I sat down Sunday morning to work on this week's menu and got to do something new - brainstorm with my cousin and niece (we were together for a family weekend.) When I told Jeff about the group effort he said, "Just like dressing the kohen!"
In this week's parsha God instructs Moshe on details of the materials that will be used with the mishkan. There is a lot of information on what the kohen should wear and there's a bunch of people who are going to help make the clothing, specifically
חַכְמֵי־לֵ֔ב אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִלֵּאתִ֖יו ר֣וּחַ חׇכְמָ֑ה
"all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom"
The skilled artisans, those with know-how, are asked to help construct these important objects. My team of those with creativity and know-how came up with the following menu for this parsha:
Entree: any chicken breast recipe would do as a way to call attention to the breast plate (ephod) that is described in detail in this parsha, which Aaron will wear as the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). To tie in other parts of the parsha, you can make it an olive or pomegranate chicken (for more info on the "why" for olive or pomegranate, see lasts year's blog). My niece remembers her grandmother making a Moroccan Pomegranate Chicken and, while we don't know that recipe, here's a one to try: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pomegranate-chicken-almond-couscous
Side Dish 1: Between the clothing and the other material-based items (curtains for the mishkan, screens for the doors, etc) there's a number of vibrant colors prescribed in the creation of these ritual objects - gold, blue, purple, and scarlet. We started riffing on purple foods and decided that an all purple side dish would be a cool visual. The #parshainspiredmenu item here would be roasted purple carrots, purple potatoes, thickly chopped purple cabbage, and purple (red) onion. (It's called red onion, but it looks pretty purple to me.) I would roast these with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic.
Side Dish 2: God instructs Moshe on how to anoint Aaron and his sons in the service of God including a ritual involving taking the blood of a sacrificial offering and dabbing it on the right ear, right thumb, and right toe. This ritual is explained by the commentator Philo saying "The fully consecrated must be pure in words and actions and in life; for words are judged by hearing, the hand is the symbol of action, and the foot of the pilgrimage of life." I think we can extend this to all of us, since the Jewish people are "מַמְלֶ֥כֶת כֹּהֲנִ֖ים" a nation of priests. We should all try to be our best selves in the way we hear others, we do for others, and the way we go about ourselves. To highlight this pasuk and concept, this #parshainspiredmenu side dish is EARS of corn. (To give credit where credit is due, we were discussing food that could be ears and my youngest son piped in with ears of corn - more group effort!)
Dessert/decoration: There are lots of creative ways to represent the jewels in the ephod (good thing too, still more ideas for next year), but one way to do it that's both a sweet treat and a pretty decoration for the table or place settings is jeweled tone rock candy. Check it out here: https://bulkcandystore.com/assorted-rock-candy-sticks/
Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!
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