Let the kosher adventures begin - Black Bean Salad

Okay folks, let's start with something simple. How about a parve salad alternative for your shabbis table? I love this recipe. I discovered it on my new obsession, Pinterest. I have altered it slightly for my tastes and through trial and error. This is a great fresh dish and packed with protein.

Black bean and avocado salad

Serving Size: 6-8

Ingredients

      • 2 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
      • 3 ears fresh corn, cooked, cooled and kernels cut off the cob (Frozen corn works very well for this when corn is out of season. Use one 10 oz package to equal the fresh corn.)
      • Handful of yellow cherry tomatoes (I like these because they are fresh and crunchy. You can sub other tomatoes or peppers here)
      • 2 cloves garlic, minced
      • 2 tablespoons minced shallots (approx one medium shallot)
      • 2 teaspoons salt (Be very careful on this measurement. It can easily get over salty! I recommend starting with less and working up. You can always salt to taste.)
      • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (Be very careful on this measurement. It can easily get over spiced!)
      • 2 tablespoons sugar
      • 7  ish tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I usually free pour.)
      • 6 ish tablespoons fresh lime juice (I also usually free squeeze.)
      • 1 teaspoon lime zest (Zest limes before juicing them.)
      • 2 avocados, diced

InstructionsThere are two ways to do this. Method one is very proper... great for shabbat (toss the avocados in before serving) and the second method is how I usually do it... less concern for the mashing. Number 1 will give you pretty results. Number 2 is ready right away.

    1. Combine all ingredients except avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a few sprigs of freshly chopped cilantro if desired. (That is never desired in my house! We aren't cilantro fans.) Serve at room temperature.
    2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, leaving avocados for last, and mix well. Serve right away. Store leftovers in an airtight container (I prefer glass) in the fridge and serve later. The flavors will continue to meld the longer it sits. Serve at room temperature.

Thanks to OnceUponAChef.com for the original recipe and the inspiration.

Recharge. Refresh. Return.

I am returning home from a pilgrimage to one of my spiritual homelands, Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Visiting Crown Heights is a chance for me to plug-in and recharge my Judaism and spirituality. Living in gulous or the diaspora makes Judaism and being observant a challenge. Lack of kosher options, living around people who don't follow the same rules and who don't see the reason for them, constantly explaining why and what... It starts to take a toll. And while I love to teach others about my traditions and why I do what I do, sometimes I need to recharge.Without having the resources (or time) to jet over to Eretz Yisrael any time I want, my weak substitute (ok, not weak but different) is Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The world headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement of Judaism. For those not familiar, Chabad is an ultra-orthodox sect of Judaism (not using ultra-orthodox as a pejorative, just a descriptor). While all groups have their fanatical and conservative and wacky members, Chabad is no exception. But as a rule, the Chabad people I know are amazing. They are warm and open and welcoming. Chabad was the catalyst for my journey into exploring observance, as it was for many of my friends.I arrived in NYC on Thursday night and almost immediately received an emergency call from the kallah (bride, I was in town for a wedding) needing help. She needed four green ties for the gentlemen in her wedding on Sunday and had no time to get it. I had no problem stopping at Macy's on my way from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Friday morning I got up, packed my bag, bought four green ties and hopped on the 3 to Crown Heights.It's almost an hour train ride from the city... I listened to podcasts from NPR and crocheted my way through almost a full scarf. I arrived at the Kingston St station and made my way up the stairs, lugging my suitcase... Annoyed and a bit warm, I emerged from the station... Into a new world.Men in black suits and hats rush down the sidewalk. Women in beautiful wigs, dressed modestly, pushing strollers and toting kids. Every one greeting each other on the street. The giant dreidel on the corner by the children's museum. AhhhhMy first visit to Crown Heights I was lost! I felt at home but as if I forgot my address. Going on my, oh I don't know, 50th visit or so I had it down. I walked down the street and ran into gobs of friends. I found the kallah and delivered the ties. She delivered multiple hugs to me and we quickly parted ways. Shabbat (the sabbath) was coming and we both had to get ready. I saw many more friends. There is this particular sound that happens when Orthodox girls see each other for the first time in a while. It's usually called a "Seminary Squeal." It is characterized as a loud, high-pitched squeal followed quickly by a huge, bouncing hug. Let's just say this scene was repeated over and over that day.But there was an important errand to run. Gummy bears. You read me right. Gummy bears, of the kosher variety. They happen to be my favorite snack, however in Denver they cost $5 a bag!! Yes, those chewy little bears you can buy for $.99, cost me $5! But in Crown Heights I can get them for only $2.50!! What a steal, I know. With eight bags of gummy bears in my bag, yes EIGHT bags, I headed to my NY sisters' apartment.In this tiny basement apartment, I found my home. I spent the next three days with my friends and adopted family celebrating Shabbat and the marriage of a dear friend. I shut off my phone and all electronics. As soon as we lit candles and shabbat began, we took a nap. Amazing how we rush and rush until shabbat and the minute it comes in, a calm settles over us. We walked to dinner with friends/family for Shabbat. We laughed and played and talked. People left, people went to bed, we relaxed. In Denver, this is hard for me. I can't walk to people so I have to decide if I break Shabbat to drive, stay home alone, or sleep at someone's house every sabbath. We went home and slept, we woke up and relaxed, we read, we visited friends, we went to our respective lunches. I recharged my batteries. I recharged my Judaism. I reignited my passion for my observance.Spending Sunday running around with friends, getting ready for my friend's wedding. That night I danced with such joy at my friend's joy. Maybe then my chassidishe soul was recharged.It is traditional to give each other blessings at a wedding, especially for the bride to give her guests blessings. The themes of the blessings I was given on Sunday was 1. Revealed good 2. Clarity and 3. That I should find my beshert (soulmate).Just being there with friends and deep within a Jewish community gave me one and two. I saw such good in friends and the people around me this weekend and the clarity... oh the clarity.Sometimes we have to return to a place that may have been foreign at one point but now holds friends and memories to find a center, a balance, to remember what's important.Oh and stock up on gummy bears.

The 3six5 Denver Project

I was kindly asked to be a part of the 3six5 Denver project. It will be a diary of the year 2012, 365 days, 365 bloggers in 365 words.Very cool if you ask me.Here is part of my post for January 2nd. I was excited to post about the beginning of the year.

3six5_photo.jpg.scaled1000It’s January 2.

It’s a new day. A new year.So what are you waiting for?!Okay, well you can’t jump the hour and a half wait at Snooze. (Some things never change, right?)But I’ll take it. Today.Today is the big day. My friend Amanda and I are sitting down to work out a plan for our new business ideas. We spent the hour talking about different ways to bring our pie in the sky ideas to fruition. Maybe they aren’t so pie in the sky... they could actually work! At least that is what everyone keeps telling us.But how do you take an idea, a good idea, and make money off of it?Sweet potato pancakes and apple french toast sure helped the thinking process.Two women, dreaming in Denver, over a niche breakfast... that’s what Colorado is about, right?It’s the land of opportunity. The land where people go to start fresh, to start anew...Read the rest of the post here: January 2, 2012: Talia Hava Davis

And if you are interested in participating, read this: Author Guidelines then email the3six5denver@gmail.comEnjoy your 2012!

L'Havdil - This Week's Separation and New Year's

Tomorrow night we will celebrate two important milestones. They both have a similar shoresh (root) but they are different.Tomorrow night, at approx 72 minutes past sunset (click here to get the exact time), we will say baruch hamavdil ben kodesh l'chol... and a few other brachot by the light of a braided candle. We will be doing havdallah. We will be creating a separation between the sacred and the everyday. On Shabbis (Shabbat, Sabbath) we hold our actions to a higher standard than usual. Whether that means you don't drive or cook or turn on light or tear toilet paper... or it means that you spend time with your family and chill out... no matter how you do it, you make Shabbat a special time. (And if you don't, think about trying it sometime. Start simple and slow... maybe choose to not spend any money or do things that you feel are work or maybe... shocking... turn off your cell phone. Trying it for one 26 hour period. It will change your life, it changed mine!) And at the end of this special time, at the end of Shabbat, we must have a ritual to remind us that we can take the (w)holy feeling that we got from that time forward into our week but the week has a different feel to it. Havdallah creates a distinction. It derives from the same root as l'havdil which means to create a separation between something incredible and something ordinary.So shortly after havdalah (okay, a few hours later), we will ring in the secular new year. The Jewish calendar already flipped years back at Rosh Hashanah but the Gregorian calendar will change tomorrow night at midnight. You kinda can't avoid the celebrations. The parties all night long, the goofy glasses that say 2012, the drunks, Dick Clark on tv despite his health... It's fun, it's secular yes, but it's still fun. This is another time l'havdil... to separate. Not from something incredible to something ordinary but from something that has become routine and maybe even boring to a promise of something new and better and extraordinary.Baruch hamavdil ben kodesh l'chol - Blessed are you who creates a separation between sacred and common. Perhaps at midnight tomorrow night we should say baruch hamavdil ben chol l'kodesh or even baruch hamavdil ben zakain l'hadash -blessed are you who creates a separation between old and new - or even... baruch hamavdil ben  h'avar uvain ha'atid - Blessed are you who created a separation between the past and the future.May you all be blessed in this up coming new year. See you in 2012!

As The Candles Gutter Out

Today is the last day of Chanukah. Last night we lit our last candles of this holiday.With all the hype that led up to Chanukah, it's hard to imagine that it is over. I can't image what it feels like for Christians who have (I feel) an even bigger build up to their holiday and then only one night and one day Xmas.With all this holiday spirit and war on Xmas talk... what are we, as Jews to feel when we look at our lit chanukiah?Our chanukiah brings light into the world. We are obligated to light it in a window or so it can be seen from the street. Why? Well it came from a time when we could not do that. When we were forced to hide who we were for fear of persecution or death. Since we no longer live in that fear, since we have the freedom to worship as we want here, we show the world that we are Jews by lighting our menorot in the window. So the menorah, or chanukiah, is like a symbol of our freedom, right? A shining (literally) example of our right to worship. Our Chanukah lights shout from our homes "WE ARE JEWS!"Well, we aren't always about shouting... shouting isn't always the right reaction, correct? Sometimes an outward symbol also teaches us something internally. So we light these candles every night and we gather as families. In my family, at least, we tell stories of Chanukahs past. We sing the same songs that my father sung with his parents (laughing in the same spots at our terrible voices). The candles burn with the warmth of family and love and history and tradition. They are lit in a safe space, for them (on tin foil to make sure they don't burn down the house, says my father and to keep wax off the furniture, says my moms), and a safe space for us. A space where you can be you and you will be loved and accepted and held in the warm arms of generations gone before.But that's how I feel communally and with my family, what about me... personally... what does the chanukiah bring into MY life? So the word Chanukah come from the Hebrew verb - חנך - chanach meaning 'to dedicate.' Funny that this time of year falls within proximity to the secular new year, which is a time for resolutions... or rededicating yourself to ideals and efforts.So as I watched the candles gutter out last night for the last time this year, I thought to myself... to what shall I rededicate myself this year? Well, dear readers, here is my list.

Talia Hava's Chanukah Rededication List:

  1. Blogging. I will be better about blogging more regularly, really.
    1. Subhead - Writing in general. I would really love to publish more work.
  2. Photography. My camera and I have had a chilly relationship lately. I plan on warming that up soon!
  3. Me. I get bogged down in all the work and other stuff that I forget about me. That means exercising and doing things I enjoy (see numbers 1 & 2 above).
  4. Volunteering and philanthropic work. I miss it. When I was in school, in my sorority, that was a focus. Let's get back out and help people!
  5. Sticking to a budget. I'm trying, I really am... but numbers isn't my strong suit!
  6. Dating. A very wise rebbetzin once told me, "Talia, if you want to get married you have to make dating your full time job." Ugh, but you were right! Here goes...
  7. Learn how to crochet. Seriously! I've learned twice and I keep forgetting!
  8. Start an Etsy store with my friend Amanda, fill it with our art, my photography, her knitting, and other goodies, and sell lots of fun stuff!
  9. STUDY MORE TORAH AND HALACHA! Very key. I miss the regular learning I was doing in Israel. Gotta get going again!

Well, those are mine... what does your rededication list look like? May you all have nothing but Mazal, Bracha, Hatzlacha, Briut, v'Shalom for the (secular) new year! (Definition: luck, blessing, success, health, and peace)

Chanukah A Time For Re-Dedication

I work for the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado and being a Jewish organization, we begin every meeting with a bissel Torah (a bit of Torah learning). We call them d'vars (though, the correct way to make d'var plural in Hebrew would be Divrei). A d'var is general a talk on a section of Torah. More often than not, our divrei are on current topics in Israel or America or relating to holidays or a teaching we recently heard or saw. This is the d'var I gave at our all staff meeting on December 2nd. I wanted to talk about Chanukah, the weekly parsha (Torah portion), our Chanukah ephilanthropy and a project our staff was engaged in. A lot to tie together but I think I did alright. Let me know what you think:

I want to start today's dvar by introducing you to our Chanukkah Campaign. Everyday heroes. Heroes don't always wear capes or leap tall buildings in a single bound. Heroes are people who make a difference everyday. Our donors are heroes. You are a hero when you help an elderly woman with her groceries. When you pick up a fallen object for someone. It can often be the small acts that are more impact-ful then the grand ones. Every time you think outside your box, every time you do something for someone else that is beyond what you would normally do, you are a hero. We are all heroes.What does being a hero have to do with Chanukkah, you ask? There are so many layers. The word Chanukah means dedication, as in the time that the Jews took to rededicate the Temple after it had been desecrated instead of celebrating their military victory. Dedication is a key part of being a hero. Dedication to self, to values, to things that make you passionate, and to other human beings.The true story of Chanukkah is not the story of the mythical miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, no it is the story of the Maccabees, the guerrilla army that defeated an army 10, 20 times it's size. It's of every day men who decided that the oppression of their freedom was just not acceptable any longer. It's the story of passion and compassion. Passion and compassion are key parts of being a hero.In observance of Chanukkah, we light candles every night. We illuminate the darkest days of the year with our candles and illuminate the darkest parts of our soul as well. It's the inner light that reminds us of the continuity of past, present, and future. A hero lights the path for others, goes first into the darkness to ensure others safety, and never forgets where he or she came from. Our past colors our future and molds our present. Heroes respect that connection.In this week's parsha, Vayeitzay, we get the overview of the future of the Jewish people. Jacob makes a pact G-d, meets and marries Rachel and Leah, and father's 13 children... with children who are to be the future of the Jewish people... children who are in their own rights, heroes.So today, we look back at our past and are thankful that Jacob, Yaakov, made the tough decisions that he made. And we look back at the Maccabees, descendents of Jacob, and are thankful they made tough decisions to free the Jewish people from an oppressive regime.And we look forward to the Jewish future where tough decisions will be required of us and our children... We must then look upon ourselves today. What can I do today to positively impact tomorrow, either for my children or for other people's children? Well as the Federation, our campaign supports many, many Jewish people all over the world... and as a staff we will be directly impacting two families with an incredible need. So I will wrap this dvar up by saying this... if you haven't already, please speak to Lisa Soicher about how you can be a hero to these two families for Christmas that we have adopted from JFS, and remember... every action counts.

A song to make your Chanukah happy & an easy way to give back!

Yes, folks! It's that time of year! Prep your Chanukiah, Chanukah is here!Beginning tomorrow night we will be lighting candles for 8 nights to honor our forefathers, the Maccabees who fought bravely against the Greeks to regain control of our Holy Temple. Many people tell this story as one of a miracle of oil. Sure, the oil may have lasted for eight whole days but the true miracle was the military victory. Against all odds, a small guerrilla army of Jews led by Judah Maccabee fought the mighty Greeks. The Greeks who were constantly oppressing us, taking away our freedoms... freedom to live, to worship, to be Jews. They desecrated our Holy Temple in Jerusalem. They stole treasures, slaughtered pigs in the sacred spaces and destroyed the external holiness.But they couldn't touch our internal holiness... the Kadosh, the holy sacred special separate different-ness we carry with us where ever we go.The Maccabees fought back and won. But, instead of celebrating their victory with wine and parties... they all gathered as a community and went to the Holy Temple and began the process of cleaning and rededicating the space. Because sometimes we all need a holy space.In honor of  our forefather Macabees, the Yeshiva University Maccabeats have put out a new video for Chanukah. But in addition to the video, they are spearheading an initiative to help get tests processed from the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. It's an easy swab to be registered but they need funding t0 process all the swabs! It takes $54 to get a donor in the registry.So enjoy this Chanukah video by the Maccabeats then another video with Mayim Bialik (yes from Blossom and Big Bang Theory) on why to participate, then click on the link and donate! They are trying to raise $80,000 - $10,000 for each night of Chanukah!  Let's do this!Videos after the jump...Maccabeats: Miracle by Matisyahu[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHwyTxxQHmQ]Mayim Bialik and the Maccabeats Miracle Match Campaign:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s40Zk4xALRY]

Now let's make some miracles! Maccabeats Miracle Match

New Facebook Timeline

So Facebook is finally rolling out the new Timeline feature for personal pages. It's very exciting and I am sure will piss off a few people. The people over at Facebook have a nice tutorial here - Introducing Timeline - on how it all works.So I moved my profile over today and one of the neat features is the cover photo. In addition to your profile picture, which stays as your avatar around the site, you have a large photo at the top. It's a neat feature that I have been playing with but I think it will still need some tweaking from the Facebook folks. You can't resize your photo in Facebook, just drag it to move it. So if it is a large picture you will end up cutting some of the picture off... which led me to edit some pictures to fit nicely. Another challenge is that it seems that no matter how high quality your picture is, it still comes out a bit grainy and pixelated.Okay, back to the size issue. So the size for the cover photo is 840 x 310 pixels. It's short and long but you can do it. I made a few examples of how to utilize this new feature. Currently, I have one up for the holidays... in fact, it is the image I used for my holiday cards. I made another to promote my blog. I made two more from cool pictures that I took in Israel. Some people have been getting very crafty with theirs and maybe I will try that out as well.Here is a great blog for Photoshop users on how to layout your cover photo and integrate your profile picture - TechXT .Also Mashable offers a great tutorial and ideas on this new option as well - Mashable.Below are a few of my new cover photos for Facebook. If you want to get Timeline before the major roll out on December 22, find a friend with it and it gives you the option to switch over. Do be aware, Timeline does change some of the privacy settings. Check the activity log and other places for your settings and ENJOY!

Why Thanksgiving is this Jewish girl's favorite holiday...

Ever since I was a little girl, there was no doubt what my favorite holiday was. Thanksgiving. Now, I would say that it really is a tie for number one... Thanksgiving tied with Purim. Now Purim was special because I was born on Purim in a leap year, meaning I was born in Adar II, when we add a whole extra month. So Purim always held a special place in my heart. But why Thanksgiving?Thanksgiving. A quintessential American holiday. A holiday that represents America and apple pie and all things patriotic. Maybe this doesn't seem odd to you but you should know that my family is a little bit old country. Yes, we have been in America for many generations but Judaism always came first for us. Our family gatherings were always focused around Jewish holidays or Shabbat... except for Thanksgiving.Being an outcast, being different, being that Jew kid in school did not do much for my cool factor. Not celebrating Xmas or telling my English teacher that the crucifix she hung in the classroom violated my rights did not endear me to my peers... but Thanksgiving... oh Thanksgiving was the one time of year that we were just like everyone else!The turkey, the pies, visiting my father's family in Rhode Island and my mother's family in NYC, watching the parade, hearing my cousins talk about football... it was almost like I fit in! Not to mention that getting to travel out of Florida and see the leaves change and the snow fall gave me instant street cred on the playground.I was... normal for a moment. I fit in. I had the American experience. It was one time I didn't have to explain what I was celebrating and why and what I was eating!But the thing is, I don't mind all that. I don't mind explaining why I don't eat pork or milk and meat together or why I wear skirts or make matzah pizza for a week in April(ish). I love sharing my Judaism with everyone around me. I was telling someone about the struggles I had growing up in a place where I did not fit in nor feel welcome and he looked at me and said, "I bet that made you the strong person you are today."He is right. It did. And while Thanksgiving will always be my favorite holiday and my heart is full of amazing memories of the past 30 Thanksgivings, I will still treasure being different and a little odd. Why? Because kiruv and chinuch (outreach and education) is something that is so ingrained in me, something that I am passionate about.It's okay to want to share traditions and it's okay to enjoy things that are maybe out of the scope of Judaism or your religion, just as it is okay to share new concepts or ideas with people who may have never encountered a Jew before. Trust me... they are out there... I've met a lot of them!So at this time of thanks giving, I am thankful for the opportunity to educate and reach out to those who need clarity and information. I am thankful for the many beautiful years with my extended family in Rhode Island and I am thankful to get to go again this year. I am thankful for my whole family but most especially, my immediate family. I am thankful for my job that let's me help Jews all over the world and also help the less fortunate in Colorado. I am thankful for my life and health and dear friends.And I am thankful to you, my readers!

Happy Thanksgiving.

The Pride of a Daughter

I am so very proud of my family. Now, we may be crazy but I am still very proud of my whole family.But this post is about my father. My father, my tatti, my abbasama, is a very special guy. He was always pretty slow to anger. Never hit us, rarely spanked us, and I was only grounded once... when I was 5... and I walked to the next-door neighbor's house without telling them... and she couldn't see me in the peephole because I was too little... I was "lost" for about 15 minutes.All of my parents are extraordinary but my pops, he's pretty incredible. His logic and gentle Aikedo way of raising my brother and I has shaped us into who we are today. He is grammatically stringent (like his father) but never mean. Patient to a fault and an incredible snuggler.However, something happened recently that made my little girl emotions well up and pride spill out in my tears.He sent me a pdf of his book to proof.It is both awe and awww inspiring.As I read the stories contained within his book, I was drawn back to times with my father. Special moments, dinner tables, synagogue events where the Ya'ir, the mythical rabbi (who I believe was my father in a previous fictional life), made appearances. His stories taught us the real meanings of holidays and observances. Of how they look to those on the outside looking in and those of us on the inside looking deeper. His lessons enabled me to teach and share our historical traditions with friends in ways that they could understand.One of the most exciting parts of seeing my father's stories in print is that I know I will be able to share this with my children and grandchildren, on and on, forever. All of our decedents will know of these stories.  They will know of the gentle way of their great great grandfather... and that excites me. We have been researching our family tree and the lack of information makes me sad. I have been pushing my father to document his memories for years because I don't want that to disappear. This book will be the manifestation of just one twig of our collective history. Reading his voice will always be something that I will have.I owe a lot to my tatti, my dad. The lifelong supporter, the unabashed lovebug, the passionate and compassionate father who instilled in me a passion for alliteration and abhorrence at ending a sentence with a preposition.SO stay posted. Keep checking back because I will post a link when the book is available. I hope you and yours will enjoy these stories as much as my brother and I did.