Quite a lot, or: Learned by hand
A rhyming recipe
Take two or three matzahs—break them into a bowl,
Crush them to fragments, no piece left whole.
My father rose early, before light filled the sky,
On Passover mornings, he made matzah brie.
Pour boiling water till the fragments are wet,
Let them sit and soften; they’re not ready yet.
Give it five, maybe ten minutes to rest,
Till the shards turn soft—this is when they’re best.
My mother first learned it in Jerusalem then,
From Israeli students, her classmates and friends.
She added chopped veggies, aiming for nutrition,
He kept it just basic—his own tradition.
Crack two eggs in, add salt and pepper to taste,
Mix it all well till it clumps into a base.
I taught myself slowly, the only way I knew,
More water means time—so it crisps through.
Heat up the pan till it’s ready and hot,
Add oil to coat it—how much? quite a lot!
Pour in the mixture, let steam rise and clear,
Flip it so both sides grow crisp as they sear.
Serve it up hot, just like Papa would do,
And eat it like him—plain, simple, and true.
W3 poetry prompt
I wrote this poem for Nancy’s W3 poetry prompt, which was to compose a rhyming recipe constructed of couplets.
d’Verse Open Link Night
I am sharing this for OLN at d’Verse.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–
Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
#Breakfast #Food #MatzahBrie #Memories #Nostalgia #Papa #Passover #Poem #Poetry #Recipe #W3