Kasha Varnishkes
Roasted Whole Grain Buckwheat, Bow Tie Pasta,
Caramelized Yellow Onion, Sautéed Mushrooms, Parsley
Irving and Fanny Hirsch
The holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur begins in a few hours, at sunset. Last night we made Kasha Varnishkes. It always brings back memories of Nana and Auntie Edythe. This year my version of Kasha Varnishkes (also called Kasha & Bows) is heart healthy, high in fiber, and includes wild mushrooms. Auntie Edythe would prepare hers with lots of kasha in proportion to the bows. My recipe is more like a pasta dish with buckwheat, mushrooms and onion.
My Nana was born in Kiev, Russia 1894. The family fled to Canada to escape the pogroms when she was a young girl. Her name was Vitte but she took her sister’s name, Fanny, after Fanny was killed in a machine accident. She met my Papa (paternal grandfather) when they were teenagers and their families were living in the same apartment complex in Montreal. His name was Yitzcok when he was born in Romania 1891 but changed it to Isadore upon arrival in Canada when he was 13 years old. He celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on the boat.
Fanny and Isadore married then made their way to America and settled in Chicago where Papa took the name Irving, and they raised their children, Edythe (back, center right in photo) and Leonard (my father, far left in photo). Sitting next to Aunt Edythe is her husband, my Uncle Sydney, and his mother, Rose. On the other side is my Aunt Gloria and Uncle Mickey (Papa’s youngest brother).
