Welcome to Neesh Noosh!

Neesh Noosh means “tasty treat” in Hebrew. I was inspired to start the blog as a way to delve deeply and share many of my life’s passions: writing, cooking, health, farmers markets (eating, buying and photographing), sustainable agriculture/food access/food justice, and Judaism. I became a vegetarian when I was about nine years old, and fully vegan about 5 years ago (along with a failed attempt about 10 years ago). You will see my transition to a plant-based diet reflected in some recipes on my blog. I also absolutely love going to farmers markets and growing edible plants on my balcony. Beyond my modest balcony, I have gotten my hands dirty on organic farms in India and Italy. 

When I began writing at Rosh Hashana in 2014 and for the first year, I created a weekly recipe inspired by the weekly Torah portion (parsha hashavua) plus what’s in season at my farmers market, along with commentary about food, agriculture and hunger issues.  It was also the 7th and final year of a Shmita cycle. Neesh Noosh challenged me to deeply study the weekly Torah portion–something I’ve never done. Writing the weekly blog was a process that is helping me understand and answer many questions in my life. I describe these recipes as “edible midrashim”.

I completed my weekly Torah recipes project.  I then finished a second year of recipes for each new month (Rosh Chodesh) and holidays. For the past few years, I have been sharing recipes from Jewish communities I’ve met around the world, from India to Italy and writing about current issues as they relate to food through a Jewish lens. You’ll always still find a new sprinkling of holiday and Shabbat recipes. I’m also slowly working on updating many traditional Ashkenazi recipes as vegan.

Thank you for reading! Please contact me with feedback or if you would like to re-post any of my blogs or photos. 

Sarah Newman