I think of myself as half-Jewish even though I’m not, technically; my father’s parents were Jewish before they converted to Christian Science (don’t get me started) but according to Jewish tradition, unless your mother’s side of the family is Jewish, you’ve got no Jew in you at all. Not even a schmear.

And then there’s Matt’s parents. Oy. Decidely unobservant Jews. Matt’s mother and father were such bona fide bohemians that their Greenwich Village social circle dismissed Jack Kerouac as a wannabe beatnik. How unorthodox can you get?

Matt’s family celebrated Christmas more enthusiastically than my own, but I discovered, when I attended my first Passover dinner at his aunt’s, that Matt’s relatives were so rusty with their own religious rituals that they had to rely on a grade school Passover primer to walk them through the steps of a proper Seder.

So the repertoire of authentic Jewish recipes in our household is pretty limited. Matt's making his classic chicken soup with matzo balls for tonight's Seder as he does every year, and we keep a box of Streit’s matzos on hand, in case we want a batch of matzo brie the way Matt’s dad used to make it.

Streit’s matzos are manufactured on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where they’ve been turning out sheets of unleavened bread since Aron Streit opened his first matzo factory in 1916. He moved to a new bakery in 1925, where the matzos are still made today by his granddaughters and great grandsons; Streit’s is the only family-owned and operated matzo company in America.

Traditional matzos are made with flour and water, nothing more. Matzo makers have only 18 minutes to get their matzos in the oven from the time they combine the flour and water. Left longer, the mix starts to rise, and can no longer be considered unleavened. That would defeat the whole purpose of matzo, which is to symbolize the flight of the Israelites from Egypt, when they had no time to let their bread rise.

I had my own bread emergency the other day, when I wanted to make salmon cakes but lacked the necessary breadcrumbs, or even any bread with which to make my own. In the city, I can run out and buy whatever I’m out of, but in the country, we’re two miles from the nearest store and have to make do with what we have.

And since we had a box of Streit’s whole wheat matzos in the pantry, I figured they could stand in for the breadcrumbs. To my surprise, and pleasure, the salmon cakes turned out even better. Who knew?

Kat’s Salmon Cakes With Matzo

(serves 4)

1 pound cooked wild salmon (canned is fine, too)

1 1/2 cups crushed whole wheat matzos

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 celery stick, diced

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons lemon juice

dash cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce

salt & pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl, combine the salmon, 1 cup of the matzo crumbs, onion, pepper, celery, eggs, lemon juice, and seasonings.

Divide the mixture into 8 parts and shape into patties. Lightly coat each side of the patties with the remaining matzo crumbs.

Place a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat and cook the patties till lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side.