Kosher Cuisine Show #15 – Yom Kippur. This is the original script for the show. Some of the non-essential text may have been edited out of the final version that aired on Community Radio due to time constraints. Also, some off-the-cuff comments may not appear in this script.  This script is posted in its entirety for both 15a and 15b of the Bandcamp editions.

First Segment

Hava Nagila Music Intro [35 seconds then fade…]

Hello, everyone! This is Leah Kiser and you’re listening to Kosher Cuisine. This is a show about food safety, international kosher recipes and amazing music from areas around the world.

If you recall from the Rosh HaShanah show a couple of weeks ago, the two day new year celebration on Tishri 1st and 2nd, represents the 6th day of creation when mankind was formed and the 7th day of creation, the very first Shabbat. During Rosh HaShanah, the righteous are sealed for a blessing and the wicked are sealed for punishment – which leaves a lot of people sitting on the fence. Not quite good enough to be considered righteous, yet not quite bad enough to be considered wicked, they get a second chance. Beginning the day after Rosh HaShanah and continuing for one week, they’re on probation. If, during that week, they manage to convince the heavens that they are in fact good people, on Yom Kippur they will sealed for a blessing in the new year. And, as you might imagine, if during that week they don’t manage to make any positive changes, well, no blessing for them.

Lots of us just made New Year’s resolutions, too. And it has not quite been a week since the end of New Years. How are you doing so far? If this were the week before Yom Kippur, that could be a very stressful question. Many of you are familiar with the Catholic tradition of Lent, where a person gives up something in the weeks leading up to Easter. But afterward, they can go right back to it. In Judaism, both during the month before Rosh HaShanah, called the season of repentence, and during the week between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the idea is to make permanent changes, rather like the Western Tradition of New Year’s Resolutions.

So let’s say we’ve gotten through the week after New Years successfully, and it’s now Tishri 9th, Erev Yom Kippur. What do we need to do?

It is customary to give to charity on Erev Yom Kippur, and during the preceding week. But just giving money isn’t really adequate. The idea is to look at the charitable causes and choose some that are personally meaningful for you. This past year, for example, my husband and I decided we were going to focus our charitable giving on local organizations that do good here in our own community, instead of big national organizations that have little to no local impact. This fits with our economic philosophy of relocalization – it keeps the money in the community. We also tend to focus on organizations that related to food security and local food production, such as Glean Ky, Seedleaf, and FoodChain. We also donate our time for a local Fresh Stop program and a to local program that cooks meals for the needy. My husband can’t really cook, but he’s great at washing dishes.

And finally, if you have a dispute with anyone and haven’t settled it by Rosh HaShanah, you are supposed to get it worked out with them by Yom Kippur. The idea is that since you’re down to the wire, you don’t stubbornly dig in and insist on winning. You are supposed to graciously compromise or even accept a loss, just to get the issue settled on time. This can be hard on the ego for some people, which is why it is a fitting test of those who tend to love money or status more than they care for their neighbors or community. Conflict needs to be put aside, or you have failed your makeup test.

So, let’s say we have successfully completed those tasks, and it is now Erev Yom Kippur. First, we must immerse in a miqvah. Unlike Christianity, which as a similar ritual called “baptism” that a person only does once, miqvah is a continuing activity among practicing adult Jews. Ideally, one immerses every week before Shabbat, and there are several life milestones that also involve immersing in the miqvah, such as getting married, childbirth, after a serious illness, or to indicate repentance from a serious sin. Women normally go after their week of niddah, or “that time of month.” Converts must immerse as part of the conversion process, and when a child is adopted that child must also immerse. Don’t worry, no baby has ever drowned – there is actually a very clever technique to avoid that.

So it’s Erev Yom Kippur, and we immerse to cleanse ourselves of our past sins and be ready for Judgement Day.

At home, it is customary to light a memorial candle for your parents or grandparents, if they are deceased. You may also light for other loved ones who have preceded you to the Heavenly Court. Remember, the Jewish holidays are supposed to be enactments of future prophetic events, so theoretically, at Yom Kippur, the fence sitters will also be reunited with lost loved ones if they pass the makeup test. Presumably, those sealed for good at the Rosh HaShanah at the end of time already have been reunited. So the fence sitters would be late to the party, but at least they’ll get there if they repent during the week after New Years.

Before going to Erev Yom Kippur services, it is customary for parents to bless their children. There is no set formula for the first part of this blessing, and many parents write moving poems for their kids. The parents place their hands on the children’s heads and recite the blessing.

The last part of the blessing is “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good and long life among all the righteous of Israel.” In the Jewish mythology, the gates of judgment begin to close as the end of Yom Kippur approaches. If a person hasn’t straightened themselves by sundown at the end of Yom Kippur, it’s too late. As the services end, fence sitters who have successfully completed their week of repentance are inscribed in the book of life for a blessing. Those who failed, their names are left out.

But the day of Yom Kippur itself is a sort of last chance of last chances. It is a full day of fasting and prayer. From the sundown at the end of Tishri 9th until the sundown at the end of Tishri 10th, on the Day of Atonement a person who didn’t quite do a great job during the week can spend the day in contrition and still have a chance. So even someone whose first week of the New Year has gone fairly horribly can still convince the heavenly court to write them in the book of life, so Yom Kippur is not a time of dread but a time of deep introspection.

For our music this week we will return to the Birthday of the World: Muisic and Traditions of the High Holy Days CD Set by the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, and listed to Part II, Yom Kippur. If you recall, this CD set sings the actual liturgy of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, with narration by the awesome Leonard Nimoy, of blessed memory.

[Tracks 1 – Narration: “The Lord Spoke to Moses, saying mark!”; Track 2 – Narration: “In Medieval Jewish folklore… “, Track 5 – Narration: “As creatures in the image of God…”, Track 6 - Ki Hineh Kachomer (As Clay in the Hand of the Potter)]

Second Segment

Welcome back to Kosher Cuisine!

As Yom Kippur is a fast day, you can’t eat during the entire 25 hour time. So part of the process on Erev Yom Kippur on Tishri 9th is to eat a lunch meal that is fairly filling, but not enough to make you sick, and a lighter repast just prior to the beginning of services. It is customary to serve fish for the midday meal.

So the first recipe today is called Pastilla au Poisson, Fish Pie with Pastry. It is a Moroccan recipe, adapted from the Fremch. As you may recall, Morocco spent many years as a French colony and the Jewish community never misses an opportunity to incorporate regional foods into Jewish cuisine. Traditionally, the poisson is made by preparing paper thin pancakes to use as the pastry base, which is a tricky process requiring special skill, and very few people can do it. If you know a French chef maybe they can show you how to do it. But nowadays most people use philo dough instead. If you are gluten-free, like me, then use a gluten free pie shell mix and roll it out as thin as you can.

This is dish is parve, and can be served with either a meat or a dairy meal, but it is traditional to have dairy meals on Erev Yom Kippur. The reasoning behind that is so that you will not have an overly full or upset stomach going into the fast.

This recipe serves 4 or 6. At our house it would be four, because the guys can eat a whole quarter pie each. If you are having a lot of other side dishes and don’t have hungry teenagers at home you might prefer to cut it into six pieces.

Make sure you have a clean dairy cutting board and knife, and use diary pots & pans and a dairy pie tin. Be sure you wash the vegetables and herbs in a bin designated for fruits and vegetables, and be especially careful to rinse the fish and cut it separately, since fish is the leading cause of food poisoning in home kitchens.

You will need:
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves, crushed in a press or minced finely
A firm whitefish fillet, about 1 and ½ pounds. If it has skin, remove it.
¼ pound of small button mushrooms, quartered
And Olive oil, for sautéing.

Also, you will need 4 eggs, lightly beaten, plus one extra egg yolk. Separate the yolk, and then save the extra egg white to put into a quiche or some scrambled eggs later.

You will need a large bunch of fresh cilantro, de-stemmed. If you recall, that means cut the leaves off the stems and just use the leaves. You can compost the stems.

You will need 1 and ½ pounds of tomatoes, peeled. If you’re using fresh tomatoes, in order to peel them you need to bring a small pan of filtered water to a boil, then cut a small X in the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop them into the boiling water for about 30-45 seconds, the remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cool water. Slosh them around in the water for a few seconds, then lift them out onto a clean cutting board. Grab the skin at the X marks the spot and peel the tomatoes.

Now, you will need to measure out in small bowls, cups, or plastic containers the following seasonings. Remember, you should not hold your seasoning containers over hot pots and pans, because the steam rises up and contaminates your shakers. It can also make them unkosher by mixing in grease and particles from meat or dairy dishes together in the container. And, of course, the steam itself creates a nice warm, moist environment for bacteria to grow. To always measure out your seasons into little bowls or cups just like you see on cooking shows on TV.

So measure out:
2 teaspoons of sugar
¼ teaspoon of ground cloves
A pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper

Now, we’re going to make the pie filling first. In a large frying pan, sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of oil until they are soft. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or so, until they are slightly colored. Put the tomatoes in a blender or food processor to liquefy them, then add them to the pan. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, and cloves, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Now, put the fish fillet in and simmer it for another 5 minutes. Turn it over at about the halfway point. It will be slightly underdone, but that’s correct in this case. Lift it out with a slotted spatula and set it aside on a clean cutting board.

Now add the mushrooms to the tomato sauce and simmer about 8 minutes. Stir in the cilantro leaves and the eggs and continue to stir, cooking gently until the sauce sets up to a thick, creamy consistency. Now dice up the fish fillet, checking carefully to make sure they didn’t miss any bones. When you’re satisfied it’s ok, put the pieces back into the tomato sauce.

If you are using philo dough, now is the time to open the packet. Brush a large pie plate or roughly similar sized baking dish with oil. The sheet should be large enough to hang over the sides of the pie plate. Brush the sheet with oil again and add another layer. Keep going until you have 3 sheets. Now, put half the fish mixture onto those three sheets.

Otherwise, use your thinly rolled pie shell pastry dough and top it with half the fish filling.

Now, take either another layer of thinly rolled pie shell pastry, or make another set of philo dough sheets, this time count until you have 5.

Either way, put the next layer of pastry on top of the first half of the fish mixture, then add the rest of the fish mixture on top. Now, fold the overhanging pasty edges up and over the top of the pie plate. And finally, use a bit more pastry or philo sheets brushed with oil. to cover the hole that might still be in the center.

Take that last remaining egg yolk and whisk it with a drop of water, then brush the top of your pie with the yolk so it will brown nicely.

Bake the pie at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. And while that is baking and you’re making a nice salad or some other side dishes for it, here is some more narration by Leonard Nimoy and liturgical music from the Birthday of the World CD set, part II, Yom Kippur.

[Track 13 – Narration: “On Rosh Hashanah it is written… “, Track 14 – B’Rosh HaShanah, Track 15 - Narration: “In the traditional synagogue service…”, Track 16 - Oleinu]

Third Segment

Welcome back to Kosher Cuisine!

Later in the day, after the midday meal, there is a light repast before the fasting begins. One should not drink any alcohol, because the dehydrating effect will make your fast miserable, and there’s no need to afflict yourself quite that much.

It is customary to include eggs in the repast, so an egg salad with soup is a good choice.

For egg salad, boil about 2 eggs per person for about 5 minutes – you want hard boiled eggs. You might recall from last week that American eggs have been stripped of their natural outer layer during washing and processing, and are therefore likely to be contaminated with bacteria. Eggs are another common source of food poisoning at home in America.

When the boiling is finished, drain them and put them into a bowl of cool water. Wait just a minute or two. If the water seems too warm you can drain them again and switch out the water. Be sure you are using filtered water. Then peel the eggs.

At this point if you have an egg slicer, cut the eggs one direction, say, longways, then carefully grab the egg and turn it around the other way, say vertically, and slice them again. This will give you a nice texture that is not too mushy. Otherwise, you can dice them up finely with a knife or use a food processor to make crush them completely into tiny bits. It just depends on what sort of mouth-feel you are going for.

Next, finely dice some celery, about one stalk for every four eggs. Again, if you don’t want the crunchiness but do want the flavor, use a food processor. Mix the celery in with the eggs.

Now, I don’t usually measure ingredients for this, but take a jar of sweet pickle relish and use about 1 teaspoon for every four eggs. Mix that in. Now, take some onion powder and sprinkle it liberally over the egg mixture. Do the same with paprika, and then with parsley flakes. Mix everything together. And finally, take a squeeze container of yellow mustard and make a spiral design on the top of the eggs, with the arms of the spiral fairly widely spaced. You don’t want to overdo the mustard, unless you do, and then have at it. You might have noticed this is suspiciously similar to a deviled egg recipe, and you’d be right. It’s a flavor I happen to like. OK, at this point you might want to give it a taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary, or otherwise adjust the seasonings. Add mayo, preferably organic, to make it the consistency you prefer.

Now mix it all together thoroughly and then give a light sprinkle on top of the parsley flakes and paprika, just for show.

Now, chill the bowl until you are ready to eat.

For the soup, you might like this fish chowder recipe. I use flounder, but any whitefish will work. This is another thing where I generally don’t measure much, but I’ll try and make it a comprehensible recipe for four.

First, you are going to need to roast some potatoes. I would say about half a potato per person, or 2 largish but not giant potatoes for this recipe. Wash them thoroughly in a bin designated specifically for fruits and vegetables, and then dice them up to about 1” pieces on a clean dairy cutting board with a clean dairy knife.

Toss the cubes in olive oil. Then spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle on a generous layer of seasonings: onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, parsley flakes, and salt and pepper. A light sprinkle of garlic powder is good, but don’t overdo it.

Now roast the potatoes in the oven on 375 for about 20 minutes, turning the pan about halfway through. Stab a potato piece with a fork to see if they’re done. You don’t want them undercooked or overcooked hard as a rock, you want them just cooked through and browned to a golden color.

OK, so it’s easier to use frozen flounder fillets or other frozen whitefish. If you use fresh fish, remove any skin. Also remember fish must be hechshered, that is, have a kosher certification on the package. This is especially important these days since studies have proved that many companies substitute cheap types of seafood in place of the good stuff and purposefully mis-label the products to pass them off. Since many types of cheap seafood, like catfish, are not considered kosher it is important to know that you are really getting what you pay for.

I would use a fillet or two per person of small frozen pieces, but if you have larger fillets available you will have to use your judgment a bit. Chowder is a thick stew, so as long as there is enough liquid to stir everything, you should be fine.

So, dice up a large onion and sauté it in the bottom of your soup pot with olive oil and butter. For four people, about half a stick of butter, and a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Once the onions are soft, add some julienne carrots, about half carrot per person. If you don’t have a julienne slicer or a food processor, use a knife to make very thin carrot slices. They can be round, just as long as they’re thin and fast cooking.

You will need either a can or half a package of frozen certified organic corn. Even if you don’t use any other organic ingredients, you should never eat unorganic corn. All other corn sold in the US is genetically modified to include a toxin inside each kernel of corn, and the outside of the corn is sprayed with glyphosate, which is known to be carcinogenic as well as an endocrine disruptor that will screw up your hormones and cause weight gain. You know, there’s a reason cows are fed this corn in feed lots to fatten them up! So don’t eat unorganic corn.

Add the carrots and corn to the onions, and sauté for a couple of minutes more. Now, take the roasted potatoes and add them to the mixture.

At this point, you can do one of three things. First, you can use packages of boxed vegetable broth. Or, you can use the kosher no-chicken consommé mix which is parve, or you can use plain water. Barely cover the vegetable mixture and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.

Now we have most of the base, it’s time to cut up the fish fillets. Use a clean dairy cutting board and dairy knife. Dice up the fillets, give them a light sprinkle of salt and pepper, and add them to the soup pot. Now, add organic whole milk or cream to cover all the ingredients and to have enough liquid to stir easily but not be too runny. Simmer this mixture at least 15 minutes to make sure the fish is cooked completely.

It is important to use organic dairy products whenever possible because the cows are often fed the toxic corn as part of their diet, and they’re also given bovine growth hormone to artificially increase their milk production. The extra milk production is unnatural and stresses the cow’s udders, so that they are overfilled, inflamed, and prone to infection. The milk from conventional factory farmed dairy cows contains a lot of pus and bacteria, which is why it needs to be pasteurized. And it contains a hormonal by product called Insulin Factor 1, which appears in concentrations anywhere from 100x to 1000x greater than normal in the milk from these cows. As you can imagine, this wreaks havoc with your body’s insulin regulation and is a leading cause of insulin resistance and obesity in people who drink it, which is probably most of you listening. So only buy organic hechshered dairy products.

Now, once your soup has simmered, serve it warm but not too hot with the now cold egg salad, along with some challah. Water or herbal teas are a good choice to drink, because you want to be very hydrated to endure the fast.

Meanwhile, here is some more narration by Leonard Nimoy and liturgical music from the Birthday of the World CD Set, Part II – Yom Kippur.

[Track 17 – Narration: “The Avodah service… “, Track 18 – V’hakohanim]

Fourth Segment

Welcome back to Kosher Cuisine!

We now approach the final hours of Yom Kippur. It has been a long day of prayer, fasting, and introspection. And you feel like you’re starving! Of course pregnant women and children are not required to fast, and if you have a medical condition that requires careful control of your blood sugar or have a medicine that needs to be taken with food, you can eat the minimum amount required for medical reasons, but not for pleasure. But most of us have no excuses, and are ready to Break the Fast.

At most synagogues, after the end of services, there will be a table right inside the social hall with v8 or tomato juice, orange juice, and water, as well as other drinks for the meal, and slices of challah to tide you over for a minute or two. At our congregation, the volunteers have spent the last couple of hours heating up the Break the Fast dishes and setting up the buffet – which I can assure you is no fun when it’s been 25 hours since you last ate.

Normally several varieties of savory and sweet kugels are served, as well as garden salad, tuna salad, salmon spread and bagels, fruit and veggie platters, and pastries. Herring is also a popular dish. Here is a herring spread recipe for bagels, crackers, cocktail rye or pumpernickel loaves that you might want to try.

First, you will need a 1 pound jar, 16 ounces, of herring. These can usually be found in the deli near the smoked salmon and lox.

You’ll need two green apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped.
½ onion, diced
½ cup of diced bell peppers, green or red or both
2 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
½ cup of mayonnaise, preferably organic
½ cup of sour cream

First, drain the herring, and reserve the onion slices that are in the jar.

Place, the herring, the onions from the jar, and the apples in a food processor and mince, or do it by hand if need be, mincing the ingredients very finely.

Stir in the eggs, the diced peppers, and the chopped onion. Then stir in the mayo and the sour cream. Chill until ready to serve. You can also garnish the top with a sprinkle of parsley flakes.

Here is a savory bread pudding recipe you might enjoy. If you can’t eat regular bread, you can substitute gluten-free bread or use a shallow layer of gluten free noodles instead. If you don’t eat grains at all, quinoa should work, though I have never personally tried it. This recipe makes 1 9x13 pan.

You will need:
6 large eggs and 2 extra egg whites, separated. Save the yolks for a dish tomorrow.

2 and ½ cups of organic milk, not low fat – the low fat won’t set up correctly.

1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 6 ounce jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
4 scallions, diced

1 and ½ cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Or, if you prefer, substitute pepper jack or jalapeno jack, or, add 1 teaspoon of finely minced jalapeno peppers.

And 6 slices of bread of your choice, or an 8 ounce box of noodles or spiral pasta prepared according to directions. If you use noodles, you can mix them with some butter for a richer flavor, or even add parmesan cheese and parsley.

Measure out:
1 teaspoon of dried basil
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
½ teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black ground pepper.

In a medium dairy bowl, mix the eggs, white, and milk. Stir in the mushrooms, artichokes, onions, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

If you’re using bread, remove the crusts, and place them in the bottom of the baking pan. If you’re using noodles, spread them out in an even layer.

Sprinkle on the cheese, then pour the egg mixture onto it. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 12 hours (all day).

When ready, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Uncover the pan and bake it for one hour. If it is still a bit liquidy in the center, bake an additional 15 minutes or so. Serve when cooked through and when the top is puffed and browned.

Here is the final selection of the Yom Kippur liturgy, narrated by Leonard Nimoy, on the Birthday of the World CD Set, part 2.

[Track 23 – Narration: “The Shofar blast…”, Track 24 – Avinu Malkeinu, Track 25 – Shofar]

Thank you for listening to Kosher Cuisine. Next week we will have some more great international food and music and we’ll talk a bit more about food safety, kashrut, and tikkun olam.

This is Leah Kiser wishing you Sabbath peace, this week and every week. Shalom.
[Hava Nagila fade…]