Going Green

It’s been a magnificent spring. The wisteria burst into full bloom just in time for Pesach along with the calla lilies and the bright orange nasturtiums. With the backdrop of the ever-blooming lavender the view from the pergola is very, very pretty.

I love the color purple, and also the color orange. I especially like purple and orange together. It’s a warm, sunset-y combination. When I was a child my favorite color was green (a color I still love but am particular about: primary green or bluish greens are fine, no yellow-greens, olive or avocado shades are acceptable.) The family always obliged by funneling any green artifacts my way. My mother liked to tell the story of my green shoes.

For the family trip to North Carolina, a subject touched on previously in these pages,
I was bought a new pair of shoes in green patent leather. I adored them. But I was told they were for North Carolina and I was not to wear them until then. The trip by car was long and, I’m sure, difficult. Like any five-year-old with an undeveloped concept of time and distance, my conversation consisted mostly of, “Are we there yet?” Finally, my mother announced that we had crossed the state border into North Carolina. At this point I perked up and insisted on my right to wear my green shoes now. I could not be denied, so my father had to stop the car while my mother unpacked the fabulous shoes which were now on my very satisfied feet.

I still remember how happy those shoes made me. But in all the many years and hundreds of pairs since then, I don’t think I’ve ever had another pair of green ones. I find this very sad. So sad that I am now resolved: the next shoes I buy will be green.

The Bread of Affliction

As of this writing, we are well into the king of the Jewish marathon holidays. After the Seder, the gefilte fish and the Had Gadya, the week of Pesach is all about not eating bread. Some people find this difficult. Some even keep a secret stash of buns in the freezer.

I can be sympathetic to this. I also love bread. Have you ever noticed that bread is the one thing you can eat three times a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner – every day and not get sick of it? Still, I have no problem with Pesach because I just adore matzot. Not plain, of course, because that way it tastes like a piece of bread that someone stomped on with a dirty boot. But with the right topping it is really quite tasty.

Chopped liver, chicken, tuna or egg salad all do well as does a thin smear of butter. Of course the traditional spread is schmaltz which is something I have never tried. In fact, I find just the idea of it – rendered chicken fat – a little off-putting. But my very favorite topping is … drum roll, please … spaghetti sauce.

I love spaghetti sauce and have been know to eat it out of the jar on a spoon. Pasta for me is just an excuse to eat more sauce. Imagine my delight some years ago when I dared to put some on a piece of matza and found the result to be entirely palatable. At one time I might have been more circumspect in recommending this. But here in the Middle East they put a variety of sauces and spreads in little bowls in front of you and call them salads.

Happy holiday!

Wishing everyone a happy and kosher Pesach!

The Peacock's Evil Eye

Today I spent some time just gazing out the kitchen window. One of the peacocks from the zoo across the way had perched in the bow of a tree and was sitting in all his magnificence with his iridescent plumage fluttering in the breeze. He was a beautiful sight. But he was not, alas, music to my ears.

If you have never experienced a peacock up close, which I hadn’t until I came here, it may surprise you to learn that the voice does not match the beauty of the bird. In fact, its crow is harsh and very, very loud. I am left wondering if this is a principle of avian existence. Premium songbirds like larks and nightingales are embarrassingly brown and plain while the showy glamour-pusses like peacocks and parrots make your ears bleed.

Of course, everyone knows that peacock feathers supposedly are bad luck because of the “evil eye” portrayed on them. This is a concept I have never understood – the evil eye, I mean. How, I ask myself, in a rational world can anyone bring harm to anyone else just by looking at him? So in the spirit of reasoned investigation, I tried to develop this powerful eye.

I concentrated. I squinted and glared. I glowered. Then – nothing. I never made anybody’s head explode, just gave myself a headache. I guess I just don’t have the talent.