skygiants | (no subject)

I had folks over for Purim festivities! After we'd efficiently knocked out about five batches of traditional-ish hamantaschen -- crowdsourced fillings included raspberry, blueberry, lingonberry, mixed-berry, and rhubarb jams, apple butter, lemon curd, nutella, speculoos, ginger preserves, and every combination of the above, occasionally with unsweetened dark chocolate mixed in -- we decided to get experimental and try something I had always wanted to attempt: SAVORY HAMANTASCHEN.

I suspected there was at least a 50% chance this would turn out to be a terrible idea but in fact it was an AMAZING idea, which I'm documenting in case anyone else wants to attempt it.

We started with standard hamantaschen dough, cut out about 2/3 of the sugar and the vanilla and orange juice, and added about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of olive oil, and a slew of herbs including rosemary, oregano, turmeric, paprika, and dry mustard. We also added extra flour and water on a guesstimation basis until the proportions/stiffness seemed approximately right.

For fillings, we started out by playing around with the apple butter, rhubarb jam, and a jar of onion jam I had lying around; then we got bolder and tried tomato sauce, cheddar cheese, mustard, and sriracha combos. Here's some of the pizzataschen, as documented by

genarti:

And here's one of the many plates of sweet hamantaschen:

As we folded many tiny circles into tiny triangles, I subjected my guests to the worst Purim films we could find streaming: Purim: The Lot,, a surprisingly gory animated movie narrated by Esther's slave girl(??) which inexplicably detours in the middle to the story of Samson(???), and Esther and the King, in which Esther is played by JOAN COLLINS and caught in a LOVE TRIANGLE between AHASUEROS and SIMON THE NICE JEWISH BOY, neither of whom wear pants ever at all. To be fair, I'm pretty sure 'good Purim movies' are not a thing that currently exist.

While I'm talking about Jewish stuff: my Yiddish classes have started up again! I mention this because last week we watched this music video in class, after learning the original 1930s Yiddish song on which it was based, and I've now watched it like 10 times since:

Watch on YouTube

Apparently Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird are a RADICAL KLEZMER CABARET PUNK BAND and I'm ... really into it ...... (Daniel Kahn is also the guy who did the Yiddish version of Hallelujah, which was making the rounds a little while back.)

(Also, have I mentioned here yet how much I love my Yiddish classes and the adorable leftie socialist Jewish organization that hosts them? They are having a "radical Purim extravaganza" tonight and the only reason I'm not there is because I already ate enough home-baked hamantaschen to sink a freighter. HAPPY ONCOMING PURIM TO ALL.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

alias_sqbr

You should use turkey ham then they'd be ham 'n taschen!

(I'm sorry. That is a good song, happy Purim :))

From:

skygiants

WOULD THAT I WERE NOT VEGETARIAN. (We did think about putting scrambled eggs in some of them, though, so if you added ham to that they could be green-eggs-n-ham'n'taschen!)

From:

alias_sqbr

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/recipe-vegan-green-eggs-and-ham/ :D

(Recipe suggested by Chef Google, though stock and chickpea flour does sound pretty tasty)

From:

skygiants

(at that point you could just make chickpea flour vegan hamantaschen! which also could hypothetically be pretty tasty I'd bet)

From:

alias_sqbr

Update: I told my mum this story and she linked me to this: https://www.kveller.com/dr-seuss-in-hebrew-is-as-amazing-as-youd-think/

From:

rachelmanija

BEST.

From:

alias_sqbr

From:

sovay

From:

skygiants

Half the reason I included the link in this post was because I felt that you, specifically, should be aware of Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird if you were not already.

From:

sovay

Half the reason I included the link in this post was because I felt that you, specifically, should be aware of Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird if you were not already.

I was aware of Daniel Kahn because of "Hallelujah," but not of the Painted Bird. (I have no idea where I learned the "Arbetslozer Marsh," because I would have expected the Klezmatics to be the vector and I don't seem to have a recording of it.) Thank you!

From:

skygiants

I have had 'Arbetslozer March' stuck in my head for DAYS now. (I like their loose translation of it.) The other one that keeps getting stuck in my head is Inner Emigration.

From:

sovay

The other one that keeps getting stuck in my head is Inner Emigration.

That's excellent. I will resignedly start saving money for CDs.

They remind me of both Golem and Gogol Bordello.

From:

ashnistrike

This sounds like the most amazing Purim celebration ever.

From:

skygiants

It was pretty delightful! My solo hamantaschen tend to come out looking like a massacre but this collaborative effort was MUCH more successful. :D

From:

lovepeaceohana

Those look amazingly delicious and yay for experimenting with savory versions! :D Happy Purim!

From:

skygiants

THEY WERE VERY DELICIOUS. (But even as delicious as they were, after this extravaganza I don't think I'll be able to eat any more hamantaschen for a few days at least ....)

From:

lovepeaceohana

Haaaaah, I know that feel yo. There are definitely foods I basically eat once a year at family holidays for the same reason :3

From:

monanotlisa

"how much I love my Yiddish classes and the adorable leftie socialist Jewish organization that hosts them"

Heh. Go you. Happy oncoming Purim!

From:

skygiants

I haven't gone to any kind of organized Jewish anything since I was like sixteen but I'm like 'I kind of feel like ... I might want to go to holiday celebrations here??? WHAT MADNESS IS THIS.'

From:

sovay

but I'm like 'I kind of feel like ... I might want to go to holiday celebrations here??? WHAT MADNESS IS THIS.'

Which group is this?

From:

skygiants

It's the Boston Workmen's Circle -- I have not done anything but Yiddish class there yet, but that experience has been excellent and I appreciate the cheerful posters on the walls supporting the proletariat.

From:

sovay

the Boston Workmen's Circle

I believe my grandfather's girlfriend was involved with them. (In some kind of socialist, Yiddish-music capacity.) Cool!

Edited Date: 2018-02-25 06:16 am (UTC)

From:

thistleingrey

I'm just happy that Yiddish classes exist.

I had not heard of Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird, nor have I watched the clip yet because Reason is reading on the floor behind me, but I like the sound of the clip and there appears to be more on Spotify. Thanks.

From:

skygiants

Me too! I had no hopes I would be able to find any locally when I started looking and then they were RIGHT THERE.

I'm glad you like it! I just purchased the album from which the clip is from and I find I enjoy nearly everything on it very much.

From:

thistleingrey

I've been listening off and on this afternoon, and aside from the fact that I can understand surprising-to-me amounts via archaic and dialectal southern German (not standard, the standard modern stuff doesn't help at all, but also I have almost no Russian, and I'm aware that Yiddish is not just bent German!!), it's good musically, too. Buying a copy.

From:

skygiants

I actually had the impression that there was a lot more Russian in Yiddish than there turns out to be! It seems to be primarily derived from German and Hebrew, with some mishmash French and English and Russian thrown in for flavor. Anyway, I'm glad you're liking the music. :D