Spicy (and sweet) takeaway from Hadassah dinner

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a Hadassah dinner, honoring a dear friend (and former Jewish Star columnist), Miriam Bradman Abrahams. Miriam, a past president of Hadassah, is a tireless worker on behalf of the organization. Never one to toot her own horn, I found out about the dinner when a few of her friends and I were trying to schedule an evening when we were all available to go out for dinner. When asked if the following evening would work, she modestly said she couldn’t make it because she was being honored. So we had dinner, the next night, at her dinner!

When we asked why she didn’t let her us know about the dinner, she said that she didn’t want to obligate us. That’s our Miriam!

The dinner was actually a lot fun. Lawrence’s own Shelly Golombeck, third generation owner of Morris J. Golombeck Importer of Spices, was the guest speaker. Everyone wanted to ask Shelly “spice” questions. He was full of spicy information, and his lovely wife Anne was gracious as she handed out generous samples of all the spices he spoke about, including saffron. He regaled us with stories of his grandfather’s business, that grew from a modest cart to the current huge warehouse on Franklin Street in Brooklyn, in a building which used house the Interboro Brewing Company, 

His grandfather and dad moved into the current location in 1955, and 54 years later, they are still going strong. My favorite story, was when his first child was born, and he arrived home the night before the bris. They had a highly recommended baby nurse who, when the baby wouldn’t stop crying, asked him if he had any fennel seeds. When he said he didn’t have any in the house, she frowned, as it was midnight the stores were all closed. Shelly said, “You want fennel seed? I have hundreds of pounds in my warehouse, I’ll be back in half an hour.” As he opened his warehouse in the middle of the night, he decided to call the doctor, to make sure it was OK for the baby to drink the water that the fennel was boiled in. He got the OK. It did the trick and the baby (who is 33 today) stopped crying.

Hadassah is the largest women’s Zionist membership organization in the U,S., with over 300,000 members. It inspires love and commitment to the land and people of Israel. It enhances the health of people worldwide, through its support of the Hadassah Medical Organization, which includes the famous hospital in Jerusalem and its incredible medical research.

The Devora group of Hewlett Hadassah is currently led by co-presidents Danielle Gill and Dr. Felice Soifer. It’s a diverse local group of varying ages and backgrounds with a passion for helping Israel through fundraising and educational programming.

Coming up next are two great Jewish book club programs — on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 11:30 am at Temple Israel, with author Maggie Anton presenting her newest book ($18 includes a light lunch); then on Nov. 30, 7:30 pm, Mira Rosenfeld Sennett will discuss Amy Gottlieb’s novel The Beautiful Possible.

For membership and details about the upcoming events and pricing, contact Miriam Abrahams, mimihadassah@gmail.com, or Karen Weinberg, hotdog18@gmail.

One of the spices Shelly spoke about was cardamom. It originated in tropical parts of India, Nepal and South Asia. Today, it’s grown commercially in such areas as Guatemala, New Guinea and Vietnam. You will get the most intense flavor if you break open whole pods to release the tiny black seeds. These can be ground using a mortar and pestle or spice mill, but a little goes a long way. 

There are also health benefits to cardamom. In ancient medical traditions, cardamom could cure a sore throat, teeth and gum infections, congestion, tuberculosis, stomach, kidney and lung problems, and also be used as an antidote for spider and snakebites. It’s been long noted for having a role in treating urinary tract infections.

In both early and modern medicine, cardamom is believed to have mood-elevating properties. And who couldn’t use some mood elevating? This one’s for you, Yankee fans…

Pan Broiled Salmon with
Cardamom and Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 teaspoons ground coriander

teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

4 tablespoons maple syrup

2 (2 pound) salmon fillets, cut into 3-inch pieces each

Directions:

Stir salt, paprika, cardamom, coriander, and black pepper together in a bowl. Add oil and maple syrup and stir until evenly combined. Preheat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Dredge salmon pieces through the maple syrup mixture. Evenly coat all sides. Cook salmon in the preheated pan until fish flakes easily with a fork, 5 to 7 minutes per side.