Just a few notes before we begin:
I'm sure you're wondering what the name of this blog means. Eat: to consume food. Ess means eat in Yiddish. Sharing food and having people eat and enjoy our food is what cooking is all about for both of us. We wanted the title of this blog to reflect where both of us come from and that is a kosher kitchen for Mindy, where Yiddish is often spoken, and a non-kosher kitchen in the prairies, bursting with ingredients from all over the world for Caitlin.
For as long as we have known each other, we've been exchanging recipes and food stories. Even when we're living in different cities, we still email photos of our culinary creations to one another. There is never more than a few weeks that go by without Caitlin getting a picture of what's for dinner in Montreal or Mindy seeing what's for dinner on Caitlin's table and we both really like that. We also share links of favourite food blogs, cookbooks and anything to do with food!
A few months ago an idea began percolating: why not publish our own blog? And that brings us to this happy day! Now, for a little from each of the authors, starting with Caitlin.
It was fun for me to learn some new Yiddish words in the lead-up to this blog going online as we tried to think of a name for it. For example, after starting to follow this blog, you might describe a dish as zaftig (which means juicy and something you can sink your teeth into) or geshmak (delicious, tasty, very satisfying). I think you will like getting a chance to learn some of Mindy's delicious recipes. I personally hope the recipe for bite sized lemon pasticiotti tarts will make an appearance soon, because they are a favourite!
My mom is a big influence on my cooking style, as is the year I spent living in Japan and visiting other parts of Asia and India. I love the magazine Fine Cooking and also read Cooking Light and Vegetarian Times for inspiration too. For vegetarian cooking the Rebar cookbook is my go to, for Indian cooking it's Vij's, and all of the books/travelogues by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford are inspiration on how to get started on learning about ingredients and cooking from different food cultures- a particular favourite is Flatbreads and Flavours. So, to start off in this blog, I promise some of my favourite recipes from the above sources.
Mindy
I love food. I love cooking it, I love baking it, I especially love watching people eat what I've prepared - I derive huge satisfaction and happiness from that - and of course, enjoying it myself! My life is very family-centered, holidays and weekends where we all sit down to traditional meals prepared with lots of love. My mother has been a huge culinary influence, I grew up on delicious recipes passed down to her from my grandmother. Of course, I have to mention her stunning, gets-rave-reviews-every-Friday-night chicken soup!
After I mastered traditional family recipes, I found my culinary horizons growing. I acquired new cookbooks such as the amazing Jewish Holiday Baking by Marcy Goldman (every recipe a gem!) and my great big bright yellow How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (a food bible - delicious, simple, gourmet, extensive - a treasure!) I've recently begun to explore different cuisines, from countries like Ethiopia, Sweden and Japan, which I am very excited about.
We look forward to hearing from you with questions and ideas.
Feel free to visit the About Us page for more info on the creators of this blog and their friendship.
Thanks for visiting!