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Topic: Food

nigel-savage

Food is Memory, Family, and Culture

By on August 12, 2014 in Food, Nigel

Editor’s note: This essay is from the new anthology Faith in Food, published by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation. Order from Amazon or directly from the publisher and read some of the glowing reviews. I’m writing this on the eve of Yom Kippur, the fast day that is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It’s an appropriate moment to reflect on the centrality of food in Jewish life, and on the multiple ways that our relationship to food shapes who we are and how we influence the world. I want to sketch out some of the vital elements of the traditional Jewish relationship to food, how they’re evolving today, and what we all might learn from them. It’s an important task because religions are no longer islands unto themselves. Our communities need to stand not only for their highest ideals — which sometimes run the risk of sounding like platitudes — but also to be challenged by the tougher questions: how do your ideals play out in reality? Do they have meaning in the 21st century? Can they really help us live better lives, in all senses, and if so, how? Jewish tradition — a maximalist tradition — […]

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Download Setting the Table

By on July 1, 2014 in Education, Food, Resources

Thank you for filling out the survey. Click here to download your full copy of Setting the Table. Only want a slice? Download the Recipes Download the Thought Texts Download the tips for Kids in the Kitchen A hard copy of this curriculum can be purchased in the Hazon store.

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Stufato di Fave, Carciofi, e Lattuga Romana (Braised Favas, Artichokes, and Lettuce)

By on April 8, 2014 in California, Food, Food Conference, Recipes, Vegan

Want a bigger taste?  Join us this summer at the Hazon Food Conference! Brought to you by Joyce Goldstein On Sunday, April 27, 2014, prolific cookbook author and chef Joyce Goldstein joined Hazon in Palo Alto for the Jewish Food Festival. She shared with us the health benefits of the California Mediterranean diet and took us on a culinary journey of Sephardi recipes, including this recipe for a spring vegetable ragout to feature at your Passover seder. Ingredients 1 lemon 6 large artichokes 2 pounds fava beans, shelled (about 1 generous cup) 2 small heads romaine or butter lettuce 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed 4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/2 cup water or vegetable stock, or as needed Gremolata of grated zest of 2 lemons, 6 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil, and 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic 1 pound trimmed asparagus, cut into 2-inch lengths, or 1 cup shelled English peas, optional additions Instructions Fill a large bowl with cold water. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the water. Working with 1 artichoke, remove all the leaves […]

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Food: Our Connection to Torah and Today

By on March 13, 2014 in Food, Nigel

Nigel Savage on the Jewish Food Movement Written for Moment Magazine by Lucille Marshall In the past ten years, the Jewish community experienced an expansion of Jewish farms, Jewish CSA’s, and Jewish agricultural education around the country. Many Jews have discussed Kashrut laws in terms of environmental sustainability; implemented energy-saving techniques in their synagogues; and volunteered in ecological restoration projects with their youth groups and summer camps. Food, the environment and its connections to Jewish tradition surround us. What do we call this recent development, and what does it mean for our future? Nigel Savage, the president and founder of Hazon, calls it the Jewish Food Movement. Hazon is a nonprofit organization that works to promote healthy, sustainable communities in the Jewish world through bike rides, environmental education, food conferences and more. “I went into Google this afternoon, and in quote marks I typed ‘Catholic Food Movement,’ and there was one hit. I typed ‘Christian Food Movement,’ and there were two hits,” Savage said last week at the Jewish Theological Seminary, during the kickoff event for Hazon’s new Jewish Environmental Ethics Series. “I typed ‘Jewish Food Movement,’ and there were 81,300 hits.” Savage expressed his regard for the swift success […]

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A note from Hazon Board Member Rabbi Marc Soloway about fighting for a fair food movement

By on October 30, 2013 in Activism, California, Farming, Food, Food Justice

Dear All, I just got back late last night from Immokalee, Florida where I was on a 3-day mission with Truah (The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights). We were working with the C.I.W. (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) with migrant farm workers and activists who have been fighting for a fair food movement. It was very inspiring to witness the changes that have happened down there through  passionate and creative community organizing, and also distressing and humbling to hear about appalling work conditions that continue among the people who pick our food. Here is the official Tomato Rabbis video to learn more. As one of the newest crop of Tomato Rabbis, I have committed to be an ally with C.I.W. and intend to write and talk about the experience and bring greater awareness of the issue and join the national campaigns against Wendy’s and some of the big supermarket chains, pressuring them to sign the Fair Food Agreement, enabling the farm workers to earn an extra penny per pound on the tomatoes they pick in their 10-hour work day. This agreement has already been signed by Taco Bell, Subway, McDonalds, Burger King, Chipotle and others and is supported by some of the largest growers, but there is more […]

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Evonne milking goat

10 Ways to Make your Shavuot More Sustainable

By on May 6, 2013 in Food, Holidays, Recipes

Here are the Top 10 quick and useful suggestions from Hazon, to make your Shavuot more healthy and sustainable. To find out more information and suggestions from Hazon for Shavuot, visit the Hazon Shavuot Resource Page. 1 – Shavuot Recipes 2 – Understand the Dairy Connection Although everyone agrees that the food of choice for Shavuot is cheese (most typically blintzes, crepe-like pancakes filled with farmer cheese, or a Sephardic [Mediterranean Jewish]equivalent such as burekas, cheese-filled dough pockets), there are differences of opinion (some quite charming) as to why it is a custom. 3 – Choose the Right Kind of Dairy Traditionally, Shavuot is a dairy-laden holiday, with cheesecake and blintzes and burekas up the wazoo. Check out the Hazon Food Audit Toolkit and Food Guide for links to Kosher sustainable dairy providers. 4 – Eat Dairy Responsibly If you are looking to dive into the kitchen, head over to our Healthy and Sustainable Shavuot Menu with recipes and resources to bring delicious local seasonal treats bursting with spring flavor to your dairy-based feast. 5 – Learn about Adamah Dairy Our friends at Adamah have built a thriving dairy operation based on Jewish and sustainable food values. Check out these articles and podcasts on their amazing work: Goat […]

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Challah Memories: Hazon Food Festival Rocky Mountains

By on April 19, 2013 in Colorado, Events, Food, Food Festival

My first memory of challah is the smell of it toasting, and then toasting some more, until my grandpa had burned it enough that he would then stand by the kitchen sink and perform his ritual scraping off of the blackened edges. Grandpa ate challah with breakfast every day, and he burned it every day. He may not have known that burning at least some challah hearkens back to the time of the Temple. The word “challah” refers to a bit of baked dough that Jews gave to the priests as a weekly Sabbath offering. To commemorate the ancient law of setting aside “challah,” some Jews to this day separate a small portion of prebaked dough, which they bless and burn. “Challah” means “offering,” and the sweet bread itself is now also known by that name. Funny enough, I learned that history from a book that spells the bread’s name differently: “The Hallah Book,” by Freda Reider. It’s a book I’ve had since 1988, when I got it at a Hadassah book fair, captivated by its many intriguing, artistic suggestions on the shaping of the bread. Lately I’ve been having fun trying out challah recipes and designs, as I prepare […]

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Simon Greer and the SNAP Challenge

By on March 19, 2013 in Food

Our friend Simon Greer, President and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, just finished the SNAP challenge, and had some interesting and thought provoking things to say. He blogged about the week-long experience.  In Simon’s words “Nearly 1 in 3 people are at least fairly worried about having enough money to put food on the table. It is really breathtaking. I’m a little hungry but I know this will end Friday night. For so many there is no way to know if it will end”. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, what used to be known as food stamps. The SNAP challenge is a way for people who have not experienced life on SNAP benefits to get a glimpse into the experience of relying on it. 

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10 Ways to Make your Passover More Sustainable

By on March 11, 2013 in Food, Holidays, Recipes

Here are the Top 10 quick and useful suggestions from Hazon, to make your Passover more healthy and sustainable. To find out more information and suggestions from Hazon for Passover, visit the Hazon Passover Resource Page. 1 – Passover Recipes Charoset from Around the World 2 – Plan Ahead In the time leading up to Pesach , be mindful of what you buy. Try to finish those “almost empty” containers in your fridge, and half empty bags of bread, rather than automatically resorting to buying new. You can get rid of chametz in the most sustainable and cost effective way by planning ahead in order to use up as much as you can of what you have before the start of pesach. 3 – Invest in Passover Dishware Pesach is a time when many families break out the fine china and heirloom silverware. It is a good investment, cost effective, and a sustainable method to invest in a set of Pesach dishware, that way you do not need to buy disposables every year.  However, if you’re using disposable plates this year, use post-consumer waste paper or plant-based ones. For some great compostable disposable dishwear products, check out Leafware, Go Green in Stages, Let’s Go Green, and World […]

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