Root vegetable mash
For Shabbat dinner last week, a friend made a wonderful root vegetable dish that reminded me a lot of a trick my ninang uses with her mashed potatoes. (She doesn't add anything to her mashed potatoes except tons of garlic, and they turn out just as creamy as if you'd used milk and butter.) It was beautifully simple, appropriately in season, and worked well as a side for the savory, marinated, grilled portobello caps, tofu, and eggplant. You can do this with any starchy root vegetables--turnips, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, beets, etc. In the case of turnips, especially, mixing them with something sweet like carrots or beets takes off their bitter edge. Root vegetable mashFor every 2 people:
1 lb root vegetables, peeled and diced
1 T olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic (optional), minced
1-2 c water or vegetable broth (less if you like a thicker mash, more if you like a thinner one)
Herbs, salt and pepper to taste (Earthy herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme work well here.)1. Heat a pot over medium to medium-high heat. When the pot is warm, add the oil.
2. If using, add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Drop in the root vegetables and stir until they develop some color.
3. Add water/broth and cover. Turn heat down to medium-low, add herbs, and let simmer until vegetables are fork tender, around 20-30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher or fork until creamy. Correct the seasoning and serve hot.
1 lb root vegetables, peeled and diced
1 T olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic (optional), minced
1-2 c water or vegetable broth (less if you like a thicker mash, more if you like a thinner one)
Herbs, salt and pepper to taste (Earthy herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme work well here.)1. Heat a pot over medium to medium-high heat. When the pot is warm, add the oil.
2. If using, add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Drop in the root vegetables and stir until they develop some color.
3. Add water/broth and cover. Turn heat down to medium-low, add herbs, and let simmer until vegetables are fork tender, around 20-30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher or fork until creamy. Correct the seasoning and serve hot.
Fesanjoon (pomegranate stew with walnuts and cardamom)
One tasty tradition during Tu B'Shevat is to hold a seder. I'd never heard of a Tu B'Shevat seder until I read about it online earlier this year.
It's similar to a Pesach seder, in that we drink four cups of wine and prepare a special meal. Unlike a Pesach seder, we don't have to upend the entire house, cleaning out every last crumb of chametz. We can enjoy allll the bread we want.
It's common to eat first fruits of the spring season during the seder. Of them, pomegranates are my favorite. I learned of fesanjoon, a Persian pomegranate stew with walnuts, chicken, and cardamom, during a vegetarian cooking class I took years ago. Below is my version. The key to making this work is to let it simmer long enough for the walnut oils to blend smoothly.
Fesanjoon
(Persian pomegranate stew with soy chicken and cardamom)
(Persian pomegranate stew with soy chicken and cardamom)
3 T grapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb soy chicken, seitan, or other firm protein
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c pomegranate paste (Sadaf is a good brand)
2 c water
1 1/2 c walnuts, ground finely (grind fresh, whole walnuts--you need the oil)
several grinds sea salt
several grinds pepper
sugar to taste (2 T to start)
1/4 t saffron, powdered (powder it right before you add it)
1/4 t cardamom (I've used 1/2 tsp with great results)
Optional: 1 t cardamom seed pods
1. In a soup pot, heat the grapeseed oil. When heated, add the chopped onions, and fry until transparent, not brown.
2. Add the seitan (soy chicken, etc.) and brown slightly.
3. Add the mushrooms and brown slightly.
4. Add the walnut powder and stir together with the seitan and onion.
5. Combine the pomegranate paste and water, then add to the pot.
6. Bring to a boil, then lower to a slow simmer.
7. Add 2 Tbsp sugar, then taste, and add more sugar if necessary.
8. Grind in sea salt and pepper, saffron and cardamom powder.
9. Stir to blend, then taste and correct seasonings. Add cardamom seed pods if using.
10. Cover and allow to simmer at least 60 minutes (more time is better).
This time is needed for the walnut oil to combine with the pomegranate into a smooth sauce.
Stir occasionally, adding water and possibly more pomegranate paste, if sauce gets too thick. (Personally, I love a fesanjoon that sticks to my insides.)
Serve with basmati rice and powdered sumac.
I use brown rice because that's what I have on hand, and its nuttiness complements the walnuts.
Opening the Tent: Intermarriage today
An article in Forward Magazine makes a case for intermarriage.
My feelings, honestly, are quite mixed. On one hand, I was raised in a one-religion household. My immediate and most of my extended family is some flavor of Christian--mostly Catholic, some Protestant, one Eastern Orthodox. (The outliers are Unitarian, Buddhist and...Jew-ish.)
I can see why people would say that a one-religion household (and even one-religion family) is optimal, as there is one standard religion for the children to learn and follow. The whole family shares it, so there are no potentially confusing conflicts to explain and mediate. It becomes a strong memory and a shared tradition.
On the other hand, what if that one religion doesn't cut it? I'm currently in the interesting position of a non-Jewish woman who loves and wants to marry a Jewish man and raise Jewish babies. Were I to convert before marriage, technically I would not be entering into an intermarriage. A marriage between two Jews is perfectly endogamous.
(Let's set aside for now the notion that not all Jews would accept my Conservative conversion.)
If I were, however, to raise my kids Jewish without being Jewish myself, it would raise the question of why I felt that they needed to be raised that way, when I didn't think I myself should be so, or needed to be. It's an odd dichotomy.
One of my vegetarian friends was raised vegetarian by his carnivorous mother, and he doesn't have a problem with it. He sees it more as a personal choice--his mother wanted him to have healthy eating habits, and decided that teaching him to be a vegetarian was a good way to start him off on the right foot.
I've been celebrating the Jewish holidays, going to Shabbat services about once a month or so, celebrating Shabbat dinner with friends, studying Torah at the synagogue, reading books upon books. My first experience in shul was Kol Nidre (I know, I know, intense, right?).
These past three years have been a great deal of fun and wonderfully nourishing.
Studying Torah is probably my favorite part. (Two Jews, three opinions? Good grief, try three Jews, six opinions. And then one will call a fourth one and you'll get four more.) I'm always sad when the last class rolls around because there's usually a longish break until the next one starts. More debate! More questions! More questions! Since when do you encounter a religion that actively encourages its members to think about its tenets and wrestle with them? I love how I can have one opinion about a midrash and someone else can have more or less the opposite view, and both of us are perfectly reasonably correct. I love how the best answer for a question is often, "It depends." I love the natural inquisitiveness and love for learning new things that Judaism has, and always has had.
To convert or not to convert? Am I ready or am I not ready?
My personal choice became an easy one.
How did I resolve my dilemma?
I'm converting the Conservative way (study, beit din, mikvah) in May, after about three years of study and practice. :D
Dried orange and apple salad with roasted almonds
Happy New Year, everyone!Seeing as the New Year for the Trees (Tu B'Shevat, my favorite holiday) is coming up in two weeks, I figured it's time for another fruit and nut recipe. The easiest way I've found to make dried fruit is to use a dehydrator. It's a necessity if you have bountiful fruit trees (or CSAs) and can't give away all the fruit they're producing. Where I am in winter, citrus (oranges, lemons, limes, calamansi, pommelo, you name it) trees start to produce like crazy.
I got enough oranges from my CSA box last week to dry two full loads in the dehydrator. My ninang made some limoncello with her Meyer lemons, and she still has enough to make sorbet. Once she's done making it I'll post that recipe, but until then, try this salad. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use fresh oranges instead. Dried orange and apple salad with roasted almonds 1 cup dried oranges (about 4)
1 cup sliced, cored apples (about 4)
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if you have it
1 T cinnamon sugar
1 t orange zest
a few mint leaves for garnish 0. Dry the oranges the day before: Wash and zest 4 oranges. Peel off the pith, then lay out the sections on a dehydrator tray. If you don't have a dehydrator, use a toaster oven, or make this salad fresh. Follow your dehydrator's instructions for fruit, or if using a toaster oven, dry at 135F for about twelve hours. You can prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
1. Roast the almonds: Set the almonds in a roasting pan and roast in a 350F toaster oven or oven for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. You can also do this on the stovetop with a pan over high heat. Once they're done, pour them into a cool nonmetal bowl to stop the cooking. If you like, sprinkle them with a little cinnamon sugar after they're done roasting. Let cool.
2. Mix the zest, orange juice, and cinnamon sugar together into a dressing.
3. Core the apples and slice them into sixths or eighths.
4. Mix together the oranges, apples, almonds, and dressing. Tear the mint leaves into pieces and sprinkle them on top. Serve.
I got enough oranges from my CSA box last week to dry two full loads in the dehydrator. My ninang made some limoncello with her Meyer lemons, and she still has enough to make sorbet. Once she's done making it I'll post that recipe, but until then, try this salad. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can use fresh oranges instead. Dried orange and apple salad with roasted almonds 1 cup dried oranges (about 4)
1 cup sliced, cored apples (about 4)
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed if you have it
1 T cinnamon sugar
1 t orange zest
a few mint leaves for garnish 0. Dry the oranges the day before: Wash and zest 4 oranges. Peel off the pith, then lay out the sections on a dehydrator tray. If you don't have a dehydrator, use a toaster oven, or make this salad fresh. Follow your dehydrator's instructions for fruit, or if using a toaster oven, dry at 135F for about twelve hours. You can prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
1. Roast the almonds: Set the almonds in a roasting pan and roast in a 350F toaster oven or oven for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. You can also do this on the stovetop with a pan over high heat. Once they're done, pour them into a cool nonmetal bowl to stop the cooking. If you like, sprinkle them with a little cinnamon sugar after they're done roasting. Let cool.
2. Mix the zest, orange juice, and cinnamon sugar together into a dressing.
3. Core the apples and slice them into sixths or eighths.
4. Mix together the oranges, apples, almonds, and dressing. Tear the mint leaves into pieces and sprinkle them on top. Serve.
