If you haven't seen the movie "Julie and Julia" by now, or read the book, then just know that it's the story of a love affair with a cookbook. Many of us have them: a little crush here, a major obsession there. But how many times have you actually cooked even half of the recipes from a single book? Pretty rarely, I'd bet. So when Julie Powell decided to cook her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (2 Volume Set), she hit upon a great idea. How better to learn a cuisine thoroughly than to try many, many recipes from it?

Now we've got a local version of that challenge. Melody Elliot, Shankari Easwaran, and Eileen Thornton will be cooking their way through Marlena Spieler's cookbook Jewish Cooking. And guess what? Marlena's a Sac native herself and has given her support to the project. So every Sunday, the three bloggers will post a photo and recipe of something from the book (or their versions thereof), and learn a lot more about Jewish cooking. As Mel says, "It will be fun to ride along as a Hindu, a Buddhist, and a shoulda-been Jew take on this glorious challenge. From so much pleasure, one could plotz!"

Their first submissions are up now. Mel tried Muhammara, a roasted red pepper dip. Shankari made Libyan Spicy Pumpkin Dip (photo above by her husband Rajesh). Eileen tried Sun-Dried Tomato and Pepper Salad.

Join them every Sunday until they're through. There will be at least one feast along the way and Marlena's aunt has promised to teach them how to correctly make matzo balls. You can join in yourself by emailing Mel about any recipes you've tried from Marlena's book. Mazel tov!