Thanks to Chana Rubin, RD for this guest post. Chana is a registered dietitian who lives in Israel with her family. She’s the author of the new book Food for the Soul: Traditional Jewish Wisdom for Healthy Eating (Gefen Publishing House Ltd, Jerusalem, 2007). Chana will be guest posting throughout the week - and keep your eyes open for a chance to win a copy of her book!

I have lived in many different Jewish communities in the U.S. and in Israel and have seen the same patterns in most of them. Obesity and the sedentary lifestyle of our communities mimic that of the community at large, with added issues of kashrut, culture, Shabbat and holidays.

Preventative nutrition and nutrition education have always been my interest. It seems to me that it is easier and more cost effective to prevent illness before it happens rather than treat it after the fact. And there are many diseases – Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, to name a few, that are certainly preventable.

Many books address general nutrition, but none of them address the Jewish community in particular. Food for the Soul – Traditional Jewish Wisdom for Healthy Eating does just that. The nutrition information is universal, but tailored to our specific needs and our own food culture.

More and a recipe for Surprise Cupcakes after the jump

Read more »

This past weekend, our synagogue hosted a “Pesach University”: A community-wide day of Passover workshops, on everything from the anthropological roots of the seder, to how to “green” your Pesach.

But the true highlight of the event was a live Passover cooking demonstration by none other than Ellie Krieger - an adjunct professor in the New York University Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, and star of the Food Network’s hit show, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. (She also happens to be the sister of one of our Tuv Ha’aretz CSA’s core group members, and a genuinely warm and funny person to boot.)

In honor of the occasion, Ellie chose to focus on two themes of the seder: dipping, and the tension between bitter and sweet in the story, and the food that accompanies it. Ellie made two delicious recipes, adapted from her new cookbook The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, which she has graciously allowed me to share, after the jump: Read more »

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.

Read more »

I’ve only had my copy of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family for a few weeks, and already the book is stained and a bit worn. I think that’s a good sign.

As the title might suggest, this book is a family affair. Author Judy Bart Kancigor beautifully describes how the book came into existence, stemming from a desire to pass on her family’s food traditions. As a result, almost every recipe has a story, which can be a bit overwhelming at times, but ultimately brings the recipes to life. It’s not just a cookbook; you feel invited in, as though you’re taking part in the Rabinowitz family tradition by making this food. And the pictures are great – a time-capsule of American Jewish life opened to reveal many embarrassing hairstyles and equally embarrassing bar mitzvah pictures.

More and recipes for banana bread and sesame crusted chicken below the jump.

Read more »

Many people complain that it’s difficult to find a synagogue to join in New York City. There are just so many options, that none of them feel exactly right - you might call it The Shul-Goers Dilemma. These days, however, I’m feeling pretty good at Temple Bet Pollan.

Michael Pollan gets his fair share of love on this blog, and his new book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto has already joined its predecessor, The Omnivore’s Dilemma as a New York Times Best Seller. Pollan is in the middle of his second whirlwind book tour in two years (I guess he sleeps on the plane) – and I hear the same account every where he goes. Huge venue, sold out show, knockout performance.

Like any effective leader - Martin Luther King included - he’s charismatic and big on the big ideas that change the way we think - or in this case how we eat. But as I devoured (pun intented) Pollan’s new book on my subway commute, I wondered what, if anything, does his worldview offer to the Jewish community? And, perhaps more interestingly, what wisdom does the tribe have to offer back to him?

Read more »

I’m pleased to announce the winners from our most recent raffles on The Jew & The Carrot (drum roll please….)

Sharon Lebewohl won a framed print of Karl Schatz’s gorgeous photo and Joshua Lichtman will receive a copy of Sandor Katz’s book, Wild Fermentation.  Thanks to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket and left comments about their favorite fermented foods!  The Jew & The Carrot will offer many more chances to win healthy and sustainable goodies in 2008 - check back soon!

The Jessica Seinfeld controversy continues - and this time, Jerry’s wife isn’t laughing.  (Wow, that sentence sounds so gossip blog…oh well, I’ll roll with it.)  According to The Smoking Gun:

“An author today sued Jerry Seinfeld’s wife for allegedly plagiarizing a cookbook she wrote and also accused the comedian of defaming her as a “wacko” during an interview with David Letterman. In a federal lawsuit, Missy Chase Lapine alleges that Jessica Seinfeld “brazenly plagiarized” from her 2007 book “The Sneaky Chef” in the writing of Seinfeld’s own cookbook (both volumes focused on how to prepare healthy meals for finicky young eaters).

When news stories appeared detailing similarities in the two books, Jerry Seinfeld launched a “malicious, premeditated, and knowingly false and defamatory attack” on Lapine, the complaint charges. As part of that campaign, Seinfeld went on Letterman’s show and described Lapine as “angry” and “hysterical.” He then compared her to the kind of “wackos” that had previously stalked Letterman. The comedian then added that Lapine was a “three-name woman” and “if you read history, many of the three-name people do become assassins.”

Perhaps Jerry should have shoved one of Jessica’s spinach-laced brownies into his mouth before going on Letterman?  Seriously, though, how sad that all of this is happening over the noble act of convincing (okay, tricking) picky eaters into consuming more vegetables.

(x-posted from my new favorite foodie blog - aside from The Jew & The Carrot of course - Serious Eats.)

Michael Pollan’s Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters: Can You Live By Them?
Posted by Ed Levine

Here they are, Michael Pollan’s Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters, from his new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. As Jamie Forrest noted yesterday, a few food pundits are taking him to task for a number of them. I’m down with most of what brother Pollan is preaching. What about you? These commandments are made to order for serious fat-chewing.

See Pollan’s 12 Commandments below the jump

Read more »

Fermentation is the foundation of warm sourdough bread, crunchy pickles and cold micro-brewed beer.  And Sandor Ellix Katz is, in our humble opinion, the rebbe of fermentation. 

Two weeks ago, Naftali posted a review of Sandor’s book Wild Fermentation.  Now, you can read the exclusive (and incredibly inspiring) interview with Sandor, and answer the following question for a chance to win a copy of his book:  What is your all-time favorite fermented food? 

Interview with Sandor Ellix Katz

Who is Sandorkraut?

Sandorkraut is an affectionate nickname I was given by friends thanks to my love of sauerkraut, my constant production of it, and more broadly my evangelical zeal about fermentation. My name is Sandor Ellix Katz. I’m a queer Jew born and raised in New York City who has been homesteading in rural Tennessee for the past 15 years.

My interest in fermentation developed out of overlapping interests in food, nutrition, and gardening. My book Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods has propelled me into a mission of what I call cultural revivalism, spreading fermentation skills and fermentation fervor.

Read more »

The foodie world has been abuzz about Michael Pollan’s newest book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.  Teased by its delicious catch phrase, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” we’ve hungered to sit down with a mug of fair trade hot chocolate and dig in.

Well, it’s out.  The Jew & The Carrot review (with a special Jewish twist, of course) is on the way.  In the meantime, read an excerpt from the NY Times’ review below, and catch the whole review here.

“Goaded by “the silence of the yams,” Mr. Pollan wants to help old-fashioned edibles fight back. So he has written “In Defense of Food,” a tough, witty, cogent rebuttal to the proposition that food can be reduced to its nutritional components without the loss of something essential. “We know how to break down a kernel of corn or grain of wheat into its chemical parts, but we have no idea how to put it back together again,” he writes.”

And if you’re in the New York area, join Hazon next Tuesday, January 8th for a reception and lecture with Michael Pollan and Dan Barber at the 92nd Street Y.  More info.

When it comes to “sustainable eating,” I’m starting to worry that perhaps the Brits take the (organic carrot) cake.

Maybe my sources are skewed from having a Manchester-bred boss who sends all-staff emails everytime the British foodies do something interesting.  (e.g. when England’s Walmart-equivalent, Tesco, commits to making their products’ ”food miles” transparent, or long-time organic farming supporter, Prince Charles makes a cookie.)

As if the Prince of England wasn’t enough proof of England’s foodie superiority, now I find out that Jamie Oliver - the British hearthrob and “Naked Chef” -has a new book and TV show called Jamie at Home that features food grown in his backyard and cooked in his kitchen.  Jamie says:

Read more »

5-Spoke Creamery - As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, 5-Spoke Creamery is the place to look if you’re looking for raw milk, artisanal, amazingly delicious, and kosher certified (Kof-K) cheese.  Now, it seems event the New York Times agrees.  Hazon was blessed to have Alan, Barbara, and their kids serving up samples of their delicious cheese - including their recently released, Tumbleweed variety (see left) - at the Food Conference.  Click here, to find out where you can get your hands on some.

Lantern Books Essay Contest - Lantern Books - publishers of books on animal advocacy, religion, social justice, and environmentalism announced its 2007 essay competition. The aim of the competition is to allow new thinking to emerge on the key subjects of Lantern’s publishing program and to encourage new voices to step forward to shape the debate for the future.

The first prize is $1000. There is no entry fee. Essays should be no longer than 1500 words. The deadline is December 31, 2007.  For complete guidelines, as well as prior years’ winning essays, click here.

Margaret Hathaway’s new book, The Year of the Goat, tells the story of the 40,000 miles she and her partner (now husband), Karl Schatz, traveled in search of the perfect goat cheese - and a new way of life.

Before embarking on their year-long journey, Hathaway was a freelance writer who managed Magnolia Bakery in New York City, and Schatz worked as a photo editor for Time Magazine’s website. Together, they lived in Brooklyn, shopped at the Greenmarkets, and generally enjoyed city life - but they craved something more than the five boroughs could offer. So, they set off on a year-long journey to discover if farming - and particularly working with goats - held the secrets of the next chapter of their lives.

Along the way, Hathaway and Schatz met what they call, a “vivid cast of characters,” including a myriad of goat cheese and meat enthusiasts, a Texas-born Muslim living in Maine and helping the local Somali community in Lewiston acquire fitting goats for their religious festivals, and a Messianic Jew who keeps Shabbat as well as a herd of goats.

I spoke with Margaret and Karl last week about goats (naturally), their adventures in homesteading, the connection between farming and Jewish tradition, and their upcoming event in NYC, the Goatstravaganza (Nov. 8).

Interview continues below the jump…

Read more »

Melanie Dunea’s new book - My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals- combines Americans’ ever-growing obsession with food and celebrity chefs, with our voyeuristic desire to glimpse into the lives of famous people.

The book features goregous, coffee table-quality portraits of renowned chefs, along with interviews and - of course - their own description of their ideal “last meal.” It is truly remarkable to notice the number of chefs who chose shellfish and pork products (particularly suckling pig) as their deathbed delicacy.

New York-based chef and organic foods enthusiast, Jonathan Waxman’s final meal comes slightly closer to The Jew & The Carrot’s style:

“a bountiful and varied selection: handmade tortilla chips with guacamole made from organic tree-ripened avocados, spit-roasted lamb from the Sonoma Valley, served with potatoes cooked in ashes, followed by ice cream sandwiches made from shortbread, served with wild strawberries.”

So nu, what would your (God, forbid!)  last meal include?

Purchase My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals here