• Healthy cooking for Passover? All it takes is tweaking [JTA]

• Mazon’s (USA) Childhood Nutrition Seders. [via JTA> Jewish Public Affairs> MAZON US]. I’d like to see an initiative like this locally

• Good to the last plague [Washington Jewish Week] Until last year I’d never seen this haggadah. I think it’s an American thing (?).

• The Ultimate Passover Guide for Vegetarians and Vegans [The Jew and the Carrot]

• Recipes: Gluten-Free Matzo Balls [Gluten-Free Bay] It’s from 2007, but my friend Lisa shared it & I wanted to pass it on.

• Kosher wine, beyond sweet red [Chicago Tribune]

• Gefilte fish: baked, not boiled [Toronto Star]  …With a little history lesson on gefilte fish in there.

• Although it’s not food related: Passover Quotes, Greetings, And Passages For Passover 2010 [Huffington Post]

More to follow, no doubt.

Wishing my Jewish friends a happy and meaningful pesach. I leave you with the new acoustic version of the smash YouTube hit, “20 Things to Do With Matzah.” starring William Levin and Michelle Citrin.
(Thanks to Esther K. for the video.)

[I began this post at 5pm, had to abandon it unfinished at 6:47 to get my butt to seder that was to begin at 7 but didn't begin until 8, and finished after.]

[April 9, 3:10pm: Edited to make it a bit shorter.]

I apologize in advance for the length, because I generally don’t have the patience to read anything that’s this long.

Occasionally I read something that makes me smack my head with disbelief, as in, “I can’t believe he/she wrote that.” I wasn’t going to post about this. I wasn’t going to comment on Corey Mintz’s  article in last Saturday’s Toronto Star about an unconventional passover seder. I first noticed it in Taste T.O.’s weekly Saturday feature In the Papers (April 4). I starred the Taste T.O. post in Google Reader, unsure if I wanted to read about it again, post about it, or go there in general. It seemed like an article I had to bookmark. So, I thought “Mintz, you ass.” and moved on. I wasn’t going to address it here.

Sometimes I begin comments in response to blog posts and find that that they’ve become opinion pieces or diatribes.  Well, that sort of lead me to this post, except that I wasn’t commenting to a blog post.

Another fact about me (one was revealed on Monday): I briefly worked in radio a couple of years ago. While between careers around 2003 (?),  and then on a casual part time basis through 2008, I worked for Rogers Broadcasting, which owns Jack FM, CHFI, 680 News and The Fan 590 in Toronto. One of the first people I met there was  Maurie, who had been a producer on Jack FM’s morning show until the station went to a DJ-free format.

Maurie is my Facebook network. and today he posted audio of an interview that he did with Dave Trafford at CFRB 1010 earlier today, an interview which he was recruited to do in response to Corey’s article.  A lot of Jews listen to Newstalk. I grew up listening to CFRB in the car when Andy Barrie was still on air there (now I listen to him every morning on CBC). The interview is not on CFRB’s website nor do I know if it will be.  Maurie posted it as a video link. It may or may not be accessible to you. It may or may not be copyright infringement.

The interview with Maurie and CFRB’s Jessica Baker was good. Their messaging was basically, “The seder is mostly about family, we enjoy the family time and the festival meal, we don’t have the patience to read through the whole book beginning to end, we count the pages until the part that says we eat and then we’re done.” Pretty consistent with my experience and that of most people I know. One friend’s family reenacts the plagues with masks and toys, which I think is awesome, and tomorrow I’ll be at a seder hosted by two friends, one of whom is a rabbi, and I’ve been informed that there will be lots of discussion going late into the night. Lots of wine too.

So, Corey’s article…

I began a response to Maurie’s video post and the most recent draft looked like this:

Trafford missed the point a little bit. Yes, Mintz was slagging traditions but it went beyond that. He mocked the holiday. He made fun of the food customs, the story and the traditions. Furthermore, he created a new menu that aligned unkosher food with the story. He takes the concept of slavery and turns it into pork belly on sauerkraut. The poached egg over cornbread completely misses the point and is wrong on so many levels.

There’s no way that he wasn’t aware that he’d be pissing off readers, alienating his own. It was tasteless (pardon the pun). I wasn’t offended but thought he came off as an ass. Passover is one time, I find, that even non-kosher Jews try to step it up [be kosher for the week].

Instead I praised the interview, said that the interviewer missed the point and told him that he’d inspired a blog post.

Blog readers, I don’t think I need to point out what’s wrong with pork belly. That’s obvious. As stated, the cornbread is wrong for many reasons: He directs cooking it in pork or bacon fat.  Corn is considered kitniot, forbidden on passover.

As expected, the article drew ire from members of the Jewish community. Here I put on my “media analyst” hat that I haven’t worn in a while  (still fits, and I’m not donning it for a 6am work time) and report on the tone of the feedback:

• 24 comments online. 19 negative, three positive, three neutral. I’d chart it if it was for work.
• Of the negative: Many said that the newspaper should be ashamed of themselves. Some threatened newspaper subscription cancellation (congratulations, Mintz). Some called him “pathetic” and “insensitive”. One called him a “self-hating Jew”. My opinion: Self-hating, no. Flippant? Yes. Insensitive? Yes, but unintentionally, which is why I referred to him as an “ass” in the opening paragraph.
• The Letters to the Editor in the print edition, as published online today, reflect pretty much the same. I wasn’t monitoring it over the week, but there’s a whole lot of offense expressed.

A sampling of the letters with my commentary, Toronto Sun style:

Mr. Mintz is enslaved by crassness and disrespect. He is trapped in the same arrogance as the “puffed up bread.” He doesn’t stop to think about how many people feel sadness from his insensitive, post-cultural ramblings.

I like that one and agree somewhat. It was crass and they were “insensitive post-cultural ramblings”.

Just because I don’t think much of traditions doesn’t mean I should belittle those that do. It may not have been your intention, Corey, but the article is a bit offensive to those that care…

I agree, and intention is always important to me.

Is it necessary to offend those who do care about tradition?

Truly pathetic that you have to go to such lengths to offend those who take their traditions seriously and find real meaning in them.

I wouldn’t say “pathetic”, but otherwise yes. He had to know that he’d risk offending people but I don’t think that he wanted to offend. I’d say that he didn’t intend to offend but knew it would happen.

I doubt the Star would publish pork chop recipes for the Islamic festival of Eid.

I’m not so sure.

Chag sameach to everyone, including Mr. Grintz – I mean Mintz.

Well done. Try singing “You’re a mean one, Corey Mintz”. It works.

And finally one of the positive comments:

The Globe also printed non-kosher passover recipes (udon noodles, shrimp). So for those of you who said they were switching papers…do your homework. I prefer this take on it because at least Corey points out that it is not kosher, and states his reasoning for it. I interpreted this as fitting in with a trend of marketing religion to a younger generation by making it “untraditional” and “cool”.

A good point. I agree with the words and interpretation of this comment but that doesn’t make Mintz right.

This is the Globe and Mail article to which the writer refers.   They backpedalled by claiming in a “correction” that only the first soup listed in that article was intended for the seder menu (I’m somewhat skeptical).

I’ve always taken issue with people who say “I’m Jewish“. You are or you’re not. You’re observant/practicing (to varying degree) or you’re not. Secular? Cultural? Whatever. All labels. I don’t believe in labels. What matters is how you feel and how you behave. Mintz seems to be flaunting the “ish”. This would be perfectly acceptable in a personal blog but in a newspaper (one with higher circulation than the National Post, and possibly the Globe and Mail though I could be wrong) it isn’t right. I wish I could respect him for being so honest but my feeling is that he intended to give the finger to his community, and that’s just not right. If he considered his audience, he decided to write the piece anyway. It was a ballsy move.

So, sorry Corey but while I dig your fridge contents with your homemade pickles and Spiderman and generally like how you write,  you, my friend, were a douchebag. While I appreciate what you were trying to do from a culinary/food enthusiast perspective, I’m mildly creeped out (but not offended, and wouldn’t be cancelling my subscription if I had one). Maybe 4 cups of wine will mellow you out.

At the risk of sounding as flippant as Corey (this IS my personal blog and not a newspaper): You can repent for it on Yom Kippur.  Ugh, I feel dirty and inappropriate saying that. Instead of deleting that I’ll just say this: Please don’t do that again. Thanks.

• Teaching kids to be restaurant critics. [Toronto Star]

• Showing that people voice their opinion with their wallet: Tropicana Line’s Sales Plunge 20% Post-Rebranding [Advertising age] Coke, New Coke, Coke Classic.

• Why What You Drink May Put On More Pounds Than What You Eat [City News]

• The Kitchn answers, What’s the Difference Between Soy, Rice and Almond Milk? I’d add the following facts:

Soy milk curdles in hot beverages, thus not ideal for coffee.
-Most brands of rice milk are made with sunflower oil, so read ingredients if that concerns you. As I mentioned recently, my preferred brand of rice milk is Ryza. It’s made from brown rice and doesn’t contain oil.
-Not all brands of hemp milk are the same so if you try one and don’t like it try another.

[Generally when chosing between almond, soy, rice or hemp I go for what's on sale within my preferences and always the "plain" or "original" flavour. I won't drink Silk brand. IMO, when Starbucks switched to Silk their beverages started to taste bad. Too bad, since I used to like their chai lattes with soy. I tried unsweetened soy milk once and hated it.  I'd like to make my own almond milk some time. Nut milks are easy to make.]

• Cooking with wine vs. drinking it: Best bottle not always best for the pot [Toronto Star]

• Changes in America’s Soft Drink Consumption Habits [Fooducate]

• TRENDS: American Drinking Habits [The Nibble]

• Caul Fat [The Kitchn]  I don’t know why this fascinated me. I think it’s the look of it and its use. One thing I took away from that item: If you don’t eat pig product you might be eating it anyway if the caul fat from pig is used to make the meat of another animal.

• A guide to which sauces go best with which noodles [Chow]

• A quick way to slice cherry tomatoes. Brilliant. [Saveur]

• On a fun note: What kind of foodie are you? (And before you share this on Facebook ask yourself: Do I really need to post another quiz?) [Time Out New York]

Your Score: 66. Sorry to break it to you, but you’re a Bona Fide Foodie Elitist. Looks like your love of fancy foods has given you a bit of a tude, hasn’t it? Go sit in the corner with your shad roe.

WTF is “shad roe”? Yes, I’ll look it up.

• On Passover: Considering Child Slavery on Cocoa Farms [The Jew and the Carrot]

• Meghan, this one’s for you: Spring Cleansing? [The Jew and the Carrot]

• Matza 101: Eggrolls, Tacos, Anyone? [kosher.com] My mom makes matzah lasagna.

• Final passover note: Every year the UJA of Greater Toronto takes financial donations for their Passover Food Drive for the Jews of Cuba. Check it out.

Have a great weekend!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tropicana’s poor redesign kills sales (kottke.org)

• Frito Lay Canada recalls pistachios [The Globe and Mail] – More on that in Thursday’s links.

• Plant Inspection Sheds Light On Pistachio Scare. [NPR]

• 13 Pistachio Tidbits. [Fooducate]

• Smoked salmon recalled over concerns about Listeria. [The Globe and Mail]

• Polyphenols could lead to allergen-free peanut butter: Study [Food Navigator]

• Lack Of Sleep Linked To Diabetes. [City News]

• Megan on cranberries. Now I’m thinking twice about buying dried cranberries, not that I have an issue with sugar. [Making Love in the Kitchen]

• Charcuterie: Will it stay or will it go? [The Globe and Mail]

• Reporting on a trend towards cooking that dispenses with recipes and relies on improvisation. [Wall Street Journal] This is the way I do most of my cooking. There’s some great information in that article.

• Passover Recipes from the New York Times.

• The inside scoop on celebrity cookbook writers such as Nigella, Martha, Jamie, Mark (Bittman) and Gordon.
• A community-shared agriculture article that compares prices between buying from a CSA, buying from Whole Foods and buying (non organic) at Loblaws.
• University of Guelph study finds that it’s economically viable for dairy farmers to switch to organic even if their production drops.

Links from across the blogosphere:

Just in time for Pride Week, which starts tomorrow (is the 9 day week part of GST?): How to Cater gay wedding. Among the tips:

• “[The bar]is going to be the most important element of this wedding. Gay men judge the success of an event not by the buzz exchanged between the guests after the party, but rather by the buzz the party gives them.”
• “…you should understand that gay men don’t eat wedding cake, especially before hitting a dance floor. Plan on allowing only enough cake to serve to the parents of the grooms, children, and any token straight couples. Anything more is a waste.”
• The Shirt Check, like a coat check but for shirts.
• “If you are to make your lesbian event a success you need to understand a few basic differences.”

I posted about cooking with it, now here’s a blog item about swiss chard. Next I’d like to try making swiss chard tzatziki. I’m a big fan of tzatziki.

More from The Kitchn (Apartment Therapy): Uses for Arugula Besides Salad

From the New York Times, an op-ed piece about bananas: Americans eat as many bananas as apples and oranges combined, which is especially amazing when you consider that not so long ago, bananas were virtually unknown here.

A dietitian makes over a traditional shabbat dinner.

An old link, but news to me: Deep fried pancakes made with Batter Blaster (pancake batter from a can). The guy needs to learn to be subtle with the profanity, but an amusing post.

A Slashfood writer who deconstructs her dessert like I do speaks of her love for the Drumstick ice cream cone. She mentions Twix. I deconstruct Twix and wafter bars of all kinds such as Kit Kat and Coffee Crisp, etc.

Pretty images in contrast to those deep fried pancakes: Chillis (learn which chilli is which, then learn about different varieties). Glasses of sherry.

-On the weekend I threw together leftover brown rice with leftover roasted veggies and feta, and mixed it with the last of my basil-mint pesto sauce. It was quite tasty. Glad the veggies are gone. They probably lasted longer than they were meant to.

-Last night I made salmon with ginger sauce and wilted spinach (based on a ginger salmon with swiss chard recipe) and took it to work today on a mound of quinoa.

-Earlier I made a mac ‘n’ cheese with some of the cheese I have leftover from last weekend. The cheeses aren’t labeled. I know that one is an oka but the other two are thus mystery cheeses. They got melted over spelt pasta with white wine and cream. It then went into the oven for a short time covered in breadcrumbs (made from leftover bread ends some time ago) and before eating a drizzle of Sriracha (“Rooster Sauce”) to give it some kick. This is my type of Mac ‘n’ cheese. Sometimes I don’t even grate the cheese, instead cutting it into small pieces. I don’t do roux. It seems like an unnecessary extra step.

I still have all this cheese left, as well as leftover chili that is days away from compost and possibly past the time I should have sent it that way. It was really tasty but every time I look at it I pass on it. It’s not fuzzy and it doesn’t smell off yet but the clock is ticking. Yes, this is my judging criteria for food in the fridge. “Does this smell funny to you?” To my knowledge I’ve never poisoned myself. (Update: I tossed it. When I found it in the freezer recently I didn’t realize that it was an older batch, one that was good but not as good as the most recent version.)

-Saturday’s synagogue meal was amazing. The falafel table (build your own – “BYOF”?) was brilliant, and included roasted eggplant, eggplant spread, shredded beets and more. BRILLIANT.  There was a salad that appeared to be caesar but wasn’t, smothered in a creamy, citrus vinaigrette that was the right proportion of sweet and citrus. Not too sweet, not too astringent. The usual – and enjoyed – bagels with lox were spread out on another table. There was pizza, which is always a nice touch for kids and adults alike despite being unnecessary and cold with clinging cheese. Sometimes I enjoy even cold, uninspired pizza. It’s there a simile about pizza? Or am I thinking of a euphemism?

The dessert table included an assortment of colourfully sprinkles cookies, and what I think are referred to as “chocolate buffaloes”. They sort of look like giant rugalach, pastries that are rolled like a croissant but not shaped as such. “Tasty chocolate pastries” is a good enough label for me.

Links:

10 Surprising Foods That Contain Trans Fat

Top ten vending machine snacks in the U.S.

Probiotic bacteria may help in weight loss. Go probiotics!

In the National Post this past weekend, Amy Rosen talked spargel. Say that word, “spargel”. Isn’t it fun to say? “Spargle”. “Robin Spargles”. “Sandcastles in the sand.”…. (tangent edited out – trust me, you didn’t need to read it.)

From Toronto Life: A Lot of Dough – What gourmet bread can tell us about the state of the economy. I actually like the headline more than the article but I noticed a couple of years ago that whereas when I was a kid, free bread came to restaurant tables all the time, it doesn’t anymore. Upon making the observation I thought that it was a reflection on the types of restaurants I was going to, rather than a changing trend.

From the recipe bookmarks:

Zucchini and Asparagus Strata

Easy Ricotta Gnocchi – Sad that I don’t have enough counter space to make the dough.

Italian-inspired brownie, gluten-free

Not my best post, but there you go.