Month: August 2018

Why Do We Eat Apples and Honey? Plus a Sweet New Year Smoothie

Apples dipped in honey are, at least among Ashkenazi Jews, by far the most common symbol of Rosh Hashanah. What would Rosh Hashanah dinner be without the customary pre-meal dip and accompanying wish for a sweet new year, with the recitation of the phrase “May it be Your will to renew on us a good […]

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Black-Eyed Peas: Everyone’s Favorite Multicultural New Year Food

You probably know that Hoppin’ John, made with black-eyed peas, rice, and pork, is a traditional New Year’s dish in the US South. But did you know that these little peas (actually beans from the cowpea family) are a traditional food for Rosh Hashanah too?

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Gluten-Free Buckwheat Flour Apple Cake for Rosh Hashanah

If you love kasha and are looking for the perfect gluten-free Rosh Hashanah cake, look no further: this buckwheat flour apple cake is just the thing. This cake is slightly adapted from Emiko Davies’s recipe on Food52, which in turn codifies a traditional recipe from the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige. Bordered by Switzerland […]

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When an Ashkenazi Vegetable Meets a Sephardic Staple: Sorrel Hummus

For years, I was desperate to try sorrel. I think I first became aware of it from Gil Marks’s magisterial Olive Trees and Honey, back in the early days of my interest in Jewish food history, and the concept of a lemony spinach-like green had me absolutely entranced. I adore lemon, I’m pretty solid with […]

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Hazon Food Conference 2018 Recap and Zoodles with No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Earlier this month, I headed up to northwestern Connecticut for Hazon Food Conference (aka adult summer camp for Jewish foodies), at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village.

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