Dieting Again, Bring on The Cabbage!

I'm trying to make small tasty changes to reduce calories, carbohydrates and fats in my diet to lose weight and keep it off. So, I'm eating less carrots and more cabbage, cauliflower, green squash and other lower glycemic vegetables.

So last night this was dinner:

And since I didn't have eggs in the morning, I cooked eggs on it for my protein. All this was very simply cooked in a large covered frying pan:

• onion
• squash
• fresh garlic
• bit of vegetable oil
• after partially cooked added the:
• tomato
• cabbage
• and a few minutes later the eggs
• topped with coarsely ground black pepper, no salt at all

Delicious and filling. It was a full meal. I had eaten lots of salad at lunch, so I didn't need anything raw. There's enough fiber here.

Since the laws of kashrut also require leafy vegetables, such as cabbage to be cleaned and checked, I cut up a cabbage and soaked it in salt water. After a few minutes I took out the cabbage and checked the water. Since it was clean, I rinsed the cabbage well, let the water drain out and then packed the pieces in a plastic bag to be kept refrigerated. That way it's ready to be used. I do the same with cauliflower, lettuces etc. If you find bugs, even after a second soak and rinse, check etc., then  call it a loss and dump it. When you buy these vegetables in the winter, the proper season, they are pretty clean. I don't bother buying broccoli and cauliflower in the summer; that's when they are full of bugs and had been in storage.

Carefully Keeping Kosher

When I'm at work, Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, I take my meal breaks in the pizza/burger kiosk which is, like Yafiz, part of the Rami Levy business empire. I've blogged about my NS15 chicken breast meals I get there.  I only buy them (or something else from the supermarket) when it's impossible for me to bring food from home.

You may be a bit confused, since the place is kosher and you can buy either meat or dairy meals. So to make things clear, there are two very separate kitchens, but the tables can be used by customers eating either or. That means that there can be leftover/scraps of pizza or meat on the tables. That can be very problematic according to the Laws of Kosher food/kashrut. The only way I'd put food on the table for me to eat is to cover it first.

There's a large roll of paper towels, so I take a nice sized piece and make myself a "placemat" of sorts. I've been doing this ever since I began eating there. Honestly, I think that I'm the only one who does this. It's not like there's a "wait staff" who is constantly cleaning the tables. I'm just this nutty, fanatic Ashkenaz American...

But then not long ago I discovered a sign up on the wall.

Dear Customers,
According to Jewish Law, one must place "paper," (paper towel no doubt) under the food you are eating on the table.
Thank you and hearty appetite

So, I'm not a crazy fanatic after all!

Does Your Whiskey Need a "Hechsher" to Be Kosher?

I'm not a whiskey drinker.  Water, wine and a very occasional beer are my limit. But for those Torah observant Jews who like their drinks serious and strong, whiskey is their favorite.

If you're not yet familiar with Jewniverse, now's the time. You may like to get into this article about kosher whiskey.

But obtaining the certification isn’t easy. Over the years, distilleries acquire hundreds of oak casks for aging their whiskey, and their origins are generally unknown. Many of the casks are assumed to have housed sherry in the past, which, as wine, is subject to much stricter kashrut scrutiny. So kosher scotch-makers like Glenmorangie have to know exactly what’s been in their casks.

Bottoms up!