An Afro Jewish Passover

 The story of the enslaved ancient Israelites means much to African= Americans and more so to African-American Jews. It's no wonder that their Passovers are filled with rich traditions and deep empathy. This shows in their choices for  a meaningful seder that respects one tradition with food from another one.

Regular contributor and columnist to The Bittman Project , Kayla Stewart wrote about them and their traditions. Most face prejudice from Jews of European ancestry according to the Jews of Color Initiative which supports and empowers the African American ones. The number is growing although there have been Black Jews throughout American history There are parallels to both stories and the food reflects both.It is a tale of struggle and liberation. The Jews were enslaved for four hundred years and then finally released after God inflicted ten plagues to persuade Pharaoh to free the Jewish people He also instructed Moses to sacrifice a lamb and mark the door with its' blood so that the Angel of Death "passes over their homes. Moses parts the Red Sea for their escape and  the Jews wander the desert for forty years. There are strong similarities to the African American freeing and struggle. To many the story rings true as they celebrate with African influenced foods. 

Ms. Stewart includes recipes, from chef and historian Michael M. Twitty's  soon to be published Koshersoul  (Harper Collins Amstead 2022). This is  kachumbari an onion and tomato salad with roots in Kenya. There is also a brisket in the West African style spiked with spices as turmeric and ginger. It's cooked with tomatoes , white and yellow onions and bell peppers.  A traditional Passover  food horseradish is added to this. Chef Twitty, who is Afro-Jewish himself also has an interesting fried chicken recipe made with ground matzo meal. The chicken is  dipped in a mix of poultry seasoning blended with a  host of spices from ground ginger and cinnamon to ground allspice and cloves.The chicken parts are left to absorb these for an hour or two in the fridge. Afterwards it's then dipping the chicken in beaten egg and then the matzoh meal , much in the way of any fried chicken recipe. The oil does have to be Kosher  and if following Sephardic Kosher, then use corm or peanut oil.

African American Jews can celebrate Passover with a co mingling of traditional Black and Jewish foods. It all ties in with enslavement and liberation. Both have suffered and shared that suffering with symbolic foods.

Being Vegan For The Holidays

 Easter and Passover are about celebrating with family and friends. Yet what if they are vegetarian or vegan? Do you exclude them from the holiday meal? No! You include them with including vegan and vegetarian recipes. You can create new traditions by using more plant protein!

For the Easter holiday lamb and ham usually are the stars of the table. However there are some great dishes that vegetarians would approve of. Think a spinach or veggie lasagna with using plant based cheeses. You can also serve up a mushroom one too.Savory tarts are a nice change up . You can make a quiche without eggs. Just sub in chickpea flour mixed with soy or any nut milk to get that creamy texture. Try a leek and mushroom one baked in a shortcrust pastry shell. Some vegetarians do allow eggs into their diet so an Easter brunch with a traditional quiche is not out of the question. Instead of ham you can easily crumble soy bacon on top or sub in a variety of different veggies like broccoli or onions. If you want a bigger main course then think about using Beyond Beef for both Easter and Passover. The product is kosher certified so it can be incorporated into the seder. Bake it in a loaf pan and serve it with gravy. For Passover along with Easter, you can also roast portabella mushroom caps or bake cauliflower  steaks for a new classic main course.

Desserts shouldn't be tricky. You can easily sub in Just egg or Vegg Vegan Baking Mix for eggs and any kind of non dairy milk for the real thing. Soy milk is recommended because it has the same texture as cow;s milk. Creating buttercream frosting is just as easy. Use Melt plant butter instead of butter for a creamy textured frosting. Again you can use soy or almond milk to thin it out if it becomes too thick. Aquafaba, or chickpea brine can produce lovely meringues . Divide it up and add a drops of food coloring for meringues the color of Easter eggs. A truly elegant dessert is a pavlova. This is layers of meringue interspersed with whipped cream. Various fruits top this. As for the whipped cream make your own dairy free one by whipping together full fat coconut milk, vanilla extract and a few drops of maple syrup. You just have t skim the "fat' off the top and use that for the whole cream.The Passover seder can end with no bake chocolate macaroons, made with the traditional coconut flakes but with the twist of bananas and coconut oil to bind them.

A vegan holiday meal is easy to whip up. You can create a delicious main course and desserts from plant based ingredients. It's easy to do for Easter and Passover.

Your Easter Treat Selection

 Easter is only less than two weeks away and it's time to start thinking about treats. and dessert. What would be fun for an Easter Egg hunt? What would be the perfect ending to a ham dinner. There are so many choices.

One of the most traditional id the lamb cake or the Osterlamm in German. The American version can be made with any kind of cake mix while the German has a simple vanilla cake recipe. You will need a special mold such as this one.

This was my Mom's that I inherited.it's over forty years old and from Wilton. You can get something similar from Amazon for around twenty three dollars. There is also an Osterlamm mold for $37.98.  You will need to use Dream Whip because this gives the cake body.I've the cake in vanilla and chocolate .each had different icings , from traditional butter cream to chocolate to coffee for the chocolate. Decorating was fun, with colored vanilla buttercream for the outline of the ears and eyes  and the ribbon around the lamb's neck. You can also bake a bunny ro Easter egg Again these are fun to decorate. For a more sophisticated dessert, think a lemon or orange Bundt cake with a lemon or orange glaze. This is perfect with coffee and tea after a big meal.

Smaller Easter egg cakes are a cute handout at Easter egg hunts. You can add M&Ms and jelly beans to the decorations. A fun idea is having the kids decorate them at a trimmings bar and them give a prize out for the best looking one. Easter cookies are also a fun treat any any Easter gathering.Again egg shapes iced and decorated with colored icing, sugars and candies are a highlight to any gathering. Bunny cookies are another sweet treat. You could do a dusting of bright colored sanding sugar to resemble Bunny Peeps.Peeps can also be featured in cookies. Think about wrapping cookie dough around them for a gooey kind of treat.  You can also top plain sugar ones with them as well.Rice Krispy treats can be molded into fun shapes like carrots and chicks. You can also make the traditional squares and then decorate them with melted pastel chocolate, sprinkles and M&Ms. 

There are so many different kinds of goodies to make for Easter. Pick something cute or something sophisticated.Either choice will be a holiday hit.

Spring Cleaning Your Fridge

 Spring is here and that means one thing : cleaning. There are probably plans for the whole house, especially the kitchen. The fridge and freezer need also looking into. It's time to toss and make way for the holiday season ahead.

It's a good idea to look into the fridge and assess what's there. Most likely your fridge door is full of condiments from last year's grilling season. Surprisingly barbecue sauce only lasts for one month after opening. Toss any old gunky bottles. The stuff is probably too congealed to use anyway. Should you replace it with a brand new one? Only if you plan on barbecuing soon or like it over your burgers. ketchup lasts much longer , becoming dark and crusty after six months. This  you can replace because it is usable , especially as we approach grilling season. Mustard is the same. What about those packets of soy and duck sauces along with hot mustard that come with your Chinese take out. They're good as long as they're sealed. Use these to spice up your recipes. Add some hot mustard or soy sauce to a stir fry. The duck sauce is the  perfect sauce for chicken  nuggets or tenders.Leftovers should only be kept for three or four days. If not mold takes over and your fridge has some weird science experiment going on. Cut fruit like cantelope and melon are only good for forty-eight hours before they develop a sour taste. Cheeses on the other hand can lasts weeks. Cheddar is still good even after a month while Brie can last up to three weeks.

Once you've cleaned out the bottom portion, it's time to tackle the freezer. Not surprisingly ice cubes are one of the most durable foodstuffs. They can last up to two years without any noticeable change of taste. However this is not true for actual frozen foods and leftovers. Yes, green beans and Eggos can be stuck indefinitely in your freezer however after two or three years they will degrade in taste. This will make them un appetizing. What about those bumper crops from last summer? Frozen fresh fruits and veggies can really only last about eight months. It's best to have a plan for them before you freeze them as well as putting the date they were frozen on the freezer bags. That way you know what to toss and to keep. Many ask if they can keep their frozen meat leftovers. Yes, but only for s short while.Chicken needs to be trimmed of its' fat otherwise it can become rancid and spoil the meat.(rancidity won't make the chicken toxic but it will ruin its' flavor.) Cooked bacon and sausage will also last for eight weeks and again beware of rancidity.You can keep hamburger for that period of time  before it goes bad. Ice cream lasts only two or three months too, so chuck that ice cream you bought for Christmas or New Year's,

A good refrigerator cleaning is a must especially during this holiday month. Get rid of the old to prepare for the new.It'll make for more room to store all those great foods for celebrating.

Gearing Up For Holiday Cooking

 Three major holidays happen this month and that means prepping the kitchen for holiday cooking. Ramadan, Easter and Passover happen within weeks of each other. it means planning and shopping along with scanning over recipes to see what works.

Ramadan starts tonight and ends on May 1st.There is fasting from dawn to sunset but that doesn't mean there can't be tasty dishes. The fast has to b broken each night with iftar the traditional meal. Of course the fast is usually broken by eating Medjool dates but there are other dishes that can be enjoyed by the family or by a crowd.Samosas are perfect, They're fun , finger foods and can be filled with either meat or potatoes. Think chicken or potatoes highly spiced with a variety of different spices like cumin and turmeric.Another tasty and quick to make dish are kabobs. A good choice is lamb or again chicken interspersed with onions, tomatoes and bell peppers.You could have stuffed veggies too or stews like one with lentils and beef. Sweets could be lokaymat, sweet dough balls fried and soaked in honey. Passover also begins this month and with it comes traditional recipes along with new spins on the classics.Of course there will be matzoh ball soup, highlighted by fluffy matzoh balls lightened a splash of seltzer. Brisket is always served. This savory cut can be seasoned with brown sugar, rosemary and a dash of paprika. What to serve with it? A vegetable kugel would work .it's a host of different veggies baked into a savory cake held together with potato starch and egg. A different dessert would be flourless chocolate cookies instead of the traditional cake.

Easter , itself, brings tradition and new spins.Most families serve ham with some kind of glaze. Southerners love one made with a good splash of Coke or Dr. Pepper. This cuts the meat's saltiness. Martha Stewart offers one with a cognac and brown sugar glaze. For a light  Spring-y meal Cornish hens will work. They have a more delicate taste than chicken and are perfect with an orange based glaze. Asparagus are a must , whether at a Seder or Easter meal. As for desserts, a cake would be nice. Think a bunny one, with  coconut frosting and jelly bean eyes. For all the holidays, make sure you have all the ingredients and the gadgets to prep them. Do you have enough pans for roasts along with plastic bowls and containers for left overs? What about linens? Is it time to get a new Spring tablecloth along with linen napkins. If it's warmer weather then what about having an outdoor holiday feast. Do you have enough outdoor chairs and plastic tablecloths? Now is the time to start buying for it all, along with planning. 

This is a month for holidays. Make sure you're ready with your recipes and ingredients.Planning and prepping will ensure a smoothly run holiday meal.

Ramadan Up North

Ramadan has special meaning to the world's Muslim community. It's exemplified in Anchorage, Alaska, with its' diversity  and growing Islamic culture. The many groups celebrate and with an Alaskan twist at times. 

Regular contributor and food reporter, Victoria Peterson wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Food section. A native Alaskan, herself, Ms. Peterson explored the wide diversity in the state's largest city. It is also home to Alaska's only mosque.Surprisingly the city is also an immigrant city with one hundred languages being spoken within the city's school districts. The Islamic Community Center of Anchorage has members from between forty and fifty countries. Some are Muslim s from the US , like Maleika and Gregory Shuaib Jones from North Carolina but there are others from Bhutan and Somalia. They are all bonded together  unlike in other cities where mosques reflect the majority of the people attending them. The only problem they have is the short winter and long summer days. Fasting can be hard, especially during the warmer months when sunset begins at 11:30 PM. Many adopt to Mecca's time for prayer and breaking the fast.

Feasting happens afterwards with traditional halal foods. When graduate student Sajid Raza first arrived there in 2016, there was only a pizzeria and and Indian restaurant. Now, six years later there are three halal specialty shops along with restaurants with several halal dishes on the menu. Local Walmart, Safeway and Costco stores also stock halal certified options. There are also a few international markets springing up across the city too. Mr. Jones feels that it's a remarkable because halal is becoming more and more mainstream in America. Their neighbor even killed and prepared a caribou in the Islamic law and ritual. Families have no trouble in finding rice, lentil, flour and vegetables, staples in every Muslim home. They are even getting Medjool dates, those big gooey ones that are becoming easier to find during Ramadan. There are also pot luck dinners at the mosque which turn into s buffet thanks to the wide variety from s;; over the Muslim world.. Ms. Jones and her daughter Shumalaiah are making kebabs, roti and fruit with yogurt. There will also be samosas filled with potato and meat.

Ramadam anywhere in the world is special. In Anchorage it is very, with bonded community celebrating togehter. They will fast. They will eat They will be there for each other in the country's most northern city.

Your Community College The New Culinary School

 Let's face it - culinary schools are expensive. That's horrible for so many who want to be chefs and restaurant owners. However there's always community college. This staple of suburban life is stepping in and stepping up helping those to achieve those dreams.

Regular contributor, cookbook author and chef herself, Priya Krishna wrote about this new facet of American education in today's New York Times Food section. Thanks to their high tuition,  and pandemic many culinary schools are closing. The only ones still opened are the famous one like the CIA, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde park and ICE The Institute of Culinary Education in the heart of the world's restaurant capitol, new York ity.Even the famed Johnson & Wales , a college with a culinary bent has closed their Denver and Miami campuses. Community colleges will always be open, offering a variety of majors from communications to nursing and now aspects of the food industry.They are also much cheaper. A student ca receive a certificate for only $6500 and $14,000 for a two year Associates Degree. One semester at the CIA is $20,000.There is already too much student debt and starting out line cooks can''t afford that on their beginning salaries. 

Many companies and local governments are realizing that the culinary departments are worth investing in . The state-of-the-art kitchens at North Essex Community College in Haverhill Massachusetts were built and equipped from funding from the state and Lupoli Companies. The last is a Massachusetts real estate developer that owns the culinary arts building.Graduates are then hired at Bosa, owned by Lupoli. There are also perks too such as breaking down meats at Haverhill Beef Company, a local butcher. Other have gardens planted on site such as Butler Community College in El Dorado Kansas. This allows students to cook in the farm to table method. At Mott Community School in Flint, Michigan run the student coffee shop that in turns  fund scholarships. Yet there is criticism despite all the good they do. Jeffrey Gardner , a consulting chef in Atlanta feel the community college grads have an outdated French  cuisine background along with teachers not having adequate restaurant backgrounds. There's also no ethnic diversity in the training either. None have backgrounds or classes in African and Asian cooking. Yet these courses and programs do fill a need. Local businesses need the grads and they are hard working according to Sussex Community College's superviser Martin Kestner. His grads help out the local restaurants in Newton, New Jertsey

Community colleges have a lot going for them. Their culinary programs are worth looking into. Young chefs can get a good education at a reasonable price.