Community Magazine September 2021

22 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Michelle Oved @grandmasgarlic I typicallymake the eveningmeals for Rosh Hashanah. Before anything else, I make and freeze the simanim in advance. I prepare the quince jelly for shehehiyanu , following my mom’s recipe, which I proudly share below. I make basic loubieh, which is very easy. Swiss chard is a challenge to clean properly, so I clean and chop it in advance, cook it down, and freeze it. The day before the holiday, I defrost it and cook it with tabileh (chopped meat). The leek is cleaned, cooked, and frozen in advance, as well. Closer to the holiday, I defrost it and make mini edge out of it. I either fry patties or put small amounts of the mixture into mini muffin tins and bake them. They come out very uniform in the muffin tins, and are much easier to prepare than frying. The head of lamb is simple – I just roast it in the oven with rosemary and garlic. We traditionally use fresh dates instead of dried. The key is to freeze them in advance, and then, several hours before the meal, allow them to defrost fully. If you eat them without freezing them or don’t allow them to defrost, they will be unripe and hard and will make your mouth dry. If you freeze and defrost properly, they should be mushy and taste delicious. For this holiday in particular, I really love focusing on decor. I always make sure something new and beautiful is on the table, whether it be new chargers, placemats, napkin rings, a table cloth, etc. The table has to look pretty – if it looks good, it feels good! Getting back to the food, I have a secret ingredient that adds a little boost to all my dishes: my “Grandma’s Garlic.” It’s a special roasted and marinated garlic which I’ve recently started selling. I add it to the majority of the staple dishes: chicken, roast, kibbeh balls, potatoes – you name it. My family loves it. I even bake it into my challah! Some dishes we typically serve on this holiday are potato sofrito, veal pocket, and my mother’s special roast dish – she gets top of the rib roast sliced thin from the butcher, stuffs it with hashu, rolls it, and then cooks it with mushrooms and onions. It’s delicious! We also serve the leftover lubiah, any kind of mechsi, kibbeh with peas, rice, and so on. What I learned from interviewing these amazing women, and discussing this topicwithothers along theway, is that a lot of hardwork and love goes into each and every holiday meal. I was also reminded of how our special, cherished culture and heritage are infused into every aspect of the preparations, at every step along the way. These remarkable mothers and grandmothers are planning meals for their families so they can come and spend quality time together over good food, enjoying recipes that have been handed down from mother to daughter for generations. At the same time, the younger generation likes to put a spin on some of the classics – no doubt being influenced by Jewish food bloggers on social media who are constantly trying to reinvent some of our age-old staples. The new and the old are both wonderful and have a place on our holiday tables. The hours of hard work and painstaking attention to every detail pays off when these women see family members catching up and bonding, enjoying their favorite homecooked dishes, and praising the chef and hostess.  Until next time, wishing you and your families a happy and healthy new year! Frieda Schweky SELTEYA RECIPE (SWISS CHARD WITH CHOP MEAT)  BY SUZY MOSSERI 1. Rinse two heads of Swiss chard individually very well. 2. Chop it and rinse again. 3. Add to a pot with a bit of water, and boil. 4. When it shrinks, allow it to cool, put in a zip-top bag, and freeze.  5. Defrost when cooking for the holiday. 6. Chop 4-5 celery stalks, and sauté with 4 cloves of garlic. 7. Add Swiss chard mixture and cook until it is all soft and combined. 8. Add tebileh (sauteed chop meat) and 3-4 raw eggs, scrambled. 9. Add salt and garlic powder to taste. 10. Cook down until dry, and it’s ready to serve! 1. Chop 4 quince apples into cubes and put on stove. 2. Add 1½ cups sugar and a drop of water to the pot. 3. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract. 4. Use a silicone spatula to stir so as to not smash quince.  5. Cook on very low flame. Once it boils, add a tsp of lemon juice. 6. It should keep its form, but become textured like a jelly! 7. Allow to cool and store in the fridge. QUINCE JELLY  BY SUZY MOSSERI