Harnessing the Power of Butter and Noodle Kugel

A few weeks after we moved to Ohio, Jack asked me a question that has been echoing in my mind ever since.

"Mom," he asked, "are we still going to be Jewish now that we live in Ohio?"

In the midst of such changes in his little life, it made sense that he wondered whether even his religion would be changing too. It made me realize how important it is to maintain our rituals, and to take the time amidst our chaos to continue instilling a sense of cultural identity in the children.

Our Jewish identity has been a hot topic amongst our extended family as of late since we decided not to enroll Bella in Hebrew School. But as I stood at the kitchen counter tonight putting the final touches on my noodle kugel with the aroma of chicken soup wafting around me, I felt great about our decision. I knew that all of my cooking would have a more lasting effect on my children's sense of culture, than any hours spent in a religious school.

Through the combined power of all the butter, sour cream, eggs, and sugar I lovingly poured in the noodle kugel I prepared tonight, the kids will get a sense of their culture, sweet, decadent spoonful by sweet, decadent, spoonful.

Tomorrow night, the kids will sit down to a special meal of fluffy bagels, buttery smoked salmon, sweet noodle kugel, rich chicken soup, and apple chicken liver spread. They will recognize the foods as the ones they've been having for years at their grandmother's house, and will know that this tradition, at least, will stay constant in their new home. We'll also keep reassuring them that our interfaith family traditions will continue at Christmas time when we put up a giant tree in our new living room and wait for Santa to come bearing gifts.

And one day, when they have children of their own, they will pass the customs they learned in the home down to them, at the table, by sharing the food that they grew up with.

Noodle Kugel (Adapted from Jennifer Benjamin's recipe)
Ingredients for Kugel
2 3oz packages of cream cheese
2 cups of sour cream
2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup of raisins

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ pound of butter (2 sticks)
6 eggs
1 pound bag of broad egg noodles

Ingredients for Topping
2 cups of crushed cornflakes
¼ lb of butter
cinnamon

1) Bring all ingredients to room temperature
2) Cook noodles
3) Beat all main ingredients until well mixed.
4) Add noodles and put in greased pyrex.
5) To make topping: crush cornflakes. Pour melted butter and cinnamon on top.
6) Put topping on top of mixture in pyrex.
7) Cover and put in fridge overnight.
8) Take out of fridge and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour.