Jewish

Pesach Recipes and Musings

Sponge Cake 2008, watercolor by Leora Wenger
Sponge Cake 2008, watercolor by Leora Wenger

I got two endearing comments last night on my sponge cake recipe (or Esther Robfogel’s z”l recipe) that I posted two years ago:

Esther G. Robfogel (1904-1997) was my mother. I ate her excellent sponge cakes on Pesach and throughout the year for many decades. I hope that my granddaughter, Esther F. Robfogel, will carry on the tradition.
– Nathan J. Robfogel

I’m Esther Robfogel’s daughter. Although I used to bake with my mom, baking was never my forte. As it happens, I was thinking about making mom’s cake this year. After reading your blog, I know I will. Thanks.
– Hanna

For more recipes, be sure to visit Phyllis’ aka Imabima’s latest posting of the Kosher Cooking Carnival, Rosh Chodesh Nisan edition.

Also see:

On a sad note, two men in Teaneck, New Jersey died walking home from shul at the end of Shabbat when a tree fell on them. I can’t imagine what Pesach is going to be like for those two mourning families.

Kira’s Potato Leek Soup

potato leek soup

Guest Recipe by Kira

The potato leek part is my older daughter’s favorite soup, and we make that quite often, and she prefers it without any milk or cream. Both kids love the novelty of having the green star in the middle, and they actually eat the spinach (swirling it with the soup to dilute the taste). I think the spinach purée alone makes a pretty tasty dairy-free “creamed spinach” side dish, but since I am the only one in the family who likes creamed spinach, I don’t make it unless I am making the soup.

If you don’t have a kosher for Passover cookie cutter, use a cup.

Potato Leek Soup

(makes 10 servings)

Ingredients
3 leeks
5 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds white potatoes, chopped
2 qts water
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup cream or milk (optional)

Cooking equipment
Cutting knife
Colander
Spatula
Measuring cup
Measuring spoon
Large pot
Cookie cutter or small plastic cup with the bottom cut off
Blender (stick blender works nicely)

To make the plain potato leek soup:
1. Discard tough part of green tops of leeks, then wash bottoms thoroughly
2. Cut leeks into thin slices and rinse in colander.
3. Cook in olive oil until leeks are soft – about 5 minutes.
4. Add potatoes and water and bring to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
6. Puree with a blender.

Add salt and pepper to taste. For a creamier variation, add ½ cup of cream or milk

Spinach Purée

1. Blanch 1 lb of baby spinach (Put in small colander and submerge briefly into boiling water until barely cooked. Then transfer to bowl of ice water.)
2. Drain spinach.
3. Puree with ¼ of batch of potato leek soup.

Assemble final soup by placing the cookie cutter in the bottom of a soup bowl. Spoon spinach puree into the cookie cutter to desired depth. Pour potato leek soup around cookie cutter to the same depth. Then remove cookie cutter and repeat in another bowl.

For more kosher for Passover recipes, visit:

Oops – JPIX is Soon

surprise on dancer's face
My Mother Should Have Posted This Last Week

My daughter and her dancer friends want you to know that her mom should have told you last week to submit links for the JPIX Blog Carnival that will appear tomorrow on Pesky Settler’s blog. JPIX is the blog carnival for Jewish Photo Bloggers (about Jewish topics, but one can stretch this to nature, everyday living and food photos); everyone is welcome to enjoy the show.

Please also check out:

Feeding da Birds

bird looks downSpring is sprung, da grass is riz.
I wonder where dem boidies is?
Some say da boids is on der wing.
But dat’s absoid!
Da little wings is on da boid…

It is a Jewish custom before the Shabbat in which one sings Shirat HaYam (the Song of the Sea, the song about the crossing of the Reed Sea) to feed the birds. Why feed the birds? I found two explanations:

1) There is a tradition that on the first Shabbat of the Manna, not only did people go out looking for Manna, but they (wicked people, says Rashi) had previously scattered Manna around the camp in order to find it and “make a liar out of Moshe”.

Birds came by early in the morning and ate up the Manna, thus protecting the honor of Moshe, and of G-d Who had said that Manna would not fall on Shabbat. In repayment “one good turn deserves another” style, we feed the birds around this Shabbat when we read of the Manna in the weekly portion.

And here is the second:

2) We joyously sing praise to G-d for His having taken us out of Egypt and saved us from the Egyptians. Singing is the special domain of the birds. That is how they express themselves in acknowledgment of the Creator (so to speak – or so to sing). We borrowed their skill; therefore we “pay royalties” on our Song by feeding birds on (before) this Shabbat.

Since last Friday was right before Shabbat Shira, I decided that this was the perfect time finally to take the new bird feeder I bought out of the box and hang it on our garage window (with the help of my seven-year-old daughter):

bird feeder

After some initial difficulty with the suction cup attachments (you have to first soak the suction cups in hot water, then dry them, then rub them with your thumb, then attach them), I finally got the feeder to stay up properly. However, I don’t believe any of our neighborhood birds have been eating from it. I did see one pecking away at my compost.

bird in a tree
I believe this bird is a chickadee (thanks, Eileen).

This is what is left of the finch feeder sock I bought one month ago:

empty finch sock

As one of the reasons for the feeding the birds custom is to become more sensitive to the needs of the animals around us, I plan to continue to feed the birds. As Michelle of Rambling Woods has taught me, once you start feeding the birds, they expect it.

I hope to post more bird photos tomorrow for SkyWatch; one day last week, my eldest son said, Eema, there’s a bird making a strange noise outside. I went out with my camera and there many, many, many birds.

For more Nature Notes, visit:
Nature Notes

Review with Stuck Leaf

leaf stuck in a fence in front of a pool
Leaf in chain link fence in front of pool

On My Blog

pre dawn at Jiminy Peak Country Inn Outside the hotel in Berkshires in afternoon Outside Jiminy Peak Country Inn in early morning
I didn’t have much time to blog this week, as my kids are off from school and we went on vacation to the Berkshire Mountains.

If I had more blogging time this week, I would have done a Nature Notes post about both Tu B’Shvat (the Jewish holiday of the trees) and Parshat B’Shalach, before which one is supposed to feed the birds. Here is a nice story about the Maharal, feeding birds, and teaching children.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Describe Person Experiment. You are still most welcome to participate!

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

Review in a Burning Bush

cardinal in a burning bush
Red Male Cardinal in a Burning Bush

Mrs. S. pointed out that the burning bush, the name of the shrub that the cardinal is hiding in, was also in the parsha yesterday.
Parsha quiz: Who were Shifra and Puah? Give two possible answers.
Update: See Daniel’s post for three answers.

On My Blog

snowy trees in Highland Park heart in tree house with tractor
male cardinal candle light blue jay

No Jews or dogs: discussion at the celebration of my father’s 80th birthday

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on 11 Inspiring Kitchen or Food Headers.

*** Upcoming (later today): a post about a talk by an adult survivor of child sexual abuse. – now posted – Protect Children from Abuse ***

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

Discussions in Highland Park

Gary Rosenblatt
Gary Rosenblatt, Editor of the Jewish Week, spoke in December

The Orthodox Forum of Highland Park/Edison features a variety of speakers; Gary Rosenblatt spoke in December on Responsible Journalism and the Orthodox Jewish Community. On Saturday night January 9th at 8 pm at Congregation Ohr Torah the Orthodox Forum of Highland Park/Edison is presenting Facing up to Abuse in the Orthodox Community: A Victim and a Rabbinic Leader Speak Out, with Mutti Weiss, a victim of child abuse, and Rabbi Yosef Blau, Mashgiach Ruchani at YU and current President of the Religious Zionists of America.

The question and answer section at the end was quite animated at Gary Rosenblatt’s talk. Questions were about his role in breaking the Baruch Lanner case, the pro-Israel stance of his paper and other newspapers, and why did the Jewish Week take so long to arrive in the mailbox after publishing.

JPIX: Fall Holidays Edition

Welcome to JPIX, the blog carnival of Jewish photo bloggers. Click on any of the thumbnails to visit the posts.

Mottel:
 window

Mother in Israel showed hikes; Ilana-Davita featured a synagogue window:
child climbing anemone synagogue

Leah Lipszyc:
 saying kaddish girls with plant and blue benches

Batya:
shuk fruit sky greenery in Israel

Pesky Settler (two on the left) and Dina in Jerusalem (chanukiah on the right):
criminal building food at chanukah   

G6:
Rav watching sledders dreidels and menorahs Rosh Hashana

Mrs. S.:
Caesarea chanukah lights dreidels

Seraphic Secret, Imabima, Lady-Light and Real Shaliach:
tiles Chanukah candles  child in the air at a wedding

Robin (who has just opened an Etsy shop – visit her blog for details):
olive tree sunrise olive press

Leora:
Lighting Candles on Second Night of Hanukkah ladder_jacob drawing_concentrating

And some more (by Leora, Mottel and Robin):
warped_candles bee flower

To participate in a future JPIX blog carnival please send in your links to favorite photos by February 24. You may also send them to jpixcarnival at gmail dot com. Pesky Settler will be hosting a JPIX on February 25. Thanks for volunteering.

Chanukah is Over

colored wax at Chanukah's end
All that is left of colorful Chanukah candles - the wax and some ash

Chanukah has come to an end, and all that was left of colorful candles yesterday was bits of red, yellow, blue and white wax. Frume Sarah hosted Haveil Havalim yesterday; reading her blog carnival post can bring a little cheer.

As a reminder, JPIX, the blog carnival of Jewish Photo Bloggers, will appear on this blog on Wednesday. Entries may be submitted using this blog carnival form. Feel free to come back and visit to see the show.

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