While growing up, the real sign of the start of summer was when my mother would switch from making hot borscht to cold borscht. The recipes for the two are quite different and serve distinct culinary purposes. Warm borscht usually includes some sort of meat and sliced cabbage, making it a hearty meal. Cold borscht is meant to be refreshing and light, with toppings such as cucumbers or a hardboiled egg.

Early members of the Eldridge Street Syngagoue brought  the traditional meal of borscht to the Lower East Side from Eastern Europe to satisfy the varied needs of the hot and cold months. The early members kept cool in the summertime by eating cold borscht and adding an American innovation – the egg cream! Follow their lead and try out the recipes below this summer.

A refreshing bowl of cold borscht made with a different recipe. Click the image for the source.

Sophie Ugelow’s Simple Borscht

Ingredients:

• 4 large beets with leaves
• 3 cups cold water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tbs. lemon juice (or vinegar)
• 2 boiled potatoes cut in 1/2 inch pieces (optional)
• 1 peeled cucumber cut in 1/2 inch pieces (optional)
• 1 cup sour cream
• (This blogger recommends adding cubed hardboiled eggs and a sprinkle of dill or parsley as well!)

Directions:

1. Cut tops off beets and save leaves. Wash leaves well and cut ito 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.
2. Peel beets.
3. Put whole beets and leaves into pot and add cold water. Water should cover beets plus one inch. Bring to boil, lower flame to simmer and cook until a fork easily goes into whole beet.
4. Remove beets and let cool. While beets are cooling, add sugar, salt and lemon juice to liquid. When beets are cool enough to handle, coarsely grate into soup. Refrigerate.
5. Serve cold with 1/4 cup sour cream and pieces of boiled potatoes, cucumbers, hardboiled eggs, or parsley. Makes four servings.

Old Fashioned Egg Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of chocolate syrup (we recommend Fox’s U-bet)
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• Seltzer
• Pretzel rod (optional)

Directions:

Pour the milk into a large glass. Add the chocolate syrup and stir well. Then tilt the glass and top off with a generous spritz or pour of seltzer. Serve immediately with a long spoon, straw or pretzel rod. Makes one serving.

Let us know how your recipes turn out! Also, we would love to hear your personal or family variations, so please post your additions or substitutions below.

Happy summer solstice everyone! Since today marks the beginning of the long, hot, sticky months on the Lower East Side, we at the Museum thought a little research about what life was like back in the turn-of-the-century summers would be appropriate. How did local residents beat the heat before air conditioned subways, ceiling fans, or even refrigerators? We have collected some of the best stay-cool tips from our neighbors past – stay tuned each week for a new summer tip fresh from the ice box.

"A summer scene in the streets of New York -- the ice-cream man." Thanks to the New York Public Library for the image! Click on the image for more details.

This week we decided to look into everyone’s favorite summer treat, ice cream!

While the original ice cream cone was invented in St. Louis in 1904, a local Italian immigrant New Yorker named Italo Marchiony invented a new model of ice cream cone. We discovered that his teacup shaped mold was actually patented a year earlier, in 1903. From an account written by his daughter, we found that he started his cool confections career as an ices vendor on Wall Street in the 1890s. He peddled his sweet treats in small liquor glasses, but the expense of maintaining the cups and replacing the broken ones motivated our friend Marchiony to invent an edible, and thereby disposable, ice cream container. This container design was successful enough for Marchiony to open up a series of pushcarts selling his new treats all over lower Manhattan – possibly one in our neighborhood! This local merchant turned innovator recreated how New Yorkers enjoyed their traditional summer snack.

Here in our neighborhood, people of all ages would enjoy a refreshing “pennylick”. This name referred to the price of a scoop of ice cream and the small liquer glasses used before Marciony’s innovation. We could not find any information, but were curious about whether the price changed with the advent of the edible cup.

I began my internship with the Museum at Eldridge Street on June 1st, just a short while before the Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival. I gleaned inspiration for the following meal from the mixture of cultures I witnessed at the festival. I began to explore the Chinese neighborhood in search of authentic, homemade Chinese groceries to prepare for my first Monday night dinner. After searching far and wide for Hanna’s, the Director of Family History and Cultural Programs, favorite homemade tofu store, I stumbled across a woman on Grand Street with nothing in her modest store but a table, a cash register, one large boiler, and two buckets of tofu. Holding grocery bags containing the homemade tofu and fresh vegetables (which totaled $5.50, any college student’s dream), I returned to my apartment. With little else in my cupboards, I pulled together a simple stir fry recipe. This Jewish boy’s love of food combined with the Chinese influence of the neighborhood came together to create one scrumptious meal!

This image is from our friends at www.TheLoDownNY.com! Check out their article about the Tung Woo Co. by clicking on this image.

Maple and Soy-Glazed Tofu & Veggies

For the glaze
· 1.5 cup chicken broth
· 4 tablespoons maple syrup
· 3 tablespoon soy sauce
· 1 tablespoon lemon juice
· 1 thin slice of lemon (if available)
· 3-4 garlic clove, smashed
· salt & pepper
· hot crushed red pepper
· dry basil
· 1 tbs. chunky peanut butter

For the tofu
· 1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry
· 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the veggies:
· Stir fry various veggies, such as sugar snap peas, broccoli, eggplant, cauliflower, etc. in a little bit of EVOO and water. Add salt, pepper, and 2 cloves of garlic.

2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, combine the broth, syrup, cider, soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. Boil for 5 minutes, then whisk in the cornstarch and cook, whisking constantly, until the glaze thickens, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Set aside.
3. Slice the tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Then use a knife or a cookie cutter to create cubes or playful shapes. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and sear until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

And did I mention that the tofu at the Tong Woo Co. on Grand Street is by far the best I have ever had? The owner is also extremely friendly. Do not hesitate to strike up a conversation with this fascinating woman. Enjoy the recipe!

–David Schlenker

I have heard many times that smell is the best sense at triggering memories. Sunday’s 11^th annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival was filled with all types of sensory reminders of times and places that are uniquely brought together and represented on the Lower East Side, specifically on Eldridge Street. The clic-clac of the mahjong tiles being tossed, the tickle of the fresh froth of an egg cream, and the deliciously greasy smell of egg rolls wafting through the street definitely brought memories back for some visitors and hopefully formed new ones for others!  I just started my internship here at the Museum two weeks ago and this was my first Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival. The day was a great welcome to the Eldridge Street community.

The festival was hugely successful at facilitating cultural exchange and a good time. We had the biggest turnout in the history of the festival: more than 9000 people joined us for a marvelous afternoon of activities, story telling, and performances. Please check out our Facebook page for photographs of all the fun!

The Frank London’s All Star Brass Klezmer Band started the festival off with an energetic and joyous march around the block before the crowds had filled the street. From the first emotive blast of the trumpet, I was filled with an odd sense of nostalgia for a time I never experienced. Something about the location of the synagogue took me to a different time, along with the entertainment, food, and activities that were provided at the festival. Many other people were compelled to share stories of egg creams past, most likely prompted by the classic taste of Fox’s U-bet chocolate syrup, key component of the classic Lower East Side beverage. Several visitors even discovered new information about their ancestry with the aid of a genealogy specialist.

The traditional tea ceremony was held with the backdrop of the new rose window from the balcony of the sanctuary, which was certainly not the lone intriguing cultural juxtaposition of the festival. The Chinese paper fan making was a cool favorite, providing relief from the humid afternoon. Edible treats abounded as well, with challah making inside the synagogue and dumpling/kreplach demonstrations on the street.

We loved reading people’s tweets about the festival as well! Please continue to post your photos and stories from the day on Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook.