Rosh Hashanah Menu Circa 1919/ Shelley Lance Blog editor
Joan Nathan’s article in today’s dining section of the New York Times tells the story of the Stawbery Banke Restoration, a living museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which includes the Shapiro House. The Shapiros were among the 152 Russian Jews who, by 1919, had settled in the small town of Puddle Dock, thereby following a path very different from that of the many Jewish immigrants who found their way to America’s urban centers. An actress named Barbara Ann Pastor portrays Shiva Shapiro in the living museum, as a “34 year old woman whose time is spent in her kosher kitchen with its coal stove and ice box.”
The museum has taken great pains to ensure the accuracy of the foods that were eaten in the Shapiro household, using research tools that include interviews and pollen and seed analysis. The Shapiros, of course, lived (without having much choice) the locavore lifestyle that many admire today. They slaughtered their own chickens using every precious bit, including the intestines which they stuffed to make kishke. They searched for seeds which would allow them to grow the foods of their Russian homeland, including poppies for the seed pods to make poppyseed cake and poppyseed filling for strudel.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Friday night, September 18. Who wouldn’t love to sit down to this delicious menu?
Kasha Stuffed Roast Chicken
Crispy Kale
Poppyseed Cake
Fortunately, the recipes are included in the NYT article.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year!
Notes: Apples dipped in honey are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah by many Jewish people to symbolize a sweet New Year, hence the image. Also, kasha (used in the chicken stuffing) means buckwheat groats.
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