DECEMBER 10 • 2020 | 33

W

illiam Shakespeare wrote King 
Lear, Macbeth and Antony 
and Cleopatra during the 
bubonic plague of 1605. During the cur-
rent pandemic, Oak Park mother of three 
Vera Newman, 28, wrote, 
styled and photographed The 
Marblespoon Cookbook.
Released in time for 
Chanukah by Menucha 
Publishers, it is a stunning 
anthology of recipes and 
a tribute to her childhood 
growing up in the vibrant Sephardic 
Jewish community of Panama City, 
Panama. It also contains an eclectic mix 
of dishes inspired by cuisines around the 
world.
Though all the recipes in Marblespoon
follow the laws of kashrut, it is not labeled 
as kosher or Jewish cuisine and can com-

fortably find a spot within anyone’s 
culinary book collection. 
“This is not a traditional Jewish 
cookbook,” Newman said. “You 
will not find your bubbie’s gifelte 
fish or traditional chicken soup 
recipe in here. But what you will 
find is how to make salmon avo-
cado burgers or a sofrito, which 
is spicy chicken soup built with a 
flavorful broth base of corn cobs 
and sauteed herbs and garlic.”
Born in Panama to 
Panamanian and Israeli par-
ents, Newman was raised in a Sephardic 
family where she was exposed to cuisines 
with roots in Central America, Morocco 
and Israel. She was born to a family of 
engineers; one of her grandfathers was 
the founding dean of the Technological 
University of Panama. Newman mar-

ried her husband, native Detroiter Jacob 
Newman, in 2012, and they have lived in 
Oak Park ever since.
Since her teens, Newman’s family and 
friends looked to her as the meal planner, 
putting her in charge of making the gro-
cery lists and selecting ambitious recipes 
to prepare for weekends away at the beach 
or large family gatherings for Shabbat or 
holidays. 
Though she said her recipes were 
not shaped by the pandemic, she pairs 
essential pantry staples with fresh ingre-
dients to create “unpretentious and fami-
ly-friendly” meals. Between the recipes are 
tips on how to purchase the perfect plan-
tain, build a meat or cheese charcuterie or 
arrange flowers for a centerpiece. 
Favorite family recipes in the cookbook 
include her mother’s walnut wine chick-
en, meat empanadas that are a popular 
Panamanian street food, and dulce de 
leche cookies for dessert.
Newman dedicated Marblespoon to her 
grandmother, who died two years ago. An 
artist as well as a great cook, her grand-
mother created carved platters, such as the 
wood challah board photographed at the 
end of the book. 

MULTI-TALENTED
Newman is an ambitious self-taught cook, 
photographer, and marketer. To produce 
the cookbook, Newman set out some 
goals beginning in the fall of 2019, all 
with the hopes of finishing the book and 

Vera 

Newman

@MARBLESPOON

ARTS&LIFE
BOOKS

Kosher
 and
Exotic

Oak Parker 
shares Sephardic-
inspired cuisine in 
The Marblespoon 
Cookbook.

STACY GITTLEMAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

@MARBLESPOON

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