Tag Archives: food

Iyar: Connect and Grow

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Iyar Beans and Seeds

Iyar Beans and Seeds

Iyar-the second month in the Jewish calendar–is a connector month, between Nisan (Pesach–the exodus and establishment of the nation of Israelites) and Sivan (Shavuot–the receiving of the Torah).  Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz writes that Pesach “asks us to stop walking the old, familiar paths, and to create change within ourselves and in our relationship with others and with the world.”

Such a process of introspection and healing doesn’t end at Pesach but rather begins. Iyar is a time to sow the seeds of our personal and communal transformations that were planted at Pesach through our liberation from slavery and to prepare for receiving the Torah in Sivan. It “is the month of introspection for the sake of self improvement.” Liberation does not mean one’s journey is complete. And, such a journey is not done alone.  Iyar is known as a healing month.  The acronym of Iyar is represented by the phrase, “I am G-d your healer” (Exodus 15:26). (The manna the Israelites received from G-d during their time in the wilderness first appeared in Iyar, solidifying their reliance on G-d to survive.) Continue reading →

Pesach Round-Up

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Underwood Family Farms, Culver City, CA Farmers Market

Underwood Family Farms, Culver City, CA Farmers Market

As you’re busy cleaning your house, shopping and cooking for Pesach, I thought you might want to read and reflect upon some of my posts for the holiday. Chag sameach!

Passover: Liberate Yourself From Industrial Food: A list of suggestions to make each part of your seder more sustainable.

Passover: Ending Slavery in Our Food Systems: The horrible enslavement of people in the production of food worldwide.

Nisan: Bless and Sustain: The ultimate Pesach food!-Quinoa and roasted fruit and vegetable recipe

Also, if you haven’t had a chance yet, check out the resources page on my website to find a wide range of wonderful groups working in both the secular and faith spaces to address hunger, agriculture, animal welfare and many other important issues.

Purim: Vegan Hamantaschen

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Hamantaschen3I seem to be on a desserts stretch the past few posts during Adar 1 & 2! With Purim starting in a couple of days, I assume people are busy preparing their mishloach manot. I hope you enjoy the following recipe for vegan hamantaschen, that I wrote for the Borough Market website. It is a modified version of a recipe that I found on the blog, Musical Assumptions). I filled them with my date paste and strawberry jam recipes.

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Adar: Conflict and Joy

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Adar stuffed dates

Adar stuffed dates

We are encouraged to celebrate and have more joy than normal during the month of Adar.
“The whole month of Adar is learning how to grow and heal through joy and laughter. . . . . the main reason we came into this world is to experience and teach joy.” writes Melinda Ribner of Kabbalah of the Heart. Moses was born on the 7th of Adar and the holiday of Purim (the miracle of the Jews survival against Haman) is celebrated during Adar. The 9th of Adar commemorates “marks the day that two thousand years ago healthy disagreements ‘for the sake of Heaven’ turned destructive.”  In honor of it, the 9Adar project is a week devoted to “strengthening a culture of constructive conflict across personal, political, religious, and other divides.”

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Chanukah Round Up

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FullSizeRender(228)(1)Chanukah Sameach! I hope you enjoy 8 nights of lighting candles, munching on latkes, spinning dreidels, and more. I want to share with you some new and old Chanukah posts:

8 Easy Tips for an Environmentally Friendly Hanukkah (Haaretz)

Latkes and Chanukah for London’s Borough Market

8 Infused Olive Oils (Jewish Journal)

8 Ways to Make Your Chanukah More Sustainable

Oily, Salty Salad for the Month of Kislev

Soup for Tevet

Cheshvan: Pray for Rain

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Cheshvan: Mushroom and bean soup

Cheshvan: Mushroom and Bean soup

In Israel, we begin saying the prayer for rain at the start of the month of Cheshvan (saying the prayer starts later outside of Israel). Rain is desperately needed in Israel and California, which has the worst drought on record. The primary ingredients in this soup require little water to be grown. They are also sowed in the ground and dark places, reflective of the shorter days as we approach winter. With the cooling weather, we start to stay inside more and perhaps become more insular and reflective in our nature. The month–which has no holidays–is sometimes referred to as “MarCheshvan.” Mar means bitter and the parsley leaves on top are symbolic of this bitterness.

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Fall Holidays: Feasting and Reading

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Sukkot: Stuffed Zucchinis

Sukkot: Stuffed Zucchinis

Greetings from Tel Aviv! I want to share my latest Haaretz piece about addressing the serious hunger and poverty crises in both the US and Israel.

And, I want to share with you some of my recipes for the remaining fall holidays. Sukkot is the ultimate “farm-to-table” holiday, celebrating the bounty of Fall harvest. On Shemini Atzeret we transition to saying a prayer for rain— so needed right now in Israel and the West Coast.
Sukkot:
Stuffed Zucchinis
Perennials Roast
Shemini Atzeret:
Nopales and Tomatillo Sauté
Simchat Torah:
Eggplant-Quinoa Rounds
Chag Sameach!

 

Shana Tova: Reflections and Moving into a New Year

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Apples. Eastern Market. Washington, DC

Apples. Eastern Market. Washington, DC

Shana Tova! Last year at Rosh Hashana, I decided to start Neesh Noosh, without having a vision or plan. Just a desire to learn, cook and write. What a whirlwind and exciting journey it has been! I want to share an article, after the break, that I wrote for last week’s Jewish Journal about my journey writing Neesh Noosh.

In the coming year, instead of creating a dish for the weekly Torah portion, I will make a recipe for each Rosh Chodesh (new month).  I am also working on turning the blog into a cookbook.

Thank you to everyone who reads Neesh Noosh. I am grateful for your support and encouragement!  I hope you will continue to enjoy reading and cooking with me in the new year.

Wishing you a sweet, healthy new year!
Sarah

PS: If you want to read more about Rosh Hashana and food ethics, please check out  an article I wrote for the Isareli paper, Haaretz: What do Jewish Morals Have to Say About Your Rosh Hashana Dinner?

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Ki Tavo: Mitzvot and Renewal

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Ki Tavo: Roasted Fruit

Ki Tavo: Roasted Fruit

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, begins with the responsibility of the Israelites to bring an offering of first fruits (bikkurim) after they’ve entered the land of Israel. “He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have given to me.” (26:9-10)

Fruit offerings were later replaced with prayers but the purpose and intention are the same. As my teacher, Diane Bloomfield of “Torah from Jerusalem” explains, each day is the potential for both the physical world and humans to renew through prayer and actions. Despite the darkness that shrouds much of the world, we are commanded by God, as caretakers of the world, to illuminate dark places through mitzvot (actions). Such behaviors enable us to connect more deeply to God and renew ourselves and the world.

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Ki Teitzei: Living Compassionately and Righteously

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Ki Teitzei Nest

Ki Teitzei Nest

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, contains several teachings about the treatment of animals. It includes the prohibition against taking eggs or baby chicks from a nest while the mother is there, which has become the basis for the prohibition of cruelty against animals (tzaar baalei chayim). Indeed, for the person who does this, it is written “it should be good for you, and you should lengthen your days.”

Indeed, the notion of preventing cruelty to animals was, until recently, unheard of, except in Torah. “‘Until the nineteenth century,’ wrote historian Cecil Roth, ‘cruelty to animals was nowhere illegal, except in Jewish law'”. (The Jewish Contribution to Civilization, pp. 343f). Rabbi Gershon Winkler, in commenting about the mother hen and baby chicks passage, argues, “The Torah is not interested in teaching you to feel compassion, but rather how to live compassionately.”

Rabbi Jill Jacobs writes, “Beyond simply prohibiting cruelty to animals, Jewish tradition associates care for animals with righteousness.”  She cites (Proverbs 12:10): “A righteous person knows the needs of his beast, but the compassion of the wicked is cruelty.”  

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