ARTICLES
A Seder During a Time of Uncertainty and Fear. Again
THE PASSOVER STORY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF REMEMBERING Since the horrible October 7th attack on Israel and the subsequent rise in antisemitism around the globe, I am thinking a lot about…
Χανουκά or Hanukkah: It’s All Greek To Me!
Hanukkah (from the old Hebrew verb khanakh meaning “to dedicate/consecrate”) is an annual Jewish celebration that commemorates the time when a group of Jewish resistance fighters, known as…
Albóndigas and the Sephardic Meatball
Meatball dishes are popular in many cuisines around the world and some of the earliest recordings of meatball recipes can be found in Arabic cookbooks dating back to medieval times. During…
A Sephardic/Judeo-Arabic Seder
With the majority of Jews in the United States being of Ashkenazic or Eastern European descent, there is a specific interest in the ways that Sephardic Jews (those descending from Spain)…
A Seder Plate for Rosh HaShannah? (It's not just for Passover!)
Did you know that in some Sephardic homes there is the custom of presenting a special Seder plate before the Rosh HaShanna meal, just like one does for the Passover Seder? Eight symbolic…
It's Recipe Testing Time! A dinner party where everyone else does the cooking.
It's the season for recipe testing for my Passover cookbook, and as I did with my first cookbook (A Fistful of Lentils) I have decided to distribute various recipes to friends,…
Four Generations Come Together for Algerian Boulettes with Green Peas
Each spring, Ginette Cohen would pack her suitcase with quatre épices and a box of Spigol spice packets, and fly from France to New York City to visit her grandson David Rak for his…
The End of an Era: Streit's Matzo Factory To Leave the Lower East Side
After nearly 100 years, Streit's Matzo Factory on the Lower East Side will be moving out. It's especially sad to me because I give Jewish Food Tours in this neighborhood, and one of the…
Henna: Hametz for Passover?
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Noam Sienna about his research and discoveries regarding henna in the Middle East and Mediterranean, and he shared some interesting things about…
Passover images from around the world: Charoset Ice Cream in Israel
Photo by Alan Caplan: "Ben & Jerry's Charoset Ice Cream," Israel
Passover images from around the world: A window in Paris
Photo by Lori Plaut
Silan / Ha'lek: Baghdadi Date Syrup
Silan (also known as Ha'lek ) is an an ancient Babylonian date honey or syrup that many Iraqi Jews today prepare as their form of haroset for the Passover Seder . Unlike other date h…
Passover images from around the world: Dutch Matze
My friend Sarah Abrams just returned from a trip to Holland and sent me this photo of matze in the supermarket. The packaging differs from our square boxes here in the U.S., and the matzahs…
Cleansing your sins for Passover? It's time to start preparing.
"My mother never wanted a cleaning lady to help (for Passover) because she believed that wherever you were cleaning your chametz , you were also cleaning your avonot — your sins. She used…
A Tu b'Shevat Seder: Time to Honor Israel's 7 Fruits
Today is Tu B'shevat, the Jewish holiday celebrating the new year of the tree in Israel, marking the beginning of its fruit bearing cycle. In order to connect us to nature (and Israel) it…
Passover Cooking in December: Finding time to write and test the recipes.
As I complete the interview portion of my cookbook (with a total of nearly 85 interviews of individuals from 18 different countries!), I look forward to the next phase of finalizing the…
Are we ready for a Thanksgiving Seder plate?
As I continue to work on my Passover cookbook, I am struck by certain parallels between Passover and Thanksgiving. Just as Thanksgiving is the most popular holiday enjoyed in the United…
Little Georgia at the Crossroads of Rego Park and Forest Hills, Queens
This past April it dawned on me that I hadn't even thought of creating a chapter on Georgian Jews for my Passover cookbook. Why? For some reason I thought that both historically and…
Sephardic Culture: Walking and Tasting Tour in Bercelona!
Are you interested in learning about Sephardic food and history, right where it happened? Check out my friend Janet Amateau's cultural walking tour , and get a taste of Judeo-Spanish…
The Second Night: A Tunisian Seder Plate
For the second night of Passover we went to a Tunisian Seder at Jennifer and Philippe's on the Upper West Side. The beautiful Tunisian Seder plate included a Tunisian style haroset (upper…
Seder Plate Checklist: Are you set?
Below is a list of all the necessary Seder foods, along with the variety of ingredients that individuals from all over the Middle East, Mediterranean, Central Asia, and parts of Africa have…
Ajeel: Iranian "Trail Mix"
Dried fruit and nuts are among some of the most important ingredients used during the Passover holiday. Usually some kind of dried fruit (such as raisins, dates, apricots, or figs) is…
OUT with the OLD and in with the NEW: Time to throw out the old spices!
My students often ask me, "How long can I keep my spices?" This is a hard question to answer as throwing out your spices on a regular basis to replace with fresh ones can be very expensive.…
The Paschal Sacrifice: Going in on the whole lamb
Recently a good friend of mine emailed me a photo of a lamb with only the subject line: "Want to share one with me?" My first thought was she wanted it as a pet, but after a few emails I…
Wann-a date, Biblical style?
Dates are used as a base in many of the Middle Eastern charosets . Sometimes they are cooked down into a pure syrup (Iraq) , while other times they are blended with raisins and nuts…
Did you know?: The Iranian tradition of covering the table during the Plagues
Did you know that in Iran it is often the tradition during the recitation of the Ten Plagues to shield the Seder foods and table by covering it with a big white tablecloth? Some also stand…
Did you know?: The myth that ALL Sephardim eat rice.
Did you know that some of the most Sephardic of Sephardim simply do not eat rice at all during Pesach? Yes, it's true! Recently I interviewed a woman (thank you FaceTime!) straight from her…
Time to Sort the Rice: Let the preparations for Pesach begin!
Now that Purim is over, many individuals begin their Passover cleaning as early as today, one month before the holiday begins. It can be a meticulous period, especially if you have a large…
Did you know?: The Libyan Seder Basket
Did you know that not every community uses a Seder plate? The Libyans instead place large portions of each symbolic food into a large basket-like tray with handles called a Sabadj.
Did You Know? New Passover dishes in Ethiopia
Did you know that in Ethiopia it is the custom every Passover to break all the old ceramic dishes from the previous year and replace them with brand new ones for the upcoming Seder? These…
Minestra Dayenu: It should have been enough.
When I first read about this traditional Italian Passover soup it was really the name that captured my attention. (What a great name!) It conveyed that it was both a filling Italian soup,…
Will the single, marriageable girl please leave the room?
Lately I've been interviewing individuals from the Levantine countries of Syria and Lebanon. An interesting custom that has been described to me (with slight variations) is the one where a…
My Roadtrip to Regostan, Queens
One sunny Sunday morning in late August, I ventured out to Queens to meet Amnun Kimyagarov, the author of "Classic Central Asian (Bukharian) Jewish Cuisine and Customs." (I learned about…
You Say Haroset, I Say Harose. (Charoset, Jarose...)
We all know haroset . We all love haroset . And, come on, we all think that OUR family's haroset is the best, no? The Ashkenazim (at least here in the USA) tend to make theirs with chopped…
So Sweet You Can Eat it with a Spoon
This past summer weekend in June I took a trip down with my mother and my girls Micah and Sacha to visit Little Syria in Deal, New Jersey. I was looking forward to getting out of the city…
Silan Date Honey: A charoset for all year-round?
Yesterday I was reviewing my Passover food interviews from Iraqi Jews, and found it interesting that in all of them the individuals described their charoset as not so much of a date purée,…
The Holiest of Matzahs Found Near Mexico? Let the harvesting begin!
Believe it or not folks, the wheat harvesting season for 2014's Passover matzah has already begun! On June 28th an article was printed in the New York Times about a segment of…
Afgani Proverb: "Be Content with Such Things as You Have."
During my ongoing research into the Central Asian Jewish community I came across this supposedly well-known Afghani proverb mentioned in several sites: If there is only bread and onions,…
Chapter by Chapter: The Jews of Bukharia and Afghanistan
In this week's Passover chapter, I am focusing on the Jewish community from Afghanistan and Bukharia (located today in the southwestern part of Uzbekistan). This is especially interesting…
Minas, Meginas, and Maienas: The Quintessential Sephardic Dish?
Through my Passover research I came across the concept of a layered matzah pie that is very popular in the Sephardic communities of Turkey and parts of Greece, but not something that I was…
Now that Passover has Passed Over...
Other than Chanukah , Passover is without a doubt the busiest time of year for me professionally. During the month and a half leading up to this year's holiday life was good and busy. I…
Round vs. Square: How do you take your matzah?
An interesting article was written Passover week in The New Yorker about Manischewitz and how they turned commercially made matzah into such a successful business year-round. One of the…
The Moroccan Mimounah Celebration: The final night of Passover
Celebrated at sundown on the eighth or final day of the Passover holiday (the seventh day for Reform Jews and those residing in Israel), Mimounah is a unique custom observed by the North…
The Sacrificial Egg and the Paschal Lamb: When Passover and Easter Cross Paths
According to the Torah , the Paschal (or Passover) lamb (also known as the Korban ) was first sacrificed and then offered to God the night that the Israelites began their Exodus out of…
Last Search for Chametz: Feather, Wooden Spoon, or Knife?
As the first Seder approaches tomorrow night at sundown, it is the tradition in many homes to follow the ritual of b'dikat chametz (Hebrew for, "search for chametz ") to find and discard…
Egyptian Take-Out: The Seder ceremonial plate (for those on the go...)
The story goes that while fleeing the land of Egypt, the ancient Israelites didn't have time to wait for their dough to rise, which in turn created the first matzah . Every year for the…
Lenore's Pre-Passover Seder on St. Patty's Day: Four leaf clovers instead of parsley?
Passover orders are rolling in and I wonder (as I do every year) how I will manage to do all of the shopping and cooking for just two big days. I have already started to prepare some things…
Chummus or Chametz?
Many ingredients that are innately kosher the rest of the year, may not be considered kosher during Passover week. While certain foods (such as pasta, cereals, breads, and pastries) are…
Matzolah and Gefilte Fish Gummies?
I know that none of these Passover-friendly products are traditional in any way, much less Sephardic , but in the weeks leading up to Passover I thought it an interesting thing to point out…
Purim is over and the countdown has begun: Time to start that spring cleaning!
Now that Purim has ended the official countdown to Passover has begun folks! This is the time when many Jews begin the step-by-step process of cleaning their house, or apartment (or even…
Streit's matzah factory preparing six months before Passover!
On February 12th I gave one of my Jewish food tours of the Lower East Side. I had three people on my tour: one woman who was also a docent for marketplaces in Turkey, one visitor all the…
My Passover blog is finally up and running!
I have to be honest and say that for a full two years I have been wanting to write a blog that had something to do with my love for food. But what specifically? Every day on my to-do list…