Cooking Kosher the New Way
by Jane Kinderlehrer

As a child brought up in a kosher home, changing to a vegetarian diet was not so difficult. I already had a restricted menu that was devoid of pork and shellfish, and dairy and meat meals were not mixed in any one meal, in according with Jewish dietary law. So I keep a couple of Jewish cookbooks on my kitchen shelf to get ideas or to find recipes not only for Jewish holidays, but also for vegetarian meals.

Every Jewish cookbook has recipes for meatless dishes using grains, beans and vegetables, fruit and dairy dishes, and pareve dishes. (Pareve foods are those that can be used with either a meat or dairy meal and these include eggs and fish, as well as fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans.)

Unfortunately, many commercial kosher foods are not healthy; they are heavily processed with high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, as well as questionable additives, preservatives, and artificial colors. Fortunately, I have a copy of Jane Kinderlehrer’s Cooking Kosher the New Way: Fast, Lite & Natural. (I also owned her first version of this book, Cooking Kosher the Natural Way, so this is its updated sequel or second generation cookbook.) Now I can create healthy vegetarian meals and keep my culinary traditions as well.

The Introduction sets the tone of the book, because it is entitled “Kosher is Not Enough.” In this section the author explains the actual meaning of the word kosher, which literally means “fit or proper to be used.” Meat must be slaughtered in a certain way by a person trained to do this. There are other restrictions, which the book delineates, but for my purposes, the non-meat sections are my main interest. For example, Chapter Five is entitled “Expand Your Vegetable Horizons” and Chapter Fifteen is labeled “TOFU: The Pareve Wonder.” In browsing through the chapters, I think there may be more non-meat than meat chapters, which makes this a good recipe resource for me.

Perhaps the best part of this book is Jane Kinderlehrer’s emphasis on keeping traditional Jewish foods in her book while changing the recipes to be healthier. Thus, the next section of her Introduction is entitled “How to Add Nutrition to Tradition.” She actually states the following: “Let’s face it. Grandma’s old favorites were high in sugar, salt, and hydrogenated fats.” In Cooking Kosher the New Way, the author promises to give families both tradition AND nutrition, thus combining “the taste of love and an enduring link to our culinary roots.”

For Hanukkah, I consulted two Jewish cookbooks: the one reviewed here and another one called The Gourmet Jewish Cook by Judy Zeidler, which I will review in a future posting, probably around Passover, because that cookbook has some interesting variations on a traditional food used at the Passover Seder. But for the December posting, I am printing Jane Kinderlehrer’s Potato Latke (pancake) recipe, since this is a traditional food for Hanukkah. It is one of the few times that I deep fry in oil. Because it is a Jewish holiday, I bend my rule for not frying and indulge myself with luscious latkes.

Jane Kinderlehrer’s Crispy Potato Latkes (Pancakes) from p. 113 in Cooking Kosher the New Way

(This photo is from my kitchen, not from the book.)

5 medium-size unpeeled potatoes, well-scrubbed and cubed
2 eggs
1/4 cup wheat germ, whole wheat flour, or matzo meal
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste, or omit the salt and use herbal seasoning or a dash of cinnamon
Oil for frying*
In the bowl of a food processor, using the steel blade, blend all the ingredients (except the oil).
In a large frying pan, heat oil about 1/4 inch deep until it sizzles.
Drop the potato mixture by the tablespoon into the hot oil. Brown well on both sides, then drain on several layers of paper toweling. Serve the latkes piping hot with applesauce, sour cream, and yogurt.

*Note from Ellensue: When I fry, I use olive or macadamia oil, butter or coconut oil, whatever is available in my pantry or refrigerator at the time.

Yield: About 30 latkes, 6 to 8 servings

Baked Potato Latkes Variation: If you’d rather not fry the latkes, place them on an oiled cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until they are well browned. They’re not so crispy as the fried, but they are good-tasting nevertheless.

Potato Kegel Variation: Pour the misture into 8 X 12 baking dish and place in a 350 degree F. oven for 45 minutes or until well browned. Cut into squares and serve piping hot.

Muffin Latkes Variation: Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degree F. (Check Kitchen Nutrition Recipe for my own recipe for potato-vegetable latke muffins.)

Note: You can freeze potato latkes, which will save you lots of hassle when you have a big crowd of latke-lovers to feed. After making the latkes, place them on a cookie sheet, freeze, then transfer to a plastic bag for easy storage. When you are ready to serve, arrange them on a cookie sheet and heat in a 450 degree F. oven for about 5 minutes.

Cooking Kosher the New Way is published by Jonathan David Publishers, Inc., MIddle Village, NY and was released in 1995.

(Note: If you are pressed for time, you can scroll down to the actual day of my birthday: December 2nd: Turning 70 for the Cycles of Life ceremony.)

I turned 70 in December 2007, a real milestone birthday for me. At 40 I was preoccupied with the pregnancy of my 3rd child; at 50 I was busy figuring out if I should stay married or not after 30 years with my husband (I didn’t stay married); and at 60 I was busy relocating to Seattle to see whether I could survive as a natural foods cook, which I could have, but missed family back home. So 70 is finally the decade where I think I can focus on my “golden girl years” and how I plan to use whatever years are left to leave the planet a better place than when I came onto it. A dear college friend just lost her husband of 40 plus years, so I feel the pull of mortality more strongly and want my 7th decade to be the best ever.

November in California:
The celebration actually started in Northern California in early November when all my siblings attended the bar mitzvah of my older sister’s only grandson, Zach. My older sister died three years ago (my first wake-up call about mortality) and the rest of us felt we should all go to the bar mitzvah as a show of love and support for Susan (my niece and Zach’s mom) and her family. It was a wonderful long week-end with mild weather and only one rainy day.

On Sunday, after the festivities for Zach were over, we had Sunday brunch to celebrate the various birthdays of my siblings and their spouses, many of whom were turning 65 or 70. In between we also had various children’s birthdays in October, November, and December, including my son in November and the bar mitzvah boy in December.

My niece and nephew’s home in Tiburon (just north of San Francisco) is spectacular. In fact, it was featured in a magazine a couple of years ago. (The photo on my Home Page is a snapshot of the back of their house.) The brunch was prepared by a good friend of Susan’s and the relaxed atmosphere was perfect after all the formal aspects of the bar mitzvah. Below is a photo taken at the brunch. The 65 and 70 birthday “kids” wore buttons my sister-in-law Carol brought, which said, “Kiss me, it’s my birthday.” Carol added a 65 or 70 on the ribbon.

(Family photo at the brunch, with me at the far left leaning on the bench next to my niece Susan with son Zach on her lap. My husband Alan is on my left in the cranberry shirt.)

After the brunch, we drove back towards the airport and met my older son Ira and his wife Samantha for a quiet celebration at a restaurant that faces the Golden Gate Bridge. We watched the sun sink into the horizon. It was spectacular and a lovely way to end the week-end. My gift was a special tea maker that I am using to brew myself some herbal teas.

Another Sagittarian Birthday

Right before my birthday (November 30th), my dear friend Amparo flew all the way from Florida just to come to my women’s gathering. The second night of her arrival, my husband, Amparo, another friend whose birthday was in November, and I went to Horizons, a delicious vegan gourmet restaurant in Philadelphia. (I reviewed their cookbook, Horizon’s Café in the September 2006 posting.)

Dinner was delicious and lots of fun in a relaxed atmosphere. We had four decades present—Amparo turned 55, I was 69 and counting, my husband is 74, and our other friend is in her mid- 80s. But the decades melted as we shared good stories and good food. (Below is a picture of Amparo and me taken on Sunday.)

---

Turning 70

The next celebration was at our apartment near Philadelphia on. On my apartment door I placed this poster:

The gathering was “for women only” and featured a ceremony using several beverages to designate phases of women’s lives. I also placed quotes around the room and asked each person to choose a quote that spoke to her. The one I chose was a quip by Dorothy Parker, my favorite female writer: “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

(Go to This ‘n That for a list of the other quotes).

I also asked everyone to bring a flower for a birthday bouquet. I placed it in the center of the coffee table and put the cups and drinks around it, with Amparo’s help.

The ceremony involved drinking to the various cycles of our lives. Several years ago, in Moment magazine, I had read about this ceremony in an article by Phyllis Ocean Berman, who I believe lives in Philadelphia. She wanted to acknowledge female rites of passage from menses through menopause and created this ceremony. I added the two beverages for cycle 4 and cycle 6 as well as the quotes/readings. Here are the beverages and phases to go with the drinks in case you want to try this at your next women’s gathering. (The quotes are taken from a little book called “The Big Little Book of Jewish Wit & Wisdom,” edited by Sally Ann Berk and published by Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 2000.)

(A snapshot of one of the readings.)

1. Wine or any red beverage (ex. cherry juice): This signifies menses. I read from Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monlogues, choosing the one on girls’ reactions to having their periods for the first time. I remember when this monlogue was done onstage and it was a powerful “episode”.
2. Champagne: This represents young love and dating in our teens and twenties. This is the quote by author Erica Jong that someone chose and I asked her to read: “Men and Women, women and men. It will never work.”
3. Milk (Dairy or non-Dairy; I served both): This represents nurturing, even if you never had children. It could mean nurturing a parent or nieces and nephews or friends.
This Yiddish Proverb seemed to fit here: “Everyone is kneaded from the same bread but not baked in the same oven.”
4. Punch: This can be any mixed fruit drink, with or without a bit of rum. It represents midlife “unexpectancies,” such as death of a child or spouse, divorce, career changes, returning to college or graduate school, buying a new house, etc. This quote by author Judy Blume worked here: “My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell if you need it.”
5. Sparkling Water: The sparkling water represents menopause, when women no longer menstruate and move into what Native Americans call “Women of the wise blood,” that is, we no longer lose blood, so we retain our wisdom. A good quote for this cycle is one by Julia Child: “Life itself is the proper binge.”
6. Sparking Apple Cider: This stands for PMZ or post-menopausal zest, a term attributed to Margaret Mead. Cider has a bite to it, so the sparkling cider is one notch zestier than sparkling water, because by the time we are Crones*, we have a right, or maybe an obligation, to speak up for ourselves and for those women unable to do so for themselves. There are many quotes for this time of life. Here is just one from Mae West: “You’re never to old to become younger.”
(When I asked my husband which beverage would be appropriate for post-menopausal zest, he suggested prune juice. I put out a bottle just for fun.)

*Crone: My New Oxford American Dictionary, a previous birthday present from my daughter’s partner Maura who works at the press, defines crone in a negative light: “an old woman who is thin and ugly.” I choose to redefine crone as a woman who has survived many decades and has become wiser with each passing year, especially after menopause, when she becomes a wiseblood woman, as described above.

After the ceremony, we had dessert (fruit salad, yogurt, and kamish bread, somewhat like a Jewish biscotti, from my neighbor Mildred. ) We also had a book swapping table. Each guest brought one or two books she no longer wanted and took one or two in exchange. I picked out two of Nicholas Sparks’ books and have finished one and am almost done with the second. Good reads if you like love stories.

I put two quotes by the book swapping table:
“There are perhaps no days of childhood we lived so fully as those spent with a favorite book.” Marcel Proust
“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Jerry Seinfeld

Friends at my Birthday Gathering (two came later) I am sitting on the floor in a red Chinese jacket that was my deceased older sister’s. I wore it in remembrance of her vibrant life.

Hanukkah Surprise

My next birthday celebration was a surprise birthday cake at a Hanukkah party with our Havurah group the next Friday, December 7th. It was a lovely gesture on the part of a new friend, Ronnie Manlin, who was unable to attend my gathering. I was really touched by the gesture….and the cake was delicious as well! Thanks, Ronnie.

Celebrating with my Daughters

Then I went to State College to see my older daughter and family and celebrated there. Finally, I will go to Brooklyn to celebrate with my younger daughter and partner to enjoy my final birthday celebration.

I have the feeling that I need all these celebrations over a two-month period to adjust to the fact that I am now 70, surpassing the ages that my mother (66) and older sister (68) lived. That feels strange, so celebrating gradually seems to be working.

I feel happy to have reached my 7th decade with so many friends and a loving family and a wonderful new husband. The problems of the planet and of life seem much more manageable when you are surrounded by love and light. Recently, I read a delightful book entitled Jane Austen in Boca by Paula Marantz Cohen. I found this quote by one of the author’s characters that really spoke to me as an editor and writer and sums up my feelings at this time of my life.

“I want my last years to be like a well-edited story or a fine, short poem.”