#sparkchamber 111620 — Chanie Apfelbaum
With American Thanksgiving right around the corner, food is very top of mind! So it is a particularly fitting treat to welcome food writer Chanie Apfelbaum to the #sparkchamber.
Chanie grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and now lives just a few blocks away from her childhood home. She was raised on traditional Jewish foods like gefilte fish, stuffed cabbage, and matzo ball soup. When she got married, Chanie began to put her own spin on these traditional favorites to give them a modern, gourmet vibe. “I have a passion for reinventing the traditional Jewish/kosher food that I grew up eating.”
After years of working in web design, Chanie quit her job to be a full-time, stay-at-home-mom to her five beautiful kids. With lots of creative energy, that transition was not easy! Friends and family suggested she write a cookbook. And so she did, in the form of kosher food blog Busy in Brooklyn. At first a part-time hobby, BIB grew by leaps and bounds to the point that she found herself working full time as a recipe developer, food writer/photographer, cooking instructor, and, in 2018, a cookbook author.
Her cookbook debut, Millennial Kosher, is a collection of her reinvented cultural, trendy, and bold dishes — all following kosher dietary laws and standards. No pork, shellfish, or bugs of any kind — “I check all my fruits and veggies to ensure that they are insect-free [broccoli is a killer!]” — and no mixing of milk [dairy] and meat — “You won’t find any [real] cheeseburgers here! I do, however, use beef and lamb bacon, mix coconut milk into my chicken curry, and make a mean portobello cheeseburger.”
Today, kosher food is spicier and bolder than in the past. There’s an emphasis on fresh and seasonal ingredients, less processed foods, and healthier non-dairy alternatives. Yesterday's margarine is today’s coconut oil, bone broth is the new chicken soup, and the onion soup mix of yore is replaced with umami-rich porcini mushroom powder. “I want to put the fun back into the kitchen and bring families around the table to celebrate our rich heritage.”
A perfect sentiment, especially this time of year!
1.] Where do ideas come from?
Inspiration can come from a childhood memory, an ingredient, a tradition, or a dish on a restaurant menu.
2.] What is the itch you are scratching?
Getting people excited about something as mundane as putting food on the table, and teaching them that cooking doesn’t have to be a chore, but to see it as an expression of their creative spirit.
3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?
By the skin of my teeth. As a mom of five, there is a huge juggling act.
4.] How do you know when you are done?
When the recipe goes viral.
