Warning: I did NOT create the following baked good:
Several observant Jews work in my office and so on Monday, the first workday after Purim, co-workers dumped the unwanted remnants of their Purim baskets in the kitchen for others to “enjoy”. This, dear readers, is the shocking aftermath. What the heck is it? I’m not sure. I can only deduce that some snack factory in Illinois churned this out in hopes of capitalizing on the ever popular Twinkies market — seriously, who eats Twinkies (or Twinkies knockoffs) anymore?
What kills me is that someone actually ate this since there are a couple of them missing!
What’s my point? Well, aside from looking plain ol’ gross, check out what this “Jr. Strawberry Jelly Roll” is made out of:
A bunch of preservatives, chemicals and sugars. Unhealthy, bad for you, and probably tastes like crap. But what’s this? There are two hechshers (kosher symbols) at the bottom, the little ‘M’ and the tablet with a ‘K’ inside. Yes, this package of sugary empty calories is kosher. So what? Well, despite the fact that in recent years there have been giant leaps forward when it comes to food companies producing healthier products, or at least touting the scant health benefits of their own junky foods, kosher products generally have lagged far, far behind in getting in on this trend. This is a sad but typical example of an item you’d see stuffed on a grocery shelf in the kosher section. I’ll bet if your local supermarket has one, you might find several products like these. It’s as if retailers think Jews don’t eat anything but overly preserved gefilte fish, instant soup mixes that still have loads of trans fats or cans of oversalted chicken soup! Please.
But there is a ray of hope.
Despite the fact that many kosher products barely resemble real food, there are now thousands of mainstream items by big brand names that are now certified kosher. You probably have at least a few in your pantry or fridge and don’t even know it! There is an encouraging amount of organic and healthier kosher products now, even antibiotic-free chickens at Whole Foods! Though stereotypical “Jewish food” isn’t historically healthy (giant pastrami sandwich with a side of pickles and schmaltz, anyone?), it’s nice to know that despite the predominance of the “Jr. Jelly Roll” and its ilk there are increasing amounts of Jews who care about their health and what the heck they’re eating. Even rabbis are getting in on the healthy lifestyle thing.
So while I came back to work after a lovely weekend and found really nasty snacks, I did what I felt to be the right thing:
I threw them out!
Coming soon upon us is my absolutely favorite holiday of the year, Purim. This year it’s early, it starts the night of Saturday, February 27th, when it usually takes place some time in early March. In my purely unbiased opinion, Purim kicks a huge amount of ass; it celebrates the events that took place in the Book of Esther.
Real quick if you don’t know the story: Ancient Persia. Drunkard king kills former wife because she wouldn’t fulfill embarrasing request; looks for new wife. Esther, niece of Jewish scholar Mordechai, is selected. But, since this is ancient Persia, being Jewish is just barely tolerated — think pre-Civil Rights blacks in America. Thus, she hides her Jewish identity from the king. Haman, the King’s top advisor, hates the Jews! Big surprise. He convinces the King to proclaim an unbreakable decree that everyone in the entire kingdom on such and such a date, everyone can run around killing Jews, no problem! The date is chosen by a lottery. (In Hebrew, “pur”, thus the holiday of ‘lots’ or, “Purim”.) Esther knows she’s in a position to stop this but doesn’t know what to do, since by helping her people, she will reveal her Jewish identity and who knows how the drunken, murderous king will react? Her uncle Mordechai urges her to see the King. She does, and asks to throw a party, everyone has a great time. Later, she asks him to throw another one, this time with just the two of them and Haman. This is a big honor for Haman and he wants to suck up big time to the Queen of Persia. So he comes to the private party and at one point while the King is not around, she reveals that she is Jewish and how dare he kill her people? Haman, fearing for his life, throws himself at her feet and begs for mercy just as the King returns. He thinks that he’s making a move on his Queen and gets pissed. She reveals to them both her true idenity and that Haman’s decree would include killing her too. The king, enraged, has Haman and his entire family hanged. Since the decree is unbreakable, a new decree is written to counteract the old, saying that Jews are allowed to fight back themselves. And they did!
And now today, we celebrate Purim on that same date on the Hebrew calendar, by 1) hiding ourselves like Esther, by wearing masks and costumes, 2) partying and drinking until we can’t remember who in the story is bad and who is good, 3) giving out mishloach manot, gift baskets of food to friends and family, 4) giving charity to the poor (matanot le’evionim), and 5) hearing the megillah read, which recounts the story of Purim.
This is the holiday where hamentashen come from, those triangular cookies filled with jam. It means ‘Haman’s ears’ though I’m not sure why we’d want to eat his ears.
Rather than list the obvious here, which would be my hamentashen recipe, let’s face it, everyone and their great-aunt has some variation on hamentashen. So here’s something different: how did I make my Purim basket this year?
First of all, I love giving presents to people. It makes me warm inside, to brighten someone’s day and seeing their touched expressions when they receive it. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’s wonderful to surprise a friend no matter what it is. This is one of the biggest reasons why I am a Purim fan. Since many of my friends and family live far away, I mail my baskets. “Basket” is a bit misleading. Mine are small boxes, sized to fit in a standard New York apartment building mailbox so people don’t have to go to the Post Office to pick them up. When I started doing this a couple of years ago, I ordered some from Uline and I’m still using the same set of boxes; they send a lot
Requirements for mishloach manot are to give baskets to at least one person on Purim day, containing at least two different ready-to-eat foods. That’s it. Though people can get very competitive as to how grandiose and splendid their baskets can be. It can turn into a real free-for-all, like giant baskets of chocolate and sweets, imported fruits, etc. One year when I lived at home, my family and I spent an entire day delivering baskets to various friends and family all over town. I guess I inherited some of that urge too. At least one of us had to stay at home to receive everyone else’s gifts too!
My basket is pretty simple but can get full quickly. First, I cover the box like I would a textbook, with old magazine photos, preferably art-y shots with no text. I prefer the New York Times Magazine or their T Style magazine. Yeah, I’m a snob. Then I cover the box again completely with clear packing tape, so the decoration doesn’t tear in the mail. This whole process can take over an hour per box, so I don’t make very many each year, unfortunately! This year there are only a few, even though I started a month ago (for real), and they are mostly going to family. Sorry guys!
Then, what to put in the box? Well, aside from hamentashen (this year: pumpkin, chocolate and peanut butter chips, and strawberry jam), I like to include a variety of items, so I’ll have a juice box, a squeeze pack of peanut or almond butter, tea, dried fruit strips, a small box of raisins, little candies, etc. I’ll also include a note. You know, just to say hi. You can put anything you want in these baskets, hamentashen are just a custom, like drinking eggnog on Christmas. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but…
I’m sending mine out today, a Wednesday, so they’ll hopefully arrive by Saturday or Monday. I’m hoping people will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them!
As much as I love my fellow Pretty Girls, we don’t see each other so often, what with each of our hectic schedules and vastly different neighborhoods we reside in. Most of us might be in the same city, but that doesn’t mean it’s so easy to get together! As Johanna mentioned, regularly hanging out is a new goal of ours, and thus the first ever Pretty Girls Drunken Brunch of the Month was born. If anyone can do homemade brunch, it’s us!
For the inaugural edition I decided to use a gravalax recipe I’ve had for over a year but never found the right occasion to make it until now. Joh made scandalously good bagels and green pepper jelly and Bakezilla brought the prosecco and juices; a perfect trifecta of brunch.
I’ll leave it to her how she actually made such wondrous, bready delights but you can certainly have my gravalax recipe! It came out great, especially considering I’d never made it before!
Gravalax
- 1/4 filet salmon (it doesn’t have to be the highest quality, necessarily)
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Handfuls of dill
- 1/2 tsp all spice (optional but recommended)
- Slices of fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger (optional but recommended)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Debone the salmon, if necessary. Set aside. In a bowl, add the salt, sugar and optional spices together. Rub both sides of the filet with the salt mix. If there is skin, just rub the exposed side, or remove the skin and do both if preferred. Garnish each side with pepper and smother each side with dill, enough to cover the sides completely. Slice the salmon in half and fold together. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap then place in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for 48 hours minimum. The salmon should be weighted down and turned over every 12 hours. When it’s done, rinse off and pat dry with a paper towel. Slice, serve.
After all of us eating almost a dozen bagels fresh out of the oven, the entire plate of gravalax and consuming the whole bottle of prosecco, for having great times with friends on a lazy, brunchy Sunday, I deem the first round of PGDB to be a success!
Not to brag or anything, but my mom is a great cook. Really! If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then all the women in my neighborhood back home particularly fawn over the recipes for her brisket, salads, and stuffed grape leaves, all of which they have appropriated for their own meals (and then served back to us when our family comes over for dinner).
My mom also likes to send her scattered kids care packages on occasion. Imagine my surprise when a small box arrived at my doorstep the other day, no return address. There’s only one person who it could have been from. Inside, of all things, were brand new containers of spices, ginger, coriander and cumin, as well a (broken) bottle of light soy sauce. A note was included, written on the back of an envelope:
“Dear Rita,
Here’s a recipe inside for a wonderful marinade I made with tuna steaks — unbelievably good! Works with any fish and I imagine chicken and other stuff. Enjoy!!! XX I love you…. Mom”
That just about melted my heart. Tucked inside the envelope was the recipe.
Ginger-Soy Marinade
2 garlics [sic] crushed
2 slices ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
2 tsps sugar [or sage? Hard to read. Knowing my mom, it's sugar.]
Optional: 1 tsp chili powder
When I asked her about the recipe, she said for tuna steaks it only needs to marinade for 10 minutes, since the tuna absorbs sauces quickly. Upon my asking her to clarify whether that meant 5 minutes per side for 10 minutes total or 10 minutes each side, she said, “I don’t know, I don’t do things so exact.” It’s also good for chicken. Cook it on a grill pan and you’ve got yourself a tasty dinner.
This story doesn’t top what she sent my brother though! I’d love to see the look on his face when he opened his box and found… an eggplant along with a head of garlic and a can of chopped tomatoes for a simple eggplant salad, which we eat tossed with pasta or on its own as a side.
Eggplant salad
1 eggplant
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsps olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tsps sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Dice the eggplant and soak in a bowl of cold water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes, then remove eggplant from bowl and squeeze out the excess water. In a large saucepan saute the garlic in olive oil until lightly browned, then add the tomatoes. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar on top, stir, and saute until soft. Add the eggplant, tomato sauce and the remaining sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the saucepan and cook on a low heat, checking every 10 minutes or so until soft. Adjust salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Serve warm for best results, though it can be refrigerated for later.
Together, these two recipes will make for a delicious meal! Does anyone else’s mom send packages like these or just mine?
Tu B’shvat, the Jewish New Year for the trees, is next Saturday and I’m still unsure of my plans. Originally I had wanted to throw my own seder but it seems more and more like I won’t have the time (or money) to coordinate it! Luckily there are many excellent organizations having their own event but it’s usually for the best, I’ve found, to do things yourself. Or at least, it can be more fun that way.
Since Tu B’shvat is minor — the two Jewish cookbooks I own barely give it a paragraph, let alone specific recipes — and since it has been reinvented many times, I’m going to assume that as long as one sticks to the basic idea of the holidays as a New Year for the trees, then you can interpret and celebrate it any way you’d like, including what recipes to make!
One consistent custom, however, is to eat the seven species of fruit and grain mentioned in the Old Testament, which are wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates; all of which are healthy, flavorful and nutritious. Just mentioning these foods all together sounds so wholesome, doesn’t it? The reason there generally aren’t recipes for Tu B’shvat is because the above-mentioned foods tend to be eaten separately and not cooked, like nibbling on a bunch of grapes rather than eating something deglazed in red wine, say. That doesn’t mean we can’t come up with something, hmm?
If you’d like to combine them all into one dish for efficiency’s sake, it’s very easy to transform this into a salad:
Seven Species Barley Salad
Serves 4 – 6
- 1 cup pre-soaked hulled barley, cooked and cooled (see below)
- 3 teaspoons pomegranate juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 – 6 figs, quartered
- Handful of red grapes, halved
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta or gorgonzola cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup Whole wheat croutons (see recipe below)
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- Dates, sliced, for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper
Note on the barley: though pearl barley is more common and takes faster to cook, the nutritious bran has been removed. In this way, pearl barley vs. hulled (complete) barely is like white rice vs. brown rice. If you want all the nutrition, go for the hulled, but you’ll need to pre-soak for many hours before cooking. Do this by placing the amount of barley desired in a bowl or container with double the amount of water and let sit on your countertop overnight. Done! You can even cook the barley in the water you soaked it in. Visit this website for more detailed info.
To boil barley: “The ratio of barley to water is 3 cups water for every 1 cup of barley. Over high heat, bring the barley and water, uncovered, to a boil. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Allow the barley to simmer for 45 minutes. Do not add salt to your barley until AFTER it is cooked, since it can block absorption of water.
“Cooked barley will always retain some chewiness. You’ll know your barley is done when 20 percent of them have burst open. You can use the above method with non-pre-soaked barley too. Follow directions as above but cook for 1 1/2 – 2 hours instead.”
For the whole wheat croutons:
- Whole wheat bread
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Chopped fresh oregano, basil, thyme, or other favorite spices
Take a couple of slices of whole wheat bread and crumble into bite-sized pieces or smaller. In a small bowl combine oil and spices. Lightly coat the bread pieces in the mixture and place on baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees until crispy, a few minutes.
Ok, onto the recipe itself!
While the barley is cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the pomegranate juice and a pinch of kosher salt. Add the olive oil and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Combine the barley, red bell pepper, figs, grapes, preferred cheese, croutons and sliced almonds. Add the dressing and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with date slices. Serve immediately or allow to sit in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour.
Important note: since I just made this up I haven’t attempted to make this recipe yet and I’m not sure if it works! Let me know if you try it yourself and tell me how it went! I suspect it needs lots of tweaking.
There are so many ways these seven ingredients can be combined! I’ll have more on that next week.
For my next couple of posts I’ll be discussing Tu B’shvat, the upcoming, though minor, Jewish holiday. Tu B’shvat (literally, the 15th of the month of Shvat) is the new year for the trees, kind of like Arbor Day. Never mind that there is an arctic wind currently blasting through the entire eastern coast of the US right now, but I digress. This year it falls on Saturday, January 30th. [Note corrected date! Sorry! - Rita]
For centuries Tu B’shvat was nothing more than a tax day, like April 15th, since everyone was required to donate a tithe of their crops to their priests then. But in the 1600s, kabbalistic rabbis in the mystical Israeli town of Tzfat decided to claim Tu B’shvat as more of a spiritual connection to the physical land and began the custom of a Tu B’shvat seder much like on Passover, with 4 cups of wine and featuring Israeli-grown fruits and nuts, all holding special symbolic meanings.
Up until last year I had no idea there even were such things as Tu B’shvat seders — I mentioned this is a minor holiday — but another way this day is celebrated is through environmental action and planting trees. Many a Jewish person will remember receiving certificates from elderly relatives that a tree has been planted in their honor in Israel, and what’s cool is that this is still being done today. Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC? Been there, done that!
Another custom is eating a new fruit on Tu B’shvat, something you have never eaten before, or at least not one you’ve eaten in the past year.
Personally, I love fruit and eat tons of it. I wait all year for clementines to be in season and buy them by the 3 pound bagful, enjoying them while I can. I’ve learned to distinguish subtle varieties of apple and when I visit my parents in Florida I’m overjoyed that good, fresh papaya is available to taste! Recently I read a fascinating book called The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession, a zingy title which basically says it all. In it, I learned of fruits that sounded like they came out of fantasy novels: dragon fruit, cloudberries, jaboticabas, and many, many more. The point is that it’s so wonderful that we live in a world where such a wide variety of fruits (and trees) exist.
Dragon Fruit
So now, what to try this year on Tu B’shvat?
I’m somewhat limited by what’s in season, available and affordable, but I’m officially soliciting suggestions: what should my Tu B’shvat fruit be this year? Maybe guava? What if I already ate guava paste this year? Hmm.
Check back next Wednesday for recipes and more indepth explanation on what’s eaten on Tu B’shvat and why!
P.S. – I already ate dragon fruit.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2010! I hope everyone’s holidays were lovely.
The Hazon Food Conference was held over Christmas weekend, and I realize that in the previous post there wasn’t much actual information about what was discussed. Much of the workshops were regarding sustainable agriculture, CSAs (community supported agriculture), community gardens, permaculture, etc. There were a few of DIY foodie workshops too, making your own mozzarella, pickles and sourdough bagels. Many of these had a Jewish slant, Hazon being at the epicenter of the New Jewish Food Movement.
Much of what took my interest, though, were the food justice workshops. These tended to overlap with the workshops mentioned above but also were concerning how to help our communities with regard to hunger and poverty, and also how to unite our communities around a greater good. For example, I met someone like Jonathan, a charismatic guy with so many ideas on how to improve people’s lives he can’t bear to contain them all. Based in San Francisco, he built a community garden next to a formerly dilapidated children’s library so impoverished city kids could get the chance to experience where their food really comes from: not the grocery store but a plant!
At another workshop I learned about anti-hunger advocacy. The president of MAZON, a major Jewish anti-hunger organization, who led the workshop, said that he even went so far as going on a Food Stamp Hunger Challenge Diet of only spending $21 a WEEK on food, to raise awareness of this issue. A week! That’s how much California gives out in food stamps per week. Insane, right? And he gained weight because the cheapest stuff out there is total junk food.
I met many, many people with the same goal and aspiration: to help others. It was refreshing to meet so many people like this all in one place.
One last panel I’d like to mention was titled “American Kosher: From Manishevitz to Tootsie Pops”. While it delved more into the spirituality of keeping kosher than I expected, I did learn a couple of amazing facts. Did you know that there were kosher meat riots on the Lower East Side in New York City, not once, not twice, but three times?? Yes, it’s true. Due to kosher butchers’ price gouging, housewives went on rampages in 1902, 1903 and 1917, attacking those who dared purchase any of the immorally high-priced meat. You’d think that would discourage further hikes in prices but I guess the butchers didn’t learn the first two times around.
All in all, this was a very enlightening experience. Part of my responsibility now is to create an event or program in my community relating to what I’ve learned. A group of young New York scholarship recipients and I are discussing now what we’ll do next. Be on the lookout, it will most likely be Tu B’shvat related, the new year for the trees, which is coming up at the end of January. This can be a great opportunity for a fun, educational meal. Recipes will definitely be provided!
What else? I’m looking forward to 2010. 2009 was a mixed bag for me. Food-related wishlist for this year:
- Join a CSA (financially pending).
- Change up my daily menu more; a girl can’t live on swiss chard and bulgur wheat alone.
- Grind coffee myself instead of buying ground beans.
- Buy more organic food (financially pending).
- Step out of my comfort zone and create different kinds of ethnic foods. Thai? Indian? French??
- Buy and read more cookbooks.
- Do more anti-hunger advocacy of some sort!
- Finally eat a banh mi.
Those all seem doable. Happy new year, everyone!
630 people. Four days. One conference. I am here in the rugged beauty of Asilomar State Park, where the Pacific Ocean meets a rocky beach, to attend the fourth annual Hazon Food Conference. Among the many ideas and emotions running through me, more than anything I feel blessed to be here, being able to exchange knowledge with a wide variety of people from across the country and around the world, from as near as Salinas, CA to as far as South Africa. As a Goldman Young Adult Fellow I am deeply grateful for this opportunity that the Fellowship enabled. Almost 50 other Fellows are here and we are discussing our next steps and how to bring what we’ve learned back to our communities, how to create teachable moments, how to build more sustainable communities.
I am here because I am interested in the nexus of Judaism, eating healthily and sustainably and helping those in need. Many others are focused on environmental issues, bringing down “the Man” of giant agribusinesses, or simply because they enjoy food! But what is this Food Conference all about anyway? Hazon states that they exist to create a sustainable world for Jews and for all people. Clearly, with over 600 people here, that chord resonates.
There are several programming tracks to choose from but I have gravitated to the Food Justice and Food Systems and Sustainability sessions. Thursday, December 24th was the first Conference day and I went to a panel on running a sustainable food business. Bottom line: it’s a lot of work and you have to hold on to your vision! In the evening Hazon screened films; I watched The Garden, a documentary about a 14 acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles fighting to keep it out of the hands of a developer, a powerful story of politics, injustice and people’s connections to land.
Friday, the second day of the Conference, I experienced some of my most meaningful moments. In the morning I attended a fantastic panel called Keeping the Tzedek (Justice) and Tzedakah (Charity) and was exposed to amazing Los Angeles-based social justice groups through congregations, like Ikar, a spiritual community in the vein of B’nai Jeshurun in New York, which created meals for homeless shelters as a community, then sitting down and eating with those they cooked for, interacting, discovering what else they can do to help. I heard from Eric Shockman, president of Mazon, a Jewish anti-hunger organization, about food policy and how we have the capacity to eliminate hunger in our lifetime.
I greeted Shabbat on the sands of the Pacific, danced during Havdallah, learned how to make bagels, clapped along to Yiddish songs sung by a Jewish cowboy from Petaluma, CA and so much more.
One great benefit of the Food Conference is connecting to a vast network of activists and people simply concerned with sustainability in their hometowns. I was surprised to see so many families here, some with children as young as 8 weeks! How fantastic! I also met people like Marina, who is starting a CSA in Brooklyn, and Josh, who is heading to Guatemala in a week as part of the American Jewish World Service’s Avodah program.
A great wave seems to be cresting. Many people, Jews and non-Jews, are fed up with eating products created with unpronounceable chemicals or caged, hormone-laced meat; they want to ensure that no one in America goes hungry from lack of means. Among the trees, along the dunes, More than 600 visionaries and leaders are crackling with energy wondering what they can do next, how they can help, or are teaching others their solutions.
I am grateful to be merely one these 630.
Today’s the day I fly out to Northern California! After staying a night in the Bay Area, I’m hitching a ride to Monterey (ok, on a shuttle bus) and will be surrounded by foodies, nutritionists and many others at the Hazon Food Conference Thursday to Sunday, the 24th through the 27th.
Some exciting news: I was asked to guest post on The Jew and the Carrot, Hazon’s own blog! I’ll be cross-posting my conference experiences here too so all you Pretty Girls fans will be able to follow along. The amazing Joh showed me how to set up Twitter on my non-smartphone, so throughout my time there I’ll update with the workshops I’m checking out, and perhaps something along the lines of “OMG dinner is so yummy” but I’ll keep that to a minimum!
The Conference seems fascinating. Though there are several tracks ranging from DIY Food to Food Justice to Jewish Food Education, after perusing the schedule I’m having a difficult time picking just one I’d like to attend per period. Choices, choices. The schedule can be found here if you’re interested in seeing what the workshops and panels are all about. I find myself gravitating to the Food Justice and the Sustainability tracks, but learning how to make my own mozzarella sounds quite tempting as well. Any recipes I acquire will be reposted here and given due credit, of course!
Unfortunately, I will be missing the pre-conference chicken shechita (ritual slaughtering), which takes place as I’m travelling. Not that I’m into slaughtering animals myself but when else would I get to experience this? And these birds aren’t just for demonstration. We’re going to be eating them later on! I mean, whoa. Talk about locally sourced! I think it’s important to really see what it means to know where your food comes from, but I’m sure this topic will come up over the course of the weekend. It’s actually pretty controversial because even though at previous Food Conferences there were shechitas (one year was a goat!), some people believe that it’s a little hypocritical for an eco-friendly organization to promote eating meat since raising cattle causes a lot of environmental problems. But again, I say it’s all about knowing where your food comes from; I’m sure whoever was out there with the chickens will think twice about grabbing a wing come dinnertime!
This is so exciting. I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen, but I can guarantee that it’s going to be educational, fun and filling! Till then, happy holidays everyone!
An amazing thing happened last week: I discovered that I was granted a Young Adult Fellowship to go to the 4th annual Hazon Food Conference!
What is the Hazon Food Conference? Well, Hazon I’ve mentioned in a previous post; they’re a Jewish organization all about creating a sustainable, healthy environment for all, as well as being pro-biking! They rock. Part of being sustainable and healthy is eating sustainably and healthily, and for the past three years they’ve held these Food Conferences to host workshops on how to do so and discussing current trends in what is called the New Jewish Food Movement. Personally, I find this very exciting.
I’ve definitely known of the Food Conference but never figured I would be able to attend because it’s clear across the country (this year, in Monterey, CA), and not even counting airfare, registration and room and board is another $700 or so. On my salary, uh, that isn’t possible. But right before Thanksgiving, their email list sent out an application for a last minute grant — the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation decided to sponsor New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s (like me!) to attend, including airfare! They asked for the Young Adult Fellows to participate enthusiastically (check) and upon our return, create some programming or event in our communities based upon what we learn at the Food Conference, such as hosting a Sustainable Shabbat, or starting a CSA, etc. (Double-check — I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while!)
Sooo, the night before I left to go home for Thanksgiving, I stayed up until 4 AM honing my application, knowing there was no way I would be able to finish it later, and sent it out. Finally last week I heard back that I got it! I’m thrilled!
The crazy thing is, it’s over Christmas weekend. Meaning, I leave in less than two weeks. And I have to plan everything out! I’m the kind of person that absolutely needs to know logistics beforehand, otherwise I get very anxious. The flight’s booked and I’m going to stay through New Years with my friend from the Bay Area after the conference ends, but I need to figure out everything else!!
There are programming tracks and I plan on participating in as many as possible. They are: Do-It-Yourself Food; Food Justice; Israel: Food and Agriculture; Jewish Food Education; Jewish Tradition and Food: History and Culture; Health and Nutrition; Food Systems and Sustainability; Fasting and the Holiday of Asara B’Tevet (a minor fast day); Kids, Teens and Families; and Food for Thought.
They all sound great but I’m especially interested in Health and Nutrition, Food Systems and the Jewish Food and Culture tracks. Hey, we’ll see. And then on the last day they’re having a shuk (market) where we can purchase local goodies.
Though only the lobby of the conference grounds has Wi-Fi, I’ll try and update while there. We’ll see how it goes!
