SonshineLearner Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 (edited) Another thread started me thinking about Jewish Food. I lived with a Jewish family for a while and ate some of the Friday meal from the Deli each week. I couldn't remember that noodle dish (Kugel), bit then again it wasn't my favorite. My favorite was the chicken, the mushroom barley (pasta) and the hallah. ( I like the kind that's not real eggy) I really like it with raisins. I also loved hamantashen and also real latkes. I'm pretty hungry right now...no good food and no hope of having any right away. I should be saying that I miss NY because of the culture.... BUT, the real way to get me missing NY is to talk about the food. Pizza, deli sandwiches (no Subway!) Bagels and lox...real flavored cream cheese... Fresh Mozzarella. Yum! Who makes this stuff at home?? Carrie Edited July 5, 2009 by NayfiesMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Of course, we live in Encino :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I've eaten lots but the only one I make regularly at home is kasha. Mmmmm... one of my favorite foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Kasha is my favorite breakfast. I like kugel and latkes and lots of things, but I can't say I cook those things regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I channel my inner Bubbe from time to time. Latkes, matzo ball soup... I love gefilte fish. From the jar. I'm disgusting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I miss Miami for the same reason - the deli food. The cuban food is great too, but the delis were wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 YUM! I made some the other day! And rugelach....a big YUM here too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 It's funny, but this thread makes me realize that when I was young "Jewish food" meant Eastern European "Ashkenazic food". Deli, bagels, brisket, challah, gefilte fish, chicken soup with matzoh balls. Smoked fish. Schmaltz. This sort of thing. But now, things are so varied here. Moroccan Jewish food, Yemenite Jewish food, Persian Jewish food, Syrian Jewish food, and Israeli/Palestinian Jewish food. To name only some. Anyway, I love it all :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Kasha is my favorite breakfast. Do you mean kasha or Kashi (multigrain breakfast cereal)? Kasha is roasted buckwheat groats - I eat it for dinner as a side dish with chicken, usually. In Jewish delis it's frequently seen as kasha varnishkas, which is kasha cooked with with bowtie pasta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Hmmm. That is interesting. When I hear "Jewish food" I immediately go to the Eastern European place. Is Persian Jewish food markedly different than just regular traditional Persian food, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I'm not a big fan of Ashkenazi food in general, but I love Sephardic/Middle Eastern/Asian Jewishfood from just about any other community and cook it fairly often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Is Persian Jewish food markedly different than just regular traditional Persian food, etc? Generally speaking no. From what I understand there are some (few) dishes that a Persian might fee as Jewish-style, but in the main it's the same cuisine. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 Well, I lived in New Jersey and then also traveled to NY on the weekends a lot. And then when I was in Michigan could go to Zingermann's which had a really nice deli. I hear that Portland has one called Rose's or something. I've never gone, memories can't be matched, sometimes.... Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theresatwist Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Another thread started me thinking about Jewish Food. I lived with a Jewish family for a while and ate some of the Friday meal from the Deli each week. I couldn't remember that noodle dish (Kugel), bit then again it wasn't my favorite. My favorite was the chicken, the mushroom barley (pasta) and the hallah. ( I like the kind that's not real eggy) I really like it with raisins. I also loved hamantashen and also real latkes. I'm pretty hungry right now...no good food and no hope of having any right away. I should be saying that I miss NY because of the culture.... BUT, the real way to get me missing NY is to talk about the food. Pizza, deli sandwiches (no Subway!) Bagels and lox...real flavored cream cheese... Fresh Mozzarella. Yum! Who makes this stuff at home?? Carrie My parents cooked Jewish food. (Only one of my parents is actually Jewish, they both cook amazing Jewish food.) I learned how to cook challah fairly well. I'm confident enough in my challah to serve it to guests. I can cook other Jewish food too, but it's all so inferior to my childhood memories of what my parents would make that I'd be embarrassed to serve it to anyone else. Being sick is almost worth it if you have someone who will stay home with you and make you the most amazing chicken matzoh ball soup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 The jewish person that I nannied for said it tasted like her g-ma's (she didn't call her bubby or whatever) chicken noodle soup. That may have been the nicest thing she ever said to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I make all of our challah year-round and make lots of special foods for the holidays. My family is Ashkenazi, but I ended up loving lots of Sephardic foods when I lived in LA, so now our holiday meals are pretty varied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Kasha is my favorite breakfast. I like kugel and latkes and lots of things, but I can't say I cook those things regularly. Kasha with sugar and butter for breakfast? Our family does that. In Russian tradition, kasha can be oatmeal or farina/cream of wheat. Baby rice cereal is kasha, too. (Three types: gerkulesavaya, mannaya, and risavaya.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I'm packing my bags and heading back to NYC now! I'm hungry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 So can anyone recommend cookbooks or particularly good websites for this poor person stuck in Anglotown? Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 Oh, I almost forgot the pastry with potato inside. What are those called? Oh, Yeh... potato knish!! (And Rosie, there are a lot of Jewish Cooking cookbooks...I'll join you looking for what others recommend.) Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I really like Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from New York to Samarkand. Since Roden is Sephardi, and since Sephardi cooking is often underrepresented in Jewish cooking, Roden spends the bulk of her time in non-Ashkenazi areas. But there are still plenty of good "standard" Jewish recipes too. How can you go wrong with 800 recipes in one book? Some of our favorite dinners come from this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I really like Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from New York to Samarkand. Oh! I borrowed her Tamarind book from the library a few years ago. Lovely stuff! While the food anthropologist/historian in me would like to buy this book anyway, how much of it could be useful for a vegan? Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaurieinCA Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Ooohhh.... one of my favorite subjects! I am a Jewish ex-NYer now living in San Diego nowhere near any decent delis. I cook a shabbat dinner every Friday night, and make my own challah most of the time. I also make some decent matzoh balls - you can just follow the recipe on the Manischevitz box, but add in a little seltzer (makes them fluffy!), parsley, and garlic... yum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 There is a lot of Sephardic food that is vegan. I can't speak for the recipes in this book in particular. But the cost and complexity of keeping kosher makes vegan dishes very attractive. And vegan Sephardic dishes are marvelous. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I ate a lot of Jewish food growing up in CT with my Jewish stepdad who happened to be the president of the Fairfield County Gourmet Society. Bagels, lox, sturgeon were always around. I learned to like gefilte fish on Matzoh. But I really liked the charosh and horseradish...mmm. I also get homesick for real food, real Pizza, etc. My MN in-laws have no idea what good pizza and a real deli sandwich are like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Oh! I borrowed her Tamarind book from the library a few years ago. Lovely stuff! While the food anthropologist/historian in me would like to buy this book anyway, how much of it could be useful for a vegan? Rosie Rosie, I forgot to mention before that a lot of the recipes in her book would work for you, or would only need minor adjustments. Like SpyCar said, Sephardic cooking in general has a lot of vegan recipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Rosie, I forgot to mention before that a lot of the recipes in her book would work for you, or would only need minor adjustments. Like SpyCar said, Sephardic cooking in general has a lot of vegan recipes. I'm not "vegan" but I enjoy eating a mostly plant based diet, and it's wide variety of delicious plant based dishes that make Sephardic cooking so intriguing to me. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Do you mean kasha or Kashi (multigrain breakfast cereal)? Kasha is roasted buckwheat groats - I eat it for dinner as a side dish with chicken, usually. In Jewish delis it's frequently seen as kasha varnishkas, which is kasha cooked with with bowtie pasta. I mean kasha--I don't think I like Kashi. I cook it in milk and California it up with honey, walnuts and dried cranberries. I buy the Wolff's box from the Jewish section at the grocery store. I keep meaning to try out the side dishes too, but haven't got round to it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Groovy. That's now on my wishlist ;) Rosie- a mostly vegan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in Toronto Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 My father was Jewish. His mother (originally from Russia (now Ukraine)) used to make us chopped liver, matzoh ball soup, and kugel. My father would make beet borscht twice a year, and the entire kitchen would turn purple from the mess! He was not observant, but every year around passover, he'd buy matzoh to eat and make scrambled eggs with it. We had a lot of honey cake as well as poppy seed bagels, cream cheese, and lox. Every once in a while he'd bring home halvah in a can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 As a "heads-up", I've posted my "real deal" Jewish kosher pickle recipe here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1054092#post1054092 Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Oh I miss the good kosher deli I grew up with on Mercer Is, WA -- Mama Reuben's. It closed when I was in high school. Best sandwiches in the world. FWIW, there's a kosher Indian restaurant in Seattle area (Renton) called Pabla ...Michael Medved (the nationally-syndicated conservative radio talk show host from Seattle) always is talking about it. He says it is delicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.