Seder @ MindSay

 

Huevos Haminados:

in HEAVY pan

caramelize two onions until deep brown

add 1 tab coffee grounds.

add a dozen eggs.

add water to cover eggs.

boil uncovered for 10 minutes.

crackle each egg by tapping it all over with a spoon but leave the shells on and return to the brown liquid

simmer for several hours.

peel and cool.

 

when you remove the shells there will be a brown marbelized pattern and the eggs will be infused with a light onion taste. delicious.

 

 

my charosets recipe (sorry,  I do not measure)

 

combine to taste in a food processor:

dried apricots

dates

prunes

pitted pear

cored apple

pulp from orange

10 ounces almonds

sweet red wine

mix until a chunky paste

add cinnamon, cloves and allspice ---mix again. refrigerate.

 

Horseradish

about four inches of a fresh horseradish- peeled and chopped

one beet washed and peeled

chop both fine in food processor.

add one tab balsamic vinegar

add one tsp lemon juice

refrigerate until ready to use.

 

 

 

why is this night different than all other nights?

 

on this night we gather and make a raucaus group singing and praying and eating with our hands and telling ancient and not so ancient stories about everyone from  moses and miriam to my brother drooling on me as friendly torture. It is my husband's favorite holiday and my second favorite  ( sukkot tops my list) and the tradition brings us closer to the critical things in life like: respect, freedom, tolerance, second chances, helping others and empathy.

 

dinner was orange chicken - wild rice- asparagus - with poached pears for dessert. the huevos haminados were exceptionally good this year. not to mention my horseradish. Plus up here there are so many jews that they sell kosher lamb bones in the store so I didn't have to butterfly a leg of lamb in order to get a leg shank. Good thinking portland grocers !!!

 

Eliahu Hanavi

Were in New Jersey now -- and about to leave for the first night's Passover Seder at my brother's home a few miles away.  It'll be a small one -- Av, socKs, me, my Dad, my brother, his wife and their three kids.  It's a rare opportunity for a very informal Seder which will really be for the kids -- rather than for the adults.  The mitzvah (commandment) of the Seder is one to "tell the story to your children" -- something which can get cloudy when it's in a room of adults who are more concerned about making impressions.  This is going to be casual dress and casual attitude for the four kids in attendance, ages 9, 5, 4 and 2.

Tomorrow night will be the synagogue Seder, attendance of almost 100. 'Twill be a tad different.

Oh -- and the three of us all got haircuts yesterday before the holiday. Ironically we all got them at different places.  Mine was the most drastic, I think...

Chag Sameach, everyone...

Shabot 6000 rocks my world.

(Note: has some words which might be perceived as obscene. Even though they're bleeped out.)

Seda' Club - shabot6000.com

Our trip began on Saturday afternoon -- after K dropped off our cat at the vet (or, as we prefer to call it, the Veterinary Hotel, Casino and Spa) and after we fed Av some lunch. My parents were generous enough to offer to pay for our hotel room in Carlstadt, NJ -- about a mile away from the Meadowlands Sports Complex. I had never stayed in a Hampton Inn before, and I was quite impressed. Definitely a good deal -- good quality at a price that even we could afford. (Although we knew that it would make my parents much, much happier if we let them pay...)

Traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike was a bit rough in patches due to the rain coming and going quite quickly several times. And the prices of the tolls have gone up again. Fortunately, Virginia's "SmartTag" is finally part of the EZ-Pass network as of November of last year, and we were able to proceed without a hitch.

The first night's Passover Seder was in Hoboken at my brother's family's apartment. It's not very big, but we were able to squeeze in 15 people: Av, K and me; my brother, his wife and their three kids; my parents; Uncle Aaron (my sister-in-law's brother), and four people from my brother's congregation. It was called to start at 7:30, but we pretty much got everything underway at around 8:15. Pretty late considering that the kids are 6, 3, 2 and 6 months old... but if they were to get tired and/or emotional it wouldn't be too far to a bedroom a few feet over.

My first memories of the Passover Seder were those of Grandpa Lou leading it -- at his and Grandma's home in Brooklyn and then at our home in Maryland. Rob (my brother) and I were the only kids for quite a while (until the rest of the cousins were born), and it was a traditional mystery to me. But I knew my parts -- singing the Mah Nishtanah (Four Questions), singing along with everyone else for all of the other songs, finding the hidden afikoman and being rewarded with presents, opening the door for Elijah, and being a bit intimidated at the slightly drunken silliness which would overcome my uncle and make my parents a bit nervous.

When Rob and I were about 15 and 12 respectively, my grandparents were staying up in New York with the rest of the family. And my parents let me lead one Seder and my brother one seder. Mine was more free-form with lots of singing but with the traditional structure which was burned into my mind from school and previous seder experiences. Rob did research and challenged the whole Seder process -- including its origins and strange traditions from centuries and cultures past -- and whipped up something very meaningful which probably ressembles the essence of the Passover Seder from 1500 years ago more than what usually transpires. I've always liked the way he did things; as I led Passover seders as part of my job at the schools where I worked I proudly used his model and was met with positive feedback.

Since we have had our kids, he's had to take less of a scholarly approach and more of a kid-friendly one. Which meant participation from two of my nieces who had learned songs (in Hebrew and English) for the occassion -- as well as passing around the stuffed and construction-paper frogs they had -- and, of course, the "bag of plagues." (Very cool stuff; I'll post the link for anyone who wants one.)

Av was, of course, more interested in the toys. Which is fine. By the time we ate dinner -- around 9:30 -- he wasn't in any mood to eat, but rather to run around and practice his alphabet. Again, not anything unexpected. It was loud, crowded, stuffy and trying our patience a bit -- but there was good food and nice people.

The girls were getting a bit irritable at the end of dinner -- so the 6-year old was in and out of the living room while the 3-year old and 6-month old went to bed. Av was also a bit curious about everything and, perhaps, was winding down. Uncle Rob scooped him up in his lap where he stayed, completely focused on my brother who kept on leading the seder without missing a beat, entertaining the kid in his lap every so often.

We were amazed because he's never been awake and so still in either of our laps before.

When it was time to go, we were amazed that he didn't fall asleep in the car, nor did he in the hotel room until almost an hour had passed since we had returned. (1:40am). He may not have understood all of what was going on -- the Seder; the juggling of responsibilities between parents with taking care of the kids; the politics of parents, grandparents and in-laws; and averting the inevitable spills of food and drink on the apartment floor. He had a positive experience. Something which I hope he continues to have in next year's Seder, and those after that.

(To be continued with Seder #2...)