8 Reasons Why the Kitchen is Your Friend

By H. B. Rubin March 7, 2013

I was playing tennis with a friend two summers ago when the subject of food came up. “I don’t cook at all, “ she laughed, as she served the ball, “because I’m an independent woman. Unless you count eggs? I think I can scramble eggs.” This comment has stayed in the back of my mind…

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Candy Cane Cheese Cake Hamantaschen? Yes.

By H. B. Rubin February 19, 2013

The times that I’ve made Hamantaschen in the past have always been in an affectionate haste around my kitchen table, with my grandmother’s well-worn cookbook pinned down by two generations of elbows and floury fingers. My mother and I flutter around the kitchen in hazy swirls, looking for circle-cutting cylinders, inventive ingredients to ad lib as creative…

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The Treif Tailgating Monopoly is Over

By Simi Lichtman October 4, 2012

It’s hard to know what life will be like should the Messiah come. But we can be assured that there will be kosher tailgating snacks involved, and that they will be tasty. If you’re a football fan, then you understand the difficulty of living a dual life: loving the game but not being able to…

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What to Do With All Those Apples

By H. B. Rubin September 20, 2012

So, Rosh Hashana is over. Your excuse to not go attend classes for “religious reasons” is moot for the next ten days. The crazy fruits have been eaten, the apple-themed shul outfits have been worn, and your ears are a bit hung over from their shofar drunk. But wait, what do you do with all…

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Second night Seders; the poet and candy; quinoa for Pesach; and more. [Required Reading]

By John Propper April 2, 2012

Years later, patrilineal debate rages on [Forward] The debate over “Who is a Jew?” has perhaps never been more heated in the years following the Reconstructionist, and later Reform, decision to accept as Jews those with only one Jewish parent: the father. While many perhaps expected this trend to catch on in the wider world,…

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The Purple Cabbage Stuff

By astrick March 20, 2010

If you’re familiar with my work you’ll know that in just about every meal that I eat I include “The Purple Cabbage Stuff” as a side dish. It’s that beautiful purple stuff on all the plates. See here or here. Well, this week I decided to try and make it all by myself. I looked…

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Grandma’s Cookin’ (Liver and Onions)

By astrick March 15, 2010

I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve eaten liver in my life. The first time was when I had paté not knowing it was liver. The second time was at a holiday party where they served chopped liver. The third time was when my friend’s roommate’s girlfriend came over to cook…

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ShakShook Things Up!

By astrick March 8, 2010

The word on everyone’s mind lately seems to be Shakshouka. What is it? Check out the Wikipedia definition right here: Shakshouka (also shakshuka, shaqshuqa, chakchouka; Arabic: شكشوكة‎; Hebrew: שקשוקה‎) is a North African dish consisting of poached or fried eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices (often including cumin, turmeric, and…

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Spices

By astrick February 14, 2010

Here I set out to explore and explain Israel’s numerous spices and flavors, but first I suspect I should set out to explain who I am. If I truly did that, we would all die of starvation (because I would never get to the food), so for now, I will just explain the basics. My…

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