Roasted Fennel, Asparagus & Apple Salad - Going Green

In the late 90's I became one of the many fortunate people to befriend Marla Bennett. She was an incredible person, with a sparkle in her eye that was mesmerizing.  Those eyes turned into pools of warmth and care when she listened and commanded attention and respect when she spoke, they drew you into her laugh when she giggled and got you humming along when she sang.  As her emotions shifted so did the sparkle, and yet it was always present.   

In July 2002 Marla was victim to a fatal bomb attack in Israel at Hebrew University.  Marla's sparkle transformed from a physical sign in real time, to a spark that would ignite a wave of good work grounded in her passions for Jewish living and Israel.  These passions became her legacy. To say that Marla was adored and respected by many is to greatly understate. In just 24 years she had created a network of friends who were deeply impacted by her incredible personality, and she had made many contributions to Jewish education through her leadership with Hillel and Jewish camping, and her study of Jewish text and Middle Eastern political science.

Marla loved the story of Noah, and it stood out as a favorite amongst the portions of Torah we read throughout the year.  Each year, to honor her memory, some close friends and I celebrate Shabbat together when Parshat Noach is read.  We mark the occasion as "Rainbow Shabbat," and prepare a meal reflecting the full spectrum of colors in a rainbow.  While there are many great reasons to fall in love with the story of Noah, and the symbol of the rainbow, I must say that I never explicitly knew Marla's reason.  So, in her memory I've done some learning to link Marla to the rainbow.

THE RAINBOW: WHERE GOD & HUMANS CONNECT

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

The story of Noah and the flood serves as an important marker in time.  Not long after creating the world, God destroys it by flood out of grave discontent for the lack of humanity amongst the men and women who inhabit it.  Noah is singled out as a man of honor, and is called on to save himself and God's animal creatures.  When the flood is over, a rainbow appears as a sign that God will not again destroy the world.  Rabbinic wisdom distinguishes between two worlds based on this story.  Each world reflects a different mix of opportunity and limits.  In the Pre-Flood world the human lifespan stretched as long as the 900-year mark, giving people ample opportunity to experience life and make their mark. Yet, ultimately this world depended on a certain level of morality to carry on.  When God becomes dissatisfied with human behavior he wipes it out.  In the Post-Flood world the human lifespan narrows to the 100-year range, and the opportunity to experience life and make an impact is shorter.  The Post-Flood world, however, has an unending time continuum. God will not again destroy the world - regardless of how much we trash it.  People must be be more conscientious and coordinated in their efforts to work together within their lifespan, and to link their generation to the ones that came before and will come after. 

The rainbow is a phenomenon unique to the Post-Flood world.  Scientifically, a rainbow is seen when moisture rises from below to interact with the light from above.  Spiritually, this can be equated to the active relationship when people work together and interact with God.  While the world does not depend on these interactions for its existence, God created the rainbow as a physical sign to remind us of the importance of this relationship.  Witnessing a rainbow reminds us of our responsibility to be active caretakers of the world and each other, and to be active in our relationship with God.  The beauty of the rainbow and spectrum of colors is hardly a coincidence.  In this way, the rainbow is also our muse.  It urges us to be creative, inclusive, and peace minded.  The rainbow kicks our butt into gear.

...and there, in that rainbow, one can always see Marla's sparkle.  During her tragically limited lifetime she worked towards this very goal.  Her death was a sad example of human behavior at its worst, but for those of us who learn from her memory - directly or indirectly - we are now inspired to reach out to each other and up towards something higher.  Rainbows have come to remind me of Marla, and each year my friends and I create our own culinary sign through Rainbow Shabbat.

GREEN SALAD

My friend, and the founder of Rainbow Shabbat, was hosting the meal this year.  She assigned me the color green and salad as my dish.  Sounds like a no-brainer, but while it was an easy call for her, my mind melted in a flood of possibilities.  About a third of all vegetables are green (I'm making that up - but it seems likely, no?).  On the one hand there are so many from which to choose, but the trick was to identify a combination that blended well together both visually and gastronomically.  I pondered over the possibilities for a week and ultimately settled on two salads.

The first was a Green Asian Fusion Salad.  It came together like this - I went to an Asian market and perused the green options.  I decided that if it was sold at an Asian market, and if it was put into a salad, then the salad was inherently Asian.  ...throw in the word fusion just to be safe, right?  I started with greens, and mixed in some ribbons of Thai basil for a tangy kick to alert the taste buds that something unique was going down.  I added crisp, blanched broccoli and chopped, sweet sugar snap peas.  These served as my solid, dark green vegetables.  To grow lighter in color, texture and taste I added Japanese cucumbers and juicy kiwis.  I had hoped to find green papaya (sounds nice and exotic, no?), but they didn't have any.  Feeling like the salad needed one final touch, I grabbed an avocado - figuring that if it appears in US sushi rolls, then it has got to be Asian,.  I constructed the salad in concentric circles, alternating dark and light shades of green and topping it with squeezed lime juice and a Japanese dressing that came in a green bottle and had a green looking plant on the label.  It was called, Japanese Green Dressing - at least in my translation of the Japanese characters on the label.  The tasters gave it a thumbs up.

The second salad was more simple, and I think more noteworthy.  Less can indeed be more.  This salad also reflected a spectrum of green colors ranging from the dark green of spinach and asparagus to the almost translucent green of the fennel.  Now, fennel is understated as it shares a flavor with black licorice.  Licorice has no business being black and fennel-like, but properly prepared fennel - as a vegetable - is quite yummy.  Mine was roasted with garlic and green basil, seasoned with salt and pepper.  Since I already had a roasting pan prepared, I decided to fire up the asparagus as well to develop a nice, smokey flavor.  The salad was screaming for a tart, fruity dimension to balance the earthy fennel and asparagus, so onto the roasting pan went some green apple segments topped with a bit of salt and a drizzle of agave nectar (similar to honey).  With savory and tart flavors in place, the final touch needed to be a sweet crunch.  I had a bag of green pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in my cupboard, and decided to candy them by melting sugar in a pan, adding the pepitas to toast and sprinkling themwith some freshly ground salt and pepper for a kick.  Delicious!

This particular year's Rainbow Shabbat was pretty significant.  The bomber responsible for Marla's death was being held by the Israeli government, but was released this past week as part of the deal that freed Israeli solider Gilad Shalit after five years as a hostage.  Lest those close to Marla feel angry over his release, Marla's mother makes clear the importance of Gilad's current life over avenging Marla's death in a moving article in the San Diego Union Tribune.

Oh, and the rest of the menu included:

• YELLOW Split Pea Soup
• RAINBOW Challah (yes, in my rather observant neighborhood you can purchase a multi-colored challah at the time of Parshat Noach)
• Roasted Fennel, Apple, Asparagus GREEN Salad
• YELLOW Lemon Chicken
• RED Roasted Tomatoes
• ORANGE Sauteed Carrots 
• PURPLE Roasted Potatoes
• BLUE Lemonade (thanks to Blue Curacao liquor)
• BLUE Cake
• RAINBOW Fruit Salad

ROASTED FENNEL, APPLE & ASPARAGUS SALAD

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 bulb fennel

14 stalks asparagus

2 small green apples, cored

3 Tbsp. chopped, fresh basil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Freshly ground salt & pepper

Olive oil spray
1 tsp. honey or agave nectar

10 oz. fresh spinach (bagged or rinsed thoroughly and roughly chopped)

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup pepitas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  Cut out the fennel core (lay the bulb down and cut out a 1-inch triangle from the base) and cut off the branches.  Cut the fennel into four quarter pieces.  Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/2 the garlic, 1 Tbsp. basic, salt and pepper.  Spray with olive oil and place in oven for 15-20 minutes.
2. Break off bottom ends of asparagus stalks.  Cut apples into eight slices.  Add to baking sheet.  Sprinkle the asparagus with rest of garlic, 1 Tbsp. basil, salt and pepper.  Sprinkle apples with final Tbsp. basil, honey and a light dust of salt.  Spray with olive oil and return baking sheet to oven for an additional 15 minutes.
3. Chop roasted fennel, asparagus and apples into bite sized pieces and toss in salad bowl with spinach.
4. Place the sugar in a small pan on stove top over medium-low heat and wait for it to melt into a puddle.  Add pepitas, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir to coat.  Toast for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally and ensure that the pepitas don't burn.  Remove from heat and let cool under one minute (if you let it sit too long it will harden and stick to pan.  Break up the pepitas and sprinkle onto salad. 
5. Toss with dressing of your choice.

SHE'ELAH: Think of a rainbow moment you have experienced - a time when you felt yourself or your community reaching out and up and being met by a light from above.  Describe this moment, and whether you can ensure its recurrence.