But none of this helps if you only shop in stores and you are not around kosher foods. If you are not in a highly Jewish area then the odds are that your local grocery store only carries a handful of kosher items. Even if you do live in a highly Jewish neighborhood the selection can still be abysmal and specialty kosher stores are rare as well as hard to find.

For the rest of the populous there is another option to fulfill all of your kosher needs: online shopping. Normally it is an option that people do not consider. More good news is that a competitive national market, tough food regulations, and a wide selection makes shopping online a very lucrative endeavor. The process could save you time as well as money while providing you with the largest selection of kosher foods on the market. But the question is where to start in this large market?

For the beginner—like those who have a newly discovered religion or want a return to old customs—one good place to start shopping online is with baked goods. They are readily used every week in Jewish ceremonies and it is a cheap starting place to get into the habit of eating kosher. You can also easily test out the quality and price of goods from certain vendors without losing anything. A good place to start is with Goldman’s Kosher Bakery. Family owned and operated for over 45 years, they sell all types of baked goods that are made from scratch.

But perhaps challah is not your first purchase for kosher foods. Maybe you make it yourself or you already buy challah from a local shop. If that is the case then perhaps buying kosher online means getting a hold of more specialized kosher items. And what is more specialized than wine? The market is a long way from just Manischewitz these days. Try KosherWine.com for a site that combines great selection and price to offer up a decently large wine selection.

Now if you eat only kosher on a daily basis you must know how time consuming it is to make all of those trips to the store. Buying online will save you a lot of time, and there are plenty of online kosher stores that offer the same style as your local grocery. You can get your bread, meat, dairy, and candy all in one stop.

If you need suggestions on grocery style stores then try AviGlatt and NetGrocer. If you need more specialized foods including people with dietary restrictions then try AllergyFreeKosher. If you are more health conscious then try KOLFoods, which is one of the only online meat stores that has organic and kosher. These are just a few suggestions and the options are quite substantial. But if none of these spark your interest then just start looking around with a Google search. Odds are you can find a store that caters to any style of a kosher lifestyle.

Sources:

• http://www.kosherquest.org/symbols.php
• http://kosherfood.about.com/od/guidetokosherfoodlabels/ss/symbols_2.htm
• http://www.goldmanskosherbakery.com/
• http://thekosherexpress.com/blog/order-kosher-meat-online/.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods
• http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/multi-day/sitings/15-weekly-feature/The-Foodie–Great-Kosher-Wines.html
• http://smartlifeblog.com/100-places-to-buy-your-groceries-online/
• http://koshershopaholic.com/2011/09/save-for-the-holidays-10-off-all-food-incldg-organic-meatpoultry-gluten-freeallergy-free-more/

Cross-posted to Blog.RabbiJason.com and the Jewish Techs blog at The Jewish Week

As a rabbi who is a social mediaologist, I find myself consulting a lot of synagogues and Jewish nonprofits on their social media strategy. The leaders of these institutions all recognize that they require a social media strategy, but the plan for how it will be implemented varies greatly.

Many synagogues in 2012 have yet to budget for social media marketing so they look for the quickest and cheapest solution. In most cases this comprises of identifying a volunteer lay person or existing staff member who is willing and able to set up the congregation’s social media presence across the major networks. In some instances this is a teen who claims to be a Facebook wiz and over-promises and under-delivers. With many volunteers, congregations often get what they pay for.

Jewish organizations seem to be a little further ahead than synagogues in the social media department. Third party retailers like Target and Home Depot have forced nonprofit institutions to get on the social media bandwagon quickly because of their online contests in which the retailer partners with nonprofits for fundraising prizes. These crowd-raising initiatives have required nonprofits to bolster their social identity online to compete in the contests.

While businesses in the for-profit world have allocated serious funds to their online marketing initiative, the nonprofit world is still light-years behind. That should be no surprise because nonprofits often take a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to change.

Robert Evans and Avrum Lapin recently wrote on the eJewishPhilanthropy blog about an unofficial survey they conducted to investigate how Jewish nonprofits are “utilizing social media and how it enables them to meet the demands that they and their leaders are facing.” From the outset, they assert that the picture is not entirely positive and quote a synagogue software system developer lamenting that “most of the Jewish world seems frozen in the 20th century when it comes to being technologically advanced.”

Our recent survey demonstrated a significant lack of human or dollar resources invested by Jewish groups into Facebook and Twitter. Very few synagogues even seem to have any presence on Facebook or Twitter, although they all have websites, many of which are reasonably interactive. Robyn Cimbol, director of development at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El, noted that her congregation was probably the first Jewish congregation to have a website but today they have no specific plans to foster Facebook or Twitter activities, citing other pressing priorities and no apparent demands from their 2,800 member households. “We have limited staff resources and capabilities for this,” she noted, “but we are gearing up ultimately to recognize social media as one communications opportunity,” she told us. She did emphasize that “a number of staff members do use Face Book [sic]… to communicate with specific constituents but it is not used Temple-wide.”

Facebook reports that 89% of 1.3 million U.S. nonprofit organizations boast a social networking presence, offering opportunities potentially for fundraising. However, fundraising on Facebook is still a “minority effort,” despite recent gains.

The authors of the study recognize that the Jewish nonprofits that have succeeded the most in social media marketing have been those that have participated in social fundraisers with third parties, such as mega-retailers or major foundations. Many organizations that find themselves competing in these online social fundraisers have allocated staff time or in some cases hired dedicated part-time staff to manage these initiatives (if they win there is a good return on investment).

The Jewish Education Project and JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute (in partnership with UJA Federation of New York) have launched the Jewish Futures Competition, which will dole out $1,800 prizes for Jewish nonprofits to advance their social media identities. As more synagogues and Jewish nonprofits become more focused on bolstering their social media exposure (moving from building their fan base on a Facebook page to increasing their brand amplification through likes, comments and shares), they will integrate their email marketing (Constant Contact, MailChimp, etc.) and online fundraising (Razoo, CauseCast, DonorPages, etc.) into their social networking.

Evans and Lapin’s study demonstrates that nonprofits do understand the value in using social networks for fundraising. “According to this year’s Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report, four out of five nonprofit organizations find social networks a ‘valuable’ fundraising option.” However, these same nonprofits aren’t able to quantify why that is. It is important to remember that social media is still in its infancy. As it grows (and its exponential growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon), more synagogues and nonprofits will get on board by allocating the necessary resources to its success.

As they say, the “proof is in the pudding” and the ROI will be noticeable for the synagogues and Jewish nonprofits who dedicate the necessary time and resources to building their brand/mission exposure through social media. Change is never easy and the nonprofit world is more risk averse when it comes to technological innovation. At least the conversations about social media integration are taking place in the Jewish nonprofit world, and the studies are showing that a realization exists that this is a necessary form of communication, marketing and fundraising in the 21st century.

Rabbi Jason Miller is the Detroit Jewish News’ technology staff writer. He is an entrepreneurial rabbi and technologist. He is president of Access Computer Technology in Michigan and blogs regularly at Blog.RabbiJason.com. Follow him on Twitter @rabbijason.

He was the best of us.

Jeff Zaslow

Supremely talented. Disarmingly humble. Relentlessly curious. Deeply rooted to his family and Jewish community. Jeff Zaslow touched and enhanced lives. For journalists who knew him and loved him, he was our yardstick for greatness.

While many tributes have been written about Jeff’s remarkable writing style and achievements, his Jewish neshamah, his Jewish soul, was at the core of his greatness and goodness. It was the wellspring of his abundant empathy and countless acts of lovingkindness. It was the source of the special radiance that attracted his wife, Sherry, and enveloped family, friends and colleagues in a warm glow when they were in his presence.

In our current era of digital media and instant information gratification, Jeff was an ink-under-the-fingernails guy. Reading newspapers was a lifelong addiction, providing daily highs of enlightenment, discovery and enchantment. And he made reading newspapers, especially when his work appeared in the Wall Street Journal, memorable for us.

It should be no surprise that while growing up in Philadelphia, part of Jeff’s insatiable newspaper appetite included the weekly Jewish Exponent (Sherry was a regular reader of the Jewish Review in her native Buffalo, N.Y.). Jeff appreciated the role of Jewish journalism in shaping and influencing a community. After moving to Detroit, the Jewish News filled that part of his information diet.

Jeff was more than an ardent Jewish News reader. He cheerfully agreed to speak at our events and harbored no shame in “talking us up” to advertisers. His wit and legendary sense of humor were on display as master of ceremonies at a “mini-roast” at the Jewish News in honor of my (now distant) 50th birthday. Sherry and Jeff shared their daughter, Alex, with us for one summer as an editorial intern. And as recently as last week, Jeff sent a generous donation, with an accompanying note, in support of the newly formed Detroit Jewish News Foundation.

Much has been written about Jeff’s unique ability to find a story idea and spin it into a magical and memorable yarn. I still recall a Shabbat dinner at our home that included Jeff, his family and David and Ilene Techner.

David, the respected director of the Ira Kaufman Chapel, knows a thing or two about trends in the funeral business. Jeff’s listening and questioning that evening resulted in two stories in the Wall Street Journal, including one that made the front page titled, “And He Was A Terrible Gambler: When Eulogists Get Carried Away.”

Over the years, I’ve accumulated a lunchbox full of notes from readers lauding (or criticizing) a column I wrote or a cause I was advocating. The ones that will always mean the most to me are from Jeff. Here’s an excerpt from one that is vintage Jeff:

“Hey Arthur, I was touched when I came home from playing cards last night and Sherry told me she had been reading the Jewish News (her favorite Thursday activity) and that you had written about me. It was so nice of you, and your kind words mean a lot to me.

“Yes, I’m off for 22 Jewish Book Fairs. My next book ought to be ‘People of the Book … Festivals’ about the private lives of all of the ladies who run the book fairs! I should keep a diary. Anyway, heartfelt thanks again for including me (and Sully) in your column.

Good Shabbos, Jeff.”

He was — and will continue to be — our yardstick for greatness. He was the best of us.

Members of the Council of American Jewish Museums (CAJM) convene each February to discuss mutual interests and the development of new ideas.

Empty Chairs, an installation by Linda Soberman, features miniature steel chairs that cascade from the ceiling, swinging and hanging tenuously by a thin string and serving as a metaphor of the Six Million. It is part of "Memory Lingers," an exhibit exploring themes of memory and identity that Soberman developed with Gail Rosenbloom Kaplan, on view at the JCC in West Bloomfield during the CAJM conference.

When they meet in Michigan, Feb. 26-28, those discussions will introduce them to local museums and administrators with other ethnic and subject orientations.

Some 100 members from across the country will participate in the annual conference with this year’s theme being “Place and Purpose: Jewish Museums and Community Renewal.” Their tour schedule will include visits to the Arab American National Museum and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History among other cultural centers.

“This will be one of our most robust conferences,” says Judith Margles, director of the Oregon Jewish Museum, board chairman of the council and chair of a session on the Future of New Jewish Culture.

“We always try to incorporate the complexities of the communities in which conferences are held, and we learn from those experiences. As we meet with people representing other cultures, we think of ourselves as Americans in the same profession, looking at and dealing with the same issues.”

Tickets for the tours and associated programs are available to the public, also invited to view two art exhibits planned to complement the event.

Host institutions are the Janice Charach Gallery and Shalom Street at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills and the Temple Israel Judaic & Archival Museum in West Bloomfield, all to be visited by participants who also will get to see the Detroit Institute of Arts, Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills and the Henry Ford in Dearborn.

“We’ve had private showings to get ready for all the visits,” says Terri Stearn, director of the Janice Charach Gallery and conference host co-chair with Stephen Goldman, executive director of the Holocaust Memorial Center. “At the gallery, we’re very pleased to be hosting this event for the first time.”

Some 80 institutions are part of CAJM, founded in 1977 by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. The organization develops programs to train museum staff and volunteers, advocate on behalf of Jewish museums, foster a professional network and promote information exchanges.

Josh Perelman, chief curator and director of exhibitions and collections at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, will be in Michigan to moderate a discussion on “Motor City Frontiers.”

Panelists will include Graham Beal, director, president and CEO of the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Lila Corwin Berman, director of the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History at Temple University.

“We want to have a lively but serious conversation about the roles cultural institutions play in the civic health of urban space,” Perelman explains. “Because of Detroit’s challenges, its cultural institutions can be archetypes and incubators in driving the revitalization of the community.”

Those who arrive the day before the conference begins will have a chance to visit the Motown Historical Museum (Hitsville USA) in Detroit, the studios where contemporary, far-reaching sounds were created for international audiences. Afterward, there will be a visit to a popular nightspot downtown.

The first formal day of the event includes tours to Cranbrook Art Museum as well as the JCC and Temple Israel galleries. Among the discussion topics are “Jews and American Cities”; “Collecting the Contemporary”; “Collaboration, Creativity and Community Building: Case Studies for Success in a Marketplace of Cultural Offerings”; and “Building Bridges: Museums and Schools as Partners.”

The second day takes participants to the Henry Ford, Arab American National Museum and the Holocaust Memorial Center. Discussion topics include “Where the Particular Encounters the Universal: The Civil Rights Movement in Museum Education”; “Critiquing the Show”; “Curating the 21st Century”; and “The Power of Place.”

The final meeting day features visits to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Detroit Institute of Arts. The Margles and Perelman sessions will be featured.

“Networking is a very important part of the conference,” says Goldman, who wants participants to understand that the Holocaust Center also teaches about Judaism and invites traveling exhibits. “Knowing one another helps with collaboration.”

CAJM meets Sunday-Tuesday, Feb. 26-28, at various locations in the Metro area. For a complete schedule, go to www.cajm.net.

Nonmembers can join the organization and attend the entire conference for $400. Day passes are $175 and include tours and meals. To get more information and to register, call (248) 432-5579.

- By Suzanne Chessler, Contributing Writer

Jeff Zaslow

A gifted writer and family man noted for his compassion, insight and humor, Jeffrey Zaslow always lived the way he advised in a television interview earlier this year: “You have to make the most of each moment, because … you never know.”

His outstanding personal qualities and body of work are what family, friends and fans everywhere will remember following his shocking death on Feb. 10, 2012. Mr. Zaslow, 53, of West Bloomfield, the husband of Fox 2 News Detroit anchor Sherry Margolis, perished in an automobile accident in northern Michigan.

Mr. Zaslow was driving home from an overnight in Petoskey to promote his latest book The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters when he lost control of his car and skidded into the path of a tractor-trailor. The accident happened around 9 a.m. near Elmira, on snow-covered M-32, about a half mile from US-131.

Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff and Cantor Meir Finkelstein officiated at his funeral held Feb. 13 at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, where the Zaslow family belonged. The overflowing sanctuary — with upwards of 1,500 people — included many colleagues from the media as well as people of all walks of life whose lives he had touched.

In his eulogy, Rabbi Krakoff compared composer Franz Schubert’s acclaimed “Unfinished Symphony” to Mr. Zaslow’s “unfinished life.” Several family members and friends also spoke, among them, the three Zaslow daughters: Jordan, 22; Alexandra, 20, and Eden, 16; his mother, Naomi Zaslow; and Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the hero airline pilot who was the subject of one of Mr. Zaslow’s best-selling books.

A native of the Philadelphia suburb of Broomall, born in 1958, Mr. Zaslow and his family belonged to Beth El Suburban Synagogue. Lisa Zaslow Segelman said at the service that she always idolized her older brother who would come home and “tell me everything he learned about kindergarten that day.”

Mr. Zaslow was a writer from the start. He dictated his first story at age 6, had his first poem published at 9 and won $500 in a poetry contest when he was 12. After high school, he majored in creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Following his 1980 graduation, Mr. Zaslow’s first professional job was at the Orlando Sentinel in Florida. A colleague there introduced him to a friend, Sherry Margolis, a Buffalo native. No sparks happened, she said, until they met three years later at the same friend’s wedding. Mr. Zaslow was by then a Chicago-based columnist for The Wall Street Journal; she was working as a broadcaster in Detroit.

“As soon as we saw each other the night before the wedding, it was like the universe had shifted,” Margolis said. “We danced and were together at the wedding, and then had a commuter relationship for two years until we got married in my hometown of Buffalo 24 years ago on the Fourth of July.”

Margolis said the couple’s song was the romantic “Drive All Night” by Bruce Springsteen, Mr. Zaslow’s favorite performing artist, and that inscription is on her wedding band.

The whole family became fans because Springsteen is “a fine, fine person with a lot of integrity — as was Jeff,” Margolis said. Springsteen’s books, albums and memorabilia are all around their house. Jordan Zaslow said her father started a Saturday morning conga line with “the five of us bopping around the room to Springsteen tunes.” If her husband had lived, Margolis said they hoped to visit Paris for their 25th wedding anniversary — and take in their first overseas Springsteen concert.

He probably would have wanted to bring their daughters, too, she said, because they were close and Dad was their hero. The girls and Margolis knew they were always in his thoughts, even when far apart.

Jordan lives in Los Angeles and Alexandra came in for the funeral from Amsterdam during her second term abroad from Indiana University. Eden is a junior at West Bloomfield High. In their eulogies, the girls said they take comfort remembering that “I love you” concluded every conversation and email between them.

“Go home and hug your children and your spouse,” Zaslow advised everyone.

Eden, Alexandra, Jeff, Sherry and Jordan Zaslow on vacation in Costa Rica

Alexandra Zaslow recalled good times with her dad on vacations to see family members in Florida and at the New Jersey shore. She and her dad would ride their bikes on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.  “We could sit and talk for hours, and he cared about whatever I had to say,” Alex said.

Aiding Jewish Causes
“Jeff was such a mentsh and just loved people,” said Margolis, who didn’t mind sharing him with the world. “He had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known.” She said she couldn’t keep track of all the appearances her husband made in Metro Detroit and elsewhere on behalf of Jewish and other organizations, and to promote his books.

“He never knew the word ‘no,’” agreed Peter Perlman, a former Great Lakes Region of B’nai B’rith president. At Perlman’s invitation, Mr. Zaslow served several times as master of ceremonies for the organization’s Great American Traditions Award dinner, and was to have hosted again in March.

Last Nov. 6, Mr. Zaslow volunteered to be emcee at the annual fundraising brunch of the Sky Foundation Inc., a charity to raise awareness and develop an early diagnosis for pancreatic cancer founded by Sheila Sky Kasselman of West Bloomfield. To aid the cause, he auctioned off a rare copy of The Last Lecture, the inspiring story of Professor Randy Pausch, who stayed positive while facing terminal pancreatic cancer — signed by the late professor.

Perlman recalled Mr. Zaslow’s sensitivity at the book signing line that followed one of his talks at the JCC Jewish Book Fair. He wouldn’t just sign his name. Instead, “Jeff extended his hand to everyone and would say, ‘Tell me something about you’ and then he’d write something personal about the person in the inscription.”

That was typical Jeff Zaslow. “He was always trying to find out how people tick,” said Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin, another Zaslow friend.

A story that Jewish News Contributing Editor Robert Sklar recalled about Mr. Zaslow’s kindness had to do with young Andy Berman of Farmington Hills. Andy, now 14, was 12 when he met Mr. Zaslow at the birthday party of a family friend.

Andy recalled, “Jeff was really funny and nice and said I was the youngest person who had ever told him they had read his book The Last Lecture.”

At the time, Andy was preparing for his 2010 bar mitzvah at the Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills and needed to give a talk about a hero. Inspired by Mr. Zaslow, he decided to share the story of Randy Pausch and The Last Lecture.

“Mr. Zaslow shared hours of his time answering my questions and gave me the inside scoop by showing me a scrapbook he made about the writing of The Last Lecture,” Andy said. Mr. Zaslow had an out-of-town commitment and couldn’t attend his new friend’s big day, but instead, the author gave a talk at the Birmingham Temple in Andy’s honor soon after the bar mitzvah.

Noted Sklar, “Jeff achieved world fame but never forgot that what truly matters in life can sometimes be nothing more than taking a curious, active interest in an engaging boy with a mission of his own.”

 A Unique Storyteller
Creative writing, but not especially fiction, is what Mr. Zaslow always loved. “He didn’t follow the money — only the story,” said his mother, Naomi Zaslow of New Jersey. She called Jeff “the child of my soul, because of his compassion for others.” He showed this through his actions as well as his writing.

As Margolis’ colleague, news anchor Huel Perkins, noted Friday in his teary on-air announcement of Mr. Zaslow’s death: “The words you would write would touch our hearts.”

Margolis said her husband “told his stories as though he was sharing them with you in your living room.” And sometimes homes were where he got ideas for stories.

After his selection to succeed Ann Landers at the Chicago Sun-Times, Mr. Zaslow provided sensitive advice for the “All That Zazz” column for 14 years. He then returned to The Wall Street Journal as a Detroit-based columnist. Then came his amazing output of five best-selling books in four years. After The Last Lecture, now available in 50 languages, he was the author or co-author of: Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters with Capt. Sullenberger (2009), The Girls From Ames (2009), Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope with U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Capt. Mark Kelly (2011) and The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters (2012).

“Jeff was a devoted father and his last book was another way of telling his daughters, ‘I love you,’“ said Fox 2’s Murray Feldman, who met his future co-anchor, Margolis, after she came to the station in 1984. Feldman and his wife, Marla, would invite Margolis, then single, to their home for holiday dinners. “We embraced Jeff once they started going out,” he said.

Putting aside Zaslow’s reputation as a great, inspirational writer, to his legion of friends, “Jeff was simply the funniest guy in the room,” said JN columnist Al Muskovitz — himself no slouch as “Big Al Muscavito,” one of the “Purtan’s People” on Dick Purtan’s former WOMC-FM radio show.

Alex Zaslow said she felt proud that her dad’s entertaining talks at events she attended sometimes brought standing ovations. Carolyn Krieger-Cohen, another close family friend, said the humorous and touching speeches he gave at the Zaslow girls’ bat mitzvahs are legendary.

Family And Friends
The Saturday night before Mr. Zaslow died, Krieger-Cohen decided she and her husband, Jason Cohen, should act upon a new year’s resolution and arrange a dinner party. They invited the Zaslows, Al and Debbie Muskovitz and two other couples. The guests didn’t all know each other. On the day of the party, Krieger-Cohen wasn’t feeling well, but persevered with her plans.

“No words can express how grateful I am that we did not cancel,” Krieger-Cohen said. “It was one of those nights — from the minute everyone walked in, we all became fast friends. So much laughing and talking about everything under the sun.”

As the table talk turned to marriage. Sherry Margolis shared her thoughts about Jeff with the guests, saying, “I’m more crazy about him now than when I married him.”

On that last special evening with friends, Krieger-Cohen observed that “Jeff had such a blast — he’d been working so hard.

“Now, no one can wrap their arms around the fact that he’s gone, less than a week later,” Krieger-Cohen added.

“Jeff left such a legacy within the pages of his books,” Margolis said. “For those of us fortunate to have him in our lives, the legacy goes beyond the printed word. We know how special he was as a man, as a person, as a husband and as a father.

“We were so blessed.”

Jeffrey Zaslow was the beloved husband of Sherry Margolis-Zaslow and the cherished father of Jordan Zaslow, Alexandra Zaslow and Eden Zaslow. He was a devoted son of Harry and Naomi Zaslow; dear son-in-law of George and Marilyn Margulis; loving brother of Darrell (Sherri) Zaslow, Lisa (David Segelman) Zaslow Segelman and Dr. Michael (Amy) Zaslow; and brother-in-law of Randy (Debby) Margulis and the late Dale Margulis. He also is survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and a world of friends.

Interment was at Clover Hill Park Cemetery. Contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.  Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.

By Esther Allweiss Ingber, Contributing Writer

Host a Girls Night In

Invite your BFFs for a feel good evening of girl time; the twist to this tried and true get together?  Hire a local expert to give a class.  Chef Ina Cheatem, of Fresh Delights, brings a healthful approach to all her cooking and offers “a cooking class party that is tons of fun and customized to any dietary needs including vegan and gluten free.”  Call Ina at 248-996-7169 or check out her website at www.freshdelights.com.

Organize a Moveable Feast

Gather your neighbors and plan a strolling dinner party–it’s a great way to share the work and expense of entertaining.  Here are a few ideas that get everyone involved at each house.

Hors d’oeuvres:  Set up a blind wine tasting with at least three different types and ask everyone to guess.  You can do this in teams (or by couple).  See who’s the most knowledgeable; award the winning oenophile a small prize (such as wine charms).

First course/appetizers:  Create a salad bar on your dining room table with ten to fifteen fresh items.  It’s colorful and festive and everyone gets to assemble their personal creation.  This is easy to prepare and set up ahead of time so the host is able to enjoy as well.

Main course:  Keep it simple.  A big pot of linguine with a couple of sauce and veggie options will satisfy even the heartiest eaters. Everyone loves pasta and it’s easy on the wallet.

Dessert/coffee:  Chocolate fondue will be the hit of the night.  Offer up a selection of goodies including pretzel rods, marshmallows, pineapple chunks and strawberries.

Be sure to plan something fun for the last stop like Charades, Pictionary or Apples to Apples.

Plan a Date Night – It is February, after all

Trade childcare with a friend, dim the lights, cue the music and spend the evening snuggling and whispering sweet nothings. For dinner, The Festive Chef, Cassandra Morrison, will come to you and “prepare a chef’s table customized for you in the comfort of your home.”  Add in a couples massage for an additional fee.  For menu ideas, call Cassie at 248-353-3300 or visit www.festivechef.com.

Top it all off with a “bouquet of lavender roses” and a roaring fire and you’ll feel like you’re at a bed ‘n breakfast.  According to Jeffrey Jucewicz, of Fleurtech, adding some “crushed lavender, pillar candles and a bottle of wine will create romance-atherapy.”  For more ideas, reach Jeffrey at 313-570-0737 or visit www.fleurtechdesigns.com.

 Family Pizza Night

Trader Joe’s sells all the fixings necessary to make your own pizza from fresh dough to toppings.  Each “bag” of dough is enough for 3-4 servings.  Sprinkle flour on your kitchen table, give each family member some dough and a rolling pin and you are on your way to family pizza night. You can create different types of pizza depending on everyone’s preference.  We make white pizza with pesto and traditional cheese pizza with red sauce.

Spring is just around the corner. But, living in Michigan means we get to experience all four seasons.  So, make time to enjoy Fabulous February! Let us know which idea you tried and how it turned out.

Turns out this place is pretty great for everyone — you, your parents, your kids, your friends, your business associates, too. Award-winning chef/proprietor Brian Polcyn and his executive chef, David Gilbert, both studied under European culinary masters and bring an inventive flair to the bistro’s French, Italian and contemporary American menu. Polcyn’s motto is “Cooking What Nature Provides” and indeed, the cuisine here is fresh and flavorful.

That brings to mind Forest Grill’s bread pudding. It’s just incredible. A cinnamon brioche is baked with bits of dark chocolate, then topped with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato. It’s crusty, comforting and sweet, a perfect melding of warm and cold tastes. Every spoonful is heavenly, and you’ll be done way too soon.

Order the bread pudding a la carte or as a choice on both the Stimulus Lunch Package ($15) or Dinner Package ($30). These prix-fixe meals are a great value, not including tax or gratuity. Diners get to enjoy three courses with a choice of two options — the same list every day.

For starters, at either lunch or dinner, there’s fragrant Tomato Bisque En Croute, a little crock of soup with puff pastry on top. Or, select Baby Heirloom Beet Salad (dinner) or Whole Leaf Caesar Salad (lunch). I went with the Caesar, a pretty plate of hearts of romaine, Hass avocado (it needed more!), garlic croutons, Parmesan chips, Spanish white anchovy and lemon slice on top.

At dinner, the package’s entree (middle) course, is either Spiced Trout Amandine with butter-poached fava beans, almonds and corn pudding; or Veal Cheeks, a tender cut accompanied by Parisian herb-and-Ricotta cheese gnocchi, wilted spinach and tomato.

Forest Grill General Manager Monica Gilbert, married to Chef David, said menus change seasonally but never the Veal Cheeks. “It’s been a perennial favorite since we opened,” she said.

The second course on the Stimulus lunch menu is either Chicken Paillard, topped with wild mushrooms, baby arugula, asparagus, Parmesan, aged balsamic, Parmesan reggiano; or Vegetarian Parisian Gnocchi, served with spring vegetables and wild mushrooms. I appreciated the blended flavors in the simply seasoned grilled chicken dish, though a complete stalk of asparagus would have made it better.

For the third course, the wonderfully silky Chocolate Pot de Creme is the other dessert in either package. All meals served here come with a warm loaf of seeded bread.

The regular Forest Grill menu is no slouch either. It’s highlighted by house-made charcuterie, clay oven-baked pizzas, a raw bar and traditional bistro dishes. Appetizers include black truffle risotto, baked short rib and seared scallop.

For those who enjoy wine and champagne, the Forest Grill’s wine cellar, overseen by Monica Gilbert and Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi, includes 48 grape varieties from 50 growing regions. Diners may try multiple wine styles in three-ounce portions for the price of a traditional glass of wine.

Forest Grill is located on the ground floor of a modern, brick mixed-use building, 735 Forest, in Birmingham’s so-called triangle neighborhood, east of Woodward and south of Maple. Residents living in the luxury lofts have indoor parking; office suites comprise the second floor. The bistro has a contemporary but plain decor — subdued colors, dark wood floor and tables. Dominating the space are huge windows with shades looking out on Forest and adjacent Elm. Jazz played during my lunchtime visit. Unfortunately, the restroom requires a walk outside the room and down a flight of stairs.

Polcyn, an alumnus of The Lark and the former Golden Mushroom, formerly owned Pike Street Restaurant, Chimayo and Acadia. Since 1995, he’s helmed Five Lakes Grill in Milford. Forest Grill was chosen Detroit Free Press Restaurant of the Year for 2010. Deservedly so.

The Forest Grill
735 Forest Ave.
Birmingham, MI 48009
(248) 258-9400
$$$ out of $$$$

By Esther Allweiss Ingber, Contributing Writer

Dear Eden,

When I heard the horrible news yesterday evening about your father’s tragic death I immediately thought of you. I then spent the entire 25 hours of Shabbat asking God how this could happen and hugging my children a few extra times than I ordinarily do.

I can’t stop thinking of the first time I met you because, whether you realized it or not, you taught me so much about your father. And about life. It was in September 2010. You were a student in my class at Temple Israel Hebrew High School. It was the first time I had ever taught a high school class about blogging and I was eager to see each teen’s creativity. The first session was an introduction to blogging and I recall you weren’t there.

In the second session of the course all twenty teens set up their new blogs and began to write their first post with some excitement (or as much excitement as teens show in a Hebrew High School class). You sat in front of your computer with nothing on the screen for several minutes. When I came over you explained that you had no idea what to write about or even what the focus of your blog should be. It was then that I said one of the stupidest things I have ever said to anyone. “You’re Jeff Zaslow’s daughter and you have writer’s block?” I wished I could take those words back. Fortunately, you laughed.

Photo by Eden Zaslow (2012)

I told you the story of how I first met your parents. Ironically, it had been at my own Hebrew High School twenty years earlier. Your mom and dad came to Adat Shalom Synagogue to speak to the high school students about their careers in the media. Of course I knew your mom from the television news, but I was so intrigued with your dad’s job as an advice columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. He read some of the more humorous questions he had received over the years. And of course his humorous responses.

You and I talked for a while and I asked what you enjoy doing. You told me that you enjoyed photography. I told you it would be a great idea if your blog was a collection of your photos. Since you didn’t have any of your photographs on that computer’s hard drive you decided to make your blog about something else. I told you that I had recently been asked to start a blog for Detroit’s Community Next about Jewish celebrities. You thought that sounded like a great idea and decided to focus your blog on Jewish celebrities and Detroit’s budding film industry. In your opening blog post you wrote:

Hello, I am Eden Zaslow, a student at Temple Israel Monday night school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. In my blog I will be talking about Jewish celebrities and the new or soon to be new LA: Detroit. I will be posting facts and gossip about Jews and about the movies being filmed in Detroit. Enjoy!

The next time we had class you posted about how Michigan’s current race for governor would affect Detroit’s film industry. You correctly predicted that if Rick Snyder became Michigan’s next governor it would jeopardize the film industry. While you didn’t continue that blog, I know you have continued your photography. In fact, you might be the youngest photographer to have a photo credit in People Magazine. I know how proud your dad was about your photo of him being used alongside the review of your his last book, The Magic Room.

Eden and Jeffrey Zaslow

I know I’m not the first to tell you this, but The Magic Room was your dad’s last lecture. He helped make the words “last lecture” into a household term when he helped Prof. Randy Pausch leave his legacy to the world. The Magic Room was your dad’s legacy. He wrote the book for you and your two sisters. He wanted to share how special the father-daughter relationship is, and in so doing he helped so many parents do their most important job a little better. Having my own daughter, I’m grateful for this beautiful book.

This morning in synagogues all over the world, the Jewish people heard about Yitro’s contributions to the Jewish people. Yitro was a Medianite priest and Moses’ father-in-law. But he was also an advice columnist of sorts like your dad was at the Sun-Times. Yitro gave very important and useful advice to Moses that helped him be a better leader. While the Torah doesn’t mention this fact, Yitro’s advice also helped Moses be a better father and husband.

Your dad, Jeffrey Zaslow, was a modern-day Yitro. Whether it was following in the footsteps of Ann Landers as an actual advice columnist or writing brilliant books like The Girls from Ames and The Magic Room, or helping our heroes like Prof. Randy Pausch, Pilot Sully Sullenberger, and Rep. Gaby Giffords write their memoirs, your dad shared his wisdom with millions. The number of languages his books were translated into is a true testament to the far reach his books had.

I wish I could give you some explanation for the tragic accident that took your father’s life before he could see his own daughters trying on their wedding gowns in front of the mirrors of the Magic Room.

I wish I could share a prayer or a psalm or an inspirational quote that could take away some of the pain you and your family are feeling right now. There is no explanation. It is shocking. It is horrific.

Eden, you taught me an important lesson and one I won’t soon forget. You taught me that we are not our parents. Just because your father was a prolific writer who was publishing a best seller each year, doesn’t mean that his 15-year-old daughter shouldn’t struggle in coming up with a theme for her new blog. Maybe writing won’t be your thing. Maybe it will be photography. Or a million other things. No matter where you place your talents, I know one thing is for certain. Your father will be so proud of you. He will be looking down at his daughters and beaming with pride.

Please know that your father left an indelible mark on our world. Through the gifts of his wit and wisdom, his keen ability to listen to others, his ability to tell stories, and his genuine desire to help others, Jeffrey Zaslow will long be remembered and cherished. But more important than that, he was a mensch and a wonderful and caring father.

May your father’s memory be for blessings.

Last May, she launched Doodle Home (doodlehome.com), a web-based interior design company. And in November 2011, the company’s e-commerce database debuted, adding the missing link to an ongoing mission to create an online design destination.

Jennifer Gilbert

After graduating from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in interior design, Gilbert, 43, worked on a few residential projects before mostly putting it aside to marry Dan Gilbert, chairman and founder of Quicken Loans in Detroit, and raise their five children, ranging in age from 5 to 15.

She also is working toward finding a cure for neurofibromatosis through the Gilbert Family Neurofibromatosis Institute at Children’s Memorial in Washington, D.C., and serving on the boards of various nonprofit organizations, including ORT America and the Israeli and Overseas Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

When her youngest was approaching kindergarten age, she began itching to get her hands back into the design pot, so she collaborated on several multimillion-dollar projects as well as working on her own Franklin home.

“I was going online a lot, and I realized that the industry was so antiquated and fragmented,” she says. “Sourcing products is overwhelming. The Internet has so much — it’s a sea of information — but there wasn’t one place where you could discover, be inspired, get information about specific products, create your own looks, then follow through and purchase.

“I started thinking about how to make it more efficient. The whole concept of Doodle Home is to simplify the design process.”

Doodle Home's Style Finder presents users with interactive images to help identify their personal design style.

So Gilbert, as founder and CEO, teamed with Fernando Prieto, the company’s president, whose automotive background offers a fresh perspective to the interactive and immersive technology. They compiled a staff of 10. Doodle Home quickly moved from Quicken’s former Livonia offices to another Dan Gilbert purchase, Downtown Detroit’s Madison Theatre Building.

The building was originally designed in 1917 as part of the Madison Theater complex by architectural luminary C. Howard Crane, who also brought Detroit the Fox Theatre, State Theatre, Orchestra Hall and Detroit Opera House. Gilbert had a hand in renovating it, along with Southfield’s Neumann Smith Architecture, into its current incarnation as an entrepreneurial tech hub.

The building is completely occupied by companies such as Skidmore Studio and Detroit Labs, which are committed to making Woodward Avenue a technology and Web-centered corridor of growth and activity known as “WEBward” Avenue.

Doodle Home is more than just a website. Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer, a design professional or a manufacturer of luxury goods, Doodle Home caters to all, allowing each to create and visualize finished designs. For the consumer, members (joining is free) can browse Doodle Home’s Look Book, a collection of pristine professionally designed spaces, like the pages of a favorite decorating magazine. But these images are interactive and have all been designed by award-winning decorators contributing to the website. Users can link to specific pieces within the page, or have similar pieces suggested to them, purchase the pieces and connect with the designers, if they choose.

There’s a Style Finder, where members are shown a series of interactive images to help identify their personal design style, from Cool Minimalism to Country Fresh to Not Your Mother’s Traditional. Gilbert’s style is Effortless Eclectic. A Color Finder allows members to utilize inspirational images to create a customized color palette. And layers soon to be launched include a Floor Plan Maker, a 3-D Virtual Room Maker, Mood Board Creator and Designer DNA, all to help consumers plan their space.

“The more a user interacts with the site, the more we learn about them,” says Gilbert. “While they’re going from the Style Finder to the Color Finder, we’re cross-tagging and linking. If they want, they can browse everything. But we’re trying to narrow it down for them and curate their experience.”

Today, she explains, consumers are watching do-it-yourself shows on TV and browsing the Internet, which makes everything seem easy and accessible. But it can also be overwhelming, and Doodle Home adds to the mix access to the design professional, who might be able to help the consumer put it all together or tweak the design.

“There’s a new community of enthusiasts, who might be very knowledgeable, but need a little hand-holding,” she says. “Even if they have good taste, access to great products and want to be very involved, the designer puts in the last mile that makes it a finished space.”

Designers stand to gain as well. Doodle Home’s team vets designers, both local and national — among them Birmingham’s Jill Schumacher of Rariden Schumacher Mio and Los Angeles’ Hillary Thomas of Hillary Thomas Designs — who submit professional photos of spaces they have designed to create a virtual showroom.

When the consumer has interest in a space the designer created, it creates potential new business for the designer, who is offered national visibility. If the member purchases a product from a link on the designer’s space, the designer earns a commission.

And manufacturers of luxury home goods, from accessories and lighting to textiles and furnishings, have a high-end, thoughtfully designed and easy-to-use platform from which to display their wares, which might have previously only been seen by members of the trade.

“Each piece benefits the other,” says Gilbert. “Everybody wins.”

By Lynne Konstantin|Contributing Writer