Curried Parsnip Soup with Saffron - Sensory Engagement

How do you learn best?  Think back through your experiences as a learner to a time you were fully engaged.  Are you in a lecture?  Reading a book?  Are you listening to music, or in an art museum?  Each of us is predisposed towards certain ways of learning that are most effective and which draw on some combination of our senses.  When asked this question most of us immediately distinguish between whether we are aural vs. visual learners.  These are certainly two common ways of learning, but there are an array of others.

Parshat Teruma opens with God instructing Moshe to have the Israelites build the Mishkan, a holy dwelling place that is often equated to a type of sanctuary.  Immediately, God provides Moshe with an incredibly extensive list of building materials and a set of concise measurements.  Moshe is to collect supplies that range in texture, color, brightness, and smell, and which can be put together in a very specific manner.  Soon the parsha reads more like a set of instructions for Ikea furniture than the dramatic narrative of the Chosen People to which we have grown accustomed to reading.  Now, the crafty people amongst us may plow forward to read through the minutia, but those who shy away from furniture marked "assembly required" may be inclined to skip ahead.  WAIT!!!  You'll miss the point.

As is so often the case, the question to be answered is "WHY?"  Why does God command the Israelites to build such an intricate Mishkan?  Why must it be so elaborate, so multi-dimensional?  In providing this grand plan I fear that God has just set a literal gold standard that plants future seeds for classism and conceit.  After all, the entire function of the Mishkan is to provide a physical environment for people to honor God.  ...or is it?

Let's flip the Mishkan upside down, and view it instead as a model classroom for communal and individual engagement in holy behavior.  God explains the purpose of the Mishkan:

וְנוֹעַדְתִּי לְךָ שָׁם וְדִבַּרְתִּי אִתְּךָ מֵעַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים אֲשֶׁר עַל אֲרֹן הָעֵדֻת אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּה אוֹתְךָ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover from between the two cherubim that are upon the Ark of the Testimony, all that I will command you unto the children of Israel. -Shemot 25:22

God intends to do some powerful teaching from the Mishkan, and these instructions serve as the pioneering example for effective education.  Long before Howard Gardner offered his theory of multiple intelligences, God used the Mishkan as a way to teach two important lessons.  First, classrooms must be designed to engage a variety of learners.  God has no direct external form, and yet we can encounter God through a combination of our senses.  Second, learning should be active, hands on, experiential.  As magically as God split the sea or showered manna on the ground, God could have made the Mishkan appear.  Instead, God wanted us to learn by doing.  Building the Mishkan was one of our first group projects, and while it came with specific instructions there were also a couple of elements left open to the creative imagination of the builders.  The lesson of the Mishkan can be extended broadly to the full gamut of Jewish ritual observance.  

The way I experience Shabbat is quite similar to the story of how the Israelites received the Mishkan.  Firstly, for me Shabbat is also a multi-sensory experience involving color, textures, light, spices, and aromas.  Secondly, the Israelites received the Mishkan with some explicit guidelines given by God which required focused labor before it could be used, but which also left some room for personal expression.  So too with Shabbat - God has explicitly commanded that Shabbat be a day without work, which requires some focused preparation, but there is also room for personal expression.

Curried Parsnip Soup with Saffron

Unsurprisingly, the specific points of parallel lie in the spices and aromas that distinguish both the Mishkan and my observance of Shabbat.  Regardless of the particular dishes on my menu for any given Shabbat meal, one course always featured is soup.  As described in previous entries - too oftan soup is underrated when in reality it is easy to prepare, often contains a balanced meal in one single dish, and is simply delicious!

This recipe for Curried Parsnip Soup with Saffron was given to me by a new colleague and friend, and an extremely gifted educator.  Its incorporation of some particularly potent spices made it an appropriate match for Parshat Terumah.  Parsnips combine with a fantastic combination of curry powder, saffron and freshly grated ginger to create a flavor profile with great depth.  Curry and ginger are pretty standard spices, but it is the addition of saffron which makes this soup so distinct. This spice was originally found in Southeast Asia and is often sold in the form of thread-like shavings known for their distinct crimson color.  Don't be fooled - when saffron is heated and melts into food it turns from dark red to yellow, a great magic trick for kids!  Be forewarned - this magically pungent spice can be quite costly, but is worth the expense.

The original recipe called for celery as the only other substantive ingredient, but I for one cannot imagine a soup without onion so I added one.  Additionally, I had some left over celery root and decided to substitute this for celery and think it came out very well - take your pick when you make it yourself.  The soup can be quite thick, which is exactly how I like soup.  If you prefer a thinner variation, add additional stock and/or be sure to include the soy milk.

Curried Parsnip Soup w/Saffron
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped  
2 lbs. parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery or 1 cup peeled, chopped celery root
1 tsp. salt  
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper  
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp. curry powder (additional to taste)
1 tsp. saffron
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock  
½ cup cream or soy milk (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent (4-5 minutes). Add parsnips and celery with salt, pepper, ginger, curry powder and saffron. Saute until vegetables turn somewhat tender (5-8 minutes). 
2. Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook around 45-60 minutes.  
3. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup and vegetables are completely blended and soup is thick. Add cream or soy milk if desired.

Pink Grapefruit Cake - Manna from Heaven!

Come with me, and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see
Into your imagination

We'll begin with a spin
Traveling in the world of my creation
What we'll see will defy explanation.
-Willy Wonka


As a child one of my favorite board games was Candy Land.  Since our house was rather - shall we say "sugar restricted" - the images (and taste buds) this game sparked were more alluring than for most other kids in the sandbox.  Candy Land presented a world of infinite possibilities, and if I closed my eyes and concentrated my little blue plastic playing piece (always blue!) became a vessel through which I was transported into this sugar-topia.  

Then, one day in Jewish day school I encountered the idea of "manna," a miraculous substance that God sent down from heaven to canvas the food-barren desert for the Children of Israel.  Manna allowed me to step closer towards Candy Land through my heritage.  I immediately had an image of what life looked like for the Israelites.  The fine, flaky substance atop the barren mountains, dry valleys, and tents transformed the surroundings into Gumdrop Mountains, Lollypop Woods, and Peanut Brittle Houses.  I yearned to travel back in time and become one of those lucky Israelites! (little did I know...)

Manna Huh?

What exactly is this "fine, bare substance" God bestows on the Israelites in Parshat Beshalach?  When God first explains the plan to Moshe, manna is referred to as bread (Shemot, 16:4).  When the first batch falls, however, we read:

וַתַּעַל שִׁכְבַת הַטָּל וְהִנֵּה עַל פְּנֵי הַמִּדְבָּר דַּק מְחֻסְפָּס דַּק כַּכְּפֹר עַל הָאָרֶץ

The layer of dew went up, and behold, on the surface of the desert, a fine, bare [substance] as fine as frost on the ground. (Shemot, 16:14)

Using it's root - mon - our commentators offer several definitions: 1) "a portion of food" (Rashi) 2) an Egyptian expression for "what is it?" (Rashbam) 3) something of "status" or "importance" (Haketav Vehakabbalah).  Combining the wisdom leads us to understand that manna is a weird, yet important, type of food, and likely somewhat bread-like.

As I grew up I came to better appreciate manna for its more significant meaning.  Manna is yet another sign of the care and guidance God provides the wandering Israelites.  The miraculous sustenance is also symbolic of God's power.  Magically it appears in the morning and its remnants seem to evaporate by the end of the day.  Manna is a teaching tool for Jewish observance.  Its shelf life mystically doubles on Friday so that the Israelites have a double portion to last through Shabbat, teaching them (and future generations) how to observe Shabbat.  Finally, the story of manna is yet another reminder to be trusting of God.  Despite explicit instructions, the Israelites initially try to save their manna from day to day and go searching for it on Shabbat.  In each instance they hit dead ends, and a disappointed God asks his trusted prophet Moshe:

עַד אָנָה מֵאַנְתֶּם לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֹתַי וְתוֹרֹתָי

How long will you refuse to observe My commandments and My teachings? (Shemot 16:28)  

Despite their regular complaining, lack of trust, and inability to fully follow directions, God yet again provides for the Israelites' needs.

Pink Grapefruit Cake

In considering a dish to match this parsha, a baked dessert seemed an obvious route to merge my young vision of manna as candy with my more adult understanding of it as a portion of bread-like food.  Furthermore, it seemed appropriate to select an item that had initial flavors that were more bitter than sweet as a reminder of the constant kvetching by the Israelites and their constant inclination to walk left when God commands right.  A Chasidic saying teaches that, "Because they -- the Children of Israel -- were bitter, everything they tasted was bitter to them."  Bitter at the start, but turned sweet ... enter the pink grapefruit.

Like most citrus fruits, grapefruits are encased in a rind that is quite bitter.  Yet, the same rind contains essential oils packed with flavor.  Inside the rind is a flesh of pulp that can range from tart to sweet depending on the variety and state of ripeness.  Nutritionally it is a great source of Vitamin C, pectin and antioxidants, which may lower cholesterol.  There are also some who believe that grapefruit can increase metabolism, and have embarked on a "grapefruit diet" - who knows!

The cake itself is delicious - moist, packed with citrus flavor and appealing to the eye.  Grapefruit is infused into each layer that composes this dessert - batter, syrup and icing.  Also, similar to manna, the cake has an expiration date.  It stays fresh for a couple of days, but must be fully consumed within 48-hours.  ...shouldn't be a problem I imagine.  Enjoy!

Pink Grapefruit Cake

slightly adapted for lazier cooks from Ad Hoc at Home

Serves: 10-12

Batter

3 c. flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 c. sugar

3 large eggs

1 ½ c. milk (or soy milk)

1 c. canola oil

1 ½ Tbsp. grated pink grapefruit zes

1 ½ tsp. vanilla paste or extract

Syrup 

3/4 c. strained fresh pink grapefruit juice

1/2 c. sugar

Icing 

3/4 c powdered (or icing) sugar

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp fresh pink grapefruit juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Grease a round cake pan (ex: bundt).
   
2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
   
3. Using a mixer, beat sugar and eggs at medium speed for about 3 minutes, until you see a trail through thickened mixture. Beat in milk and add the oil. Reduce speed to low and add flour mix, mixing just until incorporated. Spread batter into pan, and run a lightly oiled knife around it to help the cake rise evenly. Bake on a small baking sheet for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   
4. While the cake is baking, make the syrup by combining grapefruit juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes so that it thickens slightly. As soon as the cake is finished, and before turning it out, poke holes all over it with a long skewer and brush the syrup all over it. Keep going until you've used 2/3 of the syrup. Let the cake cool 10 minutes. Turn cake out of pan onto a cooling rack, poke holes on the top and brush with remaining syrup. Let cool to room temperature.
   
5. Beat together the icing ingredients. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Slice and serve. Cake keeps well at room temperature, loosely covered, for two days.