Food: Artisanal honeys and more

Jewish Women's Magazine blog, "Beyond Brisket," authored by Jayne Cohen, has a post on the many varieties of artisanal honey, and another one ending the Yom Kippur fast in a traditional Italian way.

The honey blog post covers such varieties as lavender, blueberry, tupelo, sweet clover; star thistle (from Israel); from Mexico, smokey mesquite, avocado, orange blossom; Greek thyme and herbs, Italian acacia, lime blossom and more. The post includes where to get these specialties.

If you absolutely can’t get a special honey for the holiday, try this to make your plain honey more distinctive: warm one cup of honey in a small saucepan. Stir in sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary or mint; fresh sage leaves; or two teaspoons of dried lavender. Cover and let steep for several hours, then, heating the honey if necessary, strain it.

For breaking the Yom Kippur fast, there's a a moist, dairy-free almond sponge cake bocca di dama, brought - along with others - by Portuguese Jews who settled in Livorno.

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