In February and March I worked on an industrial pig farm in Israel, which was mentioned on Jcarrot back in February. In a way my time there was a bizarre, self-inflicted, extended identity crisis - but it was also a fascinating and challenging experience for me as both a kosher Jew and a believer in non-factory farmed meat.
I spent time on the “other” side and just recently wrote an article in The Forward, called “On Israel’s Only Jewish-Run Pig Farm, It’s the Swine That Bring Home the Bacon,” which expresses and reflects my own experiences on the farm, the many contradictions of this particular kibbutz, as well as the contradictions within myself.
You can read the full article here.
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.
After months of the largest religious party’s membership waffling on participation in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s coaltion - on issues as divisive as partitioning Jerusalem and a ceasefire with Hamas - Olmert might find his coalition collapsing over an unexpected blindside: matzah.
As the Forward reports, a landmark ruling by the Israeli court system abrogated a law illegalizing the sale of leavened bread during Pesach (NY Times article from 2001 on the chametz police here). The ruling cited that restuarants and stores are private property and thus not violating any “public display” of bread.
But further, the judge ruled that “Hametz prohibitions as they are outlined in the Halacha,” are not relevant. The secular law only prevents the display of goods that look like bread, such as “bread, rolls and pitas.”
Needless to say, the ultra-Orthodox are pissed. 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 »
Sorry for the last minute notice, RSVP at the Facebook page.
We’re proud to announce this week’s super special event: on Wednesday, 4/9 EATING LIBERALLY welcomes SCOTT STRINGER, the Manhattan Borough President, to discuss “Go Green East Harlem,” a grassroots guide to wholesome home cooking.
To improve public health in East Harlem, Stringer’s office has created a cookbook with recipes contributed by community groups & local restaurants that offer ideas for affordable, accessible, healthy eats.
This FREE event hosted by Eating Liberally will feature snacks, Q&A, guest speakers & a live–and lively–cooking demonstration featuring the Borough President himself.
Lynn Fredericks from Family Cook Productions.
& Author of Cooking Time Is Family Time
will join the conversation.
EATING LIBERALLY with SCOTT STRINGER
& “Go Green East Harlem”
Wed, April 9th - 6-8pm
The Tank @ C:U - 279 Church St
www.eatingliberally.org
Last Thursday, Hazon’s Tuv Ha’Aretz CSA at the 14th Street Y in Manhattan hosted a “Meet Your Farmer” night, conjuring up the age-old question: can Papaya Dog and fresh, local vegetables co-exist?
I admit it - I live in a bubble. A tiny, insulated bubble within which everyone cares about eating ethically, and while some people eat meat and some don’t, just about everyone can agree about the merits of garlic-sauteed kale. Inside my cozy world, I forget that a whole other world exists out there - but this week, my trip over to Midtown Lunch reminded me.
Midtown Lunch - an entertaining (and eminently useful!) blog that seeks out the dining gems within the culinary wasteland that is Midtown Manhattan - profiles a different Midtown employee each week. It asks them questions like, “favorite/least favorite foods,” and “if you could work anywhere in New York (just because of lunch) where would it be and why?” This past week I was profiled. I was pleased to have the opportunity to give shout outs to Hazon and The Jew & The Carrot and excited to share my dietary habits with a bunch of related strangers.
Turns out, Midtown is not the most veggie or kosher friendly place on earth. Here’s a smattering of the comments my vegetarian and kosher focused profile received:
Read more »
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a friend about a lecture she went to with a representative of a major beef company, in which she tried to challenge his assumption that the solution to improving the fatty-acid profile of beef is to genetically modify the cattle (as opposed to just feeding them more grass instead of grain, which is how it was done…forever).
During our conversation, we shared the impression that the beef industry is much less concentrated and integrated than the poultry and hog industries. Well, apparently we were wrong:
Read more »
Agriprocessors - the controversial kosher meat company - has recently been hit with a barrage of fines, citations, accusations and legal troubles, coming from all fronts including all three branches of the US government, as well as civil society.
Here’s a rundown of the latest:
Violations of Workers’ Rights. On March 20, the Iowa Division of Labor Services issued a $182,000 fine for 39 citations to the Postville, IA plant of Agriprocessors, the world’s largest kosher meat processor, for violations of worker health and safety regulations including labeling of hazardous chemicals, emergency response issues and programs for respirator use and blood borne pathogen issues. The company has 15 days to respond to the citations and fines. Although counsel for Agriprocessors said “any valid concerns raised by the Division of Labor Services have been immediately addressed,” the citations resulted from two inspections, one as recent as Feb 11, 2008.
Read more »
What would you say if someone offered you a box of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables delivered to your home every week? Ella Heeks is willing to wager you might be interested.
Heeks is the Managing Director of Abel & Cole, an Organic Delivery Service in England. Through Abel & Cole, customers order a weekly bounty of pesticide-free produce and schedule its delivery to fit into their busy lives. It’s convenience and ethical eating, waiting patiently on the porch.
While you can find Organic Delivery Services in most American cities, Brits have taken a particular liking to their weekly veg box - and also to ODS pioneer Abel & Cole. 30-year old Heeks spoke with The Jew & The Carrot about working with an idealistic company, soaking up farmer wisdom, and Able & Cole’s response to some customer’s requests that they boycott Israeli-grown produce. Read more »
Thanks to Michael of Green Prophet for this guest post. While the concept of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is firmly established in the United States, it hasn’t really taken off in Israel. Still, the farmer-consumer relationship that a CSA offers is beginning to percolate in Israeli consciousness. Find out more below…
Read more »
The most recent issue of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture includes an article I wrote called “Reaping the Faith.”
The article profiles Zaid and Haifa Kurdieh, two religious Muslims who combine their faith and farming (sounds familiar somehow…). It focuses on the concept of Tayyib, which some Muslims view as a mandate to eat sustainably and healthily, and compares Tayyib with the significantly more widespread Muslim eating mandate, Halal. It traces the history of faith and farming throughout other religious traditions including Judaism and Christianity. Additionally, it touches upon Zaid and Haifa’s struggles to secure visas for Muslim farm workers from Jordan and Egypt to work as apprentices on their farm. And, naturally, it gives a healthy shout out to Hazon’s Tuv Ha’Aretz program.
The extra exciting news is - the folks at Gastronomica are planning an evening of discussion around the article on Tuesday, May 13 at the beautiful new Astor Center in in NYC - check back here in the next couple of weeks for more information about the event.
Here are the first two paragraphs as a teaser (the article is unfortunately not available online). To purchase a copy or subscription, check out Gastronomica’s website.
Reaping the Faith
By: Leah Koenig
Gastronomica - Winter 2008
Read more »
Thanks to Jonathan Bloom for this series of photos. Jonathan is writing a book on wasted food in America. He became interested in the topic after a day volunteering at D.C. Central Kitchen. Seeing the truckloads of rescued food that would otherwise have gone to landfills made him wonder how much edible food does slip through the cracks.
As a journalist, Bloom set out to learn why and how Americans waste more than 40% of the food produced for consumption. He started a blog dedicated to the topic and worked at a grocery store, farm and catering company to better understand the problem.
The photos below depict the incredible amount of food wasted in America, and also some hopeful examples of food recovery.
Read more »
New Yorkers visiting a certain patch of real estate in the East 20s known affectionately as Curry Hill know the secrets of kosher vegetarian Indian food - in fact, you can hardly throw a dosa without hitting Madras Mahal, Chennai Garden, or another Indian restaurant serving hecshered, meat-free fare.
Now, Israeli-born, vegetarian actress Natalie Portman will star in Mira Nair’s new movie, “Kosher Vegetarian” - exploring the interfaith romance between a Gujarati guy (actor, Ifran Khan) and Jewish girl (Portman).
Like Nair’s last movie (The Namesake), the love between these two characters will undoubtedly be fraught with disapproving parents and inter-cultural conflict. But at very least, the couple will know where to eat.
