Update: Going Forward

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you might have been wondering lately, "Hey, Lady Israelite, where did you go? How come you haven't been putting out posts as often?"

Well, if so, thanks for coming back; I truly appreciate it. To break it down, I've been very busy lately with this and that, and it's been cutting into my down time which cuts into my writing time.

But that's not the core behind the hiatus. Really, there haven't been as many posts coming out because, at least for now, I've fulfilled the writing I wanted to when I created this blog.

I made this blog to argue against common issues affecting women in the Israelite movement as well as to explain some of the basics to people who might be interested. I've explained the basics I care to, and I've tackled the issues that got me fired up in the first place. I wrote about head covering, the misunderstood women of the Bible, Israelite marriage, modesty, women-as-property, and the so-called Jezebel spirit for the following reasons:

1. These are women's issues that are largely decided by men who take them as a sort of "for granted" thing without delving deeper or considering alternatives.
2. At least in the circles I've experienced, no woman has/had challenged these "for granted" things, even when unevenly-applied or not supported by the Biblical Law.
3. As an intelligent, educated, fiercely religious woman, I figured I'd be good at looking at these sorts of topics and studying up on them for the benefit of my fellow female Israelites, a sort of "by woman for women" take on the women's issues of my religion.

Now that I've covered the topics I set out to, I have much less drive. There are many many many religious writers out there who cover a vast amount of religious topics. I don't want to just re-hash something that's been said a hundred times before. I also don't want this to devolve into the sort of religious blog I've seen (mostly from women, unfortunately), a sort of saccharine, trite blog that talks about the joys of home-making/cooking/crafts/etc. I do enjoy those things, but I don't see the need to fill the internet (and your screens) with more of it.

To sum up:

-Will I be deleting/shutting down this blog?

     -No. Though for now I don't have anything I feel a burning need to write about, I'm sure more will come up in the future.

-Will the slow pace of posts continue?

     -Yes, at least for now. I'll write about things as they pop up/come to mind, but if these last few months are of any indication, that will not be often.

-What if I wish to read more Lady Israelite goodness??

     -There's something you can do about that, friend. If you find something interesting you'd like to have my input on, or if you have a question you'd like me to answer, send it my way. I'd be interested to know what you guys'd like to see more of. 

Anyways, see you around!

Find Clean Food Tips and Tricks (focus on Marshmallows)

Hello, everyone!

Today's post is going to be short and simple. If, like me, you live in a less-than-urban center, you might have some problems trying to find clean versions of foods you used to enjoy. Foods like skittles and poptarts have stopped using pork-derived gelatin, but it can still be hard to find clean versions of things like....marshmallows!

"Remember us?" (source)

After I became an Israelite, I lived a few sad, solitary, marshmallow-less years. There were some lovely folks in our congregation who found some kosher marshmallows for sale at this grocery story or another, but I was never able to track any down for myself. 

About a year ago (just in time for Sukkot!) I started hankering for marshmallows, badly. (I promise we'll get to the "where do you find them?" question, but first, suspense-building!). Knowing that the original marshmallows had been made out of a plant, Marsh Mallow, I started searching the web to see if there was any way to order some, and if so, how to turn it into the sweet and spongy delicacy we all know and love. 

Unfortunately, I didn't find any great sources for Marsh Mallow, and the recipes were all rather complex, time-consuming, and requiring gelatin (of course!). Now, this should not deter the most devoted of chefs, but as pork gelatin (or a mix of beef and pork) is the most common type, it's difficult to find kosher gelatin, and, from the sources I searched, it's either very expensive and in a tiny shaker, or relatively cheap but in a huge bag. I'm not a baker or a confectioner, so I don't need a 1lb or 2lb or 15lb of gelatin taking up space in my house (but if you are--get on that!). Obviously, there had to be another way.

My next search was for kosher marshmallows themselves. Unfortunately, I hit a wall here, as well. There just aren't that many sources for kosher marshmallows, and, if there are, they don't have a large online presence. The marshmallows I found were expensive, sold in bulk, or some weird-flavored type (strawberry-mini-kosher-marshmallows!). I didn't want to compromise. I wanted to make s'mores. 

Then, I remembered something a wise friend had shared with me back in the day when I was first lamenting the uncleanness of skittles. When life hands you $50+ kosher marshmallows, you hand them back because that's ridiculous and buy $6 halal marshmallows instead.

(source)

But! Before this starts a stampede (A) To my inbox to lecture me (B) to the store to stock up on clean-food goodness, KOSHER AND HALAL FOODS ARE NOT THE SAME (and, if you are an Israelite, neither is 100% in fitting with our own rules). However:

(source)

In this case of marshmallows at least, halal marshmallows are made with the same sort of gelatin kosher marshmallows are--beef or fish, and are therefore just fine and dandy to eat. (Not to mention tasty).
Of religious concern is one of the special acts that makes halal meat halal--in addition to the specific slaughtering technique, there is an additional requirement; a blessing said over the animal. So, the question becomes, does this Muslim blessing make the food inedible to non-Muslim religious people? Let's look at 1 Corinthians 8. The whole chapter tackles this question. In the end, the answer reached is this, 'food offered to idols is no different from other food, so it doesn't matter. However, if eating this food would cause others to stumble in their religious walk, hold off.'
So there you have it! As long as your household understands the concept, eating clean halal food is fine.
Conclusion
If you're having trouble finding the clean version of a food you'd like to eat, there are a few methods you can try:

• Check on the internet for a kosher option
• You can check general sites like amazon, or more specific individual grocery store sites
• If you can't find the food item itself but you're adventurous, look for the ingredients!
• Health food companies will normally carry any food item you might want
• Pinterest and similar sites contain a wealth of diy recipes for pretty much every food you could ever want to make, even homemade rose-flavored marshmallows.
• If the first two options fail, look outside the box
• When using another religion's version of "clean" food, always double-check ingredients! For example, Israelites do not eat shellfish, but Muslims do, so a food could still be halal while containing unclean ingredients; you are responsible for your own food intake, so be diligent!

Happy s'moring! (source)