The movie “Julie and Julia” brought back great memories of how I met Julia Child in 1978 and how it resulted in adapting her bouillabaisse recipe for a kosher kitchen. I had just finished writing my first group of paperback cookbooks for Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and The Farmers Market when I received notice that Julia Child was giving a cooking demonstration and book signing in La Jolla to benefit…

When you feel like you are always packing the children’s lunch boxes with the same old boring foods, it is time to branch out with new ideas and ingredients. I am sure that school lunches can be more creative and exciting than when my kids went to school. In those days, it was peanut butter and jelly day after day. To make the job easier, plan ahead. Make sure the things you…

It all began with Queen Esther, the heroine of the Purim story, who became a vegan when she married King Ahasuerus and moved into the palace. She favored fruits, beans and grains in her diet, and legend has it that poppy seed pastries were her favorite. Over time, I have developed desserts inspired by the traditional poppy seed hamantaschen that are served during Purim, and my family celebrates the holiday…

The theme for our family Purim dinner this year will be blintzes, but the preparation will be a little different and will include ingredients that are symbolic for the holiday. The inspiration for the menu began when my daughter, Susan, her husband, Leo, and our granddaughters were visiting from out of town, and we went to lunch at Zeidler’s Cafe at the Skirball Cultural Center. We ordered blintzes, and, although…

Vegetables from the garden are basis for tasty, nutritious meals Jay Farbstein holds a freshly picked squash blossom. Photos by Lynn Pelkey When I think of the original baby boomer, I think of our friend Jay Farbstein. He is an architect specializing in the design of large government buildings, and he lives on his family’s original property off Sunset Boulevard, in a rural area of Pacific Palisades. He grew up…

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins this year on Sept. 16 at sundown. In planning the holiday menu, I like to include some of the traditional recipes that many of us learned in our mothers’ and grandmothers’ kitchens, but I always add some new, modern ideas. The symbolic foods for the New Year include apples and honey, representing “a sweet year,” and pomegranates, one of the first fruits of…