Food and Recipes
8/28/2014
by Jennifer Stempel My mother-in-law, Bette Jo, has been an active member at her synagogue for years, and some of her closest friends are those she met participating in her temple sisterhood. These are the women whose kids grew up alongside my husband and his brothers, and who jumped at the chance to throw me a fantastic bridal shower when I married Kenny. Several of them made the trek to L.A. to celebrate our nuptials with us, and a couple even acted as official witnesses during our ketubah signing ceremony. Over the years, some of Bette Jo’s sisterhood friends and I have connected via... Read More
2/05/2013
By Nancy J. Apfel Today’s foodie culture has brought with it a growing interest in eating habits and cookbooks. A recent New York Times list of bestsellers in the Advice and Miscellaneous category included 11 books about nutrition and cooking in the top 15 sellers. Food blogs and reality cooking shows have a wide following. It should come as no surprise that WRJ and local Sisterhoods were ahead of the times. They have been compiling cookbooks for more than a century and assembling a collection since the since the 1990’s. The impetus for creating a cookbook collection began with Betty... Read More
By fredi Bleeker Franks, 10/10/2012
As I was leaving the JCC one night after a meeting where we discussed, among other things, how to reach new populations, I received a text from my son. Since he often sends me pictures of the cutest, most adorable, smartest grandchild on earth, I immediately read the message which said, “Ma, do we have an old family challah recipe I don’t know about?” I texted back, “Well, there’s mine.” His reply said, “Perfect. You’re old. Email?” The holidays are always difficult for me. Although I have wonderful friends and the best husband, I miss having family at the holidays. My mother loved the... Read More
By fredi Bleeker Franks, 4/12/2012
I stood in front of the open refrigerator door, peering intently inside as if the multi-layered plastic containers filled with left-overs were going to give me the answer to my question. THE question, of course.. the one I had asked myself every morning this week. What will I take to work for lunch? The brisket was gone, the charoseth on its last liquidy legs.. nothing appealed to me. As I stood there, I heard my mother’s voice over my shoulder “Close the door! Do you want to let all the cold out?” Or, at least I heard my mother’s voice in my head - she has been gone for more than thirty... Read More
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