Mrs. Inventosh was my fifth grade teacher; she was responsible for teaching us about the Holocaust and the recent history of European Jewry. It was a heavy unit in our class--hard to take. Mrs. Inventosh's parents had died in the Holocaust. We didn't just get the gruesome documentary evidence of the camps (oh, we did get that), but we got her family stories. They were recent enough in time to be real to us kids.
Think in ratios, rather than absolute measurements.
The correct ratios are 2-3 parts potato to one part onion. So when I make a batch of latkes, I take 2-3 medium-large russet potatoes and one large onion. Then I add one egg, and "enough" matzo meal or flour to make a batter of the right consistency. You know how it's supposed to be if you're a cook.
If you do not have a meat grinder, you can make these by grating all the potato and onion. Just be sure to squeeze the mix as dry as possible.
Cut the potatoes and onions into chunks that will fit into the mouth of your meat grinder. I have a grinder attachment on the Kitchen-Aid mixer, but you can use anything that grinds. After you grind the veg into a meal, it will be very wet. Put it in a cloth and squeeze it just as dry as you can.
Then, take the other half of the potato that you've roughly grated with a hand grate (squeeze the potato dry first) and combine with the potato-onion meal. Add your egg, flour/matzo, and plenty of salt and pepper.
Fry in plenty of hot oil.. I mean plenty, not "a drizzle on the bottom of the pan." Drain on paper towels.
I'm a savory man, so I go for sour cream, not applesauce.
What you said here is so true...and it never occurred to me because to think of it this way, as we know, is something many of us instinctually also reject because..l’chaim. Right now, being separated from my family and friends and home I see what you mean clearly.
It makes me proud of us for coming this far. It is a miracle that we have when I pause to think about it. Even more by how our history but also our healing has been...something isn’t right. For example:
I was just reading about the Birkat Hagomel. I was struck by how commonly used it is for trauma, but it is meant only for trauma that includes “culpability” or a danger that is natural. In reformed traditions this seems to reflect the self blame that can haunt a victim of cluster B abuse. DARVO.
This brought a tear to my eye. I'm a little older than you, and I think I was taught the Holocaust accurately but definitely not with that level of depth. Mrs. Inventosh sounds amazing.
That was a lovely story, Josh. The revelations of the past week have been difficult to watch and read about - though we must not look away. Every schoolchild should have a Mrs Inventosh in their lives to show them the value of decency and history. She sounds like good people.
I wish everyone had a Mrs. Iventosh in their schooling experience. She's what I wish my father's mother had been, but Selma (not allowed to call her Bubbe or Grandma) wasn't much for being a grandmother, so that whole part of my Jewish heritage is missing.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking memory to share with your audience, and I understand why you're sharing it right now. I won't comment on that because it's too complex for this, but my heart also breaks that this memory you have of a kind, and lovely woman who actually taught you something of great value, and genuinely cared for the children she spent her time with, is far from what schooling, and teachers are these days. Something deep and profound has been lost, and I don't know if we'll ever get that back.
If you have a recipe (with measurements) for those latkes, I'm sure we'd all like to make some, and help share a little part of her memory with you.
One question for you: with applesauce or sour cream?
A lovely piece. I lived with a Jewish lady who’s parents escaped Germany in the 30’s and went to Argentina before settling in North London. I hung out with plenty of well todos. Helped out setting up her toddler music group in places where Helen Bonham Carter and Sean Connery etc brought their kids. North London between Golders Green and Hampstead is a Microcosm of wealthy celebs and Jews, many of whom have been captured by left leaning ideals.. but this.. this horror, the horror of realising a younger generation have been brainwashed, WILL NOT WASH. They are waking up to the madness that is being taught, much of which they unwittingly supported upto now. The atrocities in Israel and the madness that has ensued in the west marks the beginning of the fight back for Western Civic Values. The people of which I spent time with are the most connected, their friends are both Arabic, Russian, European, American, Chinese, Indian and South American. They are now quietly about pulling back the levers of power from captured institution and media that rely on their money to exist. Have faith in people. Stand with the Jews; they are good, moral and caring.
What a lovely memory, and a wonderful teacher. It's interesting to me because you and I are the same age, but I learned NOTHING about the Holocaust in school. (I grew up in western Massachusetts, in the public school system.) When I was 22 (now living in Boston) I went to see Schindler's List, and I was horrified and shocked by what I saw. It made me mad to realize that I had received such a crappy education. My 'history' classes amounted to the memorization of dates of events, with no discussion of the significance of any of those events. I wish I had had a teacher like Mrs. Inventosh.
What a treasure Mrs Invetosh was and continues to be. I have no specific memory of my school education re: the holocaust. I did have a Jewish girlfriend who fascinated me with details about their holidays, would bring me matzo crackers and teach me Yiddish words. My Dutch grandparents immigrated to NC in 1911 and stayed in contact with family in Holland during the German occupation. They had gruesome stories. In my 20's, I visited Dutch relatives in Holland as well as Dachau. Currently just finished BLUEBIRD, a historical fiction; a retrospective of how the Germany people were propagandised. I recommend it as it eerily resembles what is happening now.
I am not sure whether the Holocaust was actually covered in my public school education. But a couple years if that was spent in Charleston, SC, which has had a Jewish community since before the revolution as do Newport, RI, where I was born, and Savannah, GA. I am thankful that in the early ‘70s the prosperous merchants, doctors and lawyers in Charleston sent their children to public school, and from my classmates I was introduced the The Diary of Anne Frank. It may be because I was and still am a book reader, but my interest in and knowledge of that dreadful time in the 20th century has grown and deepened ever since.
I recall that in the early ‘80s I met a young mixed faith family in Chapel Hill, NC. His heritage was vaguely Jewish, hers Catholic, but his parents were aghast and unhappy when they learned of the impending marriage, because they had never revealed to their son that they were Holocaust survivors.
Such a blessing, these teachers who really “see” us and encourage our unique talents. For me, it was Mrs. Hunt, my second grade teacher. Although she never told me directly that I was smart, she let me rocket ahead with the materials, insofar as she could in a structured classroom with about 25 kids. We were allowed to read the books on a classroom shelf if we finished our assignments and I loved that. I would immerse myself in those books, only to realize that she was leading the rest of the class in math or reading lessons. She knew that I already knew the material and so she didn’t interrupt me reading. How cool was that?
Thank you Josh for sharing such a wonderful memory about your incredible teacher Mrs. Inventosh. I also remember the Holocaust being taught in sharp relief—-the texts had pictures of the piles of shoes, broken eyeglasses, and also those who were murdered; the picture of the mother holding her baby and the Nazi pointing a rifle at her. We were taught the horrors. We were taught to recognize a literal genocide. I remember a particular book called ‘I never saw another butterfly’, a book of poems written by children in the Terazim concentration camp, many of whom were killed. I have my original book from childhood. One look at the cover still causes the same tears as it did many years ago.
Mrs. Inventosh's Latkes
Think in ratios, rather than absolute measurements.
The correct ratios are 2-3 parts potato to one part onion. So when I make a batch of latkes, I take 2-3 medium-large russet potatoes and one large onion. Then I add one egg, and "enough" matzo meal or flour to make a batter of the right consistency. You know how it's supposed to be if you're a cook.
If you do not have a meat grinder, you can make these by grating all the potato and onion. Just be sure to squeeze the mix as dry as possible.
Cut the potatoes and onions into chunks that will fit into the mouth of your meat grinder. I have a grinder attachment on the Kitchen-Aid mixer, but you can use anything that grinds. After you grind the veg into a meal, it will be very wet. Put it in a cloth and squeeze it just as dry as you can.
Then, take the other half of the potato that you've roughly grated with a hand grate (squeeze the potato dry first) and combine with the potato-onion meal. Add your egg, flour/matzo, and plenty of salt and pepper.
Fry in plenty of hot oil.. I mean plenty, not "a drizzle on the bottom of the pan." Drain on paper towels.
I'm a savory man, so I go for sour cream, not applesauce.
Always sour cream...because I’m Magyar. ❤️
Correct.
I'm with you. Sour cream is the best. Servus.
Hey DC---It looks like your booking did not go through. Sorry about the site troubles. Can you try again?
If you continue to have trouble, email me through the site joshuaslocum.net, and we'll figure it out together.
What you said here is so true...and it never occurred to me because to think of it this way, as we know, is something many of us instinctually also reject because..l’chaim. Right now, being separated from my family and friends and home I see what you mean clearly.
It makes me proud of us for coming this far. It is a miracle that we have when I pause to think about it. Even more by how our history but also our healing has been...something isn’t right. For example:
I was just reading about the Birkat Hagomel. I was struck by how commonly used it is for trauma, but it is meant only for trauma that includes “culpability” or a danger that is natural. In reformed traditions this seems to reflect the self blame that can haunt a victim of cluster B abuse. DARVO.
Something more to think about. Thank you. https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/946002/jewish/We-Shall-Outlive-Them.htm
To clarify That reflection - in reformed tradition I meant because of it’s over use.
Isaak, I’d like to connect if you would? Perhaps we can discuss some ideas and thoughts. I’d like to. 🕯️
thank you for sharing this
This brought a tear to my eye. I'm a little older than you, and I think I was taught the Holocaust accurately but definitely not with that level of depth. Mrs. Inventosh sounds amazing.
❤️
That was a lovely story, Josh. The revelations of the past week have been difficult to watch and read about - though we must not look away. Every schoolchild should have a Mrs Inventosh in their lives to show them the value of decency and history. She sounds like good people.
I wish everyone had a Mrs. Iventosh in their schooling experience. She's what I wish my father's mother had been, but Selma (not allowed to call her Bubbe or Grandma) wasn't much for being a grandmother, so that whole part of my Jewish heritage is missing.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking memory to share with your audience, and I understand why you're sharing it right now. I won't comment on that because it's too complex for this, but my heart also breaks that this memory you have of a kind, and lovely woman who actually taught you something of great value, and genuinely cared for the children she spent her time with, is far from what schooling, and teachers are these days. Something deep and profound has been lost, and I don't know if we'll ever get that back.
If you have a recipe (with measurements) for those latkes, I'm sure we'd all like to make some, and help share a little part of her memory with you.
One question for you: with applesauce or sour cream?
Recipe is now pinned as a comment above.
Thank you! 😋
A lovely piece. I lived with a Jewish lady who’s parents escaped Germany in the 30’s and went to Argentina before settling in North London. I hung out with plenty of well todos. Helped out setting up her toddler music group in places where Helen Bonham Carter and Sean Connery etc brought their kids. North London between Golders Green and Hampstead is a Microcosm of wealthy celebs and Jews, many of whom have been captured by left leaning ideals.. but this.. this horror, the horror of realising a younger generation have been brainwashed, WILL NOT WASH. They are waking up to the madness that is being taught, much of which they unwittingly supported upto now. The atrocities in Israel and the madness that has ensued in the west marks the beginning of the fight back for Western Civic Values. The people of which I spent time with are the most connected, their friends are both Arabic, Russian, European, American, Chinese, Indian and South American. They are now quietly about pulling back the levers of power from captured institution and media that rely on their money to exist. Have faith in people. Stand with the Jews; they are good, moral and caring.
What a lovely memory, and a wonderful teacher. It's interesting to me because you and I are the same age, but I learned NOTHING about the Holocaust in school. (I grew up in western Massachusetts, in the public school system.) When I was 22 (now living in Boston) I went to see Schindler's List, and I was horrified and shocked by what I saw. It made me mad to realize that I had received such a crappy education. My 'history' classes amounted to the memorization of dates of events, with no discussion of the significance of any of those events. I wish I had had a teacher like Mrs. Inventosh.
What a treasure Mrs Invetosh was and continues to be. I have no specific memory of my school education re: the holocaust. I did have a Jewish girlfriend who fascinated me with details about their holidays, would bring me matzo crackers and teach me Yiddish words. My Dutch grandparents immigrated to NC in 1911 and stayed in contact with family in Holland during the German occupation. They had gruesome stories. In my 20's, I visited Dutch relatives in Holland as well as Dachau. Currently just finished BLUEBIRD, a historical fiction; a retrospective of how the Germany people were propagandised. I recommend it as it eerily resembles what is happening now.
I am not sure whether the Holocaust was actually covered in my public school education. But a couple years if that was spent in Charleston, SC, which has had a Jewish community since before the revolution as do Newport, RI, where I was born, and Savannah, GA. I am thankful that in the early ‘70s the prosperous merchants, doctors and lawyers in Charleston sent their children to public school, and from my classmates I was introduced the The Diary of Anne Frank. It may be because I was and still am a book reader, but my interest in and knowledge of that dreadful time in the 20th century has grown and deepened ever since.
I recall that in the early ‘80s I met a young mixed faith family in Chapel Hill, NC. His heritage was vaguely Jewish, hers Catholic, but his parents were aghast and unhappy when they learned of the impending marriage, because they had never revealed to their son that they were Holocaust survivors.
Hugs
Such a blessing, these teachers who really “see” us and encourage our unique talents. For me, it was Mrs. Hunt, my second grade teacher. Although she never told me directly that I was smart, she let me rocket ahead with the materials, insofar as she could in a structured classroom with about 25 kids. We were allowed to read the books on a classroom shelf if we finished our assignments and I loved that. I would immerse myself in those books, only to realize that she was leading the rest of the class in math or reading lessons. She knew that I already knew the material and so she didn’t interrupt me reading. How cool was that?
Yasher koach, Josh. May you go from strength to strength. Thank you for this beautiful story.
You captured the magic of the ordinary in this story so beautifully. Thank you. 🕯️
May her light and warmth continue to be a blessing in every heart and mind you touch.
L’chaim.
Thank you Josh for sharing such a wonderful memory about your incredible teacher Mrs. Inventosh. I also remember the Holocaust being taught in sharp relief—-the texts had pictures of the piles of shoes, broken eyeglasses, and also those who were murdered; the picture of the mother holding her baby and the Nazi pointing a rifle at her. We were taught the horrors. We were taught to recognize a literal genocide. I remember a particular book called ‘I never saw another butterfly’, a book of poems written by children in the Terazim concentration camp, many of whom were killed. I have my original book from childhood. One look at the cover still causes the same tears as it did many years ago.
She sounds like the most wonderful teacher! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story.