Jess! It's been forever since I've posted with you! You used to be in DC - are you still there? Any chance of me meeting you when I'm there?

What's your Israeli size?

34 (it's in the European sizes).

and it is shoe size, right?

Yup. I hope I'll be able to find shoes my size (as opposed to the usually-at-least-one-size-too-big) in the USA.

If a restaurant is vegan (using no ingredients that come from animals) could they still be non-Kosher?

Yes, they could. Not everybody is strict about it (especially abroad), but I'm afraid that I am.

For example, there are some vegetables that should be cleaned very thoroughly to make sure that none of the very little bugs that live on them are left (those tiny bugs are really very much forbidden to eat - it's a stronger rule than, say, the not-eating-pigs one). That's why flour is sifted, rice is being checked etc. And that's even before getting in to the problems with the dishes, and the fact that some things (like baking) should require a jewish person present in at least some stages of the process, and so forth.

The safest way - the one that I use here, at home, in Israel - is to look for stuff that have a kosher certificate approved by a religious authority, both when it comes to products and when it comes to restaurants and the like. It's possible to be in a vegan place and find ways to work around each and every one of the problems (and you're definitely right, it's much easier in a vegan place, where there are no meat or dairy worries), but it requires lots of attention and may become stressful. And I would like to devote all my attention to the company of Buffistas.

[Edit: x-post with the very knowledgable Trudy.

Also:

Hil sent me a site link

Can you show me the link, please? Now I'm curious.

high temperature, then going over the interior of the oven itself with a kitchen torch

I assume that as long as the temperature is high enough (say, the highest you're willing to stand without worrying about your walls), then it's supposed to be OK. And what's a kitchen torch?

I'm trying to write down something coherent about both kosher food and shabbat (the Jewish Saturday), but this whole work thing, along with the paper I have due next week are coming in the way, silly time-consuming things that they are.]

I wonder how being kosher affects being pregnant and the cravings. For instance, occasionally, I get a huge craving for bacon. But if I had been keeping kosher my whole life, and thus never had bacon, I wonder if I would still crave it?

t /free association girl

Ahh, well. There's a good vegan asian place in Boston, but I very much doubt they take care of the l'il bugs. That's OK -- there are some good places here that are definitely kosher. They have a Glatt(sp?) Kosher sign in the window.

At least in some traditions, if a pregnant woman asks for something three (?) times you're supposed to give it to her even if it's not kosher.

I was at a party once when this came up. My official shiksa advice was go for the lobster.

At least in some traditions, if a pregnant woman asks for something three (?) times you're supposed to give it to her even if it's not kosher.

Does pointing and grunting 3 times count?

Aimee, Probably not, you wouldn't know what you're missing. (craving bacon, that is)

Nilly, 34, wow. Yep, you're looking at a size 4. Which you probably can't get too easily. Children's shoes...at least they're cheaper!

And I know, I haven't seen you around much. I'm still in DC, and I'm great. I'm moving in with my boyfriend in August, and we're travelling like crazy people. I've let myself out of the loop, so I don't know your travel schedule. Hopefully I'll be able to meet you; I'd really like that.

Kitchen torch=mini-flame thrower. Think of welders. They must have used one on Buffy at some point (likely not the kitchen variety).

edited to make clearer whom I was addressing

Yay for Nilly trip!

There's a possibility I may make it to the west coast leg of the trip, though not yet sure about whens and wheres. So deb, you might add me to your Nilly list, too, please. Profile addy's fine.

I wonder how being kosher affects being pregnant and the cravings.

There were actual discussions about that inthe talmud. They took very seriously the cravings of a pregnant woman. I remember a discussion about a pregnant woman craving something to eat on Yom-Kippur (a fast, and pretty much the holiest day of the year. Breaking the fast is a huge deal), and I think that she was supposed to be given what she was craving, if it was really that strong a need (but fed to her in a special way, little by little, with big breaks between each small bite).

But if I had been keeping kosher my whole life, and thus never had bacon, I wonder if I would still crave it?

Well, lots of the cravings come from smelling, so I guess that if you smell bacon being prepared, it can make you crave it. My mom, for example, is really strict about that - if a pregnant woman happens to smell something she was cooking/baking, she pretty much insists on giving her at least a taste (and, um, it's worth it - my mom is a great cook - so mostly nobody objects to that).

[And, again, x-post with Trudy]

Glatt(sp?) Kosher sign

It's an "extra" kosher, especially involving certain aspects of meat.

Children's shoes...at least they're cheaper!

That's the one advantage to it.

I'm moving in with my boyfriend in August

Congratulations!

your travel schedule

Right now it seems like I'll be in DC from the 30 or 31st of August until the 1st of September - the last stop before returning to Israel.

And thanks for clarifying the torch - I think that as long as the oven's temperature is high enough, that's OK.

[Edit: Liese! Yay!]

Nilly, that's about the same size that I wear. One of the best places that I've found for shoes is the children's department at Nordstroms. They sell the childrens lines of Steve Madden, Nine West, Candie's, (I think also Kenneth Cole, but don't quote me on that one), which are generally identical to the adult lines except for a slightly lower heel, and sometimes the leather parts replaced with fabric.

Right now it seems like I'll be in DC from the 30 or 31st of August until the 1st of September - the last stop before returning to Israel.

excellent, I'll be around then, and fully moved, I expect.