Before Text Messages…
Books: Brian Moses
My favorite children’s poet is Brian Moses. You won’t believe his delightful poem called “Walking with My Iguana.” Apparently he saw someone walking their pet iguana on a leash, or as they say “lead,” at the English seaside and was inspired. He is also a teacher and wrote a poem called “Behind the Staffroom Door,” a tale of attrition of “ten tired teachers.” And that reminds me, he is also a percussionist. Why should the children have all the fun?
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/walking-my-iguana
Fred Allen Radio Show
I loved Fred Allen, who had a radio show. His humor was witty and somewhat subtle, not just one gag after another. I loved him but my mother didn’t. He had a bit called Allen’s Alley where he would walk down the hall (and here is where radio shines–you could image him walking down a corridor in a building just like yours). Anyway, he would knock on doors and various characters would appear. For instance, one was a Southern blow hard named Senator Claghorn. (“Ah say, I said, I will neva go to Yankee Stadium!”) My daughter tells me this is the basis of a cartoon character, Foghorn Leghorn.
Well one of the occupants of Allen’s Alley was Mrs. Nussbaum, an obviously Jewish character with a Yiddish accent, played by the wonderful Minerva Pious. (“Who stole mine stole?”) I thought this was hilarious. But my mother never liked anything where they made fun of Jewish people. She took umbrage. My mother hated Mrs. Nussbaum and anything that was a take-off, travesty, or stereotype.
But Minerva Pious was delightful. Click on the player below to hear her as Mrs. Nussbaum on the Fred Allen Show, May 26, 1946. You will have to decide if it is offensive or funny, or both.
“Getzel Vert a Khoosin”
The very first live play that I went to see happened to be a musical, in the Hopkinson theater in Brownsville. I had never been to the theater in my life. I was about 10. My mother and father took me. It was a Yiddish play with Menasha Skulnik called Getzel vert a khoosin (Getzel Becomes a Bridegroom). I was so amazed. There were people singing and dancing and hulyan on stage. And I knew they were telling funny stories because everyone in the audience was laughing their heads off. That was the first time I had been to a play and I didn’t know very much Yiddish at the time. I never forgot it. I had been to the movies before. But I knew immediately that this was not like going to the movies. This was real life. It was the beginning of my awakening to the outside world.
Check this out: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/yiddish-theater-collection#/?tab=about
Booklist 3
I am only scratching the surface and now adding some of the multitude of dictionaries of one sort or another. I mentioned my love for the English language and you may see many related reference books on the list. (This new list includes books on all prior lists so it replaces them.)
The Weather Is Moishe Kapoyer
This is what my mother would say when the weather was wacky like it has been on the East coast of the U.S., snowing one day and warm the next. On the internet it says that the phrase Moishe Kapoyer was coined by a humorist, B. Kovner, in The Forverts (The Forward, a Yiddish newspaper). This makes sense because my mother always read the paper. What does it mean? Moishe of course is Moses, or Morris. Kapoyer means backward or reversed. So in effect it means Moses is upside down. Whenever you are discussing something that is topsy turvy, it’s Moishe Kapoyer.
Chopped Liver: Gehakte Leber
(You can read the geshichte below the recipe.)
Chopped Chicken Liver
- 1 to 1 1/2 pound(s) chicken livers
- 4-5 hard-boiled eggs, or to taste*
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2-3 Tablespoons rendered chicken fat (shmaltz)
- Parsley (Italian of course!)
- Salt & pepper
Make hard-boiled eggs. Broil the livers thoroughly on a baking sheet, turning halfway through. Saute the onion in the chicken fat until the onion is golden or even somewhat browned. Place the cooked ingredients in a meat grinder or food processor. Add salt and pepper. Pulse or grind to desired texture. Garnish with parsley.
*As far as how many eggs to use, it all depends on how strong you want the liver flavor. Of course the eggs dilute or “cut” the livery flavor the more eggs you use. Also, get organic livers from organic chickens. They taste so much better and you can see that they look healthier.
—
Some background: This is so easy and so delicious. Chopped liver can be made with beef liver, calves liver, or chicken liver. In the old days, my mother didn’t always have a lot of chicken livers available, although she could get them from the butcher. Way back when, people used to buy whole chickens from a butcher or market, not parts.
One ingredient you must use is shmaltz, which is rendered chicken fat. This is sometimes found in the refrigerator case or freezer section. But it’s best to make it yourself from fat from a chicken. Just saute the fat and some skin till you create a nice amount of clear, melted fat. (I have seen some people use mayonnaise, but that is a terrible way to make chopped liver. But I must tell you that mayonnaise is kosher with meat and not a dairy item. Mayonnaise is just egg with oil. So the idea of never putting mayonnaise on deli or meat is just traditional taste and not a kosher problem as far as I know.)
Booklist 2
I am making progress in building my booklist and if you share my eclectic tastes, please see the GoodReads list below. It includes mainly history, historical fiction, comparative religion, and detective stories. And I am still adding. So this has everything from the prior list and more:
Thoroughly Modern
I’m an up-to-date, hipsy, pipsy lady. I’ve got a blog. If you want to “follow” my blog, there are two ways: If you are a WordPress person, then go toward the bottom right and look for the blue banner with the logo. But, if you want my posts to go to your regular email, then look at the way way bottom of your screen, there should be a little tab with a plus sign. Thank you.
Booklist
I’m not just reading books about Judaism but I also find early Christianity very interesting. I love historical fiction and detective stories, too. And books about the English language. I will add to the book list as fast as I can.
oldjewishlady.com 