Chabad of Tucson will host an evening with cookbook author Joanne Caras on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at Congregation Young Israel.
Caras’ cookbooks, “The Holocaust Survivor Cookbook” and its sequel, “Miracles & Meals,” memorialize lives lost in the Holocaust. The Port St Lucie, Fla., resident collected more than 240 stories of Holocaust survivors from around the world, along with some 500 food recipes from their families and communities.
Her decision to focus on survivors’ recipes and stories came after the death of her daughter-in-law’s mother — a Holocaust survivor to whom Caras felt intimately connected.
She also saw the books as a way to honor her husband’s family from Ukraine — all of them buried in the mass grave of Babi Yar.
Caras’ cookbooks “bring to life a world that has tragically been vanished,” says Chanie Shemtov, co-director of Chabad of Tucson, whose father was one of two survivors out of nine siblings. “What we lost in the Holocaust was not numbers or plaques on the wall, but real people with characters, tastes and stories.”
“The Holocaust Survivor Cookbook” is in its 10th printing, with copies shipped all over the world, says Caras.
Caras also hosts the TV show “Miracles & Meals” on JLTV (www.jltv.tv), available in over 36 million homes in the United States.
In her Tucson presentation, Caras will relate several of the most moving stories from her books. She also will present a selection of dishes for tasting.
Both books will be available for purchase at the event, or may be ordered in advance. Proceeds will benefit Chabad of Tucson and a soup kitchen in Jerusalem.
RSVP and pre-order cookbooks at www.ChabadTucson.com/RSVP.
