Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Savory Hamentaschen sound delicious

Reading about Hamentaschen and their many possible fillings before breakfast is like grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Except instead of the bounty of Rainbow to satisfy my (real or perceived) hunger, I have a fridge full of. . . Half a lemon. And some asparagus. And bread - I guess toast and jam will do for now.

Anyway, here's a fun article on the evolution of Hamentaschen in the NYT (thanks, Bruce!). Also, fun fact! Did you know that Hamentaschen which, in German, would translate to "Haman's* pockets" were not actually originally called Hamentaschen? They were called something like "Mohntaschen," translated as poppy seed pockets, but added the Yiddish "ha" in the late middle ages. Hamentaschen is a much better name, I think.

*Haman is the villian of the Purim story, when Hamentaschen are traditionally eaten.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Completely uninspired

Despite the enthusiasm of earlier posts, I've done very little to actually get involved in Jewish events and organizations in SF so far. Shoot. On a positive note, that's largely because I've been doing tons of super fun things on Friday nights and Saturdays that have prevented me from checking out the temples and services on this side of the Bay. One of these days. . .

Though I did get tickets for Genessa and I to check out that "Three Rabbis" event at the JCC, so that's something. I'm looking forward to it. Until then, I'm off to a completely secular bike repair class. It's about time I learned how to fix a flat in less than an hour.

Also, the phrase "Jewish by association" came into my mind the other day, and I've been thinking about it a lot. When you consider the amount of work and personal commitment it takes to be Jewish (at least for those who aren't, as Lady Gaga would say, "born this way") I can see why that phrase would offend many, but it's the best I can do right now. I think I need to eat dinner to get some mojo back. It's been a long week.