By: Ellisha Caplan, Jewish Living Delaware Committee Member
We are planning an online social event for our team of nine at work and, as a “getting to know you” exercise, I asked everyone to share their favorite place they have visited, a place that they would like to visit in the future, and whether they prefer sweet or salty snacks. My secret motive was to send everyone a snack box that matched their sweet/salty preference and related to one of the locations they named.
Everyone responded so enthusiastically. One colleague loves sweet snacks and wants to go to Big Sky Country (Montana); another colleague, who keeps kosher, likes sweet snacks and loved a trip she took to Utah. After about two hours of online snack box searching and hysterical laughter over some of the options that came up in my search, I’m starting to think that this plan has gone sideways.
Look up “Bulgarian Salty Snack Box” and you will likely find a box for sale with beer nuts and pretzel sticks. How exotic. Similarly, when looking for salty snack boxes from Scandinavia, salty licorice is about the only thing that pops up. My Utah sweet box search came up with a bottle of “Cinnamon Bun Syrup” with no Kosher symbol to be found.
Undoubtedly, each of these places has a food culture to share that is simply difficult to fit into an international drop-ship ready package of snacks. You’ve got to visit to get a real taste of the foods they have to offer.
This brings me to Delaware foods. Are there “Delaware” foods? Yes. Milkshakes at Charcoal Pit, Woodside Farm Creamery ice cream, Capriotti’s “Bobbie,” to name a few. But “Jewish Delaware” foods?
A few ideas immediately come to mind: the Zomick’s challah that you can buy at the JCC on Fridays, chopped liver from the kosher counter at the North Wilmington Shoprite, any of the Reuben options at Rosenfeld’s in Rehoboth or Bethany, kiddush luncheons with salads made by the Sisterhood at Congregation Beth Shalom, and latkes at the Chanukah bazaar at Congregation Beth Emeth. In reality though, none of these foods are the things that I eat on the regular. It’s homemade food that calls to me, and homemade food that, in my opinion, truly breeds food culture.
I’m offering up some recipes from Now You Don’t Have to Call Your Mother: A Collection of Recipes from Adas Kodesch Shel Emeth Congregation Cookbook (2000) this month. Bubba Jean’s Banana Cake from Dianne Seidel is especially appropriate, as according to her comments, it was legendary! Maybe one of these recipes will become your “Delaware” food.
Grilled Salmon with Orange Glaze from Arlene Simon
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- ½cup orange marmalade
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 3 Tablespoons white rice vinegar or other white vinegar
- 1 lb salmon fillet, skin off, cut into 4 pieces
- 6 thinly slice scallions with some green
- ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
Instructions:
- Combine marmalade, oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and vinegar. Marinate fish in a foil pan for 2 or more hours.
- Heat grill. Brush orange glaze on each side of salmon and grill for about 5 minutes on each side.
- Top with scallions and sesame seeds.
Arroz con Tomato (Sephardic Rice with Tomato) from Ray Freschman
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups rice
- 2 ¼ cups water or chicken stock
- ¾ cups tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions:
- Heat oil in heavy pan over medium heat. Add rice; stir to coat.
- Add water (or chicken stock), tomato sauce and salt; bring to a boil.
- Stir once; lower heat to a simmer.
- Cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes until water is absorbed. Do not stir while cooking.
Comments: If you want Arroz Blanco (white rice), cook as above but use 3 cups water or stock and no tomato sauce. This goes well with meats, chicken, or fish cooked with tomatoes.
Bubba Jean’s Banana Cake from Dianne Seidel
Yield: 3-4 loaves.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon. baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 beaten eggs
- 2 cups mashed bananas (6 approx.)
- 1 cups oil
- 1 (8 ¼ oz) can crushed pineapple
Instructions:
- Mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in large bowl.
- Combine eggs, mashed bananas, oil, undrained pineapple and vanilla. Add all to dry ingredients. Stir well to moisten.
- Spray oil in 3–4 loaf pans and divide batter evenly.
- Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes. Test center with toothpick.
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on racks.
- You can add nuts, chocolate bits, or raisins. You can also sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze.
Comments: Mom’s (Jean Drowos) cakes always sold well at Beth Shalom Sisterhood’s and McClasson’s bake sales. She was known for it!
