This Sunday, April 29, an unprecedented gathering of the Jewish Food Movement in Colorado will unfold in Boulder. The Hazon Rocky Mountain Jewish Food Summit at the University Memorial Center at CU will be hosting farmers, rabbis, activists, entrepreneurs and others for a dynamic day of learning, celebration, eating, community-building, and hands-on doing. There will be a noodle kugel contest to determine whose kugel is the best in the west–is it yours?

Some of Boulder’s favorites will be on hand to share their stories, inspiration and resources: Reb Zalman Schacter-Shalomi, Morah Yehudis Fishman, the Boulder Kosher Meat Co-Op, Prof. Caryn Aviv from CU’s Jewish Studies program, Hannah Kapnik with Kevah, Seth Ellis Chocolatier, Restaurant 4580, Boulder Tuv Ha’aretz CSA, Red Wagon Organic Farm, and many more!

There will be optional yoga and morning services, 20 dynamic sessions on a wide range of topics covering everything at the intersection of food, sustainability, and Jewish life, a delicious kosher lunch, and an amazing Do It Yourself Extravaganza. Plus, special programming for middle-school-aged youth.

Register now for the best rate: $50/$25 students and seniors. Day of registration is $70. For the full schedule and program details and to register, visit: www.hazon.org/foodsummit.

Keeping Kosher for Passover? There’s an app for that! The Orthodox Union (OU) has released an app for iphone/ipad that tracks kosher status of everyday products. Called “OU Kosher,” the app includes Kosher for Passover products, product alerts, new certifications, and general info. Product details include brand names that you may even find in local stores.

Carry a Pocket Haggadah? There’s an app for that! Now you can prep for the holiday wherever you are, in case you need a refresher on the order or the blessings – which are included in Hebrew and English. And of course, “Instructions for when to drink the cups of wine.”

Want a bigger one? There’s another app for that! The Haggadah App one was funded on Kickstarter.com and is “the world’s first multimedia Haggadah built for the iPad.” Featuring songs, recipes, an alternative approach to the seder from Amichai Lau-Lavie, founder of Storahtelling, audio commentary from Rabbi Irwin Kula of CLAL, and even activities for kids.

iMahNishtana – no we are not kidding, there’s an app for that. Kids, don’t let us down. Practice a little before the seder.

Beyond apps - “A Rugrats Passover” is available on iTunes, and there’s even “Gluten Free Passover Cookbook” in the iBooks store.

Not just for Passover: Kids just want to play, you want them to learn Hebrew – There’s an app for that!

Israeli iPad app developer Gil Weiss recently released a new educational Hebrew app - Kids 1st shape puzzle – learning animals, alphabets & numbers is “an entertaining and fun-filled word learning game in English and Hebrew.” This puzzle-based app is great for kids ages 2+, as it includes all the basic words – אלף בית,numbers, colors, house things, fruits and vegetables and more. Check it out!

This all-day event on Sunday, April 29 at the University of Colorado at Boulder will bring new people in to Jewish life, strengthen and support existing Jewish institutions and leaders, and enable the Jewish community to contribute to creating healthier and more sustainable local communities.

We are looking for organizational partners, speakers and presenters, and Planning Team members interested in being a part of this event. Contact Hazon to get involved: 303-886-5865 and Becky@Hazon.org.

JOIN THE PLANNING TEAM:
We invite you to be a leader in the local Jewish Food Movement and join the Planning Team for this event to help make it extraordinary! Planning Team members will attend monthly meetings on Mondays at 7:00 p.m., alternating (2:1) between Denver and Boulder (next meeting on November 14 at the Denver JCC), and sit on one of the committees described below. If you have questions or want to sign up, contact Becky at Becky@Hazon.org or 303-886-5865.

Community Wide Involvement
Purpose: To create a large and diverse network of partner organizations (a.k.a. sponsors or hosts) from throughout the Jewish and secular food/environmental communities, leading to a truly community wide event with high and diverse participation throughout the planning stages and at the event itself.

“Green Team”/Food/Logistics
Purpose: To organize the major and minor conference logistics to ensure that participants have an enriching and engaging experience at the conference. It is a top priority that this event “walks the talk” and is a model of sustainability itself, especially in relation to food; this team will ensure that happens.

Jewish Life
Purpose: To create inclusive, diverse and spirited ritual aspects for the event, including prayer before and after meals, a “kavanah”-infused welcome and conclusion, joyous song and other activies; and to ensure the entire conference is infused with elements of Jewish learning and programming.

Marketing & Outreach
Purpose: To effectively spread the word about the event to target participants and partner organizations, with the goal of having 200-300 event participants.

Programming
Purpose: To create a high quality, compelling, innovative program that brings together a diverse group of participants and gets them fired up and inspired around the issues of food and Jewish life.

Here are two recipes from Marilyn Pinsker.

Vegetarian Chopped Liver

(From Marilyn Pinsker’s Mom’s, Judy Herbet)

• 2 cups water (add any type of bouillon or just chicken broth)
• 1 cup lentils
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup walnuts
• salt, pepper, onion powder to taste

Boil lentils in broth, keep covered, about 10 minutes.  Brown onion in olive oil.  In a food processor, finely grind walnuts.  Grind lentils and onions, mix with walnuts, season, add additional olive oil to moisten to your liking.

Rugelach “Cream Cheese Cookies”

(A recipe Marilyn Pinsker’s Mom Judy Herbert gave her from her Dad’s Mom)

• 2 cups flour
• ½ pound cream cheese
• ½ pound margarine

Mix well, refrigerate overnight.  Bring dough to room temperature and split into quarters. Roll thin on a floured surface. Spread with damson plum jam, sprinkle with chopped walnuts, cinnamon and sugar. Roll, then cut. Bake on a cookie sheet for 30 + minutes at 375°.

You can join the thinkers and doers of the New Jewish Food Movement for four days of learning and celebration at the Hazon Food Conference, August 18-21, UC Davis, CA. And, there is one half-scholarship left for an interested Coloradan; contact us (see below) for more info.

Already 30 Coloradans are attending the Food Conference, including 10 from Boulder.

It is inspiring, but not that surprising, how much passionate activism around issues of food and sustainability come from our Jewish community in Boulder and Denver,” says Rabbi Marc Soloway of Congregation Bonai Shalom and co-chair of the Conference. “So much of Hazon’s wonderful work is about tapping into a creative energy and environmental concern that is already there. The Food Conference is a wonderful opportunity to deepen this relationship and to connect with an incredible community—a whole new movement devoted to learning, sharing and playing together to help us deepen our relationships to food, Judaism and the environment.”

Join this varied and diverse community of all ages, backgrounds, and Jewish observance and practice, for four days of inspiration, innovation, and change. The Hazon Food Conference will feature consciously-prepared kosher food, learning, and countless connections as we gather to feed our minds and bodies. Here’s a taste of what’s on the menu:

• Hazon’s Food Conference Beit Midrash, with community-wide Jewish learning accessible to people of all backgrounds.
• DIY Extravaganza: An Endurance Event for Do-It-Yourself Enthusiasts with hands-on container gardening, cooking with seaweed, ginger beer brewing and more!
• Engaging and thought-provoking workshops, panels and keynotes with knowledgeable presenters, who are doing innovative work nationally, including: Oran Hesterman, Fair Food Network and author of Fair Food; Joan Nathan, Jewish food author, historian and chef; Gary Oppenheimer, AmpleHarvest.Org; Aaron Gross, Farm Forward; Brahm Amadi, People’s Grocery; Evonne Marzouk, Canfei Nesharim; Laura Silver, International Knish Society; Judith Bell, PolicyLink; and many more.
• And a joyous Shabbat!

Get more details and register here. For questions or more information, contact Becky O’Brien at Becky@Hazon.org or 303-886-5865.

Co-chaired by Rabbi Marc Soloway of Boulder’s Congregation Bonai Shalom, the Food Conference has many local ties. Rabbi Soloway is joined on the national planning team by Juliet Glaser and Marlene Rezvani of Denver and Aaron Bandler of Colorado Springs.

Rezvani signed on to help plan this year’s Conference after attending in 2010. “In addition to meeting folks as passionate about food and Judaism as I am at the Conference, I enjoyed being introduced to new ideas.” Among her favorite experiences was the dynamic beit midrash (study hall) on Shabbat, “On a rainy day, groups of 10 or so were huddled at tables thinking about and growing around issues linking food and our spirituality in meaningful ways.”

Through the generous support of Rose Community Foundation, Oreg Foundation, and 18 Pomegranates, Hazon is pleased to offer scholarships to the Food Conference for people living in the Denver and Boulder areas. Get more information and apply here; application deadline is June 1.

Juliet Glaser is serving on the 2011 Food Conference planning team and she can’t wait to return to the Conference this year.

Being surrounded by other Jews who cared about food issues was so inspiring and energizing. This year I am looking forward to attending with my whole family, so that we can all share in the experience of learning about, playing with and enjoying all things food!”

Confirmed keynote speakers include Dr. Oran B. Hesterman and Joan Nathan. Hesterman is the President and CEO of Fair Food Network, a national non-profit organization working at the intersection of food systems, sustainability and social equity to guarantee access to healthy, fresh and sustainably grown food, especially in underserved communities. His forthcoming book, “Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All,” will be published on May 31, 2011. Oran is committed to weaving together his professional work in sustainable food systems, caring for others and the earth in keeping with the traditions and ethics of justice rooted in his Jewish heritage.

Nathan is the author of ten cookbooks including the recently published “Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France” (Knopf, November 2010). She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Food Arts Magazine and Tablet Magazine, among other publications.

Fun with Carrots

Where can you massage kale, learn about the Farm Bill, tour a brewery, celebrate Shabbat, and connect and collaborate with farmers, rabbis and foodies all in an intentional Jewish community? At the Hazon Food Conference—the epicenter of the Jewish Food Movement!

This annual inspiration and educational 4-day gathering is unfolding again, this time on the UC Davis campus in northern California, August 18-21, 2011.

Through the generous support of Rose Community Foundation, Oreg Foundation, and 18 Pomegranates, Hazon is pleased to offer scholarships to the Food Conference for people in the Denver and Boulder areas. Get more information and apply today; application deadline is June 1.

Josh Dinar of Boulder attended the 2009 Food Conference with his family as part of a large and diverse group from Denver and Boulder in 2009. “We were just blown away,” Josh said.

The combination of setting, programming and people that Hazon brings together at the Conference is nothing short of inspirational. In that week I was introduced to a staggering wealth of ideas, people and organizations–and able to truly immerse myself in the subject. It was enriching beyond words.”

The Hazon Food Conference is a great place to share your passions about food and Jewish life and get inspired. In 2010, Dave Tencer of Denver attended. “I returned to Colorado with new friends and invaluable experiences,” he shared. “I’ve never celebrated Shabbat like we did in the conference and it was amazing. All the singing and dancing and positive energy from table to table was wonderful. I was inspired!”

Gefilte Fish

OK team, here we are in the middle of Passover. We’ve been through 1 or 2 seder dinners and at least 1 dinner of leftovers, so the soup/brisket/chicken routine is about done (at least in our house).

What are you having for dinner tonight? Please tell all by leaving a comment below (and simple instructions or a link to a recipe too!). Always looking for inspiration, we figured we would open this one up to the community.

Do tell! Looking for fresh ideas!