Foods from the Pale of Settlement
I love my Jewish heritage. I love the foods. They inspire me and connect me to those in my family who have passed on: my mom and dad, my grandmother Ida (pictured above), my Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Hymie, my Aunt Ann and Uncle Leo, and my “adopted” Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Marty. These dear people were the embodiment of love and the foods they served all year round are treasured memories.
When I make my matzah balls, I use a fork and spoon my grandmother brought with her from Poland. I use her rolling pin when I make doughs for pizza, Pletzel, dumplings and matzah. Holding those cherished items bring her alive again for me. Every time.
When I was in culinary school, we were allowed to focus some of our lessons on foods from around the world. This unit presented itself as we were heading into Passover. My wonderful teacher Chef Janet Rörschåch challenged me to make every food from that unit Kosher for Passover. So, when I cooked Cuban or Hawaiian meals whose foods were normally made of pork, I converted them to beef. Shellfish became white-fleshed fish, salmon or tofu.
I was especially excited to study foods from the Pale of Settlement, the area of Eastern Europe that my family came from. This PowerPoint presentation is the research I submitted to illustrate the foods I created.
These are the foods I grew up with, love and still crave. And most of the soups I offer in my store are steeped in this rich history, the history and foods of my family.