Nosh Squad

Community in our Kitchen

By Cheryl Shuster
Feb, 2024

It could be called Synchronicity
(an apparently meaningful occurrence of two or more events that are causally unrelated)

In late Spring 2023, two much anticipated and very welcome happenings coincided: Covid restrictions on gathering and eating together were lessened AND our newly renovated Temple Emanu-El Kitchen was completed!

We have been slowly adapting to both changes and are testing out the many possibilities of cooking and nourishing and gathering and here are some details so far…..

On Jan. 1, 2024 we gathered for our long time traditional Secular New Year’s Minyan (at special time of 9:30 am) followed by an ’all in’ pot luck Champagne Breakfast composed of goodies lovingly provided from our home kitchens.

As many of you know, this annual event was the brainchild many years ago of our beloved Dolores Wallis (z’l – pictured right) and has remained a constant popular event on our Temple Emanu-El calendar.

Dolores is missed deeply. She had a ‘magic touch’ in the kitchen and the organization behind it; we know she would be smiling at our shiny new and improved facilities, and she would be so proud of the amazing spread of homemade goodies which adorned the Jan. 1, 2024 buffet tables in the Kiddush Room. 

To cap off January 2024 with our ‘end of month’ Family Shabbat Dinner/Installation of our Board of Directors, we experimented.  Instead of having the dinner catered, a volunteer “team” from our congregation planned a menu, shopped locally and prepped and cooked on-site in our new kitchen to serve a full meal for 65 people. The result was proclaimed a total success by the happy eaters, proving the experiment worked.

Stay tuned! We hope to move ahead, serving up more great ideas and yummy food from our new kitchen.

Delicious photos from these events are part of the collage above.

See our menu below. For more detailed info, to request the Shabbat Dinner Menu recipes, and/OR if you would like to be a part of the Nosh Squad / Temple Emanu-El Kitchen team, please email us at: noshsquad@templeemanuel.ca

Shabbat Family Dinner Menu

Slow Cooker Morrocan Chicken  (gluten Free)
Vegetarian Chickpea Tagine (gluten Free)
Green Salad
Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Dips with gluten free crackers : White Bean Artichoke, Guacamole.

Desserts: Pareve  Brownies,  Apple Cake, Mandarin Oranges