Monday, May 9, 2011

Passover Lunches 2011

Passover (in Hebrew, Pesach) is every foodie's nightmare and paradise. Celebrating the exodus of the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt, this holiday comes with biblical restrictions on food, namely, the elimination of all wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye from a Jew's possession and diet (with the sole exception of matzot, which is required eating).

Beyond these 5 species comes a plethora of other forbidden foods. Some are cultural (by way of Ashkenazic tradition) and some are the result of food additives derived from the biblically and culturally prohibited foods. The latter never ceases to impress upon me the sinister lack of transparency in the processed food market. When dried fruit, frozen fish fillets, and butter are not kosher for Passover, you really have to wonder.

In any case, I did a lot of cooking during Pesach, seeing as how I could use nothing I'd prepared and frozen before Passover in my non-Passover-ready kitchen. Unfortunately, there was much hectic haste over the holiday, so these are the only foods that I photographed:

Spicy Southwestern Quinoa Salad

Homemade Trail Mix
Cheese Latkes

No comments: