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A Seder Feast Without The Fat
By LESLYE MICHLIN BORDEN
Given the difficult food rules of
Passover, not to mention those of
kosher, it isn't easy to come up with
an exotic Passover menu. And, if
your family chooses to follow a low-
fat, low-cholesterol diet, the difficulty
is compounded. For example, eggs
are probably the highest cholesterol
food. Yet they are used almost
exclusively in Passover baking
where no other rising agent is
allowed. A good sponge cake alone
uses at least 12 eggs, and it is not
the only Passover food in which
eggs predominate so dramatically.
So, can you follow all the rules and
still prepare a fabulous seder feast?
The answer is a resounding "Yes" if
you plan carefully and follow some
of the recipes suggested below.
Instead of making your usual
apple-wine-nut Charoses, prepare
Egyptian Charoses, a mixture that
uses ingredients available in Egypt,
like raisins and dates, rather than
the apples accessible to East
Europeans. This sweet, jam-like
mixture looks like Nile River mud
and serves to remind us of the hard
construction work forced on the
biblical Israelites.
Cook wonderful fresh artichokes
for your appetizer. Prepare them
Italian style, in a tasty boiling liquid
flavored with garlic, olive oil, and
lemon juice. Fill them with
Mediterranean Fish Salad, a dish
typical of Spain, Morocco, and other
Mediterranean locales. Usually, this
preparation "cooks" fresh fish by
marinating it in lemon juice. If you
are concerned that this "cooking"
process might not kill all bacteria
that may be in the fish, freeze your
fish for twenty-four hours before
making the salad. Select a low-fat,
firm-fleshed fish like halibut. Not
only is it a healthier choice, but it
allows you to enjoy the wonderful
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FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1991
marinade (which does contain olive
oil) guilt free.
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For the main dish, select roast
turkey with a sweet yam and
matzah stuffing. Turkey is a lower
cholesterol entree that everyone
enjoys. For the lowest fat and
cholesterol choice, roast a turkey
breast.
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On Passover, you cannot make
stuffing with bread, but you can
make it with matzah. Mix it with
yams, onions, carrots, and celery.
The combination is so tasty you
may want to make this stuffing on
other occasions as well. Use no-fat
chicken broth instead of oil for
moistening the stuffing and for
sauteeing the vegetables.
Round out your dinner with a
Spinach Souffle prepared in the
French style. Prepare a roux of
margarine and Passover potato
starch. This time, use no-fat chicken
broth instead of milk or cream. Omit
the egg yolks, but whip up plenty of
whites.
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For the grand finale, prepare an
English Trifle. This dessert is a
challenge if you want to observe the
rules of Passover, kosher, and low-
cholesterol. Start with a lovely
Passover angel food cake. Make a
pudding of potato starch, sugar, and
orange juice. Generously sprinkle
the cake slices with Passover
sherry, which is available in
specialty liquor stores. Use colorful
sliced fresh fruits, like strawberries,
orange slices, and kiwis, instead of
jam or preserves, to keep the
calories down and the beauty high.
Layer all these ingredients into an
attractive glass bowl or trifle dish.
Everyone will enjoy our spectacular
dessert. Have a happy holiday!
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Leslye Michlin Borden is a former
Detroit resident who specializes in
low cholesterol kosher cooking.
4
Jewish Education PTACH's Focus
By ANNE R. LEHMANN
Twelve years ago an Orthodox
family in search of a Jewish day
program found nothing suitable for
their learning disabled son.
Believing that their child would not
only benefit from, but was entitled
to a Jewish education, they explored
and implemented options which in
Detroit had never before existed.
The Detroit chapter Of PTACH was
born.
An acronym for Parents for
Torah for All Children, the word
PTACH in Hebrew actually means
"to open" and indeed it has done
just that, by opening doors to
several area day schools to children
with special educational
considerations. The fact that the
program was set into motion as the
result of the needs of a single child
underscores the whole philosophy
of PTACH which is that every Jewish
child — regardless of affiliation — is
entitled to a Jewish education.
Housed at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah and Sally Allan Alexander
Beth Jacob School, PTACH currently
has 26 enrollees who range in age
from six to 14. The goal is to have
each child spend as much time as
he or she can being mainstreamed
in a regular classroom for religious
as well as secular studies. ,
"We believe that success
breeds success," says Debora
Rothbart, child psychologist and
consultant for the program. "We
want to make these kids feel good
about themselves in the process of
giving them a good education, so
we put them in an environment
where we know they will do best."
Consequently a boy who does
well in math will remain in a regular
classroom for that hour. If he has
reading difficulties, however, he will,
in all likelihood, spend that time in a
resource room with a special
education teacher.
Despite the special attention
many of the PTACH students get,
the program is very much an
integrated part of the school.
Teacher Miriam Bresler says, "A
student is a student whether she
spends all day in the PTACH
program or not. Every child here
has the same mission — to learn —
and we are here to help them do
that." In fact, Ms. Bresler explains,
the resource room is viewed as a
place where privileged, not problem,
students go. Once there, a child is
given a great deal of-attention and
there are many interesting learning
tools one simply does not find in a
traditional classroom.
In addition to two resource
rooms, PTACH offers workshops,
consultations and more.
Conferences with teachers and
parents are commonplace, always
with the purpose of facilitating the
academic and emotional growth of
individual students.
Funding for PTACH, which is a
satellite of the New York chapter, is
derived from tuition, an annual
dinner, a raffle and private
solicitations. In looking forward to
future goals PTACH chairman Dr.
Hillel Rosenfeld says, "We need to
increase community support so that
we can continue the work we're
doing and expand the program."
For more information about
PTACH contact Betty Josephs at
399-6281.
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Anne R. Lehmann is a freelance
writer and frequent contributor to
The Jewish News.
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