If you have ever attended a religious school, like parochial school or a Jewish day school, you might know a little something about watching the clock tick during morning prayer. I was a teacher at a Jewish day school, which had a compulsory prayer period every morning. As you can imagine, some students took it very seriously, some were present and indifferent, and some were truly misbehaved. The administration of our school recognized that students might be more engaged if they had some meaningful activity related to Judaism instead of traditional prayer. A fearless young teacher, I volunteered for the program’s pilot and was assigned Jewish Cooking, with a group of seniors, from 8:00 am until 8:36 am every other day.
Trying to teach anything, let alone cooking, to groggy teenagers first thing in the morning is a challenge. Trying to do it in half an hour made it even more difficult, especially when students misbehaved. One student in particular was a handful—never following directions, never listening, always engaged in side conversations.
We were making matzo brei, which is a favorite during Passover. Matzo brei is basically matzo crackers (either crushed course or fine) and egg fried in a pan. We sprinkled ours with cinnamon and sugar, which is the only way I had eaten it before. This student insisted that it was a far better dish if it was savory and more omelet-like, with fried fresh vegetables. He was insistent, bordering on rude, and I invited him to give me a recipe so I could get the ingredients and he could cook it for the class. Energized by my challenge, he rose to the occasion and presented the recipe to the group during our next class. I am happy to say that his behavior improved and he became an asset to our class cooking experiences and an enthusiastic, active participant.
Here is a basic matzo brei recipe. Make it your own by experimenting with it. For a savory version, omit sugar and cinnamon. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and your favorite veggies to the beaten egg.
Serves
1
Equipment:
two small bowls
fork
frying pan
spatula
Ingredients:
1 sheet of matzo
2 tablespoons hot water
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter or canola oil
cinnamon sugar for topping
1. Break matzo into small pieces and put in bowl. Put water on matzo and mix together with fingers.
2. Crack egg in other small bowl and beat with a fork.
3. Heat frying pan over medium heat. Melt butter in pan.
4. Pour egg over matzo, then pour into hot pan.
5. Let mixture become golden brown, flip and cook other side to golden brown.
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Make it a meal by adding a salad that isn’t exactly sweet or savory. This Melon-Cucumber Salad makes sense at breakfast or dinner and is a great harbinger of spring.