Check out a picture of a meal I cooked

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

Mango Teriyaki chicken [Kosher of course], Persian cucumber w/ Roma tomato salad in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and orange juice, and cooked carrots with onions, garlic, chives, and chili oil.  I just learned how to cut the carrots in a more stylish way than straight chopping them, and I figured out how to make all of the chunks of onions look almost exactly the same each time.

I did not know how to cook until the past 6 months or so when I switched to eating only Kosher meats and fish.  With the exception of a few Kosher restaurants I am now responsible for cooking almost all my meals.  Also I got a ceramic knife [Yoshi blade] which slices through veggies and bread like a dream.

L'chaim!

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

Wow, that looks great!  Where'd you get the recipe?  (And the persian cucumbers, are those in the regular grocery store?)

I hope you're hungry because that's a lot of chicken!   

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

Wow, that looks great!  Where'd you get the recipe?  (And the persian cucumbers, are those in the regular grocery store?)

I hope you're hungry because that's a lot of chicken!   

Thank you.

The Teriyaki I just used the bottle directions, I marinated the meat for 40 or so minutes.  The carrots and salad I do just by taste [I cook something similar each day][my roommate suggested the OJ because we had no lemons or limes in the house].  Persian cucumbers are about 1/3 or 1/4 smaller than regular cucumbers, they seem to taste about the same.  I had never seen a Persian cucumber until I lived here in SoCal [I have seen them in a "middle eastern" produce market, and in the Kosher market I now frequent.].  I like the Persian style because they chop right into bite sized pieces and are less time consuming when making a salad than regular sized ones.  I also like to think that King Ahasuerus might have enjoyed the same type of cucumbers in his day.

[muman613]

Wow, that looks great!  Where'd you get the recipe?  (And the persian cucumbers, are those in the regular grocery store?)

I hope you're hungry because that's a lot of chicken!   

Thank you.

The Teriyaki I just used the bottle directions, I marinated the meat for 40 or so minutes.  The carrots and salad I do just by taste [I cook something similar each day][my roommate suggested the OJ because we had no lemons or limes in the house].  Persian cucumbers are about 1/3 or 1/4 smaller than regular cucumbers, they seem to taste about the same.  I had never seen a Persian cucumber until I lived here in SoCal [I have seen them in a "middle eastern" produce market, and in the Kosher market I now frequent.].  I like the Persian style because they chop right into bite sized pieces and are less time consuming when making a salad than regular sized ones.  I also like to think that King Ahasuerus might have enjoyed the same type of cucumbers in his day.

Why would you care what Achasverous would eat? He was a very wicked king...

http://www.hevratpinto.org/tzadikim_eng/084_rabbi_abba.html

The teachings of Rabbi Abba in Halachah and Aggadah are found throughout the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, as well as in the Midrashim. One of his famous parables, by which he explained what occurred between Ahasuerus and Haman, is cited in Megillah 14: “To what can the story of Ahasuerus and Haman be compared? To two men, one who had a mound in his field, and the other who had a pit in his. The latter thought, ‘Who could sell me a mound?’ while the other thought, ‘Who could sell me a pit?’ After a certain time, they encountered each other. The one who had a pit said to the one who had a mound, ‘Sell me your mound,’ to which the other replied, ‘Take it for free! You’re doing me a favor.’ This is what happened when Ahasuerus said to Haman, ‘The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with as you see fit’ [Esther 3:11].”

To show just how catastrophic honor-seeking is, Gemara Sanhedrin cites the explanation of Rabbi Abba on the verse that states, “After this, Jeroboam did not repent from his evil way” (I Kings 13:33). The Gemara asks about the meaning of “After this,” to which Rabbi Abba explains: “After the Holy One, blessed be He, grabbed hold of Jeroboam by his cloak and said to him, ‘Repent, and I, you, and the son of Jesse will walk in Gan Eden,’ Jeroboam replied, ‘Who will be in charge?’ to which the answer was ‘the son of Jesse will be.’ Jeroboam then responded by saying, ‘In that case, I want nothing of it!’ ”

[cjd]

I am not a chicken person but that dish looks very tasty 

[muman613]

I am not a chicken person but that dish looks very tasty 

Yes indeed it does...

I spent my Rosh Hashanah with my community at the University and they served some of the best Kosher food I have had in a while. I know the head of the kitchen and he is a superb chef. I ate like a King on this holiday... So much that I didn't even feel hungry during the Fast for Tzom Gedaliah.

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

Why would you care what Achasverous would eat? He was a very wicked king...

In my humble opinion Ahasuerus chief character faults were stupidity and apathy, more so than outright wickedness.  He was fed bad information about Jews [he was made to think they were a threat, and who does not take threats seriously?], and in the end he did not murder the Jews, instead he put wicked Haman [ys"v] to death [for lying to him about Jews] while Blessed Mordecai the Jew was elevated to the high position which Haman [ys"v] had previously occupied [chief adviser to Ahasuerus].  His son, Cyrus the Great [another historical figure who may have eaten these cucumbers], freed the ancient Israelites and sent our people to build the 2nd Temple.  Ahasuerus is also known as Xerxes, to me he is historically interesting, and he was most likely a Zoroastrian in either case and I have studied Zoroastrianism in comparative religion.  All of the old Persian kings gave the pagan Greeks [who except for Alexander the Great were terrible to the Israelites] a hard time.

Ezra and Nehemiah, along with the Jews who spent time in Babylonian slavery, might have eaten these cucumbers too.

I suppose "Ach-my-dinner-jacket" may eat them as well, and we can all hope that he chokes to a painful death on one.

[muman613]

I don't think that the sages had the same view of this evil king as you do. It seems that most of the Purim story concentrates of the evil Haman but the fact that the King himself would have his wife Vashti executed indicates the wickedness of this man. It is said that Vashti herself was wicked and cruel to her Jewish maidservants.... There is much midrash about this story...

http://www.templeinstitute.org/beged/priestly_garments.htm

Moses was instructed by G-d that the garments of the priests were to be both dignified and beautiful; as precious as the garments of royalty. Indeed, the Talmud informs us that when the wicked Persian king Ahasuerus made a feast for his advisors and officers and sought to impress them with his greatness (as recorded in the scroll of Esther, which tells the story of Purim) he put off his own royal vestments and donned the uniform of the High Priest... which was more precious than his own. These priestly garments were in his possession since the First Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians.

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/1239789/jewish/Alcohol-and-Jews.htm

Enjoying the Ride

The Talmud (4) tells us of the following discussion:

The students of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai asked him, "Master, what was it that brought about so terrible a decree against the Jews of Shushan? What was their crime?"

"What do you think the reason was?" Rabbi Shimon rejoined.

"They enjoyed the meal of that wicked man [Ahasuerus]," the disciples responded.

...

4.    Megillah 12a.

[HiWarp]

That looks very good but you need to work on your presentation. You need a larger plate or a smaller portion. Filling a plate to the edge with food is not visually appealing and an overcrowded plate makes it difficult to eat your food without knocking it off the plate and on to the table.

[Yaakov Mendel]

Looks both delicious and healthy. Keep up the good cuisine ! I must confess I am quite lazy when it comes to cooking. That's because my wife is a fine cook, so I have no incentive to start preparing meals...

[Debbie Shafer]

This looks wonderful, very tasty, and very healthy.   Eat chicken and fish to keep cholesterol down.

[Meerkat]

looks great