Food Friday- Pre- Passover edition

I grew up in a family where the house was changed for Passover the first Saturday evening after Rosh Chodesh. for those of you not familiar with the Jewish calendar, Rosh Chodesh is the the first of the month. Passover begins on the 14th of the month of Nissan.
So bread was banished from our home nearly two weeks before the holiday. My husband grew up in a family that liked to put off hard stuff to the last moment. each year my husband thought the right time to change over the house was a day before the holiday, maybe. After 26 years of marriage, and given the fact that I do the changing over he’s stopped fighting me on this one.

We are changing over the house on Sunday. ( Many thanks to our oldest who is showing up to work with us). I had briefly thought that I would bake challah today. Since my usual yield is four massive loaves I had thought that if I made all of the loaves smaller and gave most of them away it might be worth the effort.

I am not completely insane though. I told my son that we would usher in Shabbat with store challah. He was not happy with the idea of “crappy store challah”. He suggested that I bake 2 small challahs but when I asked him what I was supposed to do with the rest of the batch he relented.

I did buy two brands that I have heard others praise highly. I had briefly thought of buying terrible challah so my challah would shine in comparison, but then thought better of it.

In addition to the “crappy store challah”, I made some chicken wings for my son as a bit of penance.

There is a new food market that opened across the street and I bought a big fat celery root. I love the earthy taste and thought that it was the perfect way to usher in spring. I also cut up two preserved lemons and put then in the chicken as well. it feels like a nice Middle Eastern/Eastern European flavor combination.

I do have some beautiful spring potatoes in the fridge. But once it’s Passover we will be eating lots of potato. I decided to have a last fling with grain, so here is the mixed baked wheat and rice mixture.

it’s just flavored with olive oil and salt, I think that the preserved lemons will be strongly flavored and we will need a bit on bland to go with it. I still have not decided on the vegetable, but don’t worry, there will be one.

I’m still in slow mode from the bronchitis. I hope that as we get closer to the holiday I will have more energy.

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sarah in nyc

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