Good Tuesday morning.
I am opined many times in this space about my preference for savory over sweet and for carbs over pretty much anything else.
My desert island menu would certainly include bagels – really good, New York City bagels, and a variety of spreads, which I guess would have to include lox, (for the protein, of course, but it would make me thirsty so hopefully there’s a reliable fresh water source) – and also peanut butter, because, well, peanut butter.
I know people who would crawl over hot stones for pasta. I am not one of them. I have always been a little “meh” on pasta, although Pastina is fun (RIP Ronzoni’s version of the tiny star-shaped macaroni) every now and again.
If and how you like your noodles is really a function of whether you ate them growing up, I’ve found.
For the record – or at least as far as I can recall – I was NOT one of those children who went through a period of subsisting on nothing but buttered pasta, goldfish, and chicken fingers. Maybe this is why I’m a sort of take-it-or-leave it pasta person now?
The one exception: Kugel. Now, you may find the concept of a noodle pudding made with sweetened “pot” cheese or “farmer cheese”, as my maternal grandma Shirley (may she rest in peace) used to call it, and studded with raisins (ALWAYS WITH RAISINS!) disgusting. To me, it is the ultimate comfort food.
Not that I get to eat it very often. In fact, almost never. I think the last time I actually had some kugel was at someone else’s house for break-fast…maybe last year? The year before? Clearly, I am kugel deprived. Why does no restaurant make it? The closest one could get is rice pudding, maybe, but that is a thin stand-in, in my most humble of opinions.
Other than kugel and Kasha Varnishkes (bow-tie egg noodles AND buckwheat groats – carbs ON carbs, anyone?), I was under the impression that pasta didn’t really loom terribly large in the Jewish food lexicon. Apparently, I was wrong. Jews maybe even had a hand in the earliest versions of pasta – along with the Chinese.
Yes, though the conventional wisdom is that Marco Polo brought pasta back to Italy from his explorations in China and the Middle East, there are mentions of noodle consumption that far pre-date his travels in the late 13th century.
As far as popularizing the consumption of pasta here in the U.S., the credit there reportedly goes to Thomas Jefferson, who brought a macaroni-making machine stateside when he returned from a stint as ambassador to France. (It does not appear that he was the one to first introduce the delicacy, however, as early Spanish settlers are believed to have already done so).
These days, pasta is more or less ubiquitous. It comes in all sizes and shapes, and made out of pretty much everything under the sun – from the more traditional rice or wheat to chickpea, black bean, and even hearts of palm and kelp. (Those last two are really stretching the definition of “pasta” in my opinion, but you do you).
Today is National Pasta Day, which is an excuse to start things off with a hearty bowl of Pastina – if you can find it – or partake in any number of promotions at participating chain restaurants.
Another cloudy day with a chance of showers and temperatures in the low 60s.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden will visit Israel tomorrow, putting himself in harm’s way to show that he stands squarely with the country as it reels from Hamas’ surprise attack and prepares a ground invasion meant to wipe out the militant group on its border.
The trip by Biden could come on the cusp of Israel launching a ground invasion of Gaza, a backdrop that has left some administration officials worried.
In a briefing to reporters last night, John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Biden would focus on “the critical need for humanitarian assistance to get into Gaza, as well as the ability for innocent people to get out.”
The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, arrived in Tel Aviv to meet with senior Israeli counterparts and “gain a clear understanding of Israel’s defense requirements,” the general’s headquarters said in a statement.
About 2,000 US forces have been told to prepare for a possible deployment to the Middle East in support of Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.
The US is working with Israel to get aid to a million Palestinians fleeing the Gaza Strip, a rare if tenuous breakthrough after nearly a week of furious diplomacy aimed at avoiding a broader war and preventing a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Israel’s ground offensive into the Gaza Strip may not be a full scale invasion, but will likely unfold in phases, according to a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
The Israeli military said that 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian militants, an increase from previous estimates.
Hamas released the first video of a hostage held inside Gaza – a woman who identifies herself as 21-year-old who Mia Schem from Shoham, in central Israel. She says she is injured, receiving medical treatment, and wants to go home.
Nearly 1,000 US citizens and their immediate family members departed from Israel on US government-chartered transport, a State Department spokesperson said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two fellow NYC progressives are among 13 congressional Democrats who are pushing a resolution calling for a ceasefire and “de-escalation” between Israel and Hamas.
Columbia University has refused to comment on the growing furor over a tenured professor who called Hamas’ terror attacks against Israel “awesome” — as a petition calling for his ouster gained more than 45,000 signatures.
Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign has joined Truth Social, a rightwing social media platform created by the Republican former president Donald Trump.
Using the handle @BidenHQ, the account says it is a “project of Biden-Harris 2024” and includes a banner image that says “the malarkey ends here”, referencing the president’s signature colloquialism.
The campaign wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it joined Truth Social “mostly because we thought it would be very funny”.
Centrist and politically vulnerable Republicans face a moment of reckoning as the House is expected to vote as early as today on whether to elect Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as the next speaker.
Jordan won over some pivotal holdouts yesterday as broader GOP opposition to his bid appeared to crumble, moving him closer to winning the gavel.
Their reversals suggested that Jordan was within striking distance of the 217 votes he would need to be elected in a planned vote around noon today. But the outcome remained far from certain.
A left-leaning watchdog group released an ad targeting Jordan and supporters of his Speakership bid for Jordan’s role in Trump’s attempts to stay in power after the 2020 election and for Jordan’s connection to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
A federal judge barred Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and court staff involved in his Washington, D.C., criminal case – a gag order that sharply escalates the tension between his 2024 campaign and the realities of his status as a criminal defendant.
The order did not impose restrictions on disparaging comments about Washington, DC, – where the jury will take place – or certain comments about the Justice Department at large, both of which the government requested.
Trump has said that a dossier alleging that he engaged in “perverted sexual behavior” and paid bribes to Russian officials to further his business interests is “false” and “phony”, and is seeking to sue for damages in London.
Trump returns to a New York City courthouse today to be a spectator at the civil fraud trial threatening to disrupt his real estate empire.
Doubling down on the hard-line immigration policies that have long animated his base, Trump vowed to bar refugees from Gaza and immediately expand his first-term Muslim travel ban if he wins a second term following the deadly attack on Israel last week.
Oprah Winfrey and Mitt Romney running on the same ticket for the White House was once considered a possibility, according to a new report.
In the forthcoming book, “Romney: A Reckoning,” the Utah senator recalls Winfrey suggesting that the two could “save the country” if they joined together for a presidential run in 2020.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that she favored an ethics code for the Supreme Court, joining the growing chorus of justices who have publicly backed adopting such rules.
The number of murders in the United States dropped just over 6 percent in 2022 compared with 2021, the F.B.I. said. Experts say preliminary data for 2023 indicates that the decline has accelerated this year.
Hate crimes rose sharply, however, with double-digit percentage increases across several categories. The 11,634 reported incidents marked the highest number recorded since the FBI started tracking them in 1991, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) noted.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, which is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, announced last night that she would travel to Israel on a “solidarity mission” today.
Hochul said in a written statement that she plans to meet with diplomatic leaders and communities devastated after the unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
“During these difficult times, it’s more important than ever for New York to show up in support of Israel,” Hochul said. “… New York will show the world that we stand with Israel – today, tomorrow and forever.”
Hochul announced a $20 million investment and collaboration between University at Albany and IBM to advance artificial intelligence goals and a SUNY AI Research Group.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares directly tied the shooting death of NA’Heim Burbridge earlier this summer to the state Legislature’s refusal to modify the state’s Raise the Age law, calling it “legislative malpractice.”
The progressive third party that lent its cavalry to Hochul’s election win last year is vowing a “robust ground game” to help New York Democrats flip House seats next year, and has new leadership.
A bill that would require the state Transportation Department commissioner to report information about motor vehicle collisions with bridges and elevated structures to the state Legislature each year has reached Hochul’s desk.
New Yorkers are getting robocalls from Adams speaking Mandarin, Urdu or Yiddish, even though he doesn’t actually speak those languages. City Hall is using voice cloning AI to create audio public service announcements that sound just like him.
New York City rolled out its first-ever Artificial Intelligence Action Plan at City Hall. The plan, billed as the first of its kind for a major U.S. city, will develop a framework for city agencies to evaluate AI tools and associated risks, officials said.
As part of the action plan, the city unveiled its first AI chatbot, which can be found on the MyCity Business portal and is intended to help business owners more quickly navigate city bureacracy.
Adams says New York City needs more cops after years of officers leaving the department.
Adams confirmed his administration’s intentions to follow through with a plan to force migrant families with children to leave their assigned homeless shelters after 60 days and reapply, a policy advocates are condemning for its potentially disruptive effect.
Adams announced that his administration will soon start housing migrant families with children in a “semi-congregate” facility in Brooklyn — a move that appears at odds with city and state shelter rules.
Removed from the nearby neighborhoods of Marine Park and Flatlands, the flood-prone and marshy Floyd Bennett Field, a former airfield, is about a five-mile trip from the nearest schools.
An emergency migrant shelter in Staten Island has been evacuated after the fire department deemed it unsafe, with former officials warning it could become a death trap.
Fire Department inspectors cited “failure to provide required sprinkler system and to maintain fire alarm system in working order” in the vacate order posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Workers from the city’s Department of Correction squirreled away hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of unused equipment and built themselves a makeshift lounge inside an abandoned Rikers jail, according to a recently-unearthed city investigation.
City Comptroller Brad Lander urged a state commission that oversees jails and prisons to speed up its approval of a plan to create more than 100 hospital beds for sick people held in city jails.
Fort Greene Park officials are warning visitors to watch out for tiny plastic canisters on fields and playgrounds, fearing they may contain traces of the deadly drug fentanyl.
Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford says an internal investigation into a police lieutenant’s interaction with a member of the City Council over the decision to tow a vehicle belonging to the lawmaker’s friend shows the officer acted correctly.
The cities of Troy and Cohoes wanted to host special screenings of the second season of “The Gilded Age,” but the Landmark Spectrum Theater in Albany was selected by HBO to showcase the season’s first episode at an invitation-only event on Oct. 24.
Rensselaer County’s outgoing Republican deputy elections commissioner is the focus of a grand jury investigation being conducted by the state attorney general’s office.
The North Country’s first retail cannabis store opened in Saranac Lake, increasing the number of marijuana shops across the state to 27 — still far below what officials had hoped the industry would have after more than two years have passed since legalization.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have suggested that reduced levels of serotonin — a neurotransmitter that affects mood, memory, sleep, digestion, blood clotting and sexual desire — might explain the lingering symptoms of long Covid.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed banning hair-straightening products that contain or emit formaldehyde, more than a decade after the cosmetic industry’s own experts declared the products unsafe.
