What is family?

What makes a family?

It is a question that I have come across quite often, and it's one that I still often debate in my head. Is it simply being related? Somehow, I don't think so -- I have relatives who I am related to, but I wouldn't consider them a part of my family. Hell, there is a whole clan on my father's side who I have only met several times in my life. Would I consider them my family? Most likely, no.

Meanwhile, some of my friends are as close as siblings to me. Patrice and I are "sisters," and my friend Adam has almost been like the adorable younger brother I never had, and when I get off the phone with my friend Eve, we always tell each other, "I love you." When we go to certain young professionals events in our community, it feels like a giant family reunion filled with loving aunts, uncles and cousins.

As much as I love my immediate family members, I don't see them that often. Since I live in Long Beach, and many people from the greater Los Angeles area believe than anything south of the 10 freeway is the equivalent to the end of the world, I don't get as many visits as I would like. So, over time, a new family was created for Ari and I, filled with friends.

I don't love my family members any less. I do love them dearly, particularly all my amazing cousins, my pragmatic sage of a father, my funny mother and my sister who is... well, my sister. But they are just as much my family as Nelli, Inbar, Rae, Patrice, Josh and the whole gang. When I hug them after a long week at a Shabbat dinner, it feels like coming home.

I would love my family members and I to be closer, but the fact is that, considering everything, I've got a pretty good family here -- one that laughs, loves and finds happiness through each other. It's important to cherish the ones that we love and who love us -- no matter how they are related to us.

So in honor of them, I will put out one of my favorite recipes, for toasted orzo. I love this dish, and it is good whether you want it as a side dish or as a midnight snack. Shabbat shalom!

TOASTED ORZO

1 lb. bag of orzo (about 2 1/2 cups)
2-3 tablespoons butter or margarine
5 cups water with 5 teaspoons chicken bullion
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter or margarine in the bottom of a sauce pan over medium high heat. Once the butter is hot enough, add the orzo and stir continuously to allow to evenly coat and to toast until a golden brown.

Add the water with bullion to the mixture along with salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to absorb the water, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Westboro Baptist Church is coming!

This is an interruption to the regular schedule of YBK, but this is particularly important...

The Westboro Baptist Church has plans to come to Long Beach and protest. They're starting at our Long Beach Jewish festival, Jewlicious. If you are from Southern California, you need to make yourself known.

Just so you know, they're also planning protests at Temple Beth Shalom, the Ragga Muffins Festival and Wilson High School. Their targets on this trip are protests against Jews and gays.

I know my friend Sam says that we should leave them alone, but we should not stand for this behavior! Make yourself known! For the Jews, wear your biggest star of David! I'm tempted to offer them food, but the response will probably be, "We don't want your devil food, you she-whore!" Hey, it does strange things to New Yorkers, so I want to see the reaction of these so-called Bible thumpers.

For more information, check out the article on 562citylife.com (the link is below), along with the Facebook event.

http://www.562citylife.com/profiles/blogs/hate-group-planning-to-protest

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=281267866742&index=1

Can you suggest anything that I should make for these people? I think I need a good cookie recipe for this one... evil Jew cookies... ;-)

Website Faves

Well, everyone, it's been a long day on the road, and I am back in Southern California. Since I am too tired to write a new post, I am going to give a shout-out to several of my favorite kosher sites.

Here at YBK, we love surfing the internet, particularly at cafés with free wifi. We have a lot of kosher favorites, so it’s time to give a shout out to three kosher websites that keep us going and that we adore.

Mykosherla.com: One of my new favorite people, Aryeh, runs this site. He’s totally cool, and so is this website. If you’re in LA and you need to know all about the best kosher food, shopping for your groceries, where to find a caterer or simply are so broke that you need some coupons, then mykosherla.com is the ultimate hook up. As a kosher Angelino, we needed something special like this for a long time.

Yeahthatskosher.com: If you’re heading out of town, this site will let you know what’s kosher all around the world. They have features about different towns all across the United States as well, along with the tourist destinations you may want to visit. It’s a great resource.

Kosherinthekitch.com: Nina makes recipes perfect for the kosher kitchen, but that’s not all she does. She has full descriptions of what is kosher versus what isn’t, courtesy of Chabad. It’s kitchsy and fabulous, and so YBK salutes them!

I will try to post three kosher sites a week so we can all share in the glory. If you have one, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at youngbrokekosher@gmail.com.

Telling Stories

Currently, I am sitting in the Hyatt in Santa Clara, but I am in a reflective mood. Possibly because of the session I attended before I went to lunch.

This conference is Web 3.0, and I am volunteering. I thought it would be a good way to reflect and to be able to make YBK the best it can be, especially when we launch our site soon. The conference is mainly on semantic web, or having searches understand what is going on in an article or a website, and then connecting sites to one another to get as much information as possible.

I attended an online publishing session, and there was a panel there. One of the people on the panel was Ben Ilfeld. This guy is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Sacramento Press. But what he had to say was something that I found important.

“We need to think not only of a newspaper as having articles, but also focusing on the stories involved,” he said. I don’t know if these were his exact words (I wasn’t planning to quote), but it was the gist of what he was saying.

I realize that, in this current media age, we seem to forget telling stories. It’s not enough that you report the who, what, where, when, why and how; we have to paint a picture for our readers. We shouldn’t just be able to tell people. We have to show them – without thinking about how many keywords of this versus that there are.

I don’t know if I have gotten to that point at YBK. I have been trying to tell the story of my life to the best of my capability. For what are we without our stories? Where would be if our greatest stories were shattered by the fact that authors were more interested in finding keywords? That also goes for the greatest stories that were told by great journalists, whether it was long narrative pieces to the simplest story told.

I find that all foods have stories behind them, whether it’s how a piece of produce came to you or how a dish was developed. Food is more than what you put in your mouth. There is craft and artistry behind it, developed for countless centuries. It is up to us to embrace it.

This dessert has a very interesting story, ironically related to growing up in Northern California. Every once and again, our teachers would send us home with recipes – particularly if there was a lesson on fractions or some odd thing like studying the moon. Cookie pizza, from what I believe, came from a fractions lesson. This is a slightly updated – and open-ended – version.

COOKIE PIZZA

1 tube of cookie dough (see Quick Tip 1)
1 cup spread (see potential ideas below)
Candy pieces and/or fruit

Spreads:
Yogurt
Caramel
Peanut Butter
Chocolate spread, such as Nutella
Whipped cream

Candy Toppers:
Chocolate chips
Marshmallows (see Kosher Alert)
Sprinkles
Candied nuts
Candy-coated chocolates

Fruit Toppings and other crazy things:
Raisins
Sliced Strawberries
Blueberries
Sliced Bananas
Grapes
Sliced Peaches
Sliced Apples
Nuts
Coconut Flakes

Spread the cookie on a pizza pie pan or cookie sheet and bake according to package directions. If using candy ingredients, make sure to underbake by a couple of minutes.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes. If using a thicker spread (see Quick Tip 2), microwave until it’s a thinner consistency. Pour on top of the cookie and spread out using a knife or spatula.

Top with desired candy toppings and put back in the oven for about five minutes, or until the candy toppings are slightly melted. Allow to cool for five minutes and add fruit or other crazy things, if desired, before serving.
If you want a fruit-only pizza, use a colder spread and top with fruit once the cookie is cooled.

Quick Tip 1: Sugar cookies tend to work best for this recipe. However, feel free to experiment with peanut butter or even chocolate chip if that makes you happy.

Quick Tip 2: If using a colder spread, such as whipped cream or yogurt, you will not be able to pop your pizza back into the oven, let alone zap it. Instead, just top with whatever you want and serve.

KOSHER ALERT!: Normal marshmallows aren’t kosher. They have gelatin in them. However, you can get kosher marshmallows. Sometimes they will stock them in your kosher aisle, sometimes you have to search for them. They don’t melt like regular ones do, but they taste all right. However, vegetarians are warned: they do have fish gelatin in them.

Welcome to the past

The long drive today up the 101 was a strange one. This was something I had never done on my own, and never dreamed I would do. For one, I never dreamed I would go back home.

Now, most people know my home as being the town I grew up in, Thousand Oaks. Others would tell me I am from Long Beach -- and I am proud to say that I am. But San Jose and the towns surrounding it -- Santa Clara, Cupertino and Saratoga -- all make for a strange and interesting glimpse into my past.

From the ages of five to 10, I lived in this area, walking the dogs, going to synagogue, and overall just being a kid. It's very different from when I grew up -- the stores have changed, and obviously the Silicon Valley is not what it used to be. But the fact of the matter is that in strange little glimpses, I see where I spent carefree days and peaceful nights.

Our life in Northern California was far from idyllic, though. At that age, I never knew that my father was out of work for so long, that we struggled to stay afloat, and that life was difficult. I got slight looks of it, from when dad commuted back and forth to Southern California for work, or when my mom found inexpensive ways to make us food. I remember around this time my mom halting her purchases of kosher meat -- mainly because there was only one kosher butcher in town, and she didn't like him much. He seemed to take advantage of the fact that he was the only game in town.

This wasn't a large Jewish community, although there were Jews here and we had Jewish friends. We were very active in this community, particularly at the Hebrew school at the temple. There were teachers at my elementary school that didn't know Yom Kippur from kippers and eggs. But we lived in diversity, which was a very sweet part of the life down here.

I remembered that, as a child, we seemed to live a double life -- one where any holidays were spent driving down the I-5 or 101 to Los Angeles and my grandparents' apartment. We rarely took vacations as we were always coming down to have the family coo over us and how big we were getting. I remember passing all the stops -- from Casa de Frutta to rolling down the windows in Gilroy, smelling that delicious garlic wafting in the car.

Although we didn't have much, we took joy in the simple pleasures of life -- even something as simple as the smell of garlic. My mother taught us to enjoy, to appreciate everything despite the fact we had nothing. It was a lesson that I have taken into the current state of my marriage, where Ari and I don't have jobs. But there are times where I look into his soft brown eyes, lingering on them as we're talking, and realize that we may not have all the money in the world, but thank G-d we have each other through these trying times.

On that note, I leave one of my mother's recipes on here from when we were growing up in San Jose. It was for Italian chicken, and it was a big favorite of my sister's and mine. Little did I know, it doesn't take that much to cook it.

ITALIAN CHICKEN

1 cup Italian dressing
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 whole chicken, cut up
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Put the chicken in a deep pot. Cover with Italian dressing, basil and oregano. Cover and cook for 45 minutes over a low heat. Serve hot, preferably with pasta.

Adventures at the Hi-Ho Market

My father is a very interesting man, filled with plenty of stories for anyone who has the patience and time to hear them. Since I have been his daughter for the past 27 years of my life, I know all these stories, ranging from my father’s days in theater to his experiences in the entertainment industry.

He may not like me for saying this, but some of the stories I remember most are those from a place known as the Hi-Ho Market.

My grandfather Saul owned this market, which was located in Inglewood, California. He wanted to be a doctor, but coming from a poor immigrant’s family, there was only enough money to send one of the children to medical school. So instead, Saul opened a business. The entire family, ranging from his cousins to his own sons, worked at the market.

My father would go down with his father to downtown Los Angeles to pick up the produce. Every day, off of Alameda Street, shipments of produce from all across the country – hell, all around the world – would meet there for the local grocers to come and pick them up to bring to their markets.

I have learned never to take the market for granted partially because of my father (a field trip to the grocery store in elementary school didn't hurt, either). There are actual people working their tails off to get you your food. My dad, his father and the whole family worked crazy hours in order to get their business going. It’s amazing to me what small business owners do to keep things going. Their livelihood hangs on threads, and you do everything to keep things afloat. It was possibly this that made me become a business writer when I was working – somehow, I understood the struggle.

But just because they had a business didn’t mean that they didn’t know how to have a good time. My dad would make a habit of stealing celery from the back (as a matter of fact, many of my father’s favorite foods stem from working at the market) and throwing barbecues, allowing the scent to waft into the store. He claimed that it would make people buy more food.

Sometimes, I think of my father and his father travelling through the docks, particularly when I rush through downtown on my way home from somewhere. The truth is I appreciate what they did for people in their community by providing something as simple as groceries during difficult times, even during World War II when food was being rationed. I don’t think many people understand that people working jobs that seem so trivial are really more important than they think. We take them for granted. But they really do matter.

So the next time you go into a market, take a look at the workers, and really appreciate them, whether they’re unloading the veggies or stocking the shelves. They are truly special.

So in honor of them, I bring you a very special recipe. Among our family, Nony’s tuna salad is the stuff of legends. My dad happens to have a particular affinity towards it, probably because there’s so much celery in it. This is my own adjusted version of the recipe, and it is so good you may not want to let it go – or you may end up like me, who rarely eats tuna salad unless it’s made by me or my mother.

NONY’S TUNA SALAD

2 cans tuna (see quick tip)
3 stalks celery
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sweet dressing, such as honey mustard
3 tablespoons dried minced onion or baco bits (optional)

Drain the tuna and put in a small bowl. Break up all the large pieces with a fork. Dice the celery into 1/4 inch pieces and add to the bowl. Add mayonnaise and stir.

Add the sweet dressing and minced onion. Stir. Allow to rest and cool in the refrigerator. It can be served as an individual salad, in a sandwich or as a tuna melt.

Quick Tip: There are two general types of canned tuna: chunk light and Albacore. Chunk light is darker and has more of a fishy taste. Albacore is not as fishy and has more of a meaty texture, but costs more. I recommend that if you are using chunk light that you add some lemon juice. It helps counteract the fishy-ness.

Kayaking with G-d

Yes, you read that right. Let me explain.

This past Sunday, before the dreary rain of the current moment came in, I went into a kayak with my friend Jaclyn. The sky was bright blue with strokes of white cloud, although if you looked carefully you could see the rain clouds about to roll in to Long Beach.

I was ready to go, wearing my traditional kayaking outfit -- a denim skirt, long-sleeved black shirt and a swimsuit underneath it all. The sand under my toes felt so good, and the sun coming down made the cold day seem much warmer than it was.

And then it happened -- I rowed out to the water. When I got into the kayak, it felt so natural, so peaceful. For some odd reason, in a kayak I feel extremely close to nature. Despite the not-so-natural surroundings of bridges, houses and plenty of boats, there was a great calmness in my soul. Moving the paddle along the water, feeling the wind against my skin and looking up at the bright blue heavens -- there are no words.

Jaclyn and I were laughing and talking about many a thing -- not to mention my fall into the water once we reached Marina Pacifica, a first for me. But I felt so close to heaven, yet so close to earth. Sometimes, in a state of joblessness, you feel so detached, and for the first time in a long time, I felt this great connection to the world around me.

I have been on a path to get active recently (more on that later this week), but what has always made kayaking special for me is getting out on the water. It's a full sensory experience -- the sights, the sounds, and the smell and feel of salt water, although I also got an unnecessary taste of it this past experience. When I feel it, I feel good as I pass other people who are also enjoying the water, either with a rowing team or wakeboarding.

I feel so connected to this world, and so connected to G-d, when I do things like this. I am a part of this earth, as G-d made everyone a part of it. We should enjoy it to its fullest. It reminds me of the Torah portion of Noah, where it spoke of Noah walking to G-d. We should all find a way, whether it’s taking a walk or paddling along in a kayak, that we get this feeling.

One way to get in touch with the world around me, I find that nothing grounds me better than a delicious fresh salad. A kosher salmon cobb is a good one, filled with protein and lots of tasty treats.

SALMON COBB SALAD

1-2 cans (6 oz.) salmon

1 red pepper

1 head romaine lettuce (see quick tip 1)

1 cup black olives

2 hard boiled eggs

3-4 strips soy bacon or ¼ cup baco bits (see quick tip 2)

½ cup grated cheese

1 cup prepared ranch dressing (see Kosher Alert!)

½ cucumber

Cut the roots and tips off of the romaine lettuce and slice up and put in a large bowl. Cut the red pepper in half and remove the stem, seeds and any white parts. Slice into ½ inch pieces. Peel the cucumber and slice into ¼ inch slices. Add into the bowl.

Slice the egg and the soy bacon and top the salad. Add the olives and the ranch dressing and toss. Serve.

Quick Tip 1: You can buy a bag of already cut and cleaned romaine lettuce. With regular lettuce, you need to clean it thoroughly to make sure there are no bugs and no dirt -- a big issue for kashrut.

Quick Tip 2: There are people who object to using things like soy bacon and baco bits because they retain the appearance of something that’s unkosher. If this bothers you, feel free to find your own salty and crispy substitute.

KOSHER ALERT!: There are kosher ranch dressings out there. However, they are few and far in between. Although ranch is traditional, any creamy dressing will do if you can’t find a kosher ranch. Just make sure to look for the hecshers.

Some fun things

I will post today's entry for YBK in about an hour or so, but until then, here is are several photos to amuse you, courtesy of Whatshisface, my new Macbook.

First, say hello to my purple carrot!

I actually found out this weekend that in order get these bad boys purple, they breed them with beets! It actually figures, because the last time I used them, they stained my fingers purple for a while.

Now, to the cauliflower...

This cauliflower is called a Romanesco cauliflower. Although it looks strange, it's not unlike your normal cauliflower. Weird random fact: Do you know that cauliflower also comes in orange and purple varieties?

I got both of these from my favorite vendor at the farmer's market, along with a mix of miniature red, white and blue potatoes. I'm going to use those to make a meat and potato hash my grandmother made called pulpa, and I'm making the cauliflower above as a side dish. I'm planning to use my purple carrots for a multi-colored Asian slaw pretty soon.

I will keep you posted on how they turn out!

Julia

Yesterday, I spoke of the inspiration that Martin Luther King, Jr. had on me early on in life. But today, I am going to speak of the great lady who has been an inspiration to cooks all over the world. That lady, of course, is Julia Child.

Many people have spoken about her greatness, of course – hell, there was a movie this summer pretty much all about her (Julie Powell seemed to just accidentally show up). Julia’s contributions to cooking in the United States are legendary, allowing women to go beyond 1950s style and make things that are truly amazing and delicious.

But my inspiration from Julia comes from a lady by the name of Judy Zeidler. This woman is legendary in the kosher cooking world, particularly in Los Angeles. She founded several restaurants and has written multiple cookbooks, several of which I own. I have corresponded with her in the past, and she is simply a lovely woman who told me, no matter what, to never give up my passion for cooking.

In “The Gourmet Jewish Cookbook,” Judy comes up with plenty of different recipes from all around the world, even adapting recipes that may not traditionally be kosher to a world that doesn’t consume pork and shellfish.

Judy was at one point trying to adapt a recipe for bouillabaisse, particularly Julia Child’s. In French cuisine, this dish usually contains all sorts of different shellfish. At one point, Judy ran into Julia and told her what she was trying to do. Julia couldn’t have been happier. Judy and Julia had quite a friendship, and Judy has even written about it. But it amazed me how much respect Julia seemed to have for the kosher kitchen – remember how I said earlier that many chefs would rather die than have their pork taken away? Not Julia. She seemed to embrace challenge, along with good food -- no matter how it came.

It’s actually a rare thing to find these days, that beautiful respect. Hell, I have friends that are still confused by the fact that I don’t eat meat when I go out with them to a restaurant – in fact, many kosher people I know wouldn't even go with them to said restaurant. Taking on kashrut is quite a challenge for anyone, but it is something we do because we truly believe in it. I love my faith, but I love good food with lots of great flavor. Luckily, I can have both.

In turn, Julia’s respect for the kosher kitchen led me to appreciate her philosophy of cooking, and indeed the true heart of French cooking: Food doesn’t necessarily need ten zillion herbs. You don’t need any fancy gimmicks. What really matters at the end of the day is that your ingredients are fresh and that you keep things simple, all while every once in a while throwing something new into the mix. And above all, learn to truly enjoy food, and all the greatness it has. So whenever I sauté butter with some diced onions and thyme, and the scent wafts through my kitchen, I think of Judy, and I think of Julia.

This recipe below is simple, but the flavor is good. Julia comes to mind for this one, because there's not much there, but a whole world of flavor waiting to be discovered.

LEMON DILL SALMON

2 fillets of salmon (see quick tip 2)
½ lemon, or two tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
3 tablespoons garlic salt
1-2 tablespoons olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the salmon in a baking dish. Pour the lemon juice or juice half a lemon over the fish. Top with the salt and dill. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven. Cook for 25 minutes. Serve hot or chill.

QUICK TIP 1: For a recipe like this, the ingredients you use are the most crucial part of the dish. So make sure everything is the best it can be, because they will have to shine on their own in this dish. If you can, get fresh fish instead of frozen -- it makes all the difference in the world.

QUICK TIP 2: This dish will work on other fish such as cod or halibut. Salmon is just much easier to find. Just remember that most fish are at their best when you slightly undercook them.

Martin

MARTIN

When I was growing up in northern California, before my family moved down to Thousand Oaks when I was 10, I loved learning about one man more than anyone I could think of. His name was Martin Luther King, Jr.

I picked up every book I could read about this man. I did numerous biographies on him. I was inspired. This man stood up for something he believed in. He was even willing to die for it, because it was so deep in his core. He was a man of faith, and although, as I would later learn, he wasn't a perfect man, he was willing to do what it took for freedom, even going to jail for it.

The most amazing thing is that later I would look at pictures of him marching. There were Rabbis standing by Martin Luther King. Abraham Joshua Heschel, who is considered by many as one of the great minds of the conservative movement, was often there right beside them. They were friends, as they both loved their faiths, but sought for something more.

Later on, I would see pictures of other Jewish people getting involved in the Civil Rights movements, holding vigils and walking with Martin. They would travel with him, get arrested with him and integrate themselves as a serious part of this movement. I'm sure that some people wonder why Jewish people would do this. We were as free as we could be -- although I realize now that we knew that we weren't always.

Twenty years before Martin Luther King stood at the Lincoln Memorial and said that he had a dream, Jews in Europe were being rounded up by the thousands. They were raped, tortured, tested on and killed in the number of six million. We remembered what it was like to have persecution, so when images of African-Americans in the South being sprayed by hoses and bitten by dogs came, we felt something inside of us. We had to be a part of it.

It makes me frustrated that there have been problems in recent years between communities of African-Americans and Jews, particularly those in New York. I have also found frustration for my African-American friends who are Jewish, but who may not be identified as Jewish because of the color of their skin (by the way, this is not only common for them -- I have heard complaints from my other Jewish friends who have darker skin). Martin did not work so hard for things like this to still happen in the world.

My feeling is that we are all a part of this world, so we should work and be together peacefully. We should understand each other and learn about each other. I don't know if we can do this through food, but the truth is that we have to find a way to be a part of this world together.

Martin, you will always be an inspiration. You taught me to never limit myself, and taught me there are some things worth fighting for, even dying for. In honor of Martin's southern roots, here is a recipe to enjoy.

JAMBALAYA PASTA

1 package soy chorizo (see Quick Tip)
1 (16 oz.) package spaghetti
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 carrot
1 red pepper
1 can white beans
¼ teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cook the pasta and drain according to box directions. Finely chop the garlic and dice the onion. Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch half moon shapes, while keeping the squash round. Dice the pepper and carrot. Drain and rinse the white beans.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Throw in the onion and garlic, seasoning with salt slightly so they will soften. Cut open the casing on the soy chorizo and add to the onion and garlic. Stir until evenly coated. Add the other vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Allow them to soften. Add the beans last.

Mix the vegetable mixture with the pasta. Add the lemon juice and hot sauce to taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

QUICK TIP: Soy chorizo can be found at your local market. If you can find kosher chorizo, as we have in LA, you can use it in place of the soy variety.

Nony and Me

Today is January 15. For many people, this date means nothing, but the truth is that this day is special. It's all because of Nony.

On January 15, 1918, my grandmother, Regina Abrevaya, was born, the daughter of a Sephardic, or Western European Jewish, family. In 1940, my Uncle Victor, her son, was born. It would also be the birthday of my cousin Vanessa. But the truth of the matter is that I remember that day belonging to my grandmother -- or, as we called her, Nony.

My grandmother was the youngest of four children, the spoiled baby. She married my grandfather, Joseph Amira, when she was 20 years old, and was married for the next 66 years of her life. She became a dominant force in her household, particularly in the kitchen. This woman was possibly one of the world's greatest cooks, making great food with plenty of flavor.

With her Sephardic heritage, my grandmother made the traditional dishes of Turkey, where her family was from. Since her family was from the Mediterranean, the food style was very different. There was more emphasis on fresh vegetables, eggs, fish and cheeses from the region, such as feta. It didn't help that for most of her life, she was poor, so unable to afford meat. I realize now how much influence her cooking styles had on mine, as I tend to forego meat for a long time in favor of vegetables.

In June 1982, I was born, and as is customary in Sephardic tradition, I was named after my living grandmother. My middle name, Victoria, came from my great uncle Victor, Nony's brother, who died three months before my birth. But my grandmother was extra protective of me, saying, "Tiene mi nombre," or, "You have my name." She often called me her namesake.

As a kid marching around her house, I didn't think much about the process of food -- my grandmother's cooking was simply delicious. I would often sit on her left-hand side at the dining room table, enjoying the delicious borecas and fretada that she would make, sharing a hard-boiled egg with her; my grandmother loved the yolk, whereas I liked the white.

I always remembered her smile, her complete and utter joy. Her mischievousness is something she passed on to me, but she was also clever. She was honest, and yet loving. I will never forget standing next to her, with her 4'10 frame against my 5'11 one, and her slapping me, saying, "You dumb kid!" Her voice with that sentence still resonates in my head.

I will miss her every day of my life, although I was fortunate to have her for so many years. I was happy that she knew Ari, and that she recognized that he would be the man that I would marry. I have many great stories with her (I'm sure a few will pop up from time to time), but today, on her birthday, I will remember the lady who was so protective of her granddaughter and proud of what she had become.

When we parted ways on this Earth, I hope that she left with a sense that things were going to be okay for me. Things would get difficult, but she taught me everything she could about love, about life and about what it means to truly live. I will love and miss her always.

In tribute to her, here is one of the delicious meat dishes she used to make for us. She always used this cheaper cut, and It was always a favorite.

NONY'S MINUTE STEAKS
Minute steaks (see quick tip 1)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
5-6 cloves
4 cups water + 4 teaspoons beef bullion
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons garlic powder
Dash salt & pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Be careful that it doesn’t smoke. Meanwhile, rub the steaks with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Once oil is hot, put the steaks in the pan. Allow them to cook, turning over to sear. Once the steaks develop a golden-brown crust, cover them with the water and bullion. Add the bay leaf, cloves and cumin. Turn down the heat to low and cover.

Allow them to simmer for 2-3 hours. The meat is ready when it is fork-tender. Make sure to check regularly, as the water will tend to reduce as time goes on. If this happens, just add more water to the pot.

Quick Tip 1: The best part about this recipe is that it can work for as many or as few minute steaks as you have. I usually get mine in a package of three that I cook all at once, and I can save the rest for later. The trick is just to make sure that the water covers all of them.

Quick Tip 2: With a recipe like this, if you don't have three hours to watch it, a slow cooker is a fabulous alternative. Just sear the meat, transfer to the cooker, put the water/bouillon in and put on low. Let it simmer for six hours to get that same consistency.

A Journey Along Second Street

Long Beach is a truly amazing place. I grew up in Thousand Oaks, a place that was so white that white bread was insanely jealous and left me saying, "Where is everybody?" After I graduated high school, I slowly upgraded, going from the San Fernando Valley to Fullerton, and then finally settling in Long Beach with Ari.

It makes sense that I would settle in an area like this. Long Beach is considered one of the most diverse cities in the country. And there are so many places that are so unique to Long Beach -- hanging around downtown, close to the port; walking about Bixby Knolls and its quaint little shops; and I forgot the mention all the charms of Retro Row on Fourth Street.

But Second Street is a very special place for me. It runs through Naples and Belmont Shore, which is known as "The Shore" to the locals. Lucky for me, Ari and don't live that far away. I'm able to get down there in 10 or 15 minutes, and enjoy all of its pleasures. The most amazing thing? It seems like one of the few places in the world where big company stores and restaurants, such as BJs and The Gap, live amongst the local stores that have set up shop along the street.

After I struggle to find parking for a bit, I go to my favorite stops. There are certain places that I always seem to visit when I come down here. Usually, the sun is shining bright and people are enjoying the weather by walking around, usually in the latest fashion trends. Near the coffee shops, locals gather with their adorable pooches (as Second Street is several blocks away from our local dog beach) and friends to discuss what's going on in their lives.

If I'm meeting my lovely friend Mandy, we will meet at the local Coffee Bean, where we'll sip on coffee and chai s (and FYI, Coffee Bean and all of its products are hechshered! It's a kosher place) and talk about all the craziness going on in our lives. However, if Josh wants to go kayaking, there is sometimes a visit to Peet's Coffee, then a trip down Second Street down to Bayshore to the beach there, where you can rent kayaks for $8 an hour.

If I'm in an unusual mood, I will visit Powell's Candy Shop, where they have numerous varieties of Jelly Bellys (my favorite Jelly Bean) and it looks like something in an imaginary world. There are drawers filled with various chocolates and candies, and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" playing on a screen in the back of the store. There is also every type of candy imaginable. It reminds me almost of Honeydukes in the Harry Potter series of books.

If I am going to have a bite to eat (yes, I eat hot dairy when I go out), I swing into one of the more famous local restaurants, Open Sesame. For a YBK like me, it's a great menu -- everything is marked vegetarian, vegan or raw -- and you can get a good meal for less than you'd sometimes pay for in a non-sit down joint. Plus, you can't beat the flavors. It's Lebanese cuisine, which is very similar to other Middle Eastern foods, with tabouleh salad, hummus, pita and the best falafel ever. On top of it, I only have two words for people who have been there: fried potatoes. Thinking about them makes my mouth water.

Then, I head further down Second Street to two other destinations. Babette's has fresh French bread, one of my greatest weaknesses. And then I come to We Olive, where you can do -- get this -- an olive oil tasting. It's quite an unusual experience, but one that really tests the palette. You have the grassy flavors, the lemony ones, and all the varieties in between. I enjoyed my experience there immensely.

After that (and maybe a glance through the racks at Buffalo Exchange), I am usually on my way home. Although Ari and I would never move down to The Shore (did I mention the back parking?), I am always enchanted. It's so special, and it really symbolizes community in a time where there may be none except on our computers.

On that note (and as a tribute to We Olive, my latest discovery on Second Street), today's recipe is for parmesan eggplant. This happens to be a favorite of my friend Lisa's. Enjoy!

PARMESAN EGGPLANT
1 eggplant
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup olive oil

Wash the eggplant and cut and discard the ends. Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices (see Quick Tip 1). Meanwhile, spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Pour the oil into a small bowl and put the cheese onto a plate. Using a pastry brush, brush each side of the slice with olive oil and coat each side with the cheese. Put it onto the cookie sheet. Continue this until all the slices are coated. When completed, put into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven for 350 degrees. Put the eggplant in and bake for a half an hour until the cheese is golden brown. Serve hot.

Quick Tip 1: Eggplant is delicious, but once sliced, it turns brown fast if left out that way. Make sure to immediately proceed with the recipe if you have already cut it up. If it’s still green in the middle, discard it: it’ll be bitter when you cook it.

Quick Tip 2: This recipe should be served immediately. As delicious as it is, it doesn't seem to work once it cools down and then is reheated.

Goodbye, Adam Riley

On Saturday night, we wished a bon voyage to a special person. Adam Riley is as loyal a friend that could come your way. Funny, smart and lovable, this guy often becomes the life of the party. On Friday, he will be leaving for Israel. For those of us who know him well, we will miss him terribly.

But there is another part of Adam's journey that I forgot to mention: He will be spending eight months in Israel, but after that four months in Tuscany making wine. Because if there's one thing you need to know about Adam Riley, it's that he loves wine. He tastes wine like a pro, and has all the equipment to prove it.

The first time I met him, we were at a wine and cheese party for JewC, one of the numerous Orange County young adults groups, and the one handled by my friend Rae. It was cocktail-style attire, so he was wearing his best tux. He had provided all the wine for this event. He could have been a snob about how to taste, but he really wasn't: He constantly wore what I came to know as his standard cheery smile, explaining everything to those who didn't know.

Mind you, I had great wine before I met Adam. I once had some remnants of an $80 Herzog wine known as Covenant, a kosher cabernet sauvignon that is simply perfect. I enjoyed that glass of wine (and had a hangover the next morning, which should tell you how much of a lightweight I am). But I think if I drank it now, I would truly understand how great it is.

That's because Adam taught me to drink wine properly. Most people just slosh it down, but he taught me to really taste. I knew how to do some parts of it: swish, smell and taste. But he taught me how to understand the complexities of a really great wine. I needed to trust my palette, find the flavors for myself. I had to understand it.

At one point in the evening, he poured me a delicious red from Tuscany. Suddenly, I was tasting other elements of the wine: a deepness, a richness. It was so strange, and so I told him.

"Wow," he said. "You're a good taster."

Since then, I have learned the complexities of flavors in both my drinks and my food. From Adam, I learned to not just drink, but to enjoy. For me, if you want to just drink, get a beer. If you want to enjoy it, get a glass of good wine.

Mind you, due to my medication, I am not supposed to drink too much wine. But this is an important skill when it comes to cooking. If you learn the subtleties of wine, you can truly understand the other elements that come into the cooking process, and how each little thing that becomes involved with food can change it.

So, Adam, as a toast to you, I am going to include my recipe for chocolate chili, a rich dish that should go well with the right red wine. B'tayavon!

CHOCOLATE CHILI

2 pounds ground beef or chuck roast cut up (see quick tip1)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons oil
¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 cans kidney beans, drained
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup water with 1 tablespoon beef bouillon, or 1 cup beef stock
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce (see quick tip 2)
Vegetables (see quick tip 3)

Heat up a soup pot to medium-to-high heat. Add the oil. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Dice the onion and garlic. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion and ground beef. Make sure the ground beef is browned; it does not necessarily have to be cooked through. Add the cocoa powder and stir, making sure it picks up all the fatty juices.

Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, water with bullion and bay leaf. Allow to come up to a simmer. Add in the cumin and pepper flakes. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

Add any desired vegetables. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot, preferably with some rice if it’s super-spicy.

Quick Tip 1: This recipe is great if you have leftover fatty meat such as a chuck roast. You can skip the browning section of the recipe. Just make sure that the meat heats enough to release the fat. At that point the cocoa powder can be added.

Quick Tip 2: I’m not a major spice freak, but I will definitely turn up the heat when it comes to chili. Other people don’t feel like I do. My suggestion, like with any spices, is to season the dish to your liking.

Quick Tip 3: The beauty of chili is that you can add whatever you want to it, as long as it’s got the tomatoes, beans and is spicy. However, since this is chocolate chili and you don’t want it too sweet, I recommend that you stick to vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini and stay away from sweeter veggies like red peppers and carrots.

Tea Time

On New Year's Eve, Patrice came with a little bag with a present inside. When I opened it the next morning, I found a beautiful glass jar, filled with an assortment of teas.

"I have been drinking more tea than I have water," Patrice told me later. She included some standards, such as Good Earth Tea, as well as some interesting flavors. The other night, I drank the Yogi Tea Calming Tea, and it was just delicious.

I know that in America, we live in a coffee world, and I do like coffee from time to time. But when it comes to drinking hot drinks, I will always grab tea first. In many coffee places, the concept of having tea is a strange one. They usually give you a tea bag and some hot water, and think that you'll be completely satisfied. Well, I for one am not. I could have that at home for less than what you are charging me at your shop.

Lucky for me, in Southern California we have amazing places like Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Peet's Coffee and Tea, where they actually consider tea drinkers and brew their tea from loose leaves. The flavors seem endless. In general, the numerous varieties of teas out in the world make me wonder why people don't consider them to be anything special.

They each have their own unique flavor, depending on the type of tea it is and what else is included. Some you can have just on its own, like a green tea. Others reveal their complex flavors through adding sugar or honey. Some teas you can add cream and they provide something special that may have not been there before. Hell, I love teas Middle Eastern style, complete with a sprig of mint and sugar.

I always wonder why tea drinking isn't more revered in the culinary world. We look for the subtleties of flavor in wine (as Adam Riley knows), or even in unexpected things such as olive oil (more on that later). So why not in a delicious drink that, like olive oil and wine, is also good for you?

In the meantime, enjoy a delicious noodle bowl, which would go perfectly with a cup of green tea. Eat it in the best of health.

NOODLE BOWLS
1 pound fettuccini or udon noodles
1 box soy strips, chicken or beef
1 red pepper
3 scallions
3 cloves garlic
1 cup snow peas
1 can stir fry veggies (see Kosher Alert!)
2 tablespoons sesame or canola oil, divided use
3 tablespoons hoison sauce

Cook and drain the noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet with oil over medium heat. Add the soy strips.

Finely chop the garlic. Chop the red pepper in ¼ inch pieces and the scallion to 1/8 inch pieces. Add them, along with the snow peas and can of stir fry veggies, to the soy strips. Make sure they are all cooked through. Combine the veggie mix with the noodles.

In a small bowl, thin out the hoison sauce with a small amount of water. Pour over the noodles and vegetables and serve.

Quick Tip 1: Kosher hoison sauce is a hard find, so if you can’t here’s a quick replacement for your bowl: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 2 tablespoons of honey. It’s a yummy substitute. Teriyaki is also a good substitute too, but can run a little thin.

Quick Tip 2: I am not usually a fan of whole wheat noodles, but I find that they go perfectly in these noodle bowls. Just make sure to find a thicker noodle.

KOSHER ALERT!: Although the stir-fry veggie combo of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn are yummy, not all stir-fry veggies are created equal. As long as they come from China, they need a special hecsher. There are plenty of brands that aren’t from there, which don’t necessarily need a hecsher.

To Miep

Young, Broke and Kosher would like to salute Miep Gies, protector of Anne Frank's diary, helper to the eight people living in her attic and the face of the good people who tried their best to protect Jews during the Holocaust. She lived a long life, passing away at 100, yet always remained humble about what she did, never considering herself a hero.

Well, Miep, you are a hero. You allowed the memory of Anne to live on, and her diary gave a human face to the horrors of the Holocaust. You protected people in a time where people risked their lives to do the right thing. You also allowed more stories of courageous people during this time to come out, from Oskar Schindler to Catholic priests and nuns saving Jewish children. You may have felt you didn't do much, but you did a world of good simply by doing what was good.

Rest in peace, Miep, knowing that you were one, but you did so much more.

Changes

Sorry for the delay in posting everyone. I will try to be more consistent from this point on...

It's a new year, and obviously one filled with changes. So far, it has been filled with engagements, graduations, weddings and overall people moving on with their lives. On Saturday, I saw two first-hand examples: I watched as my cousin Griffin, who for some odd reason I can't stop picturing as the world's cutest three-year-old, got his Eagle Scout commendation; then I said good-bye to a wonderful friend, Adam Riley, as he gets ready to spend eight months in Israel and then a few months in Tuscany making wine.

I find often, as a human race, that we are reluctant to change. We want things to stay exactly as they are, because they are comfortable, or the way they have always been (I could use this as an argument for so many things). Only if the situation is desperate enough we will spend our time crying to the stars, begging desperately for it because we feel like that we can't get through with our lives the way they are.

But what I have found is that change truly comes in its most purest form when it comes to us naturally. We grow and keep moving forward by earthly design. Let's face it, we're not growing backwards, although I am pretty confident that if there was a way, it would have already been patented and sold to the highest bidder. As much as we want to capture the way things were and put it in a bottle, it is fleeting and will never come back.

I do love the past, and trust me, I have some fabulous memories. As I was saying goodbye to Adam, I flashed back on all the fun times we had together, ranging from wine tasting (more about that later this week) to spending New Year's Eve and then half of New Year's Day with him at his house, camping out on his couch. There have been smiles, games and tons of laughter. And I think of Griffin and his sister, Lindzey, and all the wonderful times we had together and all the special things that we did while we were growing up -- such as singing to the Beatles and watching Star Wars together.

I think of Lindzey's bat mitzvah as another cousin, Hannah, will have her turn at the Torah next month. I sit at my desk and look at the Sock Buddy that Lindzey made as a part of her tzedakah project for her bat mitzvah, which since then has always had a home on top of my monitor. Lindzey has just graduated from college, and she has grown to be an amazing young lady, full of smarts and promise. She may not be that adorable seven-year-old with the bushy red hair anymore, but she is becoming an incredible person. And as wonderful as Hannah is now at 13, she will grow up and become amazing too, just like Lindzey. I imagine that all my cousins will do the exact same.

So now, I accept change -- for better and for worse, because it shapes us into the people that we become. We may linger on the past and what could have been, but moving forward and embracing life is what really makes the journey really worth it. We have to embrace the good and bad that comes our way. I love the memories that we had, but I know there are many more great memories to come. And that itself is a blessing.

So in the spirit of change, a little birdie suggested to me that I might want to consider putting on some healthier recipes. So I am going to put up the recipe for Polenta Pie. This one comes from Rachel Bookstein, an amazing woman, although I have changed it slightly over the course of time. It's vegan and super-healthy and tasty. Just remember what I told you about draining frozen spinach from Lasagna Florentine.

POLENTA PIE

3 cups fresh polenta (see quick tip 1)
1 package of frozen spinach, drained well
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package soy crumbles
1 can seasoned tomato sauce or 2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (optional for dairy)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour polenta into the bottom of a deep baking dish and allow to cool. Meanwhile, slice the onion, mince the garlic and defrost the spinach in the microwave.

Heat up a skillet with the oil. Put the onion and garlic and sautee until onion is just soft and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. When the spinach is done defrosting, take it out of the microwave and drain. (see quick tip 1) Add to the onion and garlic and stir.

Layer the spinach, garlic and onions on top of the polenta. Break up the soy crumbles and put them on top.

Pour the sauce over the crumbles, and top with basil, oregano and optional cheese. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes and serve.

Quick Tip 1: Making your own polenta is actually easier than it looks -- the ratio is one cup of corn meal to three cups of boiling water and a little salt. Stir it up until it becomes thick. If you like a little more flavor in your polenta, I sometimes add pareve chicken boullion. You can use a tube of polenta, heat it up in a saucepan and layer it, but I think making your own is better.

Quick Tip 2: If soy isn’t your thing, this can easily be translated to carnivores: substitute the soy crumbles for browned ground beef or turkey. Just cook it with the onion, garlic and spinach before you add it on top and leave out the cheese.

Quick Tip 3: You can add any other vegetables to the polenta pie you want -- just make sure they are chopped into small pieces and layer them in before the tomato sauce and spices. My personal favorite veggies in this is a frozen mix of peas, carrots and corn that's been defrosted and put into the frying pan with the onion, garlic and spinach to give them a charred look before I add them into the mix.

The Sabbath Queen

Before I continue, I will confess that I do not keep Shabbat as defined by the 39 regulations dictated by the Talmud. I am not an Orthodox Jew, and would never make out that I am one, although I do my best to respect those who are.

But all of that aside, I do have a special love affair with Shabbat -- particularly Friday night.

It is a holy time. Growing up, my family made sure to always come together for a Shabbat meal. We would light the candles, say prayers and eat chicken (because, hey, what's more Shabbat than chicken?). My grandparents, G-d bless their souls, would call us every Friday night to wish us a Shabbat Shalom -- sometimes, if I close my eyes, I will hear echoes of my grandfather's voice saying it. I remember, as a little girl, even making challah with my mother, as there was no place in our corner of the Bay Area at the time to purchase one.

We would sometimes be joined by guests -- such as my elementary school principal, Pat DeMarlo, her sister Ann and mother Jo -- but usually, it was Mom, Dad, my sister Shoshana and me. In many cases, since my Dad frequently spent his weeks in whatever part of California his job was, Friday night was almost like a reunion for the family, and it would take place over our kitchen table with a meal that was up to the occasion.

I would continue this tradition into my college years. At Pierce/Valley Hillel, the Fellow who was there my freshman year insisted on making home cooked meals in the headquarters' kitchen. It was my first experience with an actual kosher kitchen, not knowing that it would be my future. Eventually, I even made a Shabbat meal in the kitchen while she was away.

At one point, I was finishing things up as I came into the room where all the other guests were praying. It was fascinating, because they were bowing towards me -- or, namely, the door I walked in. It turns out I stepped in as they were saying, "Bo'i kallah," during the prayer L'cha Dodi, where it is customary to bow towards the "Sabbath Queen," the bride and mate of the Shabbat, as she enters and makes her presence known with the Jewish people. People started to laugh -- all of a sudden, I was a queen.

It's what I love about Shabbat -- there is so much laughter and joy to go around, and we share it with the people that we love the most. I have had some of my happiest memories on Shabbat, whether it's been a visit from my cousin Jacob to spending Shabbatons at Camp Ramah, Camp Alonim or even at Jewlicious (which, if you haven't been, you should consider going, as it is quite amazing). Although I am not officially Shabbat-observant, it is something I cherish very deeply. I try to make sure that I don't go out to bars of clubs on Friday nights, but rather only to Shabbat-related events. And on Saturdays, I relax as much as possible.

So, as we go into Shabbat, I want to encourage you to truly enjoy it. If you haven't done it, try to have a Shabbat dinner on Friday night, or go without one thing from Friday night through Saturday. I'm not asking to you completely go Orthodox if you haven't done it. Just appreciate that G-d was so thoughtful, he came up with a special day to rip you away from your Blackberry, iPhone and/or computer and actually enjoy the company of real people. What a concept!

I think a roast chicken is one of the best ways to observe Shabbat. Here is a way to make it. Shabbat Shalom and b'tayavon!

ROAST CHICKEN

1-2 whole chicken or Cornish game hen
3 tablespoons seasoning salt (like Lawrys)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut off any remaining feathers from the chicken, which are usually found on the wings and legs. Usually all the inside parts of a kosher chicken are removed except the neck. It’s easily remedied with a good pair of kitchen shears.

Put the chicken in a casserole dish or roasting pan, depending on what you have. Sprinkle the outside with seasoning salt, and well as a little bit inside the cavity. Put in the oven at 375 degrees and let cook for one and a half to two hours, depending on the size of your chicken. You will know it’s done if the juices run clear and you can wiggle the legs (the temperature of the meat should be 165 degrees, if you’re lucky enough to have a meat thermometer -- either way, it shouldn't be pink).

If you want to try a fancier roast chicken and aren’t squeamish about getting your hands into it, here are some of my suggestions:

• Mix about 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme leaves, salt and pepper with ¼ cup pareve margarine until the consistency is nice and smooth. Rub under the skin and on top with the margarine, as well as in the cavity. It gives a nice crispy skin and a yummy inside.

• Lemon juice, garlic salt and dill are a classic combination. Season both the outside and the inside.

• Stuff the cavity with onions, garlic, celery or carrots. You can even do this with citrus fruits such as lemon or orange. It actually gives a good flavor to the chicken.

• For an Israeli flavor, you can never go wrong with some olive oil and Za’atar. Just make sure to season with salt and pepper.

Quick Tip: You can also get the skin of the chicken super-crispy if you can get a pastry brush. Just use it to take the juices that come out of the chicken and brush them on the skin of the chicken every 20 minutes or so.

What's the Pull of Pork?

UPDATE: Due to complications, yesterday's post needs a revision. I have had to cancel my GMAT exam, and therefore will be sleeping at 8 a.m. on January 15. However, I still have plenty of pasta salad left in the fridge. So, with that out of the way, on with the show...

VINCENT: Want some bacon?
JULES: No man, I don't eat pork.
VINCENT: Are you Jewish?
JULES: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.
VINCENT: Why not?
JULES: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.
VINCENT: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.
JULES: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy ...

Well, let's just say the rest gets kind of... curse-like. But it seems like the chefs of the world side with John Travolta's Vincent from "Pulp Fiction." The sacred cow is over. It seems now, in the foodie world, the sacred pig is the only way to go.

I may not be as experienced as some great chefs out there -- hell, I've never even been to culinary school, and a portion of my cooking skills have been learned off the TV. But the fact is that I do not understand the culinary pig-worship that some chefs have. I have even seen two chefs on television proudly display their pig tattoos. That's how much they love this animal.

I admit that I have not been kosher all my life, and I have eaten pork. As a kid, I would eat bacon and sausage. According to my mother, I had ham once at a first communion -- although, since I don't remember this, I believe it must have been an extremely traumatic experience that I have blocked from my memory. But no matter what, I can personally say that I never really cared for pig products. For non-kosher people, they may claim that I never ate GOOD pork. But the fact of the matter is that it's not for me.

But, a chef may say to me, you can use all the parts of the pig! The ears, the hooves, the belly, everything can be prepared and eaten! Somehow, eating a pig's foot doesn't appeal to me as much as it might to some other people. I know it's a food tradition in the South, but... ew. Would you seriously want to eat some animal's feet?

I don't know if it's because of my strong Jewish upbringing or whether it's a taste preference that I don't dig on swine. Wilbur the pig may be an obsession in the American culinary tradition, but I for one do not abide by it. The only thing I really liked about bacon was the smoky flavor, but I could live without the grease and the usually limp texture of it.

The truth is that there are so many great meats out there to use, and a lot of them are kosher. Bison is growing in popularity, and you still have lamb, which is so flavorful that if it's wrong I may not want to be right. And dry aged beef is rising in the kosher world, which makes me a very happy camper. And, trust me, once you've had lamb bacon, you would never go back to the pork variety, anyway.

It's up to us, as kosher Jews, to show the world that just because we don't have pork doesn't mean we can't make food taste just as good as the porky ones. After all, where they have pork, we have delicious vegetables and meats. And there's nothing wrong with that.

For those who do like bacon, I make a to-die-for corn chowder which has soy bacon in it. You wouldn't know the difference -- and I'm pretty confident that those crazy pork enthusiasts out that probably wouldn't, either.

CORN CHOWDER

3 teaspoons pareve chicken bouillon with 3 cups water
2 cans corn
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup oil
1 large onion
5 celery stalks
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup flour
3 cups heavy cream, soy milk or Mocha Mix
2-3 strips soy bacon or ¼ cup baco bits (optional)
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper or black pepper (optional)
1 cup diced potatoes, cut to 1/2 inch dice (optional)

In a small pot, boil the water, bouillon and corn. Allow to simmer. Meanwhile, chop the celery, onion and garlic.

In a large soup pot, melt the butter and oil down and sauté the onion, celery and garlic. Add the flour and stir constantly until it’s just golden brown. This is called a roux (see Quick Tip 1).

Once golden brown, add a small amount of the hot liquid and corn from the small pot and stir. Continue doing this until all the hot liquid is added. Add the heavy cream or Mocha mix and stir. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until thick.

If adding artificial bacon and/or pepper, add after 10 minutes. Ten minutes before serving, add potatoes if desired. Make sure they can be pierced with a fork before serving.

Quick Tip 1: Your roux must be handled very carefully, as it can easily burn and ruin your meal fast. If you are making one, be sure to keep an eye on it at all times. If you burn it, throw it away and start again.

Quick Tip 2: The butter-oil combo in the roux is one I use in order to reduce fat. However, it’s not required and you can use all butter.

Open Up Your Books

There are many things that I miss about college life. I miss the feeling of freedom, the craziness, the learning, meeting new people and the expanding of horizons. But one thing I don't miss, and probably never will? Studying.

Mind you, at Cal State Fullerton, they made finals week a little bit more pleasurable than it normally would be. The Titan Student Union was open all of those nights, and they gave us super-sweet benefits. You could get a massage while the Student Union staff provided sugar to keep you going. We could even come there in our best PJs so we could be super-comfortable as we plugged away with our friends.

But studying was still an annoying task, no matter how much I liked the subject or how comfortable the Student Union was for us. It was a tricky thing, regurgitating all the things we learned in the semester for whatever type of final we were taking. There were even finals I took when I had to write six essays in a row in my blue book. My right hand is sore just thinking about that one.

So imagine how I feel now, going over math I haven't done since my first years in college and getting ready to take the GMAT for the first time. Originally, this was going to be done to apply for a special program. But since I am unable to apply now and I registered early (and pulled $250 out of thin air to do it), I'm still going to take the plunge.

While I study, plugging numbers in my simple calculator and trying desperately to remember all the things I learned, I am reminded of my high school math teacher who taught me in my junior year, speaking as if any of us got a bad grade in math, it would be the end of the world and our futures would be out the window. I got a "D." Surprisingly, I made something of myself, despite the fact that I couldn't get a good grade in math. It was never really a strong subject of mine. I excelled in English, and my high school was more math and science focused.

When I continued doing math in college, I discovered that most of my math teachers didn't speak English; rather, they spoke Math. In one particular class, I had a math teacher who would explain a problem, and when someone would ask a question about the problem, he would make it more convoluted. Very strange.

Then came Dr. Bernice Ross. She was an amazing lady who normally taught psychology, but she taught statistics as it related to humanities and social sciences. It was amazing; a teacher who taught math but could explain it in English! I naturally excelled, getting such a high grade that my fellow journalism students joked that I couldn't be a journalist; I was too good at math. I actually continued to speak with her while I stayed at Pierce, and she was truly a wonderful woman.

Now, all of a sudden, I am stuck doing math again, finding out that I am actually dreaming about solving math problems in my sleep (a very frightening thought). At times, I get so scared I don't know what to do, and sit there wondering, How could I have signed up for this darn test?!?!

But, no matter what happens, on January 15 at 8 a.m., I will be sitting in Anaheim at a desk, with a computer on me programmed to deliver the GMAT and give me my score. I may be fearful, but somehow, over the next week, I must find the confidence in order to pull this thing off.

It doesn't hurt that I made two bit bowls' worth of pasta salad. The first time I made this, I was staying with a friend going through chemotherapy at City of Hope. We were staying in a bungalow on the grounds, and we knew with her crazy chemo schedule, she might not be up to making food every night. This is super-good study food, filled with fresh vegetables and delicious pasta.

PASTA SALAD

1 pound of pasta, such as penne or farfel
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 cucumber, preferably an English style or “hothouse”
5 scallions
6-7 radishes
1 can olives
1 carrot
1 small box frozen peas, defrosted
½ cup store-bought Italian dressing or a homemade dressing (see below)

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
Clean all the vegetables thoroughly. Cut the peppers in half and discard the seeds, ribs (white parts) and green stem. Slice into approximately 1/2 to 1-inch pieces. Cut off the ends of the cucumber, then lengthwise. Slice into half-moon shapes. They shouldn’t be wider than 1/4 of an inch.

Cut off the ends of the scallions and discard. Chop into 1/8 inch pieces. Chop off the ends of the carrot and discard. Peel and chop into slices. Discard the leaves of the radishes and chop both ends. Cut into thin slices. Defrost the peas in the microwave according to package directions. Drain and add olives.

Combine the vegetables and pasta. Add the Italian dressing and mix. Add the peas last. Serve cold.

Quick Tip 1: This dish is so versatile that you can add any ingredients you want, such as tomatoes and mushrooms, and omit any that you absolutely can’t stand.

Quick Tip 2: To make your own Italian dressing, whisk 3 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, parsley flakes, 1/4 cup olive oil and sugar to taste. Make sure you add the oil last and whisk it strongly as to make sure it fully combines with the other ingredients. If this isn't enough dressing, you can always double or triple this recipe.

Tales from the Postage Stamp

What exactly is the "Postage Stamp"? Well, it all started one day while I was hanging out with Christine and my best friend/web goddess Patrice. We were talking about my kitchen, when Patrice said the most accurate thing about my kitchen.

"Reina, you don't have a kitchen," she said. "You have a postage stamp."

It is sad but true -- my kitchen is a tiny galley. There is very little counter space and not enough room to store two sets of pots, pans and dishes. The sink is rather shallow, only allowing a certain amount of dishes in it. It doesn't take much for the kitchen to go from clean to a complete and total disaster -- partially due to the space.

Mind you, wonderful things have come out of this kitchen. I really learned how to cook in the Postage Stamp, and have been able to cultivate my food style. But the fact of the matter is that it's not a space that can be shared. There were only very few times where another person could come into the kitchen.

And the truth is, even if people could come in, would I want them to? It's so small that it's difficult to get people into the kitchen to help. But it doesn't matter, because every time people come over it turns into an instant disaster, so I don't want people in there anyway.

I will admit that our kitchen and dining area is far from complete. I currently have a wicker table that was inherited from my father's mother -- which, ironically, considering her exquisite taste in clothes, never quite extended to her furniture. The chairs are also wicker, with the cushions falling off. We don't have a lot of chairs for company -- one point, I hosted a Shabbat dinner, and my friend Cindy had to sit on the yoga ball. We kind of have a ghetto way of hosting gatherings at Chez Kutner. But let's face it: every time I want to purchase something new for the kitchen, all I can think of are the crowded cabinets.

But then, I have to remember something important. I think of my grandmother's tiny kitchen in their apartment in Beverly Hills. Although it was bigger than ours, there was very little counter space. Yet, somehow, there was magic out of that kitchen. As much as I dream of a beautiful kitchen one day, with granite countertops and plenty of space to store food, dishes and everything, I realize that my grandmother never had it. It never affects what you produce from the kitchen. Each dish can be made with love even if you don't have a gorgeous way of presenting things. And even if you have a beautiful kitchen, it doesn't mean you're going to make great food.

Ari and I really don't have much. But I pray that there will come a day where we will have a beautiful dining room table where we can sit people down to host a beautiful dinner, serving food on gorgeous platters and laughing. But in the meantime, I cherish what I can get out of my kitchen -- such as this lasagna florentine, which we served on New Year's Eve. Everyone's been bugging me for the recipe, so here it is.

LASAGNA FLORENTINE

5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups milk and/or cream
3 packages frozen spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon nutmeg, plus more for beschamel
2 tablespoons garlic powder, more optional for beschamel
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
No-boil lasagna noodles (see quick tip 3)
2 cups mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Once melted, add flour until it reaches a slightly thick liquid. Whisk to remove all lumps from flour. Once it reaches a light golden brown, add cream and/or milk. (see quick tip 1) Whisk for about five to ten more minutes, until the sauce becomes thick. Add salt and nutmeg to taste. A little garlic powder is optional. This is a beschamel sauce. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Microwave spinach until thawed. Drain and queeze out all the water. In a mixing bowl, add ricotta cheese, nutmeg and garlic powder, along with salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium-sized baking dish (slightly smaller than 13 by 9), pour some of the cream sauce on the bottom, and layer lasagna noodles so they cover the bottom of the dish. Layer spinach mixture on top, followed by more beschamel sauce and parmesan cheese. Repeat with another layer. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Cover loosely with foil, and place in oven for half an hour. Uncover, and cook for 10 to 15 more minutes, until the cheese on top gets bubbly and golden brown. Serve immediately.

QUICK TIP 1: A beschamel sauce is a standard cooking sauce and comes in handy for other dishes. This is a good cream sauce base for pasta and vegetables.

QUICK TIP 2: If you like other vegetables in here, feel free to add them to the spinach mix. Sauteed mushrooms and/or onions would go really well and provide some body to the lasagna.

QUICK TIP 3: You can use lasagna noodles that you boil first, but I don't recommend it, as it would just create more work for you.

A Special Market

A lot of people have asked me where I find the inspiration for my recipes. It really does come from everywhere: studying different cookbooks, watching shows, even just going to the market is the source of inspiration.

But there is a very special market that provides inspiration, and it's only once a week: on Sunday mornings. This time of the week has always been a time of reflection and joy for me, particularly from the ages of 13 to 18 when I was heading off to Hebrew High in L.A.

Now, on Sunday mornings, I head out to the Long Beach Marina, getting ready to look at the freshest fruits and vegetables at the local farmer's market. As I had mentioned before, there is nothing more that I like than people providing the fruits of their labors. Here, there are actual fruits and vegetables -- and some that would never see the light of day at a regular grocery store.

For me, crawling out of bed early in the morning, getting dressed, slipping on a hat and driving down to the end of the 605 is almost like a pilgrimage. Although there are some drawbacks -- such as pedestrians who forget that they're walking in the middle of a street when a car is coming -- for me, there is nothing more pleasurable. The sun is shining, and occasionally there is a breeze coming off the water.

The diversity of the people who come to the farmer's market is staggering -- families with small children, hipsters wearing their flowy skirts, older people walking arm in arm. They carry their totes, getting ready to load them with what the sellers have to offer.

And what, exactly, do they offer? It is always fascinating to see things move on from season to season, and see what people are offering. One seller offers carrots in plenty of different colors (my favorite are the purple ones), while another offers potatoes in a red, white and blue mixture. Brussell sprouts are on display with their bright colors, while the herbs offer a delicious scent in the air.

You continue down to also find the fish monger offering his cuts of the day from his chilled truck, ranging from expensive Ahi tuna to reasonable snapper. There are also honey distributors, bread bakers and even hummus and the world's best tzatzki, a delicious yogurt, cucumber and garlic dip.

As time goes on, you continue to wander, maybe getting a sweet corn tamale or buying a bunch of flowers, sampling the sweet strawberries and oranges that may be available from some of the growers. Occasionally, I even swing by the arts and crafts fair nearby to see what's available there.

But eventually, I return home with the goodies that only the freshest growers provide. I try to use them as fast as I can, so as not to waste. But I remember talking to all the growers and shoppers, who tell me the best way to prepare something that I may not have worked with before, but there is some room left for experimentation. But no matter what, in order to get the best food, get the best ingredients to play with.

Here is one of my favorite recipes, and I used a lot of what I got at the farmer's market. B'tayavon!

ZUCCHINI AND POTATOES GRATIN

7 small zucchini, or 5 medium
2-3 cups small potatoes (see quick tip)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried basil

Slice the zucchini and place in a deep baking dish. Chop the potatoes in to the same size chunks so they will bake at the same rate. Pour olive oil over them, along with salt, pepper, basil and 1 cup parmesan cheese. Mix until evenly coated, preferably with your hands.

Cover with foil and put into a 400 degree oven. Let cook for 20 minutes, then uncover. Add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese on top. Let cook for ten more minutes. Serve hot.

QUICK TIP: I get a mixed package of potatoes with this with rose, blue and white potatoes. It looks super-pretty with the zucchini. If you can't find these, regular white potatoes will do.

Unorthodox flavors

On Friday, I got a call from my friend Ezra. Ezra has a very special place among my group of friends, which is also occupied by my friends Eve and Lindsay -- namely, he knew me during my awkward stage of adolescence. He invited me over for Shabbat dinner at his place at the last second. Naturally, I accepted. Ari was too tired, so he stayed home.

When I walked inside Ezra's house, I found his counters covered with different vegetables and a cookbook opened to a recipe of broccoli rabe. It turns out that he was making recipes from a vegetarian cookbook produced by monks from a hidden temple, where the food is supposed to be delicious. This meal was a vegan one, consisting of a slaw, the rabe and raspberry-glazed beets.

Ezra's girlfriend, Eden, Rae and I helped him cook, producing some of the most unique smells I could have imagined. We sat down to a late dinner, and we set the table -- which, to my surprise, only had bowls and forks. I was confused -- weren't we going to eat our food on plates? This was confusing.

We made kiddush and sat down. Ezra then explained that we were supposed to eat one item of food at a time, in order to appreciate the flavors of each of the dishes that we were about to eat. That was the reason why we each had a bowl.

We started the slaw first, passing it around the table and enjoying the conversation. I tasted it, and enjoyed the simplicity of the flavors. I could taste it all -- the crunch of the cabbage, the sweetness of the carrots, and the nuttiness of the sesame seeds. There was nothing to distract me. We then passed around the rabe -- the ginger and honey flavors shot out at me. Not everyone liked the beets, but I did enjoy the unique flavor of it. Even sipping our apple cider, flavored with a sprig of rosemary, added something very special to our meal.

Each flavor was unique and unusual, but in its own way worked. I would have never thought that rosemary would have gone into apple cider, but it provided a great refreshing flavor -- one that I will revisit when the weather turns warmer. But because we took our time, I was able to appreciate it all.

I realized how American eating can sometimes make us forget to really savor our food, and really appreciate it and enjoy it. I felt so different after I ate this way. My body felt rejuvenated, like it experienced something new. Perhaps it's the fact that I ate a meal consisting exclusively of vegetables. But I think it also had something to do with the fact that I was really able to love what I was eating. I took every flavor in, simple as they were, and absorbed it into my body. It was something I thoroughly enjoyed.

In honor of Ezra's amazing food, I'm putting in my own salad. It's a simple garbanzo bean salad that my mother-in-law makes. The flavors may not be as unusual, but it has those same simple flavors as Ezra's dishes.

GARBANZO SALAD
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Drain garbanzo beans in sieve and rinse. Place in bowl. Add red onion, parsley, lemon juice, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Mix. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes to pickle onion slightly. Serve.

Chili out for the New Year

My mother has a friend named Rena (not to be confused with this girl over here). Rena is a fascinating person and -- there is really no better word for it -- cool. She is also a lady with an amazing New Year's Day tradition.

Let me just say before I continue I have nothing against Southern California's two strongest New Year's Day traditions: waking up to watch the Rose Parade on channel 5 the Rose Bowl (in fact, I watched the Rose Parade first thing this morning. I only have to say two things: sledding dogs and marching band doing "Thriller"). I also have nothing against New Year's breakfasts at Denny's or IHOP -- in fact, I did breakfast at IHOP last year. But Rena's house on New Year's Day is amazing.

Here's how it worked: Rena would invite us all to her amazing Craftsman-style home in the heart of Central Los Angeles. When you were there, it was almost like you weren't in Los Angeles of present day anymore, but far away, possibly out in the country. In the meantime, she would feed you chili and cornbread, and then you would fill out one of her world-famous questionnaires for New Year's.

The questionnaire would feature everything, such as who you thought would win the Best Picture Oscar that year or simply what you wanted to do that year. Then Rena would put them in envelopes and label them with your name. The following year, when you came to her house, you would get back your questionnaire from the previous New Year's Day, followed by a new one to fill out. You would see how far you came, and how far you had to go. This tradition would continue year after year.

The amazing thing about this questionnaire is that sometimes the craziest things you wanted would happen -- and, occasionally, would regret that you got what you wished for. Sometimes, life got in the way. But this tradition always rang true. It was fun and hilarious, but at the same time sacred. It was almost as if you were sealing your greatest wishes and sending them upwards.

Maybe for next year, I will do a tradition like this. In the meantime, I will settle for cleaning up things after last night's shindig, and looking forward to celebrating the "Jew Year" with friends tomorrow night -- and a performance by Moshav band.

In honor of Rena's chili, here is my favorite chili recipe -- chocolate chili. For those who are vegan, I think you can substitute soy crumbles, and it will be just as delicious. Just make sure to add some oil to create the roux with the chocolate.

CHOCOLATE CHILI

2 pounds ground beef or chuck roast cut up (see quick tip 1)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup water with 1 tablespoon beef bullion
1 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce (see quick tip 2)
Vegetables (see quick tip 3)

Heat up a soup pot to medium-to-high heat. Add the oil. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Dice the onion and garlic. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion and ground beef. Make sure the ground beef is browned; it does not necessarily have to be cooked through. Add the cocoa powder and stir, making sure it picks up all the fatty juices.

Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, water with bullion and bay leaf. Allow to come up to a simmer. Add in the cumin and pepper flakes. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Add any desired vegetables. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot, with rice or cous cous if it’s super-spicy.

Quick Tip 1: This recipe is great if you have leftover fatty meat such as a chuck roast. You can skip the browning section of the recipe. Just make sure that the meat heats enough to release the fat. At that point the cocoa powder can be added.

Quick Tip 2: I’m not a major spice freak, but I will definitely turn it up when it comes to chili. Other people don’t feel like I do. My suggestion, like with any spices, is to season the dish to your liking.

Quick Tip 3: The beauty of chili is that you can add whatever you want to it, as long as it’s got the tomatoes, beans and is spicy. However, since this is chocolate chili and you don’t want it too sweet, I recommend that you stick to vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini and stay away from sweeter veggies like red peppers and carrots.