kalt vi ayz Cold as ice

קאַלט װי אױף דרױסן (אין דרױסן)

Cold as outdoors

קאַלט װי אין אַ לאָדאָװניע

kalt vi in a lodovnye Cold as in an icebox (or refrigerator)

עס נעמט אַ פֿראָסט.

Es nemt afrost It is freezing cold.

עס בלאָזט אַ װינט.

Es blost a vint The wind is blowing.

עס קלאַפּט אַ צאָן אין אַ צאָן.

Es klapt a tson in a tson My teeth are chattering.

עס װאַרפֿט אַ קדחת.

Es varft a kadokhes It causes ague (kadokhes).

עס נעמט אַדורך די בײנער.

Es nemt adurkh di beyner It goes through your bones.

עס נעמט ביזן מאַרך פֿון די בײנער.

Es nemt bizn markh fun di beyner It goes through to the marrow of your bones.

עס פֿאַרגײט אונטערן האַרצן.

Es fargeyt untern hartsn It penetrates to your heart.

זינט גאָט האַנדלט מיט פֿראָסט איז נאָך אַז אַ פֿראָסט ניט געװען!

Zint Got handlt mit frost, iz nokh aza frost nit geven!

Since God has been dealing with cold weather there hasn’t been cold weather like this!

Pumpkin Pączki (Doughnuts) ‏באַניע ‏פּאָנטשקעס

2011-12-21T21:46:00.009-05:00

Pumpkin Doughnuts

Sift together:

4 1/2 cups (18 ounces) flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend:

1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin or winter squash

1/2 cup (1/4 pound) melted butter

1 cup (1/2 pound) brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

zest of one lemon

12 scrapings (1/4 teaspoon) nutmeg

3 eggs

Mix the pumpkin mixture into the flour to make a soft dough. Roll the dough out half an inch thick. Try to the extent possible to roll the dough evenly so that the doughnuts will fry evenly. Cut the doughnuts using a large cutter and make holes with a smaller cutter. I believe they actually make doughnut cutter to save you the labor of making two cuts, but I have never felt the need for one.

Heat about three cups of coconut oil (or other oil) in a cast iron dutch oven or other wide, shallow pot. Fry the doughnuts a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on brown paper or paper towels and dust with powdered sugar.

‏אַ משל פֿאַר די חנוכּה לעמפּלעך ‏

A moshl far di khanike lemplekh

"An example (or a parable) for the Chanukah menorahs"

That is, an example which is utterly irrelevant and in no way advances your argument

‏דער חנוכּה לאָמפּ

der khanike lomp the Chanukah menorah

‏באַניע

banye pumpkin

דאָס חנוכּה ליכטעלע

dos khanike likhtele Chanukah candle

לאַטקעס

latkes latkes

‏פּאָנטשקעס ‏

pontshkes doughnuts

חנוכּה קעז ‏

khanike kez Chanukah cheese

(I have seen a couple of references to something called khanike cheese, but I have no idea what it is. Anyone familiar with this?)

Our latke and pontshke video is here.

Since we filmed this episode, I have started frying the doughnuts in coconut oil.

Red Rice for Rosheshone

2011-09-28T17:06:00.002-04:00

From the Current episode of Polskie Radio! One of my most beloved New Year dishes, Italian Red Rice.

Pistachio Hummus פֿיסטאַשקע חומוס

2011-08-02T20:41:00.006-04:00

Pistachio Hummus

1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachios
2 cloves garlic (more or less, to taste)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tahini
salt

more olive oil and some paprika or sumac

Soak the pistachios for a few hours or overnight in warm water. Decorticate the pistachios. Combine the first five ingredients in a processor and process to a smooth puree, adding water as necessary. Spoon into a shallow dish and swirl trenches with the back of a spoon. pour additional olive oil over the hummus and sprinkle with a little paprika or sumac or both if desired.

חומוס פֿון פֿיסטאַשקעס

1/2 1 טעפּלעך פֿיסטאַשקעס
2 צײנדלעך קנאָבל
1/4 טעפּל אײַלפּערט בױמל
1/2 טעפּל תּחינה
זאַלץ

נאָך בױמל און פּאַפּריקע אָדער סומאַק

װײקט'ץ אײַן די פֿיסטאַשקעס אין װאַסער אַ פּאָר שעה אָדער איבערנאַכט. אַהײַטלט'ץ די פֿיסטאַשקעס
מישט'ץ אַלץ אױס אין אַ פּראָצעסירער און צעמאָלט גוט אױס
טוט אַרײַן אין אַ טעלער און מאַך אָקאָפּעס מיט אַ לעפֿל
גיסט'ץ אָן נאָך בױמל און פּאַפּריקע אָדער סומאַק אױב עס גלוסט ענק

אנטהײַטלען
decorticate

Bicycle-Churned Butter

2011-06-12T22:37:00.005-04:00

Shvies celebrations began early here at Chez Chocolate. We rode up to Brattleboro, Vermont for the Dawn Dance and the 10th annual Strolling of the Heifers. This was Brattleboro's 10th Strolling of the Heifers, but it was a first for us. Every minute of the cow parade was beautiful. You think I am kidding, but I am not. I never saw cleaner, better-kempt cows, and the brilliant and skilled 4-H kids were just kvelling with pride and love for their cows. A heifer named Jellybean won the beauty contest, which was judged by the human Miss Vermont, but the beauty was just all over the place.

In keeping with the cow-themed nature of the ride, we indulged in milk, cream, and ice cream from Strafford Creamery, and brought a pint of heavy cream for coffee with us on the way back. Now, here's the most amazing Shvies recipe ever, and possibly the coolest thing I have done in my whole life. After we had gone about sixty miles, of which five were off-road, we stopped for coffee and had the following exchange:

Phisch and Chips: I think there is something wrong with this cream, Chocolate Lady; it's all yellow and lumpy.
Chocolate Lady: OMG! We churned butter!

It was the creamiest, most flowery, most ethereally delicious butter on earth. I realize this is not a recipe you might be able to try conveniently right away, but keep it in mind.
Bicycle-Churned Butter

Buy a pint of the most bodacious local heavy cream. Drink about four ounces (half a cup, 1/4 pint) with you coffee, and place the bottle with the remaining cream in an insulated pouch in your bicycle basket. Ride about 60 miles, five of them off-road. Spoon out the curds and salt lightly. Enjoy with bread, crackers, parsnips. Eat. Be satisfied. Praise the Lord.

אױסשלאָגן פּוטער

oysshlogn puter
to churn butter

קװעלן

kveln
rejoice, swell with pride

I just remembered the entry on Butter from Le Grand Dictionaire de Cuisine by Alexandre Dumas. After noting briefly butter's historic and literary relevance Dumas adds:

In a few countries where I have traveled I have always had freshly made butter, made on the day itself. Here, for the benefit of travelers, is my recipe; it is very simple, and at the smae time foolproof.
Wherever I could find cow's milk or camel's milk, mare's milk, goat's milk, and particularly goat's milk, I got some. I filled a bottle three quarters full, i stopped it up and I hung it around the neck of my horse. I left the rest up to the horse. In the evening, when I arrived, I broke the neck of the bottle and found, within, a piece of butter the size of a fist which had virtually made itself. In Africa, in the Caucasus, in Sicily, in Spain, this method has always worked for me.
(From Dumas on Food translated by Alan and Jane Davidson, introduced by Alan Davidson, London: The Folio Society, 1978, 83-84)

Bon Yon Tov Alexandre!

Blintzes

2011-06-02T23:42:00.004-04:00

Blintzes: The Leaves (Crepes)

2 eggs
1 egg white
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/ teaspoon salt)
3 ounces (3/4 cup) sifted flour
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons melted butter or oil
additional butter for frying

Whisk all the ingredients together to make a thin batter. Heat two cast iron griddles or skillets and butter them lightly. If you only have one skillet, that is fine; it will just take a little longer. For each crepe,pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle and cook on one side only until golden on the bottom an dry on top. Stack the lintz wrappers in a loosely overlapping pile so they will be easy to pick up later on.

Blintzes: The Filling

2 packages (14 ounces) farmer cheese
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon salt)
1 or two tablespoons sugar

Blend the filling ingredients together with a fork.

Blintzes: The Assembly

Lay a blintz wrapper on your work surface cooked side up. Spoon about teo tablespoons cheese filling onto the nearest third of the crepe. Roll up the blintz, tucking in the sides as you go, so that it is raw-side-out. You may keep the assembled blintzes until ready to serve, At serving time, heat yet more butter in your iron skillets, which you need not wash or wipe in the interim, and fry the blintzes on all sides to your desired degree of golden-brown nirvana. Serve with full-fat sour cream.

Still working on the vegan version. A gut yontif ale.

See our Blintz video here.

This recipe appeared in Yiddish here.

Vegan Shvies (shavuos, shavuot, shabuoth) survival guide here.
Johnny Cash on Blintzes here.

Khreynbow

2011-05-24T23:30:00.005-04:00

Clockwise from eight: beet khreyn, celeriac khreyn, watercress khreyn, yellow pepper khreyn, and carrot khreyn

Here is the khreynbow. I only made five kinds of prepared horseradish this year, and as you see, my khreyn dish has six segments, so clearly something has to be done, but I do feel off to a very solid start. All of these were smashing. The traditional beet horseradish will always have a special place in my heart, but the celeriac horseradish was a very exciting new relish for me. The overall popular favorite was the yellow pepper horseradish, the sweetest and mildest of the bunch. All of these are fond shidukhim for vegetarian gefilte fish, tea eggs, soups, and matzo canapes of all kinds.

Khreynbow

Wash and peel two large fresh horseradish roots, each about18 inches long. Cut them into smallish pieces. place the horseradish in the bowl of a food processor with 3/4 cup white vinegar and a tablespoon kosher salt and pulse until finely ground.
To proceed, divide the khreyn into five equal portions.

Beet Khreyn
Pulse the horseradish with an equal volume peeled roasted beets.

Carrot Khreyn
Pulse the khreyn with an equal volume peeled raw carrots.

Celeriac Khreyn
Pulse the khreyn with an equal volume peeled, chopped celeriac.

Watercress Khreyn
Pulse the khreyn with a small handful of watercress leaves

Yellow Pepper Khreyn
Pulse the khreyn with two peeled raw yellow pepper.

I realize we are close to Shvies and I am still scrambling to post this year's Peysekh recipes. Will do all I can.

The World is My Oyster Plant די װעלט איז מײַן ציגן־בערדל

2011-04-24T16:45:00.005-04:00

Behold
This is salsify, or oyster plant. The images from the 19th century Russian botanical dictionary are reproduced from Joyce Toomre's translation of Elene Molokhovets' Gift for Young Housewives. While gefilte fish is not mentioned in War and Peace, it is in Molokhovets.
I made Lena Braun's salsify gefilte fish here. This is not a translation of that recipe, but an adaptation based on her idea of using salsify as the main ingredient. The Yiddish word for salsify is "ציגן בערדל" tsign-berdl although Braun calls it "אױסטער־פּלנט" oyster-plent

Vegetarian Gefilte Fish

1 1/2 pounds salsify

3/4 cups lightly toasted cashews
3/4 cup matzo meal
1 large onion
3 eggs
salt, pepper, paprika
2 carrots

Peel and trim the salsify and cook the until quite soft, about 40 minutes. I had about one pound cooked salsify left after trimming. Grind the cooked salsify in a processor with the cashews, matzo meal and half of the onion.
Lightly beat the eggs, and blend in the salsify-mixture.
Bring water to a simmer with the remaining half onion and the carrots in a wide shallow pot. Form the salsify mixture into quenelles and poach for one hour. Serve cold with a slice of carrot and some horseradish.

Roasted Beets Vinaigrette בוריקעס װינעגרעט

2011-04-18T04:09:00.007-04:00

די אָ בוריקעס האָב איך שױן אנגעבלאָגעװעט צװישן חמצדיקע רצעפּטן, אָבער פּסחדיק װי די װעלט זענען זײ, װיל איך זײ זאָלן האָבן אַן אײגענעם בלאָג-אײנס. פּריװ זײ מיטן װינעגרעט פֿאַר די ערד־באַרנעס

געבראָטנע בוריקעס װינעגרעט

װאַשט'ס בוריקעס, אָבער שײלט'ס זײ ניִשט אָפּ. װיקלט זײ אײַן אין זילבער־פּאַפּיר, און בראָט זײ אָן אין אַ העסןאױװןאױף 400 גראַד איזװײך-אַ 40-50 מינוט. װעןזײ װערן קיל גענוגשײלטזײ אָפּ מיט די הענט. צנײַדט'ס זײ אױף שטיקער און גיס אָן מיט װינעגרעט

These beets appeared previously in some khumetsdik company, but I wanted them to be more easily searchable for peysekh, so here they are. Try the vinaigrette that goes so nicely with Jerusalem Artichokes. You do want to try these.

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.

Passover Eggplants פּסחדיק פּאַטלעזשאַן

2011-04-17T12:03:00.006-04:00

Some of you have written recently to ask about Georgian eggplant recipes.
I have tagged as Perfect for Peysekh our beautiful Sher's Eggplant with Walnut Sauce and Eggplants with Cilantro Also Cold Fried Eggplant,
which is not Georgian, but Jewish and a very nice thing to have around on Shabes and Yontif.

I will be trying to post as many Perfect for Peysekh recipes as possible before Zero Hour. Love you'uns.

Work in Yiddish ייִדישע אַרבעט

2011-04-15T17:42:00.003-04:00

While it is true that I do tend to get a little tense in the days immediately before the joyous holiday of peysekh, I did not think that even I could break a cast-iron skillet.

סקאָװראָדע

skovrode skillet

פּאַטעלניע

patelnye frying pan

פֿענדל

fendl pan

עס קוםמט אָן מיט בלוט פֿון די אױגן

es kumt on mit blut fun di oygn It is difficult (lit: it comes with blood from the eyes)

די אַרבעט ברענט אונטער די הענט

di arbet brent unter di hent One is working like a demon (lit: the work burns under one's hands)

אַרבעטן װיִ אַ הונט

arbetn vi a hunt to work like a dog

אַרבעטן װי אַ פֿערד

arbetn vi a ferd to work like a horse

ציען די ליאַמקע

tsien di liamke to pull the bridle bit --that is, to work like a horse

אַרבעטן װי אַ ייִדענע ערבֿ־פּסח

arbetn vi a yidene erev-peysekh

to work like a Jewish woman on the Eve of the Passover

Mushroom Seitan Sliders סײטאַן און שװאָמען קאָטלעטקעלעך

2011-03-29T00:15:00.008-04:00

Top to bottom: poppy seed bun, mustard from 2nd Avenue Deli, pickled sour tomato also from 2nd Avenue Deli, grilled mushroom cap, American cheese from Horizon Organic, mushroom seitan slider, Russian dressing prepared from Angelica Kitchen Cookbook, and the bottom of the bun.

In spite of the reservations I have expresses in the past about vegetarian adaptations of meat dishes, I have always wanted to try some kind of burger, just to see how they would work, and also to have a delivery system for the pickles, sauces, and of course the buns. I had also been thinking that this year, I would base all my Passover cooking on War and Peace, which I am rereading in the wildly acclaimed Pevean and Volokhonsky translation. I will of course make carrot ice cream, which they did not have, and pineapple ice cream, which they did. Another staple in the War and Peace diet is something called cutlets, which seem to be burger-like creations. These cutlets are neither peysekhdik nor vegan. They are my very first vegetable burgers, so I really wanted to go the full Monty. More refined versions will follow, but wow, these will be hard to beat.

Seitan Mushroom Sliders

1 pound seitan
1 pound mushrooms
olive oil (be liberal)
about 2/3 of one large onion, (1 cup diced)
balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon caraway
3 dried red chile pods
1/4 cup sesame seeds
6 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup cooked amaranth (more might have been good)
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup grated parmigiano (omit for vegan sliders, and increase miso)
2 eggs (omit for vegan sliders and increase cooked amaranth)
1 stalk celery (3/8 cup minced)
1 small carrot (3/8 cups minced)
The remaining part of the onion (3/8 cup minced)
olive oil (be liberal)
several sprigs parsley (1/4 cup minced. More would have been nice)
1/4 cup brown rice miso or other dark miso

Chickpea flour for dredging

Grind the seitan to a gravelly texture. Dice the mushrooms and cook with the onion in a liberal amount of olive oil over high heat until reduced and dry. deglaze with a splash of blasmic vinegar and add to the seitan. Toast the cumin, caraway, chiles, peppercorns, and sesame in a small iron skillet for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the thyme and oregano and toast 5 seconds more. Grind the spices and add them to the seitan and mushrooms. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to blend. Form the mixture into 4-inch cutlets for burgers, or 2-inch cutlets for sliders. This amount made ten burgers and ten little sliderlekh. Dredge the cutlets in chickpea flour and cook until nicely brown on both sides.

גײן אױף אַלץ

geyn af alts to go the full Monty

Buns

2011-03-28T01:17:00.004-04:00

I am beside myself about these delicious buns. I followed Marion Cunningham's recipe from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, but instead of making sixteen large buns, I made twelve large buns and nine little bunelekh for vegetarian sliders (sliders are tiny little hamburgers. We love tiny food). I want to endorse this recipe, which yields up a nicely soft yet densely-crumbed bun that will act as an ideal delivery system for the vegetable burger and condiments of your choice, but I must own that it is milkhik as the day is long, and buns are a particularly problematic category since they are not just a bread that might be eaten with meat, but a bread whose entire reason for existence is to be eaten with meat, so really, I have no idea what to tell you. I will just be making sure that none leave the premises unconsumed.

I have also just made my first batch of homemade seitan, about which more later (yes, I am using up lots of flour). I am hoping to be able to make some kind of burger-like entity with the seitan. Has anyone done this?

Purim Potatoes פורים קאַרטאָפֿל

2011-03-08T12:31:00.004-05:00

ל אַ גוט חודש ענק אַלע A gut khoydesh enk ale. Blessings to all In Mol Araan for the new moon. This is an appropriate time to remember that the joyous holiday of peysekh is hurtling toward us like a monstrously gigantic chicken (this image, reproduced from the YIVO encyclopedia, is a New Year's Greeting, having nothing to do with peysekh, but that is still a pretty scary chicken). I have tagged as peysekhdik or perfect for peysekh these archival recipes:

Persian Herb Pie
Dill and Chard Frittata
Ratatouille

Watch this space for all your peysekh survival needs.

In the meantime, here is our latest episode, featuring recipes for a Purim feast.
My partner Rukhl is Queen Esther and I am not entirely sure who I am, but I have the bobbly fuzzballs on my head.

Watch 'em All קוק זײ אַלע אָן

2011-02-16T00:13:00.008-05:00

Blintzes
בלינצעס
Blintses

Cabbage Strudel
קרױט שטרודל
kroyt shtrudl

Flavored Vodka and Nut Cake
געװירצטע װאָדקע און נוסטאָרט
gevirtste vodke un nustort

Honey Cake and Roasted Trout
האָניק לעקעך און געבראָטנע סטראָנגע
honik lekekh un gebrotene stronge

Sorrel Soup and Matzo Meal Pancakes
שטשאַװ און כרמסלעך
shshav un khremslekh

Mamelige and Popcorn
מאמעליגע און קאָקאָשעס
mamelige un kokoshes

Sour Cherry Dumplings
װאַרניקעס װײַנשל
varenikes fun vaynshl

Guinness Eggcream

2011-02-10T23:51:00.001-05:00

Fill a tall glass 5/8 full with whole milk. Add chocolate syrup or agave, but DO NOT STIR. Fill the glass to the top with Guinness. Stir with four short straight strokes. This is not nearly as crazy as you are thinking.

Rabbits, 兔, העזעלעך, קניגלעך

2011-02-04T09:53:00.008-05:00

Image from Barcelona Hagaddah, mid-14th century, reproduced from Dreams of Subversion in Medieval Jewish Art and Literature Marc Michael Epstein, University Park: Penn State Press, 1997

גוט חודש Gut khoydesh, happy new moon and a joyous and auspicious New Year of the Rabbit to all In Mol Araan. Adar, (Oder or Uder in Yiddish) is an especially joyous month, in spite of the saying אָדר ניע ברודער Uder nye Bruder "Adar is no brother" referring to the cold, slushy, and generally miserable weather we are likely enough to face at this time of year.

This is a good time to recall that rabbits are positively hopping with significance in Jewish art, most notably in hagaddahs, in which we see rabbits employing their skill and speed to evade the fierce hounds who pursue them. In Dreams of Subversion in Medieval Jewish Art and Literature, Marc Michael Epstein explains the subversive nature of some of these illustrations, like the amazing picture reproduced above in which a repentant hound serves wine to an enthroned rabbit. Take that, dawgs!

Prague Hagaddah 1526, reproduced from Epstein

And, speaking of Hagaddahs, I'm sure I hardly need remind you that the joyous holiday of Passover is hurtling toward us like a pack of ravenous hounds and we must need employ all our skill and speed to prepare.

האָז
hoz hare

העזעלע
hezele little hare, bunny

קניגל
kinigl rabbit

兔子
tu4zi rabbit

Snow in Yiddish ייִדישער שנײ

2011-02-02T00:46:00.004-05:00

שנײ
shney
snow

עס גײט אַ שנײ
es geyt a shney
it is snowing

זאַװערוכע
zaverukhe
blizzard

טרײַבשנײ
traybshney
driving snow

האָגל
hogl
hail

גרײַפּלרעגן, אײַזרעגן
grayplregn, ayzregn
sleet

שנײעלע, שנײפֿליטער, שנײגרײַפּל, סנעזשקע, פּליאכע
shneyele, shneyfliter, shneygraypl, snezhke, plyakhe
snowflake

קױל שנײ, באַלעם שנײ, שנײבאַלעם, קױל, שנײבאַל, שנײפּילקע
koyl shney, balem shney, shneybalem, shneykoyl, shneybal, shneypilke
snowball

עס גײט מיר אָן װי דער פאַראַיאָריקער שנײ

Es geyt mir on vi der farayoriker shney
It concerns me as much as last year's snow

ער הערט די מגילה װי דעם רבֿ, דעם רבֿ װי די מגילה, און בײדע אין אײנעם װי דעם פאַראַיאָריקן שנײ
Er hert di megile vi dem rov, dem rov vi di megile un beyde in eynem vi dem farayorikn shney

He hears the megile like the rabbi, the rabbi like the megile, and both together like last year's snow

גײ זוך דעם פאַראַיאָריקן שנײ

gey zukh dem farayorikn shney
Go look for last year's snow

ייִדיש אַשירות (ייִדישער מזל) איז װי אַ מאַצאָװער שנײ (װי שנײ אין ניסן, װי ערבֿ־פּסחדיקער שנײ). מען זעט עס נישט אָפֿט און עס דױערט נישט לאַנג

yidish ashires (yidisher mazl) iz vi a martsover shney (vi shney in nisn, vi erev-peysekhdiker shney). me zet es nisht oft un es doyert nisht lang.

Jewish wealth (or Jewish good fortune) is like snow in March (or in Nisan, or on the Eve of Passover) . You don't see it often and it doesn't last long.

ICE SKATING by Leslie D’Allesandro Hawes (c)

http://www.lesliehawes.com/wordpress

האָב אַ גוטן שליטװעגס

hob a gutn shlitvegs

Goodbye and good riddance (literally: "Have a good sleigh-ride" If someone you know is going for an actual sleigh-ride, and you actually want to wish them a good trip, there is nothing you can say. Not in Yiddish, anyway).

דעם בלאָג־אײנס װאָלט איך נישט געקאנט אנבלאָגעװען אָן דעם עלעטראנישן נוסח פֿון נחום סטוטשקאָװס אוצר

dem bolg-eyns volt ikh nisht gekont onblogeven on dem elektronishn nusekh fun Stutchkoff's Oytser.
This post would not have been possible without the miraculous online searchable Oytser of Nahum Stutchkoff. Inestimable thanks to Raphael Finkel and Shimon Neuberg.

בלאָג־אײנס
blog-eyns
blog post

אנבלאָגעװען
onblogeven
to blog, to post on one's blog

It Couldn't Hurt עס קען גאָרנישט שאַדן

2011-01-10T18:53:00.004-05:00

מילכעדיגס פֿין פֿלײשיגס זאָלט איהר שײדען װעט אײַך השי'ת היטען פֿין צרות אין לײדן
(מילכיקס און פֿלײשיקס זאָלט איר שײדן, װעט אײך השי'ת היטן פֿון צרות און לײַדן)( ן

milkhiks fin fleyshiks zolt ir sheydn, vet Hashem Yisborakh aykh hitn fin tsures un laydn

Separate milkhiks from fleyshiks and the Lord, Praised be He will protect you from sorrow and suffering.

(From an embroidered sampler dated about 1820. Part of the Moriah Galleries Exhibit of Jewish folk art. Try to go!

Pumpkin Kernik קערניק פֿון קאַבאַק

2010-11-22T00:20:00.002-05:00

Pumpkin Kernik

Raw Pecan Crust

¾ cups raw pecans

¾ cups semisweet chocolate

combine the chocolate and pecans in a processor and grind to a fine dough. Press the dough into the base of a six-inch springform pan.

Pumpkin Bavarois

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

2 tablespoons agar

pinch salt

1 cup cooked pumpkin (or other deep orange squash, like butternut)

¾ cups honey or agave (more or less, to taste)

Heat the coconut milk in a small saucepan and sprinkle in the agar agar. Stir, cooking gently, until the agar is dissolved. Combine the coconut milk with the pumpkin and honey in a blender and puree very thoroughly. Pour the pumpkin cream onto the chocolate pecan crust and chill until firm.

קערניק

kernik A vegan cheesecaker made from nuts or seeds

קאַבאַק
kabak pumpkin

See chocolate kernik, pistachio kernik, Strawberry kernik, and Bamboo Honey Vanilla Kernik

Zucca Tonda Padana

2010-11-15T21:38:00.005-05:00

Will you look at this thing? Might I possibly trouble you momentarily to cease all multitasking and just devote your undivided attention to this handsomely lobed and loopily striated Tonda Padana pumpkin?

There now, Isn't that better?

This will be our Thanksgiving pumpkin, mertseshem. I have not opened it yet, so I can't tell you what it is like inside, but the pumpkin-sites I have found so far are promising sweet, dry, densely-textured flesh.

The colors and contours of this pumpkin could inspire some wonderful hats. In fact, I can't decide whether I would rather cook this pumpkin or wear it on top of my head. Walking around with a gigantic squash on one's head may very well turn out to be the next big thing, as this forward-looking lady in the Abruzzi could tell.

Pregnant woman with squash on her head. Image copied from Savoring Italy by Robert Freson (New York: Harper Collins, 1992)

Khreyn infused vodka כרײן װאָדקע

2010-09-27T21:31:00.005-04:00

כרײן װאָדקע

שײַערט'ץ גוט אױס און שײלט'ץ גוט אָפּ אַ שטיקל כרײן פֿון 4 צאָל. גיסט'ץ רײַן 2 ליטער כּשר לפּסח װאָדקע אין אַ גלעזערנעם שיסל און לאָזט'ץ אַ מעת־לעת. גיסט'ץ װאָדקע צוריק רײַן אין די פֿלעשער. קרעפּלעך אַװעקצושטעלן

Khreyn infused vodka

Scrub and peel a four-inch piece of fresh horseradish root. Pour two liters of kosher for Passover vodka into a glass bowl or ice bucket. Add the horseradish and allow to sit at room temperature for about twenty-four hours. Pour the vodka back into the bottles and chill. Oh baby.

אַ מעת־לעת
a mes-les twenty-four hours

קרעפּלעך אַװעקצושטעלן
kreplekh avektsushteln Oh baby

This phrase literally means "it is worth serving kreplekh," a dish associated with the upcoming feast of השנה־רבה Shane-rabe (Hoshanna Raba)

Yiddish Expressions for a Heat Wave װעגן דער היץ

2010-07-06T01:28:00.008-04:00

Image from Globukoya memorial site: Girls in a class at an ORT trade school for seamstresses in the first year that the courses existed. (Yiddish sign on wall) "May good fortune come to the hands and forehead from which sweat pours." 1923.

װאַרעם װי די זון
Varem vi di zun

Warm like the sun

װי קױלן
vi koyln

Like coals

װי אין באָד אױף דער אײבערשטער באַנק
vi in bod af der erybershter bank

Like on the top bench in a steam bath

װי אין אַן אױער
vi in an oyer

Like in an ear (!)

װי אונטער אַ פּערענע
vi unter a perene

Like under a featherbed

װי אין אַ װאַטאָװן לײַבל
vi in a vatovn laybl

Like in a padded union-suit

װי אין פּױשטן
vi in poyshtn

Like in felt

װי אין אַ פּאָסעכע
vi in a posekhe

Like during a drought

װי פֿײַער װאָלט געפֿאַלן פֿון הימל
vi fayer volt gefaln fun himl

As if fire had fallen from heaven

עס איז קײן טראָפּ לופֿט נישטאָ
es iz keyn trop luft nito

There is not a drop of air

מען קען צעגאַנגען װערן
men ken tsegangen vern

You could melt

גאָט האָט אַרױסגעלאָזט די זון פֿון פֿוטערפֿעסל

Got hot aroysgelozt di zun fun futerfesl

God let the sun out of its container

קאָכעדיק װי אין סאַמאָװאַר

kokhedik vi in samovar

Boiling like in a samovar

װאָס עס גײט אַװעק װינטער אױף הײצונג גײט אַװעק זומער אױף נאַרישקײטן.

vos es geyt avek vinter af heytsung geyt avek zumer af narishkeytn

What you spend in the winter on heat, you spend in the summer on stupidity.

Popcorn and Mamelige קאָקאָשעס און מאַמעליגע

2010-06-29T00:26:00.002-04:00

Here is our second episode. I do like this one.

Popcorn

Oil

Popcorn kernels

Butter

Salt

Cover the bottom of a large saucepan with a thin film of oil. Add enough popcorn kernels to cover the bottom in a single layer. Do not be tempted to add more; the volume will increase considerably.

Cover the pot and heat over a medium fire, shaking the pot back and forth occasionally. Soon you will hear the kernels begin to pop. When the popping sound subsides, remove the pot from the fire. Season the popcorn with butter and salt if desired, or enjoy vi es shteyt in geyt.

This recipe, along with other popcorn lore, appears in Yiddish here

װי עס שטײט און גײט

vi es shteyt un geyt As is

Eat In Good Health! עסט'ץ געזנטערהײט

2010-05-18T18:41:00.001-04:00

נו, אָט איז דער קאָך־פֿילם װאָס אונדז'אמער גמאכט פֿאַרן פֿאָרװערטס. גי'נ' אַ קוק
Here's the first episode of our show on the Forverts Channel.

בלינצעס

2010-05-18T16:56:00.005-04:00

בלינצעס: די בלעטער

3 אָנצן (3/4 טעפּל) מעל

2 אײער

1 װײַסל

1 טעפּל מילך

¾ לעפֿעלע גראָבע זאַלץ

2 לעפֿל בױמל

פּוטער

די מעל

Flour

דאָס װײַסל

White (of an egg)

די מילך

Milk

דער בױמל

Oil

אַדורכזיפּן

sift

בלינצעס: דאָס געפֿילעכץ

2 טעפּלעך (14 אָנצן) טװאָרעך

1 געלכל

1 לעפֿלע גראָבע זאַלץ

2 לעפֿל צעגאַנגענע פּוטער

1 אָדער 2 לעפֿל צוקער

מישט אַלע אינגרעדיענטן אױס צוזאַמען.

דאָס געפֿילעכץ

Filling

דאָס געלכל

Yolk

די פּוטער

Butter

צעגײן (צעגאַנגען)

To melt (melted)

דאָס טעפּל

cup

דער לעפֿל

Tablespoon

דאָס לעפֿעלע

Teaspoon

אױסמישן

Mix together

English recipe for blintses coming soon, possibly before yontif, mertseshem.

See our Blintz video here.

Vegan Shvies (shavuos, shavuot, shabuoth) survival guide here.
Johnny Cash on Blintzes here.

Matzo Chips מצא ביסקװיטן

2010-04-12T12:03:00.006-04:00

אָט איז די סיבה פֿאַר װאָס מצא איז מיר נאָך נישט נמאס.

דאָס יאָר, כּדי איך זאָל קאָנען מאַכן דעם בעסטן פּסחדיקן װעגװײַזער אין תּ'שעא, הײב איך שױן אָן אױסצופּרוּװן די מצא רעצעפּטן, איך זאָל זיך נישט אָנעסן מיט מצא דװקא אין די װאָכן פֿאַר פּסח.

די־אָ זאַלציקע, ברעקעװדיקע ביסקװיטן האָבן גוט אונטערגעלענט דעם האַרצן אין די שפּעט נאָכמיטאָג שעהן װען עס גלוסט זיך עפּעס אַזױנס.

מצא ביסקװיטן

מצות

מאַסלינע בױמל (מיט אַ ברײטער האַנט)

גראָבע ים־זאַלץ, אָדער סתּם זאַלץ

פֿריש אָפּגעמאָלענע פֿעפֿער

זיסע און שאַרפע פּאַפּריקע

צעקרישלט'ץ די מצות אױף שטיקער און באַגיסט'ץ זײ מיט אַ ביסל װאַסער (װײקט'ץ זײ ניט אײַן אַזױ װי אױף מצא־ברײַ אָדער אַ קוגל, מאַכט'ץ נאָר אַ ביסל נאַס דעם איבערפֿלאַך עס זאָל זיך גוט צוקלעפּן דער בױמל). מישט'ץ גוט אױס מיט מאַסלינע־בױמל, און באַשיט'ץ מיט זאַץ, פֿעפֿער און פּאַפּריקע. װאַרעמט'ץ אָן דעם אױװן אױף 350 און בריט'ץ אָפּ די טשיפּלעך אַ 20-30 מיניט זײ זאָלן זיך גוט אױסברױנען.

Here’s the reason I am not yet tired of matzo.

This year I am already thinking about making the best possible peysekh survival guide for 2011 and I really have to start documenting the matzo recipes now, and not eleven months from now, when I will really not want to be filling up on matzo all day.

These salty, crunchy matzo chips were essential in tiding us over those afternoon-teatime cravings for something just like this.

Matzo Chips

Matzos (all kinds work well, try whole wheat, spelt, or rye matzos if you like)

Olive oil (be liberal)

Coarse sea salt (or regular kosher salt)

Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Sweet and hot paprika (optional)

Break up the matzos into chip-size pieces. Place the matzo chips in a strainer or colander and wet them briefly under cold, running water (you do not want to be soaking them as you would for matzo braa or a kugl, just getting the surface a little wet so the oil will stick). Toss the matzo chips with olive oil so that they are liberally coated, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprikas. Heat the oven to 350 and toast the matzo chips for 20-30 minutes to the desired degree of golden umami.

אונטערלענען דעם האַרצן

Unterlenen dem hartsn

Satisfy, hit the spot

עס גלוסט זיך

Es glust zikh

One desires

מיט אַ ברײטער האַנט

Mit a breyter hant

Liberally

Not Yet Tired of Matzo מצה איז מיר נאָך נישט נמאס

2010-04-09T17:07:00.002-04:00

You will never in a million years guess what I did yesterday afternoon, so I am just going to tell you. I went out and bought a box of matzo. I still have many matzo projects I was not able to complete during peysekh. In past years, my feeling about matzo on the ninth day of peysekh have best been summed up by this charming movie by the very winning Michele Citrin:

This year, however, I am happy to benefit from your post-peysekh matzo-gmakh. Will be having shlisl matzo for shabes.
More matzo recipes to follow shortly.

The Lady's Chocolate Mousse

2010-04-03T23:48:00.004-04:00

The Lady’s Chocolate Mousse
With the exception of years when I was utterly disabled, I have made this mousse for every seder since high school. It made its TCLVPSG debut in 2003.

6 bars (21 ounces) Schmerling Maestrani Noblesse chocolate, broken up
12 eggs, separated
6 ounces hot water
3 ounces slivovitz, Montaigne cognac, or very strong black tea
4 tablespoons sugar

Melt the chocolate over simmering water. Stir in the hot water. Beat the yolks with three tablespoons of the sugar and cognac over simmering water until quite hot and foamy. Next, stir the yolks into the chocolate. Dissolve the remaining tablespoon of sugar in the whites over simmering water stirring rapidly and beat the whites to snow. Stir one quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten, and then gently fold in the remaining whites. Pour the mixture into a serving bowl or individual serving cups or glasses. Chill until set.
Makes about 15 servings

The Chocolate Lady's 2010 Vegetarian Peysekh Survival Guide

2010-03-29T15:18:00.003-04:00

The Chocolate Lady's 2010 Vegetarian Peysekh Survival Guide

Last year, a neighbor was telling me about the seder meal he was planning to cook for his sons, and he mentioned brisket. I was flooded with aching nostalgia, even though I have never had brisket and am not even entirely sure what it is. Somehow the sensations and yearnings were nevertheless utterly real and immediate. Then the next night I was at a seder, and I realized, well, of course, this is exactly what we do on Passover. We “remember” an event we never experienced, but our memories, rehearsed every year, are honed to an exquisitely fine edge.

It is a time of great excitement, but also no small bemusement. It was for this reason that I made the first Peysekh survival guide in 1995. Some elements have dropped out (I decided I was just not in the mood for spice-crusted potatoes during Passover) and others, such as the asparagus peeler, have been in every issue. Have a look at soup and cookies from last year, the abbreviated guides from 2008 and 2007 and the comprehensive 2006 edition

Ingredients

Stocking up: While it is true that I rely on eggs and milkhiks at Peysekh, I insist that it is possible to be a vegan at peysekh as well. I even insist that you can do it without potatoes. This year I am again expanding a special section of vegan, nightshade-free peysekh choices.

Coconut

Coconut has become more important to my peysekh cooking (and all my other cooking) every year. What a miraculous comestible a coconut is! Many folks with allergies to most other nuts can safely eat coconut (but always check to make sure who can eat what safely). Up until last year I had been purchasing shredded coconut in those little six ounce packages, but I promised that this year I would smash open and grate my own coconut. As Tu B’shvat approached, I realized that I had better start practicing, just so that I would not end up banging coconuts against my skull on erev peysekh. Fortunately, the extraordinary Indira provides reassuringly clear and thorough instructions for coconut shkhite and milk extraction.

I was grateful this year for Jihva for coconut , a round-up of luxurious Indian coconut recipes, many of which are suitable for peysekh. This Coconut milk Stew with Potatoes looks like just the very thing.

Chocolate

I use Schmerling’s bittersweet chocolate (also called Maestrani chocolate) for Peysekh. Last year I also picked up some of their new 72% chocolate. The 72% chocolate is very nich for eating out of hand, but I recommend the regular bittersweet for recipes such as chocolate mousse and chocolate coconut cake.

Celery

Essential for soups. Tonic in any quantity. And then there’s this:

If you were to stand on a hill during any Sunday afternoon in winter and listen carefully you would hear a low, rustling, crunching sound. It is the entire English nation, eating celery.

--Adrian Bailey, quoting his father in The Cooking of the British Isles Artichokes

Marlene Dietrich was a great believer in the tonic properties of artichokes. I love artichokes. Artichokes are appearing at this time of year and are suited to many Passover preparations, but most appealing to me is the way the ceremonial is recapitulated in the culinary with the toyvling of each leaf.

Asparagus

During peysekh you are using much less kitchen equipment that usual, and

probably finding that you can do more than you thought, but one thing you do

need is an asparagus peeler. This is a ‘V’ shaped peeler that cradles the

spear to peel without snapping. Peel your asparagus. Life is good.

Plantain

Available green, yellow-brown, or black, these banana-like fruitoid things actually turn out to be a pretty decent and very nourishing potato-substitute for those on a nightshade-free diet. Use the green ones to grate for latkes (or combine them with grated taro, see below) and bake or boil the riper yellow or black ones. The peels do not slip off as easily as banana peels, so be prepared to use a knife.\

Plantain chips

Last year I found this wonderful recipe for plantain chips on Indira’s breathtaking blog Mahanandi. Two details in particular captured my interest. The first is that you scrape off the outer peel, but leave the inner peel on to make the chips—sounds just right. The second is that in Kerala, plantain chips are fried in coconut oil. If there is anything more orchidaceous than plantain chips, it is plantain chips fried in coconut oil. I don’t know if anyone makes klp coconut oil, though.

Cookbooks

Balkan eggs

Hot peppery eggs with cold garlicky yogurt.

Eggs Panagyurishte Style

2 eggs

2 teaspoons oil

1 cup yogurt

2 to 3 garlic cloves

½ teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

Fry eggs in oil sunny side up. Drain on paper towel and transfer to a plate filled with yogurt. Add paprika to the remaining hot oil, quickly stir, and then dribble a little over the eggs for color. Serves 1

The garlic can either be crushed into the yogurt or served on the side. This dish can also be made with poached eggs.

From Bulgarian Rhapsody by Linda Joyce Forristal, Bladensburg MD: Sunrise Pine Press, 1998.

The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden

Last year I made a wonderful orange cake recipe from this book. It falls into a particular subgenre of recipes for which I have a special affection. These are the recipes that employ techniques so utterly different from those with which I am familiar, that I am sure they must be the result of typographical errors. In this particular recipe, you take two oranges, and you put them on a pot of boiling water, and you boil them for over an hour and a half. You don’t peel them or cut them or anything. Just throw two big old whole oranges in the boiling water. Damned if it doesn’t work! Then, when the oranges are quite soft, remove the seeds, mash or purée them, and mix them with ground almonds beaten eggs and sugar, and bake in a moderate oven. This is very easy and makes a lovely cake. See Roden’s book for this recipe and several other wonderful peysekh cakes

The Unplugged Kitchen by Viana La Place

I am afraid I am going to have to insist that you buy this book. When I first read it, I was so impressed that I went around for weeks accosting perfect strangers on the street to tell them they needed The Unplugged Kitchen. I was nearly arrested on two occasions. This should begin to give you some idea of what a valuable outlet blogging has been for me.

La Place’s recipes are exquisite and many are particularly suited to Peysekh, even though it is not specifically a Peysekh cookbook. TUK is devoted to recipes that can be made by hand, which I also find especially helpful during Peysekh, when I am working with a much more limited batterie de cuisine. Try the layered saffron potatoes on page 222 (oh, this is so good), the artichokes and potatoes on pages 199 and 201 and the wonderful Persian herb pie on page 83. The celery stew with almonds is also lovely and it is a good austere dish to make when you are recovering from lots of festive food. This year I might try the romaine soup, without the bread of course, the beet and lemon broth, and maybe the beet and pepper salad.

While I am on the subject, I also recommend all of La Place’s books. Verdura is sensuous and thrilling, and Cucina Fresca, written with Evan Kleinman, is a collection of dishes that can be prepared in advance and served at room temperature, which is very helpful for shabes and sikes.

Bitter Almonds by Maria Grammatico and Mary Taylor Simeti

You wouldn’t guess that a book about growing up in a convent would turn out to be such an important Passover resource, but many of the pastries herein are based on almond dough and ideal for peysekh. A few years ago I made the dolcetti al liquore, spirit-soaked grapes in marzipan tartlets dipped in dark chocolate. Bitter Almonds also has a few recipes that use citron (esrik) preserves, for which a recipe is also provided, making it handy for sikes as well.

And of course, you will be wanting to make a tsimes.

FAQs

In the mousse recipe, you add water to melting chocolate. How do you prevent the chocolate from seizing up?

While it is true that if you add a tiny drop of water to melting chocolate, it will seize up and become entirely useless, it is in fact the case that if you add a larger amount of water to melting chocolate everything melts together just beautifully, so the substance that is disastrous in small quantities is no problem if you just pour it in. This must be a metaphor for something in Jewish history. Any ideas?

I see you mention parsnip and parsley root. Are they not the same thing?

A parsnip, PASTINACA sativa (Yiddish pasternak, פּאַסטערנאַק), resembles its relative the carrot, but has pale yellow flesh and a stronger, sweet flavor. Parsnips remain famously unbuttered by faire words. A parsley root, PETROSELINUM radicosum (Yiddish petrishkeפּעטרישקע ), is whiter and has a more herbaceous mineral flavor.

You don’t really carry all your peysekh shopping back from Brooklyn on your bicycle, do you?

Indeed I do.

What, in the long skirt and everything?

And everything, yes.

What does that sign on the Williamsburg Bridge mean?

For most of this winter and early spring, a sign on the Williamsburg Bridge advised cyclists to stay “visable.” I can only assume that this means one now needs a passport with a valid visa to get into Brooklyn. Fortunately for the city’s peysekh shoppers, the sign was removed shortly after Purim.

Why no peeking at the matzo balls?

They will deflate if disturbed.

I see that your matzo ball recipe calls for the matzo balls to be cooked for an hour, but almost every other recipe I’ve seen calls for a mere thirty minutes. Some even say you can put the raw batter right in the soup! And what’s with the no peeking anyway? I just gotta peek.

OK, that’s not exactly a question, but I understand your point. For me, results are really best after a full hour. I use Streit’s Matzo meal, which is coarser than the others, which might explain the longer cooking time, but that does not explain why the recipe right there on the Streit’s box says to cook the matzo balls for thirty minutes. I make the matzo balls a bit eggier than most recipes, and they might be a bit less stable than your starchier versions, but I feel this is the only way to go ballwise. I cannot credit the sources that suggest adding raw batter to soup. That is just plain wrong.

Hey, wait a minute! Now I want that spice-crusted potato recipe!

The recipe is in An Invitation to Indian Cooking. It contains mustard seeds, which some consider to be kitnioth.

If you don’t poke the potatoes, won’t they explode in the oven?

Almost never. Until a few years ago, I would have said never, but then one year I had my first potato explosion. The oven, for some reason I no longer recall, was set at the highest temperature. It was not a terrible explosion at all, just a *thok* and one small hole in one potato. If the oven is set somewhere around 400 F, I think you need not fear.

Were you really arrested for overzealous cookbook advocacy?

No. I just put that bit in to add corroborative detail to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.

How can I prevent my matzo balls from falling apart?

Let the batter rest overnight in the refrigerator to give it a good chance to absorb the egg. Lower the matzo balls into gently simmering, but not rapidly boiling water.

Thanks for the guide, but what about all the other weeks of the year?

It is in response to this question that I began writing In Mol Araan this year. Thanks so much for asking! Look In Mol Araan and watch your soup-angst evaporate!

Do I really have to de-stringify my celery?

No, but it’s nice.

Do I really have to peel my asparagus?

Yes.

On your marching orders I bought an asparagus peeler. How do I use it?

Place the peeler in your dominant hand so that the longer, pointier leg is toward your thumb and the shorter, curvier leg is toward your fingers. Hold the asparagus spear in your other hand

What can I do with my microwave?

If you take your microwave down to the basement of your building, your super will get rid of it for you.

What about that new peysekhdik pancake mix?

Read the ingredient list. Make potato (or plantain) pancakes.

Blah, blah, blah

"The Chocolate Lady’s Vegetarian Peysekh Survival Guide" is protected by
copyright, and is provided at no cost, for your personal use only. You may share it with folks if you like, but only in its entirety including this notice. Any other form of republication, unless with prior written permission of the author, is strictly prohibited. Copyright (c) 2010 by The Chocolate Lady.

Questions? Comments? ASK THE CHOCOLATE LADY!

Food, Jewish food, matzo balls, matzo ball soup, Recipes,

Cooking, Vegetarian

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chocolate, Baking, Dessert, kosher, Pesach, peysekh

Something Out of Nothing IV: Bottom of the Bag Brown Bread

2010-03-23T20:58:00.008-04:00

Every year at about this time I will make up a batch of something to empty out whatever peysekh-hostile flours are still infesting in the pantry, and every year this turns out to be more wonderful than even I would have guessed. Have a look at Bottom of the Bag Pancakes, Bottom of the Bag Muffins and Bottom of the Bag Cookies from previous years, and Lindy’s Something out of Nothing roundup.

Somehow this year has just flown through my fingers and I find myself with lots more flour than usual at a much later date, so a big bread seemed to be just the thing.

Bottom of the Bag Brown Bread

1 pound (3 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour (yes, I reall had exactly one pound left!)

12 ounces (2 1/2 cups) chapatti flour

10 ounces (1 cup) semolina

10 ounces (2 ½ cups) whole wheat pastry flour

½ ounce (2 tablespoons) rolled oats (why did I have this? I have no idea)

¼ cup peanut oil

6 ounces ( ¾ cup or 1 ½ sticks) butter, melted

¼ cup coconut oil

2 ½ tablespoons dry yeast

3 tablespoons salt

¼ cup agave

1 cup yogurt

2 1/3 cups cooked rye berries (1 cup rye berries cooked in liberally salted water for about an hour)

one egg for eggwash (optional)

sesame, poppy, caraway and/or coarse salt (optional)

Combine the flours and oats in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter and oils and mix to combine. Dissolve the yeast in a cup and a half of warm water. Add salt, agave, and yogurt, and mix into the flours to form a soft sticky dough. Knead for about ten minutes by hand or in a mixer, and then knead in the rye berries by hand.

Leave the dough to rise covered in a lightly oiled bowl for about an hour. Punch down and allow to rise a second time:

(wow this thing rose like the dough that ate Cincinnati)! Wish I had taken a before picture for y’all).

Heat the oven to 375. Punch the dough down again and divide into five or six loaves. Place the loaves on parchment-lined baking sheets and proof for about twenty minutes.

If desired, beat an egg with a teaspoon of water to make an eggwash and brush the surfaces of the loaves. For extra shine, allow the wash to dry and brush on a second coat. Sprinkle with seeds and coarse salt if you wish. Bake for forty minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back after thirty. The finished loaves should be a gorgeous golden brown and provide that satisfying hollow thump when you tap them on the bottom (my favorite moment in bread baking).

Since this bread is milkhik, I should have made it into some special shape to warn folks of the dairy products lurking within. Maybe little skulls with crossbones, something like that.

There is so much butter in here that it is fine as is, or װי עס שטײט און גײט vi es shteyt un geyt (as it stands and walks), but if you want to slather on yet more butter I have no argument with you whatsoever.

Tremble before me leavened grain; I am the fearsome khumets-bane!

Peysekh Countdown

2010-03-23T14:06:00.004-04:00

Cool heads, swift hands. We can do it.

Countdown Clock by Zoodu.com

Black-Eyed Peas and Cortices

2010-01-01T16:25:00.004-05:00

I was decorticating these black-eyed peas yesterday, and noticed for the first time that the pigmented black eye marking is on both the cortex and the kernel. That seemed pretty cool. I used these to make Yamuna Devi's Black-Eyed Pea Pooras, but added too many cardamon seeds. When I get the recipe right I will let you know. Best wishes for the New Year to all who hold from the Gregorian calendar.

Nut terminology נוס־לעקסיקאָגראַפֿיע

2009-11-18T22:54:00.003-05:00

דער בױם

Tree boym

דער נוס

Nut nus

דער פֿאָכער

Fan fokher

דער בלאַט

Leaf blat

דער פֿאָכערבלאַט

Ginkgo fokherblat

פֿאָכערבלאַט ניס

Ginkgo nuts fokherblat nis

דער מאַנדל

Almond mandl

װעלשענע ניס

Walnuts velshene nis

האַזע ניס

Hazelnuts haze nis

חזיר ניס

Acorns khazer nis

סטאַשקעס

Peanuts stashkes

פֿיסטאַשקעס

Pistachios fistashkes

די שאָל

Shell shol (or sholekhts)

דאָס שאָלעכץ

Husk sholekhts

דאָס נוספֿלײש

Nut-meat nusfleysh

דאָס פֿרוכטפֿלײש

Pulp frukhtfleysh

די הױט

Skin hoyt

דאָס הײַטל

Membrane haytl

אָפּשײלן

To shell opsheyln

אַנטהײַטלען

To decorticate anthaytlen

די װעװערקע

Squirrel veverke

דער װעװעריק

Chipmunk veverik

דאָס קנאַקניסל

Nutcracker knaknisl

רוף מיך קנאַקניסל און פֿיר מיך אין נתנה־תּוקף

“Call me a nut-cracker and take me to ‘Nesane-toykef’”

ruf mikh knaknisl un fir mikh in nesane-toykef

“Unesane –Tokef” or Netane Tokef, is one of the central prayers of the Jewish High Holy Days. It contains the line “On Rosh-HaShana (Rosheshone) it is written, and on Yom Kipur (Yonkiper) it is sealed.

This expression could best be translated as “So sue me” or “Tell it to the Judge”

Collard Greens with Spices and Ginkgo Nuts

2009-11-15T15:08:00.004-05:00

These thrilling greens are adapted from a recipe The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi that calls for greens cooked with either plantain or parsnip. It seemed likely that plantains and parsnips are dissimilar enough that I just might dare try something else. What plantains and parsnips have in common, I thought, was richness, starchiness, mild sweetness, and protein. Ginkgo nuts have all of these, as well as a luxurious satiny texture that combines beautifully with all kinds of mixed vegetables. I harvested these ginkgo nuts by shaking a couple of trees immediately in front of my building. Local food cannot get much more local than this.

Collard Greens with Spices and Ginkgo Nuts

4 ounces ginkgo nuts (40 nuts)

1 bunch collard greens or other greens

6 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

3 tablespoons chickpea flour (gram flour, besan)

½ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon sweet paprika

1 rounded teaspoon kosher salt.

Roasted salted almonds (optional)

Lemon wedges (optional)

Remove the outer husks of the ginkgo nuts, and shell and cook them according to the instructions here.

Wash the greens well and remove the stems. Cut the leaves into a fine chiffonade. Bring salted water to the boil and cook the greens until they are quite tender, and strain. This will take 25-35 minutes for collards, less for other greens. You can drink the pot liquor or reserve it for another recipe.

Melt the butter in a wok or wide kettle. Add cumin, mustard seeds and chickpea flour and cook, stirring for about five minutes, or until the flour has darkened, and the seeds pop and sizzle. Add the nuts, turmeric, paprika, and salt and cook for another few minutes. Add the drained greens and toss and cook until everything is nicely hot. Serve with lemon wedges and chopped roasted almonds, if you so desire.

This recipe is my contribution for Haalo's Weekend Herb Blogging (founded by Kalyn) and hosted this week by Winnie at Healthy Green Kitchen

As Long as it is Smart

2009-11-07T22:49:00.001-05:00

Smart Noshery.

Chocolate Honey Cake שאָקאָלאַדער לעקעך

2009-10-08T19:23:00.004-04:00

Chocolate lekekh. Since we were celebrating a birthday on yontif, mimetic candles are made of baby carrots and sour cherries, both from Stoneledge Farm

The honeycake recipe that I have been making for the last decade has some chocolate as a seasoning, but it is not really a chocolate cake. Here at last is the deeply chocolate honey cake you have all been waiting for. כּי לקח טובֿ נתתּי לכם

Chocolate Honey Cake

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare several cake or loaf pans.

Melt over simmering water

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Sift dry ingredients together:

24 ounces (6 cups) all-purpose flour (You may use part or all whole wheat pastry flour)

1 scant tablespoon ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons allspice

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup cocoa

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Blend together in processor or blender:

8 ounces (1 cup) pitted prunes

1/2 cup ginger preserves

In a mixer combine:

2 tablespoons instant coffee

1 cup boiling water

1 pound (about 2 scant cups) bamboo honey

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks, 12 ounces), or coconut oil, or vegetable oil

2 cups dark brown sugar (1 pound)

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons slivovitz

6 extra-large or jumbo eggs (added at last minute)

Combine the prune-ginger-mix into the coffee-butter mix and stir in the melted unsweetened chocolate. Gently fold the coffee-ginger-chocolate into the dry ingredients.

Then fold in:

4 grated pears (about 12 ounces pear pulp and juice)

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, or chips

Pour and scrape the batter into prepared loaf-pans and/or cake pans. Bake 15 minutes at 400, 15 minutes at 375, and 15 minutes at 350. The cakes are done when a tester comes out clean and they offer mild resistance to a touch.

This recipe yielded one large loaf cake, and eight small (8-inch) loaf cakes. I guess you could make half the amount, but the cakes stay good for two weeks, and in fact get better every day.

All-Pit Avocado

2009-09-25T03:41:00.003-04:00

A couple of months ago I had the good fortune to find a delicious seedless avocado at my local grocer, but you can't bet on this sort of thing happening every time.

This week, the same grocer sold me Big Stony, seen above, with barely a third of an inch of pulp insulating a billiard ball-sized pit. Big Stony was as tough and bland as Almond Girl was satiny and voluptuous, so there would seem to be an inverse pit-size to lushness correlation.

LIttle Chocolate Chip French Fries

2009-09-16T17:33:00.002-04:00

I have no pictures for you, because these cookies disappeared almost instantly. A week of frenzied baking had yielded some scraps of whole wheat piecrust pastry and biscuit dough, so I mixed them with an egg, brown sugar and chocolate chips to make a few dozen ad-hoc cookies.

The Wee'an, into whom most of the cookies vanished, had this trenchant observation:

They are almost like little chocolate chip French fries in the way they make you feel.

Makes life worth living, that does.

Ad-Hoc Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dough scraps from pie, tarts, cobbler, biscuits, scones, slump, pan-dowdy, or whatever else you have been baking (about 4 ounces, but really just use up whatever you have)
1 egg
1/2 cup (or so) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (or so) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate

Crumble the doughs together with your fingers. Use a pastry blender to mix in the sugar and egg. Add enough flour to make a cookie dough-like consistency. Blend in the chocolate chips and chill for an hour or longer.
heat the oven to 375. Form the dough into cherry-sized balls and arrange them on parchment lined baking pans. Bake for 20 minutes, switching the trays front to back and top to bottom halfway through.

Cheese or Font?

2009-09-15T02:14:00.002-04:00

Printing on Cheese

Since this blog is called In Mol Araan and is devoted to the study of the osculocal pleasures of food and language I don't see how I can withhold from you for one second longer the Cheese or Font game. Have fun!

Shave-Ice האָבל-אײַז

2009-08-17T19:35:00.004-04:00

OMG shaved ice! When was the last time? I don’t even remember. You see, this is why you have to stay in New York all summer, even when the heat index is 108.

The shaved ice man uses a small hand-plane to scrape the ice block,

Then the back of the plane forms the ice-needles into a perfect cone when he scoops it into a cup,
and pours on the syrup. I chose tamarindo. Tam-gan-eydn-arindo!

I wish I could have made a sound file of the ice-planing process, because a large part of the pleasure of having the shave-ice is hearing the khromtshe, khromtshe, khromtshe of the plane scraping across the ice-block.
The Yiddish word for shave-ice is האָבל-אײַז (hobl-ayz), or plane-ice

Non-Cooked Escarole

2009-08-11T00:46:00.006-04:00

Arguments for cooking the escarole are well known:

Braised escarole is one of the best things in the world.
Raw escarole is bitter.
Raw escarole is hard to chew.
You are going to get another seventeen pounds of greens from your CSA tomorrow whether you cook this week's greens or not.

The overwhelming iron-clad logic of these arguments, however, wilts into a soggy heap on days like today when our very brains are fricasseed in the 90-degree heat. Of course you can make salads, but just as you need raw salads even in the coldest days of winter, you need vegetables in some way relaxed, if not quite cooked, even in the hottest days of summer. Viana La Place has a recipe for Smashed Salad, for which you put your salad greens in a clean pillow case, and then smash them against the side of your counter, bang, boom, whap! I would love to try this some day, but I was not quite up to that today. What I did was combine two processes for relaxing raw greens. I rubbed them between the palms of my hands with kosher salt to break down the cell walls, and then let them marinate a while in olive oil and cider vinegar. The resulting dish is pleasantly mellow, but with the live vital flavor of raw food. I learned about marinating raw greens, even the really tough one like collards, from Lillian Butler, founder of Raw Soul. I will have to tell you more about Raw Soul soon, no solemn vow implied.

OH, and don't be scared about washing your greens. It is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey.

This is my submission for Haalo's Weekend Herb Blogging, founded by our fearless leader Kalyn, and hosted this week by Anh at A Food Lover's Journey.

Non-Cooked Escarole

1 bunch escarole
kosher salt
olive oil (be liberal)
about 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
black olives or tapanade (optional)
orange juice or zest or both (optional)
lemon juice or zest or both (optional)
sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
a pinch of cumin (optional)
fresh or dried chiles (optional)
a tiny bit of sugar or agave (optional)

Wash the escarole and spin dry. sprinkle the leaves with kosher salt. using your hands, massage the salt into the leaves. Chop the kneaded leaves as soarsely or fine as desired. Drizzle a liberal amount of olive oil over the leaves and mix well. add the vinegar and minced onion and garlic and optional aroamtics and mix well again. Taste for seasonings. You can serve it right now if you just can't wait, but it will be even better in half an hour

Chocolate Kernik שאָקאָלאַדער קערניק

2009-08-09T22:43:00.005-04:00

אַ סך פֿון ענק האָבן מיר שױן געפֿרעגט אַ היפּש פּאָר מאָל װען איך זאָל שױן אָנבלאָגעװען אַ שאָקאָלאַדער קערניק. נו? קומען װעט נאָך אונדזער אױסגעבענקטע שעה. אָט איז רעצעפּט װאָס װאָלט געקאָנטברענגען דערלײזונג.

שאָקאָלאַדער קערניק

טײג

½ טעפּל רױע פּעקאַן־ניס

½ טעפּל שאָקאָלאַד

מישט'ץ אױס שאָקאָלאַד מיט ניס אין אַ פּראָצעסירער. טו זײ אַרײַן אין אַ בעקל פֿון 6 צאָל

12 אָנצן אָונצעס האַלב־זיס שאָקאָלאַד

12 אָנצן (1 פּושקע) קאָקאָנוס מילך

1 לעפֿל אַגאַר

2 לעפֿל װאַסער

2 לעפֿל ראָם

¼ טעפּל אַגאַװע

װאַרעמט'ץ אָן דעם שאָקאָלאַד מיט דער קאָקאָנוס מילך. אין אַ קלײן טאָפּ, װאַרעמט'ץ אָן װאַסער מיט אַגאַר דער אַגאַר זאָל צעגײן. מישט'ץ אױס שאָקאָלאַד־מילך מיטן אַגאַר־װאַסער, ראָם און אַגאַװע. גיסט'ץ אײַן אינעם בעקעלע מיטן שאָקאָלאַדן טײג, און קיל עס אָפּ אַ פֿיר שעה.

A number of you have been wondering when I was going to make a chocolate kernik, already. I was planning to try something last Friday, but you know, even when the days are long, shabes just comes rushing up at you unawares, so I thought, I’ll just throw together something really fast and easy this week, and work on the real chocolate kernik recipe next week. You can’t expect such a strategy to yield sublime recipes consistently, but wow, this is clearly the kernik that was meant to be.

Chocolate Kernik

Crust

½ cup raw pecans

½ cup (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate, chopped

grind the chocolate and nuts together in a processor and press the crumbs into the bottom of a springform pan. (It will be easier to unmold the cake if you place a cardboard disk in the bottom of the pan and form the crust on that. Since the kernik does not get baked, it will be fine).

Filling

12 ounces (1 can) coconut milk

12 ounces (1 ½ cups) semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon agar

2 tablespoons dark rum

¼ cup agave, if desired

Heat the coconut milk with the chocolate to melt. Swish the water in the can to get out the last drops of coconut milk. Heat the coconut water with the agar to dissolve. Combine the agar with the chocolate mixture and rum and agave if desired. Pour the filling into the chocolate crust and chill for four hours.קערניק

kernik A vegan cheesecaker made from nuts or seeds

See pistachio kernik, Strawberry kernik, and Bamboo Honey Vanilla Kernik

Wine and Wheels

2009-07-28T11:56:00.004-04:00

This enchanting cyclist is no doubt flying to a picnic at which she will be enjoying some wonderful red wine along with some Dill and Chard Frittata. I put the socks on her to make the picture decent, which should resolve the situation in Alabama, where she has been banned.

Seedless Avocado

2009-07-23T23:17:00.002-04:00

I got this unusually rich and buttery avocado at Integral Yoga on West 13th Street. It had no stone at all, just a little almond-sized hollow in the center. Never saw that before.

Serendipitous Recipe Transmission (Zucchini with Mustard Seeds)

2009-07-01T23:38:00.003-04:00

Folks frequently ask where I get recipes. Well, heavens, recipes are everywhere. I read cookbooks, newspapers, blogs, the backs and sides of boxes, and of course I make things up, but I think my favorite mode of recipe transmission is the serendipitous viva voce connection, which occurs at those fortuitous creases in the space-time continuum when a total stranger will thrust upon you a recipe that will end up enriching your life endlessly. This is what happens when you go to Queens.

A while back I was shopping in Patel Brothers in Flushing Queens. I am going to have to tell you about Patel Brothers in more detail soon, because this is a place where very, very good things can happen, but I will just give you one example for now: I was looking at some small firm zucchini-like squash and wondering what I would do with them, and the gentleman immediately next to me volunteered that you cut them into slices, heat black mustard seeds until they pop, and then add the vegetables. You have to try it, he insisted, it is just so good.

It is indeed. This week I made it with the miraculous ribby zucchini from Stoneledge Farm.

Zucchini with Mustard Seeds

Oil (I used grapeseed oil; coconut oil might be interesting)

chiles (optional)

1 ½ teaspoons black or brown mustard seeds

½ pound zucchini or other firm summer squash

salt

Scrub the squash and slice into thin rounds. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the mustard seeds and the chiles if you are using them. When the seeds turn grey and begin to pop add the zucchini and cook, stirring until lightly browned here and there. Salt to taste.

Orange Strawberry and Banana Kernik

2009-06-12T15:35:00.003-04:00

Will you just get a load of this?

Orange Strawberry and Banana Kernik

12 ounces banana pulp (I used 3 purple bananas and one yellow banana)

juice and zest of one large orange

1 pound strawberries, washed and hulled, plus more berries for the top, if desired

1 12-ounce package soft silken tofu

1 cup soymilk (I use Westsoy unsweetened)

¼ cup coconut oil

¾ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups apple cider

4 tablespoons agar flakes

Puree the fruit, tofu, soymilk, oil, and syrup in a blender on high speed for several minutes until very smooth. You may have to do this in a few batches. Pour the apple juice into a saucepan and sprinkle the agar flakes on top. Heat the juice until the agar dissolves. Blend the juice into the fruit-soy mixture, and pout into a 9-inch springform pan, and chill an hour or two until set. If you happen to have a chocolate shortbread crust in that springform pan, so much the better. Top with beautiful strawberries, if you got ‘em.

Red Stuff

3 ounces red currant jelly

3 ounces apple cider

1 ounce port wine (optional)

1 tablespoon agar flakes

Melt the currant jelly with the juice and wine in a small saucepan. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and cook until the flakes dissolve. Allow the red stuff to cool slightly and carefully pour it over the back of a spoon onto the surface of the cake, or brush a bit over each berry.

Intriguing Street Names of New York Part VI

2009-06-11T14:22:00.003-04:00

Troon Road, Jamaica Estates, Queens

I took a ride to the farthest-out reaches of our farthest-out borough yesterday and came upon Troon Road. This word makes me thing of small, furry and highly intelligent space aliens, but it is in fact the Dutch word for throne, appropriately enough for Queens.
I still get lost trying to find my way back from Queens, but I have learned one thing. If you come to a sign that says "Welcome to Great Neck," you are going the wrong way, unless of course you live in Great Neck, in which case welcome home.
If you find yourself in these parts, don't miss the mango pudding at Buddha Bodai.

Are You Discriminant?

2009-06-11T00:43:00.001-04:00

Kostas Cleaners, East 33rd Street, Manhattan

The Chocolate Lady’s Vegan Shvies (Shabuoth, Shavuot) Survival Guide (Honey Vanilla Kernik)

2009-05-28T16:07:00.004-04:00

The difficulties faced by vegetarians during the joyous festival of peysekh are the subject of endless brow-furrowing, hand-wringing, and beard-tugging, but really, a vegetarian Passover is a day at the races, a veritable (peysekhdik) cakewalk compared to steep and slippery slope scaled by vegans at the joyous Feast of Weeks. Yes, I know peysekh is way longer, and comes with actual mitsves, but everyone is more or less in the same boat with regard to facing culinary challenges at peysekhtime. Shvies, on the other hand, has no dietary restrictions, and on the contrary offers the extra option of having milkhiks at a holiday meal. This beloved shvies tradition is of recent origin, dubious provenance, and is by no means universal, but it has earned shvies the title as the best of all holidays.

Here are your shvies survival links:

The most important recipe you need is this cashew and hemp cheese for filling blitnses, pierogi, vereniki, naleszniki, and other cheesy delights.

Have a look as well at this amazing pistachio cheesecake (or Yiddish pistachio cheesecake)

Shvies cheesecake lexicography.

And here is the honey-vanilla kernik you have been waiting for.

A sweet and happy yontif to all In Mol Araan.

װעגאַנער טאָרט מיט קאַשוניס און קאָנאָפּליעס

1 טעפּל קאַשוניס

½ טעפּל קאָנאָפּליעס

¼ לעפֿעלע זאַלץ

¼-1/2 טעפּל האָניק

זױמען פֿון 1 שױט װאַניל

2 לעפֿל אַגאַר (קאַנטען)

װײקט אײַן די קאַשוניס און קאָנאָפּליעס אין װאַסער אײן נאַכט. גיסט אױס דאָס װאַסער. מאָלט אָפּ די ניס מיט 1 ½ טעפּלעך פֿרישע װאַסער, האָניק, זאַלץ און װאַניל. קאָכט דאָס געמיש אין אַ טאָפּ מיטן אַגאַר דער אַגאַר זאָל צעגײן. גיסט אײַן אין אַ טאָרט־פֿענדל פֿון 6 צאָל און קילט עס אָפּ.

Almost Raw Vegan Honey Vanilla Cheesecake (Kernik)

1 cup raw cashews

½ cup hemp seeds

2 tablespoons coconut oil

¼ teaspoon salt (2 fat pinches)

2 tablespoons agar-agar (kanten)

¼-½ cup bamboo honey or other flavorful honey, to taste

seeds from one vanilla bean

1 6-inch pastry crust (ah, look! You have a leftover chocolate crust right here!)

Soak the cashews and hemp seeds overnight. Drain them and add 1 ½ cups fresh water, the honey, oil, and salt, and blend at high speed for several minutes. Heat the blended nut mixture with agar until the agar dissolves and pour into a six-inch springform with or without a prepared crust. You can pour the mixture into individual cups or bowls.

Cheesecake-Lexicography II סערניק־לעקסיקאָגראפֿיע

2009-05-27T21:23:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I asked the budding neologists among my readers for for names for a cheesecake-like dessert made with nuts or seeds. Hippogirl very aptly pointed out that the word "cheesecake" has been used for centuries to describe such cheese-free confections as Mrs. Beeton's Almond Cheesecake and Lemon Cheesecake, recipes number 1219 and1292 in Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). The cakes in Mrs. Beeton's recipes resemble a a sort of shoo-fly pie made with lots of eggs and sugar. I think they are both worth trying, and I agree that for the time being the best word in English for cheesecake is "cheesecake."

The perfect Yiddish word for nut and seed cheesecakes is obvious. It has to be קערניק (kernik). You see, one of the Yiddish words for cheesecake is סערניק (sernik), from the word "ser" which means cheese in Polish and some other Slavic languages. The word "kern" means seeds or kernels.

This is the second most useful word I ever made up. The most useful word is געװעזנתּניתטע (geveznteyniste) which means the former wife of one's current husband. The former husband of one's current wife is one's געװעזנתּן (geveznutn).

Name This Dessert ?װאָס הײסט, װאָס סע הײסט

2009-05-26T18:23:00.006-04:00

This honey-vanilla dessert is made with cashews and hempseeds that I soaked and pureed (recipe to be posted shortly). It is not intended to be a substitute for cheesecake, but rather a gesture in the direction of cheesecake.
So far I have been calling these guys "pareve cheesecake," or "vegan cheesecake," but surely they deserve a name of their own.
If you can think of an appropriate name for this kind of thing, in Yiddish, English, or any other language, please write something on the comments section. Those of you who look In Mol Araan via email need to click here to get to the website and post to the comments section.

Almost Raw Pistachio Vegan Cheesecake

2009-05-24T16:19:00.009-04:00

Left to right: raw pistachios, soaked pistachios, decorticated pistachios

This delicious pale green dessert was my second attempt at a vegan cheesecake, and it is really much easier than I imagined. The only difficult part of this recipe is decorticating all the pistachios, but if you have company, the work flies by. I used agar agar or kanten to set the uncooked nut mixture, so this is more of a Bavarian cream than a cheesecake. Agar is a kosher vegetarian gelling agent. The Yiddish word for agar is אַגאַר.
The pistachio flavor is intense (it is almost nothing but nuts) and you just want to fall right into that calming soft green color. A Yiddish version of this recipe and a picture of the finished cake are here.

Chocolate Shortbread Crust

2 cups flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
pinch salt
1 cup (8 ounces) coconut oil

Line the bottoms of 3 six-inch springform pans with baking parchment and oil the parchment. preheat the oven to 325.
Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa and salt in the bowl of a processor and pulse to mix. Add the coconut oil and pulse until it forms a dough. Divide the dough into three parts and press into the bottoms of the prepared pans. Chill for 20 minutes or longer, and bake for 25 minutes at 325. This recipe will also make about 50 little shortbread cookies.

Pistachio Cheesecake or Crème Bavaroise

2 cups pistachios
1 cup almonds
3/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
4 tablespoons agar (kanten) flakes (I used Mitoku)

Soak the almonds and pistachios overnight. Decorticate the nuts. You can remove the almond skins fairly easily by squeezing them and popping the kernels right out. The pistachios might require a little more in the way of persuasion to part with their cortices, but look at how gorgeously green those decorticated kernels are!
Combine the decorticated nuts with honey, salt, coconut oil, and two cups of fresh water in a blender and blend on the highest speed for several minutes to make the puree as satiny as possible. Pour and scrape the nut miuxture into a saucepan and heat with the agar flakes until the dissolve. Pour the filling into two of the prepared crusts, or into individual dessrt glasses and chill.

Yes, I know you still have one unfilled crust. Watch this space!

װעגאַנער קעזטאָרט פֿון פֿיסטאַשקעס

2009-05-22T18:04:00.004-04:00

שאָקאָלאַדער טײג פֿאַר קעז־טאָרט אָדער המנטאַשן

8 אָנצן (2 טעפּלעך) מעל
1/2 טעפּל קאַקאַאָ
1 טעפּל פּולװער־צוקער
8 אָנצן (1 טעפּל) קאָקאָנוס פּוטער
זאַלץ אױפֿן שפּיץ מעסער

װאַרעמט אָן דעם אױװן אױף 325

מישט אױס מעל, קאַקאַאָ, און צוקער אין אַ פּראָצעסירער. גיט צו קאַלטע קאָקאָנוס פּוטער, זעשניטן אױף שטיקלעך, און מישט גוט אױס, עס זאָל װערטן אַ טײג.

באַקט עס אָפּ אַ 25 מינוט. דאָס מאַכט 3 טײגעלעך פֿון 6 זאָל, אָדער 50 קיכעלעך.

װעגאַנער קעזטאָרט פֿון פֿיסטאַשקעס

2 טעפּלעך פֿיסטאַשקעס

1 טעפּל מאַנדלען

¾ טעפּל האָניק

½ לעפֿעלע זאַלץ

¼ טעפּל קאָקאָנוס שמאַלץ (קאָקאָנוס בױמל, קאָקאָנוס פּוטער)

4 לעפֿל אַגאַר (קאַנטען)

װײקט אײַן די ניס אין װאַסער אײן נאַכט. גיסט אױס דאָס װאַסער. מאָלט אָפּ די ניס מיט 2 טעפּלעך פֿרישע װאַסער, האָניק, און זאַלץ. קאָכט דאָס געמיש אין אַ טאָפּ מיטן אַגאַר דער אַגאַר זאָל צעגײן. גיסט אײַן אין 2 טאָרט־פֿענדלעך פֿון 6 צאָל, און קילט עס אָפּ.

This recipe appears in English here.

Red Bananas רױטע באַנאַנעס

2009-05-18T14:10:00.002-04:00

די אָ רױטע באַנאַנעס האָב איך געקױפֿט מיט מער װי אַ װאָך צוריק. זײ זענען, דאַכט זיך מיר, נאָך נישט צײַטיק, אָבער װי אַזױ זאָל איך װיסן? זײ זענען דאָך פּערפּל!

I got these purple bananas (commonly called “red bananas”) more than a week ago, and they still seem unripe, but how can I tell? They are purple, for crying out loud!

Purple Soup פּערפּעלע זופּ

2009-04-14T12:13:00.009-04:00

דער רעצעפּט האָט זיך מיר געחלומט אַ פּאָר טעג פֿאַר פּסח. איך האָב שױן אַ שלאַל מיט אױסגעחלומטע רעצעפּטן, אַ סך פֿון זײ גאַנץ גוט. אַן אַצפּערלעכער קאָלעג האָט זי געלױבט װי די בעסטע קרױט באָרשט אױף דער װעלט.

I dreamed of this soup a few days before Peysekh. I have a number of dream recipes, some of which work in the waking world as well. An esteemed senior colleague called this the best cabbage soup in the world.

פּערפּלע זופּ

מאַסלינע בױמל (מיט אַ ברײטער האַנט)

2 גרױסע פּערפּלע ציבעלעס, דין צעשניטן לױט דער לענג

2 לאַובער בלעטער

1 לעפֿעלע טימען

7 פֿעפֿערלעך

1 הײס פֿעפֿערל

1 ¼ טעפּל רױטע װײַן (אָדער װיפֿל עץ פֿאַרשטײט)

1 העפֿטל פּערפּלער קרױט, צעשניטן

1 ½ פֿונט פּערפּלע קאַרטאָפֿל, צעשניטן

עטלעכע שטענגעלעך פּערטישקע און קריפּ (אַן ערך ¼ טעפּל פֿון יעדען)

זאַלץ און נאָך פֿעפֿער

אפֿשר 1 בוריקע, דעם צװײטן טאָג

װאַרעמט'ץ אָן בױמל, און זשאַרעט'ץ אָפּ די ציבעלעס מיט די לאַובער בלעטלעך, פּעפֿערלעך, און טימען ביז װײך און דורכזעעװדיק. גיט'ץ צו קרױט און װײַן. טוט'ץ אײַן די קאַרטאָפֿל און גענוג װאַסער אַלץ צוצודעקן (אַן ערך 12 טעפּלעך) און לאָזט'ץ זידן אַ פֿערציק מינוט. טוט'ץ אײַן פֿרישע געװירצן און נאָך זאַלץ און פֿעפֿער לױטן טעם. דאָס װעט זײַן פּערפּל װי די װעלט אינעם ערשטן טאָג. דעם צװײטן טאָג קאָן מען אַרײַנטאָן אַ ביסל אָנגעריבענע בוריקע.

Purple Soup

Olive oil (be liberal)
2 large purple onions (about 1 pound), thinly sliced along the longitudinal lines
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme

7 peppercorns

1 chile pepper
1 ¼ cup red wine (or as much as you have)
1 purple cabbage (about 2 pounds), finely sliced or shredded
1 1/2 pounds purple potatoes, peeled and diced

several sprigs parsley and dill (about ¼ cup chopped leaves for each)

salt and ground pepper
Possibly 1 beet, the next day

Heat the oil in a large soup kettle, add the sliced onions, bay leave, thyme, and peppercorns. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent and add the cabbage and wine. Add the potatoes and enough water to cover everything generously, about 12 cups. Cook for forty minutes and add the fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste. This will be vividly purple the day it is made. The next day you might want to brighten it up with a bit of grated raw beet.

Uppåkra (Swedish Potato Cookies for Passover)

2009-04-12T01:17:00.005-04:00

I was loving these delicious butter cookies (do not click during peysekh!), and they already have lots of potato starch to begin with, so it seemed like a good idea to try a kosher-for-Passover version. For my first try at adapting the recipe I substituted half a cup of cake meal for the cup of flour (cake meal is quite a bit denser than flour), and increased the potato starch by a two tablespoons. Next time I might try adding another two tablespoons of cake meal for a firmer dough. There is really no kosher-for-Passover vanilla extract fabulous enough for these cookies, so I left that out and added the zest of an orange and a lemon, and this worked very nicely. Maybe I start some some homemade vanilla extract now, it will be ready for next year.

The peysekhdik uppåkra came out pleasantly crisp and very crumbly. You won’t believe it’s not chametz.

Passover Uppåkra (Swedish Butter Cookies)

8 ounces (2 sticks, 1 cup) butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg
grated zest of 1 orange

grated zest of one lemon

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch
½ cup cake meal (maybe ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons would be good)

Cream together butter and sugar in a mixer or with a pastry blender. Beat in the salt, egg and citrus zest. Sift together the cake meal and potato starch; add to butter mixture and beat until combined. Chill dough for about an hour. Roll into small balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. These cookies will spread quite a bit during baking, so give them plenty of room on the sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until edges are brown, rotating the sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through. You will have enough for about three half-sheet pans.

I am usually pretty chill about these things, but I’m just saying: if this recipe is not in the first page of results for "peysekhdik uppåkra," I will be sorely aggrieved.

Coffee, Sugar, and the Cosmos

2009-04-08T17:14:00.003-04:00

Photo by Mark Rifkin

Our sages teach that the sun crouches all night behind the Domino Sugar building in Williamsburg. It rises from the sugar building and describes an arc across the sky, finally setting behind the Maxwell House Coffee building in Jersey City. One heavenly cycle is completed every twenty-eight years, always on a Wednesday.

אַלע בעסטע גרוסן פֿאַר אַ זיסן כּשרן פּסח און אַכט און צװאַנציק גוטע יאָר!

Wishing all In Mol Araan a wonderful Peysekh, and twenty-eight fabulous years of the new cosmic cycle.

Something Out of Nothing III: Bottom of the Bag Pancakes

2009-04-06T00:20:00.004-04:00

Each year at about this time I make one last batch of something to empty out whatever peysekh-unsuitable ingredients are still lurking in the pantry, and every year this turns out to be better than even I would have guessed. Have a look at Bottom of the Bag Muffins and Bottom of the Bag Cookies from previous years, and Lindy’s Something out of Nothing roundup.

I understand that because of their ad-hoc nature you are not likely to reproduce these recipes as written, but I am finding it very interesting to record them. I wish I had started this blog at least one year earlier and caught a really special oat and yogurt bread. Oh, just thinking of all those recipes that got away can break your little heart if you have one.

I am very late this year, so this recipe is smaller than usual, but definitely worthwhile. Tremble before me leavened grain; I am the fearsome khumets-bane!

Bottom of the Bag Pancakes

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon (1 ½ ounce) Bob’s Red Mill Cream of Buckwheat cereal

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) Bob’s Red Mill 6-Grain cereal with flax

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) potato starch

½ cup (2 ounces) all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup unsweetened hemp milk

2 tablespoons melted butter, and some butter for the griddle

2 tablespoons bamboo honey

Stir together the flours and cereals with the salt and baking powder. Beat the eggs lightly and mix in the milks, butter and honey. Combine all the ingredients and stir just to mix. Heat a cast iron griddle or skillet and rub with the barest film of butter. Pour batter onto the griddle in about 1/3 cup measures. Flip the cakes when bubbles form in the surface. Butter and syrup, of course.

This recipe made nine 4-inch pancakes.

Don't miss the pancake movie if you have not seen it yet!

I have not quite got finished everything off. The awful truth is I still have nearly an entire container of hemp milk. Hemp smoothies for breakfast!

Baked Plantains געבאַקנע קאכבאנאנען

2009-03-27T17:39:00.003-04:00

Baked Plantains

Heat oven to 400F. Place whole ripe plantains on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes. They will split open at exactly the right moment all by themselves. Serve with butter, coarse salt, and sour cream (or, if you prefer, butter, brown sugar, and sour cream

These are perfect for Passover. The Yiddish word for plantain is kokhbanan קאכבאנאַן

Red Pepper Puree סאָס פֿון רױטע פֿעפֿערן

2009-03-24T23:17:00.004-04:00

סאָס פֿון רױטע פֿעפֿערן פֿאַר אַספּאַראַגוס (און אַנדערע זאַכן)

2 רױטע פֿעפֿערן

1 הײס פֿעפֿערל (אױב מע װיל)

½ טעפּל מאַסלינע בױמל

¼ טעפּל באַלסאַמישער עסיק

זאַלץ

לײגט'ץ די פֿעפֿערן אױף אַ שטיק זילבערנער פּאַפּיר און בראָט זײ אָפּ אונטערן פֿלאַם פֿון אױװן, דער איבערפֿלאַך זאָל װערן אין גאַנצן שװאַרץ. װיקל זײ אײַן אינעם זילבערנעם פּאַפּיר ביז קיל גענוג, און שײלט'ץ זײ אָפּ מיט די פֿינגער און נעמט'ץ אַראָפּ די קערעלעך. מאָלט'ץ אָפּ די פֿעפֿערן מיט בױמל, עסיק, זאַלץ און הײסע פֿעפֿערלעך אין אַ פּראָצעסירער. דאָס איז זײער געשמאַק מיט (אָפּגעשײלטע) אַספּאַראַגוס.

Red Pepper Puree for Asparagus (or Other Things)

2 red bell peppers

1 fresh chile pepper (optional)

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

salt

Place the peppers on a sheet of aluminum foil and cook them under the broiler, turning a few times, until the skin is charred all over. Wrap them in the foil until they are cool enough to handle. Peel the peppers and remove the seeds. Puree them with the oil, vinegar and seasonings. Lovely with fresh steamed (peeled!) asparagus)

שבֿט ניע בראַט; אָדר ניע ברודער

2009-03-16T23:51:00.002-04:00

שבֿט ניע בראַט; אָדר ניע ברודער

דאָס „ייִדישע שפּריכװאָרט“ איז באמת נישט אױף ייִדיש. דער גראַמאַטיק איז רוסיש און דער זאַץ איז דערפֿאַר אַ רוסישער כאָטש מיט ייִדישע אותיות. עס מײנט „דער חודש שבֿט איז נישט קײן ברודער און דער חודש אָדר אױכעט נישט“ ד"ה, דער װעטער בלײַבט נאָך קאַלט און רעגנדיק. אָדע איז זײער אַ פֿרײלעכער חודש, אָבער אַ קאַלטער, און דער ליבער יום־טובֿ פּסח איז שױן אױף דער נאָז.

The Yiddish saying “Shvat nye brat’; Uder nye Bruder” (The month of Shvat is no brother, and neither is the month of Adar) is in fact not in Yiddish. The grammar is Russian, so the whole sentence Russian, Yiddish letters notwithstanding. The saying refers to the lingering cold in these early months of spring. The month of Adar is joyful, but cold, and the beloved holiday of peysekh is already on one’s nose.

Uppåkra (Swedish Butter Cookies with Potato Starch )

2009-03-13T17:34:00.005-04:00

This week I got an extremely urgent message from my gal Lori, the Yiddish Chantoosie. Apparently, I had to drop everything and make this recipe for Swedish butter cookies she found on the side of a box of Swan's potato starch. These cookies, I was informed, needed to be made so urgently because they would come close to reproducing something called “Brown-Edge Wafers” a commercial cookie long discontinued but, in some quarters at least, never forgotten. I resisted this suggestion at first because my feeling about cookies is that they fall into two categories: chocolate chip, and who cares? And anyway, Brown-Edge what?

But it was the day before Purim, and the antic air that surrounds our festive feast of inversion made this plan suddenly seem like the most logical course of action in the world. Besides, I had almost a full box of potato starch from last Passover. Every year I go buy a box of potato starch, and I use maybe one tablespoon, and then the next year I do it again, because even though I am pretty sure I won’t be needing any potato starch, what if I suddenly really do need some potato starch during peysekh, and every single box in the city is taken? This is the kind of thing I worry about. Potato starch in my home plays pretty much the same role as the symbolic foods on the Seder Plate. You don’t eat them, exactly, but you have to have them.

Well, from now on I will be doing everything Lori tells me to. These cookies are really something special. They are shatteringly crisp and meltingly tender, and the flavor of the butter really shines. I am thinking of trying a peysekhdic version with cake meal, but this would involve getting more potato starch before peysekh, and that is just insane. This recipe is adapted from the Swan's box and Maida Heatter's Uppakra recipe.

Uppåkra (Swedish Butter Cookies)

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup potato starch
1 cup flour
Cream together butter and sugar in a mixer or with a pastry blender. Beat in the salt, egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour and potato starch; add to butter mixture and beat until combined. Chill dough for about an hour. Roll into small balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Press each ball gently with the heel of your hand or the bottom of a glass to flatten. These cookies will spread less than you expect during baking, so go ahead and flatten with some muscle. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes or until edges are brown. You will have enough for about four half-sheet pans.

The smaller you make the cookies, the more edge-to-middle ratio you will have, and these little guys are all about edge.

Winter Weather and Mushroom Risotto

2009-03-10T01:35:00.002-04:00

I really thought the winter was over last week right up until the fat, sugary snowflakes of our biggest and prettiest snowstorm of the season came האָפּקענען װי נאָר אױף אַ חתונה hopkenen vi nor af a khasene (dancing as one does only at a wedding). It made me remember one of my favorite Lithuanian words, "dribsniai" (flakes). We had vast lakes of slush at every intersection, but my boots, praise the Lord, remained watertight, and my luxuriant socks warm and dry.

I remember one day like this when I was in high school. I found myself stranded at an intersection with all two hundred seventy degrees blocked by a vast, slushy bog knee deep and yards wide. I was reluctant to muddy my pale suede boots. I would never buy such boots now, but back then I thought they looked pretty swell. I was observed by an amiably drunk lout who said:

Hey baby, no problem; I’ll carry you across!

Now this offer was not in earnest, and I was ready to ignore it with the stony silence I usually used to insulate myself from the whole “hey baby” crowd, but really, there was no other way across the street, and wasn’t about time for someone to call one of these lumps on their swaggering bravado?

All right then, I said.

He was startled, but recovered quickly. My cavalier put his left arm around my back, scooped up my knees with his right, and waded into the icy swamp. It occurred to me that he might drop me halfway across, and I maintained an iron grip around his neck, thinking at least I would not go down alone, but in fact, he could not have been more chivalrous. He set me down gently on the yaboshe and took his leave demanding no further liberties.

The other thing I remember on slushy days is this recipe inspired by my friend Hippo Girl, a wonderful cook but delinquent blogger. Hippo Girl found that you can achieve risotto-nirvana with brown rice if you start with cooked rice and add some kind of starch to the water. I found myself with lots of cooked brown rice and some pasta water and decided this was crazy enough to try. Wow. Brown rice risotto is wonderful and easier than the classical version. I did not happen to have any dried mushrooms on hand, but I am sure they would be welcome here. Normally I would insist that the onions and mushrooms be cut into perfect little brunoise cubes, like the vegetables for this lentil salad, but I am doing one-handed cooking while my hand heals, so I just used the food processor to mince everything.

Brown Rice Mushroom Risotto

6 tablespoons butter (more or less; be liberal)

1 large onion, minced or chopped (I used one onion, two might have been good too)

12 ounces white mushrooms, minced or chopped

12 ounces cremini mushrooms, minced or chopped

6 cups cooked short-grain brown rice

1 cup red wine (or as much as you have left in the bottle)

4 cups pasta water (you might not need to use it all. If you have not recently made pasta, make a slurry of water with a few teaspoons of cornstarch or potato starch)

salt (even though you cooked the rice and pasta in lavishly salted water, you will need to add quite a lot of salt)

Black pepper

4 sprigs parsley, minced, if you have some

any amount of grated parmesan, if you have some

Heat the butter in a heavy kettle, like a Colombian clay pot or something cast iron. Add the onions and simmer over low heat for several minutes until they are soft and transparent. Be patient. Add the mushrooms and raise the heat a little. Continue cooking and stirring as they become dry and fragrant, at least twelve minutes, maybe more. It takes time, but it is not as if you could go out on a day like today in any case. Now add the rice, salt and wine, and stir and cook. As the rice becomes dry, begin adding the starchy water, about half a cup at a time, while continuing to stir and cook the rice. When everything is perfectly done, add some grindings of black pepper. You can serve the risotto as is, or stir in parsley and parmesan.

Have some for breakfast with an egg. Just right.

יבשה

yaboshe dry land

In Yiddish the word yaboshe refers specifically to dry land in the context of a body of water, for instance the dry land on which the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea.

Cake Cuneiform

2009-02-19T22:04:00.004-05:00

Here is the uncropped version of the picture I posted last time. I had piped scrolls on top of this buttermilk chocolate cake, which made the cake so tall that they kissed the top of the box, leaving the image of the reclining chocolate lady where they touched.