Shabbat and Farming Piece

Those of us in in the mid-Atlantic are hopeful that tonight will bring our first real snowstorm of the winter.  We need the moisture and I am ready for a nice mid-week snow day. Maybe it will give me a chance for a real post tomorrow if we don’t lose power.

In the meantime, I want to share an article I have up on Huffington Post Religion today about the challenges of trying to do better at observing Shabbat beyond Friday night during the farm season.  Please jump over there to read it and feel free to leave a comment there if you like.  This article was a long time coming, and wound up having lots of different incarnations (too many in fact).  I am happy to see if finally out in the world.

Thanks for reading and your support!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chickweed and my Jewish Farming Retreat

Last weekend my family attended this amazing retreat in Baltimore, the Beit Midrash at the Pearlstone Center.  You can read my article about the retreat in the Jewish Daily Forward here.

I have to say  absolutely love pluralistic Jewish events, especially when we get to talk about farming.  I have been thinking a lot more about the idea of shmitta, the once in every 7 year sabbatical from farming and I am sure I will be writing more about that soon.

One very compelling piece of shmitta is the idea that if you had to feed your family without any farming, you would be more aware of all of the wild plants available to you. And it would also seem required to teach this plant literacy to your children.   I heard that there are some people trying to include a wild edible plant dish in every Shabbat meal as sort of a practice or way of envisioning shmitta.  I love that idea of that practice.

Here is some wonderful nutritious chickweed already greening up on our farm in February.  It steams down to very little, but it is delicious in salad or soups.

 

 

 

Babka Inspired Challah

This past Shabbat was cold and it was also sadly the end of Winter Break, so I felt we needed an extra sweet challah.  I bake challah almost every week, although I tend to slack off quite a bit in the summer when it seems wrong to turn on the oven.  But during these cold months, it is definitely high season for Challah.

I had been thinking about making a traditional babka based on this amazing looking recipe from the Smitten Kitchen which emphasizes the key to babka is the combination of cinnamon and chocolate (plus lots of butter).  I took that inspiration and tried a challah with plenty of cinnamon, chocolate chips, and extra sugar.  Otherwise I used my regular recipe and 100% whole wheat flour, so it was sweet and healthy too.

I will definitely be making this again, and I recommend it to any other bakers out there.  You just might have to be careful of little hands reaching in before you have said the blessings.  I don’t have recipe specifics, because when I make challah I sort of pour the ingredients into my mixer until it looks and feels right.  But you can start with any basic recipe and pretty safely wander off with additions!

I wish you a sweet week and thanks for reading!

Lessons from a Broken Candle

broken candle, partially but not really repaired

A few weeks ago, my two year old found this havdalah candle on the table and picked it up. She was probably twisting it around in her hands, maybe she wanted to see if she could unbraid it and before she knew it, the candle broke. Havdolah candles are lit for a ceremony marking the end of Shabbat (the sabbath). We don’t do it every week, so the candle was a bit of a novelty to have out.

I came in the room and before thinking said, “oh, you broke it”.  I saw her whole body startle.  She looked at me as if emerging from a reverie, and looked very sad.  “Sorry, candle.”  She said, her tiny voice full of remorse.

I was quick to try to soften the blow, “that’s ok, we will fix it, wax melts. we can stick it back together. We can still use it.”  But it was too late, she was sad.  A few more times that night she said, “sorry, candle”.  At two, her memory is getting longer.  I wished I hadn’t jumped to say something, it was clearly an accident.  She could not possibly know that wax is so breakable.

I kept reassuring her and expecting her to forget, but she kept bringing it up again.  “candle, sorry, broken, candle”.  And I kept telling her it was OK, things break, everybody breaks things sometimes, it is good to say your sorry, everybody forgives her.

I see you, You See Me book

A couple of weeks passed and she did not talk about it anymore.   I was starting to forget about it. But last night, as I was putting her to bed with this book she started stroking the edge of the mirror and saying, “sorry, sorry”.   At first, I did not make the connection and I asked her, “why are you sorry?”

“Sorry candle,” she said.  And then I saw, of course, the blue and white border reminded her of the candle.   And she was still sorry! It reminded me that I need to think before I speak, since you can’t take back your words.  I am so sorry I made her feel bad enough about breaking the candle that she is remembering it weeks later.  But I am also happy that she is still little enough that I can pretty much follow her train of thought and little free associations.

Thanks for following along with me.

Guest Post today on Challah Baking

I am happy to have a guest post today on the Jewish Daily Forward’s Food Blog “The Jew and the Carrot“.  The piece called the Ecology of Challah Baking grew from an earlier post on this blog and a comment from a reader.

It is exciting to appear in one of the newest online branches of one of the oldest Jewish newspapers in the US. The Forward was once read primarily in Yiddish by thousands of Jewish immigrants to America including my own great grandparents.   The paper remains a strong force today and in addition to the English and Yiddish print editions now has a website with a lucky seven blogs.

If you are finding On the Lettuce Edge for the first time, please leave a comment and consider signing up as a subscriber.  This blog will focus on topics ranging from parenting, farming and sewing to ecology and Jewish life.   You can use the categories on the right to navigate topics or to jump to another Jewish related post on this blog click here.  I am also looking for a couple of likeminded writers to join the effort because many voices are more interesting than one.   If you are interested, please send an email to thelettuceedge@gmail.com.

Finally, it is not too late to enter to win a natural and organic Purim Basket from Israeli Harvest, our small business that supports farms in Israel.  Please visit this post on Homeshuling and leave a comment to enter the giveaway.   Thanks for visiting and please come back soon!