Wellness Wednesday at JCC in Deal Park, NJ

Summertime in Deal is a swell of activity. CS and I stopped by the Deal Park JCC for the Kick-Off Event of their annual Jersey Shore Summer Film Festival. The ‘thought-provoking’ short and full length films feature filmmakers from around the world including Israel, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Australia and, of course, the US. The shorts include selections from the Ma’aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts dealing with issues ranging from the conflicts of love, war and religion in Israel to an insider’s look in to the life of a vegetable retailer in the souk to a survivor who lives to dance. Feature films include exciting titles like The Last Marranos, Only a Number and The Quarrel. The festival kicked off on July 27th and will continue until August 7th. For tickets and more info call 732 531 9106.

Stevie Doueck, the Festival’s Founding Director, graciously hosted us for part of the day; it was Wellness Wednesday featuring fitness classes, nutrition advice, the inspirational film Forks over Knives with a health discussion led by Sari Dan and a keynote address by
Dr. Frank Sabatino, a nutrition and wellness lifestyle counselor who incorporates chiropractic alignment, auriculotherapy and nutritional supplements in his private practice (whose work will be featured on the Kosher Scene’s Radio Show, time to be announced).

Jonny Zemmol, led a Laughter Therapy group, judging by the participants reactions during and after it was obviously fun, educational and a true release

We got to sample Fortune Debbah’s healthy salad dressings, which were simple to prepare and simply delicious. I’ve included one of her salad dressing recipes and a variation. The day’s festivities also included a healthy vegan lunch and dinner.

Fortune Debbah shared a recipe and a variation with the audience:

Garlic Basil Salad Dressing

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup basil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Equal amount of water as juice yield
• 2 teaspoons flax seed
• 1 small piece of onion (optional)
• 5 nuts (walnuts)
• Sea salt or braggs to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients in blender and use immediately

Variation

1 cup mint instead of basil, skip the cumin

We hope to bring you an interview with Fortune Debbah very soon, meanwhile, enjoy the salad dressing. Marlene Mamiye from The Jewish Hostess alerted us to this festival and we are glad she did!

SYR

Internet Radio Broadcast and a Recipe

Last week we were plagued by some faulty equipment and technical problems during our live broadcast from Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between 84 and 85th Streets on Manahattan’s Upper East Side). Today I did a makeup broadcast where I summarized what everyone said during the discussion we had on the Jewish cuisine, as a record of our history, dispersion and culture.

Our group consisted of Alessandra Rovati (dinnerinvenice.com), Geila Hocherman (kosherrevolution.com), Kim Amzallag (Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine) Levana Kirschenbaum (levanacooks.com), Marlene Mamiye (thejewishhostess.com) and Suzannah Raff (koshershopaholic.wordpress.com/)

Palov - Photo by: Kim Amzallag

After some mild and spicy salads, hummus, and more we were served palov – a Bukharian rice and beef dish. It was delicious but I couldn’t get the restaurant to share its recipe, so I was forced to go online to search for it. Here’s what I found on about.com:

Bukharian Rice – Plov

My 12-year-old son, who is by far our family’s pickiest eater, came home from his friend’s house singing praises about this amazing rice dish. The song went something like this, “It was the most delicious dinner I have ever eaten in my whole life!” Of course I immediately called Ilanit for the recipe. I was happy to discover he was talking about a rice, chicken, vegetable combination prepared in one pot. Without further ado, enjoy Ilanit’s Bukharian Rice recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 onions, chopped
• 6 carrots, grated thick
• 5 Tablespoons oil (enough to cover bottom of pot)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 pounds (1-1.5 kilo) boneless chicken breast, cut into small bite-size squares
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 1/2 cups rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt rice
• 3 1/2 cups boiling water (enough to cover the rice by 1/2 inch or 1 cm)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pot. Add onions, and then carrots. Stir in the sugar. Cook until the onions are translucent.
2. Lay the chicken on top of the onions and carrots. Don’t stir in order to maintain a layer of vegetables and a distinct layer of meat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken. Cook the chicken, gently turning the pieces over in the middle, until the chicken turns white.
3. Add rice on top of the chicken. Don’t stir because the layers of vegetables and chicken should remain undisturbed, but distribute the rice evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add boiling water. Turn the heat down to low and cover.
4. After about 15 minutes, scrap down the sides and poke a few holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot with the handle of a wooden spoon. Cover and cook for another 15-25 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
5. Serve in reverse order of the layers. Put the rice, then the chicken, then the vegetables onto the plates.Yields: 6-8 servings.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. We did!

CS

Live at Nargila – Part 3 – Tomorrow’s Radio Show

Tomorrow we will once again, be’ezras Hashem, be transmitting live from Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10028; Tel: 212.535.3700). Why? Because… tomorrow the owner’s mother will be cooking her famed Bukharian dishes.

A corner at Nargila Grill...

With me will be Alessandra Rovati (Dinner in Venice), Esti Berkowitz (Primetime Parenting), Levana Kirschenbaum (Levana Cooks), Kim Amzallag (Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine), Marlene Mamiye (The Jewish Hostess), and Suzannah Raff (The Kosher Shopaholic).

Another corner...

We will discuss the cultural differences in Jewish foods, how the Jews throughout history were influenced by the local environment, but still managed to keep a strong Jewish tradition. It’s been said that its food defines a people, we will discuss how we adapted ourselves how the Jewish cuisine evolved and is far more than just gefilte fish, brisket and tcholent.

You can tune in to us at 7:30pm (Eastern Time) tomorrow evening at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kosherscene or you can join us at Nargila Grill ((1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10028; Tel: 212.535.3700) for an evening of great talk and superb food. Nargila Grill is under the hasgacha of of the O K Labs.

I can’t wait to be surprised by owner/manager Michael’s mother cooking, I’m sure we’ll likely wash with some lepeshka bread, have some plov (Bukarian rice), or maybe we’ll have some samsa? or kebobs? Hmmnn, my mouth is watering! Oh, what’s the use, I better not think about and just taste whatever delicacies as they come.

So, gentle reader, considering the great food and the low prices we’ll we see you there? Why not come over and say hello?

CS

Live from Nargila! – Part 2

This past Wednesday, The Kosher Scene Radio Show did a live broadcast from Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10028; Tel: 212.535.3700).

From left to right: Esti Berkowitz (Primetime Parenting), Alessandra Rovati (Dinner in Venice), Marlene Mamiye (The Kosher Hostess), Yours Truly, at the controls (The Kosher Scene), Kim Amzallag (Mishpacha/Kosher Inspired Magazine); Suzannah Raff (The Kosher Shopaholic), not pictured - as she spoke to us on the phone - Amy Channa (The Gluten Free Maven) PHOTO BY: Irving Schild

Nargila Grill is a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean type restaurant, the decor authentic Middle Eastern, with softly piped in music to match.

Getting ready to order. PHOTO BY: Irving Schild

After the show we all enjoyed an incredibly delicious meal consisting of assorted Mediterranean salads, beef, lamb, and chicken kabobs. Each type of meat was done in a variety of styles and came on multiple skewers, each more succulent than the other!)

We are going back next Wednesday, to do another live show and to enjoy the owner’s mother’s Bukharian cooking. She comes in once a month to prepare some real delicacies. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Why don’t you join us at: Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10028; Tel: 212.535.3700), next Wednesday evening? We’d love to meet you and we know you’ll love the food! We’ll leave the light on for ya. May we have the pleasure of seeing you there?

CS

Live from Nargila!

The Kosher Scene Radio Show, this evening at 7:30pm (Eastern Time), will be transmitting live from Nargila Restaurant (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10021; Tel: 212.535.3700). With us we’ll have: Alessandra Rovati from Dinner in Venice, Amy Chana from The Gluten Free Maven, Esti Berkowitz from Primetime Parenting, Kim Amzallag from Mishpacha Magazine, Marlene Mamiye from The Jewish Hostess and Suzanah Raff from The Kosher Shopaholic. Also with us, will be my dear friend Irving Schild, photographer extraordinaire, and possibly my coblogger SYR. We will talk with each of the mom-bloggers about the particular focus of their individual blogs, about the liberating effect of writing, the new contacts and interaction that have resulted, social media in general and – of course – food. We are all foodies, after all!

If you missed our last show on the Wednesday prior to Shavuos, you can hear the archived recording right here. Our guests included Moshe Vogel from Anderson International Foods in the first half hour and Kim Amzallag from Mishpacha/Kosher Inspired Magazine. In honor of Yom Yerushalayim we started the hour with the reading of a very short piece I wrote a few years back (which was reprinted on The Jerusalem Post and on Ynet.com). It was about the first Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem. I was there when the Old City – Ir Hatika became ours again…

Please listen to us this evening, from 7:30 to 8:30, on BlogTalkRadio/kosherscene, Call us on the air at: 714.333-3357 with your comments, questions or suggestions or join us at Nargila Restaurant (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10021; Tel: 212.535.3700). We’ll keep the light on for ya!

CS