Going Meatless

With a lot of the world following the “Meatless Monday” trend and for the Jewish people the 9 days to Tisha B’Av (9th  Av)coming up, I decided to post a few meatless recipe ideas.

The Meatless Monday idea actually started in America during WW 1, when the American government asked families to cut back on certain staple foods (Meatless Monday and Wheatless Wednesday) in an effort to curb food shortages.  It was done again during WW 2.

In 2003 Sid Lerner, a Yid, of course, reintroduced the concept and it has caught on world wide.  This is his effort to try and get people to live healthier lives by reducing their meat intake.  He states that research actually shows that Mondays are the perfect day to make small positive changes and, with 52 Mondays in a year it allows people to commit to all kinds of healthy behaviour.

On Friday night the 9 days to Tisha B’Av begin. On this day in Jewish history there is a long list of tragedies. Starting when the Israelite spies returned and told the people that the Promised Land was unconquerable and that night the Israelites stated that they would have been better off staying in Egypt. Hashem punished them for their lack of trust and that generation did not enter the Holy Land.

Moving forward in time to 423 BCE also on the 9^th Av, the first temple is destroyed and exactly 50 years later on the 9^th Av, the second temple was destroyed.  In 133 BCE the Jews rebelled against the Roman’s and were slaughtered:- the date, of course, was the 9^th Av. In 1290 the Jews once again faced tragedy when they were expelled from England. In Spain in 1492 the Jews were given four months to leave. They had to be out by the 31st July, which once again was the 9^th  Av. WW 1 began in 1914, the Hebrew date? Of course, the 9^th Av!

When the 9 days come around, for some reason, we all seem to suffer from amnesia and wonder what to make for dinner each night.  Some of the recipes featured here are from my good friend and chef, Alan Bender, some of the recipes are my own creations and adaptations and some are straight off the web and Facebook.

You will find the two new recipes on the recipe page. Not chicken and rice and Ricotta Fritters. Do you follow Meatless Monday?

Ess gesunterheid!