Review: “Kosher by Design Lightens Up"

Susie Fishbein’s newest cookbook

Reviewed by Miriam L. Wallach

Issue of Nov. 28, 2008 / 1 Kislev 5769

It’s safe to say that no one cook and author has influenced kosher cooking in the last 15 years or so more than Susie Fishbein. Dubbed the “Jewish Martha Stewart,” albeit without the felony conviction, Mrs. Fishbein has impacted kosher cooking the way Ms. Stewart has impacted homemaking; both have transformed the way one looks at these household responsibilities as more than chores. In fact, they can be looked at as skills, opportunities and art.

A far cry from the famed purple cookbook of years past whose main ingredients were margarine, pareve milk and onion soup mix, Fishbein has taken kosher cooking one step further in this sixth installment in her Kosher by Design series. “Kosher by Design Lightens Up” attempts to teach the kosher cook a thing or two, not only about cooking better, but about cooking healthier, as well.

In her introduction, Fishbein makes it clear that this should not be mistaken for a “diet book,” as her intention is to educate readers in the simple ways they can adjust their culinary habits to make tasty, interesting and healthy food. Fishbein reassures readers that eating well is not only something they can do by starting slowly, but also that “delicious” and “nutritious” can coexist harmoniously on [their] plate.” Numerous aspects of the book support this message.

The cover of the book, for instance, with its decadent slice of cheesecake — often the poster-child for high fat food — is the ambassador to this journey in which one learns immediately that this book is about food that we love but that no longer has to be high in fat and high in calories.

While being interviewed on the Nov. 17 edition of “JM in the AM with Nachum Segal” (91.1 FM / www.jmintheam.org), Fishbein talked about the cover, which she said was “the hardest thing to come up with, as you want a cover to represent what’s in the book,” and so in looking for a food that was going to represent her mission, “cheesecake really hit it.”