Feeding Women of the Talmud, Feeding Ourselves

by Kenden Alfond

Overview

*WINNER OF THE JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL'S NATAN NOTABLE BOOK AWARD*

Experience the Talmud in a fresh way with recipes and stories that nourish the body and spirit.

Feeding the Women of the Talmud, Feeding Ourselves produces true food for thought by retelling the stories of sixty-nine women in the Talmud and honoring them with vegan or plant-based recipes. Enjoy sixty-nine delicious, balanced recipes ideal for family meals, entertaining, and healthy snacks. Each recipe is accompanied by stunning photography and meditations on stories of women in the Talmud that draw new meaning from the text.

This community cookbook is the co-creation of 129 Jewish women from around the world. Sixty rabbis, rabbinical students, Jewish teachers, and emerging thought leaders contributed to the Talmudic narratives, and sixty female professional chefs and passionate home cooks contributed to the recipes. The addition of this female-focused point of view to these women’s Talmudic stories—which were recorded and edited by men—is a bright and encouraging testament to a modern generation of women engaging in Jewish learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684427017
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Series:	Jewish Food Hero Collection
Pages:	438
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.31(d)

About the Author

Kenden Alfond is a psychotherapist based in Paris, France, where she lives with her husband and daughter. In 2005 she was an American Jewish World Service volunteer in India and went on to use her expertise in psychology in clinical and humanitarian work in Afghanistan, DR Congo, Switzerland and Cambodia. She started Jewish Food Hero in 2015 to get healthier plant-based and vegan food onto Jewish tables around the world, to improve our mental, emotional and physical health and help the environment. Kenden holds a BA in Literature from Brown Universityand an MA in Counseling Psychology from Naropa University.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Agrat bat Mahalat 7

Tej - Ethiopian honey wine 11

Bat Abba Surah 13

No-bake vegan millionaire squares 17

Bathsheba 19

Rich chocolate and red wine mini cakes 23

Beloreya 25

Fresh tangy cabbage and radish spread 29

Bruriah 32

Seven herbs and species focaccia 35

The Carpenter's Wife 37

Fesenjoon: tangy eggplant and walnut stew 40

A Certain Divorced Woman 42

Mother's joy infusion 45

Cleopatra 48

Caramelized leek barley with white bean smash, spinach, asparagus, and beet potion 51

Daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion 55

Lemon, saffron, and barley risotto 58

The Daughter of Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa 60

Quick pickled quince 63

The Daughter of the Emperor 65

Red wine mushroom soup, served in baked squash 69

Donag 72

Kvass: fermented rye bread and raisin beverage 75

Em 77

Grandmother's borscht 80

Hannah, the wife of rabbi Mani 83

Sephardic-style chilled cucumber soup 87

Hanina's Daughter-in-Law 89

Miscarriage recovery tea 92

Haruta 94

Beet, pomegranate, and parsley salad 97

The Hated Daughter-in-Law 100

Curried nettle vegan sausage rolls 102

Homa 104

Fiery fudgy brownies 108

Hova 110

Bourbon cinnamon pecan pie 114

Ifra Hurmiz 116

Dandelion-pumpkin seed pesto 119

Ikku 121

Ellen's four-bean salad with dry mustard vinaigrette 124

Imma Shalom 126

Vegan chocolate babka 131

Immarta bat Talei 133

Calm your nervous system tonic 137

Jonah's Wife 139

Vegan yakitori 142

Kimchit 144

Spiced acorn squash breakfast bake 149

Likhlukhit 151

Zoharit skin, hair, and gut support 155

Lilith 157

Millet coriander croquettes with pumpkin truffle cream sauce 161

The maiden who prays constantly 164

Vegan nutty chocolate chip cookies 167

Mar Shmuel's daughters 170

Apple sage muffins 174

Mar Ukva's wife 176

White bean kale stew with matzo balls 179

Marta bat Beitus 181

Turkish Sand Cookies 185

Matron healer from Tiberias 187

Medicinal elderberry syrup 191

Matun 193

Roasted Garlic Soup 196

Michal bat Kushi 198

Gluten-free amaretto cake 201

Miriam bat Bilgah 204

Wild red rice roasted vegetable platter with pomegranate molasses and fresh herbs 207

Miriam of Tarmod 209

Charoset rugelach 212

The mother from Tzippori 214

Magnesium-boosting smoothie 217

The mother of Mar Bar Ravina 219

Slow-cooked caramelized oranges 221

Nefata 223

Red wine braised mushroom and barley stuffed cabbage holishkes 225

The potential bride and the hairdresser 228

Creamy celeriac purée with frizzled leeks 231

The prostitute from a city overseas 233

Sweet beet loaf cake 236

Queen Helena of Adiabene 238

Grape and lemon squares 243

Rabbi Akiva's daughter 245

Saffron couscous with beluga lentils and pomegranate 248

Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah's wife 250

Corn latkes with mango salsa 253

Rabbi Hama bar Bisa's wife 257

Vegan lullabye bread 260

Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi's maidservant 262

Purslane, pomegranate, and tofu bourekas 267

Rabbi Yohanan's sister / Reish Lakish's wife 269

Fermented lemon spread 273

Rabbi Ze'eira's wife 276

Mustard, miso, and maple dressing 280

Rachel, the wife of Rabbi Akiva 282

Smoky eggplant salad with herbs, tahini, and pomegranate 285

Rav Adda bar Mattana's wife 288

Aguají (green plantains soup) 291

Rav Hisda's daughter 293

Roasted sweet potatoes with tamarind and crispy shallots 299

Rav Rehumi's wife 303

Salty peanut spaghetti squash 306

Rav's wife 308

Jachnun - Yemenite sweet slow-cooked buttery pastry rolls 113

Rav Yosef's wife 313

Sweet potato and golden beet cholent 317

Ravina's mother 319

Creamy coconut, red lentil, and apple soup 322

Serach bat Asher 324

Nut and beet stuffed dates and prunes 328

Shlomtzion / Salome Alexandra 330

Black-eyed pea soup 335

The sotah woman 337

Black and white cookies 341

The two Miriams 344

Mini fire-roasted stuffed peppers 349

Two spirits speaking with each other 351

Vegan carrot cake 355

Tzafenat bat Peniel 358

Medicinal magnesium jello 362

The wife of Abba Hilkiya 364

Almond-carob bread pudding 368

The wife of Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa 370

Abundant water challah rolls 373

The Woman from Drokart 375

Kahk biscuits 377

Woman who asks about taking challah 380

Vegan challah clouds 384

The woman with mistaken articulation 387

Creamy vegan noodle kugel 389

Yalta 391

Babylonian sour 395

Yehudit 398

Nourishing womb tonic 402

Yirmatia and her mother 404

Golden turmeric lemon cake 407

Acknowledgments 410

Contributor Index 411

Talmud Index 414

Editorial Reviews

05/16/2022

In this enlightening if dense work, Alfond, founder of the Jewish Food Hero cooking blog, pays homage to 69 women from the Talmud, a book of ancient teachings on Jewish law and tradition, with a diverse collection of mostly vegan recipes. Gathered from 129 Jewish women from around the globe, dishes run the gamut from Persian eggplants in walnut sauce to corn latkes with mango salsa. Unfortunately, the multitude of voices feels dizzying. Each chapter features the Talmudic story of a woman, commentary, discussion questions, and a recipe inspired by the story that proceeded it. Questions that follow the story of Bruriah, a second-century CE scholar, for example, invite reflection on gender discrimination, while the accompanying recipe for sourdough focaccia features an “acidity... reminiscent of Bruriah’s struggle.” A variation on millionaire’s shortbread, made with maple syrup and dried figs, is served alongside the story of Bat Abba Surah, whose father arranged for her financial independence after marriage. Several recipes are touted as medicinal: One herbal tea is offered to replenish the nutrients lost after a miscarriage, while a recipe inspired by the story of Likhlukhit—whose husband tried to leave her because of her ugliness—offers a “non-edible skin cleanser and hair rinse” that “would have helped Likhlukhit... straw-like hair.” Though well-meaning, this is unlikely to appeal outside of the observant Jewish community. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Kenden Alfond has created a vibrant community of Jewish women scholars, vegan chefs, and now readers. I savored the rich and relevant stories of 69 women in the Talmud and will absolutely sample the delicious, accompanying recipes. You’ll want to press this gem into the hands of your daughter, mother, sister, or best friend. A true feast for the body and soul.”  —Michelle Brafman, author of Washing the Dead

“Introducing us to little known Talmudic stories, this book invites us to hear and taste the wisdom of women in ways that feed our bodies and our souls.” —Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, author of Regina Persisted, Judy Led the Way, and Sally Opened Doors

“Celebratory recipes and stories make this beautiful, nourishing cookbook a must-have for anyone looking for a unique way to experience the Talmud.” —Michelle Cehn, founder of World of Vegan

“This cookbook is great inspiration both spiritual and recipe wise, and with added value of the Talmud stories—this cookbook is a true gift to the Jewish community and foodies in general.” — Estee Raviv, author of Oy Vey Vegan

From the Publisher