Yep. Here it is. From Singer himself, in response to the Jewcy vegetarian dialogue. Truly, all things are possible, if only you pester, flatter, beg, and resort to myriad other methods of persuasion, inducement, coercion. Here's his take. — Joey  [Also, read Peter Singer's recent Jewcy article, here.]

Where does Charles Eisenstein get this "vegetarians must kill" stuff, as if all vegetarians have the same reason for being vegetarian, and it's about killing? He's obviously deeply out of touch with the modern animal rights movement, which is at least as concerned about suffering as killing. I wrote Animal Liberation without ever appealing to arguments against killing—in fact I specifically set them aside, saying that they were more complicated, and not required for the case I was making against the way we treat animals. And yes, that book does have a chapter arguing that we should be vegetarians.

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Eater has the scoop:

RUSH: I gotta tell you a funny story that happened last night. As you know, we're here in New York. I'm coming to you today from high atop the EIB Building in Midtown Manhattan. I told you about this Kobe Club steakhouse, Jeffrey Chodorow's place. I went to it two or three weeks ago when I was here, and I absolutely loved it. I had a great time. I went in there last night and they told me a slew of people have come in to check the place out.

(Hat tip: Max Gross)

I once heard that if you're male and you break off pieces of your pealed banana rather than just bite into the sucker whole, you're insecure about your sexuality. (No word on gay guys who break instead of bite.)

Anyway, if you eat dog cock in China, your arteries are as clean as Fifth Avenue on a four-day weekend:

The dish in front of me is grey and shiny.

"Russian dog," says my waitress Nancy.

"Big dog," I reply.

"Yes," she says. "Big dog's penis..."

We are in a cosy restaurant in a dark street in Beijing but my appetite seems to have gone for a stroll outside.

Nancy has brought out a whole selection of delicacies.

They are draped awkwardly across a huge platter, with a crocodile carved out of a carrot as the centrepiece.

Nestling beside the dog's penis are its clammy testicles, and beside that a giant salami-shaped object.

"Donkey," says Nancy. "Good for the skin..."

She guides me round the penis platter.

"Snake. Very potent. They have two penises each."

I did not know that.

My favorite M.O.T. chef and New York Times writer Mark Bittman (did anyone else catch him whistling Hatikvah at the start of his online Falafel segment a few weeks back?), published a masterpiece this week.

Chef Mark's Wednesday columns get me out of bed early any Wednesday morning, but yesterday's "Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less" literally brought tears of joy to my eyes. Clearly I'm not the only one who enjoyed: by noon yesterday it was the most circulated article on the Times website, and it continues to be today.

For good reason, too. All the recipes are less than four sentences in length, including the ingredient list. None require fancy equipment. And unlike most quick and uninspired summer recipes, Chef Mark did not succumb to the BBQ's lure. Though I'd devour a good steak or burger on the grill any night, how good does five minute scallop ceviche with lime and chili sound (nb: I'd add fresh cilantro or mint)?

Yes, Chef Mark's recipes are often brazenly trayf, but in a nod to his bubby, he included a "recipe" for blintzes ("Buy good blintzes. Brown them on both sides in butter. Serve with sour cream, apple sauce or both."). I'm sure he would love to teach us how to cook blintzes from scratch (a future column, dear Mark?), but that is not his point here.

Plus, who (besides me) really wants to make dough and roll blintzes in the heat of summer? For now I'll take cold soba noodles with dipping sauce instead. Indeed, there are plenty of vegetarian and kosher-able recipes on this list. Grilled eggplant with crumbled goat cheese and olive oil? Yum.

He even gets us cooking things most would avoid: five minute sautéed chicken livers on toast, for example. And you gotta love this one-liner dinner: "Canned sardines packed in olive oil on Triscuits, with mustard and Tabasco."

The highest grossing restaurant in the U.S. features a 20 foot golden Buddha in the center of its dining room. With over $55 million in sales last year, Tao Las Vegas garnered the title from Restaurants and Institutions Magazine annual list.

I think we need to stop and think about this for a moment. Would a restaurant with a giant cross or phat Magen David hanging from the chandeliers sell as well? Of course not. Only certain religions need apply. Zen-appeal is a must. That's what keeps the $39 souvenir Buddhas flying off the shelves at Tao Las Vegas. Now you too can have instant karma in your suburban McMansion.

With Tao Las Vegas, we see that some religions are just sexier than others.

I'm not sure why certain religions are cool, but I think it's somewhat similar to our selective eating habits. Why, for example, are fried calamari perfectly acceptable and delectable to many a reformed-Jew, yet ordering pork chops seems somehow wrong--either to our taste buds or our faith? Hamburger with a glass of milk? No, thanks. Moo Shu Pork, yes please.

Cookbook historian (and NYU Performance Studies prof) Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett calls this phenomenon within Jewish eating "selectively trayf" behavior. For some reason certain foods are culturally acceptable while others are not.

I was reminded of this last week while dining at one of the local kosher delis/Chinese restaurants in Montreal (only in Jewish cuisine is it perfectly normal for wontons to be served alongside pastrami). The new item on the menu at Ernie and Ellie's is "Kosherimp." While not actual shellfish in this case, shrimp is nevertheless a very sellable item to Jewish diners. But would Porksher ever make it to the menu? I don't think so.

Jews have long championed the therapeutic properties of Matzoh Ball Soup, but the Japanese have put a whole new spin on Cup Noodles with this latest spa treatment.

Hakone Kowakien Yunessun Spa now offers a giant bowl of ramen seasoned with the requisite spices and a massive dash of salt and pepper for group dunks. According to the owners of the chichi spa: "The aroma of pepper is said to have the effects of refreshing your mind, warming your burned-out heart and inflaming your passion."

Ramen will never be the same. 

Read what The Impulsive Buy blog has to say about Japan's newest beverage craze, proving that the futuristic island nation has chutzpah, or, in the Japanese, 傍若無人 (ぼうじゃくぶじん).

Ok, I can't promise a recipe every week. But I can promise you'll be able to make homemade jam. And no, this recipe does not involve sterilizing jars, making wax lids, or using pectin. Just sugar and strawberries and a bit of lemon juice (fresh squeezed, always).

Freaked out that summer's nearing its end? Homemade jam is a great way to keep that summer taste on your tongue a little while longer.

You'll need a lot of fresh strawberries. Do yourself and the environment a favor and buy local. It's summer, after all, and delicious produce is aplenty. At my farmer's market I got a deal on a big crate of almost over-ripe strawberries.

Follow this recipe for some insider tips.

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As a foodie who also happens to be a graduate student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, I suppose it's no surprise that I often combine my passions for Judaism and food. Memories of the Great Synagogue in Florence, Italy are paired with recollections of a nearby trattoria, with images of horseshoe-arched entrances living alongside equally potent memories of truffled pasta. A similar melding occurs when I teach, and of course, when I write on my blog, where Jewish history finds its way into posts about beignets or whatever else is cooking in my kitchen.

The latest manifestation of this habit? A cookbook raffle intended to raise money for the 2007 Jewish Environmental Bike Ride. The ride is sponsored by Hazon whose food team I joined this past May, and proceeds from the ride are used to fund a wide array of worthy projects: 10 organic farms around the US, an organic farming initiative in Israel, and a food curriculum for Jewish day schools, which teaches children about a vast array of important topics surrounding Judaism, nutrition and the environment. These are just a few of the initiatives funded by the ride and I wanted to contribute to the cause - but what could I do?

70 Prizes. One Amazing Cause.That's when a crazy idea hit me. As a foodblogger who has reviewed cookbooks on her site, I've been in touch with publishing houses like Hyperion and HarperCollins - what if I asked them to donate books to a raffle that would raise funds for the NY Ride? I wasn't sure they would go for it but it never hurts to ask, so I shot a few emails their way and, to my surprise, they were eager to support the cause. Now thanks to donations from Hyperion, HarperCollins, Ten Speed Press, Penguin and Chronicle Books I'm holding a cookbook raffle on my site, Baking and Books, with more than 70 prizes for raffle participants to win. Tickets cost only $5 with free tickets being thrown into the mix for donations of $25 (1 free ticket) and $50 (2 free tickets). The raffle is a fun way to support Jewish education while also increasing awareness about the environment and important food issues. Check it out.

My favorite sexist food blogger Marvo, from The Impulsive Buy, reviews Wendy's Baconator:

Wendy’s Baconator has a name usually reserved for those college students who fully take advantage of the all-you-can-eat breakfast bar in the dormitory cafeteria or the wingmen who takes home the fat chicks.

In this day and age of Ciabatta bread and chipotle peppers, the Baconator’s simplicity is comforting, like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk or nestling my head in between the voluptuous bosom of a woman.

Of course, what’s not comforting about the Baconator is its nutritional values, which makes the Big Mac’s seem small, like a penis after being dunked in the cold water.

Thanks, Marvo. Always looking for an image of a reproductive organ dunked in cold water when I'm sitting down to eat. Marvo referred to the Baconator's nutritional values, so for you health-conscious readers, the Baconator provides a good portion of your daily calories, 830, and probably many days recommended fat intake (51 grams of fat, 22 grams of saturated fat). Eat with at least half a bottle of ketchup and one of them Wendy's Frosties.

Dave LiebermanLast year, Heeb Magazine's Food Issue declared England's half Jewish "domestic goddess," Nigella Lawson, the hottest yid in the kitchen. Honestly, I think they could have done better. With her zaftig, old-world body and tantalizing frosted cupcakes, Ms. Lawson is the obvious choice. But that's just it - she's too obvious. I want a dreamboat who will spice things up. I want someone who will whisk me out of my comfort (food) zone towards culinary delights I never imagined possible. I nominate Dave Lieberman.

Dave is a Yale Graduate (did you hear that Mom?) who's primary extra curriculur activity was running a public access cooking show. His culinary prowess landed him two shows on The Food Network, "Good Deal" and "Eat This," and his nice Jewish boy image coupled with country-club good looks secured him a spot as one of People Magazine's 50 hottest bachelors. (natch.)

When it comes to personal kitchen style, Dave is down to earth but never vanilla. Think Cannellini Bean Soup with Kale and Garlic-Olive Oil Crostini and Falafel Sandwiches with Sesame Mint Yogurt Sauce. His episode on Aphrodisiacs was particularly swoon worthy! But despite his past successes, it is Dave's latest endeavor that really sets me ablaze. In his new show, "In Search of Real Food" Dave travels across the country discovering regional comfort food and exotic eats along the way. Imagine it: the open road, great food, and Dave's adventurous spirit and genuine lust for life behind the wheel - it almost makes me overlook the fact that the show is sponsored by Hellman's.

So, watch out Nigella - I'm not going to kick my copy of "How to be a Domestic Goddess" off the cook book shelf - but in my eyes, Dave is the real soup du jour.

Check out American Jewish Life Mag's longer profile on Dave - glad to see they have their heads on straight!

From their super sweet wine to their kugel-ready egg noodles, Manischewitz is likely the most recognizable kosher food brand out there, not to mention the hipster Jew's drink of choice. As a self-respecting foodie, I would never choose their wine over a dry Cabernet from Baron Herzog (who recently went "sustainable" by the way). But I respect Manischewitz's ability to - like my aunt Minnie at the Kiddush table - elbow their way to the front of the pack.

Now Mani is giving customers a chance to share in on the glory through the Manischewitz cookoff. The company is accepting recipes that can be made in under an hour and will select 27 semi-finalists (by region). The grand prize is a brand new kitchen (maybe not so appetizing to the subletter in Brooklyn, but quite generally it's a pretty sweet payoff.)

Past finalists include: Andrea Bloom's Pea and Fennel Soup, Laura Diamond's Savory Stuffed Mushrooms, Sharon Ricci's Matzoh Brunch Bake, Michaela Rosenthal's Whitefish and Potato Knish, Rayzel Yaish's, Middle Eastern Falafel Stuffed Peppers, and Candace McMenamin's (Mc Menamin's?) Sweet Potato Encrusted Chicken. Think you can stand up to these ladies? Enter here. Just don't submit your famous bacon roulade, however - in case you were wondering, these recipes have to be kosher.
 

beesHoneybees are mysterious creatures.  I remember sitting in freshman biology watching my rapt professor demonstrate the “waggle dance” – a buzzing rhumba that foraging bees use to communicate the location of nearby food sources to other hive members.  It embarrassed me to watch this grown man wiggle his hips as he shuffled a crude figure eight at the front of the room.  Still, I was blown away at the thought that this odd display was, at some deep level, responsible for the golden bear-shaped bottle on my kitchen table. 

So I’ve been distressed to follow along with the newest sci-fi like reality to hit the media: the honeybees are dying, or rather, leaving.  Consider this vignette from a recent New York Times article by Alexi Barrionuevo:

David Bradshaw has endured countless stings during his life as a beekeeper, but he got the shock of his career when he opened his boxes last month and found half of his 100 million bees missing. In 24 states throughout the country, beekeepers have gone through similar shocks as their bees have been disappearing inexplicably at an alarming rate…

The newly-minted term for this phenomenon is colony collapse disorder, and – aside from early (and discredited) accusations that cell phone waves are the cause of the bees’ distress – nobody really knows exactly why it’s happening.

But it’s happening, and it threatens to cause serious havoc to our dinner plates because bees are responsible for a lot more than honey.  Susan Kuchinskas recently wrote:

Most of the imported fruit and vegetable species commonly thought of as quintessentially Californian - almonds, grapes, plums, cucumbers, cantaloupe, asparagus - need the help of bees to wed male pollen to female pistil. Without bees, there would be no apples, no cherries, no tomatoes, no zucchini.

We share a collective, romanticized notion that our nation’s dairy cows meander through green pastures and that bees are wild creatures free to buzz from flower to flower.  The reality, however, is that the majority of the bees that pollinate America’s crops are actually cogs in the industrial food wheel. 

honeyDouglass Whynott documented in his book, Following the Bloom, how – like migratory farm workers – commercialized beehives are literally trucked from farm-to-farm, to pollinate whatever is in season.  These traveling bees forage only corn one season and only or oranges or almonds the next.  Their hives are cramped together in the back of trucks for their cross-country journeys.  They are fed high-fructose corn syrup to compensate for their unbalanced diets, which Kuchinskas comments is the same gooey liquid that contributes to the country’s obesity problem. 

In short, the bees don’t get no respect - is it any wonder why they've gone on strike?

This Wednesday marks the month of Elul – a period of internal reflection that leads up to Rosh Hashana.  I could suggest that we all dip our apples in maple syrup instead of honey – but sadly, the unusually warm temperatures across the Northeast and Canada have seriously stunted maple production as well.  One of the primary focuses of this month is tshuva the act of “returning” to our best selves.  This year, as we head into Elul, go support your local small-scale honey farmer, http://www.localharvest.org/store/bee-prods.jsp because nobody needs the benefits of tshuva (return) more than the bees.      

Happy Meat?At the tender age of 17 - upon discovering the ridiculous amount of resources (grain, land, water, etc.) that were used to feed cows and chickens instead of directly feeding humans - I became a vegetarian.  A year later I went vegan.  It was all so wonderful and confusing - being a young liberal college student surrounded by sexy dreadlocked activists and PETA literature.  What else was I supposed to do?

During those early years, I dutifully cooked limp tofu stirfrys, checked my Ruby Red grapefruit juice for carmine coloring (which is made out of bugs, people!) and tried to convince my friends and family to change their flesh-loving ways - not an easy task considering I grew up in the meat-loving Midwest.  Soon, I started to notice that I could not share a meal with other people without giving my "why I am a vegan" spiel.  It was great to get the chance to express my views, but the whole thing started to grate on me.  Couldn't I just eat for once and not talk about it?  I also started to feel tired a lot so I started puting Bragg's Liquid Aminos on my and taking a calcium vitamin.  Then one day my brother - a definite carnivore - said to me, "if you have to take a vitamin to get all your nutrients, are you really eating the right diet for yourself?"  His words merely confirmed what my body was already telling me. 

Now, eight years after first eschewing meat, I'm still a vegetarian - aside from an occasional craving for a corned beef sandwich, I just don't want it anymore.  However, I happily eat eggs and drink all the milk I can get - though I buy my eggs from small scale farmers, and make sure my milk is organic and from pasture-fed cows or - at very least - anti-biotics and hormone free (I have enough raging hormones of my own, thank you).

My story, I think, is not unusual.  More and more, vegetarians and meat eaters alike are clamoring for sustainably raised and produced foods that don't ravage the land and pay proper respect to the animals that so kindly share their goods.

The Jewish community is getting in on the action too - check out this article about the rising Kosher organic/pasture-fed meat craze in this week's Jewish Week. Or this one in the Washington Post from a couple of weeks ago (featuring a special bonus video). 

The bottom line?  Find out about where you food comes from and don't eat food that makes you guilty.  But while you're out there fighting the good fight for animal welfare and ecological well-being, don't forget to take care of yourself.  You can read more on this topic and just about everything else on Jews, food, and sustainability at The Jew and the Carrot.

Drink it, or get whackedFor those of you who were disappointed by the anti-climactic last episode of the Sopranos, you can now drown your sorrows in Sopranos Sodas.  That's right, HBO licensed the company, Imbibe, to create a line of bubbly drinks in the classic Italian flavors: Limoncello, Amaretto, and Chianti.  Knowing their audience - Imbibe is even marketing these sugar-loaded sodas as "all natural," which basically just means they're using "genuine sugar" instead of corn syrup. 

First a movie revival of the over-the-hill Sex and the City gang, and now this.  What's next,  Entourage BlackBerries (featuring the mug of high-powered agent, Ari)?  Curb Your Enthusiasm therapy sessions?  Big Love condoms?    

Hey, maybe HBO should hire me.

Click here to find out how you can drink the Sopranos.   

Chickpeas, also known as Garbanzo beans, are those little flesh colored legumes that come in a Goya can. Sometimes they're mashed into a creamy paste by Sabra - or some other inferior brand of hummus. At least that's what I thought until tonight's dinner.

The blacker the chickpea, the sweeter the hummusI went over to a friend's apartment to make supper, and along with fresh green beans, ripe tomatoes, and multiple bulbs of garlic, she whipped out a bowl of what looked like dried out raisins. "They're heirloom chickpeas," she said. "My sister got them for me." WTF? On closer inspection these brown spheres did resemble a bean, but definitely not the plump spheres I occasionally tossed into green salads. But that's just the thing about heirloom vegetables. Most of the vegetables found in supermarkets are bred (or genetically modified) to 1. look pretty 2. stand up to the long distances they travel from farm to table. Heirlooms are, as their name suggests, an older variety of a plant that has been largely knocked off the agricultural playing field. If you've ever wondered why heirloom tomatoes often look so ugly, it's because they pre-date our cultural obsession for fat, uniform - and tasteless - produce.

According to Madhur Jaffery, author of the James Beard Award Winning, World Vegetarian cookbook (and one of the fiercest foodies out there): "Chickpeas originated in ancient times, probably in the southern Caucasus region, helping to feed Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Armenia...The early chickpea was probably small and dark, and was eventually bred to be large and pale."

These chickpeas were not gorgeous, but upon tasting one I was more than willing to overlook trivial things like surface beauty. My friend and I made fresh hummus, which resembled a black bean dip and literally made my night. Check out the recipe below.

Heirloom Hummus

(This recipe is very loosely based on Jaffrey's "Bead Hummus." Like a good bubbe's recipe, the quantities are approximate. Just fuss around with it until it "looks right.")

• 2 cups chick peas (black or "kala chana" if you can find them - otherwise Goya will do the trick)
• 4-5 cloves garlic (whole, skins removed)
• 4-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 sprigs fresh mint
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 3/4 teaspoon salt

Puree the chick peas and garlic cloves in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add all other ingredients and process again until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, tahini, etc. until you reach the right consistency and flavor.

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The latest in vending machine trends allows you to have your hot knish and keep kosher too -- anywhere, anytime. Despite their appropriately cheesy name--"Hot Nosh 24/6"--America's first glatt kosher vending machines are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

So far the Hot Nosh machines dispense delicacies such as hot mozzarella sticks, veggie patties, and pizza. Separate fleishik vending machines will be hitting the market soon.

As reported in today's New York Times, the guys behind Hot Nosh hope to outfit hospitals, college campuses, and offices around the world -- or for now at least in the tri-state area (where it's really hard to find kosher food):

"From a culinary perspective, this is the kind of food that would make the pharisees of local, seasonal food fall to their knees and beg for mercy. The frozen knish is thawed in a microwave compartment, then crisped by what Mr. Fetman calls 'a convection oven on steroids.' The hot dogs, individually sealed in plastic so they can stay in the machine for up to 21 days, are heated in seconds with a combination of grilling and infrared technology."

Clearly kosher dining has hit a new high with Hot Nosh 24/6.

Well, at least Beyoncé's getting Shtetlbootylicious with it. The principle backer behind Hot Nosh 24/6 is Phat Farm's Ruby Azrak, who also runs Beyoncé's clothing line, House of Dereon. A Hot Nosh vending machine has already been installed at the Azrak offices in the garment industry. What's next, Beyoncé-K?

Since early spring, the foodie and business worlds have been all a-twitter about Whole Food's proposed takeover of natural foods competitor, Wild Oats (read the back story here).  The story just got even more interesting when the note Whole Foods was passing in class got intercepted by the teacher (aka, The AP).  The New York Times reports:

"The Federal Trade Commission documents revealed that Whole Foods planned to close 30 or more Wild Oats stores, a move that the company believes would nearly double revenue for some Whole Foods stores...

Many of the details in the documents, which F.T.C. lawyers filed electronically, were not meant to be released publicly, but words intended to be inaccessible were actually just electronically shaded black. The words could be searched, copied, pasted and read in versions downloaded from court computer servers.

Court officials realized the mistake and replaced the filing with a version using scanned pages of the edited documents. The Associated Press downloaded the document from the public server before it was replaced by an edited version."

Whole Foods: friend or foe?According to the document, Whole Foods set rules barring food suppliers from direct sales with Wal-Mart.  Additionally, documents labled "Project Goldmine" predicted that the buy-out will send 80-90 percent of Wild Oats shoppers to Whole Foods.  Shoppers will then be at the mercy of Whole Foods who, without competition, can drive up prices even more than they already have.

This information leaves socially conscious shoppers in a bit of a conundrum – what do you do when a “good store” goes bad?  Whole Foods was founded in 1980 in Texas' progressive outpost, Austin.  In many parts of the country, they are a mecca of natural and organic foods amidst supermarkets that sell nothing but heavily processed frozen foods and Wonder Bread (sorry Wonder Bread fans - yeah it's pillowy soft, but you might as well be eating a napkin).  Their flagship store, and many other stores around the country run on wind power, and their CEO, John Mackey, is a vegan.  But Mackey is also a shrewd businessman who follows many of the same rules as his conglomerate competitors.  Of course Whole Foods has every right to grow, as any corporation needs to - but to do it at the expense of customers and the vitality of the larger natural food and organic foods market?  I expect more from a company that charges $9/pound for organic green peppers.

Read Whole Foods' response to the situation here.

(x-posted from Lilith Magazine's Blog - I thought this would be of interest to Jewcy readers - especially my mom's secret chocolate cake recipe at the bottom)

Last week I went home to Chicago, and boy was the living easy. My parents escorted me home from the airport where my mother’s gazpacho and a roasted potato frittata waited. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies rested in a tin lined with wax paper in case I wanted dessert (I did). The next day we got up for an early stroll through my neighborhood’s farmers’ market, stopping at the stands for sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes the color of watermelon flesh, and squeaky cheese curds from Wisconsin, which the stand keeper proudly announced had been made at 1:30pm the previous day.Now (if I may be so bold), local vegetables are my territory. I organize CSAs across the country and belong to one in Brooklyn. I shop religiously at farmers’ markets, regularly cook all-vegetable meals, and get depressed in the winter–not because the weather is gloomy, but because the lack of available produce in the Northeast leaves a gaping hole on my plate and in my heart. So, I was excited to go home with this bounty–to slip slices of that tomato between mozzarella and basil, or pair those salty cheese nuggets with a ripe honeydew melon.

But just as I started fussing in the kitchen, my mom walked in. Soon she was chopping the cucumber for the salad I was preparing, and grabbing her sweet balsamic vinaigrette out of the fridge without consultation.

“Can I help you with anything,” I heard myself saying, despite being the one to initiate the food making.

“Oh, I’m almost done,” she said, turning to arrange slices of raisin challah on a plate.

I grumbled as I plopped down onto the couch, waiting for her to finish making lunch. Before I’d realized what happened, and without her explicitly meaning to, she had kicked me out of her kitchen. Then again, that’s the way it had always been.

Like many traditional “Jewish mothers,” food is one of my mom’s primary ways of showing love - memories of her fragrant soups, chicken and dumplings, and butter cream frosted birthday cakes laced with coffee, wrap me in reverie whenever I’m in a bad food mood. Somewhere along the line, however, I grew up without learning any of her kitchen secrets.

My mother never beckoned me to her stove, dipping my finger in the soup broth to show me how it should feel before dropping in the matzah balls. She never taught me how to braise greens or scrape the good bits from the bottom of a pan into a sauce with a little wine. Occasionally she asked me to arrange a fruit plate for company, but usually I was in charge of polishing the good silver and setting the table while the smells from her domestic sanctuary swirled throughout the house.

Perhaps she felt an urge to control her cutting boards, or simply did not have the patience to watch me scorch a pot. Or maybe she guarded mealtime as her time to shine. Granted, I did not show a natural inclination towards cooking at a young age. But it had been drilled into me early on that the kitchen was her domain.

It was not until college that I was finally exposed to the tricks of the oven. I lived in a housing co-op where my 16 hippie housemates and I took turns cooking and cleaning for ourselves and the sundry guests who would show up expecting a nourishing meal they could not find in the dining hall. For the first few weeks I slated myself for cleanup duty, embarrassed that I didn’t already know how to make a good tofu pad thai or roasted tomato soup.

Overtime, however, I began to watch my housemates, observing their culinary prowess over open books and half-finished assignments. Through them I learned how to sauté garlic - not so long that it burned but long enough to coax out the heady juices. I learned how to bake fresh bread and apple rhubarb crumble, and improvise from the cookbooks that sat on an overstuffed shelf.

Slowly, over the year I dried my novice wings to the point where I looked forward to my turn to cook. I took pride in my meals, churning out industrial-sized pans of vegetable lasagna and humungous bowls of green salad with goat cheese and caramelized walnuts. When I came home to Chicago for breaks however, I was thrown squarely back into the sidelines. Occasionally my brother–also a self-taught cook–and I would be allowed to offer a Greek salad or a pan of vegetable fried rice to our family meals. To her credit, my mother would go out of her way to compliment our contributions as if they were the center of the meal. She was sincere, but she wasn’t fooling anyone.

On this most recent trip home, however, I opened up the fridge to find free-range eggs and organic milk on the shelves. The crisper drawer revealed our farmers’ market bounty as well as package of tofu. I asked her if she purchased the tofu on my behalf.

“You know? I actually prefer it to meat now and then,” she said.

When I became a vegetarian at the age of seventeen, I started a personal quest to get my family to stop eating meat and switch to organic food. After years of frustration battling against the Midwestern status quo, I toned down my message. My dad was never going to give up chicken and steak, and my mom cooked for my dad. But after college I continued my campaign from a different angle, talking up my work with farmers and expounding on the miracle of local produce whenever I had the opportunity. At some point along the way, it seems that my message came through.

So while I will never be my mother’s sous chef, here it was - proof in her immaculate fridge – that a part of me has made its way into her kitchen.

My Mom’s “Moistest Chocolate Cake”

This cake was a birthday staple in my house. I used to love mine decorated with roses made from the frosting below, colored with a little red food coloring. These days, I’d probably use a drop or two of beet juice instead.

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup cocoa
1 tsp real vanilla
2 cups raw sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup organic milk
2 eggs (free range, of course)
1 cup hot coffee

Combine dry ingredients. Add oil, hot coffee and milk. Mix at a medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat 2 minutes more. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 or layer cake pan. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degree.
Frosting:

1/2 lb powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1 ½ heaping tsp soft butter
1 tsp vanilla

Beat with mixer 3-5 minutes. If too thick, add milk, a smidge at a time. Variation: add 2 tbsp cocoa for chocolate frosting.

Okay - I know some of you are probably sick of hearing me blather on about food by now ("Is food the only thing she talks about?" Yes, yes it is.)  So I want to hear from all you smart Jewcy readers out there instead.

Everyone puts food in their mouth multiple times a day - but how often do we actually think about what we're eating?  And when we do, what do we think about?  I can bake a cake, but unfortunately my tech abilities are close to zero, so I can't make a fancy poll.  But I've listed three questions below to get your juices flowing - I'd love to hear your answers and comments to the questions below (don't forget to give us the why).    

1. When I'm hungry, I consider these factors before eating (choose all that apply):

• I don't think about it at all - I just shove whatever is closest into my mouth and call it a day
• Time - I'm usually in a rush, so whatever I eat has to be convenient.
• Taste - If it tastes good, that's all that matters
• Health/Nutrition - I only eat foods that are healthy and avoid taking in too many calories, fat, transfat, cholesterol etc.
• Ethical values - If it's not "organic" "vegan" "locally grown" "fair trade" etc. I'm less likely to eat it
• Cost - I'm not made of money - the 99 cent Wendy's menu suits me just fine
• Other

 2. I am a:

• Vegetarian/Vegan who would never eat meat
• Vegetarian who is thinking about eating meat again if I can find a way to do it sustainably
• Vegetarian who would eat meat if I could kill it myself
• Meat eater who would not eat meat if I had to kill it myself
• Hard core carnivore who would have no problem killing it myself
• Other

3. I keep kosher:

• No - It doesn't really seem relevant for my life
• Yes - I am strictly kosher, and that trumps all other food concerns
• Yes - I usually keep kosher, but I eat out at non-kosher restaurants
• Yes - I usually keep kosher, but if I have to make a choice between kosher and organic etc., I find myself choosing the organic.

Planting Seeds for the New Jewish Food Movement

The Hazon Food Conference: Planting Seeds for the New Jewish Food Movement

December 6th- 9th, 2007 / Shabbat Chanukah

Jewish food traditions are rich and ancient. Today growing numbers of Jewish people are beginning to think in new ways about food. The Hazon Food Conference brings together educators, rabbis, farmers, nutritionists, chefs, food writers, and families who share a passion for learning about and celebrating food. At the 2nd Annual Hazon Food Conference you will:

• Learn where your food comes from and about the role of sustainable agriculture
• Discover a distinctly Jewish flavor to healthy eating and better nutrition
• Explore the connection between food justice and the choices we make about food
• Delve into historical and contemporary Jewish culinary traditions from around the world

Please join us for inspiring lectures and discussions, hands-on cooking sessions, family-friendly activities, an inclusive Shabbat and Chanukah celebration, andelicious, consciously prepared food.

“The Hazon Food Conference opened the door for me - my cooking and personal food choices have changed and I view these issues more passionately than I ever imagined.” – Sharon Lebewhol, The 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook

For more info: www.hazon.org/foodconference - 212.644.2332 - Judith@hazon.org

This Rose has no thornsCharlie Rose doesn't need an elaborate set or flashy cable TV channel to be cool.  Charlie Rose doesn't need much of anything.  This interviewer extraordinaire kicks ass just the way he is - brilliant.

I found out via Slashfood that my man, Charlie Rose, now has an archive where you can access his video interviews with some of (actually, all of) America's greatest thinkers, actors, teachers and activists.  And he's giving it all to us for free.  A quick search under the "Other" category, which oddly houses the "Food" cateogory came up with this star-studded list:

• Ruth Reichl - The NY Times' Frank Bruni - except female and Jewish
• Daniel Boulud - Fancy-pants chef of the much celebrated (and egotistically named) Daniel and Cafe Boulud
• Mario Batali - The rotund, Italian Chef made famous on the Food Network and infamous in Bill Buford's Heat
• Julia Child - The wonderful woman who taught us what French American cooking means. Rest in peace
• Nina and Tim Zagat - Of the Zagat guides
• Many, many more.

The best part?  Unlike the restaurants of the famous chefs Charile interviews, this archive is free.

 God bless you, Charlie Rose.

Baruch Hashem: And her ratatouille is divine!Or possibly "Gid" -- apparently, even if you're holy, it's difficult to spell your name using the seeds of a live eggplant.  My second favorite thing about this story is the final line, which informs us that the owners of the blessed vegetable are considering selling it on eBay.  And my first favorite thing about the story is the poll that follows, in which 91% of 1000 respondents said they would consider purchasing a God-eggplant in an online auction.

Related: A woman in New Jersey also found a heavenly eggplant, but it doesn't have any kind of holy name -- just sketches of angels.  New Jersey always gets the shaft.

Quench your thirstI remember learning as a preteen that Evian spelled backwards is NAIVE.  That day, I lost a part of my innocence and reverie with the goodness of the world.  Today, my favorite irreverant environmental magazine, Grist, quipped "Evian Is Just Evil Misspelled." 

Stellar headline aside, they have a point.  20 years ago, hardly anyone drank water out of plastic bottles.  Today, they're as ubiquitious as the, well, plastic bag (take that and run with it Anya Hindmarch).  They've made water drinking a whole lot more convenient - if you think turning on a tap is a hassle - but also a whole lot more controversial.  Grist wrote:

"1.5 million barrels of oil go into making the bottles for the U.S. market each year, and oodles more to transporting the H2O...Advocates point out that water flows freely in nearly every U.S. home, while 38 billion recyclable plastic vessels are trashed every year." 

Even more than the waste issue, some advocates like American Jewish World Service's, Ruth Messinger, say that by bottling water "at the source" in India, Brazil, etc., as so many companies claim to do, we are actually stealing water from those people who need it most.  We have fresh tap water literally gushing out of our faucets, and still we feel the need to take it from the developing world?  That's Evil Evian.

Finally, and here's the kicker to me, plastic water bottles have turned us into wusses!  Take the marketing on the bottle of FIJI water I (admittedly, out of desperation) at a bodega the other day: "Bottled at the source, natural artesian pressure forces the water through a hermetically sealed delivery system free of human contact."

Oooh nooo! I can't have HUMAN HANDS touch my water!  I shudder just thinking about it!"  Talk about obsession with germs.  Seriously, what happened to cupping our hands and drinking straight from the rivers?  Oh yeah, they're so polluted we'd sprout a third eyeball.

Luckily Grist ended on a slightly more positive note: 

"Nestle will roll out its water brands in a bottle made of 30 percent less plastic, while Nalgene has teamed up with water-filtration giant Brita to launch a bottle-reduction campaign called FilterForGood."  Maybe this campaign will help Nalgene shed their hippie image and we'll soon see business people with caribeeners strapped to their briefcases? 

No trace of treifThere's an abundance of tomatoes out there in farmer land - and there's no better way to eat them than paired with fresh basil and gooey mozzarella.  

Almost all cheeses, including mozzarella, contain rennet - an enzyme that helps coagulate the milk into cheese.  Traditionally, rennet comes from the lining of the fourth stomach of a butchered young calf which, last I heard, makes it decidedly unkosher...and also not vegetarian come to think of it, though I don't see a huge push in the vegetarian community to give up aged cheddar.   

So what do you do when you're a cheese snob who loves artesian cheeses (I could seriously live on the stuff), but you're dining at your boyfriend's kosher apartment?  This week, I'm making my own. I recently bought a cheese making kit from "Ricki the Cheese Queen," founder of the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. She offers a recipe for "30-minute mozzarella" and a kit that comes stocked with citric acid, cheesecloth, cheese salt, and...kosher/vegetarian rennet (you can request that Ricki send you a copy of the OU certification).

Making my own cheese is fast (I'd even be okay with 45 minute moz), and satisfies my foodie urges, my boyfriend's eating habit's, and my dorky DIY impulses.  Behold the power of (vegetarian, kosher) cheese

I knew something was up when my parents switched butchers and started getting their meat from the Amish. As people increasingly raise their food consciousness--realizing that the choices we make about the food we consume deeply affects the environment--the demand for eco-friendly, high quality, and preferably local products is also on the rise. My parents, like many of their baby boomer generation and their offspring, relish high quality meals, but are also concerned with the world around them.

For a few years now that demand has trickled into the kosher meat sector, as anyone who shops at Whole Foods knows. Despite the higher price, demand for kosher organic chickens is clearly evident, judging by the ransacked shelves at the Union Square store by Friday morning. Some Jewish leaders and organizations are now promoting the concept of Heckscher Tzedek, a Kosher Justice certification on foods.

But Jews aren't the only ones buying into this religiously-proscribed organic eco trend. Jewish food doyenne Joan Nathan wrote an article in today's New York Times which outlines a host of faith-based farms raising cattle and poultry across the country according to interpretations of biblical tracts and various religious precepts. According to one industry expert,

“Religious leaders have been giving dietary advice for decades and centuries, telling us to eat fish on Friday or to keep kosher in your home. What we are seeing now are contemporary concerns like the fair treatment of farm workers, humane treatment of animals and respect for the environment being integrated into the dietary advice given by the churches.”

As industrial kosher meat slaughterhouses continue to be mired in allegations including inadequate safeguards against mad cow disease, reports of fecal matter in the food-production area, and two recent high-risk recalls (an unusually high number), I'll be happily digging in to my Amish brisket this coming holiday season.

Pickled: Jewcy's new food blog launches Wednesday.Jewish delis may close more than open these days, but Jewish cuisine isn't going anywhere. This Wednesday Jewcy launches Pickled, a blog about cooking and entertaining the Jewcy way. We'll break recipes down with pictures and easy instructions. We'll rank essential grocery store products and kitchen tools. We'll interview our favorite Jewish and Jewishly-inspired chefs and cook book authors. We'll advise you on catering menus for bat mitzvahs and weddings. We'll profile restaurants with the Jewciest eats in your hometown and around the world.

We’ll show you just how far beyond shmaltz, pastrami, and matzah balls Jewish cuisine goes. (But don't worry--we'll blog plenty about these, too.) Whether you've got the knife skills of Bobby Flay or find your cheese grater daunting, Pickled breaks it down for all skill levels.

And with Rosh Hashanah—Thanksgiving's Jewish culinary equivalent—quickly approaching, what better time for Pickled? As we pool recipes and tips to help you fill your Rosh Hashanah dinner tables, we thought we’d go to you, Readers, for your holiday favorites.

Honey: for a sweet New YearHoney is the star of the Rosh Hashanah meal, eaten to welcome a sweet new year. We want to know: How do you take your honey? Whipped into a crème brulee? Warmed and painted over crispy chicken wings? In a dip for fried pickles? If you’ve got a honey recipe you love enter it in our “Jewcy Sweet New Year” recipe contest. Sharon Lebewohl, former chef of New York's famous Second Avenue Deli, will help judge the tastiest and most innovative recipes to feature on Jewcy. We’ll also send winning entrants a gift box of Jewcy swag.

Don’t wait! Send recipes to Pickled@Jewcy.com.

The Ultimate Cold Cut: Spiced Ham (The Real Stuff, not SPAM)My late father had been raised in an orthodox house, but his favorite foods, which he could make on his own without my mother's help were:

1. A BLT.
2. A grilled cheese sandwich with bacon a tomato.
3. A spiced ham sandwich (not SPAM!) with raw onions on white bread.
4. A kosher hot dog grilled on wax paper with cold sauerkraut (has to be cold).
5. Bananas and sour cream. Really.

3 out of 5, clearly not kosher. 2 just weird. So how come I felt guilty when I first was given a bagel with cream cheese and bacon by a friend? Because the friend was Christian. That's why.

On the car ride today back from my cousin's funeral, stuck on the LIE, we had the following discussion about kosher, my father and pork, and what to put on pastrami:

My sister: I once decorated this bar mitzvah party at the W Hotel in Union Square. The theme was "Sushi." They had these giant cakes made to look like pieces of raw fish on rice.

Me: Doesn't sound very kosher.

My sister: I think they only had cakes that looked like sushi. No actual sushi.

Me (considering this): Come to think of it, where did Dad get his love of pork products?

Uncle H: Not at our mother's house, that's for sure.

My sister: He did really love his pork products.

Uncle H: You know, your father was the first person to make me a BLT. I'd never seen such a thing.

Aunt G (known for her love of lobster): And where did he make it?

Uncle H: At my mother's house.

All of us: While she was a alive?

Uncle H: No, after she had passed away. Although, if she'd been alive, I'm sure seeing your father making a BLT would have killed her.

Me: And he had the nerve to criticizes me for putting mayo on pastrami.

Uncle H: Oh, I wouldn't have put up with that either.

So does anyone else put mayonnaise on pastrami? Bacon on their cream cheese? What is going to become of us? And lastly, can you believe that there's a website for a kosher seasoning to make everything taste like bacon? Really.

Xusa: The '80s. A more hopeful, pinker time.

Homer: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Lisa, honey, are saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad! Those all come from the same animal!
Homer: [Chuckles] Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Some Jews, it is said, are fixated on blonds, like the dark haired South American's fascination with children's TV host Xuxa. Others wonder about Jesus--or perhaps just about people who wear Jews for Jesus T-shirts above their fanny packs. As for me, my fascination with the non-kashrut goes back to my childhood. Perhaps it's my German ancestry, perhaps it was my father's choice in sandwiches, but I revel in the wonder of a food that can have so many names.

Ham can be from a place: Virginia, Irish, Scotch, Canadian (and how many foods are Canadian?), and even Bayonne (France, not New Jersey, but who's really to say?)

It can be on a lark: Country or Picnic. Out on the town: City or Smoked. Old or young. Ready to eat or just pickled for whatever you want, whenever you want it.

In short, the ham is a seductress. The Xuxa of the deli. At one moment, entertaining us in our childhoods, the next, discarding her pink helicopter and taking it all off for '90s Playboy (you find the link) and reducing us to tears. (Or was that just me?)

Regardless, I end with a very short story I wrote in the 1980s. And tomorrow, I promise, no more traif.

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