Chloe quietly entered Beca's apartment and gently put her cloth shopping bags full of food on the kitchen bar. She tip-toed into her girlfriend's bedroom to find her Beca still dead asleep. Chloe placed the back of her hand on Beca's forehead and felt the fever that still raged. Beca had started to feel bad the afternoon before, and by bedtime, she was alternating between freezing and burning up. Never one to get sick, Beca collapsed into bed, curled up like a baby.
Chloe pressed her lips against Beca's cheek, careful not to wake her, before pulling the covers back up and tucking them around her. She quietly closed the door behind her so she could cook without bothering her sick girlfriend.
The redhead had taken both guinea pigs over to the clinic before she'd gone to the store to keep the apartment free of clicks and squeaks. Despite the pigs' cheerful nature, Beca needed as much quiet and rest as possible. Since her place was just across the street if Beca needed Major, one of the techs could have him over there quickly.
Beca had shared lots of her upbringing and family stories with Chloe. They talked about smaller traditions and food. Many of Beca's earliest memories were of cooking with her Bubbe, her grandmother on her mother's side. Chloe had found a collection of handwritten recipes that apparently belonged to Bubbe. Cohen Family Secrets. The redhead had snuck the old book to the clinic and had one of her clerks carefully copy the "family secrets" before putting the recipe back where she'd found them.
Beca had raved about Bubbe's matzo ball soup that was seemingly a cure-all for any ailment. Because Beca was so ill, Chloe decided she'd see if she could get anywhere close to Bubbe's recipe. She didn't think Beca's grandma would mind her stealing a recipe for her granddaughter. Chloe unloaded her groceries and began to prep for the soup she was going to make.
She first started prepping for the chicken stock, tossing each set of ingredients into a huge stockpot. She broke down a whole chicken then threw in an entire pound of chicken backs. Also, in the pot went some yellow onions, celery stalks, carrots, a parsnip, a shallot, garlic, and some parsley. Finally, she tossed in some black peppercorns. She'd never cooked with this many ingredients but feared that even excluding one would mess up the recipe.
Chloe ran a dozen cups of water into the stockpot and turned on the heat for it to come to a boil while she made the matzo ball mixture. Once the stock began to boil, she reduced the heat to medium-low and set a timer for twenty minutes.
The matzo ball mixture was less complex and was comprised only of eggs, matzo meal, club soda, kosher salt, and melted schmaltz. Chloe had gotten the giggles when she asked the grocer for the schmaltz. When he looked at her strangely, she explained it was a funny-sounding word, and she was clueless as to what it was. The man explained it was nothing more than chicken fat. When Chloe told the grocer what she was doing, he was quite helpful as she shopped for her ingredients. She'd make an impression when she said to him that even though her girlfriend didn't keep Kosher, she wanted to make the matzo ball soup as authentic as possible, using all kosher ingredients.
About the time she finished the matzo ball mixture and put the bowl in the refrigerator to rest, her stock timer went off. She fished the cooked breasts out and sat them on her cutting board to cool and left the rest simmering.
A few ingredients still needed to be prepped for the final assembly - some small carrots and dill. Once that was done, Chloe took the breast meat off the bone and tossed the bones back into the simmering pot. She shredded the chicken and wrapped it tightly with plastic wrap.
Because the prep was all done, Chloe set a timer in twenty-minute increments to remind herself to skim the fat off the soup and to check on Beca. Each time she snuck into the bedroom, the brunette had kicked off the covers and was shivering. Chloe would cover her back up, kiss her cheek, and leave.
Finally, the stock had reduced down by about a third. Chloe poured the liquid through a strainer, reserving only the stock. She then added the carrots and simmered until the carrots were tender and removed the stock from the heat. Chloe added the shredded chicken before covering the soup to let it sit. In another large pot of simmering water, Chloe made hand-formed matzo balls and dropped them into the water to cook.
"Bubbe?" A weak voice came from the bedroom. Beca had been sleeping for over fifteen hours. Chloe decided she might need to get up, especially since her soup was almost ready. The redhead checked the matzo balls one last time before deciding she could check on Beca.
When Chloe went into the bedroom, a bleary-eyed Beca was sitting up in bed. "Bubbe?"
Chloe eases down on the bed next to Beca. "No baby, your Bubbe isn't here."
A half-asleep Beca looked around the room and took a deep whiff. "But, my apartment... it smells so Jewish."
Chloe tried to stifle her giggles. "I made you some matzo ball soup, Becs. You've been pretty sick and slept a long time. Why don't you clean up, shower if you feel like it, and come into the front room? Your soup will be ready."
"You made soup? Matzo ball soup? Seriously? But. It smells so Jewish."
Knowing Beca wouldn't understand until she had some food in her, she told Beca to at least change clothes and eat. Chloe laid out some fresh flannel pajamas which would keep Beca warm and returned to the soup.
Back in the kitchen, the matzo balls were ready. Beca came out of her bedroom with fresh clothes on and a washed face. She had a huge quilt wrapped around her shoulders and was still shivering. Chloe dipped matzo balls into bowls, ladled the chicken soup over them, and topped the soup with dill.
Beca had collapsed onto the overstuffed couch, so Chloe sat a lap-table over her legs and gave her a massive bowl of soup and a spoon. She also made sure Beca took some ibuprofen since her fever still hadn't broken.
The brunette didn't say anything until her bowl was empty. "Chlo? May I have some more?"
"Baby, are you sure? You slept a long time, and I don't want your stomach to be upset."
"Bubbe would say the more matzo ball soup, the better."
Chloe chuckled as she sat her own bowl down. "Well, who am I to argue with Bubbe?" Beca grinned as she got her way.
After Beca's second bowl, the color had returned to her face. Chloe took her temperature which had seemed to come down to a more acceptable level.
"Chloe, I was having these weird dreams about Bubbe being here and seriously thought she was when I smelled the soup. You made this?" The redhead nodded as Beca gave her a thumbs up. "Second, only to my grandma's. How did you do it?"
Chloe blushed as she admitted she'd found the secret family recipe book and had taken an early morning trip to the Jewish grocery. Beca turned to look at the kitchen counter where she saw cloth bags from Frankels' Kosher Market.
"You even made kosher matzo soup?" Chloe nodded. "I'm impressed. That's dedication beyond expectation."
"I was afraid it wouldn't taste like you Bubbe's if I didn't. You told me you are the first of your family not to keep kosher. Besides, the grocer was incredible. Once he found out what I was doing, he was quite helpful. I think he got a kick out of me not knowing what some of the stuff was."
Beca drained her third glass of water and breathed out a sigh. "As good as this tasted, I'm exhausted." She decided to go back to bed for more rest while Chloe cleaned the kitchen and stored the leftovers for the next time Beca woke up. The redhead was proud of her first attempts at making something out of the Cohen Family Secrets book.
Beca quickly recovered from whatever bug had struck her down. She claimed it was Chloe's perfect matzo ball soup. "Seriously, Chlo. I can show you the research behind the healing properties of chicken soup as well as the homey comfort of childhood favorites. And I'm especially grateful since next week is Purium, or as I like to call it – Jewish Halloween! And since American Halloween is what brought us together, I can't wait to teach you my Halloween."
Beca explained that Purim was yet another Jewish holiday. "I have to say that as much as I love Hanukkah, Purim is my absolute favorite. There are costumes, much like Mardi Gras, except you can be anything you want." After a bit of thought, Beca started getting excited. "Do you trust me, Chloe?" The redhead nodded. "I have the perfect costumes for the four of us."
"Four?"
"Yeah – you, me, Major, and Bea."
"So, tell me more about Purim."
Beca launched into her explanation. "As you know, we have mitzvot that are commandments. There are four unique ones for Purim. That's hearing the megillah – the tale of the Purim heroes - being read. Another is mishloach manot that is giving gifts of food to friends and family, matanot laevyonim, giving gifts to the poor. And finally, we feast! Oh yeah, we also dress in costumes to celebrate."
Chloe began to giggle. "What's with your religion and food?"
Beca smirked as she got off the couch and held up a finger. "Hang on." She disappeared into her bedroom and came back out wearing a different t-shirt. This one said Short Version of Every Jewish Holiday: 1. They tried to kill us. 2. We won. 3. Let's eat! "It's true; it's true. Our culture does focus on food. And if you liked latkes, you are going to love hamantaschen." The brunette tried to explain about the triangular-shaped, jam-filled cookies. She finally pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture.
"What's the story behind these?"
Beca gave a mock gasp. "Why does everything have to have a story?" Chloe rolled her eyes as her girlfriend laughed. "The villain of the Purim story is Haman. After you hear the story, you'll understand better. Haman was executed, but not before his ears were sliced off. These represent Haman's ears."
"That's morbid! Okay, now I have to know the story."
Beca explained about the different characters in this tale: the Persian King Ahasuerus, his new wife Esther, Haman – the Persian prime minister, and Mordechai, the Jewish leader. "As with most Jewish stories, this one started long ago in the 4th century B.C. Persian King Ahasuerus had his wife, Queen Vashti, banished or executed, the stories aren't clear. In need of a new wife, he held a beauty pageant. Esther, who was Jewish unbeknownst to Ahasuerus, became the new queen."
Chloe stopped her. "Wait, the king didn't know Esther was Jewish?"
Beca shook her head and continued the story. She explained how after Esther became queen, her cousin, Mordechai, refused to bow to Haman. Haman went to the king about the disobedience and convinced the king to execute all the Jews in Persia.
"For one man not bowing to him? That's messed up!" Beca nodded.
"Mordechai rallied the Jewish people for prayer, repentance, and fasting for Esther, and she gathered up her courage and told the king about her Jewish identity. Ultimately, the king was so furious that anyone would kill his new wife that he ordered Haman to be hanged instead. Ahasuerus issued a new decree permitting the Jewish people to defend themselves against their enemies who were set to exterminate them."
"Because of Esther's courage to stand up for her people, everything changed. The key here was the utter reversal of fortunes. Things were bleaker than bleak. The most powerful person in the empire wanted all the Jews dead, and then in a matter of days, he was dead, the queen was Jewish; and Mordechai, leader of the Jews, replaced the evil Haman and was promoted to being the king's chief advisor."
"Beca, I never really knew the extent of the tribulations in Jewish history."
The tiny brunette tapped her t-shirt. "But we are survivors. And celebrate our trials with food!" Both the woman laughed.
When Beca and her mother moved to New York, she was still in her teens. She'd always hated attending Jewish school, and Hebrew lessons were the worst. By some stroke of genius, Beca landed in Mrs. Goldmann's class. Mrs. Goldmann was somehow able to not only get her new student interested in learning Hebrew but also involved in the culture of her people and of her religion. When Beca's mother passed unexpectedly, her grandmother stepped in to finish raising Beca. Her grandmother was pleased to no end that her granddaughter was so involved in the Jewish faith, due mostly to Mrs. Goldmann's influence.
A few days before Purim, Beca spent cooking and preparing her mishloach manot. She always sent her food gift to Mrs. Goldmann. Her former teacher had a penchant for lemon drop martinis, so each year, Beca made her some lemon drop infused vodka using about a pound of Lemonhead candies, which were surprisingly enough – kosher, and a 1.75-liter bottle of top-shelf vodka. She filled several plastic containers with the sweets and vodka. After capping the bottles, Beca shook them vigorously. Every few hours, she shook them so that the candies were about dissolved by the next day. Mrs. Goldmann loved the little bits of candy, so she didn't strain them out.
Beca used a funnel to fill some glass decanters and put them in her freezer to chill until they were delivered. After starting the infusion process, she began to bake the hamantaschen cookies. She had learned to always make hers with two types of dough – one dairy-free and the other buttery, with two fillings each. The dairy free hamantaschen cookies were apricot and poppy seed flavored while the buttery were filled with chocolate and raspberry.
On Purim, Beca laid out Chloe's costume and wrangled Major and Bea into theirs. Major always loved dressing up because he knew he was going to get to go out. Bea was still learning how to be a proper well-dressed guinea pig. Beca had a seamstress make both of the pigs puffy triangular costumes where they were hamantaschen. Major's filling was purple to represent raspberry, and Bea's was reddish-orange for apricot. The pets were both adorable.
Knowing Chloe would be over soon, Beca quickly changed into her costume. She pulled on a pair of poplin chef's pants and jacket and pulled on her toque chef's hat. Beca heard her front door open as she fastened her shirt with the buttons at the front. Chloe's squeal of delight let her know her girlfriend had seen the hamantaschen guinea pigs.
"Beca?" The redhead called out.
"In here." Beca turned and grabbed the wooden spoon prop before crossing her arms as she waited for Chloe. "Come get dressed." She brandished the spoon like she was going to swat her girlfriend on the butt.
When Chloe saw her girlfriend, she began to laugh. "So, Ms. Baker, you made those cookies in there?"
Beca nodded. "The edible ones but not the guinea pig ones." She motioned to Chloe's costume that she'd carefully laid out. She'd selected a slightly sexier chef outfit for the redhead. Chloe quickly approved of her princess-cut bodice with decorative buttons, a back zipper, and puffy sleeves. The modest yet still short skirt had a petticoat that gave body to the costume. While Beca's toque hat was tall and stiff, Chloe's was shorter and puffier.
"I love our costumes, Beca. They are perfect. Oh, that other matzva you mentioned? Gifts to the poor?"
"Yeah, matanot laevyonim. I still haven't made up my mind."
"Would a donation to the animal shelter work?"
"Absolutely!" Chloe told her that she'd gone to the pet store that morning and bought some blankets and several large bags of food. "I'll give you a check to take with that if you will have one of your techs take it over today before sundown."
By tradition, mishloach manot was to be delivered by a third party. For the last several years since her grandmother passed, Beca always got Stacie to take hers to Mrs. Goldmann. Once the chilled bottles of lemon-infused vodka, packages of non-dairy cookies, and a variety of dried fruit were packed in a beautiful wicker basket, Stacie picked up the delivery. She also would be responsible for getting Mrs. Goldmann to the Jewish community center next to the synagogue for the reading of the story and the feast.
"Stacie! Come in, come in." The elderly woman stepped aside to let Stacie in. Knowing the routine, Stacie put the basket on the table and went to retrieve two chilled martini glasses. Every year was the same. "Ahhh, you remembered." Mrs. Goldmann uncorked one of the bottles of vodka, taking a whiff.
"Of course, Mrs. Goldmann. How could I forget?"
"Stacie! How many times do I have to tell you to call me Shalva?"
The tall brunette grinned as she pulled out all the ingredients. Without fail, Mrs. Goldman had everything ready to go for the martinis. Stacie moistened the rims of the glasses with a lemon slice and dipped them into some superfine sugar. She then put measured amounts of vodka, triple sec, fresh squeezed lemon juice and fine sugar into the shaker along with several ice cubes. She made a show of shaking the shaker before pouring equal amounts into each martini glass.
"Cheers, Mrs. Goldmann." She raised her glass to the woman, and they both drank.
Like clockwork, Mrs. Goldmann wouldn't leave without at least one more cocktail because "it's okay to show up Purim a little tipsy."
Finally, Stacie wrangled her charge towards the door. "Oh! Stacie! My mishloach manot. Will you deliver it this year?" Stacie didn't remind her that she did every year. "Remember my little Hebrew student, Rebecca Mitchell?" Again Stacie didn't have the heart to tell her Beca was all grown up now. "Lemonheads are her favorite candy. And Cheetos and beef sticks. I always used to bribe her to finish her Hebrew lessons."
"I'll make sure she gets them, Mrs. Goldmann. Don't forget your costume!"
"Where is your costume, Stacie?" Mrs. Goldman frowned.
Stacie motioned to her shirt that read This IS My Purim Costume. "Why Mrs. Goldmann, this is my costume." The elderly lady rolled her eyes before finding a three-cornered hat and smashed it on her head. "Oh, I didn't know you were a Green Bay Packer fan!" When Mrs. Goldman looked offended, Stacie motioned to the hat. "Cheesehead? Packers?"
"I. Am. Not. A. Greenbay. Fan. How dare you? I'd never be a Cheesehead. I'm a lemon-flavored hamantaschen!" She began to sway a bit, so Stacie just stifled her mirth before getting Mrs. Goldmann safely to the car with her walker. She also texted Beca to let her know that Mrs. Goldman was a cookie, not a Cheesehead.
Stacie and Mrs. Goldman arrived at the community center about the same time as Beca, Chloe, and the guinea pigs. Stacie immediately could tell where her friend was because of the flocks of people around the red wagon that Bea and Major rode in, especially the kids. The kids couldn't agree on the flavors of hamantaschen the pigs' costumes were. Of course, Beca and Chloe's chef outfits were a hit as well.
Beca turned the guinea pig wagon over to one of the teenagers whom she trusted and took Chloe over to put their cookies with the other food. Beca took time to explain the new foods Chloe hadn't seen before, like kreplach that were also triangular – but made of pasta and filled with chicken or beef. When Chloe saw the kreplach, she began to giggle. Beca asked her why she was laughing but couldn't get a response.
While Chloe finally gave in and whispered in her ear, Beca's face immediately turned crimson. "Chloe!" She gasped in shock. "This is not the place."
The redhead plastered an innocent look on her face. "You insisted on knowing why I was laughing; plus, it's true. Both of those triangles," she motioned to the kreplach and hamantaschen, "don't look like ears to me. They look like…" she motioned to the area towards her crotch.
Beca grabbed her hands. "Stop!" She hissed. But now that she took another look, she had to agree with Chloe. "God, now I'm not going to be able to eat them here." With that, both women got the giggles. Beca tried to steer the conversation back to safer ground. "A few years ago, several of the elder women decided they wanted to represent more Persian Jewish cuisine."
She pointed out the ashe reshteh (legume and noodle soup) and tahdig (the layer of pan-fried crispy rice from the bottom of the pot), along with modern takes on Persian flavors in recipes like avocado and pomegranate salad with cumin lime vinaigrette and a roast chicken with saffron and citrus. At least one of the families would bring rosewater pistachio hamantaschen that represented two important Persian Jewish foods.
"Okay, Chloe. Now it's decision time." Beca pulled the redhead to the side. "We can go over to the synagogue for the reading of the megillah or the Scroll of Esther." She lifted her eyes up and pursed her lips.
"Or?" Chloe questioned.
"We can stay here in the community center with the kids. The older tweens and some teens will re-enact the story for the elementary school-age kids in a way that's a little more entertaining but also more educational to make sure they understand the importance of the special day. The pre-school kids play dress up, have a parade, and focus on the party."
Chloe began to giggle. "Seriously, Beca?"
Beca tried to give an innocent look as she threw her hands up. "What? It's your choice." Chloe rolled her eyes and walked away to find Stacie.
There was no question as to which choice Chloe went with – the adults or the children. She loved children about as much as she loved animals. Once the adults in charge of the pre-school kids herded them into their classroom, the elementary school children settled around a small stage as the older teens readied their costumes for the reenactment of the Story of Esther. /pL-B1TGiqqA
Beca gave Chloe a quick reminder of who the leading players were - the Persian King Ahasuerus, his new wife Esther, Haman – the evil Persian prime minister, and Mordechai, the Jewish leader. As the middle school youth began their play, the elementary students obviously knew some of the tale and the traditions.
The first time Haman's name was mentioned and the kids booed and shook their loud groggers, Chloe about jumped out of her skin. Turning to Beca, she asked what was going on. Her girlfriend let her know that this would happen anytime Haman came on stage, or someone mentioned his name. "Those are traditional wooden noisemakers called groggers. Along with the boos, they are used to erase the memory of the evil man. Plus, the noise represents a time of conflict."
The moment the reenactment ended, the teens and adults encouraged all the children up as music filled the center. They lined up and began an impromptu parade and filed past the pre-k room to pick those kids up as well. Soon everyone was singing, laughing, and shaking their groggers as the children's party was in full swing. The actress who portrayed Queen Esther began passing around hamantaschen from the basket she had on her arm.
Once the food and festivities had died down, Stacie had a time finding Mrs. Goldman and convincing her to leave. In addition to the "pre-party" martinis they'd had at the house, the former Hebrew teacher had continued the celebration with wine. Stacie had graciously agreed to play designated driver for the elderly woman who still insisted she wasn't a Cheesehead.
After saying her goodbyes, Beca dragged Chloe from the center and loaded her into an Uber. They both had a little too much to drink, and ever since Chloe made her 'triangle' comment, Beca couldn't keep her mind off it. After Beca tucked the guinea pigs into their cages, she collapsed on the couch next to her girlfriend and threw her arm over Chloe's shoulder. "So… what did you think? Did you have a good time?"
"That was amazing, Beca. Who would have thought that so much fun could be created from something that could have been so tragic?"
"I know, right? I've enjoyed sharing my religion and culture with you, Chloe. I think it's made me even more appreciative of my background."
"I certainly love learning."
"Maybe you can understand why Purim is my favorite Jewish holiday ever. Now… how about we get back to the cookie comment."
Chloe grabbed one of the apricot hamantaschen off the tray and ran her tongue under the filling, loosening it before biting it away from the cookie. She gave Beca an evil smirk before turning around and walking towards the bedroom as she popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth.