Jewish Food

Cook and food writer, Ruth Joseph, and former food editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Simon Round came together to bring us a compendium of Jewish recipes in the new cookbook, Traditional Jewish Cooking.  This book takes you on a culinary journey, from the warm climates of Africa and the Middle East to the cooler temperatures of Europe and North America.  This book covers all the bases with Ashkenazi and Sephardi classics you will definitely want to add to your repertoire.  Don’t miss the savory vegetable noodle kugel, just in time for Shavuot.

What motivated you to write this book?

I was motivated to write this book as I had have always had a passion for good kosher recipes that work and I had amassed numerous lovely ancient recipes, some written on old envelopes that my late mother and mother-in law passed onto me.

Plus I had devised my own solutions with a goal to make the recipes as light and healthy as possible. And once I had worked these out perfectly I wanted to share them with like-minded Jewish foodie people.

I asked Simon to test the meaty recipes as I no longer cook meat in my home. Some of the recipes were mine from my own home but it wouldn’t have been fair to give recipes that were not tested to check whether they work.

How did you decide which recipes to include in this book?

It was hugely difficult to leave recipes out and I had a trying day with my lovely editor culling 30 recipes which had to be omitted because of space issues.

Most traditional Jewish recipe books are either Ashkenazi or Sephardi, how were you able to become an expert on both cuisines?

I am an expert on Ashkenazi and Sephardi cooking as I am an Ashkenazi Jewish person myself – my family name is Carlebach and I am extremely proud of my Ashkenazi heritage. But I married a Sephardi man whose family originated from Palestine and before that Spain and so I developed a fascination for Sephardi cooking. I went to Morocco and met some wonderful cooks who helped me in my quest and I loved the
lightness of their cookery with oil rather than schmaltz, plus the generous quantities of herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables in their foods.

How and when did you learn to cook?

I learned as a child at my late mother’s side. I was maybe three when she set me down with a little ball of pastry and I tasted and smelt the magic of a dough dusted with sugar and baked until golden. She was a generous cook and adored entertaining when she was well and I learned how to make and how to arrange food to make it look appetzing. I owe her a great deal. Sadly as she became more poorly I became the full-time cook and carer but I learned to make everything for a kosher home and truly although it was tough I was given a huge grounding in cookery, using left-overs for example in knishes and kreplach and I’ll always remember how talented she was in the kitchen.

Plava Recipe

What is your favorite recipe from this book? Please share it with us?

My favourite recipe from the book – goodness how to I chose one child over all the others?

Perhaps it’s the Plava because it was such a huge success – moist, tender and sweet tart with lemon.  When it finally emerged and when we photographed the final version it included my homemade lemon curd and a sprig of lemon tree flower from my husband’s green house.

Sephardi Spiced Fish

Also, the Sephardi Hot Spiced Fish which I often serve to friends as they adore the flavouring and I can prepare it a day in advance. I learned that recipe in Fez in a tiny warm kitchen with a lovely lady who chopped onions into her hands instead of a chopping board!!! And I’m hugely proud of the recipe.

Which recipe is the most important for historical or traditional reasons?

On consideration for both historical and traditional reasons it has to be Judith’s Black and White Cake.  It was always baked in a special bundt tin that she, my late mother Judith Carlebach carried out of Germany at the age of 12 when escaping from the Holocaust.  She held it in her still childish hands wrapped up with her mother’s second-best candlesticks. And although most of her life she was sick and I nursed her until she died at the age of 46, there were good times when we made that cake, rich with melted chocolate and more chocolate drizzled over the top. I was always in charge of greasing and flouring the intricate furrows of the tin which was a huge pressure but the tin and the cake never let me down. I love that tin and the recipe to make it with its sweet memories and I also remember sitting with my mother and making marzipan fruit to decorate the top.

Enjoy a sampling of recipes from the book and then go buy your copy to get the rest.

Savory Vegetable and Noodle Kugel

Sephardic Fish

The Plava

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This blog post is all about reinventing Israeli cuisine in honor of Jamie making Aliyah. With Yom Ha’atzmeut around the corner, I don’t think there’s a better time to introduce it! When you think about Israeli foods, I think that there is nothing more Israeli then falafel.

Falafel is the quintessential example of Israel itself, not just its cuisine. Its flavors are loud, obnoxious, and loved by all; this dessert rendition is the same. You have the rich fried chocolate falafel balls paired with the fresh and sweet fruit salad and perfectly balanced with the salty parmesan tuile.

I think one of the reasons that falafel is so popular with Israelis, and around the world, is because it’s an entire meal tucked into a pita. A single falafel has a bit of everything you should be eating daily: vegetables, protein, carb; and, of course, the taste of deep fried deliciousness.

As vegetarian – veganism continues to be on the rise, so is falafel. I think the best example of this is Maoz Falafel which started out in Amsterdam by two Israelis but has slowly spread all over the globe.

There are two recipes for the original falafel ball, a Yemenite one made strictly with chickpeas or the Egyptian one made from fava beans. I would say that this recipe might have an American tinge to it; not only is it a dessert but it’s a dessert that involves frying chocolate.

Unlike the much loved classic which is street food, this is definitely a more refined show stopper for when guests are coming over. The recipe isn’t overly complicated especially because you can freeze the falafel balls in advance before frying them at the last minute. This dish will surely wow friends with its taste and the fact that you use both Hebrew and French (tuile means tile or when cooking, a thin crispy dough) while introducing this dish.

Like the original falafel the chocolate falafel balls are best served immediately after they are fried. Like any falafel enthusiast knows there is a legitimate danger of burning your tongue when you excitedly eat them right off the frying pan!

Chocolate Falafel with Fruit Salad and a Parmesan Cheese Tuile is the perfect thing to serve this Yom Ha’azmeut to get a taste of today’s Israel; which is constantly reinventing itself and challenging our views on everything sabra from falafel to kibbutzim.

With Passover just behind us, we can relax and enjoy the easier pace of spring and summer. The days are getting longer, a fact we notice most on Shabbat. Whereas the end of the Sabbath once arrived while we were still groggy from our naps and surfeited from second meal, we now find we can’t make it to sundown without some stirrings of hunger.  That’s where third meal comes in.

Not the heavy, meat-laden, many-coursed repasts we enjoy at first and second meals, third meal is a lighter, more casual affair. There is the obligatory challoh, but we can now accompany the bread with simple cold salads based on vegetables, grains, eggs, or fish. The long gap between second and third meals means we may also be past the maximum 6-hour wait between meat and milk and can have a dairy meal, if we like.

Hot weather makes my thoughts turn to the regional foods of warmer climes like Provence, Sicily, or Turkey. A little chili spice, the acid spark of vinegar or tomatoes, and the smokiness of grilled vegetables helps soothe jaded palates as the weather wears on, growing hotter by the day. You can toss something together just before the meal, or if you’re like me, you can make it all ahead on Friday so there’s nothing to do on Shabbat but relax and enjoy the meal. I like to take the salads out of the fridge about 45 minutes before the meal to take a bit of the chill off them. This helps to develop the flavors.

Roasted Pepper Salad

This brightly-colored Provencal dish calls for just five ingredients. Use best quality olive oil and feel free to dip your challah in the delicious juices left on the plate. Serve with flaked tuna dressed with more of that good olive oil and brightened with a healthy spritz of lemon juice and some cracked black pepper.

Insalata Di Patate e Fagiolini

A bit labor intensive, the flavors of this Italian-style potato salad are so addictive, you won’t mind the extra work. Give the salad plenty of time to come to room temperature before serving.

Batrik - Tomato Bulgur Salad

When it’s too hot to cook, make this no-cook Turkish tomato bulgur salad. Your kitchen stays cool and you get to eat this delicious salad.

Roasted Red Pepper Salad

Potato Green Bean Salad

Tomato Bulgur Salad

Brisket is still trending! Something so traditional that can reinvent itself each year, has to be the trendiest cut around. There is always a new brisket recipe being circulated, in fact, I don’t think any cut of meat has been so well utilized as much as brisket. Whether pickled, boiled, steamed, roasted, barbequed or baked, the versatility of brisket cannot be beaten. Now that’s trendy!

Brisket is rather a fatty cut from the breast of the cow. Although it can be easily trimmed it’s a good idea to have a little fat on the brisket as this keeps it tasty and moist while cooking. If you’re on a low fat diet, cut fat off after cooking. Brisket requires long, slow cooking to break down the collagen in the connective muscle tissues to achieve tenderness.

The brisket cut is comprised of two muscles. The large leaner piece of meat that runs along the bottom is called the flat piece. The other piece, on the top, called the ‘point’ or ‘deckel’ has more flavour as it has what I like to call “a little bit of value added fat!

And just when you thought it was safe to cook, along comes another little fact: Although joined, the grain of these two pieces of meat run in different directions and present quite a challenge when it comes to carving. In fact, it was after cutting a huge piece of brisket by hand that my husband decided I (or rather he) needed an electric deli meat slicer in my kitchen!! Nothing like pre-sliced brisket for a relaxing evening! However, you can separate these two pieces of meat after cooking, which makes for easier carving.

BBQ Brisket on a Bed of Onions

Before refrigeration, meats were preserved by salting, or “corning.” Corned beef got its name because it was preserved in salt before cooking. Corned beef has nothing to do with corn, but the pellets of salt, the size of corn kernels, used to dry-cure the beef.

When Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants came to America, they brought their love of brisket with them. Jewish butchers and deli owners pickled/cured the brisket to make corned beef and pastrami. But for the holidays, nothing could replace the comforting, hearty flavour of a roasted fresh brisket.

Glazed Brisket with Red Cabbage

So, you might ask, “what’s the difference between fresh brisket and pickled brisket?”

‘Fresh’ Brisket is the raw cut of brisket before going through any curing/pickling process. Pickled/corned brisket is the same raw cut, only it has been pickled/cured in a brine.

Corned beef (or pickled brisket as we call it in South Africa) needs to be washed very well to de-salinate it to remove any excess salt from the pickling brine and then boiled. As many of my recipes suggest, after boiling it can be further cooked in a sauce in the oven. You wouldn’t boil a fresh brisket first, you would rather spice/sauce it up and slow roast or BBQ it.

Once any meat is pickled it turns dark pink or reddish in colour when cooked but when a fresh cut of brisket is cooked it stays that regular golden brown roast colour.  Most butcheries and cold meat factories make their ‘Cooked Brisket’ by pickling/curing and then cooking. ‘Smoked Brisket’ is cooked by pickling and hot smoking and ‘Pastrami’ is made by pickling, massaging with pastrami spices and hot smoked to cook through.

I hope that the following recipes will help to keep your Brisket passion burning.

BBQ Brisket with Onions

Glazed Brisket with Red  Cabbage

So I have a friend who sends me food every Succos. We daven in the same little shul, and our husbands are friendly. So a day or so before Succos, she called me to tell me she was sending over a trayof stuffed cabbage. I thanked her, and offered to send over a potato kugel - I was in the middle of making a batch at the moment. She told me she didn’t need potato kugel, but if I was making yapchik that would be lovely. ” Sure, absolutely, no problem,” I told her before we hung up.
Turning to my husband, I asked him ” Yapchik is potato kugel with meat inside, right?” He told me it was, that he had the chance to taste in shul. I smiled to myself, and began to make what I thought was yapchik. I sent it with my husband to take on his way to shul that night. After Succos, my friend called me. ” I just wanted to tell you, my husband said this yapchik was better than the ones he’s eaten before- he said it was different- there was meat all throughout and that was good.” I thanked her and went on my way..til I found out what I had made wasn’t yapchik. At least not in the traditional sense.
You see, I knew I couldn’t just put raw meat into raw potato kugel, bake it at 350 or 400 for 3 hours (how I usually bake my potato kugels) and expect it to be done. I couldn’t even do it even if I used chopped meat. So when I made what I thought was yapchik I used cold-cuts. Not just off the shelf- I used navel pastrami, 1st cut corned beef and genuine turkey breast. That explained why it was different – I’ve heard that with traditional yapchik the meat doesn’t mix all the way through.
So if it’s not yapchik, why am I calling it Amerikaner Yapchik? To me, it’s yapchik, and deli makes it completely American. The best part of this recipe? It cooks like regular potato kugel..and its even better the next day!
Amerikaner Yapchik

Watch Jamie Geller prepare her fabulous challah dough.

View and print this recipe here.

Jamie Geller and hubby show you how to make cholent in this Quick & Kosher video. Find the recipe here.

A latke with a surprise in the middle is a great way to update the classic Chanukah dish. Be creative and stuff latkes with anything you have on hand. Maybe even use it as a way to get your kids to eat their veggies by adding peas, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, or spinach.

Start with my favorite Basic Latke Recipe.

Then choose your filling:

Salmon + Green Goddess Dressing
The crispy potato latke, with the smooth fresh taste of salmon makes for a great combination. Green goddess dressing, a
mixture of herbs and sour cream, adds color and flavor to this impressive latke.

Pulled Brisket + BBQ Sauce
This combination tastes similar to a pulled beef sandwich; the ultimate latke for any meat and potato lover.

Mushroom + Sour Cream
The earthiness of the potatoes and mushrooms make for a rustic and classic flavor combination. The sour cream adds richness to the latke.

Cheese + Marinara Sauce
Our version of mozzarella sticks…latke style. A gooey, cheesy center with a hint of basil surrounded by crispy potatoes is
a spectacular Chanukah treat.

Apples + Sour Cream with a Cinnamon Topping
Inspired by the classic latke with apple sauce on the side, this latke takes on the flavors of an apple fritter.

As published in Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller (Bitayavon Winter 2011) – Subscribe Now.

There is a popular custom to eat fish on Shabbat and many people regularly start the Shabbat meal with a cold fish appetizer like gefilte fish.  It is nice to have something you can make ahead and serve cold, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the same each week.   To be honest growing up with jarred gefilte, I never thought I liked any form of gefilte.  In college I was introduced to the frozen loaf and found that it actually could taste quite good and doesn’t have to come with jelly.  Since then I have found so many new ways to make and serve a cold fish appetizer and have been inspired by Jamie’s ideas too.  Here are some new ways to serve and old food.

Starting with Jamie’s famous Spiced Gefilte Fish, so gorgeous it made the cover of her first book, Quick & Kosher From the Bride who Knew Nothing.  Now it is time for you to try it.

Gefilte Fish Cakes with Horseradish Sauce

For something that really changes it up try these gefilte cakes, they are easy to make using jarred or frozen gefilte loaves, but even those gefilte haters will enjoy.

Gefilte and Salmon Terrine

I learned to make a fish terrine like this when I was in Paris quite a few years back, but then made it easier by using a defrosted loaf of gefilte.  The spinach can still be difficlut to work with, but once you get the hang of it, it is worth it.  You will love how gorgeous it comes out.

Spinach Gefilte Fish

Or if you don’t want to fuss with spinach leaves on the outside, make this incredibly easy oven baked spinach gefilte fish, I have converted many so called gefilte haters over to the love side with this recipe.

Then of course you could go the homemade route or try this very different fish terrine made from Halibut and Salmon, it really isn’t a gefilte fish, but does make a perfect cold fish appetizer.

For a busy cook, for whom cooking is not the priority, recipes that require a little bit of preparation followed by at least one fuss-free hour are choice. Perhaps this is why so many Jewish cooks cook with brisket. Since it is a cut from the lower chest of beef, it has a lot of connective tissue that needs to be properly broken down in order to tenderize. Braising the brisket as a pot roast for holiday meals is the perfect way to break down the connective tissue. Just ensure to keep the meat covered and that it has plenty of liquid to cook in to avoid a dry and stringy cut of beef.

Since braising meat can take around three hours to cook, it is the perfect recipe to prepare before a big holiday: prepare it, stick it in the oven, and work on all of the other patchke dishes while it cooks. Over the years, brisket has penetrated the collective unconscious as a “Jewish food.” This dates back to nineteenth century Europe, because it was, and remains today, a relatively cheap cut of meat. Since it is lean meat, almost none of it goes to waste. Brisket just takes a little bit of patience, so that it gets tender and delicious. Here are some brisket recipes for Rosh Hashanah.

Roasted Apple Brisket

The apples in this recipe make it a perfect dish for Rosh Hashanah!

Garlic Honey Brisket

You can dip your apple in this garlic honey brisket—mmm.

Sephardic Brisket – Even though brisket is traditionally considered an Ashkenazic dish, try this delicious Sephardic take on the meat!

Brisket

Risk It Brisket -  Ketchup, wine, and Coca-Cola—why not try something new this year with this creative recipe!

Brisket in Seasonal Ale with With Winter Fruits

This is a perfect recipe to get in more Shehecheyanu Brachot. You can have fresh plums alongside your brisket for the bracha, and then dig in to the brisket with prunes.

Papanasi (pronounced “papanash”) are traditional Romanian cheese sweets. I grew up in a Romanian Jewish family. Most of my childhood’s cuisine was based on Romanian dishes, mostly meat, potatoes and eggplants but there were also cheese dishes that I loved – savory and sweet.

Since I became vegetarian, 22 years ago, I’ve been focusing on those vegetable and dairy dishes.  One of the dairy sweets that both my grandmother and mother used to make (and still does, G’d bless her) is called Papanash.  The original Papanash that you can find in most Romanian Restaurants is a sweet cheese DOUGHNUT that looks a little similar to the American doughnuts we’re accustomed to (as oppose to Hanukka’s doughnuts that do not have a hole and are filled with jam or other fillings), except the Papanash doughnuts do not come out as round as American doughnuts because their dough is softer.

In my house we used to eat two other kinds of Papanash, though: cheese patties and cooked cheese and semolina dumplings.  The original doughnut version was introduced to me much later, when I started inquiring about Romanian cuisine.

The original Papanash: Cheese Doughnuts
Romanians do not waste anything so they deep fry the round dough that was cut out of the doughnut’s center and place it on top of the Papansh that is served with sour cherries jam and sour cream or whipped cream.

Here are the two other versions I’m used to:

Papanash with Cranberries

 and

Papanash Cooked Dumplings with Crunchies

Papanash are usually sweet. However, I took my sweet recipe and turned it into a savory dish. You can serve them with the tomato sauce or without it. They’re great anyway.

Savory Papanasi

In Israel we have soft but very dry low-fat cheeses for these kinds of dishes. I’m not familiar with American cheeses but the best substitute I can think of is Ricotta cheese. Make sure you use a low-fat soft but DRY cheese.

Its always a challenge making hot foods for Shabbat lunch other than cholent. I came up with the idea to make a Yaptzik, a.k.a over night potato kugel with meat. It is so easy to make and so delicious. It is always a big hit and great for sitting around on a long Shabbat enjoying your guests. I tried to google the origins of the recipe and the name and there wasn’t much except for that it was layers of potato kugel and meat cooked in an over night oven.  This is not a light recipe nor the most Summery, but I like the changeover from cholent, try this Yaptzik recipe.

Another idea for hot food for Shabbat day was putting a Naval Pastrami (a fully cooked and smoked pastrami) in the oven over night. I bought it at Seasons in Lawrence and it come double wrapped it plastic. I take off the outer plastic layer and keep the vacuum packed plastic on. Right before Shabbat when I am putting in my Yaptzik in the oven I place my pastrami in a Pyrex dish and fill it ¾ way up with hot water cover it tightly and place it in the oven at 200 degrees. The next day I carefully take it out as the water is very hot. I drain the water, cut open the plastic and slice the pastrami. (it cuts like butter) My guest and family go crazy over this meat. (Make sure you buy the Naval pastrami as it is fully cooked already.) I serve it with different kinds of mustard.

Image Source from Flickr Creative Commons License:

Overnight Potato Kugel (a.k.a) yaptzik – Flickr -  Edsel

Pastrami – Flickr – Arnold

It’s been a real surprise to see classic Israeli and Middle Eastern food take center stage in America’s supermarkets.  Packaged hummus used to be thick, grainy and not at all like the hummus I fell in love with in Israel.  All that changed a few years ago when Sabra came to market.  They introduced Israeli style Hummus and made it mainstream in the regular grocery stores.  Then hummus shops opened up all over New York City and random places around the country.  Remarkable.

Hummus has gone beyond the kosher, Jewish and Israeli market to broader mainstream appeal and with good reason.  Hummus is made of chickpeas, sesame paste, lemon, garlic and olive oil.  It is a healthy, protein filled, snack or lunch that is gluten free and nut free.    It doesn’t spoil easily and is delicious spread on crackers, pita, carrot sticks or even a bagel. For those counting, 2 tablespoons contains 50 calories, 3.5 g of fat, 4 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of fiber and 2 g of protein.

You can find hummus all across America now and Tribe Hummus has taken it to the next level.   Tribe Hummus makes their authentic creamy blend without any additives or preservatives.  They use the natural lemon juice to work its magic to keep their product fresh.  Tribe has three lines, Original Blended, Tribe with Toppings and Tribe Organic.  Some of their newer flavors include Spicy Chipotle, Kalamata Olive, Cilantro Chimichurri and Jalapeno, and I am working my way through them all!   Try Jamie’s Mediterranean Pizza with Hummus and Feta or try subbing hummus instead of mayo in spinach and artichoke dip.  Or you can just spoon it right out of the container like I do!

*** Giveaway ***

Tribe Hummus 2 winners will receive three coupons each for the tribe hummus of their choice.

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I love the holiday of Shavuot !

As a vegetarian, my everyday life is based on non-meat dishes but this is exactly why I do my best to make the holiday dishes even more special.

A little introduction about the holiday itself:

Shavuot (“Pentecost”) is an agricultural as well as historical and spiritual festival in the Torah.   The word Shavuot means “weeks” in Hebrew. The holiday marks the ending of the seven weeks’ counting, starting on the second evening of Passover.

This counting is based on the commandment in the Torah (Leviticus 23:15-16) to count 49 days -beginning from the day on which the sacrifice containing an Omer of Barley (Omer is a Biblical measure of grains) was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, until the day before the wheat was brought to the Temple on Shavuot. So these seven weeks are the time bridge between the barley and the wheat harvests.

This agricultural festival takes place in the Book of Ruth that we read on Shavuot.

Another reason for the seven-week counting is a religious and spiritual one: On Passover we celebrate our exodus from slavery to freedom. It took the people of Israel seven weeks in the desert to reach the mount of Sinai where they received the Holy Torah. So this holiday marks the Holy bond between G’d and Israel and the day in which the people of Israel received the divine gift of the moral laws of the Torah.

The Torah is referred to as milk, among many other metaphors.

In Song of Songs, chapter 4, there’s a beautiful erotic love poem that describes spring in the land of Israel: 4:11  ”Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb. Honey and milk are under your tongue”.

Ancient Jewish Rabbis (Chazal – Our Sages, may their memory be blessed)  who studied and explored the Torah, said that this poem, among others, is a metaphor for the strong love between G’d and the people of Israel, when the Torah (Bible) was referred to as Milk and Honey (that should always be under one’s tongue).

These are some of the reasons why Jews, especially Ashkenazi Jews (from Europe) eat dairy foods.

I come from a Romanian Jewish family who immigrated to Israel in the 1960′s. I was born and raised in Israel but my grandmother, on my mother’s side, used to cook and bake for us Romanian dishes almost every day and she inspired me and had a very strong effect on my love for cooking and baking and I want to dedicate this Holiday article to her.

Although Romanian Cuisine is based mostly on meat, there are also many dairy dishes that I, as a vegetarian, continue to make up till this day.

Here are some of my favorites savory dishes filled with dairy to celebrate Shavuot.  Stay tuned for tomorrow I share Romanian Desserts.

Mamaliga

Romanian cuisine uses simple, cheap ingredients . One of those is Cornmeal, which we also know from Mexican and Italian cuisine.  One of the main dishes in Romania is called Mamaliga.   It is actually very similar to the Italian Polenta and is some kind of a porridge made of boiled water and cornmeal cooked together.  Romanians eat it with almost anything: Meat dishes, Fried eggs, Cooked vegetables and…cheese.

Kreplach

Classic Jewish Ashkenazic kreplach, but filled with cheese.

Cartofi Frantuzesti – French-Style Romanian Potatoes with cheese.

Savory Papanasi (pronounced: papanash)

Papanash are usually sweet cheese doughnuts or patties. However, I took my sweet recipe and turned it into a savory dish. You can serve them with the tomato sauce or without it.  They’re great anyway.

After you’ve finally finished putting away your Pesach dishes it’s time to make Schlissel or Key Challah. It is an old and established custom that on the first Shabbos after Pesach we shape a challah into the form of a key or stick a real key inside a regular challah because this was the Shabbos when the Manna, the miraculous food Hashem air-mailed to our forefathers throughout their desert wanderings, ceased to fall.

Imagine what that Shabbos must have been like. All of the Children of Israel simultaneously wondering whether Manna had gotten lost or misplaced or delivered to the wrong address. But don’t feel too sorry for them. Our anscestors had Joshua, Yehoshua Bin Nun to guide them . Remember that he was Moshe Rabeinu’s own hand picked successor and protege and like Moshe he had a hotline to Hashem.  It was time for the Jewish people to start fending for themselves and eating from the land.

This change indicated that the Children of Israel, we weren’t yet called Jews, had entered a new reality.  The key symbolizes this. It is a Jewish mystical teaching that Hashem’s goodies are locked up and our prayers are the “key’s” to opening His storehouse. The act of making Schlissel Challah is in and of itself regarded as a way to draw down the Heavenly blessing of Parnossa or sustenance.

Here’s my machatesteh’s (Yiddish for my son in law’s mother) recipe for wonderful challot – Key Challah Recipe.