The Feast of the Seven Vegetables - A Low-Carbon Passover Ritual
The seventh night of Passover, a full chag with no particular commonly observed ritual, is begging for a food do-over. The crossing of the Red Sea is celebrated on the 7th day of Passover; in some communities they spill water and recreate that great event through song and dance, but beyond that, it's an open canvas.About ten years ago I decided to appropriate two "seven" connections and recast them as a ritual vegetarian meal, giving 7th Night Passover a special identity. The first inspiration was the Italian Feast of Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve which I've read about and sounds fanciful and fun. The other was (non-Pesadik) seven-vegetable couscous. I found that having a positive food focus during the week of Passover, with all its prohibitions, was a great energy director. Also, since most every vegetable is allowed on Passover [consult the authorities on this!], it is a nice psychological flip from scarcity (no chametz) to abundance (so many vegetables!). I have a nice big list of vegetable dishes in my Passover file.
The focus on vegetables of this made-up ritual has taken on more urgency over the years, as the immense environmental costs of poultry and redmeat production become better understood. This knowledge has been around since my young adult days, when Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet was on the shelf next to Moosewood in most progressive households, but measuring the carbon load of our foods is a relatively new concept. Essentially this is tracking the emissions generated by growing, processing, packaging and shipping our food. A really fun new website, CarbonCounter, is devoted to measuring the impacts of our food choices. You literally move your food into the frying pan and see the counter register its carbon measure. While the specifics are debatable, the relatives are visually clear - the counter drops when you put in vegetarian foods. Among vegetarian choices, it drops further if the food is less processed, a very graphic way of making the point that eating lower off the food chain decreases your ecological foot print. One unfortunate discovery for me is the surprisingly high carbon load of all those soyburgers, hot dogs and nuggets, with their many processed ingredients and excess packaging. Formerly they were a staple, but now they will be considered a treat.... Bummer!
So what to make for seventh night Passover? In keeping with the Red Sea Crossing, perhaps start off with borscht. Artichokes, potatoes (there are so many kinds now you might consider a feast of seven potato varieties!), mushroom pate, eggplant, and add some yams for beautiful color, especially with the beets - maybe you even have some Pesadik marshmallows for topping them, to make the kids happy. And what a chance to use up any leftover parsley and dill, in a lovely kugel or frittata. An incredible bounty of options.
B'taiavon - happy feasting!
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Likewise some communities eschew ginger, radish, and/or garlic. (Comment this)