To Some Jews, Faith Means Lox, Bagels & Seinfeld

I read that somewhere & it just made me laugh a little.

I grew up a Jew, just not a practicing one. We grew up in the Bronx as part of a huge melting pot. I had black friends, Irish friends, Spanish friends. It was awesome. But we seemed to be the only Jews. When I was younger I wondered where the others were. Hah. I even got tied to a pole when I was younger because I was the little Jewish girl. I laughed about it later with the kid who did it. For a long time, after getting out of the Bronx, we went back often to re-visit those good times with friends who were still there.

I had such a fun-filled childhood, living in a 5 story building, always hanging out on "the stoop," friends calling up to us from the street to our 3rd story window, asking if we could come out to play. The ice cream truck would come by & we'd have mom throw money out the window with something heavy to weigh it down. Fun times. A time when it was safe for a bunch of kids to be running in the streets because we were all looking out for each other.

We celebrated Christmas because it was fun but we also put up the Menorah out of respect for the Jewish traditions. Yeah, we were like that.... Later my sisters & I were all dating someone of a different nationality & so we called ourselves the League of Nations. But I digress...

While my faith has changed since I was younger, I still hold onto what is considered an important part of Jewish cuisine. The Bagel with Cream Cheese & Lox.

Nova Lox is a salmon fillet, thinly sliced, lightly salted & smoked & very delicate. Ordinary Lox is similar but much saltier. It was introduced to the United States through Eastern European Jewish immigrants.

The only way I eat it is on a lightly toasted bagel, with a schmear of cream cheese, thinly sliced onions & black pepper. I often slice up some tomato as well. Some people do the capers but it's not my bag. We enjoy this for breakfast, lunch or dinner. A package is usually good for 3 bagels & I enjoy mine open faced with not too much salmon on each side.

This is to us what grits are to Southerners. I know some of my friends up North have never had grits & I know many people who have never tried Lox. 

You can usually find 2 different types of Lox at the supermarket near the fish. I always get the one that says Nova. It is more delicate & less salty than the other package normally labeled as just Lox. If this is something you've never tried, you ought to. You'll either love it or hate it. But at least you can say you tried it.

Well, I really enjoyed sharing this with you. I didn't plan on talking about my childhood but it seemed natural once I got going.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!!