The Past, Present, and Future of Food
This event, even after having been moved to a larger auditorium, is compltely sold out (tho folks are looking for tickets on Craigslist). If you live in San Francisco, you can watch the discussion broadcast in the North Gate Hall Library at UC Berkeley. If you live anywhere else, you can watch the webcast here.
I, personally, shall be holed up in Brooklyn with buddies and a bowl of homeade popcorn, and hoping that our internet connection doesn’t die on us, and pondering the bizareness of cross-country real-time, which will have me listening to the discussion at 10pm EST. Oh well.
But why is this conversation so exciting?
I think it’s partly because we don’t often get to see change actually happen, and we’re dealing with two contestants in the sustainable foods debate who are eminently well placed to make that change happen–quickly. And they already have.
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“You don’t want this event that is supposed to start your life together to come at the expense of the environment or workers in another country,” says Ms. Harrison, 28, who’s wedding in October will use organic food at their celebration, and shuttle their guests in bio-fuelled busses.
This was a very sweet article in the NY Times today; apparently, green is the new white!
And that’s good news for the large-scale catered event coming to a synagogue near you, too. OK so you have to use disposable because they don’t have meat dishes. Make them out of corn! Or potato! And reduce your guilt as well as the crap going into landfills, when you take all your garbage to a compost afterwards.
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“All the Jewish holidays come to remind us of something that we should be doing year round. We should always strive to be our best selves – but if we forget, Rosh Hashana comes to remind us. And we should always strive to get rid of the fluff and superfluity in our lives—but if we forget, the period between Purim and Pesach is a reminder. And Tu B’Shevat…the new year of the trees…what does it come to remind us of?”
“Tu B’Shevat, comes to remind us of our connection to the natural world. To the earth. To seasons. To the cycle of growing things. And also to our responsibility to care for those things.”
This was Leah Koenig, sharing words of wisdom via Shlomo Carlbach and Nigel Savage, at the 7th Annual Park Slope Tu B’Shevat Seder this past Monday. Read more »
This past weekend, about 75 people gathered at my congregation for a Tu Bisvhat seder sponsored by our community’s Tuv Ha’aretz CSA. I wrote previously about the emphasis on Fair Trade products at our seder this year, specifically via four cups of Fair Trade coffee and Fair Trade chocolate fondue for dipping all the various fruits and nuts. It was great to see such a diverse group of people - kids and seniors, synagogue members and local CSA supporters, as well as a much-appreciated “guest-appearance” by Hazon’s own Leah Koenig, all learning, singing, and, yes, dipping together. FYI, if you’d like to try a chocolate fondue seder, I highly recommend it. We used this chocolate, and this recipe (minus the added sugar), and I was able to prepare fondue for 75 people in less than 15 minutes! Just microwave 1 bag of chocolate chips + 1/2 cup half & half + 1 tbs. butter in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute 30 seconds, wisk vigorously, and repeat for each serving - each bowl serves a table of 12, and stays dippable (if not hot) for over an hour, no fondue pots necessary!
After the jump, I’d like to share a few thoughts about the mysterious end to the Tu Bishvat seder, and the strange eating of No Fruit… Read more »
On Monday morning I, along with two of my Jewish farming colleagues, was lucky enough to attend a rural circumcision, my first. The father was a gentile, the mother Israeli, the hosts were not very observant, and neither were most of the guests. In fact, the three farmers in flannel were the most observant Jews there, with the exception of the Litchfield Chabad Rabbi and the Lubavitch Mohel (the circumciser).
The Bris seemed to be run almost entirely by the Mohel and the Rabbi, and it brought up some interesting questions. The mother was practically invisible (though, this might be understandable), and the father only slight less invisible. It was mostly a men’s event, which makes sense as we were welcoming this baby into the Jewish Boy’s Club. On the way over, one of my compatriots mentioned that the hosts had driven to Waterbury to get Kosher bagels for the Bris, which he thought was a bit much. Do they usually eat Kosher bagels? No, but this was for the Rabbi. At the Bris I heard questions such as, “If the coffee pot has only been used for coffee, is it kosher?” Read more »
vs.
Coming February 27!
Two powerful foodies, engaged in an extremely polite epistolary smackdown, author Michael Pollan and Holy Foods founder and $1-a-year CEO, John Mackey, will face off at Berkeley.
Jcarrot West Coast Correspondent, Alix Wall, will blog there.
We’ve gotten a lot of calls at the office these past few days of people asking:
Do you know where I can get local organic food for Tu B’Shevat?
This is, of course, exciting that people think to call Hazon to ask these things, and that people are thinking about these things in the first place.
It’s problematic, though. Tu B’Shevat is February 3rd. That is, a globally-warmed season aside, quite squarely in the middle of the winter for most American Jews.
What, then, are our options?
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This year, February 3rd is Tu B’Shevat, the holiday of the trees. What kind of a holiday is this Jewish Arbor Day?? Well, over the years it has been a…
- tax day for agrarian produce (according to Beit Hillel & Beit Shammai)
- a mystical symposium to the greatest reaches of the universe & beyond (courtesy of the Kabbalists in Sfat)
- a kibbutznik celebration of the land of Israel (circa early 20th century)
- and the Jewish equivalent to Earth Day (think: hippies, 1970s, environmentalism born).
Because there’s no halacha for Tu B’Shevat, it’s actually a holiday you can do whatever you want with– basic framework involves four worlds, four cups of wine, and talking about trees.
This year, I suggest that the latest incarnation of Tu B’Shvat, the “environmental holiday” where we talk about acid rain and deforestation, moves its focus just a little…to food. Trees, afterall, provide a lot of the food that we eat, and they grow in the dirt the same way all the rest of our food plants do. Food, in this case, connects us to all of the previous incarnations of Tu B’Shvat, as well as to the future: how we eat is one of our most profound interactions with the world, with the potential to connect us to Jewish history, the earth, each other, and to our deepest selves.
Hazon is going to be talking about food at our Tu B’Shvat Seder, Saturday, February 3rd, 7pm, at the JCC in Manhattan. The seder sells out ever year — if you’re in New York, don’t miss it! Cost is $20. Registration required: www.jccmanhattan.org or 646.505.5708. More more info contact Sabrina Malach: 212.644.2332 or sabrina[at]hazon.org. The JCC in Manhattan is located at 334 Amsterdam Ave. @ 76th St.
If you’re not in New York, I encourage you to hold or find your own Tu B’Shevat seder! You can find a lot about the holiday online: Wikipedia, Torah.org, Kolel, and Ritualwell.org all have great explanations and resources for putting together your own seder.
Chag sameach!
Just got back from the annual New Year’s Contact Improvisation Jam at Earthdance, an ecologically focused, intentional community for (transient) resident dancers that I’ve been visiting for a dozen years or so.The food is great - lots of root vegetables, leafy greens, hearty soups, and other healthy wintery fare - with much of the food coming from the organic Earthdance garden. Add a hot tub, sauna, and about 125 wooded acres with a cold, deep quarry for swimming, and of course lots of yummy people, for full effect.
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(xposted by Lenny on jspot.org)
Related to thoughts about fruit platters, wedding foods, and such, jspot.org recently highlighted a program in Washington DC called Ethical Smahot.
Ethical Smahot is a project initiated by Rabbi Alana Suskin and Rabbi Joshua Ginsberg as an attempt to control the excesses of some Jewish lifecycle celebrations and infuse them with an ethical, meaningful spirit. The project took inspiration from an earlier statement by some Orthodox rabbis in New York City regarding the necessity to control conspicuous consumption during lifecycle celebrations.
In its current incarnation, Ethical Smachot centers on a statement of seven principled elements that should be reflected in every Jewish lifecycle celebration: Tzniut (modesty), Kavod HaBriot (respect for one’s fellow human beings), Talmud Torah (study and learning), Seudah (festive meal), Tzedakah (charity), Tzedek (righteousness and justice), and Shomrei Adamah (guarding the Earth).
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The Shmorg, the famous spread at almost any Jewish celebration that preceeds the main event. Back before I was, as they say, “eco-conscious” this was my favorite part of attending a simcha. The bar, the carving station, sushi, stir-fry, salads, chinese, what more could a hungry young man ask for? And all glatt-kosher no less! Yesterday, when I was blessed to attend the wedding of a close friend from college and my brief stint at yeshiva high-school, I saw the shmorg in a new light. Mountains of meat, piles of fish, and waiters ready to take away your plate just as soon as you put your fork down for a breath, and why not? There’s plenty more where that came from! right?
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Tomorrow night is the county fair. The Kosher-style County Fair. It’s the latest event from the folks at the 14th St. Y and Heeb magazine, who’s aim, I think, is to be simultaneously outrageous, and Jewish, and Jewishly outrageous, so that you couldn’t possibly ignore them. I am…skeptical.
Earlier this fall, my good friend Noam competed in the a similar event, the 14th St. Y’s “Mr. & Ms. Jew-S-A” competition, and won. His magen david-shaped tofu (baked, then fried) and his superior Jewish charm earned him the crown. And so, as reigning champion of Jewish kitch (where you are compelled to ask, ‘is this for REAL?’), Noam will be judging the Kugel Bake-Off at the Kosher-style County Fair on Wednesday, November 29. And he’ll also be co-starring in a production by me, Leah Koenig and him: “Eggplant’s Adventures on VDate.”
VDate – Where it happens. For vegetables.
Eggplant is lonely and unlucky in love. She worries she’ll die an old babaganoush, wrinkled on the compost heap. Her friend cauliflower suggests she try VDate.
“Ew! I thought everyone on VDate lies about their nutritional content and price-per-pound,” says Eggplant.
“That may be,” says Cauliflower. “But this is where my cousin Fava met his pole bean…it could work for you. And plus, it’s kosher!”
Yes folks, this is for real. I’ll be performing tomorrow night, and we’ll do a retake at Hazon’s food conference if all goes well. It’s kind of outrageous, it seems almost that there is SO much Jewish culture in New York that it’s sort of overflowed its bounds, it keeps getting more and more ridiculous just to keep our attention.
But it IS interesting that the event is about food, and Jewish food. There will be sushi-eating off of (semi) naked bodies, a kosher hot dog eating contest, dill pickles, and the aforementioned Kugel Bake-Off (judged by Noam “Mr. Jew-S-A” – who doesn’t even like kugel, don’t tell!). The event will feature Heeb’s latest food issue, which declares itself to be definitely not about sustainability, or vegetables, or factory farms, or health—pure kitch, that’s all—and I presume that this event is similar. Still, food is what’s on our minds these days, and if we have to do something totally ridiculous to make a point, I guess we will.
So will Eggplant end up with PesticideFreeENYCE or YukonGoldstein?? Stay tuned…
Hello friends! To inaugurate the launch of this here web log — and keeping in our tradition of food, fun and Jewish life — we are launching a Jewish food joke contest! Submit all your favorite jokes about food in Jewish life here and we’ll post them for your chuckle-worthy enjoyment. Submissions will be read and the winning joke with be selected at Latkes to Lattes: Hazon’s Conference on Jews, Food and Contemporary Life on December 14 -17 (click for more info).
Our premiering joke is courtesy of Daniel Taub:
Greenbaum finally succumbs to years of temptation and enters a non-kosher restaurant. He decides to go the whole way and orders wild boar. It soon arrives - roasted whole, with an apple between its teeth on a silver platter.
Just as Greenbaum is about to raise his knife and fork, he is shocked to see his rabbi walk past the window of the restaurant. Equally shocked to see Greenbaum, the rabbi rushes into the restaurant to see what he is doing there.
“Such a fancy restaurant,” exclaims Greenbaum. “I just ordered an apple and look how fancy they serve it!”
This is the home of Jews, food and contemporary life on the web, with the aim of taking the talk about eating in the Jewish community up a notch. The sponsor of this site is Hazon, an organization dedicated to a more healthy and sustainable Jewish community on the road to a more healthy and sustainable world for all.
In the coming months, we will feature high profile interviews, feature stories, reflections from vast range of Jewish thinkers on what it means to grow, make, eat and dispose of our food consistently with Judaism’s values of concern for self, others and earth. Reach the blog team with news, events around the country and Israel, and story tips.
