More About Leah ~ Blog Posts

We are consistently voted "The Best Kosher Caterer" by local JTNews readers. Since my Orthodox conversion 18 years ago, I am dedicated to elevating the expectations consumers have about kosher food. The community has been supportive of my catering service in a way that goes beyond business as usual.

It is my good fortune to be from Seattle, a city renown for its foodies and eclectic social conscience. Within this Jewish community, we have a long-standing Ashkenazi and Separdi blend of food and ritual. I learn from some of the best Jewish mothers in the city ~ young and old! Through the pages of this website and over time, I look forward to expanding my own learning of the foods Jews eat; classic and trendy, vegetarian and vegan, gluten-free and dairy free.....and, all kosher.

All aspects of Jewish life are expressed with food, both traditional and trendy. Kashrut adds layers of holiness and meaning. Join me in a community of Jewish cooks who are excited to share their regional specialties and global perspectives on food in a Jewish context. Become a Supporting Member ~ its' FREE! Build your profile, share your recipes and feel free to contact me with questions, requests and comments. 

May we all be blessed for the love we share through food ~ Leah

 

"Eternal Soup" ~ I'm Mortified!
Posted: May 15, 2011

It's been a crazy week. Event after event, we pull long days to positive reviews. As a member of the sandwich generation, I manage calls to my mother and a quick visit erev Shabbat. Sadly, I fear she may succumb to Alzheimer's as has her sister. I feel compelled to check in on her more often. She frequently calls me at work and I don't know what she is talking about. Of course, my mother has a propensity to pick up very odd tidbits off the TV and try to repeat them to me. Something has to be lost in the translation; the world can't be that weird.

My four sisters keep the email chain going with their accounts of my mother's situation. We brace against the uncertainty of the future. Watching the Larry King special on Alzheimer's last week, I am nervous to hear that symptoms may present even at 55 years of age. We're all fair game. Once, my daughters and I are visiting my mom. As she is saying something my eldest turns to face me and silently mouths, "you're next". Thanks.

Aviva, whom I share custody with my ex Marty, seems to have spent more time at my place over the last few months. Since she is driving and can remember my pin number, I let her do the grocery shopping on occasion. Works for me; I live in grocery stores. She mostly makes good choices selecting broccoli, Nutella and chips. I'm into fusion cooking: Nutella on flour tortillas. It is sort of like a crepe, right? I even see on TV that it a healthy breakfast choice. Anyway, shopping gives her a sense of being in control, responsible and grown up. Always a proponent of self-service child rearing, I applaud her attempt at proving her independence.

Recently told by a good friend that Marty and I are the poster children for divorced couples, I take complaints by Aviva against the other household with a grain of salt. Aviva has definite ideas of right and wrong. As of late, she's been ranting about the food at Marty's. Animated and full of hyperbole, she declares that her father doesn't look at fruit and buys it already rotten. There is nothing but beans to eat. I remind her that I worked all through high school at the Pike Place Market. I remind her that I'm a caterer. I tell her that her complaints must be exaggerated. She tells me, "Mom, you wear gloves when you cook...at home!"

I've been aware (and envious) that Marty and Charla's kitchen is undergoing renovations as of late. Hearing Aviva protest about the stressful food preparations over the months, even I break and email Marty asking what idiot he hired who needed 6 months to remodel a kitchen. Finally, it is done and the ranting has ceased, more or less.

Back to my relaxing weekend. Shabbos is great; nap and more nap. By the end that nears 9:40 pm, I'm driving to Seward Park in pouring rain to pick up Aviva from Marty's. Why she can't stay until morning I haven't a clue. Today, leisurely going through the week's mail, I come across The JTNews, Seattle's local Jewish bimonthly. I see that Marty's column, "A View from the U" is in this issue. We may be divorced but I still appreciate his wit and odd perspective, somewhat irreverent as it is.

This week's title is "Eternal Soup".....(http://www.jtnews.net/index.php?/columnists/item/8359/C6/)

Okay, I'm dying! "This miraculous soup cooks up for Shabbos and, like the lechem panim (the "Bread of the Presence") of the Temple, that stayed fresh from Shabbos to Shabbos, grows tastier as the week unfolds." This is the best description in the entire article. I'm mortified. I'm ashamed by extension and even divorce doesn't redeem my unintentional co-conspirator status. What have I been allowing my kid to eat??! No wonder she has been at my house ranting. I'm embarrassed and humiliated....eternally ashamed. Marty, Marty........

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Yo' Mama Wears Shape Ups
Posted: May 6, 2011

I feel sentimental this Mother's Day. In years past, I'm frequently working on Mother's Day and the day slips away. This week I reflect on my girls, born 12 years apart, and marvel at how they are each their own person. They are fun, a little quirky, with definite ideas about living their own lives. I have spent the better part of 22 years as a single mother or 1/2 time single mother. Kosher catering and motherhood is my way of life. Hasn't always been easy but I wouldn't do it any differently given the chance.

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Not So Victorious Garden
Posted: May 1, 2011

It is May and by Seattle's standards, we have a lovely spring day....maybe the 2nd this year. An illusion of sunny weather heightens the sense of freedom; freedom from polar fleece and hoodies. In reality, it is just a lack of rain in the air. White clouds hover over the region shuttering the sun from the eyes of potential worshipers. The promise of 65' F warms expectations of shirtsleeves, flip-flops and socks with sandals. The actuality of the current 56' F doesn't damper the yearning for vitamin D. We take what we can get, rain or overcast, rain or.....overcast; in hoodies with flip-flops.

 

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Spring is in the Air
Posted: April 11, 2011

Spring is in the air. I took notice the other morning when I woke with my eyes swollen, throat closed, chest and sinuses congested. It's Passover in Seattle, a little later this year than usual. This poses some significant challenges for me. Basically, I'm allergic to most foods with wheat, dairy, soy and especially eggs. I don't have the discipline to stop eating such things so I get by with 24 hour allergy tablets and topical cortizone. Passover cooking and baking, especially in huge quantities, is all about eggs and at Hillel, matzoh meal....and, chocolate. I've no problems with chocolate.

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Sharon Hammel, Rest in Peace
Posted: April 4, 2011

Yesterday, at the start of cleaning for Passover, my sister Jeanette calls. With her 'hello', I can tell something is very wrong. It's a call she says she doesn't want to make but thinks I'd be interested to know that her friend Sharon has died in a house fire. I'm at a loss of what to think. Sometimes I'm tired of thinking. I hardly know what to say to my sister as I feel her pain and grief from 100 miles away. Sometimes I'm tired of talking. It takes me longer to feel. With the Passover work party assembled behind me, I put aside the thoughts and feelings. I have to work, my usual escape. Until this morning.

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