Interview with Maggie Anton

This past Shabbat, my congregation welcomed Maggie Anton, author of the Rashi's Daughters books. She actually has speaking engagements lined up all over Chicago for the weekend, and throughout the Midwest in upcoming days. Since we were her first Chicago stop, though, I got to pick her up at the airport. Why is this exciting? Well, I took her out for lunch and asked her a lot of questions. After all, I have a blog and readers to entertain! I found our conversation to be so wonderful, it was such a delight to meet someone who is so interested not only in the study of Talmud, but in making it accessible to the usually-non-Talmud-studying public.

Our conversation was long and varied, so I tried to take notes as best as I could...

PAS: I read in your bio that you got into all of this because you were a voracious reader. Are you still? What have you read lately?

MA: I wrote the book that I wanted to read. But now I can't just read, it has to take me out of critique mode. Sometimes I treat it like research - seeing how a certain author did certain stuff. I liked Harry Potter, I really wanted to see how she ended the series. I just read City of Thieves and liked it.

PAS: Which is your favorite among the books and characters?
MA: I think Book 3 (Rachel) is the best-written. Not just because I had the most experience but because the editor at Penguin was a real editor. Almost every piece of advice changed the book for the better and made it a better book.

Book 2 (Miriam) has my favorite characters. I love Judah. I really got into him. I was determined to portray him in a sympathetic light. I don't have a favorite girl.

Book 1 (Joheved) is my favorite ending. Even today I read it and it brings tears to my eyes. The book had already gone to the publisher when I found new research about Brit Milah. If I didn't know something [if it wasn't available to be known historically], I would default to modern practice. I found out that Brit Milah was done on the mother's lap. The Brit Milah kiddush, the wine cup was held by the mother - she was an integral part of it. In those days, there were 2 parties for a Brit Milah - the mom's family threw the one before and the dad's family the one after. At the first party, the host from the mother's side would announce the name and blessing; he was a male representative of the mother. Rashi finally gets his male grandson and he gets to say the name and he has to make the blessing. What an emotional ending. I really love that ending. Both of my grandsons were circumcised on my lap.

PAS: I read your latest blog post (1/26/2010) about viewing the Talmud as legend or fact. Where would you say you fall on the spectrum, do you have an answer? *Maggie is currently researching 3rd and 4th century Babylonian sages, in particular Rav Hisda and his daughter. From her blog: "In the end, I realized that I was tired of 11th-12th France, that I wanted to immerse myself in another place and time. So for my next historical novel, tentatively titled RAV HISDA'S DAUGHTER, I'm moving back in time to 3rd-4th century Babylonia [Persia/Iraq]. I waited for the new year to let you all know, and I plan to devote most of 2010's blog posts to describing my research, and eventually, my writing process. I expect to devote myself to research for at least a year before beginning to write, although I already have some scenes in mind."

MA: Personally, I'm not sure. It's shocking for me to hear that they might all be legend! In the small research that exists, there are so many contradictions. If I'm going to write this [her next project], I will have to throw out inconsistent information. My characters are the people in the Talmud. I need to have the historicity correct, but how important were these sages? We know that they didn't answer criminal law, only small claims court. There was a whole other court system in place (in Babylonia). It's clear that they didn't have power. What I haven't decided is - How important do I make them? Did people see them as fruitcakes who have no influence on their lives? There are so many pieces.
(Ima's note: This became a much longer conversation about research and Talmud. I couldn't keep up taking notes and I wasn't recording the conversation. Suffice it to say - I had a great time!)

Regarding the research she's doing: A lot of the information I'm using has only been published or available in the last 20 years. Some of it has only been translated into English in the last 10 years.
Ima's note: This was also a really interesting conversation - how Maggie finds her materials, who is doing the research, how it gets disseminated and how she accesses it. She said that now the scholars have heard of her and what they typically say is: "my wife loves your books!" - and then they're willing to help her out.

I found Maggie to be incredibly passionate about the work she's doing, and incredibly passionate about spreading the concept of Talmud-learning into the Jewish world, in particular to the Progressive movements and to women. She spoke non-stop for almost an hour to my congregants, who sat enthralled. She almost never mentioned her books specifically, but instead spoke about Rashi and about Talmud and its implications for us. It was remarkable, and I'd love to give her free reign to teach for a whole day (I'll work on that for future events). For me personally, I loved hearing how she explained Rashi and the need for his commentary on the rather, um, shorthand (cryptic!?) language in the Talmud. It's so much fun to hear how someone else teaches something. I took a lot of mental notes for my next Talmud class!

Thanks, Maggie! I'm looking forward to your next visit (and your next book)!

When the Weather is Frightful - Bake Cookies!

The 50th Kosher Cooking Carnival is up over at Me-Ander - go see lots of great food posts!

It's been really cold outside.

This is not a weather-rant post.

It's been really cold outside, and that gives me a yen to bake.

(Okay, some people would agree that perhaps I don't need an excuse.)

When my Vegetarian Times came last week, one recipe jumped out at me. I don't know why, but I had a desire to bake "Iced Oatmeal Cookies." Perhaps because the description said this: "To keep the icing for these chewy morsels from cracking, spread it on while the cookies are still hot."

Chewy Morsels?! Seriously!? I'm sold.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Slightly Adapted from Vegetarian Times

2 Tbs flaxseed meal
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs butter, softened (the original recipe called for vegan margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (I used cranberries. But I think I'll like them EVEN better with raisins)

for icing: 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 Tbs lemon juice

Stir together flaxseed meal and 3 Tbs water in small bowl. Set aside. Whisk together oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Beat butter, and sugars together with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add applesauce, vanilla, and flaxseed mixture. Beat until smooth. Stir in oat flour mixture. Add oats and raisins, stir to combine. Cover and chill 2 hours (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment. Roll the dough into golf-ball size rounds and put them 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Flatten each cookie to 1/4 inch thickness with bottom of a drinking glass dipped in water. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies look dry on top and just begin to brown.

While they're baking, make the icing: whisk together the sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth - it will be thick but spreadable. Gently brush on hot cookies with pastry brush. Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Eat 'em warm, they're amazing.
Actually, eat them cooled and they're amazing too.

You can't eat just one! So delicious.

P.S. If you can get gluten-free oats, you can make your own oat flour by whizzing them in the blender. Then you can make this recipe gluten-free. If you're so inclined...or if you have a gluten-free lurker on your blog....

Mandelbrot Follow-up

I made the mandelbrot again this week. I wanted to see if I could perfect the recipe.

My parents were both visiting for the day, and I used their expertise to make sure I was doing it right:

My mom, helping me to "get it right". 

I wanted to see what she thought they were supposed to look like at this stage, since I'd never seen it before!

I didn't toast the walnuts, this time. Tasted more authentic.

My parents brought some to my bubbie (the Spry version, not the oil version) and she called me in rapture: "Better than mine ever were!"

I think she's biased.

A Proud Ima Moment

Here's my oldest child, counting all the coins in the "donate" section of his piggy bank to give to those in need in Haiti. It was almost $45! He was very proud that he could help out the kids in Haiti.

Check out this sweet post by my colleague and friend, Rabbi Paul Kipnes, about the beauty of "Kid Tzedakah".

My Inner Bubbie: Mandelbrot

One of the things that my Bubbie made all the time was mandelbrot. If you're not familiar with this cookie, it's basically a Jewish biscotti.

Confession: I'm not a huge fan.

I mean, I like them and all. But they're not my favorite. Too crunchy, too crumbly. Good, but not life-changing.

Confession #2: Not only have I never made them before, I have never seen anyone make them before.

Yep, never followed Bubbie around the kitchen for these puppies. I have perfected her carrot cake, so you can see where my priorities lie.

So when a request was made for mandelbrot, I had to go back to the source. I called my mom, who has both of my Bubbies' recipes (both are, thank God, still living, but neither one bakes any more...in their mid-90s, both of them!)...and she scanned them in for me.

Bubbie Rose:

Bubbie Raye:

Both clearly well-worn and well-used recipe cards. What the heck is Spry? Turns out, it's like Crisco.

So, without any Spry, I knew that oil would be my fat of choice. Then I opened every single Jewish cookbook I own (I think there are about 10), enlisted my mom and my mother-in-law in their recollection of mandelbrot baking, and even made a phone call to Bubbie Rose while baking. I knew she'd kvell that I was making mandelbrot, and I figured it didn't hurt to question an expert...

So here's the recipe I adapted from a conglomeration of sources:

Traditional (?) Mandelbrot

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup canola oil
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts lightly toasted
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together eggs, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Add 3 cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon. (Okay, Bubbie said "use a wooden spoon, or whatever you want to mix it.) Add more flour if you think it's too sticky. If you never made it before, don't add any extra flour because it's probably fine.

Add the chopped nuts, and stir them in.

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment (or greased, but I'm a parchment gal), shape into logs. I think mine were a little too wide.

Bake for about 22 minutes. (The logs above are actually cooked, it's hard to tell.)
Remove from oven, and while hot, slice the logs, like so:
(According to my dad AND my mom, this is the time to "snitch" one off the cookie sheet. I agree. They're really good soft and hot.)

Turn the slices on their sides. Some people sprinkle here with cinnamon and sugar. Bubbie said "I never did that but I know that other people like to." When I questioned her about chocolate chips, she said: "Well, I don't like all that extra stuff in there. But some people like to." She's very open to alternative ideas, my bubbie. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until they're crunchy and brown.

And there you have your mandelbrot. Mine didn't last long, I brought them in for the Hebrew School teachers. They were well-received. They did not taste like Bubbie's as I recall them...maybe I'll have to try out some Spry.

I plan to make them again this week with my mom, so she can lend a more practiced eye. I think I would chop the nuts more finely, but others said that they liked that there was a bite to the nuts. This experience opened me up to a lot of things I've never made, let alone watched anyone else make. For example, I've never made rugelach, or teigelach, or even keneidlach. I've seen kreplach made, but never done it myself. What other great old Jewish foods are out there that I don't know how to make? I'm a hamantashen maven. So...now I'm going to learn. Rugelach are next in the new series here at Ima on and off the Bima... "My Inner Bubbie." Stay tuned!

By the way, I heard that Creative Jewish Mom was hosting a link-up party for Jewish crafts and recipes today (tomorrow?) so I might update with a link over to that.

Overheard... (or...What's Been Keeping Me Busy

Yael: I want the Dora underpants.
Me: There aren't any Dora underpants, just choose from what's in the drawer.
Yael: You pick.
Me: Okay (coming over to the drawer)
Yael: Pick this one (points to a specific pair)
When I hand that pair to her she says:
"Good choice, Mom!!"

--

David got a book club order form. Browsing through it, he announced what he wanted to buy:
There's a thing that helps you learn to make your own money!
Me: Um, are you sure?
David: Yes, I'm sure - look! It says "Learn how to make money!" and then there's a picture of money with a thing that you push a button and it makes money!
Me: Um, Dave, it teaches you how to EARN money and lets you put your money in that thing
David: You mean it's like a piggy bank?
Me: Yes, it looks like that.
David: Well, I'm not spending my money on THAT.

--

Shabbat Shalom!
Here's a beautiful rendition of Psalm 150 to light up your Shabbat...

How to Raise a Reader, Revisited

I've talked before about how much my kids love to read.

My oldest is definitely a reader.

He
loves
to read.
All the time.

He does not love to write.
So we've embarked upon a new venture...like mother like son....
a blog.

(It helps that Zeyde offered to pay him 50 cents a post. The kid is making more money blogging than I am!)

If you're interested in being one of David's readers, feel free to drop me a line. He recently complained to me that he doesn't get very many comments. I must admit that I said "join the club, kiddo!"

I'm pretty excited to have another blogger in the house.