#BlogExodus: Welcome

Too tired to create with words tonight, I welcomed the opportunity to swap the laptop for the counter top, to channel my mother, my grandmother, and the generations of women who came before them, and to create a piece of our family’s (non) seder.

Inspired by Ima on (and off) the Bima, this post is one in a series marking the days of the Jewish month of Nisan leading up to Passover, which begins at sundown on Friday, April 3, corresponding to 15 Nisan. If you want to play along, check out this year's #BlogExodus and #ExodusGram prompts. This series of posts also is priming my heart, mind, and spirit to participate in a six-day summer writing seminar, Beyond Walls: Spiritual Writing at Kenyon.

#BlogExodus: Bitter

I just finished reading Jennifer Weiner’s article in today's paper about seders past and present, and how she’s the one in her family now in charge of the annual event.

In 2010, at 77, my mom was still the one in charge of our seders.  She’d been having some health issues so I went out to New Jersey the day before, Sunday, March 28, to help finish the preparations.  When I arrived, the table was already set, the soup and the matzah balls were made, and the brisket was in the crockpot.  I assembled some relish trays, chopped apples for charoset, and followed a recipe she’d clipped from the newspaper for a tri-colored gefilte fish loaf.  Before long, that, too, was covered with Saran and squished in the overflowing fridge, in the kitchen that smelled – as it did every year at this season – like Pesach.

A Boatload of Brisket

If you read my last post, you know I’ve got a freezer and fridge nearly full of food in anticipation of hunkering down to recuperate for a few weeks.

Let me tell you in particular about the brisket…

The Fresh Direct order I received on Friday was to have included cubed beef for stew.  I thought the meat in the package would look like this: 

Photo:  Fresh Direct

Instead, when I opened the box with the meat in it, it looked like this:

Photo:  Fresh Direct

No joke, it must have weighed 10 pounds and I had no idea what to do with it.

A quick call to my sister helped me determine that it was a huge piece of brisket and that I should do the following:

1. Use the biggest, sharpest knife I own to cut the slab into three approximately even size pieces.
2. Wrap each one separately in clear plastic and a freezer bag.  Place two of them in the freezer.
3. The third, she said, should be cooked in the crock pot. 

I completed steps one and two above on the spot and, earlier today, battled snow and wind to get to the supermarket to buy a jar of chili sauce, a six-pack of Coke (not diet Coke), and a box of onion soup mix.  (Had I know the brisket was coming I would have, of course, ordered these from Fresh Direct, too.)

When I got home, the meat, one can of Coke, one envelope of onion soup mix and the jar of chili sauce went into the crock pot, and I turned it on to “low.”  In about eight hours, voila:  I’ll have brisket and gravy to add to the stash of food in the freezer.

Thanks, Amy, and thanks, Fresh Direct!

Nesting Nellie

Last night I started to nest.

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the definition of nesting is “to build or occupy a nest, to settle in or as if in a nest.” 

And, although I’m certainly not pregnant, the description of nesting from Mama’s Health seems especially apt:  “Nesting is the term used to refer to an expectant mother’s instinct which gives her a surge of energy which prompts her to clean and do various chores around her home. Nesting usually arises as the mother nears her due date.”

It all started with the Fresh Direct delivery that arrived a little bit before 7 p.m.  Totaling nearly $200 (which is more than double the cost of most of my orders), it included, among other things, eight rolls of paper towels, a dozen rolls of toilet paper, a box of powdered laundry detergent, two dozen bottles of Gatorade, Jell-O, chocolate pudding, peanut butter, a box of Clementine oranges, olive oil, mint chocolate chip ice cream, bagels, apple juice, diet Coke, ginger ale, yogurt, salsa and chips, hummus, potatoes, onions, pasta, rice, beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and enough meat for more than one crock pot brisket.

Opening the freezer to put the frozen foods away, I found a jumble of unidentifiable packages and containers that were, as my mother always used to say, “from the year gimel.” Although they had never bothered me before, all of a sudden, they had to go.  And they had to go now.  So I started tossing:  ice-encrusted turkey bacon, a foil wrapped, plastic-bagged something or other, leftover lentil chili from last January, a started bag of frozen pineapple from Trader Joe’s (I don’t remember the last time I was in Trader Joe’s), hot dog buns that I may have moved here from my last apartment (I’ve been in this one for two and a half years), and a box of frozen veggies that were most likely picked when the Green Giant was still a little sprout.  With all that "stuff" out of there, there was plenty of room to neatly stack the new groceries among the freshly made containers of homemade soup, veggie lasagna and baked goodies that friends have thoughtfully and lovingly prepared for me in the last several weeks.

The same thing happened in the pantry cabinet.  Out went stale nuts, a box of Parmalat milk with a 2008 pull date, a box of matzo that the Israelites probably baked, a partially used bag of rock-hard dried cranberries, and a few potatoes with very big eyes.  After that round of tossing, I rearranged the canned goods, grouping them together by type, aligned the various boxes of rice, mac and cheese, cereal and pasta based on box size, and repackaged some opened bags of dried beans and pearl couscous in uniform, stackable plastic containers.  Martha Stewart would be proud.

But wait, there’s more…

My to-do list on Sunday includes:

1. Paying all bills through January 15
2. Making a batch of chili and freezing it in portion size containers
3. Cooking a brisket in the crock pot
4. Packing and shipping the stack of textbooks on the dining room table that are being “bought back” by Abebooks.com (using the one box from Fresh Direct that wasn’t flattened and put out for recycling)

My tasks on Monday include:

1. Washing:  clothes, sheets, towels, blankets, and mattress pad
2. Dusting:  the heavy duty kind, where you actually lift up the tsotchkes instead of just dusting around them
3. Vacuuming:  including the couch cushions and the POÄNG chair from Ikea
4. Scrubbing the bathroom until it shines like the top of the Chrysler Building:  tub, sink and toilet, as well as sweeping the hairballs out of the corners and swabbing down the floor

After that, Tuesday should be a breeze.  Fueled only by the calories consumed in clear liquids, I’ll run down to the library at Baruch (it’s closed until then) to print something out, returning home (to a sparkling clean apartment!) in time to await two separate phone calls from the hospital—one to review the events of the next day and one to let me know what time to arrive.  A Hibiclens shower—and hopefully some sleep—will round out the day.

Whew…after all that, I’ll really need those six weeks of R&R that are coming my way!

I'm No Julia Child...Part II

Back in August, I tried to convince you that I’m no Julia Child. And in fact, I’m not. Although my grandmother was a terrific cook and baker (as is my sister), I got kitchen genes from my mother who certainly can prepare a nice meal, but readily admits that when it comes to baking, if a recipe says “sift the flour,” she promptly turns the page.

A few months after the brownie baking adventure detailed here, a copy of Tina Wasserman’s new cookbook crossed my desk. It’s a beautiful volume and I was delighted to flip through the pages and admire the photos (and the people who I imagine actually pull off the recipes). When I do cook or bake from a recipe (which isn’t often), it’s usually from this cookbook or this one. If I’m really feeling ambitious, I might try an easy one from this volume, but even those push the outside of my envelope.

Needless to say, therefore, I was a little surprised at myself when, without really thinking about it, I responded affirmatively to the invitation to “share your cooking talents with your colleagues” at the Union’s upcoming Chanukah Party/Holiday Cook-Off being held tomorrow afternoon.

And so it was that earlier this evening, I came home and carefully – oh so carefully – followed the directions for slicing, dicing, chopping and seasoning to make this recipe for tomorrow's festivities.

And, lo and behold, just a few minutes ago, I took this pan out of the oven:

I must admit, if I do say so myself, that these zucchini squares do look (and smell) quite delicious. Let’s hope they’re a hit at the party.

Happy Chanukah, all!

I'm No Julia Child...

Last week, when my sister and I met in the East Village to see Julie and Julia, she was toting her copy of Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor and had turned down the corner on page 405, where the recipe for Raspberry Swirl Brownies is printed. She—who prepared Julia’s boeuf bourguignon a while back when her book group met to ponder the book on which the movie is based—had carefully selected this particular recipe as one that I, her culinary-challenged sister, could, indeed, prepare and bring to a gathering of longtime friends (we’ve known each other since the mid-1970s) scheduled for tomorrow in the New Jersey suburbs.

In all fairness, it’s not that I’m exceptionally challenged when it comes to the ways of the kitchen, but rather that I don’t derive the same pleasure or relaxation as she does from the chopping, boiling, arranging, mixing and general potchkeying around in that room with the stove, sink and refrigerator. So, it’s no surprise that when my parents visit at her house for lunch or dinner on a Sunday, they’re frequently treated to homemade hummus as an appetizer, tasty pasta combinations using such ingredients as kale, pine nuts and yellow tomatoes, and delectable desserts. An Italian plum tart with a lattice crust and a blueberry cobbler are two recent examples. (In fact, while my friends and I are enjoying Raspberry Swirl Brownies tomorrow, my sister, my parents and a few of her friends will be delighting in this Fresh Fig and Almond Crostata.) In my house, on the other hand, salsa and chips, tuna sandwiches with sliced avocado and fresh fruit are more the norm.

For me, therefore, this brownie bake-off was a chore. But, having purchased all the necessary ingredients for both the Raspberry Swirl Brownies and a batch of regular brownies (likely to be more appealing to the kids), I set out to prepare the first of the two recipes:

Raspberry Swirl Brownies

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
1 package (19.8 ounces) brownie mix
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup seedless raspberry jam
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350◦F. Lightly mist the bottom of a 13- by 9-inch pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.
2. Place the brownie mix, melted butter, water, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter lightens in texture, 50 strokes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with a rubber spatula. Drop the raspberry jam by teaspoonfuls onto the batter, and with a dinner knife swirl the jam into the batter. Scatter the chocolate chips and the pecans evenly over the top. Place the pan in the oven.
3. Bake the brownies until the outer 2 inches have formed a crust and feel firm, 23 to 27 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, 30 minutes.
4. Slice and serve the brownies.

I was totally okay with Step #1 and made it halfway through Step #2 with no problem. I don’t own a rubber spatula, however, and had to use a wooden spoon instead. Recognizing that this is not a huge culinary gaffe, I pushed on. I left off the pecans, but finally, gingerly, I placed the pan in the oven and set the timer for 24 minutes.

With recipe #1 out of the way, I got cracking on recipe #2, using the same mixing bowl I’d used for the first batch, and following the recipe on the back of the box:

Regular Ol' Box Brownies

1 package (19.8 ounces) brownie mix
½ cup oil
¼ cup water
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease bottom of pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray. We recommend using Crisco Oil and No-Stick Cooking Spray.


2. Combine brownie mix, oil, water and eggs in a large bowl; stir 50 strokes with a spoon. Spread in a greased pan.


3. Bake as directed below. If using dark or nonstick pan, bake time may be shortened. (A chart, indicating that brownies in an 8"x8" pan should be baked at 350◦F for 45-50 minutes was printed on the back of the box.)

Again, I was good with Step #1, but ran into trouble with Step #2. The only oil I have is olive oil and something told me that just wouldn’t work. Unable to reach my sister to confirm my suspicion, I melted a stick of butter, which, when fully liquid was exactly a ½ cup (whew!) and poured it in. Fat’s fat, I reasoned…what could be bad?

When it was thoroughly mixed, I poured the batter into my 8”x8” pan and put the pan into the oven with the bigger one, which, according to the timer, still had 10 minutes to go.

When the timer sounded, the Recipe #1 brownies appeared to need a few more minutes so I put them back in and added four minutes to the timer. When it rang again, I took them out. They looked great, but lacking a wire rack (another culinary gaffe?), I had to let them cool directly on the counter.

With nearly 40 minutes still to go in the oven for Recipe #2, I set the timer, cranked the AC and stretched out on the couch. I needed a rest! ;-)

The ding of the timer, signaling that Recipe #2 was done, woke me from my cat nap. I took them out of the oven and, like those in Recipe #1, they looked great—and smelled quite yummy, too!


Of course, the proof is in the tasting and that won’t happen until sometime tomorrow afternoon. So, stay tuned for a full taste report soon.

Dinner, Dansk, Delicious

Earlier this week, I read Theodore Nierenberg’s obituary in the New York Times. He was the founder of Dansk International Designs, maker of cookware and pottery with a modern Scandinavian flair. The bowl over there on the left was made by Dansk. I received it as a wedding gift more than 20 years ago from Ruth and Steve, z.l., Bennett, friends of my parents. Today it remains among my favorites and even though I don’t do a lot of entertaining (and am no longer married), I sometimes use it just for fruit because it’s too pretty to keep tucked away in a cabinet.

Ironically enough, just today I invited a colleague for dinner in a few weeks when I will, I’m sure, use that Dansk bowl.

Here’s how it happened…

A few days ago, I learned that this colleague, who lost his job in the Union’s March madness that restructured the entire organization and reduced the staff by 25 percent has been appointed as the director of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. Beginning in about 10 days, he’ll be spending Monday to Thursday in New York although his home and family are in the Washington, DC area.

And so I sent him the following note on Facebook:

This message entitles the bearer to a home cooked meal in New York City (a mere 10 blocks from 633) and is redeemable between August 17th and whenever “Biennial Jane” gets too busy with everyone else's chicken, fish and veggie to worry about yours! :)

Mazel tov on your new job!!

By coincidence, later in the day, I saw him briefly in the office (scroll down a bit and you can see him here, eating a falafel and chips). In a hasty hallway conversation, he told me he’d gotten my message and that he’d bring the produce (he’s an avid gardener) and cook for me.

“Oh, is that how it works?” I inquired, pleasantly surprised that even though I’d done the inviting, he’s going to do the cooking.

“Yes,” he replied, before rushing off to his next meeting.

So, in the next few weeks, keep an eye out here for that Dansk bowl and the fresh-from-the-garden fare that will fill it. What'll it be? Ratatouille over couscous? Cucumber and tomato salad? Sautéed green beans and garlic?

Doesn’t matter to me…they all sound delicious!

Stay tuned to find out…

Update: To see what deliciousness ended up on the Dansk bowl, click here.