In re: minhag: I think it's particularly confusing in the Harvard Hillel community, because so many people are from other places and onlly temporarily here, plus the rabbi of the orthodox minyan is not the same as the body that certifies the kashrut of the building's kitchen, so there's a lot of not-clearness on whose standards are appropriate.
I used to love going to the bakery where I grew up, near Worcester. My mom wouldn't get cake much (either sliced off or whole ones), but I remember getting Russian raisin bread by the pound; a whole loaf was far too huge for one family (not having an event, that is). It was wonderful, with a shiny chewy crust, lots of raisins, and a texture not at all like pumpernickel.
I loved the All of a Kind Family books, though I didn't know about all of them until later. I didn't reread them as much as some others, though, partly because of how embarrassed I'd get on their behalf (eating all the Shiner's corned beef!)(and no, I couldn't skip any). But I loved some of the other stories. And what surprises me now is how much they're immigrant books (Lower East Side), in the sense that the Jewishness isn't quite as pervasive as having little money and living in a warm, friendly neighborhood. Or maybe it's just taken for granted so much, in a way I haven't known outside of Israel; they had an insular world, in a lot of ways, and there are a lot of advantages to that.
It's not that ricotta is so bad; my mom would use half of each to cut down on fat (this was many years ago, before it became the rage to be so concerned with fat content in food). It is plain, atop the English muffin, but for some reason, it appealed that way, not others. Not on other kinds of toast, not on plain bread, or plain, or with crackers. I have no idea why, either. Perhaps my mom fed it to me as a baby or something.
Oh, but in kugel, or some other way that's pretty much disguised, doesn't trigger my cottage cheese unfondness. (Not that I hate it, just given options, I'll almost never choose it. If that's a reasonable distinction.)
I used to like cream cheese, but now it has too rich a mouth feel, too much of a coating, somehow. Other full-fat cheeses don't trigger this in me; I think it's a combination of taste and texture that does it. In frosting on carrot cake, however, it's very nice :-) (I tend to use goat cheese instead of cream cheese when eating with lox, and I like that better.)
Ramble as much as you wish! (Though I admit, sometime I'd like to figure out who you are :-)
no subject
I used to love going to the bakery where I grew up, near Worcester. My mom wouldn't get cake much (either sliced off or whole ones), but I remember getting Russian raisin bread by the pound; a whole loaf was far too huge for one family (not having an event, that is). It was wonderful, with a shiny chewy crust, lots of raisins, and a texture not at all like pumpernickel.
I loved the All of a Kind Family books, though I didn't know about all of them until later. I didn't reread them as much as some others, though, partly because of how embarrassed I'd get on their behalf (eating all the Shiner's corned beef!)(and no, I couldn't skip any). But I loved some of the other stories. And what surprises me now is how much they're immigrant books (Lower East Side), in the sense that the Jewishness isn't quite as pervasive as having little money and living in a warm, friendly neighborhood. Or maybe it's just taken for granted so much, in a way I haven't known outside of Israel; they had an insular world, in a lot of ways, and there are a lot of advantages to that.
It's not that ricotta is so bad; my mom would use half of each to cut down on fat (this was many years ago, before it became the rage to be so concerned with fat content in food). It is plain, atop the English muffin, but for some reason, it appealed that way, not others. Not on other kinds of toast, not on plain bread, or plain, or with crackers. I have no idea why, either. Perhaps my mom fed it to me as a baby or something.
Oh, but in kugel, or some other way that's pretty much disguised, doesn't trigger my cottage cheese unfondness. (Not that I hate it, just given options, I'll almost never choose it. If that's a reasonable distinction.)
I used to like cream cheese, but now it has too rich a mouth feel, too much of a coating, somehow. Other full-fat cheeses don't trigger this in me; I think it's a combination of taste and texture that does it. In frosting on carrot cake, however, it's very nice :-)
(I tend to use goat cheese instead of cream cheese when eating with lox, and I like that better.)
Ramble as much as you wish! (Though I admit, sometime I'd like to figure out who you are :-)