Summertime, and the Cruisin’ is Easy

Summertime, vacation time! You’ve worked hard all year, saved up a few dollars and you just need to get out of town, leave behind the oppressive heat, relax a bit at sea. But… that’s not always been so easy for a frum yid… Well, it is now!

There are a few companies offering Glatt Kosher Cruises and Tours. Kosherica has their Music Festival at Sea, Summer 2010 (August 1-8),  what an opportunity to chill, what an opportunity to recharge your batteries away from the hassle and bustle of the city, amidst performances by Dudu Fisher, Avraham Fried, Lipa Schmeltzer, Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot and more.

The all-inclusive package will travel the waters of the Atlantic Ocean to Canada and New England, with ports of call in Maine and Novia Scotia. The ship will leave and return to port in Bayonne, New Jersey, allowing tri-state area residents the convenience of a local port of call.

Kosherica, a family-run organization, is the leader of glatt kosher cruises since 1992, with family members on every cruise to ensure the best and signature Kosherica quality possible.

Those who book passage on Kosherica’s Jewish Music Festival at Sea will be experiencing world-class luxurious accommodations; daily minyanim and shiurim by Rabbi Steven Weil and Stephen J. Savitsky of the Orthodox Union; incredible gourmet food that is both glatt kosher and chalav yisrael; and all to a live soundtrack of the best in Jewish music, with world-class entertainers from a variety of music genres that run the gamut of Jewish music.

Offy Schiffman, Kosherica’s Culinary Director, stated, “The whole point of going on a Kosherica cruise is to experience a five star luxury vacation that has world class glatt kosher gourmet cuisine, which is very rare. Additionally, Kosherica cruise passengers can travel and see the world in style, rather than staying stationary their whole vacation. Finally, considering the all-inclusive price that covers amazing luxury ocean-liner accommodations, strictly kosher food, and entertainment, it’s really one of the most affordable ways to take a vacation.”

“Nu, so what’s on the menu,” you ask? Kosherica’s food, as always, will be top-notch, carefully prepared to the highest caliber by culinary teams trained by Chef Arik Porat, of the Dan Arcadia in Israel. Dishes will span international cuisine and include grilled rib-eye steak; rack of veal; duck l’orange; eggplant gratin; lasagna Florentine; moussaka; risotto; and vegetarian paella. There will be fish and vegetarian options for the entrée at every meal for those who do not eat red meat, and special requests – such as no salt or low fat – will be honored.  Everything on the menu will be glatt kosher and chalav yisrael, and supervised by expert mashgichim. Wifey may be an excellent cook, the restaurants in the city are great, but such mouth watering offerings while the whole family is relaxing at sea? What could be better?!?!?

As for the cruise’s main attraction, Jewish music will permeate the air at every turn, with concerts by Fisher, Fried and Schmeltzer, all veteran performers who engage the audience and ensure a rousing time is had by all. Helfgot, Benzion Miller, and Daniel Gildar, all celebrated cantors, will participate in an exciting concert that will add an element of awe-inspiring liturgical music into the cruise as well. I’ve heard all three, each has a unique quality to his voice, each has his unique musical interpretations; each will stir your heart!

Finally, as if that wasn’t enough to satisfy the most demanding vacationer, the ship will make stops in Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine the Bay of Fundy at New Brunswick, and Halifax, Novia Scotia. All sites are rich with history, replete with museums, lighthouses, art galleries, and the rustic beauty of nature at its finest. Exploring these seaside villages offer an extraordinary experience on land, which are perfect to complement the adventures at sea.

Passengers from the previous Kosherica Jewish music cruise called it “the best vacation of my life”; “like a five-star Jewish version of Woodstock”; “on a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, this vacation was a ten-plus”.

Kosherica’s Jewish Music Festival at Sea is the perfect getaway for groups, couples or families. For more information, visit http://www.kosherica.com or call 877-724-5567.

Great Summer Drinks

I don’t know how it is for all my foodie friends out there, but come summer, I crave tall, cool icy quenching drinks – and healthy interesting salads.  Heavy food just doesn’t cut it! Summertime used to mean throwing Tahiti parties with my son in the back yard – good music, fun books on the lounge chairs, a kid’s wading pool, a sprinkler, water guns, fun drinks, a great salad, a relaxed head space and a handful of silly playfulness. I return each summer like a salmon swimming upstream against the passing of time to partake of tasty tumblers, full of those sweet reminiscences. My blender is my best friend in this heat.

Come April-May, I switch from hot to ice coffee, and often take a cupful of ice, equal portions of water and  low- fat-milk, two sweeteners, a teaspoon of my favorite coffee… blend it all and NIRVANA! There are some really cool sugar free, fat free, kosher syrups and creamers available out there now. Our favorite pick is DaVinci Gourmet® (Khof-K certification) which has dozens of sugar free flavors-all the standards plus exciting gourmet ones like Dulce de Leche, English Toffee, Irish Crème, KAHLUA® Flavored Sugar Free Syrup, Toasted Marshmallow and a host of fruity flavors as well.  A 750 mL bottle runs $7.99.  You can order directly from their site http://www.davincigourmet.com/products/sugar_free_flavored_syrups/. The possibilities are all tasty, endless and delightfully guilt free.  Of course they also have all the classic and natural flavored syrups flavors.  Oh, don’t miss their gourmet dessert syrups all at surprisingly affordable prices. A little goes a long way. I’m going to try the Chai tea, sugar free concentrate, I spotted on their web site.  Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found any cholov Yisroel low fat sugar free creamers, let us know if you find any on the kosher market scene.

For smoothies I like making my own these days. Sunflower Café on Kings Highway (Brooklyn), corner of13th Street, makes a really good smoothie – they call them fruit frappes; they offer flavors like melon, peach, strawberry, kiwi, apple, mango and banana, or you can ask for two flavors mixed (with milk or without).  They’re delicious, tall but pricey at $6 a glass. I like buying my own fresh fruit and blending up my own creative fresh combos. When day turns to night, throw in some rum, pineapple juice, a couple of tablespoons of coconut milk, some strawberries and voila! instant yumminess with that special chill factor.  One of the reasons I like making it at home is for the sure savings plus I know the approximate calories Ive put in.

Check out www.smoothieweb.com, http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/smoothies,www.allrecipes.com/Recipes/Drinks/Smoothies/Main.aspx, or www.flowercarole.com/.  Obviously you’ll have to make kosher substitutions where necessary.

Strawberry Banana Supreme Smoothie

It is worth trying to find strawberry nectar to make this smoothie hum. This is a very popular smoothie as it contains strawberry flavors and banana.

Ingredients

• 1 cup strawberry nectar or apple juice
• 1 cup milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
• 1 cup strawberry yogurt

Directions

Pour all liquid ingredients into the blender. Add all frozen ingredients. Blend at MIX setting for 30 seconds then blend at SMOOTH setting until smooth. While the machine is running, move the stir stick around counter-clockwise to aid mixing. Serve immediately.

Yield

Each recipe serves 3-5.

Sugar-Free Orange Guilt Free-ze Milkshake

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon DaVinci Gourmet Raspberry Sugar Free Syrup
• 1 scoop orange sorbet
• 1 scoop raspberry sorbet
• 1 scoop vanilla non-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt
• 1 cup cold non-fat (skim) milk

Directions

Combine the milk, syrup and two scoops sorbet, in a blender. Blend until thick and creamy and pour into a glass. Top with remaining frozen yogurt or ice cream.

Yield

one 16-ounce serving

Send in your favorite smoothie recipes.
The sender of the best tasting, thirst quenching recipe will receive our Summer Smoothie Kit.

SYR

Pizza, Pizza!

Since I was a kid, pizza has always been a favorite. Laura Frankel, has been one of my favorite Chefs since I discovered Shallots, years ago here in New York, on the very location that is currently Solo. Now I found an interesting recipe by Laura Frankel, a perfect summer dish, could anything be better?!?

GET YOUR DAIRY ON

Pizza Rustica is a traditional Italian savory pie. The name means “rustic pie”. Traditionally served cold-this delicious pie is perfect for Shavuot or any time you want a light lunch or dinner. Plan to make the pie one day ahead to allow plenty of time to chill the pie completely.

4 large egg yolks and 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
2 pounds whole milk ricotta (look for deli style-hand packed. It is rich, dense and slightly sweet)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes
½ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 recipe pastry dough (recipe follows)
Egg wash: 1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Position a rack on the bottom third of the oven, and preheat to 375 F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta and Parmesan cheese, mixing well. Add the mozzarella cubes
3. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll, let it rest for about 5-10 minutes. Roll out the larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 16-17 inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan. Gently press the dough to fit the inside of the pan and the sides. Trim the overhanging dough to about 1-inch. Save the scraps for patching up any holes.
4. Spoon the filling into the dough-lined spring form pan.
5. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Place the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal, and fold the edges of the dough inward and crimp with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Brush the egg wash over the entire pastry top, and cut several slits in the top to let the steam escape.
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the pie comes out clean and the crust is golden brown, about 60-75 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Let pie cool for at least 20-30 minutes before refrigerating until chilled all the way through.
8. Release the pan sides and transfer pie to a platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

Dough for Pizza Rustica

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
2 sticks (1 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
4 large eggs, beaten lightly

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, pepper and zest together in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.
2. Add the cold pieces of butter into the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is broken down and the mixture resembles a coarse, sandy meal.
3. Drizzle in about half of the beaten eggs and pulse several times until the dough holds together when pinched. Process a few more seconds, until the dough forms into one big clump. The dough should be smooth and soft, but not sticky. If it looks crumbly or dry, add a few drops of water or cream. If it’s sticky, add a tablespoon or two more flour.
4. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into two disks, one about 1/3 larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but my mouth is already watering…

CS

What Gives a Food Critic the Right to Critique?

Granted, CS and I have a combined prandial gastronomic, collectivistic consumption spanning nearly a century (we make no admission of time exceeding that!). Coincidentally, we were both blessed with superbly critical, highly skilled, culinary genius in the kitchen – parents of Polish and Hungarian descent respectively. They tolerated nothing but brilliance and excellence from their gifted, savant, miraculous offspring of the Diaspora and post Nazi oblation – instilling in us not only superior minds and egos endowed by birth, as well as a natural hunger for all things good. Our generation was brought up with the assumption that somehow we were born with inalienable rights to judge and critique the handiwork of our peers but never our parents. Both of us share the uncanny experience of every patriarchal inquisition into our lives and all critical moments predicated with the always relevant questions: “What did they serve?”, or “What did you eat? Was it good?”

The locus of kosher restaurants we’ve marked collectively through the various stages of our lives is equally impressive. From family style restaurants, to fancy upscale dating restaurants, from cafés for momentary pondering or perusal to married dating eateries, circling back to family restaurants and some of us back to dating restaurants again… we’ve done them all! The Shabbos tables we’ve set and served along with the tables we’ve guested at – often with suffered grimaced smiles of approval conceding to our napkins the putrid memorial – or being imparadised by occasional sensational dishes provided by our hosts! The trials and tribulations of experimental dishes imposed on our loving families without dis-ownership or dis-membership is legendary.

...eating our words

CS has an impressive curriculum vitae – having written many a fine food and/or wine review for well known global publications. I, on the other hand, am more the ‘everyman’, learning through doing, acquiring new skill sets, cultivating and advancing my palate and knowledge as I go along. And now we both sit here… judging others with culinary degrees and years of mastery in the art of Kosher cooking. Yeah, maybe we’ve cultivated our palates enough to judge… certainly as well as the consumers whose attendance make or break a restaurant. Mostly, we are grateful, grateful for the abundance of excellent restaurant choices and fine cuisine that we have been privileged to find and sample. It’s competitive out there and to keep the edge, a fine dining restaurant has to be good. We want a great dining experience and customers want to feel that the money spent was well worth the investment. The mediocre don’t survive for long. There are some food reviews that we’ll never publish, nameless here forever more…

There are many great kosher restaurants yet to review and savor. We love sharing our experiences with you and hope you enjoy sharing with us here at The Kosher Scene. With z’man matan Torah upon us, we would like to wish all our readers a Chag Shavuot sameach! May this time of Torah and harvest bring cornucopian blessings of plenty into your homes and lives.

We’ve collected some great Yom Tov recipes here and here. Enjoy!

SYR

Shavuos Recipes – Part 2

Pam Reiss posted an interesting recipe on her Pam’s Kosher Collection page on Facebook:

A Twist on Cheese Kugel for Shavuot — Pesto Vegetable Cheese Kugel
Serves 10

Ingredients:
1 lb. broad egg noodles
2 oz. basil leaves — (1 cup firmly packed)
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
7 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup ricotta cheese — (Cottage Cheese if you can’t find it)
1 small red onion — peeled and chopped small
1 small bell pepper — cored, seeded and diced small
1 small zucchini — diced small
1 small eggplant — (Japanese) diced small
8 oz. button mushrooms — (3 cups) sliced
6 large eggs

Cook the noodles following package instructions. Drain well and set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Prepare the pesto by placing the basil, garlic, salt, black pepper and 3 tbsp. of olive oil in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Add parmesan and puree to combine. Add to the noodles along with the ricotta cheese.

Use a non-stick frying pan to sauté the vegetables. Over medium-high heat, sauté the red onion in 2 Tbsp. olive oil for 5-8 minutes, until soft and beginning to brown. Remove the onions from the pan and add to the noodles. (Try to leave excess oil in pan). If necessary, add additional 1-2 tbsp. of oil as you sauté the different vegetables.

Add the pepper to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Remove once they start to brown and add to the noodles. Continue sautéing the zucchini, eggplant and mushrooms on their own and add them to the noodles once cooked.

Mix the noodles, pesto and vegetables together and taste, checking for salt and pepper. Remember that the noodles will absorb the salt, so make sure you can taste it. Let cool.

Whisk the eggs and add them to the mixing bowl combine with the rest of the ingredientsl. Grease a 9″x13″ casserole and pour the mixture into it. Use a spatula to evenly distribute, then place the kugel into a preheated 350º oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the top of the kugel is golden brown.

Sounds delicious, we’ll be trying it this Shavous!

CS

RELATED POSTS

shavuos recipes – part 2 

shavuos recipes 

————–

shavuos recipes – part 1 

and for prize winning cheese cake recipes: and the winner is…

Shavuos Recipes – Part 1

Being a foodie, I’m always scouring the net or pestering friendly Chefs for new interesting creations. Here are two superb Shavuot recipes. The incomparable Lévana will always find a way to do it different, to make it easier and keep it delicious!

Ricotta Almond Pie

Anyone looking for a nice departure from the traditional all-American Cheesecake? This is for you! light and ethereal, with a wonderful almond crust and scented with lemon peel. I just made it for a fundraiser demo and watched it disappear with great pleasure!

Almond crust ingredients:
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
Dash salt
2 cups flour (any flour, including Gluten-free)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
2 tablespoon very cold water, or a little more if needed.

Filling ingredients:
3 cups ricotta
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy or rum
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the crust: finely grind the almonds with the sugar. Add the salt, flour, vanilla and butter and pulse just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and mix just until the dough comes together. Working quickly, spread into an 11inch springform pie plate, coming up the sides.

Whisk all the filling ingredients together. Pour into the pie crust. Bake about 40 minutes, or until set.

For a long time I wanted a great kosher recipe for French Onion Soup Recipe… I finally found it:

Every single ingredient in this wonderful soup is in on the secret of its success: All the members of the onion family are present; fresh thyme; The mixture of dark miso and dry red wine do wonders to imitate the beef broth that is the trademark of onion soup but that is off-limits to Kosher and Vegetarian Cooking; The cheeses must be freshly grated.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, sliced very thin (food processor)
4 large shallots, sliced very thin (food processor)
2 large leeks, white parts only, sliced very thin (processor)
6 large cloves garlic, minced (food processor)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups dry red wine (liquor stores)
1/2 cup dark miso paste (health food stores)
6 sprigs thyme, leaves only (or with their stems, but remember to fish it out)
2 1/2 quarts (10 cups) water
Good pinch nutmeg
Salt and freshly grated ground pepper (very little salt if at all)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup smoked cheese, cut in small chunks
1 cup grated parmesan
A dozen slices baguette, cut on bias, toasted. (375 degrees oven, for about 20 minutes, until light brown)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a heavy pot, and in it fry the onions, shallots, leeks and garlic on a medium flame, about 30 minutes, until dark. Add the sugar and cook two more minutes until caramelized. Add wine, miso, thyme, water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook covered another 30 minutes.  Stir in the ground pepper and nutmeg. Pour the mixture into individual oven-proof soup crocks. Float a slice of toasted baguette in the center of each bowl, and a handful of the mixed grated cheeses, and run under the broiler for just a few seconds. If you don’t own the crocks, no problem, just stir in the cheeses at the end and cooking, right in the pot, and top each serving with a slice of toast. It won’t look as dramatic, but it will be every bit as delicious!

Enjoy these folk, I know I will.

CS

related posts

shavuos recipes – part 2 

shavuos recipes 

————–

shavuos recipes – part 2

For prize winning cheese cake recipes: and the winner is…

And the Winner Is…

We received 21 entries. Next time we’ll give you more time, there will be more contests and give aways during the year. We promise.

Here is what the contest winner will receive from N&K:

Stack 108 slices stack White American, 16ozs. Mozarella chunk, 8ozs. Muenster chunk, 8 ozs. Cheddar chunk, 6ozs. Muenster slices, 6ozs. Swiss slices, 6ozs. Processed Pepper Jack slices, 8ozs. shredded Pizza Cheese, 8 ozs. shredded Chef's Blend, 12 Mozarella Cheese Sticks

Some recipes were great, some were very easy to prepare, some however showed very little imagination or creativity. It was not easy to choose a winner… We deliberated, debated and agonized before reaching a final decision especially between #2 and #3 below.

The top three choices are:

#3

Tikvah’s Cheesecake

Crust: any graham cracker pie crust

*Cake*

2lbs unwhipped cream cheese
1.5 cup sugar
1.5 tablespoon Lemon juice
1 pinch salt
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F
Beat cream cheese & sugar until soft. add rest of ingredients and mix.
Pour on top of crust and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove and let stand for 10 minutes.

*Topping*

2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
spread on top and bake again for 10 minutes

keep in oven with oven off for 2 hours to prevent cracking. refrigerate and serve cold

this can also be made into cheese snacks baked in cup cake holders. For cheese snacks no crust is needed. Also cute idea for mini cakes is to put a sandwich cookies on bottom of pan & then the batter in the cup cake holder

Submitted by: Tikvah V. from Flatbush

#2

Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

3 eggs (2 whites split separately, 1 whole)
6 tablespoons margarine
1 cup sugar (split in 3/4 & 1/4)
3 tablespoons vanilla
½ cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 package cream-cheese (8 oz)

In a small mixing bowl beat marg. & 3/4 c. sugar until crumbly.
Add 1 whole egg & 1 egg white & vanilla. Mix well.
Add flour & cocoa. Beat until blended.
Pour into spritzed 9″ square baking pan.
In a milchig mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/4 c. sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 egg white.
Spoon-drop this mixture over the brownies to pretty much cover the top.
Cut through the batter with a knife to swirl it together.
Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until set & edges pull away from side of pan.
Cool on a wire rack.

I made for my sister’s milchig sukkos party, as well as for shavuos every year. Big hit!
I got it from a magazine years ago, so I’ll post the pictures from their site, as they are pros at taking perfect pictures.

If you use reduced-fat margarine & reduced fat cream cheese, then here is the nutritional info:

Nutritional Analysis

1 brownie equals:
167 calories
7 grams fat (3 g saturated fat)
28 mg cholesterol
108 mg sodium
23 grams carbohydrates
trace fiber
4 grams protein

Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1½ starch, 1 fat

Submitted by: Faigy T. from Crown Heights

#1

Brachie’s Three Layered Cheesecake

*Crust*

1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6  tablespoons softened butter

*Cake*

3/4 cup ground filberts
2lbs cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 oz baking chochlate

*Topping”

1 bar white milk chochlate
1 1/2 teaspoons coffee
3 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

*Method*

1. – Combine crust ingredients in mixer until smooth
2. – Press into 9″ springform pan. bake for 10 minutes in a preheated over to 375 and set aside
3. – Mix cream cheese until smooth adding vanilla sugar,sugar and eggs one at a time
4. – Remove 2 cups cheese batter mix with ground filberts and almond extract. Pour onto crust and level with metal beveled spatula.
5. – freeze for 1 hour
6. – Melt chochalate. Remove another 2 cups cheese mixture and add to melted chochlate. Pour over filbert layer leveling well.
7. – Freeze for 20 minutes
8. – Pour remaining batter onto chochlate mixture
9. – Half fill 9×13 pan w/ water. Wrap bottom of springform pan w/ heavy duty foil and place pan in water
10. – Bake for 2 hours in a preheated to 350 oven
11. – Let cool for another 2 hours w/o opening oven door
12. – Refrigerate for at least 6 hours
13. – Melt topping. over a small flame until dissolved
14. – pour over cake allowing it to drizzile down sides.
15. – can be decorated with chocolate curls or left just as is

This winning recipe was submitted by: Brachie S., from Lakewood

SYR

related posts

shavuos recipes – part 2 

shavuos recipes 

————–

shavuos recipes – part 2

shavuos recipes – part 1 

If I Forget Thee… A Very Personal Recollection

[Three years ago, ynetnews.com published my post on Yom Yerushalayim. Today being Yom Yerushalaim I find it appropriate to repost it here on The Kosher Scene. CS]

The Holy City

I arrived in Israel on the Friday before the Six Day War, as a volunteer. For Shabbat (Parshat Bamidbar) we stayed in Savyon, a ritzy neighborhood close to the airport and not far from Tel Aviv. The view was absolutely breathtaking! On Sunday morning I was taken to Kibbutz Lavi, strategically perched atop a hill overlooking the Tiberias-Haifa road.

Within minutes of arriving, the kibbutz secretary assigned me a room overlooking the road and gave me a quick tour. The first thing we did was to climb up to the highest point of the kibbutz, the water tower. “We are one minute away from Syria by MiG’s flight,” he said. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear that… not just yet. The rest of the tour just did not seem as important, in fact I barely remember it.

By the afternoon I was joined by 10 more volunteers from England, Ireland, France and the US. At dinner time, in the kibbutz’ dining room surrounded by people I’d never met before, somehow, it felt like a homecoming. For the first time in my life whether I lived in Montevideo (Uruguay – where I grew up), Buenos Aires, Richmond, VA, New York City or traveling through Europe, I felt that this land was mine. Every pebble, every grain of sand, everything was mine, MINE!!! It’s hard to describe the emotions running though me at the time, but believe me, I am reliving every single one of them as I write…

After a tasty meal in a darkened dining room (no electric lights were allowed anywhere, so as to make it harder for enemy planes to spot us, only candles and small flashlights could be used), when everyone except for the guards had gone to sleep, a horrible noise woke us. We looked out the window and realized it was coming from the road below. Some of us in the room wanted to go down the hill but the guards would not allow it. No one else in the kibbutz was outside . The road was swarming with tanks, on their way to Syria . We tried going back to sleep, but between the noise and the excitement, who could do that?

At early dawn they came for us and we were given suitable clothing, the famous Israeli kova tembel (a very distinctly shaped hat, to ward off the sun) turned out to be the most important item, a sand – colored shirt and matching shorts (both ill fitting, of course!) and boots. Then we were issued pickaxes and hoes, and told that we would be digging trenches. Easier said than done, on very rocky terrain! By the afternoon, when the heat made it almost impossible to work outdoors, we volunteers had realized very little progress against the rocks, but we all had blisters on our hands . By contrast, a group of teenage kibbutznik girls not far from us working on a similar type of ground astounded us by how much they had accomplished…

We, the mitnadvim, had transistor radios and we listened to the BBC (English was a lot easier to understand than Hebrew). At 7:00 am that Monday morning the BeeB reported Israeli war planes had attacked Egyptian military airfields and totally destroyed their Air Force before they could get airborne. Kol Yisrael – The Voice of Israel – not only reported no news but kept playing an hours’ long repertoire of Hebrew songs, many with biblical verses. There was no way to corroborate the truth of this BBC story. Suddenly, at 8:00 am, a young kibbutz wife reported – amidst tears and laughter – that she just received a call from her Air Force husband. Every single Israeli plane had returned safely to base!

At 10:00am The Voice of Israel broadcast, finally acknowledged we were at war but gave no further details and kept playing songs. Shortly thereafter there was a dog fight, directly above our heads, between an Israeli Mirage and a Syrian MiG, yet, the Israelis continued working seemingly without a care. We, the volunteers looked up fascinated, strangely without fear. The MiG was shot down after a few minutes, and an armed group from the kibbutz left in two Jeeps, they came back awhile later with a piece of the MiG’s tail and the Syrian pilot whom they held until members of the IDF picked him up.

At dinner time, we non-kibbutzniks could only talk about the news on the BBC while the kibbutznikim didn’t seem to show much concern. Then came Tuesday, June 7 – the 28th of Iyar – a day that would forever change history. By late afternoon the BBC reported that the Old City of Jerusalem was in Israeli hands, a few hours later Israel Radio played a sound bite by General Motta Gur, commanding officer of the crack paratroopers’ brigade that captured the Western Wall: “Har Habayit beyadenu – The Temple Mount is in our hands.” Soon there was barely a dry eye, happiness knew no bounds…

The full import of those simple words did not entirely hit me until Shavuot (the following week) when five of us found ourselves in Jerusalem. On what in the Diaspora would have been the second day of the festival, we walked to Har Tzyion – Mount Zion so we could get to the Kotel Hama’aravi – the Western Wall.

As we found our way through through the narrow, winding road filled with history, soaked with Jewish blood, I felt as if my ancestors were there walking with me, gently guiding me. Finally we spied the Kotel in the distance, not the sweeping plaza we have today, but a very narrow area surrounded by Arab houses and public latrines, The five of us, as if part of a Greek chorus in some ancient play, started crying unabashedly as little children would. Avinu sheBashamayim, mir zaynen in der heim, in der heim!!! -Father in Heaven, we are home, we are home!!!

As we walked back through the Old City, as we saw the narrow streets filled with bazaars, with butcher shops hung with huge cuts of meat and myriad flies buzzing on and around them, with the stench of public latrines we, every single one of us, understood why of all the beautiful cities around the world Hakadosh Baruch Hu – The Holy One, Blessed He, chose Yerushalayim, Ir Hakodesh, as His Holy City.

As I screamed with a broken voice amidst the tears “…in der heim!!! …we are home!!!” a line from the Partsisaner Song suddenly swelled up in my heart: “…s’vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do! …our step will beat out the message: we are here!” How apropos…

“Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach yemini! – If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, let my right arm loose its cunning!”  Though we lived in exile for two thousands years, our prayers, our hopes, our tears, our dreams, our lives, our deaths, always spoke of Jerusalem. No Holy Day ever ended without the words: “Beshana haba beYerushalayim! – The next year in Jerusalem!” Jerusalem, Jerusalem, your Jews NEVER forgot you…

CS

Mother’s Day Special!

Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday, the 9nth. Why don’t you treat Mom to a nice dinner, a memorable meal, at a great restaurant?

T-Fusion Steakhouse

Make Mother’s Day a special day!

Offering a Special mother’s Day Three-Course Pre-Fixe Menu.

Complimentary mimosa’s along with a red rose for all the mom’s.

Make your Reservation today to avoid the wait!

Mother’s Day Menu

First Course

Creamy Asparagus Soup
Homemade Fresh Asparagus Soup

Minestrone Soup
Clear Broth vegetable soup with chicken & noodles

Second Course
Orange & Fennel Salad
Arugula, orange, fennel, black olives, citrus dressing

House Salad
Mesculin, tomatoes, cucumber, mushroom, red onion, balsamic vinaigrette

Third Course

Fillet Mignon
Served over sautéed spinach& garlic mashed potatoes

Chicken Francaise
Breaded, cooked with lemon & wine sauce served over rice and sautéed broccoli

Baked Salmon
Cooked with maple & glaze served over sautéed carrots and haricot verts

Dessert

Apple Struddle
Freshly baked in premises served with vanilla ice cream

Chocolate Soufflé
Baked and served hot with vanilla ice cream

Chocolate Soufflé

Fruit Plate
Assorted fresh fruit

*$55 Per Person * Tax & Gratuity not included * No Substitutions *

T Fusion Steakhouse (3223 Quentin Road, Brooklyn, NY 11234 — Telephone: 718.998.0002).

Why not treat Mom to T Fusion Steakhouse, hasn’t she more than earned it?

CS

Cheese Cake Contest

We are excited! We are soooo excited!! Shavuos is a time when men stay up all night learning or reciting the Tikkun Leil Shavuos as arranged by the ARIZa”L in the 16th Century. Ashkenazim read Akdomos, Sephardim sing Azharot and both recite Megillas Ruth. It is a time when we celebrate our having said “Na’aseh venishma – We will do and we will listen!” as Hakodosh Boruch Hu offered and gave us the Torah. But it is also a time when we eat lots of dairy foods: blintzes, cheesecake, and more! Some say we adapted this custom because of Shlomo Hamelech‘s portrayal of the Torah as “devash vechalav tachat leshonech – like honey and milk it lies under your tongue (Shir Hashirim 4:11)”

All the above should be enough to get us excited but there is more…

Contest! Contest! Contest!

Photo by: Good Food

We are proud to announce The Kosher Scene’s First Annual Shavuot Cheese Cake Contest. Please send your entries with detailed recipe and pictures (if possible, close ups preferred), no later than this coming Thursday, the 13th of May, by 5:00 Eastern Daylight Time. Entries will be judged on texture, crust, creative topping, recipe details and of course the overall taste. Don’t forget to include your full name and address, so we can let you know immediately if you win and send out the prize so that you receive it in time for Shavuos.

Please note that CS and I are considered world experts in cheese cake consumption, so your recipe better be really good!!! Send your recipes to:

KosherScene@gmail.com

Winner will receive a beautiful assortment of Cholov Yisroel NK (Natural & Kosher) cheeses. We’ve reviewed them on this very pages.

You may also send in any of your favorite Shavuos recipes, the best ones will be featured, right here, on The Kosher Scene.

SYR