See those blue ribbons? My challah (and my husband’s bagels) won those at the county fair last year. Both recipes always turn out reliably scrumptious, which should be enough for any baker, but there is something undeniably, down-home country-satisfying about serving your family and friends “blue-ribbon” baked goods.

Folks looking for Jewish food and culture might not head for the county fair; as Jewish pig farmers, pole benders and log-rolling lumberjacks are rarities in most parts, yet the lure of competition, fancy ribbons and yearlong bragging rights might make you wish to consider participating. That’s right, I suggest you get your apron on and whip, bake, pickle or jar up your Jewish delicacies and head to your county fair. Trust me, your homemade kosher dills will taste even better adorned with a Best of Show ribbon. All you need is a copy of your local fair’s open-class entry form to start planning your submissions.

Make great challah? Babka? Rugelach? Matzah? Bagels? How about hamantaschen? Home economics class B baked goods can be your proving ground. County fair food preservation judges have had plenty of pickles cross their palates, why don’t you see if they can gauge what makes a good gefilte fish?

Fascinated by fermentation? Budding oenologists and zymogurists can bottle up and enter their best kosher wine, beer, or hard cider. If you’re more of a drinker and designer than distiller, see if your county fair has a category for labels. Either way, bring some Jewish flavor to your county fair and bring home some blue ribbons! But don’t forget your cowboy boots; there is nothing to win with open-toed shoes in the livestock halls.

In planning our new (improved?) kosher home, we looked at everything that went into our mouths � from dairy to diet soda; meat to mints, chocolate to cheese. One area I hadn�t thought about until Rabbi SpiceRock brought it up was wines.

I�m happy to say that I�m not hung up with the thought that �kosher wine� is synonymous with �diabetes-inducing sweetness�. So the wine needs a hekshur. OK.

�Uh, no there�s something else�. The good Rabbi offered. �It�s called mevushal, which just means �cooked� in Hebrew and��

�Hold the phone, Reb,� I cut in. �COOKED wine? Are we talking about mulled cider kind of cooked, or that I can only drink sherry and marsala or��

�It means,� he said, taking control of the conversation before I got out of hand, �that the wine has been heated. It used to be up to boiling, but these days it just has to get up to 180 degrees. Basically it needs to be pasteurized.�

�And where in Torah exactly does it say to do this?�

�It� doesn�t,� he admitted.

So why, I demanded to know, would� I allow this abomination to be performed to an innocent and unsuspecting bottle of Chardonnay? The answer lies (like so many things, and especially with the laws of kashrut) in Talmud. It seems our old buddies Akiva, Hillel, Gamliel and the rest of the gang were concerned about idolatrous waiters (the scourge of every dinner party I�ve ever been to. I�m sure you�ve had the same experience.). They worried that they would open a bottle in the back room, make a quick toast to Zeus or Baal or Uma Thurman and then serve the rest of the bottle to the (Jewish) guests. Thus, unwittingly, would the guests participate in idolatry themselves.

The solution, reasoned the Rabbis (who clearly developed their wine palate by chewing on rock salt) was to boil any wine that Jews would consume but might be handled by non-Jews. Because no idol-worshipper would use BOILED wine in a libation to Loki. Logical, no?

The result was an explosion of interest in home wine-making by every Jew on the planet (including the esteemed Talmud commentator Rashi who grew� a whole freakin� vineyard)� and the coining of the term �BYOB�.

After Rabbi Spicerock left for the evening, I thought about the ramifications of this new information. I am not at all a oenophile (wine fanatic, and yeah I had to look that one up too). But there are statements about the world that go along with concept of mevushal that made me uncomfortable, beyond the idea of pre-percolated Port.

Here is the decision I arrived at: Bjorn isn�t standing by the waiter station popping the top on a �95 cab-sav and saying �here�s to you Thor. You rock!�

I just can�t buy into the view of my world � my home town, my work, my day-to-day experience � where anyone is making idolatrous libations any more. And certainly not with my wine.

So, for now at least, my wine choices will not include �flame broiled�.

Over the last decade, seders for Tu Bishvat have spiked in popularity. This growth is largely due to the contemporary Jewish community’s interest in “greening” ritual and holidays. Every year, the number of organizations turning to Tu Bishvat to inject some sustainability-awareness into their annual programming grows, as does the collection of environmentally-inspired haggadot for Tu Bishvat available online. (Like this one from My Jewish Learning, this one from Hillel, and this one from Hazon.)

The downside is that some people shy away from celebrating the holiday precisely because it feels too “hippie” or eco-spiritual. But while the Tu Bishvat seder, which was originally developed as a mystical celebration by kabbalists in 16th century Safed, provides a helpful structure for celebrating Tu Bishvat, there are no official rules for the holiday. The lack of halakhic requirements means that seders can be tailored to meet their hosts’ personalities–even if they happen to prefer fine china over bicompostable dishware.

The Seder Structure

Borrowing from Passover’s four cups of wine, the kabbalistic seder for Tu Bishvat is divided into four parts that correspond to four “worlds.” This notion of the importance of the number four repeats itself in multiple ways: through assigning a season and mystical attribute to each world, through drinking four cups of wine, and by dividing the foods eaten during the seder (generally a feast of fruits and nuts) into four categories that reflect human nature. Each of these components attempts to coax another level of contemplative thought, creativity, and wonder from seder participants.

Variations on the Theme

The five seder menus below share two key elements of the kabbalistic model:

• One glass of wine served in each “world,” moving from all white to all red
• A feast of fruit and nuts that corresponds with the kabbalistic attributes: fruits that are hard/inedible on the outside and soft on the inside in world 1, fruits that are soft on the outside and hard/inedible inside in world 2, fruits that are completely soft/edible in world 3, and no fruit in world 4

Beyond that, they vary widely in personality and presentation. So choose the seder menu that suits your tastes (or create your own) and have a wonderful Tu Bishvat!

THE HIPPIE
Go ahead and let your eco-freak flag wave.

Menu Suggestions
World 1: walnut pesto (recipe below) served on flaxseed crackers
World 2: date muffins spread with peach preserves
World 3: strawberry and blueberry smoothie “shots” blended with organic yogurt

Wine List
Any organic or local wines will do. If you’re looking for kosher options, go with Yarden Organic Chardonnay for white and Baron Herzog Merlot for red.

Decorations
Arrange the room with comfy pillows spread around the floor, hang colorful tapestries, and set low tables with tea lights, scented candles, and potted bonsai trees.

THE SOPHISTICATE
Elegance need not take a backseat on Tu Bishvat.

Menu Suggestions
World 1: Lemon tartlets with an almond crust (recipe below)
World 2: Avocado-stuffed deviled eggs
World 3: Poached pears in wine syrup
With all that fruit on the table, you are going to want some cheese. Make a few small cheese boards to set around the table for mid-seder snacking.

Wine List
Proper wine pairing is crucial to the seder’s success. Consult with your local wine seller to find the perfect bottle for each course. Be sure to start with a sparkling Prosecco or champagne to kick things off in style.

Decorations
Use cloth napkins with elegant napkin rings, your finest china, and good flatware (naturally). Set small sprays of roses in miniature jars around the table. Tie individualized place cards around the stem of a small apple and place in the middle of each plate.

THE NEWBIE
For first timers, the key is simplicity.

Menu Suggestions
Create a few beautiful platters of whole fresh and dried fruit and nuts, and let the food shine for itself. Group the fruit and nuts from each “world” together on the platter to ease the guesswork–make sure to have a couple of options from each category.

Wine List
Use your favorite table red and basic white wine.

Decorations
Float a few tea-lights in bowls of water, and set bouquets of fresh, fragrant herbs (rosemary and thyme work especially well) in mason jars around the table.

THE MULTI-CULTURALIST
Celebrate Jewish foods from around the world on Tu Bishvat.

Menu Suggestions
World 1: Middle-Eastern inspired baklava
World 2: Hungarian fruit soup with peaches and plums (recipe below)
World 3: Sephardic quince and apple candies

Wine List
Feature kosher wines from Israel, Italy, and Spain at your table.

Decorations
Use music to set the mood–make a playlist of Jewish music from different cultures and let it play in the background throughout the seder.

THE CHOCOLATE LOVER
Because no holiday is complete without chocolate.

Menu Suggestions
One word: Fondue. Have platters of fruit and nuts from each “world” interspersed around the table (the fruit should be cut into bite-sized pieces). In the center of the table, place a fondue pot filled with melted chocolate for a tasty and interactive seder (fondue recipe below). Don’t forget to provide sticks or long forks for dipping.

Wine List
Ask your local wine seller for chocolate port and use it in place of the red wine. Another option is to skip the wine altogether and substitute it with chocolate. Start with a piece of white chocolate in the first “world” and slowly progress to milk chocolate, bittersweet, and–finally–decadently dark.

Decorations
Lay a light brown tablecloth on your table and use dark brown napkins fastened with cream-colored rings for a sweet effect. Top off the table with this almost-good-enough-to-eat chocolate bar candle.

Recipes

Vegan Walnut Pesto
Serves 6.

2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pulse basil and walnuts in a food processor. Add garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice and pulse again until smooth. Add nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste and pulse until just blended, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Lemon Tart with Almond Crust
Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 8.

Crust
1/3 cup almonds, finely ground in food processor
1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 Tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter cut into pieces
2 Tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons sour cream
4 eggs

Stir together almonds, flour, sugar, salt, and ginger in a bowl. Add butter and, using two knives or your fingers, mix together until it resembles coarse meal. Add ice water, a little at a time until moist clumps of dough form. Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour or up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll dough onto a floured surface to a 12-inch round and transfer to a 9-inch diameter tart pan with a removable bottom. Fold dough overhang inwards, pressing to adhere and forming double-thick sides. Pierce dough with a fork and freeze for 20 minutes. Bake crust until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes.

While cooling, whisk lemon juice and sugar in a bowl. Add sour cream and then whisk in eggs until well blended. Pour mixture into crust. Bake tart until filling is set (about 35 minutes), covering crust edges with foil if they begin to brown too quickly. Cool tart completely on a rack and refrigerate at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Hungarian Fruit Soup
Slightly adapted from Matthew Goodman’s Jewish Food: The World at Table
Serves 10-12.

2 pounds peaches, pitted and chopped
1 pound plums, pitted and chopped
7 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Up to 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream

Put fruit, water, and salt in a soup pot and bring to boil. Add lemon juice, zest, cinnamon stick, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick.

Puree the soup in the pot with a hand (immersion) blender, or in batches in a standard upright blender. Transfer to a bowl and stir in additional sugar, to taste. Refrigerate overnight and serve with sour cream.

Easy Chocolate Fondue
Serves 10-12.

1 pound semisweet chocolate (spring for high quality), chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Heat cream into a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and add chocolate, stirring until smooth and melted. Transfer to a fondue pot to keep warm.

During my two-year stint as a vegan in college, I often joked that while 90 percent of dining hall food was off-limits, at least I could always find a drink. (Clearly, I had never heard of the bacon martini.) But on a recent vacation to America’s wine capitol, Napa Valley, I stumbled upon an unappetizing fact: All along, I just might have been drinking fish guts.*

“It comes from the bladder of a sturgeon,” said Peter Hoffmann. We were standing in a newly built shed in his fig tree-adorned backyard, sampling wines from his organic and biodynamic label, Aum Cellars — straight from the barrel. Needless to say, I felt pretty cool about that. In between swirls and sips, Hoffmann explained fining — the process of introducing a tiny amount of protein into wine to attract any loose particles (tiny bits of grape skin or stems, naturally occurring yeasts, etc.) and help them settle to the bottom of the barrel. Fining, he said, helps to smooth out a wine, ultimately giving it a silkier, more consistent mouth feel. “It’s the equivalent of driving a Mercedes instead of a pickup truck,” Hoffmann said.

Despite the benefits of fining with traditional agents like isinglass (sturgeon bladder aka “fish guts”), egg white albumen, gelatin or casein (a milk protein), vegan purists say it renders the wine unfit to drink. Meanwhile, some winemakers — both vegan and not — believe that fining can remove too much sediment, taking the wine’s complexity and key flavors with it. In response to the growing market for animal-free vino, some wineries have started to specialize in vegan-friendly wines that either skip the fining process or substitute the traditional agents with a natural clay called bentonite, or with diatomaceous earth, which is sourced from hard-shelled fossilized algae.

“Hoffmann said that Europe — particularly France — has warmed up to the idea of animal-free wine since 1997 when, during the height of the mad cow disease scare, the European Union banned the practice of fining wines with dried bull’s blood. In the United States, wineries and consumers have been less eager to embrace the trend (though the use of animal blood is also banned in American winemaking). As a result, the number of intentionally vegan wineries remains in the significant minority.”

Terry Hall, communications director for the Napa Valley Vintners, said that while Napa wineries are generally known for their dynamic and cutting-edge sustainability practices, he could not name one of their 350 partner vineyards that touts its wine as vegan. Still, he said many wineries avoid fining with egg whites or other animal-based agents simply because they are expensive. Often, he said, their wines may be vegan-friendly by default, even if they do not market their products that way.

As a biodynamic winemaker, Hoffmann said he relies largely on moon cycles to help filter and clarify his wines. While he does use trace amounts of organic eggs in fining Aum Cellars’ white wines, he said, “[for the reds] I go with pure gravity and the apogee and perigee cycle of the moon [the distance the moon is from the sun at a given point during the month]. That way I’m not robbing the wine of anything it has to offer [by fining.]” A former vegan himself, Hoffmann also indicates on the label that his red wines are made without animal byproducts.

Before my visit to Napa, I always assumed that the “vegan” stamp I occasionally saw on wine bottles was one of those meaningless descriptors that marketing teams use to improve a product’s appeal within a particularly dietary zeitgeist — like stamping “fat free” on a package of baby carrots. Now that I am armed with wine’s deep, dark fishy secret, the phrase “drink responsibly” has taken on a whole new meaning.

3 vegan wines to try

Aum Cellars: Hoffmann uses small amounts of organic egg in fining their delicious white wines, but the reds are completely vegan and also organic and biodynamic to boot.
St. Helena Cabernet ($37)

Girasole Vineyards: Located two hours north from San Francisco in Mendocino, Girasole grapes are organically grown and processed using sustainable, animal-free processes.
Girasole Vineyards Pinot Noir ($16)
Girasole Vineyards Chardonnay ($13)

Frey Vineyards: Another Mendocino beauty, Frey Vineyards, claims to be the first biodynamic vineyard in the U.S.
Organic Merlot ($27)
Organic Petite Sirah ($13.50)

Find other vegan-friendly wines at the Barnivore website.

*There is debate online over whether all kosher wine is vegan. According to the 1999 cookbook Vegan in Volume, whose authors consulted with the OU, Star-K, and Kof K certifying agencies, gelatin and isinglass are not used in kosher wines, but egg whites (which are parve) are occasionally used for fining.

Thanks to Rachel Kriger for this guest post, one of a regular monthly series. Rachel was raised on organic food and in Jewish day school. At Wesleyan University, she studied religion and sociology, and then found the most practical career to combine the two as an organic farming apprentice.  In the ADAMAH fellowship, she was able to merge her love of small scale farming and Judaism, and she became the farm manager for the following year. Currently, she in her clinical year as a Five Element Acupuncturist at the Tai Sophia Institute in Maryland. In the Calendar Garden at the Pearlstone Center, she is making more connections between plants, seasons, Jewish wisdom and body awareness.

At Pesach we drink a lot of wine. Why is it called the symbol of our joy?

In an arid environment, wine can be seen a method of preservation. If you do not live or work near a well or a spring or some other source of fresh water you need to have something else to drink during the day.

• Milk does not last without refrigeration; actually we can think of cheese as a form of dried milk (that is a form of preserving milk).
• Crushing olives obtains oil, which while highly useful, does not quench thirst.
• Squashing pomegranates produces a very tart juice, but it doesn’t last long at room temperature.
• Squeezing dates creates a very sweet paste our ancestors called “dvash“.
• And figs don’t produce much in the manner of a drinkable juice either.

The Grape

But, that other fruit mentioned among the seven species, the grape, undergoes an amazing transformation when it is crushed, squashed and squeezed. With just the right amount of exposure to oxygen it becomes a drink that, like a good person, becomes more distinguished as it ages.

And so we Jews treat this juice with respect, initiating special moments of our lives and our experiences as a people by praising G!d for our ability to grow harvest and transform the grape into such a wondrous beverage.

One year I even made some of my own.

We express this awe in the words of the Kiddush. While the Kiddush differs slightly depending on the specific occasion, clearly the most frequently recited version is that sung on Shabbat. At that time we bring to mind the beginnings of creation and our role in it as well as our liberation from slavery in Egypt. Many of us know the melody composed by Lewis Lewandowski in the 19th century., but Jewish, liturgical, musical creativity has continued.

Mack the Knife sings Kiddush?

The 59th Yahrtzeit of Kurt Weill is soon upon us. Weill, the son of a Chazzan, died April 3, 1950 which corresponds to the second day of Pesach, or this year Friday April 10. Among the many wonderful works by Kurt Weill (who is best known for “Mack the Knife”) is a Kiddush.

[I paraphrase from the Jewish Heritage Online Magazine]:

Kiddush was commissioned in 1946 by the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York (at the time, Weill may have been living at 231 E. 62nd St.), where it was first performed by tenor solo, chorus, and organ, during a Friday night service by Cantor David Putterman. Weill dedicated the score to his father Albert, who survived the Second World War and became a citizen of the State of Israel.

I first heard this version of the Kiddush sung by my dear friend Cantor Richard Botton at Central Synagogue in Manhattan in the late 1970s and was deeply moved by its expressiveness. Cantor Botton later recorded the composition on Rockport Records [CD RR 5009] From Generation to Generation and I listen to it frequently.

When my wife, R. Deborah R. Prinz celebrated her retirement from the pulpit rabbinate at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, CA (in 2007), I purchased the sheet music so that I could learn and sing the Kiddush (with a piano accompaniment) at the Erev Shabbat service honoring her. I continue to sing it often (a cappella with family accompaniment) at home on Erev Shabbat.

A recording is available on the Web, for those not familiar, sung by Cantor Garfein and choir (for some odd reason I can’t get it to play on my Mac now, and, if I remember correctly I did not find this a particularly moving rendition, though it ends with the sweetness it calls for).

Sheet music is available.

Recently R. David Posner (Temple Emanu-El, NYC) spoke about Weill’s Kiddush on the radio show “Mad About Music” WNYC, (February 1, 2009). Here’s an excerpt from their conversation:

POSNER:
I do remember when I was younger, ten, eleven years old, I must have stopped by the time I was eleven years old, listening to Elvis Presley recordings, the Everly Brothers, I remember. I thought they were very good country singers. So I chose the Kurt Weill “Kiddush” because this is a jazz version of the “Kiddush”, which is the sanctification of God with the instrument of wine, praising God for being the creator of the fruit of the vine, and also thanking God for the Sabbath, on which this particular “Kiddush” is always recited, 52 weeks a year. Temple Emanu-El started to use this version of the “Kiddush” among maybe eight or ten that our Cantor does. And at first the congregation was somewhat uneasy, but after a half a dozen listenings, they were totally convinced and totally sold on a jazz version of the Kiddush, normally that they’ve always heard in chordal harmonies, very straight, and now with a fluidity that is so appealing and so mystical in its own way.

Wine, like freedom can lead to a powerful headiness

At the beginning of the Kiddush we praise G!d who enables us in our wonderful capacity for growing, harvesting and processing the fruit of the vine.

As I write in my own Haggadah:

Tonight we recline. Our reclining is not a sign of laziness, but of freedom, a respite as we await instructions on how to proceed. No one forces us to eat on the run, at our desks, or out in the fields at our work. We can enjoy a meal that includes conversation and song, a meal that focuses our attention on the burgeoning year as it blossoms around us and encourages renewed growth within us. Our meal also intensifies our awareness of the efforts for freedom still pursued by ourselves and others.

After drinking three of our four cups of wine, we also know that we have come most of the way from the degradation of slavery to the dignity of freedom. But freedom, like wine, can lead to a powerful headiness. Liberation itself is not the goal.

We have the strength to act according to our own decisions. Yet we understand that not every decision we make is the correct one, merely because it is ours. Though we can act out of strength, we have also learned that not by might, nor by power, but by the awesome divine attributes of justice and mercy will we all achieve wholeness.

Wine [Creation/Liberation]… and Song

And so, this year at Seder as we drink our last cup of wine, and on Shabbat when we make Kiddush, I hope we pause to become more aware of our strengths and abilities, consider different melodies that can carry our words, and rejoice in the creation and our liberation.

“They were to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking (y’mei mishteh v’simha) and as an occasion for sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor.”
-Esther 9:22

Other than reading and/or hearing the Megillah, every mitzvah of Purim is mentioned in this one verse. Each of them is centered on food in some way, as it is a Jewish holiday, and the verse could arguably be the basis for the joke that every Jewish holiday can be summed up by the phrase, “they tried to kill us, God saved us, let’s eat.” What the Jews of Shushan did, however, was more than just eat.

I’m no Bible scholar, but the term “mishteh” seems clearly to come from the root for “drink.” We’ll save for another post the question of whether a Jew is required to get drunk on Purim, but for now, I think it must be said that in Shushan, they got drunk. Why, then, would JPS and most other Bible translations leave out the part about drinking, at least explicitly? I know even less about the history of Bible translations than I do about the Bible, so don’t trust me too much, but I’m guessing it has something to do with contemporary attitudes toward alcohol. Jewish attitudes toward alcohol are pretty easy-going compared to Islam’s and most other religions’, but are by no means univocal.

NB: I am only giving Rabbinic sources here, as I am interested in the views of Judaism as practiced once it was called by that name.
אין שמחה אלא ביין
Ain simha ela b’yayin (Talmud Bavli Pesahim 109a, et al.)

The phrase “there is happiness only in wine” is repeated a number of times in the Talmud and Midrashim, but be aware of the Talmudic quirk wherein the Rabbis say “there is X only with Y” and then change Y around a bunch of times. Other requirements for happiness include meat (only a few words earlier in the cited sugya or section,) a place where a meal is being had, and huppah, which probably means a wedding as a whole. Why is it that three of the four are intrinsically food-oriented and the last could certainly be viewed that way, too?

אין אומרים שירה אלא על היין
Ain omrim shira ela b’yayin (Talmud Bavli Berakhot 35a)

“There is no singing of songs except on wine.”
In my opinion the art of the drinking song has been lost and should be mourned. Sure, there’s still drunken karaoke and all the frat boys shouting “livin’ on a prayer” several hours before last call, but still, songs sung best with Stein in hand, foam spilling over its sides as it is swung to and fro to the beat of an accordion, I don’t think there’s enough of that and when it is around it is parody. Still, singing makes me happy, a lot more easily than drinking does, in fact. So singing would seem to be primary and drinking only secondary. Furthermore, much of what we do in synagogue is termed singing both in common parlance and in the language of the Rabbis, the same ones who made the comment above. Did they really believe that true song could only emerge words slurred from the wet mouth of a drinker?

Let’s term those last two “positive attitudes toward drinking.” You had to know they wouldn’t all look like that. Here is arguably the most recognized view in Rabbinic literature advocating temperance:

יין גורם לזנות…

כל מקום שיש יין יש ערוה
Yayin gorem liznut… kol makom she’yesh yayin, yesh ervah (Bamidbar Rabbah ed. Vilna, 10)

“Wine causes whoring… where there is wine, there is lust/licentiousness.”
I was recently at a party hosted by a Jewish organization and there was a person everyone noticed due to, shall we say, unusual and excessive flirting and forwardness. It was rather disgusting and reflected poorly on the person, the organization, Jews, and the alcohol that was being consumed thirstily. I don’t know think I have to elaborate on it much; almost everyone has seen an example, call it “beer goggles” or whatever you want, of alcohol causing people to make poor (or later regretted) decisions about sex, sex partners and the like.

As with almost everything in life, most of us probably feel that the best course is one of moderation, what Maimonides would call “the golden mean.” Well before Maimonides, the Rabbis had this to say:

היין, רובו קשה לגוף, ומיעוטו יפה

HaYayin, rubo kasheh laguf, u’miy’uto yafeh (Masekhet Derekh Eretz, Pirkei Ben Azai 10:4)

“Wine. A lot is bad for the body, but a little is good.”

As above, there are plenty of statements, from almost every culture in the world, advocating temperance. But there has been a lot written lately on the health benefits of alcohol (or here) and of red wine, in particular. How much is a lot and how much is a little? Use your judgment, ideally before you begin drinking, to figure out what is a good amount for yourself. The general idea is to be neither a binge drinker nor a teetotaler and unlike many things in Judaism, there are few standards involved.

One view I think no one can dispute:

נכנס יין יצא סוד

Nikhnas yayin, yatzah sod (Talmud Bavli Eruvin 65a)

“Wine goes in, secrets come out.”

Is there anything we can really say about this statement from the Talmud? Well, not much we can say while sober, at least. Alcohol has a remarkable way of bringing out things we would not normally reveal. When we speak of revealing secrets, we usually mean it in a negative way, but here it can also mean something positive. How many romantic comedies feature a guy who has wanted for years to tell his unusually attractive, but engaged, best friend that he loves her? Often, in life as in art (if you can call a romantic comedy art,) a drink or two helps smooth the way for such a conversation leading occasionally (or often, in the movies) to “happily ever after.”

Finally, a view that regards inebriation as an important means to assess a person’s true character:

בשלשה דברים אדם ניכר בכוסו ובכיסו ובכעסו

Bishloshah d’varim adam nikar: B’khoso, u’v'khiso, u’v'kha’aso (Talmud Bavli Eruvin 65b)

“By three things can a person [truly] be known: by his cup, by his wallet and by his anger.”

In Hebrew it is a fun wordplay. As we learned from the last statement (only a few lines earlier in the Talmud, too,) when a person drinks, as when he is spending money or angry, something comes out. He lets down much of the filter and the guard that we all put up when going about most of the business of our lives. Losing control can sometimes be a good thing because it allows the truest self to come out. We may find that this self is someone we like or we may learn the opposite. This is an important part of choosing a business, life or other partner, but it’s also an important part of self-improvement. Most of the time, we try to change our lives by changing our actions. This is important, but we’re really only changing the mask, not who we are beneath it. If we only see the mask, we’re missing the real person. If we never see a mask at all, the person is living too dangerously. Only when we know who we are deep down inside, and are aware of the ways and reasons we so often hide it, can we hope to make true and lasting change.

As a Jewish Chef I have always been curious to know exactly what the concept of local sustainable produce meant to my ancestors who lived and most likely farmed the land of Israel. Last December, I visited the Neot Kedumim Park in Israel, where the answers to my questions were answered experientially. This Jewish culinary historical treasure is nestled in Israel’s Judean hills along the border held by the ancient tribe of Ephraim. The park stands above a valley where some of the oldest archeological excavations have unearthed the earliest known agricultural community in history.

Neot Kedumim was established in the 1960’s by the legendary biblical botanist Noga Hareuven, who dreamt of creating a place where all of the plants mentioned in the bible could grow freely. His goal was to build a park where anyone could learn first-hand about biblical botany just by walking through the park and seeing, touching, smelling, it’s biblical produce. After the park was established and the planting commenced, several archeological sites were discovered and subsequent excavations unearthed amazing discoveries in various locations of the park. Many archeologists believed that they had excavated the actual site of the ancient Israelite town of Modiin. Other Jewish and Christian sites were also excavated on the same grounds, and some of the more significant finds included ancient Israelite cisterns, wine presses and olive oil presses. Other areas of the park unearthed Byzantine villages complete with Churches established for Christian pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem.

Tova Dickstein, who is an expert in Biblical cuisine, was my guide. When she is not being interviewed on History International, she leads tours centered on biblical cuisine. Often these tours take place at Neot Kedumim, where participants learn how ancient Israelites harvested wheat, ground it into flour and made bread in ancient ovens known as Taboon or a Tanour. The breadth of Tova’s knowledge of biblical botany and biblical cuisine was remarkable. However, her associate Malka quietly assured me, “Ken, Tova knows so much more than she is letting on. Really, she is holding back.” While I picked my jaw up off the floor, Tova reached down to pick some leaves that would flavor my tea. The herbs grew wild outside her office and all throughout the park. Tova pointed to them as if a maitre d’ was pointing to items on a buffet. I chose my own concoction of herbs and held my cup of tea as my soul and sinuses opened up to take in the aroma.

After years of researching ancient cuisine in the land of Israel, I was truly delighted to find the produce and the cooking utensils from biblical and Talmudic periods in use. After touring many of Israel‘s modern wineries, I was fascinated to stand in the ancient Gat (wine press) and see the crevasse carved out of stone for the grape juice to pass through in order to remove its impurities.

If you care about local sustainable produce and enjoy learning experientially about the history of food preparation in the land of Israel, a visit to Neot Kedumim is highly recommended.

On Monday I was in attendance at the 3rd  annual Royal Wines gala event, “The Kosher Food & Wine Experience”. This year’s event was in the NY Metropolitan Pavilion, located on 125 West 18th Street between 6th and 7th Ave in Manhattan.

The event attracts people from all walks of life and all branches of Judaism are represented. The cost of entry is $100.00, but many industry people get complimentary tickets, including me. There were kosher wines from all over the world. I was especially struck by the quality of the wines from Spain.

Mr. Daniel Rogov, Israel’s renowned wine critic was on hand to sign books and have warm and inviting conversations. Mr. Rogov was signing his 2009 edition of Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines. The quantity of food at the event was worth mentioning. As a caterer I am always walking the line between showing abundance (that people like to see) and making only enough (being responsible). The left over food from this event could have fed hundreds more people. I hope the New York City Food Bank brought a truck in afterward. They didn’t run short on anything.

Many people in conversations mentioned concerns over sustainability (one lecturer used the word 4 times in a half hour presentation on Wines of Israel). Interestingly, it was not a priority of the show organizer or caterer. We can be confident that at least people are thinking about it. The problem is that people think positively about sustainability and the politically correctness of eating local, in season foods, but continue to get their water shipped from England or Fiji and eat things like hearts of palm or “millionaire’s salad”.

Some people don’t realize that in order to harvest the “heart” of a palm you must kill the entire tree and this practice wiped out the population of palm trees in Brazil. Brazil is the former lead exporter of hearts of palm.

The event overall was a great success for Royal Wines and a wonderful & educational night out. My choice for the best wine of the show was one from Elvi Wines called Adar.

This fantastic tasting wine uses local grapes indigenous to the region. Many, if not most of the wine at this show was made with imported grapes. There are many complex issues in terms of sustainability when using non indigenous grapes that struggle to grow well, and importing grapes from other regions to make up for it.

My tasting notes on Adar from Elvi Wines:

The Nose reminds me of the same kind of earthiness as an unripened goat cheese. The color is a deep ruby-red, and the legs promise a mouthful of full bodied complexity. The taste is strikingly pure with an airy sweetness like that of a ripe black mission fig. The wine has a refreshing mineral snap very similar to the high altitude Israeli wines. What is most alluring is the purity of fruit and the earthiness that carries through the finish. This is a great wine.

I tasted a multitude of great wines, I even located some great Mevushal wines that I can use in catering. The Food was catered by Michael Schick whose website remains under construction.

The advertising for the event said, “Enjoy new wines from around the world in a venue offering 80% more space, an improved layout, and exciting new cuisine.”

I felt let down by this advertisement. What you see in this picture is chicken schnitzel, basmati rice, parve tortellini with plain tomato sauce, boneless chicken thighs in gravy, brisket in the same gravy and franks in blankets; not my idea of new or exciting (even when sprinkled with sesame seeds). You can also see in the bottom right that they offered both condiments; mustard and ketchup. The hot food, though neither new nor exciting, was edible and my friends liked it. I ate the sushi.

The sushi was excellent quality, but also not new or exciting, unless you have never seen sushi before. For fish they had yellow fin tuna, salmon and surimi (imitation crab). All the required accompaniments were there; avocado, cucumber, wasabi and pickled ginger.

There was also a cold salad station with boiled potatoes, roasted peppers, grilled tomatoes, red cabbage slaw, millionaire’s salad, Cesar salad, grilled white asparagus, steamed beets braised leeks and crackers. With very little garnish and low marks in regards to variety of colors and textures. Local and/or sustainably grown food would have been much more exciting. White asparagus is most certainly either from China or Peru.

Truthfully I have never seen boiled red potatoes shingled on a plate with no dressing or other vegetables so that was new.  The desserts looked like every Brooklyn bakery window, but I had used all of my available storage, after all that wine & sushi, I wasn’t hungry.  Events like this demonstrate that the interest in kosher food and wine is growing. Jay Buchsbaum of Royal Wine Corp. said,

“You know kosher food is booming, not only has it changed for the kosher consumer but now people who aren’t kosher are going for kosher products. People who aren’t kosher buy quite a but of our products because it is precieved to be healthier, cleaner and so a lot of our items now are sold across the isle to the non kosher consumer. People pay a premium on products sometimes because it has a higher certicication. The truth is that people prefer it so I think in the next ten to twenty years there is going to be an even more growing market for kosher products in general.”

This picture is Jay Buchsbaum with me

The 2007 event had over two hundred people and was catered by Jeffrey Nathan from Abigail’s. According to all reports it was great, but I was not there. The 2008 event featured New York’s finest kosher restaurants and with seven hundred attendees they ran out of food, (running out of food is not good for a New Yorker who paid $100.00 to get in!) With as many as one thousand people coming this year, Michael Schick made sure of one thing. There would be no running out in 2009!

(Cross posted on Mixed Multitudes)

Wednesday is Simchat Torah, which generally means dancing around with the Torah, watching little kids wave some flags they made in Sunday school, and lots of drinking.  Simchat Torah is second only to Purim in its association with alcohol.  I don’t think there’s any halakhic obligation to drink this week, the way there is on Purim, but if you walk into any synagogue on Tuesday night, you’re likely to see a bottle of schnapps or two (or six).  Now I like Schnapps, but I also enjoy mixed drinks, and thought I’d share some nice Jewish cocktail and shot recipes to help enliven your Simchat Torah celebrations.  Chag Sameach!

The Ashkenazi–the old classic
Fill a glass with ice.
Float:
1 part vanilla milk
1 part coffee liquer
1 part vodka
Enjoy!

The Sephardi–an Ashkenazi with a little chocolate mixed in
Fill glass with ice
Float:
1 part chocolate liqueur
1 part vodka
1 part coffee liqueur
2 – 3 parts vanilla Al ha-Boker milk (regular milk will probably do in a pinch)
Pour carefully to get that layered effect going, because not only does it have to be girly, it has to be pretty. Then stir it up a little and drink it.

The Bloody Waters of Ancient Babylon
My former roommate’s bartender boyfriend invented this drink.
1/4 oz Southern Comfort
1/4 oz vodka (absolut)
1/4 oz Amaretto
1/4 oz slow gin
Fill a shaker with ice, add the above.
Add some pineapple juice, and a splash of sweet and sour. Shake it. Strain into a martini glass and then swirl grenadine on top.

Manischewitz Sangria Martini
1 part raspberry Stoli vodka
1/2 part triple sec
1/2 part pear schnapps
2 parts Manischewitz Concord-grape wine
1 part fresh sour mix
1 part Sprite
Lemon twists, to garnish
Shake the vodka, triple sec, schnapps, Manischewitz and fresh sour in a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour into a martini glass.
Top with Sprite and garnish with a lemon twist.

Manischevetini
2 Oz of Vodka
1/2 Oz Orange Juice
1/2 Oz Manischewitz
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, shake well; serve. Garnish with an orange twist if desired.

The Kiddish Club
1 part whiskey
1 part lashon hara

Also of note: Bangitout’s Top 10 Jewish Mixed Drinks.