Tag: healthy

Turnip the Heat with Alsatian Lentil Soup

I don’t know about you, but this winter’s been hitting me pretty hard. It started early, and while there haven’t been any REALLY freezing days yet, the cold (and the dryness) are pretty relentless. All I really want to do is curl up under the covers with a nice warm bowl of soup. (What, you […]

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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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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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kurdish radish and carrot salad

Kurdish Radish and Carrot Salad—and the Little-Known story of an Old-School Female Torah Scholar

Today I have a light, refreshing Kurdish radish and carrot salad for you—along with the fascinating story of a 17th-century female Torah scholar in Kurdistan.

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bukharan turnips with chickpeas

New Ways with Ancient Vegetables: Bukharan Turnips with Chickpeas

Today I’m exploring one of the world’s oldest cultivated vegetables: the turnip!

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avicas con prassa

Avicas con Prassa: Sephardic White Beans with Leeks

Okay, it’s time for another post-holiday detox for me. And so, in the spirit of healthy eating, I bring you avicas con prassa, a super-creamy Sephardic white bean and leek stew in a tomato sauce.

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A Simple and Healthy Sephardic Okra Dish: Bamia

I’m still on my post-Pesach detox, and today I have a great, healthy, simple dish—bamia—featuring a vegetable that doesn’t get enough love: okra!

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moroccan carrot salad

An Easy and Delicious Moroccan Carrot Salad

Anyone else in need of a post-Pesach reset this week? I love cooking (and eating!) for Passover, but it’s always heavy on the eggs, dairy, sugar—oh yeah, and matzah. By the end of the holiday, I’m ready for a change. I’m also ready to stop spending quite so much time in the kitchen, much as […]

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