By Nina M. Scott
and Katy van Geel
Carol Jolly’s parents escaped the Holocaust in Germany; she is a first-generation American and the first woman in her family to be college educated.
When we visited her home in Chesterfield, it was the farthest our class had to drive.
Jolly is also a past president of Five College Learning in Retirement (our classes’ sponsor), and as we made our way to her home, we realized how much driving she’s done to attend countless meetings. Our hats are off to her for her dedication to the organization.
As we settled in for our repast, Jolly focused first on some of the symbolic foods of the Seder, the ritual feast connected to Passover, and usually celebrated in late March or April. The meal tells the story of the Exodus, the Israelite escape from Egyptian slavery, through both word and food.
She had prepared charoseth, a combination of dried fruits and nuts symbolizing the mortar which the Jews employed as forced builders for the Egyptians. Her Sephardic version was richer than most; someone remarked that previously she had disliked eating charoseth. Jolly laughed: “You’re not supposed to enjoy it — it’s mortar!”
Unleavened bread (matzoh), eaten during the Exodus when there was no time to let bread rise, traditionally had to be made in 18 minutes flat, Jolly said, to prevent the grain from rising.
Other festive, but non-Passover foods included a circular challah, symbolizing the continuation of life. Challah, a rich, eggy bread, is usually shaped into a braid and served at the Sabbath meal. Jolly’s pièce de résistance was a golden noodle kugel, a pudding rich with raisins, butter, eggs, orange and sour cream.
As she remarked, “No one understands how Jews can live so long when they eat like this!”
Jews have suffered many difficult times in history, as this wry survival saying reflects: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat.”
SWEET NOODLE KUGEL
Makes 12 servings
Adapted by Carol Jolly, from a family friend and “The Jewish-American Kitchen” by Raymond Sokolov
1 cup raisins
1 orange, zest and juice
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus extra for the pan
16-ounce package broad egg noodles
6 large eggs
1 pint sour cream
12 ounces cottage cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13″ Pyrex dish and set aside.
Soak the raisins in the orange juice and set aside.
Prepare noodles according to package directions and rinse with cold water after draining.
With an electric mixer, whisk together the orange zest, butter, eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in the noodles and the raisins and orange juice.
Place in prepared dish and bake for 60 to 75 minutes. Start checking after an hour. When kugel is bubbly around the edges, well set and somewhat browned, remove and let rest for 15 minutes.
Best served hot but can be served at room temperature.
Nina Scott is a retired UMass professor of Spanish. She has lived in Amherst since 1968. Katy van Geel is a retired librarian and CPA, and moved to Amherst in 2007.