Sunday, May 3, 2026

Conversion to Judaism: A Roundup of Posts from @TheChaviva

I don't know when it happened, but at some point this blog kind of turned into a recipe blog. That said, if you landed here because you found me on Instagram ... and you're looking for some of the posts I've written about conversion to Judaism, here are just a few of them. 



But remember, this whole blog is basically one big conversion journey from my Reform conversion in 2006 to my Orthodox conversion in 2010 to my marriage in 2010 followed by my divorce in 2011 and then a lot of drama from 2011-2012. Then I made aliyah in 2012, met my current husband, had a kid, ended up back in the USA for 8 years, and finally made it home to Israel in June 2022. So, there's a lot of content on here!


If you're looking for something particular or want to chat about conversion, please drop me a line at kvetching.editor @ gmail.com.
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Friday, May 1, 2026

Tu B’Shvat Chicken & Rice with Dates, Raisins, and Olives (GF, DF)

Back on Tu b'Shvat, I had this vision of a dish I wanted to make, but I couldn't find a recipe so I worked with ChatGPT to craft one. It didn't work out, but I spent some time noodling how to fix the crunchy rice issue I had, and ultimately this one worked out perfectly! If you try it, let me know what you think. 


Tu B’Shvat Chicken & Rice with Dates, Raisins, and Olives

Feeds a crowd!

Ingredients
  • 2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained 
  • 3 lb boneless chicken thighs (or any mix of chicken you want really)
  • 2–3 tbsp olive oil 
  • 3 cups chicken broth or water, boiling hot
  • 1¼ cup orange juice 
  • 1 very large onion, thinly sliced 
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced 
  • ¾ cup green olives, pitted and halved 
  • ¾ cup dates, chopped 
  • ¾ cup raisins 
  • 2 tsp paprika 
  • 1½ tsp cumin 
  • ¾ tsp cinnamon 
  • ¼ tsp turmeric (optional) 
  • 1¾–2 tsp salt 
  • Black pepper 
  • Date honey (to drizzle) 
Instructions
  • Heat oven to 220°C / 425°F. 
  • Toss chicken with olive oil, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
  • Then, add the rice to large baking dish and add onion, garlic, olives, dates, and raisins.
  • Mix the boiling water/broth and OJ together and pour evenly over the rice mixture.
  • Gently stir through the center, then smooth flat again. 
  • Top with chicken and drizzle a healthy amount of silan over the chicken. 
  • Put a piece of wet parchment over the top and then and cover very tightly with foil. You don't want any steam to release or the rice won't cook!
  • Bake covered for 45 minutes, until rice is just tender with a slight bite in the center. 
  • Remove foil and parchment and bake ~10 minutes more until chicken is lightly golden. 
If you're eating straight away, enjoy! If you're putting in the fridge and reheating, be sure you let it sit out for about 20-30 minutes before refrigerating. To reheat, do not remove the foil at all -- it'll stay moist and steam nicely as is on your plata. 

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