Tag: holidays

Well this is it. My bf said that he and I would cook Passover dinner for about 40 people so I guess we kind of have to make good on that promise today. I procrastinated as long as I could but yesterday I had to finally go to the supermarket and buy all the stuff for this dinner.You’re not supposed to use leavened anything in anything, either. For real religious people you’re not even supposed to have it in the kitchen!

Leaven [LEHV-uhn]
n.

1. An agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise, especially by fermentation.
2. An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole.

tr.v., -ened, -en·ing, -ens.

1. To add a rising agent to.
2. To cause to rise, especially by fermentation.
3. To pervade with a lightening, enlivening, or modifying influence.

[Middle English, from Old French levain, from Vulgar Latin *levāmen, from Latin levāre, to raise.]
Leavener [LEHV-uhn-er]
Agents that are used to lighten the texture and increase the volume of baked goods such as breads, cakes and cookies. Baking powder, baking soda and yeast are the most common leaveners used today. When mixed with a liquid they form carbon dioxide gas bubbles, which cause a batter or dough to rise during (and sometimes before) the baking process.

Geez.
A.’s Ma is in town from Israel and thankfully she and her best friend are also cooking up a storm so A. and I don’t have to cook that much. Just 2 roast ducks,16 pounds of grilled chicken breast,10 pounds of mashed potatoes,5 pounds of rice and a cartload of green beans,which I am going to try to liven up with red and green peppers and toasted pecans. Mom and her friend B. will be providing a leg of lamb and a brisket and 2 pots of soup:vegetarian and chicken, both with matzoh balls.
A. was going to make bourekis and I was going to bake 3 pies but Mom vetoed them for the sake of tradition (leavened flour in the pastry).

It’s 9am now, our kitchen is going to be a madhouse in about 45 minutes when A. get’s in there. I know he is going to use every single pot and pan, along with every single bowl and dish… So I’m enjoying this peace and quiet for as long as it lasts, writing this post and listening to the birds chirp on this cool and cloudy Sunday morning.

I hope I spelled it right, because that’s a phonetic stab in the dark. I am using a new FireFox profile and I lost my Google Toolbar with SpellCheck-so I have to guess.

Anyway, I have been really, really busy. No less than 5 projects and 2 total site redesigns going on at once. But I shouldn’t seem like I am complaining -my freelance business allowed me to pay for my ticket to Israel next month. I will be gone for 11 days. No matter what, a ticket to Israel will cost an arm and a leg – thanks to my clients!

We have a new houseguest and while I mean to be a gracious host I really just need as much time as I can for work. They might think I am a total nut because I worked the past 72 hours with very little sleep. They are asleep in my office (the livingroom) as I type this!

I am feeling pressure to finish some projects before the weekend, hence the no sleeping.

It is has caught up with me and now I am a zombie. I really have to call it a night. It’s almost 4 am- to go to bed now for me is considered early. I know, it’s sick. ..

If you live in Brooklyn or Manhattan you also had a soggy 4th of July-if you were silly enough to go outside to try to see fireworks,like I and my group of pals was.
We also climbed 12 flights of stairs for the priviledge of being on a roof blocked by a massive building so no fw could be seen anyway.
My boyfriend and I said enough is enough and grumped off home.On the walk we saw a bit of fw from the street and felt that that was plenty.
We’d been on the go all day cooking and shopping for the 4th of July meal and we were beat.
The night before I put a bunch of chicken thighs to marinate in chimmichurri sauce but somehow the bag of marinated chicken was left out all day no one can eat it without becoming really ill.
I’d also made a huge bowl of potato salad that didn’t get eaten,either.harrumph.
My potato salad is great but I got to the apartment where everyone was gathered about 45 minutes too late and everyone was full.
Why was I so late? I had a clothes issue.
If you’ve read any of my other clothes posts you’ll know I am summer clothes challenged.I also thought my boyfriends friends would be bringing their younger,cuter and thinner girlfriends to the party and I didn’t want to look like an old frump next to them. And A had mentioned a few days earlier that one of my favorite things to wear makes me look a little pregnant. Not because my gut sticks out in it but because he thinks it looks like a maternity top. Well.
Not exactly the kind of thing that lends one confidence.
So I took forever to get dressed and walk over to the house where of course there weren’t a bunch of cute girls looking cute at all.None of the guys brought girls.Ha.

Type rest of the post here