The IJN’s High Holidays Foods section, published this week, features the “Sisters of the Skillet”, a group of local Jewish women who cook together. We picked a couple recipes to feature on the blog for two dishes that are sure to fit into any holiday menu.

Mom’s Yummy Chopped Liver (Carolyn Eisen)

2 cartons chicken livers, approximately 1 1/4 lbs. each
8 hard boiled eggs
1 small onion, diced
1 stick Blue Bonnet margarine or butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1 tbsp. sour cream

Sauté liver and half of diced onion in margarine till liver is no longer pink. Drain half the liquid and set aside.
Mash chicken liver in remaining juice. Finely grate remaining onion into the mixture. Add salt and pepper.
Finely chop seven eggs and add Miracle Whip and sour cream.

Slowly add balance of the liquid till mixture becomes soft but not too watery. Blend well. If all the juice is not needed, discard the rest. Mixture will be soft but will firm up in the mold when chilled. If you do not add enough liquid, the chopped liver will be too dry.

Spray a mold with cooking spray. Finely grate last hard boiled egg. Line bottom of mold with the egg. Then spoon liver mixture in and chill at least 4 hours. Flavor and consistency are much better if chilled overnight.

Unmold in hot water till mixture begins to pull away from sides. Invert onto serving plate.

Brisket (Sheryl Siegel)

5 lb. brisket, well trimmed
1 large onion
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 cans tomato soup
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cans pitted cherries in syrup
1 jar roasted peppers

Sauté onion in a little oil till brown. Put half of the onion on the bottom of a crock pot.

Season brisket with salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Place on top of onions.

Combine tomato soup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, remaining onions, cherries, and roasted peppers. Pour over meat.

Cook in crock pot for 6 to 8 hours. (Alternatively, meat can be covered and baked at 325° for 4 hours.)

• Leeks: in Hebrew kartee, similar to cut off, our enemies should be cut off.
• Beets: in Aramaic salik, similar to the Hebrew salak, which means go away, in this context that our enemies should disappear.
• Black-eyed peas: symbolizing fertility.
• Gourd: the Hebrew word for pumpkin is kraa to call, meaning our good deeds should call out to God.
• Fenugreek: in Hebrew, rubia similar to yirbu, which means increase, that our merits should increase.
• Carrots: Here we’re getting multilingual. The Yiddish for carrots is mehren, which sounds like mehr, again like the fenugreek, to increase.

Why not experiment with these ingredients this year, perhaps with a side dish of roasted beets and carrots or sauteed leeks with wilted spinach? Or, in Sephardi fashion, as a starter serve a large sharing platter composed of small dipping dishes, each an creation using the individual ingredient? Here’s an idea to start with. Fresh beets diced mixed with pomegranate seeds (symbol for fertility) and chopped mint.

For more recipe ideas read our Final cut recipes posting. Are we missing some symbols? Post a comment and let us know.

It’s fair to say that affecting change is nearly impossible from an isolated position. There’s an idiom that goes something like “better to be part of the process than outside of it”. This is an adage Israel has not adhered to. In the past Israel has - rightly - argued that the track record of certain organizations makes their stance on Israel one hundred percent clear. The UN’s Human Rights Council is a good example. Why participate in a kangaroo court? Does on volunteer himself to a lynch mob?

This time around, however, Israel’s taking a different tack - and one that we support. If “Israel has nothing to hide,” as Netanyahu says, why not state its case openly and actually confront people with the truth? While Israel has the moral high ground in removing itself from certain deliberations, it may not be the wisest move. The game will never change if you don’t play.

A full schedule of the Games - ranging from basketball to volleyball and even bowling! - is available on the JCC’s website. Remember that if you’d like to watch any of the matches, you will need to register for a spectator pass. The opening ceremony is this Sunday at the Ritchie Center; again, registration is required so visit the website or ring up the JCC to make sure you don’t miss the chance to participte in this exciting event!

Meanwhile, in a local story, Gov. Bill Ritter, returning from his participation in an delgation to Israel, signed several economic agreements with Israel, including support for Israel’s Tomer natural gas field. In other words, a bilateral relationship between our state and the State of Israel has been established. And there’s no better time. Israel has a stable, fast-growing economy, with an extremely large amount of start-ups. It’s a highly innovative environment, so who wouldn’t want a piece?

We’re proud of our governor for doing smart business with Israel. It’s refreshing to read an article that offers a different perspective on US-Israel relations. Ritter is following the footsteps of Arnold Schwarnegger and Tim Pawlenty. Hopefully more governors will now follow Ritter’s.

On Monday evening, July 19, the book of Lamentations will be recited in synagogues the world round. Written by Jeremiah, the megillah recounts the horrible destruction of the First Temple. And while the fast day was established to mourn the destructions of both the First and Second Temples, sadly there have been many more tragedies which Jews can mourn on this day.

But Tisha B’Av is also an opportunity to reflect on our interpersonal behavior - how do we treat our fellow human beings? It’s said that the Second Temple was destroyed because of Jews were treating one another - with divisiveness, a lack of empathy, and even hatred. Has this altogether changed? Just one example: recent tension resulting from depending on your opinion, ethnic or religious difference among Israel’s Sephardim and Ashkenazim. As such, Tisha b’Av becomes an opportunity to mend fences and speak with our neighbors.

Looking for more information about the day and its corresponding period of mourning? Aish’s website has an overview, plus features including a “Love Your Fellow Jew” challenge, asking people to reach out to people who may be different. In that vein, we also encourage you visit an interesting link we found to Sephardi customs for Tisha b’Av. There are some surprising differences - including abstaining from meat and wine for the week preceding the fast day itself.

What does Tisha b’Av mean to you? Do you mark the day with any special rituals? Let us know in a comment.

An article in this week’s IJN highlights this reality from a different angle. For the past four decades, various German cities - in an effort for reconciliation and rehabilitation - have invited former pre-war residents back for visits. One such program was in Berlin, which recently hosted its last ever group. Sadly, the number of “former residents” still alive is shrinking rapidly.

This story really struck a chord for the IJN family. One of our own, Paul Kolitz, who recently passed away, participated in this very program. A Berlin native, Paul always extolled the city, its high levels of Weimar-era culture and education. That he was forced out of his home he never could fully come to grips with; the invitation to return perhaps represented a small token of justice or recognition. For sure there was rehabilitation, the chance to see the new Germany. But what of the old Germany? Of his childhood years? We cannot imagine the pain some participants feel upon returning.

Every year, the world has fewer and fewer survivors. There’s no way to counteract this. All we can do is remember and re-tell their stories and continue to promote Holocaust education across the globe.

The concept is simple. Food and pot. All in one. And Horwitz doesn’t begin and end with the ubiquitous pot brownies. No, he gets ethnic with jambalaya among his more exotic offerings. It’s really a twofer: Not only is marijuana better absorbed into the system when consumed with food, but this way you get a tasty dessert along with your cannabis intake.

We’re not sure what to make of this whole medical marijuana debacle. Sure, there are medical benefits to marijuana that shouldn’t be withheld from patients. But then why is the marijuana not doled out directly by the doctor or at your corner pharmacy? And let’s be frank. The propierters of these shops aren’t wearing lab coats so much as sporting dreads, tatoos and piercings. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but is it medicinal? What’s next? Xanax spiked coffee to take the edge off the morning stress?

What’s your view? Was it really just time for marijuana’s declassification? Many argue that it itself is a fairly begnin drug, for example, when compared with alcohol. Or has legalizing marijuana made a farce of drug regulation? Post your comment!