Cooking
Tonight is the first night of Passover. But Passover actually lasts all week so why not a week of Passover posts? This week I will be sharing recipes, stories and kicking things off with a book review.
Passover is a holiday that commemorates the Jews exodus from Egypt. It has themes that everyone can relate to; slavery, liberation, freedom, redemption, hope, renewal, being a stranger in a strange land. Through story telling, responsive reading, songs, prayers and food the idea is to relive the experience and not just remember it. Making Passover relevant to you is central to the holiday.
I'm fortunate that the Passover seders or dinners that I attend are filled with special touches that make them personal and meaningful. At some seders we tell stories from our own lives, discuss personal issues that we are facing, we add songs that feel right and at one we even add a dance. In this spirit is a wonderful new book by the poet Marge Piercy called Pesach for the Rest of Us Making the Passover Seder Your Own. There are recipes, poems, songs, and stories in the book. I like the fact that while there are many traditional recipes there are also lots of vegetarian variations too. The book is friendly and welcoming and filled with humor and little twists on tradition.
For example I love the suggestions for additional prayers for washing your hands and a prayer over the matzoh:
"Let us bless this moment when we choose to eat matzoh. Our ancestors, in their haste to be free, had no choice. It was matzoh or nothing. For so many people in the world today, they must eat whatever they can, if they have anything to eat at all. Let us bless those who work to end hunger, and bless all those who suffer it."
Amen! Wishing you a very meaningful Passover. Tomorrow stay tuned for recipes!
FOOD + PASSOVER
- Passover Crepes: Recipe (gluten Free)
Welcome to the third day of Passover! When it comes to this holiday, it takes only a short while before dietary tedium sets in I'm afraid. While I'm not able to keep kosher for Passover this year I am still trying out some new recipes that are...
- Passover On The Web, A Food Blog Round-up
This year Passover seems to have slipped under the food blogger radar. Two years ago there were lots of moving posts that I linked to from many prominent food blogs. You can check out those posts at Eggbeater, the Amateur Gourmet and Tasting Menu...This...
- Charoset Recipe
My favorite part of the hilarious bestseller Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is when he tries to explain Easter to his fellow French class students. The more he explains about Jesus, the bunny and a basket of eggs the more impossibly ridiculous...
- Passover & Easter
Passover begins Wednesday evening, and that presents some dietary challenges for those of us observing the holiday. Here is a selection of recipes from the Cooking with Amy archives that are kosher for Passover: Fig Tapenade Spinach Salad Creamy Beet...
- Toffee Chocolate Matzah Crunch:recipe
Passover is a major Jewish holiday. It deals with the age old themes of slavery, freedom, persecution, solidarity, covenants, spring, renewal, redemption, etc. For two consecutive nights, a ritual meal is served and stories told, prayers recited, songs...
Cooking
Pesach for the Rest of Us
Tonight is the first night of Passover. But Passover actually lasts all week so why not a week of Passover posts? This week I will be sharing recipes, stories and kicking things off with a book review.
Passover is a holiday that commemorates the Jews exodus from Egypt. It has themes that everyone can relate to; slavery, liberation, freedom, redemption, hope, renewal, being a stranger in a strange land. Through story telling, responsive reading, songs, prayers and food the idea is to relive the experience and not just remember it. Making Passover relevant to you is central to the holiday.
I'm fortunate that the Passover seders or dinners that I attend are filled with special touches that make them personal and meaningful. At some seders we tell stories from our own lives, discuss personal issues that we are facing, we add songs that feel right and at one we even add a dance. In this spirit is a wonderful new book by the poet Marge Piercy called Pesach for the Rest of Us Making the Passover Seder Your Own. There are recipes, poems, songs, and stories in the book. I like the fact that while there are many traditional recipes there are also lots of vegetarian variations too. The book is friendly and welcoming and filled with humor and little twists on tradition.
For example I love the suggestions for additional prayers for washing your hands and a prayer over the matzoh:
"Let us bless this moment when we choose to eat matzoh. Our ancestors, in their haste to be free, had no choice. It was matzoh or nothing. For so many people in the world today, they must eat whatever they can, if they have anything to eat at all. Let us bless those who work to end hunger, and bless all those who suffer it."
Amen! Wishing you a very meaningful Passover. Tomorrow stay tuned for recipes!
FOOD + PASSOVER
- Passover Crepes: Recipe (gluten Free)
Welcome to the third day of Passover! When it comes to this holiday, it takes only a short while before dietary tedium sets in I'm afraid. While I'm not able to keep kosher for Passover this year I am still trying out some new recipes that are...
- Passover On The Web, A Food Blog Round-up
This year Passover seems to have slipped under the food blogger radar. Two years ago there were lots of moving posts that I linked to from many prominent food blogs. You can check out those posts at Eggbeater, the Amateur Gourmet and Tasting Menu...This...
- Charoset Recipe
My favorite part of the hilarious bestseller Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is when he tries to explain Easter to his fellow French class students. The more he explains about Jesus, the bunny and a basket of eggs the more impossibly ridiculous...
- Passover & Easter
Passover begins Wednesday evening, and that presents some dietary challenges for those of us observing the holiday. Here is a selection of recipes from the Cooking with Amy archives that are kosher for Passover: Fig Tapenade Spinach Salad Creamy Beet...
- Toffee Chocolate Matzah Crunch:recipe
Passover is a major Jewish holiday. It deals with the age old themes of slavery, freedom, persecution, solidarity, covenants, spring, renewal, redemption, etc. For two consecutive nights, a ritual meal is served and stories told, prayers recited, songs...