The Celebration of a Good Story and Its Power

Passover is my favorite Jewish holiday. What’s not to love? It’s your religious duty to drink 4 brimming glasses of wine (and it no longer needs to be the sickly sweet Manischewitz kind), you eat a huge meal … while reclining and it’s a mitzvah (good deed) to welcome all those who are hungry or don't have a seder to come join in yours. The modern day interpretation of this is inviting those who don’t celebrate Passover into your home to share in the meal and retelling of history. 

Ingredients for ceviche

But more than anything, I love the story of Passover. Sure, it’s the story of triumph over evil, perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds, it’s about faith and a plan that’s bigger than all of us and it’s about community and our place within it. It's about challenging ourselves to think about the 21st century things that enslave us and fight for our freedom. But every year, I discover something new in the unspoken words within the story that stick with me. Recently, I learned that the correct translation of “go in peace” is actually, “go towards peace.” I think essentially this is what G-d and Moses were aiming for with the Israelites - go toward the land of milk and honey that will give you the peace you need to live as you want to live. The year that I learned that Miriam, Moses sister, led the Israelites in the dessert with singing, dancing and a knack for finding water helped me feel closer to the story (up to that point, I had only heard the voices of men in the story). Or last year, when I realized that Moses didn’t just lead the Israelites out of slavery, he organized them, shaping them into a nation. He made them realize their own power, gave them confidence to use their voice and guided them when they were going astray. These are the discoveries that fill your spiritual cup to the brim. 

Salmon Ceviche

But, here’s what I don’t love about Passover … the desserts. For all that is good in baking, ending a meal with a processed coconut macaroon that comes out of a can and has no expiration date, is not satisfying. Come to think of it, I also wasn't that fond of the 1st course. I have distinct memories of gefilte fish coming out of a jar and my grandmother asking for more jelly on her plate. Or, as my brother and I called it, “snot.” Although I like gefilte fish, minus the snot, it’s not my favorite part of a Passover meal.

It wasn’t until we started the “Functional Friends Seder” with dear friends in Washington, DC that I started experimenting with different options at the Passover table. While I started with dessert, my girlfriend who organized the Functional Friends Seder and was on the same quest to re-invent the Seder meal, started with the main dish. She created a delicious Moroccan Pastille – filo dough filled with cinnamon and spice infused shredded chicken, baked then topped with more cinnamon and powdered sugar. Delicious? Yes. Kosher for Passover? Absolutely not. 

My grandmother

I made a rich, decadent and totally satisfying flourless chocolate cake that was kosher for Passover. I also searched for recipes to replace gefilte fish yet stay in the same theme. I found a salmon ceviche recipe in Joan Nathan’s book JewishCooking in America and it was a hit. The spice of the serrano chili’s mixed with avocado, lime and tomatoes reminded me of home and the fresh salmon felt like it belonged on the Seder table.

Several years later, my husband and I spent Passover with my family in Paris. I watched my cousin as she made what was essentially matzo meal beignets drizzled in a fresh orange juice and honey simple syrup. It was a recipe my grandmother made in Algeria for Passover and having lived with my grandmother for several years, my cousin learned it from her. 

When I asked my cousin for the recipe she quickly rattled if off to me ... in French. It was at the moment I realized that as decent as my French is, my ability to understand numbers, measurements in grams and then convert them to ounces was non-existent. I thought the memory of this sweet, yet citrusy, dessert was permanently exiled to the place in my brain reserved for delicious food memories never to be heard from again.

Sfereet

Then, while reading The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden (yes, I read the cookbook, it’s that good of a read), I discovered my grandmothers recipe and in measurements I understood without having to translate. I was thrilled when Roden gave several variations of the recipe from throughout North Africa. In Algeria, the recipe was called “Sfereet.”  The sweetness yet airy and light texture of this dessert mingled with the slightly acidic flavor in the syrup makes this the perfect end to a spiritually and belly filling meal. Until next year.

The Celebration of No Assumptions

Tuna Romanoff Casserole straight from South Texas

Sometimes, women’s recipes of celebration take a decisively Americana turn circa Betty Crocker 1950’s. At a recent book club, the conversation turned to family recipes, things we loved that our mothers cooked as kids and how those meals still mark occasions when we get together.

I’ve known Elma, our hostess, for years. As one of 6 children who was raised in a small South Texas border town in the 1970’s and 80’s, I always assumed Elma was raised on Mexican food prepared from recipes that were passed down by generations of women with a pit-stop on Elma's family table on the road to the next generation. I was wrong. Like, really wrong. 

Elma said that she “had my fill of traditional Mexican dishes at my grandparents house on the weekends. But, at dinner time in my childhood home, American food ruled. When my parents married, my Mom could not cook at all. Nada. Not even make coffee.  She learned to cook from the 1968 edition of the Better Homes New Cookbook.That red and white checkered cookbook (and later other Betty Crocker cookbooks &recipes) became the heart of our family meals. We ate spaghetti, crispy tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs, mac & cheese, meatloaf, sausage & sauerkraut, scalloped potatoes, and LOTS of casseroles.” Because let’s face it, when you need to feed a crowd – Eight.People.Every. Day. - you need a rotation of simple dishes and a casserole is the perfect one dish meal.

So, when a new casserole was introduced into the rotation, it got noticed. At some point, Elma’s mom added tuna casserole – and for some reason called Tuna Romanoff – to the rotation. No one knows where the recipe came from and I quizzed Elma about why it’s called Tuna Romanoff. That remains a mystery. But what is known is that Tuna Romanoff quickly became a favorite and one that all of her siblings thought was the jackpot of the dinner carousel. 

Now, when Elma and her siblings get together, and with the addition of husbands and children, this is a big group, it’s the meal that binds the family together. Although the spouses think “we are totally weird and don't get how we could go so crazy over a tuna casserole. For us, it is comfort food which brings back heart-warming and joyful family memories.”

Elma made me promise I would make this if she gave me the recipe, and I did. With our little family of four, this was a huge hit with very few leftovers.

The Organization:

Elma, her husband, James (my brother from another mother), and several of my friends sit on the board of Avance. Avance is a national organization with local affiliates that give predominantly Spanish speaking parents tools for parenting and provide early childhood development and family support. Avance helps parents "play an important, proactive role in counteracting risk factors that lead to school underachievement." They provide parenting classes, ESL and give parents necessary resources. With early childhood development, Avance helps pre-k aged kids be school ready to ensure they succeed once in school. They help kiddos with things we take for granted like being reading ready, knowing their letters and numbers while giving them the confidence to be in school full time. I've been to several Avance events and am so impressed with the organization, it's effectiveness and the parents who participate in the programs. But more importantly, seeing these young children brimming with so much confidence and the seeds already planted in their minds that they can achieve anything makes supporting Avance as fulfilling as the most delicious casserole.