Recipes

Spice It Up with Za’atar

{image_1} Because of Israel’s year-long celebration of their 60th and this month’s Jerusalem Day (June 2), I wanted to pick a recipe that was particularly descriptive of Israeli cuisine. But, is there really an Israeli cuisine? Because Jewish people have been making aliyah (immigrating to Israel) since the state was born, it’s hard to say what is Israeli. Immigrants have come from more than 50 nations, which makes for a very unique Israeli “soup.” Others say that there is no original Israeli cuisine because everything Israelis eat can be found in other Middle Eastern countries. So, za’atar (or zatar or zahatar) may not be a distinctive Israeli spice, but you can’t be in Israel for long without bumping into it. And once you do, you don’t want to go home without it.

Deep-fried Deliciousness: Bimuelos

By Charleeda Sprinkle, Assistant Editor

{image_1}Jewish people around the world celebrate Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) by eating oil-soaked foods. Why? The holiday is best known for the miracle of oil that took place after the Temple, polluted by the Greeks in 165 BC, was cleansed. A single day’s oil for the golden menorah (seven-branched candelabra) lasted eight days! The oil, some rabbis say, is like studying Torah (Gen.–Deut.). Just as oil enhances our food, so the Torah enhances our lives. Also, oil illuminates, as does the Torah. And when oil and sugar are combined (as in our recipe), they make the comparison all the more significant. “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103).

The Fig – Sweet as Honey:  Honey Baked Figs

{image_1}It is believed by some that the “honey from the rock” was from the fig because the fig tree can grow in rocky places. The natural sweetness of the fruit is attested to in the “parable of the trees,” where the fig tree is asked to be king over all the trees (Judges 9:7–15). The fig’s answer is, “Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over trees?” Even the fig is seemingly jealous of its own sweetness.

Mimouna – A Unique End to Passover: Mufleta Recipe

Passover and Holocaust Memorial Day usually fall close to each other on the calendar. Is there any connection? I think so, though I’m sure it wasn’t purposely planned.

Moroccan Jewry: Moroccan Chicken Tagine

By Charleeda Sprinkle

Jewish people have been living in Morocco, on the northwestern corner of Africa, since before the Roman Empire. Before 1948, there were over 265,000 Jews in Morocco; now there are only 5,000 to 7,000. However, approximately 600,000 Moroccan Jews live in Israel today!

Egg-Lemon Soup

A simple but delicious Middle Eastern soup for a cold winter night’s meal by Hanukkah candlelight!

God’s Wake-Up Call: Tilapia (fish) Twist

The Jewish New Year is celebrated on Rosh Hashanah, Hebrew for “head of the year.” However, you will not find that name in the Bible, even though it is one of the seven biblical feasts. Its biblical name is Yom Teruah, the day of the sounding of trumpets (Lev. 23:23–25). The Jewish New Year is quite solemn compared to rowdy, Western New Year’s Eve parties, as it is understood to be the day God judges His people.

Makluba – Enjoying Middle Eastern Cuisine

Often, when my roommates and I have had guests from the nations at our Shabbat (Sabbath) table on Friday night, we have enjoyed serving them a Middle Eastern meal for a special cultural experience. My favorite choice is makluba, an upside-down chicken and rice dish. It has a delicious Middle Eastern flavor and lends to a very dramatic presentation––turning the hot pot upside-down into a perfectly molded creation.

Counting the Omer The Value of a Day: Crispy Barley Cookies

By Charleeda Sprinkle

“ You shall count fifty days…” Leviticus 23:15. Pentecost (Greek, meaning “fiftieth”) or Shavuot (Hebrew, meaning “weeks”) is a biblical feast that starts this year on the evening of the second of June. Although there are 50 days between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot, the two holidays are very connected, because God tells us to count the days between them—a command most of us overlook. Jews call this “counting the omer” (a sheaf or measurement of grain).The counting always starts on the second day of Pesach.

3-Minute Bread! Matza Make Your Own

By Charleeda Sprinkle

“On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread” (Lev. 23:6).

Just about the first thing you think of when you think of Passover or Pesach is matza, the unleavened, cracker-like bread eaten during the eight-day festival. Why do I say eight when the above Scripture says seven? First comes Passover, commemorating the day the lamb was slaughtered and eaten the night before the Israelites left Egypt. The seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately follows, celebrating the actual Exodus.