Speaking of The East…and a Kosher Southern Feast…

So I found the blog of an old friend, my buddy Rabbi Yoni Warren and his lovely wife Leora and their adorable puppy Penny…Libi BaMa’arav, Va’anochi Besof Mizrach (My Heart is in the West but I am in the Far Far Far East)–A play on a famous line from a Midieval Jewish poem by Yehuda Ha-Levi—“My body is in the West but my heart is in the East (Jerusalem/Yerushalayim); is their blog detailing his first rabbinic appointment as a chaplain in Okinawa, Japan.  Much love to my brother Yoni, I am glad that life has him on an exciting path.  Check out his blog at this link:  http://libi-bamaarav.blogspot.com/.  Mazal Tov Yoni and Leora!

Now if you’re wondering what this has to do with Afroculinaria…Yoni and I hosted something of a total disaster in his small kitchen at the Jewish Theological Seminary but it was one of the most plate clearing dinners in Kosher history in Manhattan. Yoni and I made a full Southern Shabbat meal for about ten other guests—fried chicken, cornbread instead of challah, okra gumbo, pareve peach cobbler, collards, sweet tea, red rice and the like.  Those folks didn’t know what hit them!  For the record, Yoni is a proud son of Hampton, Virginia.  Can’t we all just grub along? Well we did…I guess when I get the nerve to go to Japan I’ll be bringing him Virginia peanuts 🙂 When the Cooking Gene comes to pass I’ll knock on your Mom and Dad’s door down home in Hampton 🙂