A Streamlined New Years - with pudding

We are coming upon the High Holy Days....time to begin our self-reflection as we begin a new year:

This time of year can be fraught with an overwhelming sense of guilt, responsibility, and yes, authenticity. Too often I find this time of year to be filled with a lot of judgement of others and not so much about one's self. And to me, that misses the point. 

There's certainly enough research out there to see that traditions change, morph and sometimes fizzle as we move forward. It doesn't mean it's any less authentic, but rather a statement of how we can best fit important messages into our lives. 

It's like how I feel about fad diets. Why throw out everything you know about eating, when the basics are already there, just maybe ignored? 

So, whether or not you actually do observe this time of year and whether or not you identify with doing anything for it, I thought I'd once again delve into the traditions and see if I can make of them.

After last year's recipe for honey cookies, I decided to stay far away from traditional honey cake as possible. And for some reason, I've been craving pudding. So I went with it. 

This time, the recipe is entirely from the Streamlined Ska Librarian's imagination. I've never made pudding, let alone a rather nontraditional flavor like apple-honey, so there were a lot of experiments and tweaks. And even though I wanted that pudding siliness, I decided it needed some crunch in the end, so I quickly sauteed-carmelized some apple slices for the top. You could go the whipped cream or fruit route, or even chocolate chips. 



And yes, this recipe contains corn starch, honey and dairy products (albeit low-fat milk and skyr), but I also use unsweetened applesauce (nothing but apples!) which doesn't need a huge amount of sweetening as a dessert. And anyway, portions are portions and a sweet Rosh Hashana treat can be just the thing you need to set you on the path for the rest of the year.




The Streamlined Ska Librarian's Rosh Hashana Apple - Honey Pudding (serves 6)

1  cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 TBS cinnamon
1 TBS cardamom
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp all spice
2 TBS ground ginger
1 cup water, buttermilk, yogurt or cream (I use Siggi's Filmjölk)

Filmjölk

Filmjölk

siggi's filmjölk

siggi's filmjölk

3 egg yolks
1 qt 2% milk
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup + 2 TBS honey
1 cup brown sugar
1 TBS vanilla 
1 apple
1 TBS butter
splash mirin (optional) 
extra cinammon, cardamom, etc. to taste

1. Combine cornstarch, salt and spices in a bowl 
2. Add liquid until a well mixed slurry is produced. (Add additional water if needed)
3. Beat the three yolks and add to the cornstarch mixture
4. In a fairly large saucepan, heat the applesauce, 3/4 cup honey and sugar over medium until combined.
5. Add the milk to the applesauce mixture. Heat until it just begins to bubble.
5. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 3/4 of the milk mixture into the egg-cornstarch slurry. It should be well combined, a bit frothy, but still totally liquid.
6. Pour this mix back into the saucepan and start whisking at a steady pace. In about 2-3 minutes it should start to thicken. 

Just like this...

7. Add vanilla and taste to see if more spices are needed.
8. Keep whisking for about 5-10 minutes until the pudding is smooth and thick. Do NOT let it boil.
9. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap if you're one of those people to hates pudding skin.
(It may take quite some time to cool. Don't put it in the fridge until it's completely cool).
10. When ready to serve, slice apple and sautee in a pan with butter,  remaining honey and mirin. Add spices when cooked.

11. Let cool slightly and place on top of each serving of pudding.

And the result?

Mmm...mmm! Atonement will be a breeze after this!

L'Shanah Tovah, y'all!

References:

Liu, Joseph. “A Portrait of Jewish Americans.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, October 1, 2013. http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/.

Post-Countdown, Post-Holiday, Post-Caloric reflections

Here it is:

Only the dinner portion got captured for posterity. The dessert table was just a blur of hands and mouths!

Clockwise from the far left and spiraling in: Turkey (and more turkey) with gravy, pearl onions & bacon, cranberry-ginger compote,  sweet and sour cabbage, curried brussel sprouts in coconut milk, 2 Fat Ladies parsnips, kasha varnishkes with mushrooms, "Moroccan" tzimmes, kielbasa-apple stuffing, Ponzu-baked tofu with tomato-olive sauce, dill chimichurri and grated cheese, potato-onion kugel, sweet potato cornbread,  and zucchini pudding.

I'll be headed back to research-inspired posts as of tomorrow, but I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on these past few weeks. It was a blur of shopping, schlepping and cooking (Wednesday was 12 hours straight in the kitchen), but I always believe it's worth it, because I get to spend the days with loved ones. I realize I haven't hosted a regular dinner party in ages and instead I now sort of cram it all into this one day, but it's always a good time. Old friends, new acquaintances and chances to experiment in the kitchen: It's a win-win-win situation.

This year has been tough for my Streamlined Ska Librarian lifestyle, but if you can't enjoy moments in life...well, I don't know what the answer to that might be. You have to enjoy them, no matter how hard or tempting they are.

So, Happy Holiday season and don't hate food or yourself during this time. Celebrate the good times!

One good dessert shot made it!

Countdown to eating a lot, part 4: Sufganiyot Ice Cream

Well, I did say it was ice cream time.

My Streamlined Ska Librarian lifestyle usually means I'm not making a lot of ice cream as of late. An occasional sorbet, perhaps, but now I now save the ol' ice cream maker for the holiday season, or to make a tasty gift.

And I figure with maybe 15 people showing up, it's not like there will be double portions for me.

Some past holiday ice creams reflect the season (pumpkin, maple, cardamom), but this time I wanted to make something that reflected the Thankgivingukah season.

One of the few Chanukah type desserts are sufganiyot, or jelly donuts. Not a big fan and certainly not looking to fry up a bunch of doughy things.

But my faithful ice cream maker comes to rescue. I'm already making an assortment of pies, so why not a sufganiyot ice cream?

And here it is!

I made it very vanilla-like with orange hints, which gives it that cakey taste. As for the jam, I used blackberry preserves:

But any jam/jelly would do.


The Streamlined Ska Librarian's Sufganiyot Ice Cream (or Jelly Doughnut Ice Cream):

1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 tbps orange peel
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbps vanilla
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 egg yolks, beaten
jam of choice

In a double boiler, combine sugar, juice, peels and cinnamon and heat until combined. 
Add cream and half-and-half and cook until slightly thickened. 
Add vanilla. Cook until heated.
Take small amount of cream mixture and blend into the egg yolks until thoroughly mixed. Stir into cream.
Cook until thickened enough to coat a spoon.
Cool and chill in refrigerator (preferably overnight).
Place mixture in ice cream maker. When it's almost set, add a few spoonfuls of jam and let mix in.
Remove ice cream from machine. Add another spoonful of jam for good measure.
Set in freezer until dessert time!

I realize this is probably the most unhealthy item you'll ever see on this blog, but mindfully eating something once a year is, for me, ok. I know this will NOT be a nightly snack.



Enjoy!

Countdown to eating a lot, part 3: Cranberries!

And we're back to recipes! I just finished completing my Thanksgivingukah shopping list and here's the tentative menu:

Turkey a la Dan
Kielbosa-apple stuffing
Potato-onion kugel
Baked marinated tofu with 2 sauces (tomato-olive and chimichurri)
Kasha Varnishkes with onion-mushroom marmalade
Zucchini "pudding"
"2 Fat Ladies" Parsnip puree
Curried brussel sprouts
Sweet and sour cabbage
Creamed onions with bacon
Sweet potato corn bread
Cranberry-ginger compote
Buttermilk pies (one with fruit, one without)
Pear-cranberry pie
Pumpkin pie
Apple Pie Ice Cream
"Sufganiyot" Ice Cream (Basically a jelly donut ice cream)
Date-pistachio balls

Meat, vegetarian, kosher, trayf...it's got it all! You can see one of the experiments earlier this month is on the menu, while the other got cut out of the final list. So it goes...

But I do say this is "tentative" in that sometimes recipes get tweaked at the last minute. And sometimes there have been a few accidents. (The "spilled salt" incident totally killed one of these last year!)

Some of these are based on recipes found in cookbooks, but most have been tweaked by me. The exception is the 2 Fat Ladies dish. Such a decadent artery clogger....my regular Thanksgiving guests insist I make it the "traditional way" every year.

And the first thing I always cook is the cranberry compote. I love cranberries. I stock up on them, toss them in my freezer and use them throughout the year. 

My freezer before I went shopping!

 I love that cranberries freeze easy. I also love that most cranberries are fine to buy. No real brand preference for me. Or the excuse to try to be artisinal:

Do you hipsters honestly think Whole Foods just didn't dump a couple of bags into this water? Sheesh!

Ah, that makes me laugh every time I see it. 

But here we go with my happy, non-artisinal dish:

The Streamlined Ska Librarian's Cranberry-Ginger Compote

There are actually only three ingredients (plus one optional):

 

1 bag cranberries

maple syrup

fresh ginger (a large piece)

Optional booze of choice (this time we're using a Ginepro grappa, a gift from my hosts during my French vacation, although bourbon, rye and even tequila have been used in the past).

Rinse cranberries and pick out any bad ones.

Place in pot with enough maple syrup to cover

Cook over medium-low heat until simmering. 

Peel and cut ginger into small pieces and add to pot. Stir as needed.

(You can also squeeze the ginger juice directly in)  

As it thickens, you can, if you wish, add a few good splashes of the liquor.

Continue cooking down until it forms a thickened mixture:

Let cool and place in covered container. It can be refrigerated for several days (which is why I make it first!)

The tartness of the cranberry and the bite of the ginger work well with the earthy sweetness of maple syrup. And the grappa gives it a nice herbal finish. This also works well as an ice cream topping. 

Now we're on to ice cream making!

Countown to eating part a lot, part 2: Did you say radish? And Campari?

When I cam back from my time in Japan, I was more than happy to continue the Thanksgiving tradition at Chez Ska Librarian (still Retro in those days). But I had picked up a few tricks of the trade in Tokyo and wanted to fit those into the meal.

OK, so not really tricks. More like me doing my usual recipe tweaking much to the horror of my Japanese acquaintances. I always joked (joked, it's all in fun!) that the official motto of Japan should be "No substitutions on the menu." And that's basically a direct challenge for me!

One of the very ubiquitous (and one of the the few inexpensive) items one found at Japanese markets was the daikon radish:

You can buy one in Japan the size of an entire arm for about 2 bucks!

Daikons are usually used as a garnish or soup addition, just grated straight into the bowl. They taste...well, like radishes.

But I soon discovered another way to use this root. If you simmer or poach them in water or broth until soft, they become these sweet, soft, delicate pucks of tastiness. More mellow than a turnip. 

In Japan, it's a basic boil and then served with white miso. But after one or two tries like that, I began to wonder just how it would work with other flavors. I often poach chicken in vermouth, so why not these? They were deLISHous! So I added olives soaked in gin and made Martini Daikons. 

It was a fun idea, and I certainly have enough martini-loving pals, even if I don't drink them anymore. But I wanted to see if something else could be done with these big fellas. Something more festive that might work spice-wise for both Thanksgiving and Chanukah, yet also appeal to the non-meat eaters attending.

And I spied this in my kitchen:

Hmmm.....I know Campari is an acquired taste, but if your guests don't mind complex tartness, this is for you!

So I now present:

The Streamlined Ska Librarian's Campari Daikons

Wash, peel and slice the daikon into 1 inch discs. Score one side of them. 

In Japan, you're also supposed to bevel the edges. But shape however you like. Make them into Magen Davids. Or Turkeys!

Place daikon slices into large saucepan with enough liquid to cover. This one is:
1 part Campari
2 parts water
1 cinnamon stick

Bring to a simmer and cook until fork tender (about 25-30 minutes). Remove from liquid and let stand until room temperature. (You can also refrigerate them for a few days and bring back to room temp before serving).

And here we are:

Do these not look lovely? They're actually a little pinker than this photo. 

The sweetness of the cooked daikon with the spiciness of the Campari and cinnamon. Mmm...
These were eaten with some salty-savory snacks and the play of flavors was great.

Will this recipe make it to the Holiday(s) table? We'll see!

Countdown to eating a lot

Oh, where to begin? So many weight loss and weight maintenance studies our there. And yet, a recent study shows that a large percentage of research on obesity and nutrition tend to overstate their results. Is this really a surprise? I also think the topic lends itself to that. We like to grab onto a definitive "solution" or "answer" when it comes to obesity and nutrition. I know I've certainly been guilty of cherry-picking data I need to make a point. But then again, I'm just blogging here, not claiming I've done grant-funded research. 

I do recommend you seek out the entire article. But that's not where we're going now....

I'm going to take a break from some of the usual format this month and go for a theme. We're coming up on one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. For almost every T-day for the past 22 years, I've hosted anywhere from 3 to 30 people for the feast. Over the years, I've gotten intoa "zone" where I cook EVERYTHING, down to making ice cream for the pies. All guests just bring drinks, themselves and an appetite. It's worked out very well. 

I have some standard favorite dishes (there are a few I've been told can never leave the menu), but it also gives me a chance to try some new things each year. Very rarely is there a true cock-up (more often the casualties are dropped dishes). And I actually find it very enjoyable to just prepare and cook up a storm for a week. 

This year, however, we have a slightly different agenda. Thanksgiving falls on the first night of Chanukah. Yes, the All-American holiday where we all gather together to give thanks and eat a lot of food we may avoid most of the year is now being mixed up with a Jewish holiday where ... we all gather together to give thanks for being alive and eating a lot of food we may avoid most of the year.

Hmmm...this shouldn't be too hard.

Except when you're a kid and you probably feel more left out when everyone around gets Xmas presents, Chanukah doesn't play a big role in many adult Jews lives (or Adult Jews with no kids, I should say). 

Yes, it commemorates, as do many Jewish Holidays, our survival at almost being wiped out, and, like most Jewish holidays, it involved a lot of fried food. And I don't want to be frying latkes just as we're all sitting down to turkey.

So how to combine these two holidays into one super food day?

The rest of this month, I'll be trying out a few recipes and sharing them online. As you know, it's hard for me to actually write down amounts, but I will do my best to ensure you can all share in this. Yes, yes, I am very magnanimous that way.

One of the things I often skip or avoid is a bread with Thanksgiving dinner. In the past there's been pumpkin biscuits, a basic wheat loaf, polentas "crackers" but most often I buy a baguette or two. But I've been toying with a cornbread idea. It's quick, easy and goes well with the all those fall foods. 

But how to make it Chanukah-like? I've seen a few pumpkin or sweet potato corn breads. And a traditional Jewish dish is tzimmes. My family made it with carrots, but I had some yams, which is also "traditional." So why not make a Tzimmes Cornbread? Hmmmm...

I used yams and prunes. I think carrots may be added next time, but yams were a nice thought because you can microwave them very fast. And I thought using coconut oil added another "fruit" flavor to it. I also tend to favor my cornbread more on the corn side with less flour. I actually dropped the flour on the floor (see? that's my thing!) and after that clean-up, I substituted chickpea flour. The end result was good but I think whole wheat flour would work a little better, giving it a little less density. 

I decided to spice it with middle eastern spices and spiked the prunes. The result:

It was fragrant, sweet yet not too much (which is sort on un-tzimmes like) but a nice amalgam of holidays!
This could be good with gravy or applesauce and sour cream! Or even with peanut butter as a snack.


Will it make it to the holiday table in a few weeks? We shall see...

The Streamlined Ska Librarian's "Tzimmes" Cornbread:

12 prunes, cut up

1/4 cup bourbon or rye

1 1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsps ras al hanout

1/4 tsp dried mint

salt to taste 

2 egg whites 

3 tbps coconut oil

1 to 1 1/2 cups yams, cooked 

1/4 cup yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk

1/2 cup honey

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Soak the prunes in the bourbon

3. Combine next 5 ingredients

4. Add next 5 and mix well

5. Stir in prunes and bourbon. Adjust seasoning

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. 

References

Menachemi, Nir, Gabriel Tajeu, Bisakha Sen, Alva O. Ferdinand, Chelsea Singleton, Janice Utley, Olivia Affuso, and David B. Allison. “Overstatement of Results in the Nutrition and Obesity Peer-Reviewed Literature.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 45, no. 5 (November 2013): 615–621. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2013.06.019.

Hormones and Amends

And now as another season of the Jewish High Holy Days have come to a close, let's get back to the blog. Actually Sukkot is here and that probably deserves an blog post about holiday eating (or the childhood memory of somebody always bringing Cheez Doodles to hang in the sukkah alongside the fruit). But that will hold for a bit.

This year was more introspective than usual. I attended some quieter groups as opposed to the major synagogue events. Not that I don't love my "shul family," but the transition from clergy spouse to just a "regular" guy has been a little odd when it comes to holidays. Even these few years later, I needed to be a little more quiet about my need to make amends and reflect on what I can do make this year better. And reflect on the changes that have already happened.

Let's jump back to macro level for a bit and talk about other changes, body-wise (which is, after all, the posts many come here to read).
After about a year of major weight training, I began to notice various body changes and not only in my waist and muscle size. It was almost as if I was having some bizarre reaction to drugs or supplements (which I was not taking! This is clean living body, baby!) A check with my doctor showed that my testosterone level had spiked dramatically. Evidently all that intense resistance training can indeed cause that "manly" upgrade. And yes, studies show that to be true.

Yeah...how YOU doin'?

But aside from being able to walk around work with that additional "strut factor", I guess it was good timing for a blog post because another recent study has shown that the lowered levels of both testosterone and estrogen in middle-aged men contribute to the fat levels around our bellies (and our waning sex drives). It turns out my "donut" was bound to happen, even if I managed to up the amount of deadlifts and reverse flys. 

So I seemed to have helped myself in ways without even knowing! Good for me! Keeping my donut to pop'em size and keeping my testosterone in the XXL aisle! 

And that's all well and good.  But let's go back to reflection for a moment.

I started this blog after having hit my weight and doing tons of research on weight maintenance. Part of me wanted to share what worked for me and what research I found. Part of me just wanted to be part of a larger group. And part of me wanted to demark this the current chapter of my life.

So, as I continue to reflect on this upcoming year and we near the 2nd anniversary of maintenance, I want to thank all of those who have supported me. Not just in my weight, but in my attempts to be a better person. 

One of my friends said to me during a rather dark Retro Ska Librarian period, "Dan, the thing is that, no matter what, you are an optimist." And it's true. Cynical, snarky, smart-aleck...but an optimist.

You can change your body and your life. You can even change the amount of hormones you produce solely from exercise. But it's hard to change something fundamentally inside of you. 

May this year bring out the better qualities in all of us. And anyone needing some extra testosterone....well, I seem to have plenty!

References:

Finkelstein, Joel S., Hang Lee, Sherri-Ann M. Burnett-Bowie, J. Carl Pallais, Elaine W. Yu, Lawrence F. Borges, Brent F. Jones, et al. “Gonadal Steroids and Body Composition, Strength, and Sexual Function in Men.” New England Journal of Medicine 369, no. 11 (2013): 1011–1022. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1206168.

Tremblay, Mark S., Jennifer L. Copeland, and Walter Van Helder. “Effect of Training Status and Exercise Mode on Endogenous Steroid Hormones in Men.” Journal of Applied Physiology 96, no. 2 (February 1, 2004): 531–539. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00656.2003.

A Sweet Streamlined New Year

Tomorrow night begins Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Now, as many kinds and versions and opinions of Judaism exist, you're going to find as many different takes on the High Holy Days. But if I may add my own opinion (as the ex-husband of a rabbi, if that actually counts for anything), Rosh Hashana is the time to begin reflection on your past year's actions and think of how you want to be a better person for the coming year. It's less about the classic New Year resolutions ("I want this to happen") and more about personal accountability ("I won't do things this way, but rather that way.")

But even though it's about our own actions, it doesn't mean there's not some festivities among the hours of reflection. One of the main traditions is to dip apples in honey, thereby ensuring a sweet new year. That simple bit of nibble (which is actually pretty healthy) has been co-opted and transformed into honey based baked goods.

Traditional Jewish honey cake can vary from something equivalent to a rum fruitcake to the overly sweet but dry cake we try very hard to avoid.

I've made some mega ingredient cakes, but I thought it might be nice to find something I could share with friends and coworkers and keep my own portion control easy to manage. So I went for honey cookies. 

I was figuring that applesauce would be a nice addition, both for cutting the shortening and adding that nice apple flavor.

I did a lot of research and found a lot of oatmeal based cookies, which I wasn't too keen on cooking (I eat enough oatmeal.) But then I found a recipe from the Canadian Honey Council via Beemaid Honey's recipe section. I was a little taken aback but intrigued: It uses a lot of honey but no sugar and very little shortening. The batter ends up cakelike and the cookies very soft.

They were honey-intense but not sweet. However, they really needed some kick and maybe a little crunch. I amped up the spices (adding several more) and sprinkled brown sugar on top before baking to add a sort of caramelized crunch. I also used unsweetened applesauce, so the brown sugar helped even that out.

The original recipe also called for raisins and nuts. I put neither in, but I do think chocolate chips would be awesome in these.

So here are my sweet concoctions:

L'Shana Tovah!

And here is my recipe:

The Streamlined Ska Librarian's Adapted Rosh Hashana Spice Cookies (inspired by The Canadian Honey Council's Applesauce Cookies)

1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp vanilla
brown sugar (for topping)
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
 
Cream honey and butter together. Add applesauce and eggs.
Sift dry ingredients together and add to honey mixture. Blend well.
Add vanilla and fold in chips and/or raisins (if using)
Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake at 350F for about 10-12 minutes...until done.

Enjoy and may this coming season and year be sweet, fulfilling and worthwhile. And don't forget to dance!

Is dieting sacred?

Continuing on with Pesach...

Matzoh brei with mushrooms, onions, mustard greens, habanero and tuna. 
Turning tradition on it's tasty head!

I know I will be disappointing my legions of fans, but I'm not terribly observant of dietary restrictions for holidays, especially if I feel it's going to lead to unhealthy eating. And lots of carbs, sugary confections and dense creations tend to come along this time of year, both from my own background and the pastel foods of Easter. Just as I don't think that fasting when you're sick shows your piety above others, I do not believe that just sticking to ancient dietary tenets are more important than, you know, the OTHER stuff in religion about neighborliness and helping others.  I'd rather be a healthy, good person than just strictly scriptural. 


And yet, there was a recent op-ed piece about how if we follow what was written in the Talmud and in Ancient Greece, we would all be healthier. Many philosophers, educators and physicians of olden times talked about not eating til one was full, but rather letting that space be left in ourselves. Whatever the reasoning behind that, it does show that portion control is not a new idea. 

The article also states that it was felt that "excessive consumption would disrupt the four humors constituting the human body." But I think we just have to look at Roman orgies with their vomitoriums and the excessive banquets of Byzantium to see that ignoring portion control is also not a new idea. 

What I find funny, or sad (or both) is that this still is treated like some sort of new, amazing answer to our growing obesity problem. And the reactions I get from folks when I say that portion control is part of my regimen is almost akin to saying you can only eat beets for a year. 

I'd like to say it's not that hard. But it is. One of those words is "control" and that is never easy. The mere fact it's mentioned in early religious and medical texts means there was a call to remind people to do it. 

And yet it is easier than trying to "diet." Every time a friend or acquaintance or online buddy tells me that they're about to go on a new restrictive, odd-timing food plan, I can only shake my head. Why go into a system where you're given no control and therefore more apt to continue?

There are also so many contradictions in going the extreme route. For example, here's a recent article that studied the different types of gut bacteria and their role in weight loss of people with bariatric surgery. Neat, huh?

And then here's another one that shows an increase in weight based on gut bacteria. Oops!

Whether you are religious, a classicist, or just a tattooed librarian who'd rather not go back to their "big boy" pants, let's break this millenia-old chain of choosing to not control what we eat. To err in our eating habits is human, to be able to walk away from that is ...well, I won't say "divine" but it does make you feel a lot better!  
 


References:

Crane, Jonathan K. “The Talmud and Other Diet Books.” The New York Times, March 26, 2013, sec. Opinion. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/opinion/the-talmud-and-other-diet-books.html.

Liou, Alice P., Melissa Paziuk, Jesus-Mario Luevano, Sriram Machineni, Peter J. Turnbaugh, and Lee M. Kaplan. “Conserved Shifts in the Gut Microbiota Due to Gastric Bypass Reduce Host Weight and Adiposity.” Science Translational Medicine 5, no. 178 (March 27, 2013): 178ra41–178ra41. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3005687.

Mathur, R., M. Amichai, K. S. Chua, J. Mirocha, G. M. Barlow, and M. Pimentel. “Methane and Hydrogen Positivity on Breath Test Is Associated With Greater Body Mass Index and Body Fat.” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (March 26, 2013). doi:10.1210/jc.2012-3144.

Let My People Eat

It's that time of year again. Yes, it's Pesach. Or Passover. Or, if you come from Holland, the unfortunately misnamed "Jewish Easter" (You cannot make that up.)

Which means one week of:

 
Yes, to remember that escape from slavery and hardship, we eat unleavened bread which tastes like cardboard. Which means that we start finding tons of faux food recipes to use matzoh in a creative and tasty way. There's matzoh lasagne, matzoh peanut brittle, matzoh meal cakes and the ever popular matzoh brei, which causes more arguments among people as to it's preparation than there are types of pizza in this country.

I myself alternate between a savory onion and mushroom version and a sweet version with maple syrup. Of course there was the time I made it with kimchi and daikon:

People will do anything to cover up the taste of matzoh for the week. (Except for the Dutch, who eat the stuff year round because they love it and they're not even Jewish. What is WITH that country?)  

But the thing is, it's supposed to be tasteless and a hardship to eat. It's supposed to make us reflect on what it symbolizes. And it's for one lousy week, not 40 years. Not only is faux food just naturally annoying, it covers up the true meaning of the holiday.  

But in the interest of using matzoh effectively during the week, let me share a recipe that I developed during my Retro Ska Librarian Days. It's not entirely unhealthy, but let's face it: matzoh is just one big carb cracker. But you can change it up.

I made this up one day after I read about chicken cooked over bread. I figured it was a worth a try and it is now the hit of many seders.

The Streamlined Ska Librarian's Chicken with Matzoh "Stuffing"  

Ingredients:

• Chicken parts (preferably with skin)  
• Matzoh (enough sheets to make two layers in the pan)  
• Olive oil 
• Onions, sliced thin 
• Garlic, chopped  
• Lemons, sliced thin (with peel)  
• Rosemary  
• Thyme  
• Salt & Pepper to taste   

 You'll notice I don't list measurements. This is really a "use what you need" kind of recipe.  

1. Combine oil, onions, garlic, lemon, rosemary and thyme in large ziploc bag. Add chicken and coat thoroughly. Let sit in marinade in refrigerator for a 1-2 hours.

I only have small baggies, so it was divided into two

2. Preheat oven to 350.  

3. Layer two layers of matzoh in the bottom of a roasting pan or baking dish, interspersed with some of the marinade. Place chicken and rest of marinade on top. Salt and pepper to taste.
 

I'm using whole wheat matzoh. It has a semblance of healthier eating!

4. Roast for about 70-90 minutes or until chicken is done.  

5. Remove chicken. Scramble matzoh and marinade together to form a "stuffing."
 

 
Mmm...the marinade and chickeny goodness form a combo of crispiness and hearty dumpling-like quality. This would most likely work well with many kinds of meat.

Happy Passover!