בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם,

 בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt

One of the ways that we fulfill this mitzvah of seeing ourselves as if we left Egypt is to read the Haggadah. We also fulfill this mitzvah by retelling the stories of other times of difficulty. The Holocaust survivor father of classmates of mine would tell the story of his own surviving years in various concentration camps.

This year I am remembering the terror and chaos of last Pesach. Getting regular food was hard enough. Getting Pesach food- just the basic stuff like meat and matza meal,  was even harder. In the days leading up to the holiday, last year friends frantically shared information about who was selling what and who was willing to deliver to our neighborhood. 

I remember filling out online order forms at various suburban kosher markets whose websites promised delivery to our neighborhood only to receive a message after my order form was filled that they were no longer delivering to our neighborhood. I know my ancestors have lived through worse but the early days of the pandemic were hard enough without the additional worry of the availability of food.

I no longer remember which friend suggested that I try Riverdale Kosher. When other markets were charging prices so high they kind of terrified me, their prices were reasonable. Since last Pesach, they have kept us in kosher meat and groceries. We have been able to stay safe and they keep food arriving at our house. Their prices are fair and their customer service is terrific.

The cooking around here continues.

I made an artichoke and mushroom matza farfel kugel. I know that it sounds like something fancy but those were the only two vegetables I had in the house.  It is packaged up for delivery for our cohort.

Today I mixed up a double batch of matza balls and will boil them on Friday. 

The recipe comes from Bubbie Katz, our dear friend Ronna's bubbie. This recipe like many old-time handed down recipes is organized around a key number. If you remember the number you can remember the recipe. The key number for matza balls is 3.

Bubbie Katz's Matza Balls

3 eggs

3 T oil

mix in a bowl

add salt, pepper(lots) and minced ginger (I add lots)

2/3 c matza meal

3T seltzer (the original recipe calls for ginger-ale)

mix

Bubbie Katz's recipe tells you to sit in the refrigerator for an hour

a longer stay in the fridge is a good thing.

When ready to cook put a pot of  salted water up to boil. When boiling add matza balls( roll into  smaller than golf ball sized balls)

 plop into the boiling water cover pan, lower heat to medium and let cook for 20 minutes or so. 

Add to soup

In addition to cooking for the holiday, I also have to produce meals for us to eat now. These pre-holiday meals kind of push the boundaries of culinary creativity. it is an exercise in struggle cookery. Sometimes these meals are kind of awful and other times surprisingly great.

I had bits of chicken leftover from soup making. I am still ashamed of a chicken loaf I had made a few years ago that felt like eating a wood loaf.

Tonight I did better. I sauteed minced onions, shredded broccoli stems, and zucchini. I added chicken juices for the chickens I had cooked on Monday.

Inspired by

this video  I made something sort of vaguely knish-like, mashed potato filled with the vegetables and the chicken and then baked, not fried like in the video.

The end result was pretty good and something I would definitely do again. The outside has a nice crust, helped by an egg wash, and the inside is mashed potato filled with the good vegetables and minced chicken.

There was a ton of vegetable and chicken leftover after I had used up the mashed potatoes so I layered the rest of the chicken and sauteed vegetables between damp sheets of matza, topped with sliced tomato, I drizzled some beaten egg and water over the whole mixture and baked.

Well, both were better than the dreaded wooden chicken loaf of a few years back. I will absolutely make the knish like things again.

As the days continue more and more is crossed off of my to-do list. Tomorrow may be dessert baking day.

Last year, as we approached Passover we were truly in a dark and narrow place. This year the pandemic is still here. We have attended so many Covid related funerals on Zoom. We have seen friends fall ill and slowly recover. We have been isolated from family, from friends, and from our community but it seems like freedom may be within reach.

הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵרוּת מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה, וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיוֹם טוֹב, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה. וְנֹאמַר לְפָנָיו שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה: הַלְלוּיָהּ.

He brought us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to [celebration of] a festival, from darkness to great light, and from servitude to redemption. And let us say a new song before Him, Halleluyah!