Haroset (and haroset pie!)

What is haroset? Haroset is a mixture of chopped apples and nuts that plays a part in the traditional Jewish seder meal at Passover. By March, it’s hard to get the kids excited about more apples, but they love making and eating haroset. Ashkenazi or Sephardic? Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, like my Lithuanian ancestors, …

Matzoh from scratch

Can’t find matzoh anywhere? It has sometimes been my misfortune to live in places where you just can’t buy matzoh – or anyway, where you’d have to take long bus trips to other parts of town to buy matzoh. Fortunately, you can make your own matzoh at home, if you’re careful and quick. Matzoh in …

Gefilte fish

Why eat gefilte fish? Gefilte fish is a way to make cheap fish more exciting to eat; it got started when more Jewish people were poor, and it remains a traditional Jewish food, especially for Passover – that’s why I usually make it in the spring, for Passover. Fish is super good for you, and …

Matzobrei

What is matzobrei? During Passover, if you’re following the rules, you can’t eat bread – and that includes pancakes and waffles and toast! People eat matzoh instead. And for a brunch, instead of pancakes, they mix matzoh with scrambled eggs, and that’s matzobrei. But at our house, we eat matzobrei for dinner too, because we just love …