Inevitably there comes the day when the brain is mush and the imagination is on Soma.
Today is that day.
The most memorable event of my day was a trip to the synagogue to drop of a piece of kitchen equipment. There I found the Rabbi and two of his children and my dear friend C. bustling about getting ready for Shabbat services tomorrow.
If you aren’t Jewish, you may not know that most synagogues have a light meal after services called “kiddush”. This is the name of the blessing said over wine and challah. And of course we COULD stop there, but no, when there is a group of Jews together in one place, there must also be food. Anyway, I found my friend C. putting the final touches on the cholent when I got there. Cholent ? What is cholent ? Oh my dear friends, cholent you could live on in the wilderness. It is a slowly (overnight actually) simmered stew of any number of ingredients but mostly potatoes and barley. People add beans, carrots, onions, tomatoes, sometimes meat, sometimes not, and seasonings. I personally watched the Rabbi add a large glop of duck sauce to our cholent pot today. Eggs in the shell are sometimes slipped in, and if you are a very good little girl or boy, someone will immerse a kishka. Kishka ? What is kishka ? A tube shaped thing that looks like a sweet potato, but is made from carrots and onions and oil and I don’t know what all. But what I DO know, is you should be in front of the line at the cholent pot if you want a couple of spoonfuls to make sure your Shabbat joy is complete.
There is a famous Jewish poet, and I am ashamed to say I cannot remember his name, who wrote a poem about cholent… one of the lines goes something like this.
Cholent ! Food of heaven.
The recipe of which God gave to Moses,
One fine day on Mt. Sinai.
I think this poet knew his Cholent.