I start Passover food shopping by buying six dozen eggs, but it’s never enough. Inevitably I return to the store at least twice, buying two or three more cartons of eggs each time. Matzoh garners most of the attention in Passover fare because of the unleavened bread’s prominent role in the Exodus story. Eggs, however, are the unsung heroes, working behind the scenes, enhancing nearly every recipe consumed during the holiday’s eight days.

Without fanfare, eggs perform the binding and heavy lifting usually accomplished by flour, the silky powder ground from cereal grains that are forbidden during Passover. With great prowess, eggs hold together the ingredients that go into Passover kugels, matzoh brie, and matzoh farfel casseroles. When egg whites are whipped to a frenzy with electric beaters, they increase in volume six to eight times, lending structure and leavening to many baked goods.

Eating adventurously may be considered a virtue for 51 weeks of the year, but when it comes to Passover cooking, tradition rules with a matzah ball-shaped fist.

Unfortunately, the canon of Passover-friendly comfort foods is filled with unhealthy fats, sugar, sodium, and cholesterol. And after a week of indulging on salty brisket and egg-laden cakes, seder goers often feel less than liberated.

With all respect to tradition, Bonnie Giller’s book, “Passover the Healthy Way” (self-published at AuthorHouse), posits that there’s a better way to enjoy the holiday.

As a registered dietician and certified nutritionist, Giller has spent the past 20 years helping clients meet their nutrition goals. And each year as Passover approached, she noticed the same concerns and struggles coming to the fore.

Itzik Barak, the executive chef at the 5-star luxury Inbal Hotel of Jerusalem, sent this exclusive recipe for a lamb dish for Passover. During the Pesach holiday, chef Barak and his staff craft close to 10,000 prepared meals. Barak, one of Israel’s leading culinary artists, has worked at some of the country’s elite hotels including Herod’s Palace in Eilat, Sheraton City Tower in Tel Aviv, and the former Sheraton Jerusalem Plaza.

Who would have thought, in this cookie cutter world, there would be a heimishe hamantashen controversy?

Let me tell you the whole megillah.

Out in Anaheim, Calif., where Mickey and Minnie live, in the community where I grew up, there is a changing group of women and men who are a bunch of Purim pixies. Baking in the Temple Beth Emet kitchen for the past 45 years, they have turned out tens of thousands of hamantashen.

Working in two shifts, with a division of labor and specialized tools, and using a not-so-secret recipe, each year they baked hundreds of dozens of prune, mohn (poppy seed), or apricot hamantshen.

Purim is a busy holiday. It starts with an evening reading of the Megillah of Esther, followed the next morning by the second reading of a story that rivals the pace of a best-selling novel. The plot features a brave and beautiful heroine, a despotic king, a clever uncle, and a villain who is destroyed by his own evil plans.

After the morning reading, many people visit family and friends to distribute “mishloach manot,” packages filled with two baked goods and a drink. They also give “matanot l’evyonim,” donations to the needy.

Finally comes the highlight of any Jewish holiday — a delicious meal. But unlike most Jewish celebrations, where dining occurs at night, the Seudat Purim is a feast served midday, often lingering until evening.

Celebrating Tu b’Shvat this year on an alien moon called Pandora? Why not?

As seen in “Avatar,” the 3-D, billion-dollar grossing movie, it’s definitely a place where trees are revered.

In the film, bluish people called Na’vi worship ancient trees. Here on earth, a Jewish people who have a “navi” or two of our own (navi in Hebrew means prophet) will celebrate Tu b’Shvat, the New Year for Trees, on Jan. 30, expressing in song and seder a kind of tree love as well. Why?

Jewish residents of Bright Side Manor, an assisted living facility in Teaneck, enjoyed lighting the menorah, traditional Chanukah stories and songs, and refreshments and Chanukah gifts on Dec.13 thanks to volunteers from Congregation Beth Am.
For nearly six years, members of the congregation have been giving their time and their enthusiasm to celebrate the holidays or just visit with Bright Side residents, many of whom have no family or few visitors.