Blog 9: Catharsis

As ive explored an array of jewish foods that come from all over the world, i wanted to finish off my theme with something that touches me. Our topic, catharsis, is our "last" thematic assignment for food in literature, and i wanted to make something that touched me emotionally. Catharsis is the act of experiencing something that you know will upset you, but you do it to experience the emotions.

I did my research and ultimately found shlishkes, a hungarian-jewish delicacy eaten the night of shabbat. The reason i decided to make this potato dish was because it reminded me of someone i was very close to. Since my first days in this world, a woman named Marta was always on the sidelines. Although she wasnt my nanny, as she was my cousins, we were all very close. Id ee Marta once a week at minimum and she would take care of me when needed. I grew up with this lady and she guided me to be the person I am today.

As the four of us (brother and cousins) progressed in age we were met with a nightmare that we would never expect. Coming up from the playroom, excited to eat dinner, we opened the door to running water, and Marta on the ground with a pot in her right hand. After her begging us not to say anything, as she was afraid of getting in trouble, what had to be done, was done. Our family joined us that night as Marta was evaluated for medical purposes. Come to find out she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, given half a year left. As she changed her life around to the extremist diet of raw veganism, a step further from her vegetarian lifestyle, she grew and excelled the doctors word. She traveled back to hungary to live the rest of her life with her family, finding a husband, dogs, and a step daughter, all now supporting her from the sidelines. As her time came to an end, my intuition told me i needed to get ahold of her. I called many of her relatives to the point where i could finally have my last conversation with Marta. She passed a few weeks later.

Although Marta was christian, and probably never tried shlishkes, she's hungarian and i thought this dish would be a nice tribute to her. Martas love for cooking food, photography, and her perseverance through the hardest times of her life to make the most of it really motivates me to try my hardest. I make this dish as a reminder of Marta, and her journey.