As we began a new cycle of reading the Torah, I was trying to remember when I first really began this Parsha-Inspired Menus project. I knew that for years I had made red lentil soup on Parsha Toldot, so I was guessing it built off of that, though I didn't think to blog about it until several weeks later. I started doing a little digging in my notes and papers to see if I could find the actual start and then I came across a note I made and it reminded what REALLY inspired this project. Turns out it's a pun.
See, last year on Parsha Noach, my friend Lori (who's an awesome baker) talked about making a Marble Cake in honor of this parsha.
Why? Well, if you say Marble like you're from the old-school NY it sounds more like MAH-bul and (this is where it gets fun) the word used to describe the flood in parsha Noah is מַבּוּל mahbul, which when said with a yiddish-ashkenazi style accent sounds a lot like the old-school NY MAH-bul.
This fun pun made me realize that there were probably lots of other parshas that could have fun food connections and so the idea was borne.
So, of course, this week would include Marble Cake for dessert.
Two other dishes for this week's menu include:
1 ) Chicken made with wine and olives. There's lots of options that include both of these ingredients, but I'm thinking of something like this Chicken Provencal:
Why wine and olives? They are both referenced in the parsha. The olives point to how Noah checks for dry land. He first sends out the raven and later the dove. When the dove returns with an olive branch in its beak, Noah knows that there is dry land. The wine references that after disembarking, Noah plants a vineyard, drinks the wine and gets drunk. Many commentators take issue with Noah's actions, but I can think of a few very reasonable explanations for Noah's drunkenness including low tolerance, PTSD from being the sole survivors of the flood, and joy and celebration in having survived.
2) Deconstructed Rainbow Salad - one of the most iconic biblical images is the rainbow that God puts in the sky after the flood to show the promised of not destroying the world again. Rainbows could also be done with colored dough in a challah or dessert, but I want to make it as the salad, but lined up on a plate to look more like a rainbow.
Red - Cherry Tomatoes
Orange - Carrot Coins
Yellow - Yellow Peppers
Green - Lettuce
Blue - Blueberries
Purple - Shredded Purple Cabbage
B'tayavon and Shabbat Shalom!
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