When Lyssa Kligman Harvey hits the road, she takes her grandma Ida’s kugel with her.
For the unfamiliar, Harvey describes the dish as “Eastern European comfort food,” a noodle pudding that is a staple of the cuisine Jewish families brought with them when they immigrated to America.
“The kugel originates from Lithuania and was originally a potato pudding,” Harvey says. “Eventually it morphed into a sweet pudding that’s served with brisket or other meats. I make mine with butter, but for a kosher or dairy kugel you can make it without butter.
“But everything is better with butter.”
Harvey BSEd ’76 tells excellent stories. They include a dash of history, a pinch of personal experience, and a strong base rooted in the engaging culinary history of Jewish families in the South. Over the last 12 months, Harvey’s had a lot of opportunities to share those stories.
And a lot of kugel.
In August 2023, Harvey and her co-writer Rachel Gordin Barnett released their first book, Kugels & Collards: Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina. Several tours followed, taking the pair across the Southeast and up the Atlantic coast. They spoke to audiences ranging from 500 South Carolina state legislators—who ate brisket over collards—to smaller groups in rural Carolina libraries.
Lyssa Kligman Harvey’s first book was such a success that she and her co-writer are already working on a second.
“I never saw myself as a writer,” Harvey says. “A collaborator? Yes. A gatherer of stories? Yes. I love hearing people’s stories.”
For Harvey, becoming an author, if anything, is a third career.
She earned her undergraduate degree in art education at UGA and then a master’s in art therapy and an advanced degree in counseling. For the last 50 years, she dedicated her career to helping children and families as a child and adolescent counselor; she recently retired from her private practice.
While at UGA, Harvey took art classes at the Lamar Dodd School of Art and began painting again after her three children left for college. Her paintings in water mediums on paper and canvas highlight Southern waterscapes. Her award-winning art is represented by The Low Country Artists Gallery in Charleston.
In 2017, the nonprofit Historic Columbia invited Harvey and Barnett, a longtime friend, to serve on a committee tasked with recording a living history of the city’s Jewish community.
“We are both foodies, and we love history,” Harvey says. “We had a hunch that telling food stories might be a good way to gather that history.”
Their hunch was correct. They created a blog called Kugels & Collards, and by 2019, they collected more than 50 stories and recipes. The University of South Carolina Press approached them for a book proposal.
“Food is visceral. When people talk about food, it brings up memories that can be emotional,” Harvey says. “You remember your mother’s holiday dishes and linen or your grandmother’s food and special recipes. You remember who is at the table and who is no longer there.”
Over the next four years, they continued to gather stories, in person and over Zoom. They expanded their scope incorporating stories to honor African American men and women who enhanced the culture of the Jewish Southern table. The book has 60 stories told by individuals in their own voices and 80 recipes that are easy to follow and delicious to taste.
When people talk about food, it brings up memories that can be emotional. You remember your mother’s holiday dishes and linen or your grandmother’s food and special recipes. You remember who is at the table and who is no longer there.” — Lyssa Kligman Harvey, co-author of Kugels & Collards: Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina
The book’s success has led to a second one, just begun, Southern Simchas Food Traditions for Jewish Celebrations, which will explore Southern food traditions in Jewish holidays and other celebrations.
When Harvey signs copies of Kugels & Collards, she adds “Savor Your Story.”
“When we started this project, I didn’t realize how important remembering food and recipes are not only to us but for the world. Food brings us together. Sitting around a shared table is meaningful and memorable,” Harvey says. “So, at the next holiday ask a family member for that special recipe and the story behind the recipe. Write it down. And savor the memory.”
