This is what I do when i avoid school work

Listen to long radio posts on Eco-kashrut! Any one interested go to this link. Play the radio program "Jews, Food, and Ethics" and listen to some rad rabbis talk about Jews and eating and all our food complications. Good stuff. 

Also, should kashrut mean being vegetarian? That's kind of funny. I certainly do think it's the most "fit" food, but it's a kind of strange question to ask. I face a lot of vegetarian-hatred at the Hillel kosher dining hall. What's it with observant Jew's obsession with meat? And my step-dad keeps trying to make me into a shabb0s-only meat eater as if "vegetarian" means nothing to him.

That's enough of my musings. I'm ready for school to be done and start farming. 

Kavanah Garden

I was recently looking at the Adamah blog (Adamah is a a Jewish farming internship for young Jewish college-students and recent college-graduates at a farm on site of the Isabella Friedman Retreat Center. I'm doing to be an Adamahnik this summer.) So i thought i'd let you guys know about this really cool group started by some previous Adamahniks which touched upon themes in my last post. It's called Kavanah and it's an organic community teaching garden in Ontario, Canada. Visit this website to learn more. Also, check out Risa's posting on the Adamah program blog to learn more about the cool stuff she's doing. Also, you should just read the Adamah blog anyway (especially this summer when i'm going to be in the program!!!)

So just some more ideas about starting community educational gardens at colleges and at Jewish community centers (like this one). 

יוֹם אדםה שמייח. Happy Earth Day!

Gardens have been the big talk in the food world lately, with our rockstar President Obama putting a community garden on the White House Lawn. Check out this New York Times article about it. I was so happy when I found out this news since I was covering the campaign to get make this a reality with Kitchen Gardeners International through their "Eat the View" campaign, and overall I think the press has covered it okay and am pleased especially with the amount of coverage. I wish though that they didn't portray it as just a little housewifery hobby of Michelle Obama, but as the idea of many people to advocate for a more sustainable and healthier food future for our country. Also, when Michelle talks about it, she doesn't so much talk about sustainability but instead the health of her children eating vegetables (which of course is so important in these days of processed foods and obesity) but I know the real driving force behind the campaign was advocating for sustainability in agriculture. But it's been quite a ride. Read this article from the Washington Post about how the international community asked our beautiful First Lady about her fashion and the garden she planted on her latest stint through Europe.  The hype is insane and I'd love for colleges and Hillel centers to build off of this hype! 

I have been thinking a lot lately about starting a community garden on my college campus. I don't think any other Hillel Jewish Student Centers around the U.S. have started doing this (I highly doubt it), but please tell me if you know anything else about this. I know there's a community garden on campus somewhere and i always pass it on the way to the student center and it looks so sad. It's spring and it's just barren. I am hoping sometime in the future, all Hillel centers as well as, in general, college campuses across the U.S. can start community gardens and use those gardens as a way to advocate for local food, sustainability, and healthy eating. I spoke to the Jewish social justice organization on campus, Tzedek about this and got some positive response. The food grown from this garden could be sold to people inside and outside of Hillel and could go to charity organizations. Some great Jewish organizations which advocate for food sustainability and security are Hazon (also they offer really cool bike rides through NY and Israel, the former of which I'm doing this summer) as well as Table to Table based in Israel who work on rescuing food and giving it to those in need. Of course, there are so many other organizations which deal with food sustainability and security inside and outside of a Jewish context. I also would just love to see people trying out gardening if they've never done so since it's just a great release from the daily grind of life. Hopefully, this idea will come to fruition one day. Right now, I am unsure where I'll be next year so I don't know if a Maryland Hillel community garden would pick off. Please tell me if you have any ideas about this venture.

Also, anyone who wants to start a community garden which I also am trying to do at my home in upstate New York, please do so! Kitchen Gardeners International is a great source. I also really like treehugger since they really go into basics and are just wicked cool. Comment if you have any helpful tips or resources for home/community gardeners. I hope you all give some thought to it!

Also, happy earth day y'all. I think it's kind of silly having an earth day since it's like Valentine's Day and Mother's day and just shouldn't just be a one-day fad. But i guess all the earth day events can't be harmful. I am going to try to check out the Earth day activities on campus today and my wish is everyone can do so as well. 

B'tay avon!

Hag sameach everyone! 

I hope everyone has been having a meaningful Passover. The blessing on the sun (Birkat HaChama) was the morning before Pesach, and i think it was such a meaningful way to start the holiday, attuning ourselves to the order of nature and getting ready for the order of the seder. I hope you all made the most of it since it won't be happening until another 28 years!!!

Passover has always been my favorite Jewish holiday because of the comfort of such order and traditions. I also enjoy the comfort of the food (although i'm getting a little sick on matzo right now, but I enjoy all the other good stuff). I think a great way to start off this blog is to just give a couple of my favorite Pesach recipes and recipes that were meaningful for me this past Passover. Sorry it's kind of late--use them the rest of the year or next Pesach!

Mom's Pesadicha Popovers

My mom makes these every year. Their an old family recipe. I really like them and they're sweet and simple to make!!! Also, if you want to jazz them up add more sugar and blueberries/raspberries to make them desserty.

2 cups matzo flour or matzo cake meal or a combination of both

6 eggs

a few pinches of sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 cup warm water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour/cake meal, the salt, the sugar, and the warm water. Put in the fridge to cool. When cool, take it out and add in the eggs. Grease a muffin tin. Fill the muffin holes half-way. Put in the oven on 325 for about 20 minutes. You'll now they are ready when they have risen substantially and are light and fluffy, with the centers still moist. Enjoy with any kind of paste or topping you can think about! I like it with cream cheese or put harosets on it. 

Yarden's Morrocan Harosets

I came into Hillel this past Monday after the first days and was greeted by Yarden and a big tub of her mom's harosets. I have an undying affection for sephardic harosets and just sephardic food in general. This harosets is so amazing and I think the best way to start off spring! Although harosets is supposed to be like mortar and remind us of the labor we did in Egypt, I find it to be my favorite part of the whole seder because it's such a refreshing kick of sweetness and life after all the bitterness of the bitter herbs and maror. 

Ingredients: 

Bananas

Coconut Shavings 

Dry Apricots

Apples

Dry Figs

Dry Dates

Kosher for Passover Manishevits wine

Walnuts

Apples

Cinnamon

Ginger

Chop up all the fruits and add them to a large bowl. Chop up the walnuts into small bits and add them. Add the red wine (enough so the fruit isn't swimming, but it wet). Add lots of cinnamon and ginger to taste. 

Enjoy the rest of Pesach!