Big Crowd

One of our last projects for Pesah this year was the creation of a crowd of Israelites leaving Egypt. We used a couple of my blue scarves to represent Yam Suf and the girls had fun naming each of the figures.

Recipe: Charoset

One of my favorite dishes to make (and eat!) at Pesah time. This recipe was passed down from Aba's grandfather and I have yet to taste on exactly like it. Unlike many people, we consume copius amounts of charoset throughout the week and then save just a bit to eat with our homemade matzot on Pesah Sheni.

As with most of my recipes quite a bit of this recipe is "to taste" so always put in less as you can add more. Also, the longer it sits and ripens in your refrigerator the better. This year we are cutting it close by only giving it six days. Usually we try to give it 7-10 days.

The amounts given here are what we used this year. Every year is slightly different.

Ingredients:
6 pounds of dates, pitted or pressed
1 pound raisins (we like golden)
1 pound walnuts
4 apples, peeled
4 bananas
Juice of 6 oranges
1/2 bottle of sweet wine (we used Rashi Light Concord)
cinnamon
pepper

In a food grinder, process the dates, raisins, walnuts, apples and bananas using the smallest plate. (I've found that interspersing the other items with the dates helps because the dates often bog up the machine.)

Add half of the juice and wine and sprinkle in the cinnamon and pepper. Mix with your hands until everything is mixed in and taste. There should be just a hint of spice from the pepper and wine. No one flavor should be overpowering. Keep adding small amounts of everything until the mix is right. Remember that the flavors will get a bit stronger after sitting in the fridge and the charoset will thicken up.

Its Only Eight Days, People.

I never understand what the huge deal with Pesah is. Its eight days where you don't eat bread. For Ashkenazim and Sephardim like us (Moroccan) you also don't eat rice and beans. Yes, that cuts a lot of items out, but it isn't like we are starving for a week. Yet all you hear is how people need their chametz fix now.

"Get your bread while you can!"

We won't even mention what the stores and restaurant look like the day after Pesah. Its like people haven't eaten in a month.

Last night I went to a shiur and I was the only person there who doesn't eat kitniyot. Listening to everyone talk you would have thought I was eating boiled chicken, boiled potatoes and oranges for the week. We actually eat pretty darn well during the chag. So well, in fact, that we try to eat like Pesah all year round. No take out, very little refined foods, a lot of vegetables and fruit, healthy fats and yummy proteins.

In fact, the only thing I miss at Pesah is my oatmeal. I love waking up to oatmeal and dried fruit thats been cooking overnight in the crockpot. The house smells divine and it fills you up all day long.

7 days to go...

What Have We Here?

One of the first things I do when Pesah appears on the horizon is clean out the cupboards, refrigerator and freezer. The first two are easy, but the freezer...sigh. I am a bit of a freezer pack rat. Pretty much everything I can freeze I will freeze. So I put it off. And off. And off. Then at 20-ish days to do I will pull everything out and go through it with the resolve to keep it organized and not let it get this way next year. Never happens, but I feel better telling it to myself.

Our plans changed today thanks to a tummy bug for Batya so I'm preparing to delve into the depths of the freezers. Let's see how it goes.

First I find a bunch of goodies that head into rotation. Ready-made meals. Sauces packed up in serving sizes. Enough chicken bits and vegetable ends for another pot of bone broth. All clearly labeled and ready for me.

Then I find some things I had forgotten about. Like the full pan of stuffing I made as an extra dish at Thanksgiving. (Now a Shabbat sidedish.) Or the package of veal fat I had had visions of rendering. (Trash) Along with many poorly wrapped bags of herbs from the summer farmer's markets. (Why?)

Then there are the unidentified dishes of food. Things I was certain that I would know when I saw them again. Things i was certain I would need in a short time. Things I would label when I had a moment.

These items are actually the only complaint I have about my freezers. The rest I can deal with, but things that remain unidentified after being defrosted? Those have to go.

There is usually a moment of horror when I discover one item...bread. I had planned on making stuffing out of the rest of my bread bits, but discovering a tray of stuffing snuffed that plan. So what to do with massive amounts of challah? I'm thinking breadcrumbs for schnitzel form the smaller pieces and a last batch of french toast (with some found berry sauce) from those two half loaves.

20 days to go.

And It Starts

Pesah cleaning that is. And planning. And shopping. And menu making. And inviting. And accepting invitations.

This year the girls are actually able to be part of the process which is new to me. Four years ago I was waddling around the house doing the minimum because I was huge and tired. That was the year Aba rolled me to a friends house for lunch on the second day and I slept through the meal on a chair pushed out-of-the-way. (I also managed to impress everyone walking with us when we hit a bump in the sidewalk and Aba nearly flipped me out of the wheelchair but I just stood up and walked out of the way.)

The following year I had three one year-olds so things were pretty easy. We had gates up and they weren't eating much chametz anyways. Last year I still had some gates up and they were limited to what food I put within reach but they were all over the place. They also didn't understand about Pesah beyond that people were coming over and we were going places. In my opinion, that was the hardest year.

We haven't gotten heavily into Pesah preparations yet so this might change, but this year is shaping up to be fun. We are working with the simplified explanation that chametz is anything you say the bracha mezonot over. I've marked the calendar with a large star showing when we will be getting rid of the chametz in the house. I've also made up signs with similar stars for each room as it is cleaned. When we go shopping we are looking for non-chametz snacks to bring in as well as working towards consuming all of the chametz in the house.

Project wise, the girls will be making seder plates, cups for Eliyahu haNavi and pillows for the family.

22 days to go...

Hello...Again

Today is Pesach Sheni. In this day and age it doesn't have much significance because it isn't celebrated, but we remember it because there will be a time when we need it. Our family usually celebrates by making matza and having a meal with matzah playing a prominent part. This year it is erev Shabbat so we dont have the time for matza-making or a large afternoon meal. Instead we made matza brei.

Aba likes it more of a pancake style so I break the matza into larger pieces and am careful to not stir it up too much so that it stays very pancake-like.

Matza Brei, Aba Style

water

4 sheets matza

4 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon cinammon

butter

jam

syrup

Preheat oven to 200 F.
1. Break the matza into pieces and soak in water until soft but not soggy.

2. Beat eggs, milk and cinammon together.
3. Drain water from matza and then add egg/milk mixture. Let sit while you heat up a pan.

4. Melt butter in pan. The add some matza pieces and egg mixture so that it covers pan's bottom but isn't too thick.
5. When first side is brown and eggs start to set, flip carefully.

6. Continue cooking until second side is brown and then place brei on a pan into the hot oven.
7. Serve with topping of your choice. (Soft butter, jam, syrup, honey, etc.)

Hashgaha is a Wonderful Thing

I had been thinking about going to San Diego for an overnighter a week before Pesah. Crazy, huh? It would be a chance to attend my niece's birthday party and for the girls to visit with family. It would also force me to get stuff done early and relax just a bit. There were two things that I was waiting on. What was going on for the sederim. 

I needed to know how many to cook for so that I could shop and start with what I can freeze. I'm also a big list-maker so I needed to get my lists done. Then I could make the final call. But the family was running around in circles. This person needed to ask that one who wanted to ask another who had to talk to the first one. 

Then there was talk of a possible community seder at a great price. I was all for it thinking that I could then focus my energy on the girls' Hebrew birthday meals (the 7th night!) but we were still going in circles with the family. I was just beginning to think that we wouldn't make it to San Diego when we got an invite for the second night. That makes San Diego more manageable, but I couldn't get an answer about the first night. I was about to give up on San Diego. 

I was thinking about sitting down tonight to email my sister that we couldn't make it. I ran out to get lunch and when I came back the machine was blinking. "Hi Miriam! We wanted to invite you, Aba, Chaya, Shira and Batya to the seder on the first night. Let me know!" Can you guess what my answer was? 

So, instead of cooking 2 dinners for guests, 1 dinner and 3 lunches for family for the first half, I'm down to 1 dinner and 3 lunches all for family. Now, normally I would invite guests for those meals, but we are having large groups for the girls' birthday and I really want to take that overnight trip. 

So I'm going to make up for it by having some extra Shabbat guests during the Omer.

Some Things You Can't Make Up.

With a hat tip to Trip n'Mommy.

Pesah is Underway

All over the Jewish internet, people are talking about Pesah cleaning. There are lists to do, posts lamenting the work ahead, people procrastinating and a growing movement trying to take back the holiday. In Los Angeles, Pesah is in the air, too. Everyone is busily getting rid of their chametz. The stores are pulling out the kosher l'Pesah packages and have marked up their meat prices. For us Pesah has been in the air for over a month already.

Aba thought I was crazy when I made my menus the day after Tu b'Shevat. The look on his face when I brought home a bag of salt, coffee and sugar was priceless. The phone call I got from a friend asking me, in shock, if it was true I had started cleaning on the Sunday after sealed my fate. I now face the odd dilema of having the house ready three weeks ahead of time. 

Now, before you start thinking I'm either completely insane, totally unrealistic or have no life let me explain...

First, I have triplets. They are three. They aren't at the stage where they will sit quietly and play or even entertain themselves while I work. If I want to complete anything by a certain date then I need to start early and blaze through it. Or it won't get done.

Secondly, I want to enjoy the last few days of their two-ness. I also want to enjoy Pesah so I need to get stuff done. Not to mention, I have to prepare seven meals for the first three days. Seven! If I'm going to make it to San Diego for my niece's birthday a week before the seder, I have to be ready.

Thirdly, the girls' birthday party is two days after the end of Pesah. If I get Pesah done early, I can get some stuff done for their birthday and then only have to worry about their cake once I can buy some flour.

Lastly and most importantly we make the charoset here and it needs to be done a couple weeks early so it can really develop. Trust me on this one. Ten days is the minimum, but two weeks is better. And we want better.

I'll likely write more about Pesah and a bit about preparations, but this is where we stand now. 

Shabbat Shalom everyone!