So I’m trolling through the Talmud and I find this out: apparently, the Rabbis too had sweet cravings! And they too gave thought to effects of sugar on moods, and energy, and how our hunger is different at different times…so neat! And man — nothing like a cake of figs to get you going after a three-day fast…

Our Rabbis taught: If one was seized with a ravenous hunger, he is given to eat honey and all kinds of sweet things, for honey and very sweet food enlighten the eyes of man.
And although there is no proof for the matter, there is an intimation in this respect: See, I pray you how mine eyes are brightened. because I tasted a little of this honey.
What does ‘although there is no proof for the matter’ mean? Because there no ravenous hunger has seized him.
Abaye said: This applies only after a meal, but before the meal, it even increases one’s appetite, as it is written: And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him, to David, and gave him, bread, and he did eat,’ and they gave him water to drink,’ and they gave him a piece of cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins,’ and when he had eaten, his spirit came back to him,’ for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
- Talmud Bavli, Masechet Yoma 83b

(Thanks to Nigel for co-writing this with me)

Most of us have a sense of the distinct identities of different Jewish holidays. We eat latkes and light candles on Chanukah; we fast and talk of forgiveness on Yom Kippur. But what we often don’t recognize is the larger framework of the holidays, the way that they connect to each other in an annual cycle of harvest and history. Purim is perhaps the most extreme instance of a holiday which is well-understood in its own terms, but little understood in relation to the season of the year that it inaugurates. Now that the revelry of Purim is behind us, let’s look at the key motifs and traditions of Purim, and place them in the longer time frame that helps us understand their deeper purpose.
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An often forgot lesson of our bad diets is that, while cheap and fast now, they are quite quite expensive later on.

Send this to a friend.

This just came to my inbox–and begs some unpacking. The ad boasts “Stay fit, keep Kosher.” …But am I missing something about where the first part of that slogan fits in? (Click the pic for a better view of it.)

So rather than let my skepticism get away with me, I checked out their web site which is very patriotic light blue motif with “healthy” written here or there. Complete with advice from a certified nutritionist, perhaps it wasn’t so bad. But there’s a small devil in the fine print:

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Leah’s recent post about organic kosher wine made me think back to my visit to Four Gates Kosher Winery, which was now six and a half years ago.
In July of 2000, I spontaneously left New York City after living there some eight years, to try California (where I grew up) for a year. I immediately went to work at the Jewish Bulletin of Northern California – now called j. weekly.
After three months on the job, we got a call from a guy named Benyamin Cantz; he told my editor that he ran what he believed was the only kosher organic winery in the country, and the recent spell of hot weather was causing his grapes to ripen more quickly than usual. I think he was hoping that we would put a notice in the paper to recruit volunteers to help him pick that Sunday. They did no such thing. They sent me instead.
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Hazon just added a kosher organic wine list to our resources section. Keep an eye out for more resource lists in the next week or two. Here’s a sneak peak:

• Healthy, sustainable Seder ideas
• How to host a sustainable kiddush (or book club, or Hadassah meeting)
• How to get rid of your chametz (and we don’t just mean crumbs!)

Pesach approaches, and the kids are busy learning about it in school. We have never kept pesach before, but this year it looks like we’re going to try thanks to Jewish day school education.

I’m wondering what to serve for breakfasts at home. Can I make pancakes with matzoh meal? Does anyone know if there is a whole grain matzoh meal available, or any other ground flours that are acceptable? Looks like I’ll be bringing quinoa back to the table.

We will be going the sephardic route thanks to my husband’s Turkish roots, so rice and legumes are okay. Any suggestions out there would be appreciated, including recipes or passover cookbooks. I am a bit terrified.

Following the holiday of Purim, I can be pretty sure that many people have a large volume of the following items in their house: candy, chocolate, and a variety of baked treats. I think that the mitzvah (Torah commandment) of sending Mishloach Manot (sending of portions” which often include wine and pastries; alternately, sweets, snacks, or any foodstuff qualifies) is a beautiful one which emphasizes building community and spreading sweet, warm feelings to one’s friends and family.  

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Every year around this time, I start to ache for spring vegetables. I dream of fiddleheads - tight green bunches of unfurled springtime, sauteed in butter. I drool at the thought of spring spinach, sitting bashfully on plate under a thin drizzle of vinegar. My eyes linger on the tender asparagus stalks flown into Whole Foods from God knows where. I send curses to California for having it so good.

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This is the problem with government regulation:

“This artificial trans fat is the kind that New York City health officials decided to ban from restaurants, citing health studies that show that even a couple of grams of it a day can significantly increase the chance of a heart attack. Whether natural trans fats have the same health effect is still being explored by scientists, and some researchers believe the natural ones may actually be beneficial.But to the Food and Drug Administration, which is in charge of most packaged food labeling, there is no difference between the trans fat that occurs in cows and other ruminant animals and the kind that is artificially created and favored in large-scale food manufacturing.”

It perverts science and creates irrelevant law while missing half the problem.

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Just got back from 2 weeks in Israel with my husband, 3 daughters (ages 7, 5 and 3), and Israeli nanny. This is a brief re-cap of some of our meals, in chronological order:

Orca - Tel Aviv. The finest dining experience we had. Hip, understated decor. Great wine list, smooth service, remarkable food. Surprised by the veritable treyf fest on the menu, though Israeli friends said this was a trend in Tel Aviv over the past 15 years. Had to try the fire-roasted tomato soup, garnished with “squid stuffed with pork.” In the states we would at least call it pancetta or chorizo, anything but “pork”.

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Fed up with school food? This just in from a great site called ‘Two Angry Moms’

“Amy was stewing for years, packing her kids lunches from home and trying to get her community to pay attention to what kids are eating in school. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Amy decided to take the fight to film. She spent 18 months searching for another mom willing to take on this mission.

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I just got a notice in the mail about this upcoming conference that looks really interesting. It’s called “Women, Men, and Food: Putting Gender on the Table” (April 12-13, 2007, Cambridge MA). It’s free, but you have to register. You can read about it by clicking this link.

www.radcliffe.edu/events/conferences/2007_food.php