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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Five Whole Hours I Stood in My Kitchen...

Pe for Passover! On Friday I went shopping for ingredients I'd need for the things I had been asked to bring to our Passover Seder on Saturday when 30 family members would gather together to celebrate the freedom from slavery of Jews in Egypt.
I was to buy a flat of strawberries to go on cousin Judy's homemade cake...I found them at the open strawberry field shack a few blocks from my office. They are oh so fresh. My car smelled wonderful while I did the rest of my shopping. I learned that a flat is 12 baskets!
Next I needed a dozen apples for the Charoset, Ashkenazi style. Cousin Judy sent me her recipe! I was also to bring all the foods for the special Seder plate.
Parsley, Horseradish, A roasted egg, ...cousin Mel will supply the roasted lamb shank and the matoz.
Roasted almonds go into the Choroset...
Half a gallon of whipping cream to be whipped right before we leave hoping it will hold it's firmness to be put over the strawberries and cake.
Three dozen eggs to hard boil, to be peeled and dipped at the Seder table into salt water, another thing I am to bring, along with the parsley...bowls and salt. Hopefully they will have the water.
Symbolizing the tears shed.
I went on line to find out the best way to hard boil eggs...and how to peel them.
I no longer agree with their way.
I had to boil an extra dozen as these were nearly impossible to peel
and I had a huge amount that were for
deviled egg sandwiches (not for Passover)!
I peeled the dozen red apples...
This is all long and tedious work. I started at eleven in the morning
and finished around 4 in the afternoon.
I tried to be creative, although kitchen work, and food preparation are
not my forte at all.
I have a very small Hamilton Beach electric chopper, and it is so small
that I had to make several runs for each handful of apples.
Are you beginning to see why this all took so long to do?
And every time I finished a batch I'd forget to put the blade back in
and have to open it up and start all over again
or they would not chop at all.
;-(
But finally, the nuts were chopped, the three huge lemons were grated
and their zest was added; as were a T of sugar, and two Tsps of cinnamon and
2 cups of red sweet wine!
It will sit in the fridge over night and hopefully all the flavors will blend together.
This is by far my favorite dish of the Seder and I can eat
tons of it on Matzoh!
Then there were those 12 baskets of strawberries to wash, hull and slice.
I hope this will be enough for thirty people!
All the while I was chopping and stirring and adding I was thinking about my dearly departed grandparents, and wondering how the two of them made the entire Passover dinner for their three daughters and their three husbands and their six grand children!
I was humbled knowing that as my little cousins and I would sit UNDER the table
while grandpa Abe droned on and on reading from the Haggadah
that I hadn't a clue how much work went into the preparation for such a
celebration and meal.
Now I am the grandma (one of three) and we and my other cousins and their spouses and many of their children and their grandchildren (mine are away on vacation somewhere else so won't be with us) and my brother, and husband will all gather around our
Uncle Harry and Aunt Mimi
the last elders of our family living today.
(age 91 and 92)
and will enjoy our feast, and freedom, and the fact that we are family
gathered together!
My grandson told me that he and my grand daughter can sing the four questions! All of them!
It's also nice that after standing for five hours
in my kitchen doing things I seldom if ever do anymore
I found in the mail this wonderful treasure
just in time to wear to Passover today!
It came from Mim's ETSY shop
with two cards one painted by her (ducks),
and one painted by Lolo (dog),
and a sweet box covered in artzy paper
and packed with pretty fabric (Thank you Mim, I do LOVE it all)
I struggled to take a photo of it on myself This beautiful pendant that Mim made
of a map
of
Israel.
Can you think of anything more appropriate
for me to wear on
Passover?
Me neither.
;-)
I just love it. ***********************
Wishing you all a happy Spring
Passover, Easter or any other way you choose
to celebrate this season!
*****************************

9 comments:

  1. Happy Passover Lynn. You and your family are so blessed to be able to gather together to celebrate. I hope you have a picture perfect day. Reading this right before breakfast insures that I will enjoy my meal. All of your preparations look delicious. That Mim is a sweet lady. Perfect necklace for you.

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  2. what a wonderful celebration. A big family get together with food and meaning and tradition. I am totally jealous....love the necklace too!

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  3. I know your day will be filled with love and joy and peace .... And no more standing in the kitchen!! Enjoy your family time - it sounds awesome!

    Your necklace is beautiful! I will go next to see Mim's shop ....

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  4. What a lot of work and here are the pix to prove it. Lots of lovely gifts and you look so young in that photo of you. A GREAT shot of you. Have a wonderful Family gathering.

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  5. It all looks so delicious! Charoset is my favorite also yum yum. And the eggs! I always heard that you had to have old eggs to get them to peel correctly - what's the trick? I don't know how my grandma did it either - and with no food processor. But her homemade gifilte fish was so delicious! Happy passover to you and your family.

    And I'm so glad you liked the necklace! Perfect for you

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  6. Oh, Lynn! What a beautiful celebration! You did so well in the kitchen...I am impressed!!! So glad the family could all be together for this occasion to celebrate such a monumental event! This strawberries look sooooo good! And FRESHLY whipped cream...my gosh! WOW!!!
    The pendant Mim made is the most perfect thing to wear on Passover...so special and I just love it!!! What a fantastic friend!!! Happy Passover!

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  7. lynn, this is a feel good post from beginning to end except are you still upright after doing all that food prep?! you did a ton!

    happy passover to you and your family ♥

    kj

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  8. What joy, 30 people at a seder? We don't have 30 people left all over the world in our family. You are truly truly blessed and I wish you all Happy Pesach.

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  9. Happy Passover. This is sure a lot of cooking and it all sounds delicious. Wonderful you found the necklace too, so perfect. Joyous day.

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Thanks for leaving your comments as I love hearing from you. Your words of encouragement are why I continue to draw!