Ethical Jewish Food Movement

Just so happens, that I got a call the other day from a lovely Denver Post reporter about the Jewish ethical food movement. She was looking for a statement from the JCC about why this is important to add to her piece about Rabbi Soloway and his work in Boulder. We talked for... maybe 30-40 minutes. :) We talked about how the ancient Jews agricultural laws guide us today. How we know now that letting land rest between planting helps the output and Judaism guides us in these things. We spoke about how impossible it is to get out of season produce in Israel and you really understand how food grows when and how it matches up to our calendar. Apples are harvested at Rosh Hashanah. Olives are picked and pressed and the oil is ready at Chanukah time. We spoke about how deeply Judaism and food and agriculture are linked. And we talked about how my husband and I grew our own horseradish this year for the first time to have a piece of our garden on the Seder table. That's the part she mentions here, in her article. P.S. Here is our NYTimes article where she found out about how we got engaged. :) I believe that Judaism is about mindfulness and that extends to our food. When we say brachot over our food before we eat it, it bring a mindfulness about what we are going to ingest. When we seek out Kosher food, it brings a mindfulness to our lives that we can't bypass. We can't 'shovel' food in our mouths. We have to think about what and when we eat. And now, Dan and I have added an aspect. When we grow the food we eat, we add a mindfulness to the whole process. Your tomatoes aren't in season yet. Please G-d, we can't have a hail storm today! Everything was nearly ready! So I am thankful that she gave me an opportunity to speak about a topic I am passionate about. Get ready for many more garden posts this summer. Cruciferous vegetables are in the ground along with beets, carrots, radishes, peas, beans, turnips, and rutabegas. Maybe if it stops snowing the rest of our seedlings will hit the dirt soon. We are wishing everyone a Chag Pesach Sameach, Happy Passover. If you are looking for a last minute dessert for your seder, check our Kosher food blog, Kosher, She Eats for my Great-Grandmother's (Nanny) Passover Sponge Cake Recipe.