Hoshana Rabah Housewife

This was me, yesterday, all day long. I spent more than 10 hours cooking in the kitchen and it made me truly respect women of all time whose days are spent in the kitchen, cooking for another Yom Tov.

The day started out really, really early. Buggy and I got our act together and I was at the supermarket by 10:00. I think it's time for me to suck it up and get a Bubby cart. You know, one of these:



Well, in Israel they offer them in all different shapes and sizes, and try to make them appear younger by slapping on some plaid fabric and such. Anyway, I've always hated the Bubby carts, but now I think it might be necessary. Since Buggy takes the car to work and I am just inches away from finishing up and getting my license, I am left to trek to the Supermarket. Now, it's not far from my apartment, but sometimes I'm not smart about what I can carry.

Yesterday, I tried to walk back to our apartment carrying four bags full of: 16 chicken bottoms, a large tin of Chummus, a container of eggplant salad, purple cabbage salad, Matbuchah, and coleslaw, sponges, 15 pita's, 5 baking tins, a large jar of ketchup, 1 dozen eggs and flour.

Needless to say, I almost wrenched my arms out of its socket and was in serious pain when I got home. But, I relaxed a bit and waited for the blood to flow back into my fingers and then it was off to work. Cleaning the chickens (which, BTW, I absolutely HATE doing).

Buggy has never met someone who takes skin off the chicken. For him, the skin is the best part - but it also is empty calories. And so yes, I take the skin off of my chicken before I make it. 2 cans of cranberry sauce later and all 16 pieces were cooking comfortably. Next, it was on to the gfilta fish. I baked 2 loaves of marinara gfilta fish with some carrots. After those were finishing cooking, I got ready for the 2 broccoli kugels. That was a lot of fun, especially when my pot of broccoli boiled over. Fortunately, I was in the kitchen at the time and so I was able to mop up the mess before it got too bad. After the broccoli kugel was set to bake, I got to work on the orzo with roasted vegetables. Cleaning the vegetables and cooking up the orzo, squeezing the juice of the lemons for the dressing and sprinkling on the kosher salt. At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted but I still had two pans of macaroni and meat to make! Now, Ari Samuel is in town for the first time since he was like 2 months old, and so I told him to swing by before he met some friends in town for dinner. He stopped by just when I was able to brown the meat and so I gave him a quick apartment tour and then parked him in front of the computer so I could continue cooking. I was thrilled when Buggy came home to keep him company so I wouldn't feel bad.

At this point, I managed to cook up the 2 boxes of noodles and brown 2 pounds of meat in onions and had the stuff in the oven. I then got to work on the qunoia which I decided to make with some roasted carrots and sweet potato. I had it left over in the apartment and figured - why not? How bad can it be? Well, I hope it tastes good cause right now it looks a bit like mush. I think I overcook my qunoia a bit and I have to consult Shulamit who really knows the right way to cook it!

Ari left to meet friends for dinner, and I had to cook us dinner too! Well, I have two small salmon fillets in the fridge and so I quickly grilled them with some cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and olive oil and made a salad and then baked 2 individual portions of french fries. I told Buggy, as we sat down to eat, that what we had on our plate was really nicely portion controlled. Granted, with all this holiday gorging, there was no way it filled us so Buggy had a yogurt and I just picked at what I was cooking to make sure it all tasted ok.

After dinner, and we're now approaching the 10:00 p.m. mark people, I set to work on dessert. I decided to make chocolate chip cookie bars and I undercooked one and overcooked the other. I also have a small chocolate cake loaf in the freezer and bought plenty of fruit too. Nechama is bringin some popcorn, which I am super excited about since I absolutely ADORE the Hollywood Popcorn at the Tachana. Enough to add another inch to my hips, but it's almost as good as Popcorn, Indiana!

So, now it's almost 9:00 and I'm trying to figure out if I have enough food for 16 people. Originally, I was going to buy some potato bourekas and moroccan cigars for an appetizer but I think it will just be a waste and Buggy and I don't want to have that stuff in the house once Yom Tov is over. Here's the menu so far - think it's enough for 16?

Appetizer Table - since we're doing buffet, we are setting up two tables. This one will be in the succah, for anyone who makes kiddush or eats in the succah on Simchat Torah. Buggy's minhag is to make kiddush in the succah

2 gfilta fish loafs
15 pita's with 2 huge challah rolls
salatim: chummus, purple cabbage salad, eggplant salad, coleslaw and matbucha
Israeli salad
Taco chip salad
mandarin orange salad
fish plates and forks

Main Table - this will be set up in the house as it's easier for me to bring hot food from oven/plata to table inside the house

2 huge tins of macaroni and meat
cranberry/onion soup mix chicken bottoms
2 broccoli kugels
orzo with roasted vegetables and pine nuts
quinoa with roasted carrot and sweet potato


Dessert - No separate table for this, but I will be able to clean some stuff off and just put this out when I can.

chocolate cake and chocolate chip bars
fruit platter with mago, pinapple, red and green grapes
popcorn
tea

The only thing I'm thinking about adding to this list is to sautee some green beans and onions and have another vegetable side dish. Otherwise, the only thing left to do today is CLEAN this filthy apartment, cut up all the food onto platters and arrange it before our guests come, and just get the apartment ready for 4:45 candle lighting.

Tomorrow, we are planning on going to Buggy's parents, who have an open house every year with apparently a lot of good food. I'm assuming we will have a lot of leftovers, so that I will have enough to feed us and Oren and Rachel. I can't wait for Chag to be over and we can start going to the gym again!

Hope everyone out there has a great Chag!

Mango Season

It's officially mango season in Israel and I am so proud of myself because I picked us the sweetest, juiciest, tastiest mango I've ever eaten! It was such a good afternoon snack! Buggy and I split one and then I did one of my favorite things: I sucked on the mango pit. But then, I was distressed, because whenever I do that I end up getting threads of mango stuck in my teeth. I flossed at least 3 times yesterday just to get out all those threads. But it was yummy and worth it!

We were busy people yesterday! We woke up at 7:00 a.m. to go to the Wolfson Medical Center for blood tests. Since Buggy and I have different health insurance plans, we were fortunate to find that the medical center will do blood tests for both Maccabi (me) and Meuchedet (Buggy). Anyway, it was a zoo when we got there at 8:00 a.m. with tons of people waiting to do blood work. Unlike in America where your primary care physician will just take blood after your examination, in Israel they only draw blood during certain time periods of the day. Mostly, it's early in the morning and they are only open for 3 hours each day. So, you have to make a special trip in order to do any blood tests. It's a bit more efficient the other way - I think - but it's not terrible so we suck it up and do it.

Well, the woman who took my blood is a newbie and of course she couldn't find my vein. I have weird veins - which I told her from the beginning - and so she went poking around both arms looking for one. Finally, she called her supervisor over and the lady helped - but not before she stuck the needle into something that wasn't really a vein. She finally got the flow going and within seconds I was done. Buggy finished a bit later and we were off to our next pit stop.

Which was breakfast, at Faza, which is a great little cafe restaurant in Katamon. They make Chai tea with 1% milk and since Buggy and I are on diets, it's a nice treat! Buggy was exhausted after our breakfast so I took the keys and drove us all the way to our next stop:

Jerusalem's Department of Motor Vehicles - which is located in Talpiot! I think I drove pretty well and Buggy agreed, although he did a lot of clenching and slamming on the invisible break on the passenger side. The rules here are different, as are many of the signs, so I just need practice in order to learn. That, and Buggy's car is a Peugot sports car and I'm used to more humble a vehicle. P"G, when we buy me a vehicle it will be something familiar that I can drive.

Anyway, the DMV was pretty typical for a DMV. Lots of people, not enough workers, take a number system. We were number 312 and they were serving 270 when we got there. We settled in for a long wait but it really didn't take us as long as we thought. Of course, I came armed with practically all of my Aliyah papers cause I had no idea what I really needed. The lady was nice when we got up there and said that I had 3 years to switch my license - and not 1 like everyone else told me. At this point, I have all the paperwork and now I just need to find a driving school, take 1 lesson and pass the test, and I should be done. Of course, passing the test is going to be difficult. I've heard that driving school's like to fail people not because of ability but because they like to get them back to get more money. That, and the driving instructor won't tell you after the test if you passed or failed. Buggy said it's for the instructor's safety, because a disgruntled Israeli who hears that he/she failed might try to kill 'em.

Ain't that nice?

So, now we have to add finding a driving school and taking the test to my "to-do" list.

After the DMV, we went to drop something off for Buggy and then we went food shopping. We're having 10 people over for dinner in our Succah on Friday night and yes, those people are Buggy's parents and family, so I'm trying to cook to impress! Here's my menu:

Appetizer: grilled steak salad with warm shallot dressing

Soup: chicken noodle with matza balls

Main: cranberry/onion soup mix chicken (all bottoms, they are not top people)
spinach chicken rolls
cauliflower kugel
salt and pepper noodle kugel
green beans sauteed with onions and toasted almonds
orzo with grilled vegetables, basil and pine nuts

Dessert: velvet sponge cake and chocolate cake with tea and fruit

Good thing it's not Yom Tov for me on Thursday night/Friday cause I'm going to be doing plenty of cooking those days! Plus, tomorrow, I have to cook for Yom Tov lunch as Buggy and I wanted to eat alone in our Succah. We might be a bit anti-social, but I think it will be better for us to just experience having our own Succah for the Chag.

So, after I bought all the ingredients I need to cook for Friday night and for Chag on Thursday, we drove to 4UGifts on Derech Chevron and picked up the things I needed for dinner off of our registry. I picked up 6 place settings on dinner plates, cake plates and salad plates. We picked up 12 soup bowls that are slightly smaller size than normal soup bowls and are also square not round (I love the look of square bowls!). We picked up this cute glass water pitcher with the hole in the middle and 12 drinking glasses. Well, now the car was absolutely loaded, so we drove back to the apartment and I got to work unpacking.

Thinking I would have the rest of the afternoon to write my thank you notes, I got into comfortable clothing and got to work. Then, Buggy's Mom called and told me that the "hat ladies" were at the Kings hotel and that I should come if I need a new hat. Well, I didn't get a black felt hat when I was in the States, so I said sure and she picked me up and we went. They had some great stuff: Louise Green, Naftali, etc. and I was able to find a nice hat in no time. The nicest thing was that my MIL picked up the tab on my hat, which was very, very kind of her, and so now I have to write another thank you note!

I decided also to walk home from the Kings hotel cause I've notice my body has started to loose some of it's tightness since I don't do as much excercise like I did in Tel Aviv. When you live by yourself, it's easier to fit it in, but now that I live with Buggy and we always have so much to do, excercise has falled to the wayside. So, I walked from the Kings and it was a heart pumping 25 minutes! I got in nice and sweaty, a bit thirsty, and happy to have been moving!

And then, I settled down for a few hours and cranked out those thank you notes. I am happy to annouce that of the 145 thank you notes I had to write from the wedding, I now have 5 left, and those 5 are basically family ones. Now, don't think I only had 145 to write people! I had 30 from people who bought off our registry, 25 for my shower, and 85 for people in Israel who gave us gifts at our Sheva Brachot. I have 75 to go and I hope to G-d I can get these done before Succot is over! I think it's important to send thank you notes quickly after the wedding - especially since people really were generous and they deserve to be thanked in a timely fashion.

Yeah - Buggy thinks I'm crazy and he would love it if I joined him on the couch at night for some CSI or Law and Order, but I am on a mission.

I wrote almost 50 thank you cards yesterday! My tongue is nasty from all that licking too!

I'm up extra early today and Buggy is snoring lightly besides me as I update this blog. Today, I hope to decorate the succah, unpack some more boxes and clean out the apartment so that it looks in semi-decent shape for our company this Chag. Tonight is going to be busy as we are taking Buggy's cousin out to dinner for her birthday. And then, I have to start cooking!

Oh, and yesterday I made us a nice dinner of chicken burgers, salad, 2 individual servings of french fries and Jerusalem artichoke. I decided to try it again, even though the last time I ate the Jerusalem artichoke I was sick for 2 days with an awful stomach. We both had a bit of minor discomfort but fortunately, I think it passed and I might even make them again!

Oh, and my sister Rick RULES! She faxed me a bunch of baking recipes so that I can bake for all the things I need to bake for. I have to help make dessert for Buggy's Aunt on Wednesday night, I need to bake dessert for our dinner Friday night and since Buggy's MIL does a huge open house for Simchat Torah, I am baking brownies and blondies for that too. Plus, well, we're having almost 15 people over for dinner on Simchat Torah night (I'll fill you in more in my next post) and I'm gonna be baking for that as well!

Happy cooking everyone!

Coolinary

I have had such a fun afternoon in the kitchen! It's really exciting being able to use all these great gifts people got us. So, the aforementioned picture will show two of my favorite kitchen gifts. First, this amazing and small but durable hand mixer which I used to make Blondies. It took no time at all and was really amazing to use; made me wonder how come I've never had one before.

Second, this block of knives are not only fashionable, they are sharp! I never got the chicken shears I wanted off of my registry, and I was faced with a huge piece of chicken breast and nothing to cut it with. So, I decided to try one of the smaller knives and it cut through the half frozen chicken like it was butter! Of course, I got so excited with the knife that I got clumsy and cut myself, but it was worth it. Now, we have really, really good knives to cook with and that is so important!

The oven, on the other hand, is a different matter. It's a Sauter and it doesn't speak my language. I'm not sure how to convert the F to C on this machine, so I've just been following the manuel as best as possible. Which means, I overcooked the chicken and might have just undercooked the blondies. Good thing it's just me and Buggy for Shabbos lunch, I wouldn't want to poison anyone!

We got an early morning wake up call today, which was good, and we got our day going relatively early. We first went into town to pick up my engagement ring, which needed to be redipped in iridium because the white gold was turning yellow. I was happy to get my ring back, I felt a bit naked without it this entire week! Then, we stopped into English Bakery on Jaffa to get chalot for Shabbos. We compromise since I like sweet and Buggy likes salty, and we got one of each. The sweet one looked like it was lacquered so I have no idea how much I'll be eating of it tomorrow, but we'll see.

Next, it was on to Steimatzky so that Buggy could pick up a new book to read during our honeymoon. Since I'm next in line for the Harry Potter, Buggy was definitely anxious to find a book to keep him company while I read my book. I hope we'll be able to get the R&R we need next week!

We then tried to go to the bank but it was closed, they really close early on Fridays so I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. We walked back to the car and drove to a Makolet so I could pick up some spices. I noticed yesterday that I was really low on black pepper and I saw some chocolate chips so we decided to pick up a package for blondies.

Then, on our way home, we swung by Peh-air, which is an amazing bakery on Emek! They make such great Challot, but since we already have the English Cake ones, I decided to pass and wait for another Shabbos. We couldn't find a cake made only with oil (Buggy can't have margarine) so that was even more resolve for me to bake when I got home!

And then, there I was, all alone in the new kitchen with an entire meal to prepare. I tackled things one at a time, first making the Quinoa and then roasting the shwarma spiced cauliflower. I pan fried the baby eggplants and marinated the chicken. After that, it was just a quick throwing together for the blondies and I was finished.

Now, all I have to do it break down all of the boxes littering the living room floor before Shabbos. We're eating out tonight, and I'm looking forward to the post-dinner walk home. It should be very refreshing!

Shabbat Shalom to all!