ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200027
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DONNA LEE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
``The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen'' by Joan Nathan is a natural for gift-giving this Hanukkah. Written in a friendly, story-telling style, it presents easy-to-follow recipes and crafts projects along with explanations of Jewish traditions and history.
Nathan doesn't write down to children - she sounds like someone's really cool mother. All the recipes were family-tested. For instance, David, Nathan's 10-year-old, told her, ``Mom, kids like plain lasagna, no lumps in their food. They like smooth tomato sauce.''
Last month, Nathan, who lives in Washington, D.C., visited Providence, R.I., with her husband, attorney Allan Gerson, and their children, David; Merissa, 13; and Daniela, 17.
At the East Side home of her mother, Pearl Nathan, she set the table to show how it would look for Hanukkah, which began at sundown Sunday. Menorahs were on a side table; she uses a number of them so that everyone gets to light candles.
``For me, Hanukkah has never been a big holiday,'' Nathan says. ``We always lighted the lights, but I place less emphasis on presents.''
Nathan lived in Jerusalem from 1970 to 1972 and worked as foreign press attache for Mayor Teddy Kollek. After she returned to Israel with her family several years ago, the holiday took on greater significance for her.
``In Jeruselum, there were lighted menorahs in all the windows, and the families were all together, but there were no gifts,'' said Nathan. ``That changed my attitude on Hanukkah. In the U.S., people lose sight of the significance of the holiday - for many, it's the me, me, me period.
``As I travel, I ask people about their customs. Some told me that for Hanukkah they have a grab bag with two gifts, one for the child, one for the child to give to the homeless or other charity.''
Nathan's family does not try to compete with Christmas. ``I explain that everyone has a winter holiday to brighten up those cold days.''
Then she and her husband would tell the traditions of Hanukkah to their children, as she does in her book:
It's the story of the weak conquering the mighty more than 2,000 years ago, when Jews led by the Maccabee brothers defeated the huge Syrian army, which was trying to make the Jews give up their religion.
The people wanted to light the menorah in the Temple, but there was only enough oil for one day. But by a miracle, it burned for eight days. ``And so we celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem,'' writes Nathan.
She explains how to light a menorah, which has room for nine candles. ``For each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, an additional candle is inserted, from right to left, and lit - going from left to right - by the shammas, or helper candle.''
Latkes, potato pancakes fried in oil, symbolize the oil that burned for eight days. They're traditional in many homes for Hanukkah.
For the Sabbath on Friday nights, Nathan and Gerson like to invite other families to dine with them. Their children, when younger, would draw a menu before each Sabbath, with stars to show which dishes they had cooked. (The wise adult would then praise those dishes.)
Nathan believes in starting early to cook with children, and to talk as you cook. ``It's relaxing for children to work with you; they talk more when you're cooking together. As they cook, they can learn addition, subtraction, chemical properties ... and if you're lucky, they can learn to clean up, too.''
Her book is subtitled ``70 Ways to Have Fun with Your Kids and Make Your Family's Celebrations Special.'' It's a significantly updated edition of a book she had published eight years ago. Of the 70 recipes, 20 are new ones. Her children are now less interested in meat, more in vegetarian meals with low fat content, and the recipes reflect that. She covers 10 holidays, with menus and recipes for each.
For adults, you can't miss with Nathan's ``Jewish Cooking in America'' (Knopf). This exceptional book won the James Beard award and the Julia Child award for best cookbook of 1994. It's a scholarly work of food history with 300 recipes showing the influences of Jewish immigrants. Nathan writes with such effervescence and ease that it's as much fun as reading a novel. Her fascination is always with food as it relates to people, not just recipes.
She also wrote ``Jewish Holiday Kitchen,'' ``The International Pasta Cookbook,'' ``The Flavor of Jerusalem'' and ``American Folklife Cookbook.''
For Hanukkah, Nathan suggests filling cupcake-size cookie-crumb crusts with ice cream to use as candle holders for an edible menorah. ``Menorahs can come in all different shapes, as long as each candle is kept separate and distinct from the others and they are in one line with the ``shammas'' (helper candle) raised. These cupcakes can be arranged together in nearly any shape ... a circle, square, straight line or whatever you can imagine.''
Here is the recipe for a cupcake menorah from ``The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen'' (Schocken, $18).
CANDLE CUPCAKES
14 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 pint chocolate ice cream or frozen yogurt
Fresh raspberries for garnish
Adult: To make the crust, whirl 12 of the cookies in a food processor until ground very fine. Melt the butter in a small saucepan or microwave and mix well with the cookies.
Child: Put one paper cupcake liner in each muffin mold. Using your fingers, press some of the cookie-butter mixture along the bottom and up the sides of each mold. Try to get the cookie mixture pressed together as smoothly and evenly as you can. Remove the ice cream or frozen yogurt from freezer and let it soften slightly for a few minutes, then spoon it into the cookie molds, pressing down until smooth. Fill the molds with the ice cream or frozen yogurt.
Adult: Place the filled tins in the freezer until they hold together well, about 3 hours or until you're ready to use them. Garnish with extra cookies and raspberries, if desired.
Makes at least 12 cupcakes, 9 to make your menorah and a few extra to enjoy right away. |- ``THE CHILDREN'S JEWISH HOLIDAY KITCHEN'' (SCHOCKEN)
LENGTH: Long : 110 linesby CNB