Dear John,
Food, Glorious Food!
We hope you have been enjoying our December email series so far! This week Rabbi Jillian Cameron talks food from her own personal experience as well as providing some tips and of course recipes for you.
Often the holidays are centered around the sights, sounds, smells and tastes that may remind us of family members or holidays in years past. When making decisions with your family around the holidays, don’t forget about the importance of your favorite smells and foods. |
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Tasty Traditions
Food can be a great way to incorporate family traditions even if your family has made new or different decisions about your December holiday celebrations than you had growing up. Food is also a great way to be creative, providing infinite opportunities to mix interesting flavors and cultural traditions. While it might seem difficult to mix and combine other rituals and traditions, food is one place that is ripe (pun intended) for the mixing!
Trying new foods can also add to your holiday experience with your family by representing who you are. The old can be new again and even re-imagined.
In my family, my mother, who was raised Catholic, ended up being the Latke Queen, but she also fills my stocking each year with tasty treats and other bits and bobs. She uses her grandmother’s platski recipe, which is the Polish version of latkes, but also made it her own, grating the potatoes instead of pureeing them as her grandmother did, for more texture and crispiness. When I visited her parents during the Christmas season, I also got to taste and try all the flavors from her Polish heritage that were more traditional for them on Christmas, such as babka, kapusta (cabbage soup with dried green beans) and pierogi (stuffed with cabbage or farmers cheese). That heavy smell of oil always represents this time of year in my mind and while we have tried many different recipes over the years, I always go back to the old standard latke/platski recipe. |
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Check out all our recipes for a bit of inspiration. You'll find standard Hanukkah fare as well as some creative blends. We would love to see what your family comes up with. Please send us your recipes and stories of how you have created new (or old) food traditions in your family around the holidays! Communication Questions: Share your answers with your partner and/or family as you begin to make your December choices this year. What are the smells and tastes that you remember from your holiday celebrations growing up? Share these with your family and see what you can recreate together! What are some of the new foods you have or would like to incorporate into your December holiday celebrations? What memories are associated with your holiday foods and what memories would you like to create with your family?
Get all of our Hanukkah recipes right here. |
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We wish you a warm, joyous and bright holiday season! Stay tuned for the next email all about the season of giving. Please feel free to contact our rabbis if you have any questions, comments or are looking for some help as you think about how you will celebrate the holidays with your family.
Sincerely, The IFF Rabbis [email protected] (617) 581-6860 |
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