Mejadra (Spiced Lentils and Rice)

This isn't the most photogenic dish, but its fragrance and flavor more than make up for that. Jeremy, who would normally prefer pizza to lentils and rice, remarked immediately upon coming in the house that dinner smelled amazing; he then proceeded to eat two helpings of it.

Quite the testament!

Mejadra (also known as mujadarrah or mujadarra) is a very old, traditional dish and it's featured in Jerusalem: A Cookbook, a beautiful new work by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi which was just nominated for a James Beard Award as best international cookbook.  It showcases gorgeous pictures and seductively enticing recipes for classic foods from this city which is home to both Jews and Arabs, and generously shares culinary representation from both cultures. Here is how Amazon.com describes it:

"In Jerusalem, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi explore the vibrant cuisine of their home city with its diverse Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. Both men were born in Jerusalem in the same year - Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. This stunning cookbook offers 120 recipes from their unique cross-cultural perspective, from inventive vegetable dishes to sweet, rich desserts. With five bustling restaurants in London and two stellar cookbooks, Ottolenghi is one of the most respected chefs in the world; in Jerusalem, he and Tamimi have collaborated to produce their most personal cookbook yet."

My very dear friend Nika loaned me her copy of Jerusalem, and I wanted to make so many, many things! But I started with one of my very favorites, mejadra - a simple, comforting plate of spiced lentils and rice.

But this isn't just any ol' lentils and rice; the key ingredient in mejadra is onions which have been slowly, lovingly, patiently crisped until they're deeply golden and toasty and richly flavored. Combining these very basic ingredients with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, allspice, and cinnamon enhances and elevates them to make a dish that is absolutely stellar.

And now that Ashkenazi Conservative Jews have been granted permission, if they choose to do so (it's optional, based upon personal preference), to eat kitniyot [KIT-nee-YOHT] - corn, rice, peas, lentils, and beans - which were formerly banned at Passover along with leavened products, this is a fabulous dish that can easily be modified for the holiday that begins at sundown tonight. (See "The Kitniyot Dilemma" for more information about the dietary laws, the new ruling, the difference between customs for Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews, etc.) Simply use matzah meal instead of flour to coat the onions, and you've got an amazing new dish to serve at your seder or at any time over the next 8 days. And it's pareve ([PAHRV] = neither meat nor dairy), so it can be served with any kind of meal!

But really, mejadra is such a wonderful dish that you'll want to serve it all the time!

Mejadra
(slightly adapted from a recipe in Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi)

1-1/4 cups green or brown lentils
2 very large onions, halved, sliced very thin
3 tablespoons flour or kosher l'Pesach matzah meal ([KOH-sher leh PAY-sahk] = kosher for Passover)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 cup white rice
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
1-3/4 cups water


Place the lentils into a medium saucepan and cover generously with water; bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook for 20 minutes until just tender. Drain.

In a large bowl, toss the sliced onions with flour or matzah meal. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, to taste.

In a very large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Carefully add the onions, then turn heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently to keep onions from burning, until they are mostly browned and crisp. Drain in a colander lined with a paper towel.

In remaining oil in the frying pan, cook the cumin and coriander for 1 minute; add rice, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, and sugar.  Stir to coat rice with spices, then add water and reserved lentils. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender and water has been absorbed.

Stir in half of the onions, then place lentils and rice onto a serving platter. Top with remaining onions and serve hot.

Serves 6-8.

Espresso Pudding Parfait

Rather than sponge cake made with matzah meal or plain ol' fruit or sesame seed candies, why not try a pudding for a special dessert during Passover?  Why not make something a bit luxurious, rather than feeling as though food is becoming a punishment with no access to breads, cupcakes, oatmeal, or other items - both decadent and mundane - that will suddenly seem miraculous on Saturday evening when they're permissible again after the holiday?

This rich, luscious dessert uses ricotta cheese, though I know that it can be difficult to find this particular ingredient with a hekhsher [HEK-sher], certifying that it's kosher for Passover.  Pureed cottage cheese would work just fine, if that's easier to acquire.  Or make this after the holiday ends, when you're still trying to use up leftover tins of macaroons.

The pudding isn't terribly sweet, so that it offers a nice contrast to the sugary cookies.  Layers of texture and layers of flavor ... this coffee-almond parfait is simple but beautiful.

Espresso Pudding and Macaroon Parfait

2 15-ounce containers part-skim ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons prepared espresso, chilled

12 Manischewitz almond macaroons, crumbled

whipped cream, for serving

In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta to break it up a bit.  Whisk in the sugar and the espresso until smooth.

Fill 4 wine glasses one-third full with the ricotta mixture.  Divide half of the crumbled macaroons among the glasses.  Divide the remaining ricotta mixture among the glasses, then top with the remaining macaroon crumbs.  Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 4 generous servings or 8 smaller ones.

Krispy Kreme Chocolate Chip Cookies

I respect the spirit of the law at Passover, although I don't feel bound by the letter of the law.

I'll be going to a cherished friend's house for a Seder on the first night of the 8-day holiday, and bringing Chocolate Caramel Matzah made with my own handmade matzah.  I'll be going to another priceless friend's house for the second night's Seder, and respecting her Orthodox parents by masquerading as a normal person who doesn't take pictures of everything she eats (since photography is forbidden).

My traditions include eating far too many Manischewitz almond macaroons from a can, one of my favorite guilty pleasures; they're only available this time of year, so I have to get my quota in!  And I don't eat bread, a leavened product that is not permissible during Passover, but that's primarily because I don't eat much bread anyway - that part of the proceedings is easy for me.

But I don't rid my home of all the forbidden foods (pasta, cakes, cookies, flour, lentils, corn, and many more).  I use my regular ol' dishes and cookware, rather than having extra sets just for Passover that haven't been touched by the verboten items and thus are acceptable.  I don't prepare baked goods with matzah cake meal, which tends to make them heavy and dense; I generally just don't bake at all at this time.

Many of my friends, however, are observant and keep kosher; they have been busy cleaning their homes and preparing for the holiday by removing all forbidden items.  Using up the chametz [HAH-mets] - leavened products and other items that, according to Jewish law, Jews may not possess during Passover - is a time-honored tradition.  Just as Catholics indulge before Lent by using up butter, sugar, eggs, and other goodies before a time of abstinence in preparation for Easter, Jews must get rid of the chametz.

And so, rather than just offering a recipe for bread pudding or French toast - not that there's anything wrong with them! - I thought I'd suggest a bit of novelty today.  I found myself with leftover Krispy Kreme doughnuts after making hedonistic sandwiches while participating in Project PB&J.  So I baked cookies that will help your household to finish off flour, baking soda, and even doughnuts if you have them.  (And if you don't happen to have any on hand, it might be worth buying a few just for this recipe!)

These are rich and decadent in addition to serving a higher purpose in helping to rid the household of soon-to-be-forbidden foods.  Who said you can't have fun while obeying the law?

Chocolate Chip Krispy Kreme Cookies

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening, at room temperature
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups crumbled Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts (4 doughnuts)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar, and vanilla.  Stir in the egg, salt, and baking soda.  Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and the crumbled doughnuts.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop batter by generous tablespoonsful onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes until cookies are slightly firm, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 48 cookies.


Here are a few other recipes to help you, if you're still searching for ways to use up chametz:

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Asparagus Bread Pudding

Strawberry Jam Muffins

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Muffins

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Peanut Butter Pancakes with Nutella Sauce


Peanut Butter No-Bake Treats

Charoset

I know it's a little bit early to be offering a recipe for charoset [hah-ROH-set], which is a fruit mixture served at Passover; it represents the mortar used by the Jews during their enslavement in Egypt, and is an integral part of the Seder which commemorates the flight to freedom.  But although it's early, giving this to you today serves two purposes:

1. You'll have the recipe for next Friday evening, when Passover begins at sundown, without thinking "Gee, if only she'd provided that a few days earlier, I could have bought the ingredients and had it ready!"

2. You'll have this at your disposal when you see tomorrow's cookie recipe, which uses the charoset as a thumbprint filling.  The cookies are an entry into Project PB&J, a food bloggers' competition, so it was necessary to post them - and thus the charoset - this week.

This is a variation on a recipe which was a co-winner at the Charoset Throwdown held at a local synagogue in 2008; I've simplified it here.  It had originally called for several more ingredients and extra steps that can be saved without losing quality of taste or consistency.

European-style (Ashkenazi) charoset tends to feature apples and wine, while Middle Eastern (Sephardi) varieties often employ dates and figs.  And just as each family has its own special recipes for other holidays, every family serves a different type of charoset for Passover; some have one favorite, others serve an assortment, and still others try a new one each year.

At the Throwdown, I was thrilled to have someone tell me that my charoset "tastes just like candy."  And another woman suggested that it would make a lovely filling for hamantaschen at Purim, which it most certainly would if I ever remembered to use it as such instead of only thinking of this as a Passover dish!

Whether you schmear this onto matzah, use it as a filling, or just eat it with a spoon, I hope you enjoy it ... and tomorrow's cookies featuring this delicious fruit mixture, too.


Fig and Date Charoset 

2 tablespoons butter (or pareve substitute)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup ginger ale
2 cups chopped dates
2 cups dried Black Mission figs, chopped

Melt the butter and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Stir in the connamon and ginger ale; bring to a boil over high heat.  Add the dates and figs; cook over low heat for 2 minutes, until fruit softens.  Mash the mixture together until the liquid is absorbed and the charoset is glossy.

Makes 2 cups.


Here are some other recipes for you to enjoy at Passover:

Chocolate Caramel Matzah

Custard with Strawberry Sauce

Vegetable Cheese Mina

Roasted Radishes

Roasted Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette

I'm not dictatorial about it, but I do prefer to eat seasonally.  Strawberries are a Summer food, for example - whether bought at a roadside stand or, ideally, picked at a farm - and lesser flavorless specimens should simply not be schlepped thousands of miles from warmer climates so that people can consume them in Michigan in the middle of Winter.  I have spoken!

And asparagus is one of those foods that, to me, is simply integral to a particular season: Spring.  So, since Spring officially begins today, this simple but delicious dish seemed the perfect offering.

Many people aren't aware of this, but you can politely pick up asparagus with your fingers to eat it.  That would be a bit messy here, though; it would also prohibit sharing a bit of the vegetable with a taste of the egg that complements it so well.  So resort to your fork this time, but don't forget that asparagus is really finger food!

This vegetable dish would be lovely at either your Passover Seder or your Easter dinner - both holidays are fast approaching.  Roasting the asparagus intensifies its flavor, so it's delicious to serve to guests; and the egg, of course, is symbolic for both holidays.

But you should really just enjoy this simply because Winter is officially over!

Roasted Asparagus with Egg and Dijon Vinaigrette

1 bunch asparagus
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon + generous sprinkling of kosher salt
2 hard-boiled eggs
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
generous sprinkling of black pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place the asparagus onto a baking sheet; drizzle with the 2 tablespoons oil and the 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Roast for 20  minutes, until fork-tender.  Let cool to room temperature.

Peel the eggs.  Use an egg slicer to cut them first in one direction and then in the other, to make small shreds.  (If you don't have an egg slicer, just chop the eggs.)

Combine the 2 teaspoons oil, lemon juice, and mustard.

Place the asparagus onto a serving platter and sprinkle the egg over it; generously sprinkle salt and pepper over everything.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

Vegetable Cheese Mina

My traditional first-night-of-Passover dinner is usually based around lamb patties: I simply mix ground lamb with sauteed leeks and a little salt and pepper, then cook them up (broil, grill, fry) depending upon the weather and my own personal whims. Jeremy adores them, but he wasn't joining me this year as it was his dad's birthday and they were celebrating together. And in the vegetarian kitchen I currently have access to, I couldn't have lamb anyway.

So, what to serve???

How 'bout a mina?

A mina [MEE-nah] is a lasagna-ish dish of Sephardic (Jews descended from those who were banished during the Spanish Inquisition) tradition, made of layered matzot with any variety of fillings in between them; minas can be meat or vegetarian. I make a fabulous one that's completely and utterly treyf ([TRAYF] = non-kosher) that is essentially a Reuben casserole: rye matzah, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, corned beef, 3 times over and then topped with more cheese.

One of my proudest moments, in a weird sort of way, came when I made that particular dinner one night for Jeremy and his buddy Doug. I gave them each a serving, and they ooh-ed and ahh-ed over it, devouring it. When I told them that they could have seconds they leapt up, pushed through a narrow entryway between a wall and a counter that led into the kitchen, and shoved each other (playfully, of course!) to compete for more. They were goofy, but they showed me how much they loved the dish!

But in lieu of lamb or corned beef, I took some beautiful Portobello mushrooms, a bright red pepper, and some fresh baby spinach and worked some wonders with them to make a colorful and delicious meal. I sauteed the vegetables, and I put together a lovely cheese sauce using more of the flipflop Pinot Grigio I'd recently been given for tasting and marketing purposes. I layered everything between matzot, baked it up, and had created a creamy, luscious masterpiece!

I have to note that flipflop wines supports a fabulous charity called Soles4Souls, which purchases shoes for poor children around the world enabling them to avoid injury and, especially, to walk to school. For each bottle of flipflop wine purchased, Soles4Souls will distribute a pair of shoes to someone in need -- up to 100,000 pairs in the first year of the partnership. You know what a bleeding heart I am -- how could I not love this???

And I also love my new Passover mina. While I admit that it's a bit labor- and dish-intensive, it really is worth the time!

Vegetable Cheese Mina

Cheese Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons potato starch or flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated pepper
1 cup skim milk
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan + 1/4 cup cheese needed to finish the dish

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the potato starch and cook for 1 minute. Add the salt and pepper, then slowly add the milk and the wine until incorporated. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken, whisking frequently, then stir in the cheese. Keep warm.


Vegetable-Cheese Filling

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
3 ounces Portobello mushrooms, chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup cottage cheese

Heat the oil and the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, red pepper, and mushrooms, cooking until the vegetables are softened. Add the spinach, salt and pepper; cook just until the spinach is wilted.


Combine the vegetables with the cottage cheese in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.


Matzot

3 eggs
1/4 cup white wine
4 plain matzot

Grease an 8"x8" baking dish. Place the eggs and the wine into another 8"x8" baking dish and combine them well. Soak one matzah in the egg mixture for 1 minute, flipping it over midway. Place the matzah into the greased baking dish.


Spread one-third of the vegetable filling over the matzah.


Drizzle 1/3 cup of the sauce over the vegetable filling.


Soak another matzah in the same manner, and place it over the vegetable filling. Spread another 1/3 of the filling over the matzah, and drizzle another 1/3 cup of the sauce over everything. Repeat one more time with the egg-soaked matzah, filling and sauce. Soak the last matzah in the egg mixture, and place on top. (Don't worry if you break a matzah -- it's all just going to get covered in sauce, then cut and served, anyway!)


Pour the rest of the egg mixture over everything, 'cause we don't waste anything in my kitchen! And pour the remaining sauce over the top of that.


Place the prepared mina onto a large baking sheet to catch any drips, and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the last 1/4 cup of parmesan over the top, and bake for 5 more minutes until everything is bubbling and golden.


Remove from the oven and let the mina rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut into 6 pieces and serve warm.

Custard with Strawberry Sauce and Macaroons

I received a very nice email a couple of weeks ago from a gentleman named Stephen, asking me if I were at all interested in doing a product review of a new line of wines called flipflop:

The flipflop collection includes Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. To learn more about the wines, you may visit the website at flipflopwines.com.

Well, we all know that I don't do product reviews. So I wrote back to Stephen and explained my policy: I'll happily try the wines, and even mention them when I write up a recipe that I've used them in, but I don't offer opinions in exchange for gifts because I don't ever want anyone to doubt my sincerity and think that I may have been swayed.

And he was so tickled that I would not only sample the wines and mention them, but also cook with them -- his best friend, it turned out upon continuing to email back-and-forth, is famed Las Vegas and San Francisco restauranteur/chef Hubert Keller, whose restaurants I've longed to visit -- that he offered to send me 4 bottles instead of the usual 2.

What's most entertaining is that I was communicating with Stephen at the very same time that I learned I'd won tickets to the (un)Corked wine tasting -- it was as though the universe was trying to tell me that I needed to learn more about wine, and provided the means to do so!

I had promised Stephen that I would cook with the wines, and that's precisely what I did -- for my special Passover dinner, no less. I made a main course with a wine-cheese sauce that will be tomorrow's post; and I put together a simple but elegant dessert with a hint of Pinot Grigio -- a light, fruity white wine -- in both the custard and the strawberry sauce.

I also topped the dessert off with a guilty pleasure that I can only get at Passover: Manischewitz almond macaroons.

Now, eating these is like eating M&Ms instead of Valrhona chocolate, for example -- I know this! They are not the light, airy, meringue-y macaroons that have been all the rage recently. Nope -- they are heavy and dense, and yet I love them. (Only the almond ones, though; the other flavors are all too dry.) I hang my head in shame as I type this, but I have been known to open and devour a can in one sitting, without sharing.

So, I took my sophisticated homemade custard and sauce and topped them with the crumbled store-bought cookies ... yes, I did. And you know what?

My dessert was fabulous! It was a perfect combination of simple, wholesome ingredients with a little bit of sweet sinfulness. It was also incredibly easy to make, only requiring planning to make it a day ahead. It was "lick the bowl" good, though I won't admit publicly whether I actually engaged in such boorish behavior!

The custard was luxurious and light, the strawberry sauce the perfect touch of Spring on an April day that brought a little bit of snow -- snow!!! -- to Ann Arbor. And the macaroons provided just the right texture in the midst of the creaminess.

Thank you, Stephen, for your generous contribution to my holiday dinner. I'll be doing more cooking with that wine, so stay tuned!

P.S.: If you haven't already fed my narcissistic ego, let me just remind you that Saveur is seeking nominees for the 2011 Best Food Blog Awards and the deadline is Friday! Any love you can show me by clicking on this link and nudging them in my direction would be most gratefully appreciated ... :)

Custard with Strawberry Sauce and Macaroons

Custard

2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon white wine
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
pinch of salt

In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and wine. Whisk in 3/4 cup half-and-half.

Turn heat to medium-high and heat 1" water in the bottom of the double boiler. Whisk the egg mixture constantly, until it starts to thicken and you can see traces of the whisk left in the custard (about 8-10 minutes); add the rest of the half-and-half and continue cooking and whisking for another 8-10 minutes.

When the custard is done, you'll be able to dip a spoon into it, run your finger down the middle of the coating, and the line will remain intact instead of having the sides bleed back together.


Place custard into a bowl, press plastic wrap against it to prevent it forming a skin, and refrigerate overnight.

Strawberry Sauce

6 large strawberries, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons white wine

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat; press on the strawberries to help mash them. Cook the sauce until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Refrigerate until needed.

To complete the dessert

2 Manischewitz almond macaroons

Divide the custard among 4 dessert dishes or wine glasses; top each with a dollop of the strawberry sauce. Crumble half of a macaroon over each serving.

Serves 4.

Chocolate Caramel Matzah

I've eaten far more than my fair share of chocolate-covered matzah over the years -- that stuff is ridiculously good! I've often wanted to make my own, with a caramel layer as well, but have never managed to get around to it ... until now.

Recipes for this abound; so I sort of glanced over a few, determined my own protocol, and then went to work. Though really, it's hardly labor-intensive -- a few minutes at the stove, a few minutes waiting for the treat to bake, another minute waiting for the chocolate to melt. The real work was waiting until last night for the start of Passover to eat this luscious treat, after making it on Sunday afternoon!

I've seen recipes for this using saltines or graham crackers as the base; but I have to say that the crispness of the matzah really serves it well. If you don't already have a stockpile of matzah for the holiday, wait until next week when Passover has ended and you can get a box on sale.

Chocolate Caramel Matzah

2 plain matzot ([mahtz-OTE] = the plural of matzah)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil, then grease the foil. Lay the matzot in the pan, side-by-side.


In a medium saucepan (because it bubbles up), melt the brown sugar and the butter together over medium heat until the mixture bubbles. Once it's bubbling, turn the heat to medium-high and stir constantly until the caramel thickens, lightens a bit in color, and pulls away from the sides of the pan -- approximately 2 minutes.



Pour the caramel over the matzot, and carefully spread it with a spoon.


Bake the matzot for 5 minutes or so, until the caramel has darkened a bit. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the matzot.


Wait 1-2 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then spread it evenly over the matzot.


Let everything cool completely, then cut each matzah into 12 pieces.

This can serve 1 or it can serve 2 dozen, depending upon how generous you're feeling ....

The 5th Question

Passover -- which commemorates the Israelites' flight from slavery in Egypt -- begins at sundown tonight and continues for 8 days.

I don't offer a traditional seder [SAY-der], which is a very elaborate and ritualized event during which the story is re-told. You know me -- I'm always about the food, secular creature that I tend to be! So I just prepare a special dinner with symbolic foods such as matzah ([MAH-tzuh] = unleavened bread), and I'll share some recipes from tonight's meal later on this week.

At the Seder, the youngest child who is able to recites four questions:

1. Why on this night do we eat only matzah?

Matzah is a reminder that the Jews fled Egypt quickly, and did not have time to let bread dough rise.

2. Why on this night do we eat bitter herbs?

Bitter herbs remind us of the cruel way the Pharaoh treated the Jews when they were enslaved in Egypt.

3. Why on this night do we dip our foods twice?

We dip bitter herbs into charoset ([hah-ROH-set] = a sweet, sticky mixture of fruit, nuts and wine) to remind us of the mortar used in erecting the Pharaoh's buildings. And we dip parsley into salt water, with the salty water reminding us of the tears the Jews shed while the parsley reminds us of Spring and of renewal.

4. Why on this night do we lean on a pillow?

We lean on pillows for comfort, to remind us that the Jews were once slaves but are now free.

And Mazon [mah-ZONE]: A Jewish Response to Hunger (and one of my very favorite charities) is hoping that we will all ask ourselves a fifth question:

"Why on this night are millions of people going hungry?"

According to Feeding America:

•In 2009, 50.2 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 33 million adults and 17.2 million children.

•In 2009, 6.8 million households experienced very low food security.

•In 2009, households with children reported food insecurity at almost double the rate for those without children, 21.3 percent compared to 11.4 percent.

•In 2009, 7.8 percent of seniors living alone (884,000 households) were food insecure.

Sometimes it seems as though the tragedy is so overwhelming that it's insurmountable. There are many, many answers to that 5th Question and none of them can be addressed quickly or easily. No one person can solve the problems of poverty and hunger in this country or throughout the world.

But one person can get up early and help to serve breakfast at a church.

One person can deliver meals to the homebound.

One person can organize a bake sale and donate the proceeds to a food-related charity.

One person can forego birthday gifts and collect items to give to a charity that feeds the hungry.

So, why on this night -- and so many other nights -- are millions of people going hungry?

I hope to ask myself this question with great frequency and to follow through with action rather than just intent. I am able to feed myself every single day, and even prepare special meals for holidays and for loved ones.

But may I -- we -- never forget that there are those who don't have the security of knowing what, or whether, they'll eat tonight. And may we take it upon ourselves to be a part of the answer to that truly life-threatening problem.



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A Day-Long Food Fest

Oh, man, Sunday was an incredible festival of food!  Tom, Jeremy and I started out in Berkley, at O'Mara's Irish Restaurant on 12 Mile at Coolidge (as opposed to Coolidge at 12 Mile ... inside joke, after my father corrected me for phrasing it improperly).  It was an occasion for Tom to meet my parents, for me to visit with Tom's dad and stepmother again, for Jeremy to meet some of Tom's family ... it was -- as Tom succinctly put it -- "Lunch with the In-Laws" despite there not even being any engagement let alone a marriage.  It was a convenient way to phrase a complicated arrangement ... and it's kinda sweet, too.  And we needed to play yenta and get all of the old(er) folks together, since my parents live in Birmingham while Tom's live in Royal Oak ... they're practically neighbors!

I'd never been to O'Mara's before, but it was well worth the schlep across 696; Jeremy -- who has recently embraced being 1/8 Irish with a manic devotion -- has now declared it his new favorite restaurant.  There was a beautiful mural of charming Irish doorways along one wall, a gigantic Guinness mirror on another wall, and just a warm, friendly atmosphere with no one rushing anyone out the door.  I never got to look at a menu, because a Sunday brunch that was exceptionally good -- with lots of choices for everyone (from good eaters to picky nuisances) -- was already waiting for us: a beautiful assortment of breads and rolls, a lovely green salad, a gorgeous fruit tray, tuna pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, hash browns, French toast, a variety of cakes and pastries, and -- the absolute pièce de résistance -- some of the best scalloped potatoes I've ever eaten (which both my mother and Monica, Tom's stepmother, had raved about before we went up to the table to peruse the offerings).

Now, anyone who encounters me for even a few brief moments knows at least two things about me: I'm not shy about being the first one up at the buffet table, and I'm also not shy about going up for seconds.  But I didn't want to be a glutton -- not to mention being unable to eat the breakfast meats because the ubiquitous sodium nitrite gives me migraines -- so I exhibited restraint and stuck to salad, fruit, mac 'n' cheese (it was home-style, with real cheese on top ... how could I resist???), the divine potatoes, and splitting small pieces of luscious mocha and lemon cakes with Tom.  (Still recovering from the hamantaschen binge of Purim, no massive quantities of food were on the agenda.)  I enjoyed myself immensely, always happy to eat and to converse and to eat a bit more.  And everyone else seemed to enjoy both the food and the company, as well; our parents even compared notes on afternoon naps and having doctor appointments as their primary source of entertainment ... groan.  My father and Gary (Tom's dad) were similar sorts who long for the good ol' days and an old-fashioned work ethic, while my mother and Monica were the last to leave the table because they were so congenially engaged in conversation with each other.  "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match ...."

After that, we went to my new favorite grocery store: One Stop Kosher Food Market at 10 Mile and Greenfield in Southfield.  I'd been there once before, a few weeks ago, and only had sufficient time to peruse the perimeter ... but that was enough for me to fall in love at first sight.  I felt right at home, as though I were back in NYC where I grew up, shopping side-by-side with Orthodox Jews wearing yarmulkes and wigs and tzitzit and black hats.  And the food -- oh, the food!!!  Bagels and rugelach (crescent-shaped cookies, usually with a chocolate or a fruit filling) and babka (an exceptional coffee cake) and knishes (single-serving savory "pies" with a variety of fillings, from potato to cheese to -- oh, my God!!! -- pastrami) ... I was in my gluttonous glory just absorbing it all!

I bought some Bazooka gum (sugar and all, I'm sorry to say) because the writing on the wrappers was in Hebrew.  I bought some cotton candy (more sugar, virtually nothing but sugar) because it was made by Manischewitz (which has a very special place in my heart after inviting me to be a semi-finalist in its 2nd cook-off) and the container would be perfect -- priceless! -- for bringing lunch items to work.  (I have a very strong sense of whimsy, it seems.)  I bought chocolate-covered matzahs, because that's one of my favorite Pesach (Hebrew for "Passover") foods and the price was better at One Stop than I find it to be in Ann Arbor.  And I bought another box of my beloved Alef Beis (alphabet) cookies so that I can not only have a treat to enjoy with cocoa or with tea, but so that I can practice reading Hebrew by forming words with the cookies ... my equivalent to eating Alpha-Bits or alphabet soup and playing with my food!  I even bought a container of something called "Whip," which is a non-dairy cream.  In order to make baked goods that are pareve [PAHRv] -- neither meat nor dairy -- for my Jewish friends who keep kosher, as well as being able to provide treats for one who has a dairy allergy, I use Earth Balance vegan butter substitute and soy milk or yogurt; but now I can melt some pareve chocolate chips with Whip and even make a glaze or ganache or frosting, as well.  It takes so little to make me happy ... :)

And then, once we got back home, it was on to my food for the Oscars.  I'm not much of a t.v. fan, but will admit to watching the occasional movie on Turner Classics (usually an MGM musical), baseball (lots of baseball ... lots and lots of baseball!), the Tonys, "Monk," and the Oscars.  I care a bit about who wins the awards, but not a lot since I usually haven't seen many of the movies.  But I love to see the clothes, even though I know this makes me seem very shallow and inane ... oh, well, we all have our moments.

For the show, I offered a buffet with not much of a theme other than simply not requiring any utensils -- I'm not Wolfgang Puck, after all, making Oscar-shaped pumpernickel bread toasts with lox or mini gold leaf-covered chocolate statues!  (In a previous life, I might have tried; but now ...?)  We ate a tropical chicken salad (minced chicken, papaya, pineapple, toasted coconut, and a curried coconut milk sauce to kinda/sorta/maybe bind it together) dolloped onto crispy rice crackers, fruit, an assortment of vegetables for dipping, some exceptionally good salt-and-pepper kettle cooked potato chips, and an experimental dip for which I should win some sort of prize:

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon each cumin and paprika

1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout -- a Moroccan spice blend

a splash of Tabasco

a pinch of kosher salt

a sprinkling of Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon of my new favorite condiment -- Polish Mustard From Hell

And I made peanut butter cookies -- adding both chopped honey-roasted peanuts and peanut butter chips -- because ... well, who needs a reason???  They're fabulous, soft, crumbly, rich, delicious, and addictive.  It's sort of surprising that there are any left, but then I did bake a lot of them ....

So, that was my Sunday -- eating food, buying food, making food, eating more food.  Not a bad way to end the weekend!