S'Derot

S'Derot is a community in Israel, located in close proximity to the Gaza Strip. In particular, it is attacked on a daily basis by rockets from Gaza. It really doesn't matter if the rockets are launched by Hamas, people affiliated with Hamas, or just very angry people who'd rather attack Israelis then channel their energy into a productive activity. The attacks are real, the damages are real.

Chabad in S'Derot has set up an online fund to aid the Jewish residents of S'Derot. I would urge you to assist them.

Iron Cholent

Recipes from the Cholent Meister of Chabad of Tyson's Corner, VA (outside of Washington DC). A companion blog to Capitol Chai Life

Cholent is a uniquely Jewish creation...

...while assorted cultures have stews and slow-cooked foods, in Judaism, it is a necessity, since observant Jews are strictly prohibited from cooking on Shabbat, in addition to being severely limited in the use of fire and electricity. While there is some debate about the origin of the word "Cholent" (and for that matter, the term is not universally used -- Ashkenazic Jews [of Eastern European origin] make cholent, while Sephardic Jews [of Western European and North African origin] make Dafina), the origin is reasonably well understood.

Shabbat stews first started to appear around the 4th century CE, but in the 9th century CE, a movement within Judaism arose in the area known as Mesopotamia -- present day Iran and Iraq. These Jews, known as Karaites, believe in a very strict reading of the Torah. In reaction to this group, the Rabbis of the day ordained that their followers have a hot meal as part of their Shabbat observance.

Obviously, this was a challenge, since Jews could not tend a fire, nor cook food. The meal would have to be prepared and mostly cooked by the time Shabbat came in on Friday night, and then have to sit on a pile of coals for sixteen to twenty hours, until it was eaten for lunch on Saturday.

Given these conditions, cholents are generally heavy on beans, root vegetables, grains, and red meat. This simplest cholents are in fact just that -- beans, beef, and onion. Still, cholents have acquired some variation in the past 1700 years or so, and for that matter, some slow-cooked dishes are perfectly fine for cholent. Chili anyone?

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Kosher food in specialty supermarkets in Northern Virginia...

One of the challenges of living in Fairfax County is that if you want the best selection of Kosher food, you have to get out your passport and machete to venture forth into this strange place called....

...Montgomery County, Maryland

OK, you're probably thinking that going up to Maryland can't be so bad. It's not far, and despite the melodramatic commentary, not THAT horrific an experience.

Well, there is this small issue of the Potomac River, and more to the point the overly congested Capital Beltway and the Cabin John (pardon me, American Legion Memorial) Bridge. What ought to be a 30 minute drive from my home to Wheaton or Rockville is closer to 90 minutes or more on a weeknight.

Suffice to say, this is not a prospect I happily relish.

Fortunately, I've discovered some alternatives, and I'd like to sing their praises today:


  • Wegman's (two locations, near Dulles Airport off Route 28 and near the Fairfax County Government Offices). Wegman's is an upscale grocery chain based in New York State, but has recently expanded to the Washington DC area, with these two stores (they are planning stores in Maryland too). Wegman's has clearly decided to pursue the Jewish market, as they have a dedicated section for refrigerated and frozen kosher foods, including Solomon's Glatt Kosher meats and Neshama brand glatt kosher sausage. The prices are competitive with the stores across the river, although their stock depends on what their supplier has. Still, it beats the Beltway!
  • Trader Joe's (Six locations in Fairfax County [Reston, Tyson's Corner, Chantilly, Fairfax City, Springfield, and Bailey's Crossroads] and one in Old Towne Alexandria). Trader Joe's is a specialty grocery chain from California, and they carry Empire poultry at all their locations, as well as Aaron's Glatt Kosher Free Range Chicken in Reston, Tyson's Corner, and Fairfax. Although they carry kosher beef (David's), it's not glatt kosher. Still, there is hope. Maybe we can get them to carry Solomon's too?
  • Shopper's Food Warehouse (Fairfax City location only). SFW is a small DC area grocery store, and as such, they try to serve the needs of their local community (viz the larger chains -- Giant Food and Safeway). The Fairfax City location is but a few blocks from Chabad of Fairfax and not all that far from Chabad of Tyson's Corner. Now their selection of meat is not up to Wegman's or ever Trader Joes, BUT, they have a respectable selection of Cholov Yisroel products, a large selection of kosher packaged goods, as well as a large selection of prepared frozen kosher foods.
So while at the end of the day, Koshermart, Shalom's, and Shaul's will always have a large consistent stock of foods for the community here in Northern Virginia, it's nice to know there are options here in NoVA itself.

And on that note, it's off to Koshermart. [Hey, it's Sunday, there's no traffic...]
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