Category Life

New Jewish journeys

photo - The Jewish Heritage Travel tour to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia inclues a visit to the historic Trakai Castle, in Trakai, ancient capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Jewish Heritage Travel tour to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia inclues a visit to the historic Trakai Castle, in Trakai, ancient capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. (photo from jhtravel.org) In August 2015, the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A…

Bold, new menus for Pesach

photo - Paula Shoyer's eggplant parmesan, featured in her latest cookbook, The New Passover Menu

Paula Shoyer’s eggplant parmesan, featured in her latest cookbook, The New Passover Menu. (photo by Michael Bennett Kress) The New Passover Menu by Paula Shoyer (Sterling, 2014) emboldened me. It was the whole package: the full-color photos, the clear text (blue…

Charoset’s many variations

photo - Ashkenazi-style charoset: apples, walnuts, cinnamon and red wine

Ashkenazi-style charoset: apples, walnuts, cinnamon and red wine. (photo by Yoninah via commons.wikimedia.org) What Passover seder symbol is common to all communities but is not mentioned in the biblical passage that enjoins us to eat the paschal offering, matza and…

Chicken for Pesach midweek

photo - A tagine is a North African, slow-cooked savory stew, named after the earthenware clay pot in which it is cooked

A tagine is a North African, slow-cooked savory stew, named after the earthenware clay pot in which it is cooked. (photo by Iron Bishop via commons.wikimedia.org) After the sedarim, by midweek, you may be looking for some creative ideas for…

Add culinary flair to Pesach

photo - Grilled salad with chicken is one of the many tempting dishes in A Taste of Passover

Grilled salad with chicken is one of the many tempting dishes in A Taste of Passover. Every now and then, there’s a new recipe book that blows you away with innovative, easy-to-make dishes combined with tantalizing photographs that render you…

A friend on our long journey

photo - The close relationship humans share with yeast is truly ancient, and predates humanity itself

The close relationship humans share with yeast is truly ancient, and predates humanity itself. (photo by Lilly M via commons.wikimedia.org) During the holiday of Passover, we are told not to eat leavened bread (chametz). The leavening of bread is caused…

We all were once strangers

photo - A boat of new immigrants arrives in pre-state Israel on Oct. 2, 1947

A boat of new immigrants arrives in pre-state Israel on Oct. 2, 1947. (photo from the Palmach Archive via PikiWiki Israel) The Passover seder begins by welcoming anyone who is hungry, an idea that comes straight from the Book of…

Elijah in New York City

photo from PikiWiki Israel

(photo from PikiWiki Israel) Her name was Rachel, his was Nathan. And even though separated by two bar stools, they struggled through 20 minutes of awkward conversation before their last names were spoken. Greenberg went with Rachel; Cohen with Nathan.…