Two weeks ago, The Jew & The Carrot reported on the latest news in techno-foods, meat made in a test tube. It seems that the thought of “cruelty free” hamburgers and chicken wings, which are currently long-from available to the public, got PETA in a hungry tizzy. The vegetarian advocacy group announced that it will reward 1 million dollars to:

“The first scientist to produce and bring to market in vitro meat - by June 30, 2012.”

April Fools, right guys? No? Oh…

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(x-posted from All Voices)

Yesterday, while waiting in line at Starbucks in New York City and perusing the refrigerated food case (mmm…pre-portioned cheese plates), I noticed something was different. It took a second for me to put my finger on it - like realizing that a friend got a haircut or is wearing glasses. But then it was all I could see: calories! Next to each cranberry scone and piece of chocolate-drizzled coffee cake was a small plaque bearing the name of the treat and the number of calories it contained.

As of March 31, all chain restaurants in New York City (restaurants with 15 or more outlets - Mc Donalds, The Olive Garden, TGI Fridays, and the like) were required to start posting calorie counts for all menu items in the hopes of enabling consumers to make informed (and ideally healthier) decisions. CNN reported in January:

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Welcome back to the land of bread! I had a realization on Sunday night, around 6:30 (i.e. T-minus 2 hours to carb consumption, when I was locked in a state of restless self-pity) that Passover would be a perfect time to try a cleanse. After the original spirit and kavannah (intention) of the seder wore off, you could at least still congratulate yourself for detoxing. Perhaps - but I digress.

Two days after Passover, however, is definitely a great time to wipe off the final matzah crumbs and get your finger back on the pulse of what else that’s going on in the world of food. Check out these tasty ideas from around the blogosphere. B’tai Avon!

Sacred Foods. Aleph: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal published a compendium of resources to help Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders educate about sustainable food and eating and make responsible food purchasing decisions in their congregations. The resource guide was created as part of Aleph’s Sacred Foods project. Find them here.

Carbon Side Dish. The New York Times reported this weekend on the strange-but-true phenomenon that it is not only possible but actually cost-effective to catch a fish in Norway, ship it to China to be processed into filets, and then shipped back to Norway for sale. oof - somehow, I’m not feeling all that hungry. Read it here.

Still Veggie After All These Years. Lilith Magazine talked with vegetarian guru, Mollie Katzen about the 30th anniversary of The New Moosewood Cookbook. (Unfortunately, the full story isn’t online, but you can purchase a copy the mag here.)

Drink Your (Raw) Milk. Harpers jumped on the raw milk bandwagon with a fabulous article on unpasturized dairy, its naysayers, and the converts who claim straight from the udder is the only way to go. Check it out here.

Sticker Shock. Grist offers a clear, concise analysis of the complicated issue of rising food costs. Read about it here.

Last January, Hazon began an organizational soul-search to explore how we could model our values by sourcing and serving healthy and sustainable food at our meetings and events. Our ultimate goals are lofty - we want to serve food that is:

• sustainable to the highest extent possible (local, organic, fair trade, etc.)
• healthy (nourishing, whole foods)
• kosher (accessible to all participants across the kosher spectrum)
• delicious!

In other words, we want to nix the obligatory bagel, cream cheese and unseasonal fruit platter (like the one we served at January’s board meeting) in favor of something that looked more like the menu we served at our April board meeting…

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In last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine’s Green Issue, Michael Pollan asked the question that tugs at the anxious heartstrings of every environmentalist, “why bother?” “What’s the point of living green?” he asks - planting a garden, turning down the thermostat, and carrying a reusable mug if:

“I know full well that halfway around the world there lives my evil twin, some carbon-footprint doppelgänger in Shanghai or Chongqing who has just bought his first car (Chinese car ownership is where ours was back in 1918), is eager to swallow every bite of meat I forswear and who’s positively itching to replace every last pound of CO2 I’m struggling no longer to emit.”

Moreover, what good are these personal lifestyle choices if our businesses and governments continue to spew chemicals into rivers and give tax incentives to commodity crop farmers and SUV-makers? The answer, Pollan suggests (calling upon the infinite wisdom of farmer-activist, Wendell Berry) is: because together, we can change the world.

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x-posted at Lilith

Amy Ephron at The Huffington Post has a theory: “In order to be First Lady you have to have a cookie recipe.” Ephron’s tone is (of course) tongue-in-cheek as she describes Martha Washington’s “jumbles,” (a pretzel/biscuit hybrid) Jackie Kennedy’s peanut brittle, and Nancy Reagan’s coconut macaroons. Still, she brings up several serious questions.

If Hillary Clinton gets elected President, what sort of “cookies” would Bill be required to make? In other words, how would a woman’s presidency change the traditional roles of first spouse? And, more importantly, how would it change the presidency itself?

What sort of expectations of traditional “feminine/motherly” conduct would be foisted on Clinton in the White House? How would she balance her necessary role as Commander-in-Chief with these expectations (or would she)? Would she be pressured - like former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was - to serve a literal “steaming pot of tea and [homemade] cookies” to diplomats?

The answers to these questions remain to be seen - but if Tuesday’s primary in Pennsylvania has anything to do with it, Bill had better start perfecting his baking technique.

Golda Meir’s Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe here
Hillary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe here.

Is it just me, or is kosher cooking having itself a little bit of a renaissance? Over the last year, a slew of cookbooks have been published (like this one, this one, and this one!) that bring kosher cooking out of the Crisco era and into modern times. Ronnie Fein’s new book Hip Kosher is no exception. The book’s manifesto? Kosher cooking should be innovative, delicious, and accessible to all home chefs. And Fein is willing to prove it with creative, easy-to-prepare recipes like pea soup with mint and bulghur salad with feta and dill sauce.

Fein, who is the founder of the Ronnie Fein School of Creative Cooking in Stamford, CT spoke to The Jew & The Carrot about what hip kosher really means, Jewish food’s chameleon tendencies, and the many virtues of an ear of corn.

Read her interview below and, while you’re at it, WIN a copy of Hip Kosher! Answer the following question and be entered in a drawing to win: If you were a vegetable, what you’d be and why? (I promise this will make more sense when you read the interview.)

And congrats to Judi for being the randomly-selected winner in our last raffle for Arthur Schwartz’s Jewish Home Cooking.

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(Cross posted from All Voices.)

Napa Valley has a problem - their grapes are drunk.

Grapes - the region’s cash crop and tourist draw - grow best under a warm summer sun that is tempered by a kiss of cool air at night. When the weather gets too hot for too long, however, the grapes can “cook” on the vine, resulting in an alcohol content more fitting to a firey grappa than the mellow cabernets the region is known for.

Unfortunately, rising temperatures seem to be the norm in Napa these days where, according to the NY Times Magazine: “most Napa winemakers agree that 10-year averages are the hottest in memory.” As a result, Napa grape farmers are being forced to rethink every growing technique they thought they knew to save their crops. The NY Times Magazine reports: Read more »

Jewish foodies and food lovers of all stripes - this is a must-attend event.

Join Gastronomica for a panel discussion exploring the concept of taking care of the land through farming as seen from both the Islamic (tayyib) and Jewish (eco-kosher) perspectives. Farmers Zaid Kurdieh and Anna Stevenson, and writer Leah Koenig join Gastronomica’s Editor-in-Chief Darra Goldstein for a discussion on the role of faith in farming as part of the Gastronomica Forum* series.

When: Tuesday, May 13 - 6:30pm
Where: New York City’s Astor Center for Wine and Food Experiences
Cost: $20 - ticket price includes a taste of Middle Eastern foods and farm-fresh products.

Purchase tickets here.

*The Gastronomica Forum, launched by Darra Goldstein, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Gastronomica, are quarterly events featuring important articles from the journal as a platform for engaging in deeper conversations about food and culture.

Ladies and gentlemen, Passover is nearly upon us. The blog posts will likely slow down around here over the next couple of days as we put away the computer and pick up our forks (ahem, I mean haggadot).

In the meantime, you can continue to get your fill by checking out the amazing set of Passover links below. CHAG SAMEACH from The Jew & The Carrot!

Baking and Books tempts us with a truly decadent Fallen Chocolate Souffle Cake (see above photo). When you’ve got melted chocolate, sugar, and orange zest - who needs flour?

The Kitchn featured a little Q&A with me where I confess my love of hard boiled eggs and make a pitch for more spinach and singing at the seder.

Meanwhile, The Kitchn knocked out a couple of knock out Passover posts - one on beautiful seder plates, a second on Kosher for Passover foods everyone should eat (corn syrup free Coke!), and the Sephardic response to Easter eggs: Huevos Hamindos.

Jewish Living Magazine shares a recipe for Lemon Mousse pie that combines the flavors of cream cheese, ricotta, and lemon juice with a brown sugar crust.

Peeling a Pomegranate offers a great way to spice up your seder - pick a theme!

The New York Times asserts that you no longer have to be Jewish to love Kosher wine. Why? Because it no longer tastes gross! That said, if you are Jewish, now would be a good time to pick up a bottle for your seder…

Spring can be a tough time for the seasonal chef. The winter vegetables are long gone (not that you could stomach another acorn squash if you found one in the back of the pantry). Meanwhile, summer’s show-off vegetables – sweet corn, ripe tomatoes and juicy cucumbers - are nothing more than little, hopeful seedlings.

But Dan Barber, chef of Blue Hill restaurant in New York City and Creative Director of Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, doesn’t have time to lament over the lack of local greens. He’s got hungry customers to feed – so he focuses on maximizing the few flavors that are available at his back door.

Barber particularly swoons over ramps – an early-arriving member of the onion family that, with their neon pink stems, resemble a scallion’s punk rock older sister. “They’re the first sign of spring, and they’re so fleeting,” he told The Jew & The Carrot. I like to see them on every dish.”

More and a recipe for Chicken Liver Mousse with Spring Herbs below the jump. Read more »

x-posted from All Voices.

Scene from inside a fancy restaurant circa 2015:

Man: (scanning the menu) - What are you thinking of getting dear?
Woman: Hmmm…pasta looks good, but I think I’d actually prefer a steak.
Man: Do you know where the meat comes from?
Woman: Of course! I always inquire about the source of the meat I eat. It’s from vat 13 at Acme Labs!

This scene may sound like fodder for a science fiction novel, but according to Wired, test tube meat may end up on consumers’ plates in the not-too-distant future.

Grown in bioreactors, the in vitro meat would be created to mimic the texture and flavor or real meat, from to ground chuck to filet mignon. As of now, scientists say that they have a ways to go before reaching the desired results - but they’re making progress. Wired reported: “Researchers can currently grow small amounts of meat in the lab, and have even been able to get heart cells to beat in Petri dishes. Growing muscle cells on an industrial scale is the next step.”

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We *love* the song “Pesach Dub” by Ori Salzberg. Mixing audio from old school Manischewitz ads for matzos and gefilte fish (in jars!) with new school beats, it’s the best thing to happen to matzos since matzos pizza.

Click on the arrow below to listen - sing along!

“There’s nothing that quite hits the spot so | Your family will like it a lot so. | When they’re set to eat, just give them the treat: Manischewitz, American matzo!

Arthur Schwartz likes to say: “If a kosher Martian landed in New York City today and observed what Jews were actually eating, he would think pizza and sushi were the most Jewish foods on earth.” I like to think that a copy of Schwartz’s new cookbook, Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited, would screw that misguided Martian’s head on straight.

Also called The Food Maven, Schwartz is known for being the man the New York Times Magazine dubbed “a walking Google of food knowledge.” His expertise extends far beyond Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine - still, Jewish Home Cooking is a true homecoming for this Brooklyn native.

Far beyond a collection of Yiddish recipes - Jewish Home Cooking offers a vivid snapshot of a particular era of Jewish life - the slender seltzer bottles delivered to your doorstep, butchers who knew your name and order, frothy egg creams with Fox’s U-Bet syrup, and slow-simmered tzimmes - that has all but vanished from today’s New York. With recipes that honor tradition (but aren’t stifled by it), and historical photographs and anecdotes of New York’s long-gone Jewish culinary hot spots, Schwartz breathes new life into Jewish cuisine with humor and love - but without the sloppy side dish of kitsch that usually (and annoyingly) comes along with Yiddish retrospectives.

Win a FREE copy of Jewish Home Cooking! Tell us your favorite Passover dish or food tradition and be entered into a drawing to win. Only one comment per person will be entered into the drawing - comment before Thursday, April 17.

Below the jump, Schwartz’s Passover Apple Cake.

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