's Feast The third Kosher Food Fair provides healthy is and treats for hundreds. RUTH UTTMANN STAFF WRITER Setting Tables For A Simchah RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WR TER anet Levine recommends using powdered sugar, milk and food coloring to "paint" holiday cookies at a table decorated with Chanukah delights. Ms. Levine was among sev- The JFA event touted a Sukkot table, bursting with colorful floral arrangements, as well as a Lag B'Omer table, sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women. NCJW, which helps run the People wait in line fora taste of kosher cooking. ► .2 eral volunteers who used imagination and Jewish flair to garnish 'rabies of the Fes- ; tivals" at Jewish Federation Apartments. The exhibit, which featured eight tables set for different holidays, intended to give on- lookers ideas about how to spice up their simchot. Tables of the Festivals was held at the Harriet and Ben Teitel Build- ing on Sunday in conjunction with the Kosher Food Fair next door at the Jimmmy Prentis Morris Jewish Com- munity Center. Meals On Wheels program, decorated the table in hopes of attracting more volunteers. With the holidays quickly ap- proaching, said NCJW's Gail Budin, the Meals On Wheels program needs more people to deliver food to the homebound in metro Detroit. Pat Milner of JFA said she hopes Tables of the Festivals also served to educate visitors about the Teitel Building and affiliated residences, which provide assisted living quar- ters to hundreds of people. LI ore than 2,000 nomadic nib- blers wandered from table to table in,the Jim- my Prentis Mor- ris Jewish Community Center, but the long lines they formed were no indication of shortages. On the contrary. Jelly beans and fish, pickles and dried pineapple, wine and pizza bedecked tables set for the third Kosher Food Fair. Sunday's scrumptious gala — sponsored by Neighborhood Project, the JCC and Jewish Federation of Metropolitan De- troit — attracted eaters of all ages. The young headed for the sweets. Balancing a cup of frozen yogurt, brownies and soda, Ahuvah Weingarten, 11, said: "My parents told me I shouldn't stuff on nosh and to save room for dinner." Wishful thinking on behalf of the elders, to be sure. Ahu- vah, her sister Shifra and friend Leah Mondroe were scarfing the delectables as fast as they could. In spite of the sugary smor- gasbord of treats, this year's Kosher Food Fair emphasized health. Beverly Price, a nutri- tionist for Sinai Hospital, demonstrated how to prepare a killer kosher "tofu loaf' (that's vegetarian for "meat loaf'). Mimi Markofsky of Sperber's Kosher Catering fixed up Fast-n-Easy Stir Fried Chicken. "Kosher cooking also can be healthful." Beverly Price "We want to show how kosher cooking also can be healthful," Ms. Price said. Neighborhood Project's Rho- da Raderman remembers a time when the word "kosher" meant schmaltz and potatoes... "But kosher food can be deli- cious and good for you," she said. Twenty local caterers, food manufacturers and distributors showcased their specialties at JPM. The event also showcased JPM's new recreational wing, dedicated in August. "The focus of the Food Fair is to draw people to the Oak Park and Southfield areas and to at- tract people to the JCC. Many haven't seen the renovations," Ms. Raderman said. In a humid corner of the new pool atrium, the"World's Largest Matzo Ball" sat slumped and soggy. Lest any- one venture to take a bite, Food Fair staff advised attendees that the sphere was not for sampling, but rather for an af- ternoon contest: Guess its weight. Several people won the game by judging that the orb of in- flatable vinyl weighed about 150 pounds. "It was really just a joke," Ms. Raderman said. Kosher? But of course. ❑