A Birthday Shabbat

 Today is my husband's birthday.

I guess one of the things about feeling a full blown adult is that you are better equipped to deal with the imperfect. We had planned to do a celebration with family and some friends last Sunday but the blizzard put an end to those plans.

Our daughter was supposed to join us tonight for dinner in person but she is under the weather. What can you do? I have made a nice dinner. One of the cranberry chickens that I cooked last week is making an appearance ( after a week in the freezer. To make the meal feel more festive I made meatballs--not quite as fabulous as the lamb Lulya we were planning to eat last Sunday in Rego Park. I also made something that tastes like love to my husband.

One of his favorite childhood foods was boxed mashed potatoes. Above is a cauliflower puree which is known around our table as Blobbo-taters. For my husband this tastes like love...so I made it.

I even made dessert...

Inspired by a YouTube cooking video in Italian where they made a clementine and almond flour tart...I had made one a while back and it was delicious. We only had three small and sad clementines in the fridge so I added some frozen cranberries to the mix along with three eggs. There is a crushed cookie crust that I prebaked. The mixture seemed a bit thick so I added some cranberry juice to the mixture. How much sugar??? I did a quick taste and then added three tablespoons, some vanilla and a few drops of rosewater.

I baked the tart at 350. It needed a bit more glamour so I  melted some cherry jam and ran it through a strainer and topped the tart with the glaze.

I could make variants of this for Passover. This is about seven or eight minutes of actual labor if you own an immersion blender (and choose to use it).

It's Tu B'Shvat this week.

My dear friend Racheli has already posted photos of blooming almond trees in her neighborhood. Growing up in Boston singing about blooming almond trees amidst snow and bitter cold felt like a complete act of faith. Thanks to the magic of the internet I can see in real time that it the almond trees are indeed blooming as we trudge around on snow filled streets.

My grandmother died around this time of year. My mother chose to mark her yahrzeit on Tu B'Shvat. Every year on the Shabbat closest to the holiday my mother would put together platters of fresh and dried fruits and nuts.

I can't mention the holiday without bringing up the little baggies we got at school for the holiday with a tangerine, a tiny box of raisins and a piece of carob. The bags were given in memory of Clara Leaf. We were very ungracious recipients of the little bags.

A few songs to get you into the Tu B'shvat mood.

Shabbat Shalom!