Shavuot Tartines

Counting the Omer, One Tartine at a Time

Today’s recipe is really a list: 49 different delicious, chometzdik, sustaining, take-it-along open sandwiches. Called tartines, they are an emanation of medieval peasant food in which a meal would be served atop a slice of bread so as to be eaten while on foot. I thought about making quail, the other culinary miracle performed for those desert wanderers, but then, not many of us have quail in the freezer. If you do, please send us a photo of those little delicacies, and my chef’s hat is off to you.

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Shavuot Cheese Blintzes

Shavuot Blintzes: Take Your Lactaid, Folks

Shavuot, the holiday that marks the receiving of the Torah and the annual cheesecake overload, begins on the evening of Tuesday, May 14. The holiday celebration is twofold in that we celebrate receiving the Torah, including all of the commandments, and the grain harvest, which occurs at this time of year in Israel. When the Jewish people received the Torah, which included all of the dietary laws, they would have needed time to kasher, (make fit or proper) all of their dishes, utensils and vessels. Hence, the custom of eating a dairy meal developed, as they would not have had access to kosher meat without enough time to prepare. My family has always eaten blintzes on this holiday, at times homemade and at times store-bought. I’ll be honest--I usually dread making blintzes. I make it into...

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