Oy Vey It's (not really) A Food Newsletter
A newsletter that is offering you a break from the news.
I’m at a loss for words.
That has always seemed like such a silly expression because it’s usually followed by a lot more words.
I get it now.
I have started to write this newsletter a dozen times.
Determined that once I started typing, the words wouldn’t be lost. Convinced that a thought would cross my mind and turn into pages.
But for once I don’t have the energy to kvetch.
For once I am at a loss for words.
With all that is going on in the world there is nothing I can say, type, write, or think that feels like it matters.
So instead, I’ve been making challah.
I go to my kitchen and pull out measuring cups, yeast, bread flour, oil, salt, sugar, and my stand mixer.
Within fifteen minutes I have dough. I don’t have to think I just have to knead. So I knead until it becomes familiar. By instinct, I know it’s ready to move from my cutting board to a well-oiled bowl to rest for a few hours.
Then I come back to the dough.
I roll it into a smooth ball and plop it onto my kitchen scale. I weigh out six mostly equal chunks and roll those into ropes.
I dust three ropes in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before braiding them together.
A challah.
The last three ropes get smothered in cinnamon and sugar and braided, too.
A challah.
They each go on a baking sheet. I set another timer.
The braided loaves are even fluffier now and I know they’re ready. As they go into the oven I set my last timer.
My apartment fills with a sweet, comforting smell.
Soon enough I pull them out of the oven and a fleeting feeling of satisfaction washes over me. I know that, just for a few moments, I have been able to bring sweetness into the world.
Besides doing the bare minimum needed to function in my daily life, and following the news, this is all I’ve really been able to do.
Making challah keeps my hands busy. When my fingers are covered in flour they can’t scroll. Each step of this process forces me to take a break. To pause. To ground.
With each challah, I do feel grounded.
With each loaf, I get a temporary escape from chaos.
I’m not surprised that during such a dark time I have found reprieve and comfort through food. I’m sure you’re also not surprised, my therapist wasn’t either.
I made three batches of challah last Friday.
While I can eat a lot of challah…like a lot a lot…I only kept one loaf and shared the rest.
Challah is meant to be shared.
When I crawled into bed that night, my heart was heavy and my upper back was stiff from leaning over the counter all day.
I kept wondering, why is making challah calling me in so deeply?
Why does challah feel like it matters?
I fell asleep without answering my own questions. Then I got up the next day and made another few batches. More moments of sweetness brought into the world and more loaves to share.
And again that night I curled up in bed wondering, why challah?
Finally, it hit me.
Half asleep, I typed into the notes app on my phone.
“if i am able to make challah,
i know i am safe.
if i am able to make you challah,
i know you are safe.”
The only words that I have not lost.
More than anything, I want to keep making challah.
I want to know that I am safe.
I want everyone to know that they are safe.
Here is the recipe-ish I use for my challah.
I hope it can bring some sweetness into your life.
With every challah I’ve shared I’ve offered people an opportunity to donate to a charity doing humanitarian or animal rescue work in Israel, Gaza, and/or Afghanistan. Here are the charities my challah friends have chosen:
Nourish Israel | Jewish Food Society
Go Fund Me- Help Berdichesky Twins Saved By Parents in Attacks on Israel
I will be donating the proceeds from this month’s newsletter to World Central Kitchen.
If there are other organizations or fundraising efforts you’d like to amplify please do so in the comments and we can grow this list.
While our ability to donate may be limited, our ability to hold space in our hearts and minds to care for all living beings is not. I encourage you to lean into empathy as much as possible.
Care yourself, and care for your people.
-Kayla
P.S. I have taken a step back from using social media for my mental health and to prioritize IRL personal and family matters. If you’d like to reach me or send me funny memes email oyveyitskay@gmail.com :)