Rosh Chodesh Adar: Don't Worry, Be Happy

So today I have good news and I have bad news (and part of the good news is that it far outweighs the bad news).

I'll give you the bad news first. Do you remember that children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? In the book, Alexander falls asleep with gum in his mouth, only to wake up with gum in his hair...and he knows it's going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Well, I didn't fall asleep with gum in my mouth, but the past two weeks are up there with Alexander's day. Throughout the past two weeks I've gotten a horrible sinus infection, followed by an ear infection (I told you - I'm an overachiever. I couldn't just have ONE infection...) I've burnt my portobello mushrooms in the oven, stained my favorite white sweater from The Limited, stepped on my adorable, loving cat.

It just hasn't been the easiest two weeks.

But here is the good news - Sunday marks another new month, the month of Adar. And do you know what that means? I didn't either - but a quick Google search told me that the month of Adar is the "happiest" month of the whole Hebrew calendar! Adar, the twelfth and final month of the Jewish calendar, is cognate to the Hebrew adir, which means "strength." Adar is the month of "good fortune" for the Jewish people - our sages say that the "mazel" or "fortune" of Adar is strong.

This joy and good fortune is linked with the holiday that takes place during Adar, Purim, which commemorates the salvation from the evil Haman, who tried to abolish the Jewish people. Even though we are instructed in Pirkei Avot to not celebrate when our "enemy falls," an exception is made in the case of Haman's death, and Purim is traditionally celebrated as one of the most joyous holidays of the year.

There's more good news. According to Sefer Yetzirah, one of the oldest Kabbalistic texts, each month of the Jewish year has a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a zodiac sign, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, a sense and a part of the body that represents it. Here's a look at Adar's symbols:

Hebrew Letter: Adar is cognate to the Hebrew word adir, meaning "strenth." Its letter is Kuf, which means "monkey," and is supposed to represent the laughter of the month.

Zodiac Sign: Dagim, or Pisces - fish. The word for fish, "dag," is similar to "da-ag," which means "to worry." In Adar, the symbol of fish is thought to convert all worry to joy.

Tribe: Naftali. In Kabbalah, "nofet li" means "sweetness is to me." It's a mitzvah (good deed) on Purim to drink as much wine as he needs to "until he is unable to differentiate between cursed Hamen and blessed Mordechai, until he is sweet."

Sense: Laughter.

Body: Spleen. (Our sages say "the spleen laughs.")

So if you were thinking that it's cold outside - and it's only getting colder; or that there are no more long weekends until Memorial Day; or that the darkness of winter is terrible and horrible; or that you're the only one who has had a no good day, think again. We have a new month ahead of us, and a reason to eat yummy hamentashen (Purim cookies) and not feel guilty. We're one month closer toward Spring. We have a new chance to get a breath of fresh air, take a look at a glowing moon, and see it as an opportunity for renewal.

And in case you need some more help beating the winter blues, check out this blog that's been getting a lot of attention recently: CuteThingsFallingAsleep.org. And take a look at the all-new how-could-you-possibly-not-be-smiling-after-you-listen-to-these-songs mix on the playlist at the bottom of my blog. They are all from WXPN's (Public Radio from the University of Pennsylvania's) Top 100 Songs of 2008.

Hakunah Matata, and Happy Rosh Chodesh!

We made another non-disastrous home-cooked meal this weekend! I think at this point I've made up for our New Year's Eve debacle, and I've brought enough kitchen supplies to my boyfriend's house that now I know we're well equipped to at least boil water and assemble a salad (he has a beautiful kitchen, but the last time we attempted to make dinner he warned me ahead of time that he "doesn't know how to cook." Who knew that meant that he didn't own measuring cups...or a ladle...) So although I was more confident about this attempt, I still took precautions to avoid another dinner catastrophe. This time I made a soup and dessert ahead of time, and emailed him a specific list of ingredients to pick up before I got there. Then we made the rest of the dinner together (I supervised, he followed directions well!) The result was a great, heart-healthy dinner, again using several Mediterranean ingredients.

I don't have any pictures this time, but hope you enjoy these recipes.

On the Menu:

Spinach salad with strawberries and a balsamic reduction

Red Pepper Puree Soup from Cook 1.0 by Heidi Swanson (my favorite cookbook -read her blog here, it's great!)
To a large pot over medium heat, add:
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions start to get soft. Add:
6 large red bell peppers, seeded and deveined, cut into 1-inch strips
4 c. water
Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the fresh peppers soften up. Remove from the heat. Puree in a blender in batches, return the soup to the pot. Whisk in:
1 c. low-fat sour cream
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Add salt and pepper to taste. I used 1/2T salt (half the recommended amount) and 20 cranks of pepper. Garnish with basil and feta cheese.

Roasted eggplant
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 1 eggplant into 1-inch squares. Toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and two cloves of chopped garlic. Place on a roasting pan (with olive oil spray) and roast for about 25 minutes, tossing a few times while it roasts.

Whole wheat fettuccine with tomatoes, goat cheese and pine nuts (a take on another Cook 1.0 recipe)
Heat 1 T olive oil in pan. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, and saute in olive oil with a little bit of salt and pepper. Cook pasta, drain. Toast pine nuts in a toaster for 2-3 minutes. Top cooked pasta with pine nuts, tomatoes and goat cheese.

Angel food cake with berries (from Allrecipes.com)
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
12 egg whites
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Be sure that your 10 inch tube pan is clean and dry - any amount of oil or residue could deflate the egg whites. Sift together the flour, and 3/4 cups of the sugar, set aside.

In a large bowl, whip the egg whites along with the vanilla, cream of tartar and salt, to medium stiff peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. When the egg white mixture has reached its maximum volume, fold in the sifted ingredients gradually, one third at a time. Do not overmix. Put the batter into the tube pan.

Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake springs back when touched. Balance the tube pan upside down on the top of the bottle, to prevent decompression while cooling. When cool, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a plate.

Garnish with raspberries and blackberries.

The Original Earth Day

Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat, is known as the Jewish New Year for trees and is traditionally celebrated around the world as an arbor holiday each year. This year, the 15th of Shevat falls on Monday, January 9th.

The date originally marked the day in which the ages of trees were calculated. So before "sustainability" was a buzz word, the people of Israel were celebrating Tu B'Shevat - possibly the first Earth Day - by planting trees and enjoying fruit indigenous to the region, such as figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Today, Jews traditionally plant trees or make a donation so a tree can be planted in Israel on behalf of a loved one.

Ecology and environmentalism are central to Judaism. Long before we were faced with the environmental challenges we have today, Judaism was addressing them. The concept of Bal Tashchit ("Do Not Destroy") is first introduced in the Book of Deuteronomy (Chap. 20:19-20) as a law outlining ethical behavior humans are commanded to practice during wartime. The Torah states that fruit-bearing trees should not be destroyed while "laying a siege to a warring city."

Although this concept is first specifically addressed in Deuteronomy, the idea that humans have a responsibility to take care of the earth is presented in the very beginning of the story of creation and is central to Jewish belief and tradition. The Torah differentiates humans from the rest of the animals that were created in G-d's image, since we were the only animals given the intellect. Therefore, the Torah states, it is our responsibility to take care of the land and resources G-d created.

In the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He created the first human being, He took him and let him pass before all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: "See my works, how fine and excellent they are! Now all that I have created, for you have I created it. Think upon this and do not destroy and desolate My World, For if you corrupt it, there is no one to set it right after you."-Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:28

Tu B'Shevat is also one of the most vegetarian-friendly holidays on the Jewish calendar, as it serves as a reminder that we should be good to the earth and be grateful for the fruit, vegetables and grains it provides us with. Vegetarianism is, in fact, one way Jewish people have been protecting the earth for centuries, as it is considered to be the highest form of Kashrut, and some would argue that it is fundamental to Jewish principles.

God said: "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit, to you it shall be for food."-Genesis 1:29

In the Torah, there are several instances in which G-d speaks solely of fruit and grains when discussing food. In fact, whenever meat is discussed, there are very specific rules which we are commanded to follow:

If along the road you chance upon a bird's nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, do not take the mother together with her young. Let the mother go, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life. --Deuteronomy 22:6

For more information on Judaism and vegetarianism, visit ShalomVeg.com, or watch this video interview with Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of the bestselling novels Everything Is Illuminated, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, as he discusses why he is a vegetarian.

For more information on Judaism and sustainability and some great ways you can incorporate these principles in your life, visit Hazon.org.

For more information on how being a vegetarian helps you protect the earth (reason No. 1: did you know that one fifth of all greenhouse gasses result from global livestock production?) visit Goveg.com.