What would Jesus eat?

I received an interesting e-mail today: a press release from Tolly Moseley, the senior publicist for Texas-based Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicity, with this subject line: “Easter/Passover Story Idea: What Would Jesus Eat?”

Well, I can think of a few things he consumed, like the miraculous loaves and fishes and the wine from the wedding feast at Cana. But Tolly’s press release puts the answer in much more now vernacular: “Let’s be real here — Jesus was a dude who loved to feast. And challah bread offers an (edible) way for all families to relive one of Jesus’s favorite meals on Good Friday.”

I don’t pretend to be a New Testament scholar, but I have read it and I swear there is no reference to “Jesus’s favorite meal.” But, hey, what do I really know about the “dude who loved to feast”?

Tolly Moseley is promoting a new book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith, by Lois Tverberg and Ann Spangler (Zondervan), which was released to bookstores last week. It’s not a cookbook, but there is a recipe for challah, since it was apparently one of the favorite foods of the holy dude.

“A lot of Christians don’t realize,” Tolly explained to me, “the complete Jewish background of Jesus.”

There are direct references to challah in the Bible (Numbers 15:18-21 and Leviticus 24:5) to this delicious bread, described in the Food Lover’s Companion as “a traditional Jewish yeast bread…rich with eggs and has a light, airy texture.”

There are plenty of excellent recipes for challah in cookbooks or on the internet, but I’m particularly fond of the first-rate loaf sold, for four bucks, at the New York Bakery & Delicatessen at 7016 Troost. It’s great for sandwiches and, dude, it makes the very best French toast.