spring is sitting on the deck eating matzah with butter
and cream cheese and jam and cottage cheese and chopped liver and egg salad
Hello, and happy spring 🌸 My allergies haven’t set in yet, so I’m really enjoying my time outdoors and wondering if this is my new favorite season.
Whenever I sit in the start-of-spring sun, I’m immediately transported to Pesach in my childhood home circa 1998. I’m on the deck, in my my favorite nightgown that I wore until it deteriorated (and was ultimately recycled as a cleaning rag which I remember thinking was slightly disrespectful to our long and intimate relationship, but also kind of a cool way to live on), with bangs, and eating a rotation of matzah with butter and matzah with cream cheese.
The air is still crisp and cool, and the sun reflects brightly off of the thick coat of cream cheese I apply and reapply to my squares of matzah.
These days, my transportation is usually underground or I’m walking—neither mode is very conducive to this dreamy and romantic experience. But two weeks ago, I took Amtrak to visit my parents in Massachusetts, and got my sun-kissed, early spring car ride fix. The soaring sensation of possibility and love that I feel when I step into this train is, I believe, universal. Give me a window seat and I’m entertained for 3.5-4 hours. I’m off, spinning into a fantasy world. I don’t even need music to go there, the hum and rattle of the train is inspiring enough.
And during this most recent trip, I had visual inspiration as well:
Dipping back into this younger mode of daydream, I felt most like myself, and wanting to hold onto this simultaneous nostalgia and future fantasy feeling for as long as possible. Matzah in the sun will help with that.
Noting here that a matzah snack spread should ideally include both regular and whipped cream cheese—they are both fabulous but categorically different.
The original topping for matzah happens to be, in my opinion, the best we have. Wine-soaked apples and walnuts topped with sharp, stinging, nasal-clearing (great for allergies!) maror (horseradish). Who would have guessed.
And in this tastemaker vein, I must take a moment to remember Chaim Topol. The best Tevye we’ve ever had and also my biggest crush of all time. I watched his Fiddler on the Roof often as a kid. I’d like to say at least once a month? In my memory, I had access to the two VHS tapes via my JCC movie library and would giddily watch and rewind them both again and again, back-to-back, which took time and dedication. This movie and a large—I wanna say 10 pound—book of dog breeds were in heavy rotation from ages 6-8. Oh and the Henry and Mudge series, did anyone else read these? Anyway, they don’t make them like Chaim anymore.
All to say, matzah is a romantic portal and my want to preserve its magic is the only thing keeping me from eating it year-round. I joke that I love matzah because I love any food that tastes like cardboard, but in reality matzah (and Tam Tam’s) is the perfect vehicle for every spread and salad and dip. It has enough structural integrity to scoop up a heaping pile of foamy and dense Boursin, and is just bland enough to let the topping shine. RESTAURANT IDEA (again, when you read this newsletter you are entering an agreement to not steal my groundbreaking ventures. There are more restaurant ideas where this came from. I will share them another time). For now, welcome to Matzah Meal. The plates are matzah, the buffet is spreads. This is heaven. Enjoy.
And the magic of matzah also lies in the question of what will I break Passover with this year?
I have a memory that I’ve mythologized as the best break of Passover of my life: my family and I ate meatball subs with my neighbors in their backyard, sitting in the grass. I’m actually not sure if this event ever took place, but it’s a really lovely thought and ever since this alleged event (or mirage), I’ve been infatuated with meatball subs. And they are inextricably linked with Passover.
Wishing those who celebrate a Pesach Sameach, and here’s a link to last year’s Ode to the Seder Plate because it’s fun.
See you next week,
Ariella 💗