Celebrating Shabbat Through The Seasons

Families find creative ways to connect Shabbat meals with the seasons

By Maayan Jaffe

There are four distinct seasons each year in Baltimore, but Shabbat happens every week. As the weather goes from cold to warm to hot to cool, it can be fun to experiment with special seasonal Shabbat menus and displays. Unique soups in the winter and special fruits in the spring, for example, can enliven your Shabbat table and offer something fun for the whole family to enjoy.

Winter
Amy Steinberg, single and living in an apartment in Towson, says she uses hearty soups to warm her winter Shabbat table. One fun tradition she has is creating a “communal soup.”

Before Shabbat, she asks each guest to bring their favorite vegetable. Then she cooks a savory vegetable soup with their pickings.

In Jenny Gamliel’s house in Owings Mills, winter means Yemenite breads. Her Yemenite mother-in-law and extended family have taught her some family traditions that her children — four of them under the age of 10 — get very excited about. Among the top picks is Kubana (Yeminite overnight bread).

“My kids love this bread,” says Gamliel. “Sometimes, after the first 45 minutes, I put in some raw eggs and let them cook overnight, too. They are hard-cooked in the morning and delicious. My kids call them chocolate eggs.”

Spring
In spring, Gamliel has other treats — healthy sensations that even her 3-year-old will eat.

“We belong to a CSA, community supported agriculture cooperative,” Gamliel explains. “In the spring, we’re looking for lighter foods and we’ll usually go with the CSA’s seasonal vegetables.”

Gamliel says her family belonged to the One Straw Farm CSA, which has Tuesday drop-offs in Stevenson Village, right by her children’s school. The fresh and wholesome looking produce, colorful and fragrant, would entice her youngsters to try even the most often avoided foods.

“We are now hard-core lima bean fans,” Gamliel jokes, noting the variety of greens — collard, beet and even dandelion — were simply delightful.

“I’d make a low-fat cream sauce of sautéed onions, skim milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and pour it over the greens. Anything that goes into that cream sauce, my kids will eat,” she says.

Steinberg describes similar ideas. She says she often uses the spring for camping Shabbats. She’s even spent spring Shabbat dinners and lunches eating only foods grown outdoors.

Summer
Summer, of course, carries a similar feel to spring. However, the weather can get even hotter. Nisa Felps says she serves unique fruit soups in the summer — something she terms “light and easy.”

“They are so refreshing and wonderful,” says Felps of her strawberry-kiwi, peach, melon and mango soups.

“You need things to be light. And fruit soups are great. You just throw them in the blender!”

They are also a hit with the kids. Felps has three children under the age of seven, and one on the way.

One of the family’s favorites is Felps’ spicy mango-ginger soup. “These soups are actually really pretty,” Felps says. “I often put the soup in my china bowls and garnish with mint.”

Autumn
Autumn means falling leaves and hues of deep orange, bright yellows and intense greens. Both Felps and Gamliel say they bring those colors into their meals, offering not only foods but also decorations that reflect the time of year. Felps, for example, says she enhances her fall Shabbat table with autumn colors, accenting dishes with mini pumpkins and cranberries.

“I like to potchke when I entertain. I love the fall colors,” says Felps.

Gamliel says that for her family autumn means Sukkot. However, even after Sukkot has ended, the feel of the harvest holiday is brought inside her home through the decorations.

“We have straw baskets that we will fill with reusable fruits and vegetables. We bring them back in the house between every Sukkot meal. Then, when the sukkah comes down, the baskets stay inside until the winter,” says Gamliel. “We just put them away to start lighting fires in the fireplace for winter.”

Kubana (Yeminite overnight bread) from Jenny Gamliel

1 packet yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 heaping tsp salt
4 cups flour
1 large egg
2 cups warm water

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water, bringing it to a light bubble. Throw in the sugar and salt, then add flour and the egg.

2. Mix by hand or use a mixer, being careful not to overbeat.

3. Break dough into six to eight balls. Grease a thin metal lidded pan with margarine or a pareve butter substitute. Rub margarine on balls of dough, too. Place balls in pan and cook at 400-degrees for 45 minutes. Lower the temperature to between 180- and 225-degrees and let cook overnight.

Spicy Mango - Ginger Soup from Nisa Felps
2-3 mangos, peeled and seeded
1/2 onion
1 lime
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 small chili pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup of water

1. Process all ingredients in a food processer. Add additional water, if necessary.

2. Chill and serve.

Photo captions:
For Nisa Felps, fall means decorating the Shabbat table with autumn colors and mini pumpkins. Summer is for spicy mango-ginger soup. (photo kirsten beckerman)

Spicy Mango-Ginger Soup

January 2011