Fun Puns and Alliterations for Celebrating Sukkot in 2022

Yes, Sukkot has come and gone this year, but after many years of creating alliterative names for the nightly meals in the Sukkah, I thought it might be fun to compile a ton so that when next year rolls around and we're hopefully gathering with friends and family ... you can have some fun, alliterative meals!

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Chag sameach! #sukkot #sukkah #beingjewish

A post shared by Chaviva Gordon-Bennett (@thechaviva) on Oct 2, 2020 at 1:41pm PDT

For those not in the know, a sukkah is a temporary structure that is also called a booth or a hut or a tabernacle (the latter most often outside of Jewish circles). With that, I give you the alliterative options:

In the sukkah ...

• Sushi in the sukkah (served with sake in the sukkah)
• Spaghetti in the sukkah
• Make-your-own-salad in the sukkah
• Make-your-own-sandwich in the sukkah
• Sabich in the sukkah
• Sausages in the sukkah
• Smoothies in the sukkah
• Subs in the sukkah (as in, sub sandwiches)
• Sambusak in the sukkah (think: middle eastern samosas)

In the shack ...

These could also be used for "in the sukkah."

• Shakshukah in the shack
• Schnitzel in the shack
• Shakes in the shack
• Shepherd’s pie in the shack

In the booth ...

• Beers in the booth
• Brews in the booth
• Burgers in the booth
• Bagels in the booth
• Banana splits in the booth
• Bibimbap in the booth
• Blintzes in the booth
• Burritos in the booth
• Bourekas in the booth
• Hummus v'basar in the booth

In the hut ...

• Hot dogs in the hut
• Pizza in the hut (this is not alliterative, but a nod to Pizza Hut!)
• Hamburgers in the hut
• Hot pot in the hut
• Herring in the hut
• Heroes in the hut (as in sub sandwiches)
• Hamin in the hut (hamin is similar to cholant)
• Huevos rancheros in the hut
• Hummus in the hut

In the tabernacle ...

• Tacos in the tabernacle
• Tequila in the tabernacle
• Turkey in the tabernacle
• Make-your-own-toast in the tabernacle
• Tajine in the tabernacle

And a few more:

• Pancakes in the palapa
• Pancakes in the payag 

Another one that I came up with was cholent or chile en la choza (chili in the hut), but I was told that choza in Spanish is actually more of a hovel than a hut. If you speak Spanish and can let me know, I'd love to hear it in the comments!

Want to share one I didn't think of? Post in the comments and I'll add it to the list!

Confession Time: The Toughest Part About Being in the U.S.

I have a confession to make: It's hard being back in the U.S. Really hard. Yes, I miss my friends and my adopted family back in Neve Daniel and Jerusalem, and I miss the convenience of observing Judaism with ease and a level of comfort I can't find anywhere else. But this isn't what I'm talking about. 

I'm talking about the temptation. 

I didn't grow up Jewish. We all know this. In fact, I didn't start strictly observing things like modesty and keeping kosher until well into my 20s. That's a lot of my life spent with the conveniences of America: McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, and other terrible, bad-for-you convenience restaurants and fast-food stops. I mean, I could probably count the number of home-cooked meals I made in college on my two hands. No feet needed here, folks. College was Subway, Wendy's, Taco John's, Taco Bell, D'Leon's ... (no wonder my pregnancy food was Mexican). 

Do you know how hard it is to drive down the street, starving, and not stop into a Mickey D's for some delicious, greasy French fries? 

Having worked at McDonalds for two years in high school, I know that they are pretty strict about their standards of what they cook and where. The fry stations are used strictly for fries. No chicken nuggets or patties or anything. Just. Fries. 

Knowing this, of course, is hard for me. Yes, there are a million problems with picking up French fries from a completely non-kosher establishment, even if there was a giant box around the fry station that other, non-kosher food never entered, but knowing, just knowing that those are dedicated fryers ... AGH! It kills me. 

The temptation, of course, is constantly pushed down by the fact that I'm a kosher-keeping Jew, of course. Being gluten free also helps push the temptation down because, well, let's be honest, there isn't much eating out I can do here or in Israel where I can eat carefree. 

But it's tough. Yes, this is a first-world problem situation, but it's just plain difficult. You have to constantly have snacks with you and plan meals out like a drill sergeant because if you get caught starving and it's dinnertime, Denver gives you few options for a quick bite to eat. 

There's the ever-amazing Brooklyn Pizza, but how much pizza can you eat in one week? There's a delicious ice cream joint High Point Creamery, but too much ice cream makes for tummy woes and despite an Italian-themed favorite, it isn't a meal. We don't go to the local deli because, well, too many stories about food poisoning and the place just doesn't respect itself enough for me to respect it.  And then there's the fact that all of these restaurants are clustered in a specific part of town absolutely nowhere near where I work. 

Oh what I wouldn't give for a nearby restaurant to go out to lunch with my coworkers. To feel like a normal member of a "working lunch" society. 

The amount of times we've been out running errands and stopped someplace to buy a package of lettuce, some tomatoes, and packaged smoked salmon to hodgepodge a bite to eat would blow your mind. We can't pop into an Aroma or local gas station where the food is just plain kosher like in Israel or even in places like Teaneck or NYC. 

Am I kvetching too much? Perhaps. I'm just feeling the pressure. The pressure of being a full-time working mother who lives someplace that is chock full of Jews but doesn't have the dining and cultural infrastructure to meet the demands.

No worries folks. No slippery slope over here (been there, done that). 

I suppose this is part of teshuvah (repentance). I'm being placed in situations and scenarios where it would be easy for me to eat out here or there just getting the "vegan" or "vegetarian" option like I did once upon a time when I was less than strict in my observance of kashrut. 

I just keep telling myself: The tummy grumbles and moments of hunger are worth the healthy choices at home. We'll be back in Israel soon. HaShem is working this out with me. One day at a time. 

The UK: Feast!

Hello market!

Despite the title, this isn't a blog post about the food I experienced in the UK. The truth is that the food I experienced in the kosher world was rather limited (we went out for kosher Indian and ordered in kosher Chinese), but being there over Pesach definitely limited the options. No, this blog post is about a market in West Norwood called FEAST!

I know what you're thinking. I've posted about a coffee roasting experience and now am posting about a local hipster market, what about Big Ben and castles and changing of the guard!? Being married to a gent from the UK hopefully means I'll have several trips to England in my future, so I was excited to experience the local flavor where my brother- and sister-in-law live. So after a schlep down from Edgware to South London, we popped out to the market, which spans several blocks and features food, local crafts, antiques, and oodles of other awesome things.

Vintage is cool! There were so many beautiful antiques. 

This was the first place I was exposed to Volcano Coffee Works, not to mention a bounty of unkosher and delicious smelling/looking food that was out of reach. The local flavor here is intense!

This was the kind of place (much like Camden Market) where I could probably easily drop hundreds of dollars on local goodies. I ended up walking away with a cup o' Joe and a beautiful pair of purple coconut shell earrings from a vendor who is incredibly green in all of her jewelry design, focusing on vegetarian ivory, old magazines, coffee beans, and coconut shells. I also stumbled upon African Inyoni artwork by Marika du Plessis, and I seriously struggled to not buy one of the paintings. The colors were so vivid and bright, but how do you schlep a painting back to Israel when you're limited on luggage? Argh!

This pic is funny because the sign says it's an alcohol-free area,
while fresh alcoholic cider is being served in the tent next to it. D'oh!

After walking around the market we walked through an incredibly old cemetery, saw the beautiful Greek structures that were adorned oddly enough with stars of David, and then partook in a picnic lunch at home followed by a trip to a local pub so I could get the true taste of the English pub. The most shocking thing about the pub experience? Babies, children, and pregnant ladies everywhere! Aside from the prevalence of children the smells of the pub reminded me of college days long gone by. Unfortunately the quintessential aspect of pub life (the food) was something we couldn't partake in. 

Maybe that's what Israel needs -- a kosher, British pub! Find more photos from my day on Flickr!

SNAP Challenge: The Preview

Okay, well, after spending a few days stressing out to the max about this SNAP Challenge, I've decided to take it easy on myself. The reason? Well, after having people tell me that living on $31.50 for a week as a single gal my age was a breeze and me beginning to think I was insane, I discovered the USDA Official Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels. Even eating at the most thrifty plan, I'd still be allowed $41.70/week. The Low-Cost Plan is $53.90/week! So don't tell me it's easy. Unless you're going to put yourself in my shoes, folks! If we all sat down and looked at what we eat and every penny we spend, we might find the statistics in this chart to be pretty accurate. 

So the plan is that I'm going to subsite on four basic things.

• Breakfast daily will be a Quinoa Breakfast Cereal. Something along the lines of quinoa with cinnamon and raisins. If I can afford it after I pick everything else up, then some flax or chia as well. 
• Dinner and lunch will be this that and some leftovers. Among the options will be:
• Some semblance of Quinoa, White Bean, and Kale Stew
• Some semblance of Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup
• Gluten-free Pasta w/Homemade Sauce and maybe Chickpea "Meat" Balls
• Lentil "Meat" Tacos 
• Snacks and sides will be something along the lines of ...
• Simple salad
• Carrot Sticks with peanut butter or hummus (still debating which is cheaper in the budget)
• Drinks
• Water
• Coffee at work
• More water ... 

And these are the rules I'm setting for myself:

• I will drink the coffee that's available at work, because it's purchased by work. Since 41 percent of SNAP folks have earnings (aka job[s]), I'm going to count myself in the 41 percent. 
• I will accept the free lunch provided to me on Tuesday as part of our monthly staff meeting, for the same reason above. 
• I will accept invitations out for Shabbat next Friday/Saturday. 
• I will not be making/eating gluten-free challah. There's no way the costs will fit into the SNAP Budget, and I'll have to go without. Same goes with wine/grape juice if I end up staying in. 

Grocery shopping will commence some time tomorrow. I'm considering just making everything tomorrow and Monday and going from there. I hate leftovers -- I prefer to eat things fresh -- but being a single gal and doing this challenge necessitates rocking out a one-time cooking extravaganza and feeding myself the rest of the week on its leftovers. 

Wish me luck!

Eating on a Budget: The Rewind

I really need to start thinking about this SNAP Challenge. Why? Well, Susie over at Daily Cheapskate already has her budget breakdown in mind. She's going to rock 30% on protein and 20% on fruits and veggies, with the rest going to odds and ends.

For me -- the kosher, gluten-free ovo-vegetarian -- my budget will probably look something like 50% fruits and veggies, 20% grains, and 20% protein (eggs) and other odds and ends. Of course, I haven't sat down and actually figured out what I'm planning on making, and it's already Wednesday. This could be a problem. 

The challenge for we three (Susie, Mara, and me) begins on Monday and ends on July 22. If only the challenge could have started on Sunday! I'm getting free meals for part of that day as part of an organizational retreat. D'oh. Okay, so let's get discussing.

There are certain things that I buy every week by default and end up making a few nights a week.

• One bunch kale -- this will provide enough kale for a few meals for me. 
• One bag brown rice -- with the right spices and veggies, this will provide many meals. 
• One bag brown lentils -- I've got two words for you: BBQ lentils. OH YES. 
• Two yellow onions -- this'll last me a week, easy. 
• One bunch bananas -- should provide smoothies for me every morning.
• One loaf gluten-free bread -- one loaf should last me the whole week.
• One bag quinoa -- for breakfast, snacks, sides, you name it.

Then there are some things I'm not sure how to figure out price-wise. I might have to talk to the folks at Mazon and/or read the rules and regulations to see how this pans out. I know that condiments aren't considered in the $31.50 I'm allowed to spend, but ...

• Amazing Meal plain powder -- I use a scoop in a smoothie every morning. Should I price out by scoop? No receipt!
• Almond Nut Butter -- does this count as a condiment? 
• Almond milk -- I already have a container, but I don't have the receipt from CostCo in which I paid something like $7.99 for three cartons earlier this month. What do I do?
• Tomatoes -- what if my tomato plant magically turns all the tomatoes red and usable? How do I count THIS?

Okay, as I write all of this out I realize ... I need a plan. The morning smoothies might not be an option, especially with the price of the Amazing Meal powder I use. On Amazon it's $34.29 for a container that provides 15 servings. That's $2.28 a day, and I usually make the smoothie at least four days a week. That, right there, is $9.12 of my $31.50 budget. Yikes. 

And the coffee! I haven't even thought about the coffee or tea! Good sweet holy mother of ... 

See what stream-of-consciousness posting gets you? What my father would call a cluster[youknowtherest].

Stay tuned. I need to do some hardcore meal planning, folks. 

Big News: Aliyah + Saving Money

Well, okay, I did it: I've applied for aliyah (aka returning/moving to the land of milk and honey -- Israel!). Oy va voy. Big step, right? Huge step. We're talking Hulk-smash-style step! But guess what? I'm single, I'm happier than I've ever been in my memorable memory, and I'm ready to take this major step that I've been fantasizing about for many, many years.

Whoa. I'm moving to Israel. 

Hopefully by the end of the year. And when I get there, well, I'm praying that there are loads of my Twitter and blog friends at the airport to meet me. (I've always dreamed of being greeted with someone holding a sign with my name, and shockingly, it has yet to happen.) I'm hoping for a quick-and-easy transition into the workforce (or that my current employer will let me continue rocking out the work I'm doing until I find something and they find someone). Times of Israel is hiring a Social Media Manager, and, come on, I'm perfect for such a gig, right? Think they'll wait for me? And then, of course, there's finding my zivug and reuniting with the mishpacha I grew to know and love while back in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Of course, this is no easy thing for me. Well, I take that back. You guys know me, and you know how easy it is for me to pick up and relocate. I always bounce back -- financially and emotionally. Yes, I know Israel isn't like moving from the East Coast to the Rockies. There is a new language, new food, new economics, new hardships, new challenges. But guess what? That's life! You meet challenges everywhere you go, and I'm prepared to rock those challenges like a hurricane. (Catch that reference there? Oh yeah. I'm classy.)

Over the past few weeks my spending has all but ceased. I went to the grocery store one day and purchased some hot sauce and agave and veggies to make a salad for a Shabbat meal I was attending, but my extraneous spending has completely stopped. Go me! Oddly enough, most of the spending that goes on in my life is on groceries -- begin a gluten-free ovo-vegetarian isn't cheap. Organic veggies aren't always cheap. But I'm eating in-season, which lowers the costs immensely. (That means that if I can't get jicama, I can't get jicama, and I deal.)

So now -- the time of savings! -- is a perfect time to rock the SNAP Challenge by Mazon. Technically the challenge was for this week, but I'm going to attempt this challenge next week with bloggers Mara of Kosher on a Budget and Susie over at Daily Cheapskate. So what is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Challenge?

Participating in the SNAP Challenge is simple: eat for one week using only the amount of money you would have if you relied solely on SNAP to pay for your food. By taking the SNAP Challenge, you will directly experience the struggle that nearly 1 in 7 Americans – including nearly 25% of all American children – face every day. You will learn first-hand how difficult it is to afford nutritious foods, avoid hunger, and stay healthy without adequate resources.

We three blogging queens are going to give you an example of three types of typical American households: The Family of Five (Mara), The Couple (Susie), and The Single (me!). You'll get to see how the three of us cope with feeding our families and ourselves on a small budget. For me, that means one week at $31.50.

So the journey begins! Saving money, saving myself.

Food for Thought

I mustered up the energy to make my first frittata (as in, first in the history of my entire life first), and I have to say it was quite delicious. This was made in a single-serve little pan because, well, it's just me here, and it was the perfect nosh complete with fresh local corn, zucchini, jalapeno pepper, and red onions. I'll admit it was a little bland on the taste, so next time I'm going to have to jazz it up a little. Provide some Emeril Lagasse BAM! power.

What's your favorite type of frittata? As I'm no longer scared of making them, this might become one of those once-a-week things. Yes, I know it doesn't fit into the vegan plan, but eggs are the one thing I just can't seem to live without. (I'm good without fish, dairy milk, and cheese -- although fish I eat out sometimes.)

I give you, Chaviva's First Frittata!

Motzei Shabbos Special

I know, I know -- I said that this would be a regular thing, but, well, let's make it semi-regular since life doesn't always seem to be nice, clean, and easy for me these days. Thus, I give you, the Motzei Shabbos Special!

A Cook's Life for Me
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen chopping veggies and fruits, and cleanup is a pain in the tuches. Well, hello there Cutting Board w/Collapsible Bin! It holds up to four cups of your scraps so you don't have to keep chucking scraps.

Keep Your Fingers Cool ... or Warm?
I'm a junkie when it comes to these things. I have a Starbucks one and a Whole Foods one (the latter, of course, I feel a lot better about because it was donation-based). But I like the branding on this -- the Java Jammy. Maybe I should print up some Kvetching Editor(tm) ones, eh?

Used Books. Jewish Used Books! Books That are Used and Jewish!
I have a book habit. Everyone who is anyone knows this, of course. The apartment I'm staying at in Chicago has some good books on the shelf, and I happened upon a few that I'm now dying to pick up. Where can I find them? Jewish Used Books! This is #winning, folks. (I'm looking at the Mishneh Torah Yad Hachzakah and The Kuzari: I and II. I should probably also pick up some of the Laws of Kashrus and Hilchot Shabbat, eh?) Oh. You know what, find your favorite Jewish book there and post it in the comments. Maybe I'll buy it. Maybe I'll buy it for you. Who knows. (And they have more than books and seforim, too!)

Show Your State Pride

Okay, so I already have an awesome apron that I got while married that was a highly contested item because, well, my ex didn't believe in fancy aprons. For $20, I have to say the apron I have is pretty awesome and for the amount of time that I use it, it was totally worth it. So if you don't have a nice apron yet, I suggest you shimmy with state pride and order one of these for double-chai -- a mere $36! (Note: There's no Nebraska. What gives!? I mean, it's a beacon of home-cooking! Come on now!)

Hipster Babies

Oh man. Yes, you've seen the "I Bike ..." shirts everywhere. Places like Seattle and New York and Chicago and Denver all have them. It's like the bumper sticker that says "My other car is a bike." Well, even your little Timmy or Susie can hop on the hipsters-on-wheels bandwagon with these cute outfits. I'd get them for my nephews, but, you know, they're only for 6-12 monthers and my nephews are a spritely 17 months old now!

Bite-size Bits

These kind of remind me of Larabars, but they're more bite-sized and hail from the land of the Danes! Made in Denmark, $13 gets you four bites of three flavors of Kur Delights -- Dark Chocolate Mint, Brownie, and Coconut Cream. Not bad, if you ask me. (It's OU-D, too!)

Manifest Your Inner Vegan!

I'm a sucker for cookbooks, and I'm hoping to land this one once I can validate the expense (yes, every expense these days must go through a serious vetting process). From the mind behind www.manifestvegan.com is this gluten-free and vegan cookbook -- Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats: Cut Out the Gluten and Enjoy an Even Healthier Vegan Diet with Recipes for Fabulous, Allergy-Free Fare. And if you go to the Amazon site, you'll even get a free recipe to try out to see what you think! Brilliant! That's ultimate advertising, folks, because you get buy-in before the consumer really buys in. 

Don't be Toddy to the Party

Summertime is cold, iced coffee time for me. Back in the day, I used to just strong-brew some coffee and then put it in the fridge once it cooled down. Bam! Cold coffee! But not really. There's actually a way to cold brew coffee, folks, and it's called the Toddy. The big difference is that if you cold brew and you do it right, you get rid of more than 50 percent of the acid that comes with normal coffee brewing. BUY THIS: Toddy T2N Cold Brew System ... your stomach will thank you.

And that concludes this installment ... have a product you love? A website you can't live without? Let me know in the comments!

A Challenge of the Food Variety

Well, I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I'm broke. (I even canceled my cable and internet at home. It's that serious.) I attribute this not to being an exorbitant spender on things I don't need (after all, you haven't seen me replace my beloved and stolen iPad, have you?), but rather that I tend to buy things I need but not when I need them. One of the biggest crimes in this respect is my tendency to browse the grocery store like a woman browses a clothing store. I could spend a couple hours grocery shopping, just looking at products, turning them every which way to check for a few very specific things: Soy Free! Gluten Free! Kosher!

The result is that I often end up with a lot of food getting thrown away or never used. I make lists to buy things I already have in my cabinet and then return home with a big "D'oh!" Thus, because of my dietary needs and my inability to keep stock of what I do and don't have, I've decided to challenge myself. These are my rules for the next MONTH. Yes, I said month.

• $10 fresh produce budget each week
• No purchasing of non-perishable items (canned goods, cereal, spices, etc.)
• No purchasing of dairy or dairy-like products (no Daiya, no feta, no nothing)
• Photo documentation of the inventory and what is produced with it
• No eating out unless it's paid for by someone else
• No purchasing coffee (make it at home!)

Think it can be done? I'm fully stocked with nuts and lentils and other grains, not to mention cans of black beans and chickpeas and plenty of canned tomatoes. In the fridge I've got plenty of condiments and some cheese, not to mention that there are oodles of frozen fish in my freezer with frozen fruits and veggies, too. 

Also, with Israel being a mere 45 days away, I figure using up as much as I have in my kitchen might be a worthwhile endeavour. 

I'm guessing my $10 allowance will go to buy things like spinach, kale, jicama, and bananas -- four present staples in my kitchen. EDIT: I also have to buy eggs. Eggs ... I love eggs. 

Have you ever given yourself this kind of challenge? A "use it all up" before you "buy it all up" kind of situation? 

A Mushroom for a Memory

Last night, as I prepared Kale and Mushroom Soft Tacos, I took a sampling of the mushrooms from the saute pan. Plain, warm mushrooms enticed me to close my eyes and consider the flavor. And in an instant, I was transported back to childhood and the flavor of Fried Mushrooms from the Schwann's man that my mother would deep fry in our open kitchen. My dad was always a big fan of fried mushrooms, fried gizzards (we'd buy them on almost every trip to Dillon's), fried anything. We were a family of fry lovers. But Fried Mushrooms are something I haven't had in probably 10-15 years, and the sensation of a juicy, warm mushroom was enough to remind me of such a simple piece of food.

Our senses are strange like that.

The recipe was simple enough, although I screwed a few things up in the process and will probably add a few things next time. Overall? A fresh, tasty dinner!

Ingredients
1 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 jalapeño, seeded and deveined
(Recipe called for unsalted pumpkin seeds, but I didn't have 'em)
1 Tbls lime juice

8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cooked, chopped kale (I just blanched mine in boiling water for a few minutes)
8 corn tortillas
Sriracha

Okay, so the first thing you're going to do is place the cilantro, olive oil, jalapeno, seeds if you have them, and lime or lemon juice (again, the recipe didn't call for this, but it really needed some acidity) in a blender or food processor and puree. This was really difficult for me because the stuff kept getting stuck to the side, but if it's not completely smooth, it still makes an excellent topper.

Put about 1 Tbls of olive oil in a saute pan and add the mushrooms, cooking until tender. Set those aside, and throw the cooked kale into the pan to take in the mushroom juices, and heat until just warm. The idea is that the kale you're using is "leftover" but, well, I never have leftover kale. So just go with it.

Warm the tortillas and place equal amounts of kale, the mushrooms, and the green salsa-y stuff on each tortilla. I also topped with gobs of Sriracha because, well, I like things spicy.

Note: Make sure that the kale and the mushrooms aren't too liquidy. This caused my tortillas to break when I attempted to eat them like real tacos. Nobody likes a soggy tortilla!

Gourmet Grille via Chavi

Can you still call it "grilled" if it isn't grilled? I've never thought of this before tonight when I was cooking a Gourmet Grilled Cheese sandwich to go with my homemade Tomato Soup. I simply buttered the gluten-free bread and cooked in a pan -- no grilling involved! Then I realized, my entire life we never grilled any sandwiches.

Perplexing!

The sandwich included Apricot Preserves (Trader Joe's), Sautéed Spinach with Salt & Pepper, Feta Cheese (also from Trader Joe's), and fresh Dill. Sounds strange, right? Well, it was delicious. Absolutely comforting and gourmet, if I do say so myself.

The soup? Well, I can't really say what went into it. Just lots of spices and tomato puree and vegetable stock and, you know, the usual suspects for tomato soup!

Overall, delicious, easy, simple dinner.

New Work, New Food!

This was Taylor's farewell meal. He's off to Carmel, CA, for a week.
If you're curious, it's an African Peanut Stew with Pineapple and Kale.
I hope to post the recipe ... if y'all are interested!

What a week, folks! What a week ... and I've been mute for the whole of it. I was driving home yesterday from a meeting and realized that I hadn't written a single thing on the blog this week and began to wonder -- have I reached the ceiling? Am I done blogging? Then I thought, well, with some new changes, my schedule is becoming more regimented and I should have more time for things like blogging because, thanks to this blog, I've achieved great things and I want to continue on that road of blogomania.

So, first off I want to announce some news on the work front. After living in Denver for four months, and doing consulting work for three of those months, I'm happy to say that I'm now a full-time employee at the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education as a the Social Media and Website Manager. This means I get to do oodles of fun things like run amok on the website, come up with cool socially innovative projects, and more. It's seriously a dream job. I work in Jewish Education and Social Media -- for me, this is the best of both worlds. Also, I'm working as a part-time intern for Blogmutt, a startup based in Boulder, as their social media go-to. It's been oodles of fun, and I get to be just as creative and innovative as a girl could dream of being.

So much snow in Denver!

Basically, I'm on Cloud Nine as far as work goes! Patience is all it took for things to land on their feet.

Speaking of my work at CAJE, there was a most excellent d'var on Beshalah given at our weekly meeting that discussed the significance and importance of the items that the Israelites took out of Egypt -- the timbrels, matzo, and Joseph's bones. The discussion involved a question: If you had to pick up and leave, what one item would you take with you? After all, when it came time to take Joseph's bones out of Egypt, Moses searched and persisted for Joseph's bones. So, if you had to search and persist for a single item, what would it be?

At first, I thought, Nothing! There is Nothing! And then I realized, there is something. One thing, in fact. This thing is a photo of my Grandpa and Grandma Edwards standing with my father and uncle, a few years before my grandmother died. (I've written before about them. My grandmother and grandfather both died before my dad was 12 years old.) It's one of the only things that attaches me to a past and to people I never knew.

For what would you search high and far?

On that note, I want to wish you all a Shabbat Shalom from snowy, snowy Denver. Here, I offer you an image of my new attempt at gluten-free, vegan challah! I promise to let you know how it tastes.

Ode to Nosh!

It was one of those nights, those grilled cheese and tomato soup kind of nights. Taylor and I vowed to not eat out for a full two weeks, and this is day seven of the adventure. I've cooked something almost every night this past week and the rest of the time has been leftovers consumption. Over the week there's been a lot of soup, and a lot of recipes from Veganomicon. This week I'm hoping to make Lentil Bolognese, Eggplant-Squash Lasagna, Falafel Burgers and who knows what else. Stay tuned! But for now? I give you, my nosh.

First, Classic Tomato Soup with a grilled cheese. What kind of grilled cheese?

Well, if you must know it was a sandwich made with King Arthur Flour Bread Mix for the bread, and I added Trader Joe's Apricot Spread, Fresh Baby Spinach, and Natural & Kosher Muenster Cheese! (Yay for a CostCo visit with @melschol today!)

Overall? Delicious. I have been trying out a lot of different bread mixes in place of challah, inspired by Rebbetzin Ketriellah of Boulder Aish haKodesh (buy a gluten-free bread mix, remove 1/4 or 1/3 cup of the mix and replace it with gluten-free oat flour, and you have ha'motzi), and this is yet another of those that I tried. The one thing I've discovered is that it's hard to find a good bread that doesn't absorb the liquid substance, in this case the Vegan Buttery Spread I used. So it was a little soggy, and I should have put cheese on both sides so that the whole thing stuck together, but, you know when I last made a grilled cheese? Months, folks. Maybe even a good year or so.

I Cooked: Enchiladas!

I cooked! I have to say that I'm pretty proud that over the past month, I've made as many meals as I did when I was living on my own back in Chicago and fell in love with cooking. Veggies and spices and kitchen messes oh my! Taylor is quite the health-nut veggie like me, so it makes meal-planning and eating a lot more exciting knowing that I can finally share my food with someone!

Tonight was Creamy Spinach Enchiladas with a Red Cabbage Salad. I revamped the original recipe, which was dairy, to make it vegan (parve) and, luckily, it's gluten-free if you buy the right kind of corn tortillas!

Ingredients
10 corn tortillas, warmed (the recipe called for eight, but I had filling for 10)
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach thawed and drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1.5 cups Daiya vegan cheddar cheese (original recipe was regular cheddar)
1 cup So Delicious Original Coconut Creamer (original recipe was regular heavy cream)
2 cans green chiles
salt
pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the thawed spinach, corn, one can green chiles, and 1 cup of the Daiya cheese. 
3. In a small bowl, mix together the creamer, one can green chiles, and 1/4 tsp of each salt and pepper. 
4. Heat up the tortillas. 
5. Place about 1/3 cup mixture in each tortilla and roll. Place seam-side down into a shallow baking pan. 
6. Pour the creamer mixture over the top of the enchiladas and top the entire dish with remaining 1/2 cup of Daiya cheese. 
7. Cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes until sauce is bubbly. Remove foil and cook another 5-10 minutes. (Daiya cheese won't brown, but regular cheese will.)
8. Enjoy!

For the salad, take a large red cabbage and quarter it. You'll need about 4 cups of thinly sliced red cabbage, which is about 1/4 of a large cabbage, and two thinly sliced scallions. Throw the cabbage and scallions into a bowl with 2 Tbls olive oil, 2 Tbls fresh lime juice, and 1/4 cup papitas (I just used regular sunflower seeds). Mix up with a bit of salt and pepper, and eat!

I'm whipping up a simple dessert right now: Blueberry Crisp Ramekins. Some blueberries, sucanet, gluten-free flour, topped with Udi's Gluten-Free Original Granola. Thatsit. Bam.

Edit: It's done!

Are You Ready to Get Served?

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I love, love, love being a member of the Clever Girls Collective, because of all of the stellar opportunities for sponsored posts, which means you get to find out about new products and services and I get to, you know, do fun things for free!

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Yes, we made a Chanukiah out of our
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So I took several friends out to WaterCourse, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant here in Denver that is absolutely amazing and friendly to weirdos like me who are gluten free and about 90 percent vegetarian and dairy free who also have concerns about kashrut (I know, y'all are going to have questions about this, but this isn't the post for it, so stay tuned). After the meal, when we got the bill, we split it up evenly using the calculator that comes with the Serve app, and everyone paid with their respective cards/cash. Having money in my account from Serve to reimburse my co-diners, I immediately reimbursed all of them via their email addresses from my mobile app! Before we even got up from the table, everything was settled and everyone was blown away by how instantaneously awesome the service is. More goodies?

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I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Recipe: Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup

I'm planning some heavy posts this week, so I thought I'd start things out simple and light with a recipe for some delicious soup I just whipped up with pleasure and fresh veggies. If things go right, I'll be eating lots of veggies and yummy things like quinoa all week. Wish me luck to stick to it!

Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup
Adapted from November 2011 Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients
1 medium chopped yellow onion
8 ounces carrots (that's about three normal-sized carrots)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium acorn squash, quartered
olive oil
black pepper
2 cups water
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (I winged it with cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
14 ounces veggie stock
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 container plain yogurt (Greek is best, but I used Green Valley Lactose Free Yogurt)
6 Tbls honey

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 500 F.
2. Arrange the veggies (onion, carrot, squash) on a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with pepper. Toss. Roast at 500 F for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning once. Cool for 10 minutes. Peel acorn squash; discard skin.
3. Combine vegetables, water, veggie stock, curry powder, garam masala, and red pepper into a pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and stir in salt. Remove the pot from the stove and puree with an immersion blender.
4. Combine yogurt and honey, stirring well. Swirl atop the soup!
5. Voila! Enjoy!

Fall Food: Sweet and Savory

Because it's Fall, and because I love to cook (who would have thought there'd be a day), I'm going to sporadically share some of my favorite recipes with y'all. Here's the first, a Pear-Butternut Squash Soup, which came out a little sweet, a little savory. The yogurt and nutmeg give it that perfect creamy sweet sensation of fall. (Which, might I add, is super because despite it being fall, it snowed here in Denver today, so it's nice to have a little bit of autumn in my bowl!)

Ingredients
2 firm pears (I used a Bosc and Green Anjou), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small butternut squash, peeled, gutted, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Yogurt and nutmeg for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Put pears and butternut squash into a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the squash becomes slightly soft and starts to brown.
2. Meanwhile, in a good-sized saucepan, heat olive oil on medium heat and cook the onions until slightly translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Throw on some salt and pepper, and then add the broth and pear-squash mix. 
3. Simmer the goodness for about 15 minutes, then blend with an immersion blender.
4. Top with some plain yogurt (I used Green Valley's Plain Lactose-Free Yogurt) and swirl for looks, then sprinkle on some nutmeg and devour!

Pairings
Since I'm gluten-free, the only thing I can really imagine pairing with this is a good Hard Cider, like Woodchuck, which is both kosher and naturally gluten free!

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating's newest magazine issue!

Kosher Flops and Flips

I've been having a lot of really interesting conversations with people lately about kashrut, which makes me think back to some of my less-than-stellar days of refining the art of keeping kosher. It's a journey for all of us, and sometimes it takes years to really take on a full regimen of kashrut. Some cases in point?

Flop No. 1? 
During the first week of classes at the University of Connecticut (where I was to get my first M.A. in Judaic studies), there was a big welcome cook-out over at Hillel, so I decided to go outside my typical box of comfortability in order to schmooze with the campus Jews. At that point, it was August 2008 and I had been an "official" Reform Jew for about a year and a half. I'd slowly been taking on more kashrut, especially after Passover 2008 when I decided that I was set for an Orthodox conversion. I didn't kasher anything, but I kept on my tradition of no pork and no shellfish (which I'd taken on even before I went to a Reform shul for the first time many, many years before) and decided I was going to avoid mixing meat and milk.

While waiting in line at the cook-out to grab my own kosher burger, salads, and chips, I spotted little packets of ketchup, mustard, and ... GASP ... mayo! I started to get really nervous, looking around to see if anyone else was reacting to the mayo on the table. I mean, they said this was kosher meat and that all the fixins were kosher too, didn't they? Okay, okay, so I wasn't fully kosher, but I wasn't about to mix meat and dairy! Come on people!

Yes. I thought, stupidly, for no apparent reason, that mayo was dairy. Yipes. The thing is, I never really ate mayo, so my ignorance should have been expected. Luckily, I didn't make an arse of myself by saying anything to anyone and instead Googled it the moment I got home. Can you imagine how stupid I felt?

Flop No. 2? 
Living in the dorms, I canceled my meal plan after one semester because I simply didn't like going to the cafeteria and the kosher cafeteria (the reason I bought the plan to begin with) was on the other side of campus and I just wasn't into the schlep (my dorm was right next to the building in which I worked, the classes in which I took, and the library in which I lived). Thus, I had to rely on the groceries I picked up every week when Tuvia (who I started dating at the start of my time at UConn) came out and picked me up and drove me over to the Wal-Mart. I got into a habit of eating vegetarian in my dorm almost exclusively, but at some point I was craving meat so I ended up eating a lot of breaded chicken patties, and I made sure -- really made sure -- to never mix meat and dairy, despite my own frustations with chicken as "meat." (I think I thought I was a Karaite.)

And then? Well, I made dinner as usual. Threw a chicken patty in the microwave, popped a piece of cheese on it, threw on some pasta sauce and voila! made my favorite dish of yore, Chicken Parm. I gobbled it up while watching something on my computer and then, suddenly, I realized what I was eating. Holy crap. What do I do? Do I make myself throw up? I didn't do it on purpose I started shouting in my head! It was an accident! What do I do!?

Well, of course, I went to AskMoses.com. And the kind random person behind the computer told me that there was nothing I could do to make it better or to go away. Of course, the person behind the computer didn't know that I had only had a Reform conversion so technically, according to halacha, I'd done nothing wrong -- I was a non-Jew eating milk and meat together. No biggie, right? But the person talking to me at AskMoses.com talked me down, explained to me that it wasn't something I'd intentionally done, so while it was wrong, there was no way to repent, if you will. I felt better, I'll say that much, but man was that a serious flop.

(Note: I haven't found a good replacement for Chicken Parm, unfortunately with the gluten-free thing. Eggplant Parm just isn't the same. Oh Morningstar why must you have wheat?!)

Flippity Flop!
The thing about kashrut is that it's a journey, and it's one that isn't at all easy or always fun to travel on. I stopped eating pork and shellfish probably sometime back in 2003, long before I even knew there was a Reform shul in town. But I started there because I knew there was something I could start with that was easy to do and it would connect me to generations of religious and assimilated Jews.

But after that, it took me until 2008 to really even consider the idea of separation of meat and milk completely, and even after I started, Tuvia and I still ate out dairy. But after I went to and returned from Middlebury, Vermont, in Summer 2009, I couldn't do the eating-out-dairy thing anymore -- I felt like I was cheating, being hypocritical. Not everyone feels that way, and I don't expect anyone to feel that way, but we did. And then? We went on that big journey of kashrut together. And now look at us -- we're all super frum with the kashrut.

And it's still hard. I don't know if it ever gets easy. Every now and again I have cravings, strange cravings, for things like Chick-Fil-A and Chipotle and other places that, to be completely honest, I wouldn't be able to eat at anyway because I'm now gluten-free. Saving grace? Maybe HaShem is trying to give me an easy time? Probably not. Cravings are cravings -- they don't go away. But the nice thing is that with modern cooking, you can pretty much figure out a way to satisfy any craving with creative cooking. Likewise, leaving in Teaneck has us pretty spoiled foodwise.

Don't worry about making mistakes. I grab the wrong utensil more often than I should, and we end up doing a lot of kashering (sorry Tuvia!). One of the wisest things I ever read (or was it heard?) was that as long as you acknowledge that there's a goal (in this case being shomer kashrut), then your mistakes and stumbles will not stand in judgment of you. Or something like that. Basically? As long as you say "I will, someday, be a kosher Jew," then your steps and missteps to get there will be accepted as growing pains rather than your downfall. Stick to your guns, and you can make it happen!

Shabbos Food + A Fall Course

It's hot as Hades outside (does anyone outside of the Midwest use that phrase? because I use it all the time), but I'm busy preparing for Shabbos anyway, baking, cooking, and attempting to stay hydrated. On the menu?

Well, this is for tomorrow. We're eating by Stephen and Tzipora, so I'm providing a dessert.

Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Chocolate Torte

And then there's the food for tonight:

I decided to make Croatian Star Challah, which I read about on The Challah Blog.

Lovveeee it! So unique.  Too bad I can't eat it. Bummer.

Basil-Pesto Meatballs
(2 pounds ground turkey + 1 container Sabra Basil-Pesto Hummus, zehu!)

Roasted Mixed Vegetables with Lemon and Garlic

Fruity Quinoa with Raisins
(1 cup quinoa + 2 cups grape juice. Cook till liquid is gone. Add raisins. Serve hot or cold!)

And, of course, there's a Grilled Chicken with a Bourbon-Peach Butter. Check out the peaches on the stove!

The finished product isn't that tantalizing visually, but good lord the "butter" tastes amazing!

I'll add that this menu is for four people, but I had plotted this meal when I assumed we were having a full table (that's eight), and unfortunately not everyone was around this week. But I forged forth with my menu anyway! Lucky guests, eh?

And I have to mention, I just registered for another class for the fall, and I'm super stoked about it. The course is "Duties of the Heart: Intention in Jewish Law," and it's through the Law School, which means it'll be me and a bunch of Law Students (outside enrollment is capped at five!). Here's the course description:

The course will examine the role of intention in different areas of Jewish Law - prayer and performance of other commandments, shabbat, torts, criminal law, vows, idolatry, and other areas of law. We will read carefuly Talmudic discussions concerning these matters, attempting to investigate the philosophy of action implied in these discussions as well as the spiritual and dimension of the relationship between the inner life and the outer performance in Jewish thought and Jewish Law. (all materails will be supplied with English translation).

Are you as excited as I am? Because, well, you should be. Why? Because I'm going to rock some awesomeness, darn't!

Shabbat shalom!