Taste of the World, Purim Style
Don’t worry, this isn’t another poem. Judging by my closet I’m in my blue period now*, and I don’t think there’s much room for rhyming in blue periods. Maybe I'll write a ballad next week.
And lots of blue items are already in my laundry bag.
*I can’t help that blue brings out my eyes.
You’re getting a bonus post this week (lucky you!) since Hillel participated in a nosh-related event that wasn’t Shabbat dinner. Taste of the World is a food event put on by SGA, where cultural groups are invited to share traditional dishes. The competition in our time slot was a Project Pengyou booth manned by one of our very own, Benjy Renton.
The one and only!
While I’m sure Benjy’s cucumber salad must of had something going for it, you really don’t want to be competing with Jews when it comes to food. And, we put this dream team on the task of making hamentaschen for our Purim-themed booth:
Two meals chairs, a former meals chair, the closest blood relative of a former meals chair....and Jonah.
Cookies as far as the eye can see.
Jenny made hamentaschen dough for the first time ever (can we get a Shehecheyanu?) before we all got together for a lovely afternoon of cutting, filling, folding, and baking (Recipe). Four flavors were on the menu: Nutella, chocolate, strawberry jam, and raspberry jam. Jenny incorrectly thinks the chocolatey ones are better, while I prefer the fruity ones. By this point we all know the dangers of forming opinions based on ad hominem arguments, but I'm just throwing it out there that only one of us is the head Meals Chair, and it's not Jenny.
Our set-up was complete with a Purim photo booth and masks galore.
A picture of a someone taking a picture. Am I postmodern enough for you yet, Midd?
Too cute! A Hillel co-president and the president's worse half. I'll leave it to them to battle it out regarding who's who.
(For those of you who don't know, our co-presidents are also a couple!)
We also upheld the Jewish tradition of storytelling on Purim, recounting the holiday's saga to any hamentaschen-munching patron who would stick around. Ben got the whole Megillah down to just a couple of minutes. I think I might invite him to my Passover seder, especially if I'm hungry.
I mean, we can't let Haman's (BOOO!!!!) name go un-booooed, can we? Someone had to do it.
And my mom thought I had outgrown the terrible twos.
Come to the FIC this Friday for 5:30 services and/or a 6:30 Tu B'Shevat seder and dinner. Ben or no Ben, don't let the word "seder" scare you away--this one involves a lot of food and is only one page long!
If you don't want to miss out on any of the fun we're having here at the Hillel Food Blog, towards the bottom of the home page there is a place to subscribe.
Also, YOU could be the author of a post. Are you feeling moved to editorialize on the matzah situation in Proctor? Would the world be a better place if we all knew your Bubbe's latke recipe? Is your name Benjy and do you want to defend your decision to help out with cucumber salad over hamentaschen? Have you ever actually tried gefilte fish? We'd all love to hear about it. Please shoot me an email (lfinkelstein@middlebury.edu).
xoxo,
Lauren