Speaking of kneydlekh...
Joseph Berger’s article in The New York Times, “Some Say Spelling of a Winning Word Wasn’t Kosher” (May 31, 2013), notes that YIVO is by recognized by many as the authority on Yiddish.
The winning word in the Scripps National Spelling Bee was knaidel (matzoh ball), or, as the spelling rules established by YIVO would spell it, kneydl.
Speaking of kneydlekh, have a look at this vegetarian recipe for dairy Passover “matzoh balls.” It’s from Vegetarisher Dietetisher Kokhbukh (Vegetarian-Dietetic Cookbook) pubished by Fania Lewando in Vilna (Wilno, Poland), in 1938.
(Fania Lewando, 1938).
MILKHIK PASSOVER MATZOH BALLS
Beat 5 egg whites to a foam (meringue) and gently fold in the 5 egg yolks. Add 2 cups matzoh meal, 1 1/4 ( 2 1/2 sticks) melted butter, some salt and 1/2 cup hot water. Refrigerate the batter overnight. Mix well and make into matzoh balls. Cook in beet brine, prune soup, or in milk.
Give it a try and let us know how it turns out! Or post your own kneydl recipe here, whether vegan, vegetarian, or fleyshik.
Kokhbukh' (Fania Lewando, 1938).
Fania Lewando’s Vegetarisher Dietetisher Kokhbukh, published in Vilna in 1938, is made up of 408 vegetarian recipes in Yiddish. The recipes are drawn from traditional Ashkenazic cookery such as kugels, blintzes, and pirozshki; vegetarian versions of meat dishes such as klops (meatloaf), schnitzel, and stuffed cabbage; dishes from European cuisine (bigos, tortes, and omelets); contemporary health food (juices and “vitamin drinks”); and some dishes that seem to be completely original (rice with strawberries, rice balls filled with mushrooms, and so on). In her book, Lewando argues for a vegetarian diet both on the basis of traditional Jewish values and modern scientific research. It offers a fascinating portrait of its time and place.
Fania Lewando’s Vegetarian Cookbook has been translated from Yiddish and annotated by Eve Jochnowitz and will be published by YIVO in the near future.