Back among the living–and Food Friday- Birthday Edition

Yesterday, Ipa, our sainted cleaning woman  made me a dose of her home made cough suppressant. It consists of a pat of butter, a tablespoon or so of honey and the juice of half a lemon heated up  and then taken by spoon while  still warm.

 

When I first took it I thought I was just going to throw up. But the stuff works. I followed her directions and took a dose before bedtime as well.  Last night was the first night since I got sick that I was able to sleep without being kept awake by coughing spasms. I actually feel human today.  I’m weak , but among the living. only one nap so far today.

 

Tomorrow is our youngest’s 16th birthday.  The birthday child gets to choose the menu for the Shabbat just before their birthday. Not surprisingly, the birthday boy chose Cave Man Shabbat,  flanken  bones ( I think that’s beef ribs in standard English) and chicken wings in barbecue sauce.

 

I will set a big bone discard bowl in the center of the table. The sauce is a semi home made one, that is 1/4 jarred sauce and the rest is stuff I throw in.

 

The  challah is baked. I’m going to make a kale salad. you need something really healthy to counteract all of the greasy meat. I also made these green meringues in honor of  my son being born on St. Patrick’s day.   You can see them here still baking in my oven.

 

For my son’s first birthday, my father who spent much of his adult life living in deeply Irish Boston, bought my son a Shamrock sweater in green.  My parents had received a package of greeting cards from a Catholic charity.  My father carefully pasted stickers over the Christian symbols and sentiments and then wrote my son a birthday poem in Yiddish. my skinny son wore that sweater until he turned 7. That card though is one of my favorite of my father’s many goofy acts.