Here's this year's FRUIT HEAD, my special Rosh Hashanah custom, since my days as a vegetarian.
Shanah Tovah 5784
שנה טובה תשפ"ד
A Jewish Grandmother: Original, unedited daily musings, and host to the monthly Kosher Cooking Carnival. **Copyright(C)BatyaMedad ** For permission to use these in publications of any sort, please contact me directly. Private accredited distribution encouraged. Thank you.
Here's this year's FRUIT HEAD, my special Rosh Hashanah custom, since my days as a vegetarian.
Shanah Tovah 5784
שנה טובה תשפ"ד
The local Shiloh Swimming Pool is just a few minutes' walk from my house. This week is the the last of the season. Most of us would love another week, but this has already been the longest season ever.
Not only do we have "separate swimming" only, but the day begins and ends with 18+ adults only. That makes it a super pleasure. Our pool is very social, at least during Women's hours. No, we don't laze around on lounge chairs. We chat as we exercise in the water. Of course there are some serious swimmers, who are busy swimming laps, but many of us exercise with our heads above water most of the time. I'm going to miss the socializing as well as the water exercise.
Body and Soul: The Torah Path to Health, Fitness, and a Holy Life by Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld (Author), Dr. Daniel Grove MD (Author) is a good practical book about getting healthier despite being part of a culture and society that promotes overeating.
Because food and ritual eating is such an intrinsic part of Judaism, Body and Soul definitely has a market. Rabbi Seinfeld and Dr. Grove have written a very Jewish diet guide including typical, for many frum people, Shabbat/Chag menus, including what one noshes on at a kiddush. If you pencil in the calorie counts (from the guide at the end of the book) next to what you normally eat and then add it up, the chances are that you'd be horrified.
My most successful weight loss periods were when I kept a food chart, writing down what and how much I ate, plus the calorie counts. If you use a smart phone, that may be the best tool. There's probably an app which will make it easier. Rabbi Seinfeld and Dr. Grove also say that you really must know and keep track of what you eat. One of their tips is not to take second portions. For many people that makes a big difference in total calorie intake. And your total calorie intake is what's most important.
I would just like to add one of my suggestions. Simplify what you serve; make life easier and healthier. Don't give too many choices, because most people will try everything and eat more than they should. Serve just one carbohydrate. There's no reason to have both potato kugel and roasted potatoes. If you follow the custom of two and three kugel Shabbat, make spinach kugel, carrot kugel, along with either a noodle or potato kugel. There's no need to have three types of fleishik. One's enough, especially if you've started the meal with the first course of fish. Make lots of fresh salad and a choice of simple vegetables, no sugar/jam/honey added.
Body and Soul: The Torah Path to Health, Fitness, and a Holy Life is a very readable book and can really help people by opening their eyes and making them aware of what's in the food they eat. I recommend it as a very good start in improving one's and one's family's life and health.
Julius Caesar: in motion – August 8-24, 2023
After crossing the wide, complicated main road out of Jerusalem, I found myself admiring the lovely shade that seemed pretty new. Actually, the whole bus stop across from the road into Givat Shaul had looked unrecognizable. Then I turned around and suddenly saw the prefab public toilets that looked rather new. I quickly checked the efobus app and saw that I had five minutes, so I ran into the "ladies." It was clean smelling, equipped with paper and soap, but I was afraid to spend time photographing. So you'll have to take my word for it.
We must thank Mayor Moshe Lion for having so many new public toilets installed in Jerusalem and also making sure they're kept clean.
If you have some additional ones I should know of, please tell me in the comments, thanks.
תפילת ראש חודש נשים בשילה הקדומה בתל שילה
Join us at Ancient Shiloh, Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh the same location mentioned in the Bible. Yes, it's the place where the Mishkan Tabernacle stood for 369 years, Chana Hannah prayed for a son and later brought her precious son, Shmuel Samuel to be trained for leadership. Today there's a wonderful archeological site with activities and explanations for all ages to enjoy. Contact 02-578-9111, visit@telshilo.org.il. Accessible by public transportation.
The format and atmosphere of this tasting session were very relaxing; we sat around a dining room table instead of wandering in a noisy festival.
Unlike our tastings at festivals, here we had the bottles, and the one can from Schnitt, with us to examine, so we were able to check out things not usually known to us. We discovered a connection between the alcoholic content and the calories per 100 ml. They were amazingly (for the ignoramus -like me-) similar. I wasn't all that happy in discovering that. Apparently there is a need for more sugars/carbohydrates to produce alcohol. So if you're concerned about calories and carbohydrates, the alcohol content is easier to discover than the calories on the bottles; the print is usually larger.
We suggest more of a meal or snack with the Schnitt-Lervig beer.
Shikma's HaMishteh had more flavor and darker color, as you can see, than Schnitt-Lervig though it has the same alcohol and calorie contents. Combining ancient and modern technology there are traces of 3,000 year-old yeast. Ancient yeast is more like the natural yeast of sourdough bread. Yeast is needed for fermentation which turns the hops and other vegetation into alcohol/beer.Pishers' Guide to Jerusalem #37 Jerusalem's Safra Square's Renovated
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Doug and the beer tasters at the Israeli Craft Beer Festival, Jerusalem First Station |
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my latest batch of challah rolls baked with the cheapest honey rather than sugar |
For decades I've been making challah rolls with whole wheat (now 70%) flour, never white. In addition I use brown sugar, which has a stronger flavor, much more suited to whole wheat flour than white sugar. Click here for the standard recipe. Since we're not big bread eaters, I bake challah rolls and freeze them. This way each batch will last for over a month. Last week my local store still hadn't gotten its new supply of brown sugar, and I really wanted to bake a Post-Passover supply of challah rolls.
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step 1 |
Now the dilemma was how to measure honey without wasting a lot or eating/licking what stayed on the measuring cup.
Luckily I remembered a trick/technique I had once read about. As you can see in the photos, it's really pretty easy.
First I put flour in the mixing bowl. Of course I had to calculate how much honey to use instead of sugar. I checked with Pâtissie (Pastry Chef) Google. Some experts said use half the quantity you'd use for sugar and others said three-quarters.
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step 2 |
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step 3 |