Weekend Hospitality

Shabbat Chicken

2011-12-08T12:02:00.001-08:00

Shabbat Chicken

A recipe adapted from the New Kosher Cuisine For all Seasons cookbook by Linda Jacob.

2 Tbsp oil

1 onion sliced thinly

2 whole cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

t tsp tumeric

1 tsp fresh ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 chicken cut up and skinned

Saute the onion until it begins to brown. Add the everything except the chicken and saute for a minute. Add the chicken and brown lightly. Reduce heat to low and cover for 30 minutes. Transfer from the fire to the hot plate for shabbat. This makes a wonderful sauce (I have no idea where it comes from since there are no liquid ingredients).

2011-10-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sukkot (Fall 2011)

Dinner (15 people attending, big eaters all!)
California Garlic Soup
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Coca Cola Chicken
Carrot salad
Cucumber Salad
Brussels Sprouts

Lunch - 19
Grilled meats
Grilled fresh Cajun Chicken
Grilled peppers and zucchini
Roast potatoes
Israeli Salad
Green Salad
Breads and Condiments

It is traditional in Israel to grill on holidays, even for the orthodox jews. This is our first attempt at following this custom. Wish us luck and a happy holiday to all!

Rosh Hashana 5972

2011-09-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

Here are our menus for Rosh Hashana 5972 (2011). All of our meals are booked and we look forward to spending time with our friends and family. Counts after the meal are the number of people expected to attend.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year.

Wednesday Night - 17

New year signs
- Trout
- Salmon + Sauce
- Leeks
- Beets
- Carrots
- Pumpkin
- Dates
- Black Eyes Peas
- Celery + Peanut Butter + Raisins
- Apples and Honey
Hungarian Goulash
Roast Chicken
Noodles
Cake
Lemon Freeze

Thursday Lunch (out at friends)

Thursday Dinner - 17

Cold Cuts
Cold Cajun Chicken
Sesame Noodles
Salads
Honey Cake
Ginger bread + Ice cream

Friday Lunch - 15

Salmon
Cheese Plater
Lasagne
Tofu
Broccoli Kugel
Cup Cakes
Apple Cake

Shabbat Dinner (out with friends)

Shabbat Lunch - 20

Kebabs and Techina
Cajun Jumbalaya
Mushroom Chicken
Broccoli Kugel
Couscous
Salads
Apple Cake

Weekends on our own

2011-09-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

The family is each doing their own thing this weekend. There is a bar-mitzva in Jerusalem for the youngest and an event that the wife is running with the help of a few of the other boys. I'm off to visit an old college buddy (that's old college, not old, college) in Bet Shemesh.

Have a great shabbat!

I'm bringing along one of my favorite noodle dishes.

Sesame Ginger Noodles
Makes a lot of noodle

Cook two pounds of spaghetti noodles, drain and set aside.

Mix together the following ingredients:

3 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped or minced
3-4 scallions, chopped, whites and greens
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar

Mix the ingredients until the sugar dissolves and pour over the cooked noodles. Mix well to spread the sauce and chill the noodles for 4-5 hours.

a few degrees of freedom

2011-09-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

Nice week. I hit the triple 16 birthday. Now I feel older. Hard to believe I've been around this long, but I am reminded of it at work every day. I'm definitely the grampa of the group.

The other new of the week is that the Hebrew University finally agreed that I had fulfilled all of the requirements for a Phd. It took them more than 10 months to review my thesis, which would have been painful if I hadn't been working already. So with that past me, I am now recognized as a Doctor of Philosophy. Of course, my diploma will not arrive until the graduation ceremony next May!

I had fun in the kitchen today. We are trying our one course meals for Friday night. We usually have a smaller number of guests for dinner, so its nicer to have a simple meal. I started out thinking about a soup and ended up making Yellow Curry Chicken (see recipe below). Then a friend brought over some mushroom barley soup, so we'll use a single bowl but have both dishes with rice.

For lunch, I make a honey mustard chicken, a roast chicken and a moussaka (also see recipe below). We have a vegetarian for lunch, so I made a simple tofu stir fry dish with zucchini, leeks and tofu. It looks nice and will go well over rice.

If you happen to be in the area the weekend, stop by for kiddush from 8:30 to 10am. I bought Herring and I'm going to open a bottle of port!

Shabbat Parshat Ki Tavo
Dinner - 8
Mushroom Barley soup
Yellow Curry Chicken
Rice
Steamed Brocolli
Prepared Shnitzel (for those with less varied tastes)

Lunch - 13
Moussaka
Honey Mustard Chicken
Roast Chicken
Stir Fry Tofu
Rice
Israeli Salad
Carrot Kugel
Potato Kugel

Yellow Curry Chicken -- Serves 8
3 Chicken thighs, 4 drumsticks, chopped up into one inch pieces without skin
3 tablespoons yellow curry mix
1 can coconut milk
three kolrabi cut into bite size pieces
2 cups of fresh Pumpkin cut into bite size pieces
1 hot green pepper
2 cups water

In a large pot, heat the coconut milk. Add the yellow curry mix and stir until its evenly distributed.
Add the vegetables and water. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and cook for another 30 minutes on low heat. Serve over rice or in bowls. Its pretty much a soup.

Moussaka -- Serves 8
3 large eggplants sliced the long way into 1/4 inch slices
2 pounds ground meat
1 large can crushed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cut chopped parsley

Fry the eggplant until its light brown on both sides. I used a deep fried because it was available, but I have also just used a frying pan. Brown the beef until its no longer pink. Mix the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, add salt and pepper.

In a baking dish, put a layer of eggplant, half of the beef, and half of the sauce. Make another layer the same way and finish if off with a final layer of eggplant. Drain as much of the liquid as you can and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

If you plan on serving it for Shabbat lunch, drain the liquid and discard.

2011-09-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

Once again into the blogging fray. Quiet weekend with everyone back in school or wherever they are now spending their time. This weekend, I decided to marinate my chicken breasts. Its easy to do and adds flavor. I used two different marinades: olive oil, lemon juice and herbs, and soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar and dark sesame oil. The trick here is to let is sit and not be in a hurry to cook it off. I marinated them for about 4 hours, but overnight would work also.

The other trick I used was to make roast chicken using a commercial salad dressing as a glaze. In this case, honey mustard salad dressing on a split chicken. I can't recall the last time I cooked a chicken without first removing the backbone and laying it flat. My feeling is that by making it flat, the chicken cooks more evenly.

We continue the experiment with simple one disk meals for dinner. Some of my children are tired of chicken soup, so my wife made a beef stew. Looks and smells great!

Shabbat Parshat Ki Tavo
Dinner - 7
Beef Stew
Noodles
Salad
Quinoa

Lunch - 13
Honey Mustard Roast Chicken
Grilled Marinated Lemon Chicken breasts
Baked Asian Marinated Chicken breasts
Rice
Vegetable stir fry
Israeli Salad
Cabbage Salad
Potato Kugel

Have a great shabbat and relax.

Been a while.....

2011-09-02T05:51:00.000-07:00

Holy readers, it's been almost three months since my last post. I've been working at a new job and finding balance in my life. Many thanks to a few readers for pestering me to keep writing. I do appreciate the motivational help.

My wife suggested that we try for a very simple meal on Friday night instead of the full blown orgies of epicurean wonders that I usually attempt. We tried it last weekend and we will try it again tonight. We are aiming at single bowl meal with soup, salad and a starch. It is surprising how filling a few bowls of soup are and we really don't need all the fancy calories twice on Shabbat.

With the beginning of the school year, we also begin to invite families once again for Shabbat lunch. This weekend, we have a reasonable size group of 18. Four of them are below 10, but still, its a crowd.

Both the chicken recipes come from a cookbook called "The Spicy Food Lover's Bible". It has relatively simple recipes with lots of heat. I'm a big fan.

Shabbat Parshat Shoftim
Dinner - 8
Chicken soup with Vegetables and Coucous
Green Salad
Pumpkin bread
Cookies

Lunch - 18
Cold Cuts
Roast Chicken
Chicken Jeera (cumin and black pepper)
Chicken Basquaise (in a spicy pepper and tomato sauce)
Rice
Roast Eggplant with Garlic
Green Beans
Israeli Salad
Cookies

Have a great weekend.

Food before the Holiday

2011-05-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Next week is Israeli Independence day! I'm looking forward to celebrating with friends and family. This weekend is rather quiet, with no guests for dinner and 7 guests for lunch (which is small for us).

I'm trying out new dishes. For the stir fry, I used Celery Root (celeriac). Its different, but I hope it tastes great. Here is a picture I took of the prep work. The items are Red Bell Pepper, Carrots, Celery Root, Zucchini, Onions and Garlic. I marinated the chicken in Dark Sesame Oil, stir fried it, removed it from the pan and then stir fried the vegetables. Mix and serve with fresh green onions for tomorrow lunch.

The other cool dish was Ground beef and Spinach. Saute a minced onion, brown the beef with the onions until it is no longer pink. Add a bad of thawed chopped spinach, garlic, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, a beef bullion cube and a cup or two of water. Simmer until the water is mostly evaporated. Looks great and is a good extender for ground beef.

Shabbat Parshat Emor
Dinner - 6
Broccoli Soup
Ground beef and Spinach
Cajun Roast Chicken
Rice
Green Salad

Lunch - 13
Corned Beef
Chicken Stir Fry
Artichokes
Cole Slaw
Salad (from our guests)
Couscous

New Beginnings

2011-04-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend marks a new beginning for me. I've taken a new position as CTO of a young start-up. Sunday is my first day and I'm really excited about the opportunity. Its like they said in the movie Full Metal Jacket: "Travel to exotic, distant lands (Tel-Aviv), meet exciting, unusual people, (my new cohorts and team members) and make the coolest, fastest product in the market!" Ok, so I took a little liberty with the quote, but I'm still stoked!

This weekend, we celebrate the passing of Passover. Bring on the noodle, bread and flour based products.

Shabbat Parshat Kedoshim
Dinner - 7
Chicken Soup
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Zucchini Curry
Green Beans

Lunch - 11
Deli Roll
Corned Beef
Roasted Yams
Israeli Salad
Rice

Middle of Passover Weekend

2011-04-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

Ah, more meat, more potatoes. A real man's holiday and it lasts 7 days! What could be better expect perhaps additional cholesterol medication.

Not many guests for this weekend. Dinner is 10 and lunch will be our basic 7. I usually cook Atkin's friendly dishes, so passover is not a big deal. On the other hand, I also serve starches as sides and that's much harder.

Here's something fun to do. I use a real lamb shank for the seder plate. We don't eat it that night, but we do present it as a remembrance of the holiday service more than 2000 years ago. (That's a really long time). So what do with the shank once the seder is over? Today, I sliced the meat off the bone, cut zucchini and onions on a mandolin and stir fried it all together. It smells wonderful and will taste great tonight.

My wife has a tradition of making parve ice cream on Pessach. We all enjoy it as dessert after our meals. This year, she experimented with "Waffle" flavored ice cream. Its maple syrup and cinnamon. Yummy!

Shabbat Hol Mamoed Pessach
Dinner - 10
Matza Ball Chicken soup
Meatballs in roasted eggplant (from the Sephardic Kosher Kitchen)
Chicken Marsala (peppers, tomatoes and chicken)
Lamb and Zucchini
Matza Farfel
Green Salad

Lunch - 7
Chicken Stir Fry
Goulash
Roast Potatoes
Qunioa
Israeli Salad

The holiday is coming and boy are we tired.

2011-04-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

This week has been cleaning week. One of my responsibilities is the oven and stovetop. It took me about 6 hours this years to get it clean, but I am very proud of how sparkling clean it is. Amazing what good chemicals will do to stainless steel.

Our house is ready for passover. This weekend we are each kosher for pesach food, but with the addition of kitniyot. So, be prepared and awed by my pre-passover menu! It a bit short because we are eating a friends for lunch.

Here is the recipe for Meatballs and Zucchini the way I made it today.
2 kilo zucchini, cubed (1/2 inch cubes)
6 cloves garlic (halved)
1 large onion diced
1 kilo ground meat
3 eggs
Parsley
1 tsp oregano
ground pepper, salt

Salt the cubed zucchini in a colander and let sit for at 30 minutes. Wash the zucchini and let sit.
In a pot, add 2-3 Tbsp oil, and brown the garlic. Remove from the oil and add the onion. Saute until soft. Add the zucchini and cook covered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients into the meatballs.

Add 1 cup water to the zucchini. Drop in 1 inch meatballs and cook covered on low for 1/2 hour. Add in the browned garlic and let cook uncovered for another 30 minutes until the liquid is reduced somewhat.

Serve over rice!

Shabbat HaGadol
Dinner - 9
Cabbage soup with crushed tomatoes
Meatballs and Zucchini from the Sephardic Kosher Kitchen (pg 112)
Pan Roasted Chicken
Rice (picked over seven times)
Lettuce salad
Sliced vegetables (cucumbers and carrots)
Humus

Lunch:
more rice!

11 organs, 3 deaths, lives saved

2011-03-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this article from the Jpost: 3 people died last week. Two from strokes and one from meningitis. We morn their passing and send condolences to their families. May they find solace and comfort from their friends and family.

All three of these people were ADI organ donor card carriers. Their families agreed upon their deaths to donate their organs to those in need. Within a 24 hour period, 11 organs were transplanted, four kidneys, a heart, three lungs, and three livers.

We give thanks to those who dies and provided the living with another chance at life. May those living remember these selfless acts and live accordingly.

The world can be a good place or a bad place. A lot depends on how you look at it.

In memory of a fellow student

2011-03-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

When I was finishing my Masters degree, I needed to pass the Hebrew Language requirement at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Go figure. After failing the exemption test, I took the highest level of ulpan and worked very hard for one semester to improve my language skills. I recall that we had a non-jewish student who was studying hebrew in order to translate the bible for natives in the Congo. He was a really nice guy, but rather out of sync with the rest of us immigrants.

Last week on Wednesday, a bomb blew up near a busy bus stop in Jerusalem. Mary Gardner was another student like my friend from ulpan. She was studying hebrew in order to translate the bible. I never met Mary, but I think I would have enjoyed talking to her. She was a school teacher from Scotland and had spent the last 20 years traveling around the world teaching and working to Togo. She went to Jerusalem to learn hebrew and lost her life to a random act of terrorism.

You can learn more about Mary from the Herald Scotland. Her loss reminds me of how terrorism is just a random and meaningless act of violence. May those who committed this crime receive their just rewards.

Podcast and my hometown

2011-03-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll. The latest Escape Pod story centers on my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. I havn't lived in Cleveland for almost 30 years, but its still home. I suffer gladly the losing ways of all my hometown sports teams and glory in their ineptitude. Even that guy who left just proved how wonderfully mediocre our teams really are.

The latest story is called On a clear day you can see all the way to conspiracy by Desmond Warzel. Frankly, I didn't enjoy the story line. Its cute, but I've seen better. On the other hand, Terry Pratchet said that people read newspapers because they hope to see their own name, their friends names or their own neighborhoods inscribed on paper for all to see. That's why I liked this story.

Its all about Cleveland landmarks, driving to work and seeing the lake. The local radio announcer is perfect, just like I remembered. Nasty, funny and smooth. Its a taste that I savor, even if the plot line is (as I said), not that great.

Enjoy

podcasts and growth

2011-03-22T00:29:00.000-07:00

Whenever I get into the car for a drive of more than 30 minutes, I try to find something good on the radio, ipod (equivalent) or podcast. One of my most rewarding finds are two podcasts: EscapePod and PodCastle. They are part of the same group, serving high quality short audio fiction. EscapePod is all about science fiction, while PodCastle is on the fantasy side. The stories are usually interesting and sometimes not for kids (although they do provide warnings up front).

This week, I listened to a story on PodCastle called State Change by Ken Liu. I wasn't sure what to expect and the beginning started off rather slow. The premise is that in the world of the story, people are born with physical objects that represent their souls. According to the story, Edna Vincent Milay's soul was a candle that she literally burned at both end to bring light and fire to her life.

The story is about how people view their souls. In that world, the physical soul can be used up, sometimes providing energy, excitement, or figurative light to the surroundings. Without giving away any spoilers, the main take away is that change is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, we start our lives in one direction and assume that we are destined to stay that way for life. This can be wonderful for some, and a prison for others. Sometimes, says the story, we can reinterpret our lives, presenting our basic properties in a way that is different, perhaps better.

Listen to the story. I'de love to hear your take.

The shape of things to come?

2011-03-11T05:22:00.000-08:00

The weekend offers a taste of things to come. Empty nesting is when the kids leave home and the family becomes smaller. My wife is working this weekend, some of my kids are home and others are out. We are eating both meals out, with only four of us at each meal. Change is part of our lives and this too shall pass, but I can see that our house is changing.

From a food perspective, We are bringing dessert for dinner tonight. My son made a magic chocolate cake with lemon icing. Its looks wonderful and I'm sure will taste great.

For lunch, I'm making chicken and rice using the basic recipe from "Cooking for Engineers". We have lots of frozen bread and a head of cabbage that has been sitting in the fridge for two weeks, so I'm making stuffing. Instead of the apples, I'm using pears because that is what I have on hand.

Have a great weekend,
Elliot

Now were cooking again

2011-02-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

I started this weekend cooking with the following:
1 Kg ground beef
3 Kg Chicken thighs and drumsticks
2 small salami
1 beef chuck labeled Filet M'dume (2 Kg)

The challenge: Make dinner for 8 and lunch for 14. Use beef at both meals.

I love cookbooks. Today, I used Mark Bittman's best recipes in the world. One of the nice features of this book is that recipes are marked "Make Ahead" and "Serve Cold/Room Temperature". So, three recipes this week.

Chicken Teriyaki (pg. 317), a simple way to make chicken with a sweet soy sauce.
Chicken Escabeche (pg. 294), warm chicken in a sauce. This one looks strange. Its backwards. First you cook the chicken, then add the marinade, then serve it at room temperature. I'll let you know if it works.
Beef Daube (pg 384), a nice simple beef stew. Since its for Shabbat lunch, I drained the sauce and will serve it for dinner.

For the ground beef, I made a mexican beef tacos with cut vegetables on the side. Simple and spicy!

To finish off the recipes, I went back to a favorite: Garden Tomato soup from the Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking (pg 241). Alas, no ginger in my pantry today, so its slightly different, but tasty!

I have lots of help in the kitchen these days, because for some reason, I can't start cooking until after noon. The morning is filled with errands. Our group watch the first of the Star Wars movies (chronological first, not as they were made). We can still enjoy the scenes, even if we know that Anakin will turn out BAD.

Dinner - 8
Indian Garden Tomato Soup
Mexican beef taco with cut vegetables
Sliced Salami
Cold Red Cabbage Salad
Noodles
Cookies

Lunch - 14
Beef Daube
Chicken Escabeche
Chicken Teriyaki
Avocado salad
Israeli salad
Cabbage salad
Curried carrots
Rice
Pititim
Cookies!

The food smells wonderful and looks great.
Shabbat Shalom to all

Big Blue: Holyland Bowl XXI Winners

2011-02-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Big Blue won the Holyland bowl last night after a tight game against Derech Eretz Chayim (DEC). The contest is the culmination of months of play with more than 60 teams participating in an adult flag football league. This is the big boys league, with some contact. DEC is a perennial challenger in this league, recruiting yeshiva students for their year in Israel based on their football ability. Playing against them, Big Blue is made up of locals, many of whom play on the Israeli national flag football team. Both teams have previously won the championship, so this was a closely watched game.

My son played defensive corner for Big Blue. We were excited and pleased to watch the play from the roof of the clubhouse. It was cold as usual for Jerusalem (about 40 degrees F., 7 degree celcius). The cold didn't bother these players, who had clearly practiced for this game.

Since it was a bowl game, there was a half-time show. But since this was Jerusalem, instead of the Black Eyed Peas, we had the hall of fame inductees and a throwing contest. Not quite as exciting, but you get what you pay for a five shekel admission fee.

See you next year at the Holyland Bowl. Go Big Blue!

Loss of a leader

2011-01-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

I'm in Cleveland this week visiting family. Last night, we got an automated call from the local synagogue. Rabbi Dessler had passed away at age 90. The Hesped was this morning in Cleveland and the funeral will be in Israel Tuesday night at 6:15pm at Shamgar in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Dessler was a pillar of this community. His children spoke about his midos, his personality. He was a very quiet man who never raised his voice and worked to maintain control at all times. All this was true, but that is not what I recall.

My first recollection was as a student in the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland. Rabbi Dessler was the principal of the school. He was GOD. We saw him here and there, but he was a busy figure. I had the luxury of visiting his office a number of times due to my propensity for annoying and aggravating my teachers. Rabbi Dessler was always polite, spoke quietly and pretty much let me do what I wanted. Who could ask for anything more!

Seriously, Rabbi Dessler created the Hebrew Academy. His thesis was that every Jewish child deserved a Jewish education, regardless of how they dressed, how their parents behaved or whether they had a TV in their house. Rabbi Dessler implemented this model for more than 60 years. To this day, the Hebrew Academy will accept anyone. If you don't have money to pay, that's ok. Somehow a grant can be found. The most important thing is to be inclusive.

My sister was very ill as a teenager. Rabbi Dessler and his wife were at her side and with my parents. My family was not particular close with the Dessler's, but because my sister was a student, the rabbi and his wife took it upon themselves to become involved. They organized the school so that someone visited each day. They turned a bad situation into one of support and education for everyone involved. My parents received much needed comfort and support during those trying times. My sister got better, but we will never forget the kindness of Rabbi Dessler and his wife.

May we remember Rabbi Dessler and learn from his examples.

Cooking for dinner

2011-01-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

We are going out for lunch, so only dinner this week. We will be 12 at the table, with the youngest being almost 13. No little kids. Thus, a more adult dinner. Sorry, no picture today. Maybe next week.

Dinner - 12 people

Pumpkin soup

Chicken Jeera

Chicken and Rice

Shnitzelonim

Brussels Sprouts

White Rice

Braised Celery and onions (I had celery left, so I used it!)

Salad

Crock Pot Corned Beef

2010-12-31T05:11:00.000-08:00

We buy frozen corned beef uncooked from the butcher. I try to leave it out on the counter overnight until it thaws. The traditional method is to boil it for 4-6 hours in a large pot of water. Recently, I learned about a crockpot method which I think results in more tasty corned beef and is amazingly simple.

Begin with 5 to 10 carrots peeled and cut into one inch chunks. Add two or three large onions, cut into large pieces (1 inch). Put the corned beef in the crockpot, add the vegetables and cover with water. Cook on high for 5-6 hour, or on low for 8-10 hours until a fork easily penetrates the corned beef. Take out of the crockpot, drain, cut and serve. The vegetables can be served alongside.

Today's menu:

Dinner - 14 people

Turkey stock soup with carrots, onions and mushrooms

Corned beef

Steamed Chicken Breasts

Green salad (lettuce)

Rice

Guacamole

Cookies for dessert

Stats are cool

2010-12-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

This blog is hosted on Blogger.com. I've been writing from some years now, but it is only recently that Blogger integrated statistics into their site. Now I can see the most frequently read blog entries. And the winner is: Tas Kebab - Turkish Beef Stew

It seems that recipes are a good draw on blogs. They are not time specific and are caught by search engines so that people come back to see them.

On a related note, I have been told that pictures make blog entries much more appealing.

So, starting today, I will try to post at least one recipe with a picture each week. I think the post will begin with the menu and then include the recipe and picture. Comments about current events and life will have their own posts.

Change is good,
Elliot

Texting

2010-12-28T04:50:00.000-08:00

I recently tried out an android phone, after using an old Nokia for what seems like ages. The biggest difference was that I began to use SMS messages to reach people. I think its easier than leaving a voice message, and faster than email. On the other hand, I just received this note from a friend of mine. I send about 100 SMS messages a month! I can't image 6000!

FOR MY DAUGHTER

Today, I took away texting. It was very painful, mostly for me but I realised that my daughter's approval was far less important than her future and since it is my job to help her realize her potential and not enhance the muscles that strengthen the use of her thumbs....I thought it was time.

As I walk the halls of the school where I work, I see what everyone sees when they walk down any hall of any school and that is people, texting other people, while they walk together. Its a new kind of parallel play.

It used to be that parallel play served as a precursor for social interaction and next to one another, children would play with blocks or dolls and they would listen in a sort of subconscious way to each other, learning to connect. Now, parallel play means that people (not just children or young adults) walk the hallways of schools or the malls or lets be honest, their homes, texting other people.

Other people. Somebody else. Why arent we happy with who is in front of us or next to us? What is happening to our abilities to see each other for who we are in an interactive way that actually requires speaking? I mean, I love to speak. Ask me a question.. I am dying to answer it or avoid it with language; it doesnt matter, I just want to talk.. but nobody wants to talk anymore. What we want now are just words. In writing. Big words, little words, made up words that werent ever words until we opted out of talking and now, words and non words are everything and language is shortened to a one syllable grunt that has no sound or expression.. it is powered by our ability to type fast, it doesnt ask us to reach into our emotions and sound like we mean it, since nobody is listening.

So, I took the guess work out and left the praying up to somebody else on this. I took away texting and I am hoping that the satanic jerk at verizon, who told me that 6000 texts a month is my fault, has a seizure and needs to use sign language for the rest of his life. And my daughter, will need to speak.

I will enjoy her sweet, melodic, screaming voice, utter words. She will speak with power or hesitation or indifference or passion, but she will speak and her friends, her dear, text driven addicts, will have to speak back to her.

It will be a blessing.

I love you. And I will love you harder than anyone you will ever know.

Mummy

Return to regular weekends

2010-12-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

Its been some time since I've posted a menu, but its time to start again.

The holidays are all over, (Thanksgiving and Chanuka). The intense fall has past and winter is now visiting the country with cool evenings and pleasant daytime temperatures. The rains of the past week were a good start, but we really need more cloudy, overcast, wet days. Nothing in the forecast, but we can still hope.

This weekend, we have one family eating over for lunch. Dinner is just 6, which is pretty small for our crowd. I've been in isolation for most of this week so my wife kindly volunteered to cook for this weekend. Much appreciated.

Shabbat Parshat VaYechi
Dinner - 6
Orange Soup (Pumpkin)
Beef Burgundy
Prepared Shnitzel
Noodle
Green Beans

Lunch - 14
Crock-pot Chicken
Leiah's Best Fried Chicken
Deviled Eggs
Roast Eggplant
Quinoa
Green Salad
Israeli Salad
Guacamol
Rice

CS Christmas Joke

2010-12-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

I can't help it. This is priceless. Almost makes me wish I celebrated just so that I could build a tree and heap.

Medical update: Iodine

2010-12-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

I have the strange pleasure to suffer from an over-active thyroid gland. I don't wish it on anyone, the side effects are troublesome. I've lost a ton of weight,which is probably the best side effect. The other side effects are less friendly, but I've gotten through the worst and am now on the mend.

The treatment for this disease is cool. Yesterday, I took two small radioactive iodine pills. 1.5 hours of travel to the hospital during rush hour, five minutes to take the pills and 30 minutes back home. Now, I'm radioactive for three days. No going near people, which means more time on the computer! Good thing I'm a techie and that I've got a new game to play (Starcraft II).

The treatment is boring. No symptoms, no indicators what so ever that anything is happening. I have been told that the over-active thyroid symptoms will take about a month to go away. I can't wait!

Wish me luck and stay away for a few days.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T22:30:00.000-08:00

My wife and I were married on Thanksgiving day, 24 years ago. Since then, we have celebrated our anniversary with the traditional thanksgiving day meal. If you search this blog, you can see past thanksgivings here, here and here. For some time now, we have hosted huge thanksgiving events with more than 300 friends and guests. This year, we have a change. My sister's son is celebrating his Bar Mitzva this weekend and we are all invited. Our thanksgiving party has been canceled for this year, but we will be celebrate a condensed version next weekend with a smaller group of friends (20 or so).

I am very excited to participate in this Bar Mitzva. My nephew is a bundle of energy and excitement. He has grown significantly over the past few years from a very independent child to a real mench. It is a pleasure to watch him grow up and blossom.

From the thanksgiving point of view, I will miss our big gala event. It was very much part of my yearly calendar. This year we will have a Thanuka (Thanksgiving+Hanuka) dinner next shabbat. We will make the same foods for which we have become locally famous and will share the good times with our friends.

We have much to be thankful for this past year. My eldest was married in February, bringing my first daughter-in-law into the family. My second son who had a kidney transplant last year in may, is fully recovered and has entered the army as a volunteer. My third son graduated high school and is now studying in Yeshiva until his army duty starts this spring. Numbers four, five and six are all healthy and studying in high school! We are done with elementary school.

My wife is studying in a two year tour-guide course and really enjoying the country and the learning. She is going to be a great guide (shameless plug for business) and constantly impresses us with her knowledge, passion and excitement about the land and its history.

Of course, I just finished my Phd thesis and I'm now starting a new venture. I'll probably have to start a new blog for the business side, but I hope to continue with WeekendHospitality for my personal views and events.

To give thanks is to recognize positive events in our life, to recognize the people who made them happen and the people who were with you throughout. I give thanks for the past year, to God for the many miracles, to our friends for their support, to my wife and my family for being there always.

May you recognize the gifts that you have and the wonderful things that have occurred. May we continue to share these gifts and events in the year to come.

Elliot

My Thesis: Free at last, Free at last

2010-11-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

For the past five years, I have been working on my Phd in Computer Science; Learning, teaching, research, project management, travel and writing. I started on my way with a cool idea, only to have it summarily shot down by and expert in the field.

Never trust an expert (me included).

He was lost at sea on a solo overnight cruise. I kept working and found that he was wrong. Great, five years later, I finally submitted my thesis. I have completed all of the requirements for the Phd and now I just have to wait while an anonymous set of judges reviews my work. Basically, I'm done!

Free at last, free at last.

The mental overhead towards the end with deadlines, errors, and challenges was really hard. Its over now and I can feel the freedom of thought returning to my curdled brain.

I have a printed copy if you want to drop on by my house. Otherwise, wait a few months and I'll publish a digital version.

I can finally breath... and ... on to my next business. The fun never ends.

Top 100 books from the BBC

2010-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here. Instructions: Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or those from which you've read an excerpt.

Here are my results: 26 read, 1 partial.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma -Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Geeky: Knuth and I

2010-11-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

Now this is probably a very strange comic for most of you, but for me, its a reminder of times past. The background is that Donald Knuth, a professor of Computer Science at Stanford, has been writing a bible of computer science for the past twenty years. He is so confident in his efforts that he will pay for each error that you uncover; $2.56 for any typographical errors or mistakes discovered in his books, because "256 pennies is one hexadecimal dollar", and $0.32 for "valuable suggestions".

I tried to submit one of these many years ago and although I was confident, Knuth explained the errors of my ways.

Have a nice day,

Elliot

Baruch Dayan Emet: RivkA

2010-10-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

RivkA passed away today. We were blessed to have her as a friend and as a blogger. I also feel that she was blessed to not endure ongoing suffering at the end. She was in the hospital less than two weeks.

We will miss her and her courage. May we take a lesson from her life and use it to improve our own positions and challenges.

The funeral will be tomorrow night (saturday night) in Jerusalem. Details are here.

May her family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Elliot

Coming back

2010-10-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

Its been almost two months without blogging, and I really needed the break. Even for those who enjoy change, transitions are challenging. My Phd thesis is almost done and I'm out in the business world, looking for an exciting position that I can really sink my teeth into. Half of my children are now out of the house and we are still adjusting to their absence.

I'm not sure where this blog will go, but there are a few things that I do feel need to be acknowledged.

First, my friend RivkA is in the hospital. RivkA was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer five years ago. She was recovering, but two years later the cancer metastasized. RivkA has been battling cancer for the past five years, and has blogged about it consistently. This link has a talk that RikvA gave last year about battling adversity.

My heart goes out to RivkA and her family. I don't believe in praying for miracles, but I do pray that RivkA and her family find a safe place and acceptance of what life and God have given them. May we be honored to read RivkA's blog entries in the future.

Secondly, Religion is a big part of my life. Not necessarily the traditional observances, although they do have a place, but the tensions and efforts of religious people to find their place and their communities place in the world. Rabbi Boteach has written an interesting essay and Treppenwitz has covered it in detail on his blog. I don't have an issue either way with homosexuality, but dealing with it in the context of religion has always been an interesting problem. Rabbi Boteach's approach is consistent with a broader approach to religion. The Rambam signed his letters: "the writer, who every day is guilty of transgressing three sins", referring to his living in Egypt against the direct laws of the torah.

The world is a complicated place. There is no black and white. Religion is a balancing act between directing people to act appropriately and turning them into robots with no free will. The ultra-orthodox place their communities towards the robot side, while the conservative and reform movements, remove most directives as too constricting for modern man. There has to be a middle ground here where people can choose for themselves and still believe in God and religion.

I'm back, and I'll try to post regularly. May you all have a safe weekend and may RivkA find health and peace.

Mechila - request for forgiveness

2010-09-17T06:13:00.001-07:00

To any that I may have offended or hurt this, whether intentional or otherwise, I would now ask for your forgiveness. If I am aware of the event, I will try to make amends.

May we all have a healthy and safe new year
Elliot

Timeouts

2010-09-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

I am going to take a few weeks off from blogging. I've been struggling with some issues recently and I need time to put it all together again. The high holidays are and appropriate time for dealing with these types of issues, what with all the soul searching and repentance that the season entails.

I'll be back before you know it.

Have a safe and happy holiday,
Gmar Chatima Tova,
Elliot

Ready and waiting

2010-08-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

The holiday's approach and I am in transition. I will be finishing my Phd within the next month (god and advisors willing) and I'm looking for a new gig. The search is going to be challenging given the current market state, but I have confidence that I'll find something cool and exciting to do. To my future employers, I look forward to working with you!

This weekend is once again a relatively quiet one. Very small dinner and close friends for lunch. Our kiddush tomorrow is in honor of my chavruta's 50th wedding anniversary. That is one serious achievement and I wish them another 50 years of happiness.

Shabbat Parshat Ki-Tavo
Dinner - 5 to 7 depending on two women's plans for the evening
Chicken Soup
Coq au vin - pargiot in wine sauce (from the joy of cooking)
Noodles
Garlic Green Beans
Cookies for Dessert

Lunch - 13
Specialty Challot (by Y)
Corned Beef
Beef and Cabbage
Coca-Cola chicken - 1 cup cola, 1 cup ketchup, bake
Rice
Israeli Salad
Size dish (by M)
Dessert (by Y)

Bridge for Beginners

2010-08-26T14:29:00.001-07:00

I went to my first duplicate bridge tournament this evening. There is a club that meets once a week in the Park Mayim in Reut. I went with my chavruta who happens to be a very experienced bridge player. To paraphrase my sone, "It was fun. I had a good time."

Seriously, it quiet and tense and your brain is really working full time at full speed. There is so much information flowing between the bids and the play that you have to be sharp.

I have a tendency to stretch the truth at bridge. I will bid an opening hand with 11 points. Not so good all the time and I'll have to control that.

Tonight, I bid 3 clubs (a weak 3 bid) on a hand with seven clubs. Only problem was that I had 2 points total. We made a 4NT contract, but that turned out to be a bad thing because other players had failed their contract and the opposing team won lots of points.

Oh well, I look forward to playing more often. If you are interested in playing competitive bridge, let me know.

Book signing party

2010-08-13T04:20:00.001-07:00

We have been busy this summer. 28 of us have participated in a cooperative book project, writing 28 books each of seven chapters. We started at the end of June and worked our way one chapter a week until the bitter end.

In celebration, we are having a signing party. Each author brings something to the party and we read all the new books. Other than the editors, this is the first time that people can see what happened to their first chapter.

Shabbat Parshat Shoftim

Dinner - 10

Garlic Zucchini Soup

Basic Gumbo

Rice

Cabbage Salad
Baba Ganush

Red beans

Lunch - away - milk

Insalata Caprese - Mozzarella and tomatoes

Eggplant, Ricotta and roast tomatoes - without the tart crust, served in a bowl

Mascarpone and Berry dessert

SS
Gazpacho

I'm late, and didn't post this before shabbat. Interestingly, the corned beef in the crock pot came out significantly better than my normal, boiled corned beef. I put the beef in a crock pot with lots of onions and carrots. This is definitely the way to go. Its more heat efficient and tastes better.

Shabbat Parshat Re'eh
Dinner - 10
Spicy Beef Soup based on http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/spicy-beef-soup
Louisiana Turkey Pull
Goulash
Rice
Indian Eggplant
Mushrooms in Wine Sauce

Lunch - 16
Crock Pot Corned Beef
Roast Chicken - brined with honey, sage and thyme
Hot dogs
Israeli Salad
Sauted Cabbage, Ginger and Garlic
Green Beens

Seudat Shishit - many
Noodles

Travel and Colds

2010-07-30T04:23:00.000-07:00

I have an unfortunate propensity to develop a cold after traveling to the US for any length of time. My wife believes it is because I sit on the airplane for too many hours. I think that there is something to that, since the enclosed space is perfect for the transfer of germs. Regardless of how it happens, I arrived back from the US and promptly fell under the spell of a head cold. At least I think its a head cold so far. Bummer.

On better news, we have guests from Cleveland this weekend. My nephew is still here and will be joined by three young ladies; My cousin's daughter, An old friends daughter and someone we have yet to meet. Other than that, we have no other planned guests. My son and his wife will join us for lunch, but that's not guests, that's family.

Shabbat Parshat Eikev

Dinner - 11

Onion Soup with Homemade Beef Stock

Hamburgers Au Poivre
Chicken and Garlic
Rice
Brussels Sprouts

Lunch - 13

Corned Beef
Roast Chicken
Traditional Stuffing (mushrooms, onions, etc.)
Green Salad
Israeli Salad

Books I'm reading

2010-07-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

Whenever I travel, I go to the local bookstore and pick up new reads. My preferences is for hard science fiction, but as this genre is rather weak these days, I'll read anything in the Fantasy and Science Fiction shelves.

Recently, I read "Off Armageddon Reef" and By Schism Rent Asunder (Safehold), part of a series by David Weber. These are some of the few books that I just could not put down. They cover a setting where for reasons good or bad, a church was created to keep people from having technology. Some 750 years later, certain events are put into motion that will incite a holy war. The politics of government and church are interesting to watch, particularly as the church is corrupt, but still based on religious zeal.

In comparison, I read A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1), which has a very good reputation. It was hard reading, but cause I just could not get into the story. Its very complicated and that in itself is not a bad thing, but it develops so slowly that I had to force myself to keep reading. NOT on my recommended list.

Keep on Reading and send me your favorite books.

Tripping

2010-07-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

I am terrible at remembering to post while traveling. Last week, I visited the US for business and pleasure. I spent the weekend at my parents house and as a result, didn't cook anything for Shabbat. My family is well, but aging. I'm told that this is normal, but it is still hard to watch. My brother lives near my parents and has taken responsibility for watching over them. I cannot thank him or praise him enough for this act of chesed.

While I was gone, my family ate ate one of our friends house. Here is his menu for Shabbat lunch. My wife tells me that there was WAY too much food, which is a tribute to my friends passion for hosting guests.

· First Course:

o Gefilte Fish

o Bread deep-fried Fish

o Humus

o Tehina

o Israeli salad

· Main Course:

o Tibeet (Iraqi Cholent – Overnight cooked whole chicken stuffed with meat, tomato paste, cinnamon, Hale, salt & pepper, with 2.5 cups of rice, 2 onions, and topped off with 16 eggs that will brown overnight)

o Sweet & Sour Meatballs

o Plum brazed chicken legs and wings

o Mashed Potatoes

o Broccoli

· Dessert:

o Cookies (3 types)

o Assorted nuts

Family and Friends

2010-07-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

Slow, fast, slow, fast. You never know how a weekend is going to shape up until it happens. For most of this week, we thought that we would have a very small crowd, with just our immediate family. Then, all at once, the tsunami hit. My sister is staying over with two of her kids and one of our nephews from the US. For lunch, we invited a family of 6 and got 8, plus one friend whose family is away for the summer at camp. So 19 for lunch. Arghh, but its good to have company.

Shabbat Parshat Bamidbar
Dinner - 10
Chicken soup
Beef Burgundy
Roast Chicken
Streamed Broccoli
Roasted Asparagus
Sweet Potato Pie (from my sister!)

Lunch - 19
Stuffed turkey breast (mushroom and apple stuffing)
Beef and Cabbage
Prepared Shnitzel
Roast Potatoes
Green Beans
Roast Acorn Squash with Cumin and paprika
Israeli Salad

Slow Down

2010-07-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

We are slowing down for summer. This weekend, we have only one guest and we are eating out for dinner. Our lunch table will be 7 people. I'm not sure what we will do. 7 is so small that we usually finish within 30 minutes. We will try and find a way to make the meal last longer.

Shabbat Parshat Matot
Dinner - eating out
Beef Pot Pie (similar to this recipe)

Lunch - 7
Corned Beef
Chicken Wings
Roast Tomatoes
Green Salad
Rice

Seudat Shlishit - many
Stuffed baby eggplants
Noodles

Rav Amital Z"L

2010-07-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

I have studied at exactly two yeshivot. The first was my high school in Cleveland. The second was in Alon Shvut. At the time, there were two leaders who shared responsibility for the focus and direction of the yeshiva; Rav Lichtenstein and Rav Amital. Rav Lichtenstein is/was a model of scholarship and poise. He was somewhat aloof and intellectual. Rav Amital was the opposite. He enjoyed singing traditional songs on Shabbat and invited the foreign students (like me) to come over and sing. I learned from Rav Amital that you should never sing a song only once. It is only during the repetition that you begin to understand the song and its meanings.

Rav Amital passed as last night. He will be missed as a personality and a leader.

Company and more company

2010-07-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

Some weekends are slow, others are not. This one is not slow. #3 son has gone off to be a councilor at a summer camp up north. So our base number is only six, but we figured out a way to fix that.

Usually, we receive guests who are studying in Israel for a year. This weekend, a young lady who was here two years ago at a seminary has come back for a summer program. She is bringing two friends with her.

Two of our friends arrived back from a trip to the states this week. My study partner and his wife arrived today, but they have family in the community who will help them this shabbat. My wife's business partner was in the states for a week, and she is very jet-lagged. Her family will be eating with us tonight. (That's 6+3+3 so far).

Another of our good friends in the community are also eating over. Their son is with #3 son up north. So that's another 4 for dinner (total: 6+3+3+4 = 16)

Shabbat lunch is another story. Begin with the base of 9 and add two divorced women and their families. We're back at 15.

Did I mention that at least one of our guests for dinner is a vegetarian? No big deal, but I like to make sure that I have enough options for everyone. My meals are usually focused on the main meat course, so a vegetarian throws off the focus somewhat.

The recipes this week come from these cookbooks:
Good Day for Soup: Over 200 Recipes for Any Occasion
Sephardic Kosher Kitchen
The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook

Shabbat Parshat Phineas
Dinner - 16
Cream of Cauliflower and Spinach soup
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Chicken meat roll with mushrooms and onions
Beef meat roll with hot red peppers
Braised Eggplant ( in soy sauce and stock)
Lightly pickled cabbage and carrot salad
A vegetarian dish from our vegetarian friends mother!

Lunch - 15
Curry Pargiot
Beef and Cabbage
Peas, Sausages and Rice
Roasted Potatoes
Israeli Salad
Green Salad

Zucchini Salad Recipe

2010-06-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

For one of my readers who requested this recipe. I left the zucchini in the marinade overnight and it developed a strong flavor. It was unusual, but my guests at it up.

Zucchini Salad (AKA Marinated Vegetable Noodles)
3-4 zucchini, trimmed
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 cups hot salsa

Slice the zucchini (I used a mandolin) into thin pieces and then cut the pieces into strands the size of thick noodles. Put the strands in a container with the vinegar and salt. Let sit for up to 24 hours. Strain and rinse. Put the now soft strands in a bowl and mix in the salsa.

Serve cold.

Flavors for the weekend

2010-06-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of cooking boring food with no flavor. Or more exactly, I'm tired of the flavors that I have been using. This weekend presented an opportunity to experiment. We are having a friend from off the community with 3 of their daughters, the youngest of which is 16. In addition, a number of community friends are dropping by for meals. Its all adults, so I can try out less usual flavor combinations.

The cookbooks that I used are in the side panel. They are old friends and are usually good for ideas or techniques. My menu approach is like a game show. I take a look at what my wife has provided for us in the freezer and refrigerator. Then I make up a menu using more or less what's available. Sometimes, I skip an item, but that's life.

So, today, I started with two whole chickens, two packages of beef medallions, a package of stew meat and a package of deboned chicken breasts. My first thought was to make Goulash. I haven't cooked with heavy paprika in a while and the concept appealed to me. I could not find a single recipe in all my cook books, so I went online and found this one, that has the cook flour the meat with paprika, pepper and salt before browning it. The result was well worth it.

Then I decided on Indian food. My guide is the Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. The recipes are very nice, but I constantly have to substitute ingredients. I've used ghee (clarified butter) before, but its not a very kosher friendly ingredient for meat meals. This weekend, I made the Garden Tomato Soup, Savory Chickpeas in Tangy Tomato Glaze, and Rice and Split Pea Khichari (basically a pilaf). The spices used in these dishes are uncommon to american or israeli cooking. Cumin seeds, curry leaves, and mustard seeds create a wonderful aroma.

I'm excited to try these out on my guests. Most are not spicy hot, so there should be no problems. I've found that when you say spicy, most people assume hot peppers, but with Indian cooking, spicy just means that there are a lot of spices.

The next issue was to find a way to make chicken with more flavor. John Ash's book was very helpful. The book is basically about flavors. For today's dish, we made Basic roast chicken with a lemon and chile glaze and Soy poached chicken salad. Both are just bursting with flavors. For the roast chicken, I used half filled beer cans as stands. This keeps the chicken out of the pan and allows the heat to evenly cook the chicken. We then basted it with a mixture of honey, lemon juice, and spices. Afterwards, we deglazed the pan and made sauce. Wow! I can't wait for dinner.

Our guests this weekend have been here before, and they are bringing my favorite dessert, Lemon Meringue Pie. I was brought up in a family that did not eat much chocolate, but we always had lemon desserts.

Shabbat Parshat Balak
Dinner - 16
Garden Tomato Soup
Hungarian Goulash
Roast Chicken
Creole Jumbalaya
Chickpea Dal
Noodles
Cut Vegetables
Lemon Meringue Pie

Lunch - 17
Soy-Poached chicken salad with Tangy Apricot vinaigrette.
Beef Medallions braised in wine
Chicken (from one of our guests)
Lentils and Rice
Israeli Salad
Couscous
Green Beans
Cookies and Cake

Ofek-9 Satellite Launch

2010-06-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

Israel launched a surveillance satellite into space last night. It was reported by all the Israeli newspapers. Haaretz, Yediot Achronot, and the Jerusalem Post. What I think is most interesting is the lack of concern by foreign governments.

A launch to space by Israel from an Israeli military base implies that:

Israel has home-grown launch and delivery technology.
Israel has proven launch facilities
Israel has long range ballistic capabilities.
Israel has intercontinental ballistic capabilities
Israel has its own surveillance capabilities unencumbered by foreign governmental control

I'm not upset about this. It is part of Israel's deterrent capabilities. Each launch enhances Israel's reputation as a serious partner and dangerous enemy.

What is interesting is how no-one outside of Israel cares, or at least cares enough to report about it. When Iran launched a low earth orbit satellite in february 2010, every news story carries the military implications. These implications are missing with regards to Israel's launch, even though the Ofek-9 is clearly a military vehicle.

I believe that the issue is that Israel does not verbally threaten its neighbors. No Israeli government has ever called for raining missiles on Iran, Lebanon, Jordan or Egypt. No Israeli government has ever called for the destruction of a foreign state. There is and never has been any claim by Israel to take over the region or to impose its rule on any foreign country. Compare this to claims by EVERY arab country for the destruction of Israel and the need to Islamic rule in the entire Middle East.

Israel's weapons are used in defense. They are developed as deterrents, not as offensive capabilities. The Middle East should thanks its god's that Israel has no intentions of expansion. If it did, who would be left standing?

Summer is here and its hot

2010-06-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Its summer.Did I mention that I have a strong dislike for this season in Israel. The temperature is hot, the humidity is low, the skies are clear all day and the sun gives me migraines. Schools are over and the foreign students have gone home. Its going to be a long hot summer.

This weekend, we were invited our for dinner. Yeah! We are a hard family to host, with lots of large boys and larger appetites. Thankfully, we have great friends who put up with us.

For lunch, we have invited over my son's Ram. A Ram is a Rebbi Muvhack, a rabbi who is his permanent teacher. For my son, this person is like a parent and we are cool with that. Sometimes, our children need special help that we cannot provide and it is nice to know that there are special people who can step in.

Shabbat Parshat Chukat
Lunch - 16
Corned Beef
Creole Jumbalaya
Prepare Shnitzel
Roast Potatoes
Zucchini Salad from Zucchini: You Can Never Have Enough (Bountiful Gardens)
Israeli Salad
Watermelon

Full House

2010-06-11T05:41:00.000-07:00

Just when we thought the end of the school year meant the end of our big shabbat meals, comes this shabbat with a full house. First, we have a friend of our youngest staying with us while his parents are away on a trip. Then, my sister is visiting with three of her children! They too will be staying at our house for the weekend. One of my sons is away, so our base number is six. Thus, dinner will be a modest 10.

Lunch is another story. Start with these 10. Add my married son and his wife. Add a friend and his son who are coming over because the electricity was turned off in their house. Add two families that we invited, one with three kids and one with two. Total 23!

In case you havn't gotten the message yet, we love company on weekends. Hence the name of the blog! I can only hope that we have the honor of company for many years to come.

On the food side, lots of dishes because of the quantities. No biggie, just more work.

Shabbat Parshat Korach

Dinner - 10

Pepperpot Soup (from my favorite soup cookbook: Soups of Hakafri Restaurant)

Beef Stew (with Kohlrabi and Carrots)

Chicken Stir Fry

Rice

Broccoli

Lunch - 23

Meat Roll

Roast Chicken

Curried Pargiot

Sesame Noodles (from Cooking one on one with John Ash)

Rice

Green Salad

Roasted Vegetables

Watermelon

Last weekend of seminaries/yeshivot for chutznakim

2010-06-04T02:53:00.000-07:00

This is the last weekend for most seminaries catering to foreign students in Israel. The kids need to go back home to work at summer camps that start in mid-june. We had a nice year, but not a particularly busy one with respect to american students. Ok, so were were busy with a bar-mitzva and an wedding that put a serious cramp in our ability to host guests. May next year be easier with more new friends.

This weekend, we attempted to invite a family over for lunch, only to be invited to their house instead. They are readers of this blog and have told me that the restaurant wings recipe is one of their favorites. They would not even let me bring anything! Oh well, I'm sure it will be a wonderful meals with friends.

We have two young ladies staying with us this shabbat. One of them visited our house for shabbat three years ago as a high school student. Now she is back in seminary and has decided to spend one of her last weekends of this trip in Israel with us. We are honored.

Shabbat Parshat Shelach
Dinner - 9
Chicken Soup w/ Vegetables
Beef in Wine Sauce
Jamaican Curried Chicken (add allspice)
Rice
Vegetables (don't know yet)

Bless me for I have neglected you

2010-06-04T02:41:00.000-07:00

Holy readers, its been two weeks since my last post. During that time, I visited and starved in Pisa, Italy. My wife and family made the meals last week and did a very good job (if you like milk meals on shabbat). This week was smoother and now I'm back to a normal schedule.

I attended a conference in Pisa for one of the projects that funds my graduate school experience. This was our final general meeting as the project failed to get follow-on funding for next year. The usual suspects were all in attendance and surprisingly positive about the projects results and its future. For those who have not yet heard me rant about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I have to say that its just plain wrong. There are few things in this world that evoke a visual sense of wrongness. The leaning tower makes me ill. It is an embarrassment to engineers everywhere. The one other event that I can recall is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse. I have thoughtfully provided you with pictures so that you too can shudder.

The other challenge in Pisa is the lack of kosher food. Ok, I knew ahead of time that there would be no kosher food, but I can usually find enough vegetarian food (vegetables and breads) to make do. Everything in Pisa was ham and cheese. Fortunately, we were able to get fresh apples and I subsided on apples and coffee for the three days of the event.

Back again

2010-05-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

My last post was about two weeks ago. During that time, I visited the USA, came home and celebrated Shavuot. No excuse for not posting. I was lazy. Oh well, time to get back into the swing of things.

It has been a nice week. We celebrated the brit of a close friends grandson (hard to believe they are old enough to have four grandchildren) and a few bat-mitzvot. Shavuot was interesting. Our tradition is to stay up all night learning. This year I had my regular chavruta to learn with. It made the evening fly by. We even made kiddush for the early minyan people at 7am! Of course, then I went to sleep.

This weekend, we have a friend and his buddy from cleveland. They have been here the past year studying at a seminary and will be leaving the country in a few weeks. My sister's niece was also here this year. She spent shavuot with us and will be going back soon. It is sad to see them go, but we retain the hope that they will eventually come back to live in Israel.

We are also providing meals for two young men who hang out at our house. They are bringing three friends, so we will be 14 at each meal. What fun! I have been told that one of the friends is a vegetarian. I hope he will have enough to eat.

Shabbat Parshat Naso
Dinner - 14
Indian Tomato soup
Grill (hot dogs, hamburgers)
Roast Chicken and Garlic
Sesame noodles
Stir fried zucchini
Kohlrabi and carrot salad
Watermelon

Lunch - 14
Cold cuts
Kol dulce con carne (beef and cabbage)
Roast chicken (leftovers if any)
Rice
Israeli salad
Stir fried cabbage
Ali olio noddles

Suedat Shlishit - many
2 x tuna rice casserole
egg salad

Out of Town

2010-05-11T08:55:00.001-07:00

I have been in the USA for past weekend, so no menu posts. I was at my sisters for shabbat and she had a very nice group of interesting people over for lunch. I'm constantly surprised by the sophistication of people who live in the DC jewish community. One person was a professional businessman, one was a politician and one was a DARPA project manager. Their wives were equally successful, lawyers, professors and writers.

Go visit the DC community. You will not be bored.

Shabbat Menu: Dinner Only

2010-04-30T06:18:00.000-07:00

My previous post told the story of this weekend, but this blog is also about food. Here is what we are having this weekend. We were invited out for lunch, so dinner is the only real meal.

Shabbat Parshat Emor

Dinner - 15

Oriental Potato Soup

Beef Daube

Shabbat Chicken

Twice baked potatoes

Artichokes and Dip

Spicy Green Beans

Israeli Salsa

A Beef Daube is beef marinaded in beer, wine or stock with garlic and spices. The whole mess is then cooked as a stew. I used Murphy's Stout. It smells very nice!

The spicy green beans is a variant of this recipe, intended for spinach. We had some spinach and I was intending on making the spinach version, but my wife preempted my attempt with a recipe for spinach dip. Oh well, it works very nice for green beans!

1 package frozen cut green beans
2 Tbs oil
2 large onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt

Saute the onions until they begin to get soft. Add the cumin seeds and cook for a few minutes. Add the rest of the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the green beans and cook until done, about 10-15 minutes.

One Year ago a miracle occurred

2010-04-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

Its been one year since my son's transplant. With thanks to God and all of his creations, he is healthy and well. The donor seems to have suffered no ill effects. It is hard to explain how pleased we are to have our son with us and healthy. Those of you who have read some of my other posts know how hard it is to find a kidney, either from a live donor or a cadaver. We are truly blessed that our friends cared about our son so much that we have not one but 7 potential donors. The people we talked to in the medical profession cannot believe it. For us, it is part of living in this wonderful community. We take the concern and giving of our neighbors for granted sometimes. It is events like this that expose the strength and depth of this community.

May we be honored to continue helping and caring for many good years to come.

This weekend, we will be having three events to celebrate this wonderful event. Tonight, we are hosting the donor and her family for dinner. Tomorrow, we are having a kiddush for our friends and neighbors. If you happen to be awake at 8:30 on a shabbat morning, stop on by and say thanks! Finally, tomorrow night is Lag B'Omer, when children light bonfires across the country. Most also cook hotdogs and marshmallows. After all, you have to do something with the fire! We are having a Pot-Luck BBQ. Our friends generosity knows no bounds and everyone will contribute something.

Please consider helping a friend this week. Like love, it is not a zero-sum game. The more you love (or help), the more you receive.

Fun with Jewish Music

2010-04-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

It is fun to see how artists can take a popular song and transform it to fit a new genre. Shlock Rock is a good example, usually taking songs from the 60, 70 and 80's and giving them jewish themes.

I just heard about another group called six13. They took a bunch of recently popular songs and made a medley on jewish themes. Check it out at Ynetnews.

company for a change

2010-04-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

We have guests this weekend! Two girls from a seminary and two men from Jerusalem. The girls found us through out business cards. The men were invited by my wife. She knows one of them from a course that she is taking this year. Add to that a few friends from the community, and we have a nice number of guests for the weekend.

I seem to be on an India kick. I just finished reading Six suspects by Kikas Swarup. Vikas wrote Q&A which was made in to the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The book provides a window into Indian life. I don't know if I would recommend this book as a novel. It meanders all over the place and includes some sections which are just too unreal. But, it certainly gets you "into" India.

To continue my India theme, I made saffron rice. This is the first time that I have used saffron, and I do like the taste and color. I saw a nice YouTube video about making saffron rice. The chef suggested slightly heating the saffron, grinding it up and then adding warm water. He said that this technique would get the most color from the threads. He was right!

The other Indian item is Chicken Jeera. I more or less followed this recipe using two whole chickens that I cut up. It smells delicious.

Shabbat Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
Dinner - 12
Adobo Soup without the chicken (but with real chicken stock)
Chicken Chili
Braised Beef in wine sauce
Chicken Jeera
Farfel noodles
Qunoia
Brussels Sprouts

Lunch - 17
Deviled Eggs
Gefilte Fish
Corned Beef
Cajun Chicken
Saffron Rice
Yerushalmi Kugel
Couscous
Cucumber salad
Garlic Green Beens
Stir fried zucchini and peppers

SS - many
Tuna rice casserole
left-overs

Israel 1951 (courtesy of Air France)

2010-04-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

I caught this on lifeinisrael.blogspot.com. The blog is one I read daily, but the video is priceless. It comes from a time when Israel was surrounded by enemies and life was harsh. What is interesting is that there is no "internal" conflict. Everywhere, Jews, Druze, Christians and Arabs work together to build the land. It is sad that we have lost this spirit of cooperation. The Christians are almost gone from the West Bank and remain and very small percentage of Israel proper.

If you listen carefully, you can tell where the boarder is. Bethlehem is referenced as a small town in the distance that cannot be visited because it is in Jordan.

Watch this with you family on Yom Haatzmaut. What a picture it paints!

Admonishment to ADI

2010-04-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

I am a supporter of ADI: The National Transplant And Organ Donor Center in Israel. The work they do it critical to saving lives. The organization is involved in education and raising awareness about transplants and organ donation.

This past week, I heard about a 5k run to raise funds in memory of three people who died in a car accident a few years ago. ADI had previously agreed to participate in the event. A week before the event, ADI pulled out because they realized that the run was in occupied territory, over the 1949 border.

I am disappointed with ADI. As a medical organization, they should be oblivious to borders or politics. The organization supports and provides services to Jews and Arabs alike, regardless of where they live. By pulling out of the event, they politicized the issue and left a bad taste in my mouth. As it happens, I am know that many of the people living in that community carry ADI cards and will continue to do so. The only negative effect is on the ADI organization. To bad.

Weekend Recap - Better late then never

2010-04-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

Mea Culpa. I didn't post last friday before shabbat started. The days are longer and brighter and I spent the morning cleaning up and driving car-pool. My youngest broke his glasses. He was wearing his backup pair, but needed both a checkup and a new pair that was not totally bent out of shape. Strangely enough, his prescription has changed and his backup pair is only about 1/3 of the strength he needs to see the blackboard at school. Oh well, one new pair coming up.

We had an unusual experience with our guests. Two young ladies had called to stay with us for shabbat. On Friday morning, they called for directions; what bus should they take, and where should they get on in Jerusalem. One of my sons explained the details and told them that the last bus leaves between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. They arrived just as the last bus had left the station. The only option left was to take a taxi which costs about 140 NIS ($37). They called my son and asked if we could help them cover the cost, and we said yes. The alternative was to leave two people without food or plans for shabbat. We had a nice shabbat with them and I'm sure made a good impression about life in Israel and in our community. After shabbat, I gave them some cash to cover the taxi.

I'm divided about what we should/could have done. Not only did we house and feed them for the weekend, but was also covered their transportation. That's definitely beyond the call of duty. But was it the right thing to do?

Here is our menu from this past weekend. The most unusual thing I made was green been soup. I sweated onions, celery and frozen green beans with a bit of basil, boiled it, simmered it and then pureed it. The result was very tasty, but the texture was off because of the many tough strings left in the soup. I eventually removed most of them (straining and picking them out by hand) and the soup was a big hit. I am pretty sure that the strings were from the green beans. The frozen package was not high quality. It will be some time before I try that again.

Shabbat Tzaria-Metzora
Dinner - 8
Green bean soup
Spaghetti and meatballs
Stir fried chicken and vegetables
Green Salad
Cucumber salad

Lunch - 14
Cold Cuts
Garam Massala Pargiot
Meatloaf
Rice
Garlic Green beans
Israeli Salad

Seduat shlishit - many (n > 20)
Jello
Cheesy Rice
Vegetables and parve leftovers

ADI: Israel's National Transplant and Organ Donation Center

2010-04-11T03:10:00.000-07:00

I've posted about them before, but ADI: Israel's National Transplant and Organ Donation Center (hebrew only) is definitely making progress on the education front. A young woman suffering from diabetes recently passed away and her organs were donated to four patients. An article in ynetnews reports:

Hilla Abramson, a social worker from the central city of Kiryat Ono, suffered from juvenile diabetes since the age of six. Due to the circumstances, she was certain that her organs would not be suitable for donation and therefore did not sign an ADI card...

The family agreed to donate the organs after the woman's parents discovered that she was a fan of the ADI organization, which advocates organ donations, on her Facebook account.

There are two interesting points to this story. The first is that Hilla was probably not dead according to the recent Halacha standards. The article states that she suffered from irreversible brain death, but not brain stem death. Her family accepted her death and ended her suffering.

The second point is that suffering from a chronic disease does not automatically invalidate a person from being an organ donor. If you believe in organ donations, it is worth signing an ADI card and letting the medical professionals make the call.

Condolences to Hilla's family. May her memory be a source of comfort and strength.

Back to Reality

2010-04-09T02:32:00.000-07:00

The holidays are over. Give a cheer and a sigh. Its back to the regular scheduled programs; school, work and guests. We have seminary guests again for the first time in many months. Life is good.

Holiday's are usually cause for weight gain. There are more major feasts and the food is traditionally richer. This holiday, both I and my wife lost weight. My wife follows a very low-carb diet, so most of my cooking avoids sugars and starches. Passover food was good, but not sweet. I love Matza and butter, but perhaps matza is less fattening than bread. Whatever the reason, I'm very happy with our post holiday status.

We have two girls from seminary this weekend for both meals and a cousin and her family for lunch tomorrow. One of my sons is off to a school weekend. Nice smallish meals (for us).

The shabbat days are longer now that the clock has changes to daylight savings time. As a result, we now need to feed a random crowd for dinner (seudat shlishit) on saturday afternoon.

Shabbat Parshat Shmini
Dinner - 8
Soup
BBQ Pargiot
Coca Cola Chicken
Rice

Lunch - 12
Chicken Meat Roll
Corned Beef
Couscous
Artichokes and dip

Seudat Shlishit - > 15
Eggplant parmesan
Noodles
Jello
Tuna Salad

Transplants: The right to choose your doctor, commerce in organs and the National Transplant Institute

2010-04-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article in Haaretz. The article touches on three different aspects of organ transplants in Israel. The first relates to a family that needed to transplant a lobe of liver from the father to his 1 year old baby girl.

Two weeks ago, the Shaked-Hadad family from Jerusalem returned home from Belgium. The family's 1-year-old daughter, Elinor, underwent a liver-lobe transplant in Brussels last December. The donor was her father. The operation abroad followed a struggle against the Clalit health maintenance organization, under the aegis of Kav Lachayim, an association that assists seriously ill children.

When she was born, Elinor was diagnosed with severe liver failure; her father was found to be a suitable donor. The Clalit HMO wanted the operation to be performed in Israel, but the family argued that liver-lobe transplants have a higher rate of success abroad and insisted that the operation be performed at Saint-Luc University Hospital in Brussels.

I believe that this issue is unrelated to organ transplants. It is a case where the parents decided that they did not trust the Israeli medical system and had to go elsewhere. I don't understand why the Clalit HMO should have to cover any more of the costs then they would have covered in Israel. There are successful liver transplants in Israel and it requires a well trained staff and facilities to provide this service. If you explicitly agree that patients should go elsewhere, then why maintain facilities here?

My son had a transplant here and i do not believe he could have had any better care in the US or Europe. The staff were first rate and the care equally good. The offer by Clalit to fly in a doctor should have been a good compromise, but clearly the parents were already convinced to go elsewhere. I'm surprised by the choice of hospital. If you google for "liver transplant hospital", Saint-Luc is nowhere in the top 100 hits. In fact, the most highly regarded facilities are in the US, so why choose Belgium?

The second part of the Haaretz article relates to commerce in organs:

The distress of Israelis in need of transplants has become more acute since the enactment of the Transplantation Law in May 2008. With commerce in organs formally outlawed, the HMOs stopped funding organ transplants for Israelis in many countries. At present, transplants are financed only in countries in which it is known that such commerce does not exist. The decision on underwriting transplants abroad is made by the HMO, on the basis of the patient's condition. But in the absence of clear criteria, authorization for transplant surgery abroad rarely comes without a struggle.

Part of the problem is that Israel has a very low donor rate and hence is unable to participate in reciprocal relationships with European countries. As a result, the easiest available organs are from live donors (kidney and liver). It used to be that people purchases a kidney on the black market and performed the transplant in eastern europe. The new law forbids the HMOs from paying for transplants in countries that allow commerce in organs.

Finally, there is an ongoing story about National Transplant Institute in Israel.

Last year, only 282 transplant operations were performed in the country. Meanwhile, the National Transplant Center has been caught in the grip of a managerial crisis since the resignation of its chairman, Prof. Gavriel Gorman, several months ago. In his resignation letter, he noted, among other points, "I did not succeed in ensuring appropriate medical representation of the center in international medical organizations."

The transplant institute is charged with two jobs; improving the quantity of available organs and managing the priority list for those waiting for a transplant. I have not heard or read of any complaints regarding the priority list. On the other hand, the number of organs from cadavers has fallen significantly in the past two years. The reason I heard on the radio is that the new law requires a specific medical test with an approved testing machine to determine brain stem death. It seems that some of the hospitals in Israel do not have these machines and hence cannot perform the tests. In my view, donations for these machines should be on the top of philanthropic organizations wish lists. Its a very easy way to save a life.

Once again into the meals

2010-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last day of pesach is a holiday. For reasons beyond my ken, we have no guests! Dinner will be just our seven. To avoid a double-whammy, we invited the young men and women who hang out at our house each weekend to eat lunch with us. I have no idea how many are coming, so I just made lots of food. In the worst case, we will have leftovers for the rest of the week.

Shvii shel Pesach (the seventh day)

Dinner - 7

Matza ball soup (using Cooking for Engineers recipe for matza balls)

Beef Patties with celery, mushrooms and parsley (stir fry the veggies and add to the ground meat)
Left-over roast chicken
Spicy stir fried cabbage (and hot peppers)

Lunch - ?
Sautéed Chicken (marinated in garlic, ginger and fresh lemon)
Sautéed Chicken (marinated in cayenne pepper, black pepper, olive oil and red wine vinegar)
Beef Rolada baked with tomatoes, onions and mushrooms
Roasted potato slices (chips) (sliced thin, covered with oil and baked until brown)
Stir fried cabbage, garlic and ginger
Stir fried Brussels sprouts

Mid Pesach weekend and Recap

2010-04-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

For the first time in memory, all of my children stayed awake for the whole seder. In the past years, we usually lost one or more before the main meal. Last year, one of my children fell asleep on the sofa and we woke him up to say "Pesach, Matza and Maror". He then went back to bed.

My parents attended the seder with us this year. I'm not sure how many more chances we will have to celebrate pesach with them. The travel is harder each year and my father is visibly aging. In past years, my father was the king of the seder. He belted out the sing-song chant that we use for the hagada and he led the discussions. This year, he was a silent participant while I took over the singing.

On chol-ha-moed, we first went off-roading with our friends the Moritz's down south, just below Hebron and within the 1949 borders. The Jewish National fund has planted about 3 million trees in that area since 1956. The location is just north of the desert line, but right there is a wonderful park of trees and shade. The off-roading was minimal, with mostly packed dirt roads. Next time, we'll pick somewhere more challenging.

On the second day, my wife and kids went to Nahal P'rat and did the upper trail. My wife has been hiking for a number of years, but the group all agreed that she was a much better hiker now (speed and endurance). I attribute it to the weight that she has lost during the last six months. May she continue to be health and fit!

This weekend we will be eating out for dinner and having only nine for lunch. I found nice small red bell peppers at the market and stuffed them with ground beef, green bell peppers and hot peppers. We also made roast chicken for our friends tomorrow. No meal is complete for them without a chicken thigh and drumstick.

Shabbat Chol-Hamoed
Lunch - 9
Stuffed bell peppers
Meatloaf (with the leftover stuffing)
Roast chicken (and garlic)
Roast potatoes
Stir fried pumpkin and parsley
Steamed carrots
Fruit Salad (for dessert)

Pesach 5770 (2010) -- First day

2010-03-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

First, the guests. This year, we will have 16 people at our seder. Our immediate family, our newly married son and daughter-in-law, my parents, and a family of four friends from the community.

Our original plan was to have my sister and her family with us, but we found out last week that three of their children have the mumps. We are very sorry that they will not be joining us and hope to spend many happy pesach seders with them in years to come.

Thankfully, this blog has proven its worth. My menus for the past two years are online here and here. And so without further ado, here are our plans for this year!

Seder Plate:

Shank Bones

Roasted Eggs

Lettuce

Haroset

Horseradish

Parsley

Dinner: 16

Egg and/or Potato with Salt Water

Beef Stew w/ Red Wine

Chicken Breast Meatballs with Garlic

Roast Cherry Tomatoes

Mashed potatoes

Green Salad w/ Vegetables

Ice cream (Parve)

Lunch: 13

Tomato soup

Corned Beef

Grilled Chicken

Broccoli Kugel

Israeli Salad

Quinoa

Matzo Farfel

Pesach 5770 (2010) -- Giving Thanks

2010-03-28T03:07:00.000-07:00

What a year. I have been blogging for almost three years. The first post on this blog was on August 2, 2007. Since then, we have celebrated two Pesach holidays. The first in 2008 was pretty standard for our house. We had many sleep over guests (9), a two day holiday (shabbat and sunday) and clear skies on the horizon.

The next Pesach was different. One of our son's was suffering from late stage kidney disease and preparing for a transplant. We had identified a donor and finished the final tests two days before the holiday. My son was exhibiting a number of scary symptoms, including a lack of appetite and energy. He had lost more than 20 pounds. With that environment, our goal was to survive the holiday and move on to the transplant. The number of pesach posts from that year really confirms it. Our seder was nice, but somewhat quiet. Our family does not eat kitnyot (rice, beans, corn and other items on pesach). Since my son was sick, we had received a special dispensation to prepare rice for him so that he would have something to eat. His diet at the time precluded eating whole wheat (which is what Matza is made from).

Fast forward one year. Our son who had the transplant is healthy. He has no special diet and no restrictions. Another son was married about a month ago and introduced a wonderful young lady to our family. We are thankful to be hosting my parents for this years seder. All in all, it looks to be a very positive year and we hope that it continues that way.

Pesach is about remembering the Jewish peoples exodus from Egypt. It is about redemption and the hand of God in worldly affairs. This year, we will be remembering our own exodus from illness into health. We recognize the hand of God who enabled us to identify the situation in time to find a donor. We thank God that decided to move to this community where not one buy 7 people volunteered to donate one of their kidney's. We recognize the hand of God in selecting a donor who was and is healthy, willing and able to handle the sometime uncomfortable and painful stages of the transplant process. Finally, we give thanks that our son in healthy. The whole process could have had a significantly different ending.

May you have a healthy and happy passover and may that continue for the year to come
Elliot and Leiah

The pesach before pesach

2010-03-26T05:22:00.000-07:00

We are already kosher for pesach in our house, all except a small area in our laundry room. That means that all cooking from now until the end of pesach will be kosher for pesach. On the one hand, its a pain because we need to take out our pesach dishes, pots, pans and utensils. On the other hand, I usually cook at least one or two low-carb foods per meal, and hence not cooking with flour is no big deal.

We started the weekend run-up with some bad news. My sister's children have the mumps and hence will not be with us for the seder. Major bummer. Our seder count dropped from 22 to 16. We will very much miss their presence.

Next, we realized that we had no guests for this shabbat. Our meals were scheduled for 7 and 9 people respectively. Way to small. I don't know how to cook for seven. God help me when our kids leave and I need to cook for two. I mean one chicken for a whole meal? No way!

Fortunately, we have good friends and one of them is coming over for lunch. Did I mention that they have four guests from the states, so that they are 10. With our 9, we are a respectable 19.

Our menu for this weekend is simple, but full of garlic (see my previous post).

Shabbat HaGadol

Dinner - 7

Garlic soup

Stewed Rolled Beef

Rice (kosher for passover, but kitnyot, so we eat it before, but not during passover)

Artichokes

Lunch - 19

Rice noodles (Kitnyot)

Stir fried Chicken, Onions and hot peppers

Beef and Cabbage casserole

Rice

Stir fried Zucchini and Peppers

Baked Rattatoui

Israeli Salad

The smell of the season: Garlic

2010-03-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Garlic has been on my mind for a few weeks now. It seems that others are also thinking about it here and here. The season in Israel for fresh local garlic is only about three weeks long and always falls out just before passover (pesach). So today, I took a break from cleaning the oven (a long long job) and went to the market for garlic.

Here is the box of garlic that we bought. Its about 40 pounds (20 kilograms) of fresh garlic. The car smelled wonderful and there were no vampires anywhere in sight (ok, it was daylight, so its not fair).

Once we got home, another son and I braided it all into two large chains which we then hung outside.

Now our porch smells of garlic. Pesach is going to be great and garlicy.

May you all have a healthy holiday and remember, party on dudes! and be excellent to each other.

The week that was and the weekend that isn't

2010-03-19T05:23:00.000-07:00

No news is good news. That was this week. Busy, but with nothing particularly interesting on the home front. The political arena was a three ring circus. Obama and his cabinet continue to look like novices to the Israeli public. The "insult" occurred when a planning commission announced a new building permit in Ramat Shlomo. First, Ramat Shlomo is not in East Jerusalem, its in North Jerusalem. Secondly, its not in or near an arab neighborhood. Third, it is on land annexed by Israel in 1967 and on which no Israeli government has suggested a building freeze.

What I find most interesting is that not one of the opposition leaders in the Knesset has suggested that Israel should not build there. Doing so would mean admitting to your constituents that you are willing to give up annexed, settled land. This is so far from the accepted norm that it would be political suicide to support a freeze.

Eli Yishai and his ministry exposed the American and Israeli positions. For Obama, annexed Jerusalem has no meaning and is the same as the rest of the West Bank. For Israel, it is part of the capital. There have never been any suggestions or offers of "giving back" Ramat Shlomo, Ramot, Gilo or Pisgat Zeev.

Some have speculated that Obama wants to meddle in Israeli politics to weaken Netanyahu. I think he is doing the opposite right now. In all the Middle East, attacking a reigning leader is equivalent to attacking the country and raises national unity and spirits. Thanks Obama. Nice job.

Another theory is that Obama wants to distance the USA from Israel so that if and when Israel attacks Iran, he can convincingly argue that the USA has nothing to do with it. This is another form of weakness. Instead of sticking to his positions on Iran, Obama has backtracked time and again. Iran believes correctly that the USA will not use force to stop its nuclear ambitions. Sanctions are a joke as long as Russia and China need Iranian oil. Good luck stopping an Iran with nuclear weapons. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians will die once the fighting starts, because Obama did not maintain consistent positions and red-line. Nice job dude.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Obama is having one hell of a time passing a health-case bill that no-one understands. If he fails, then his chances of reelection fall even further. If he succeeds in passing the bill, then the proof will be in its implementation. Let's see if it helps the hundreds of thousands of un-insured people in the USA. They certainly need something. Good luck to Obama and the un-insured.

Why am I ranting about politics instead of food! Because I'm going away for Shabbat with three boys. The rest are staying home to work at a bar-mitzva. No cooking and no worries. Of course, not much of a "normal" weekend.

Have a safe time and keep your head down when the fighting starts,
Elliot

Quiet?

2010-03-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

Small meal friday night, big lunch Shabbat afternoon. This was a food day. The Passover holiday approaches and we try to clean out the pantry before hand. Our big accomplishment was to bake Challa. I used this recipe. The loaves look amazing, but I don't know how it will take. My friend the bakers daughter gave us lots of tips. I'm sure that's why they look so good.

Our orange tree is in season. We have so many oranges that we are making fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast on Saturday. It is soooooo sweet.

Here's our menu this weekend:
Shabbat Parshat
Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel-P'kudei
Dinner - 8
Vegetable soup
French fries
Naked Schnitzel (package schnitzel with no covering)
Garlic Meatballs and Potatoes
Broccoli
Pita chips and Ful dip (ful is a kind of bean)

Lunch - 18
Meat Roll
Onion Meat loaf (fried onions incorporated in the meatloaf)
Garam Masalla Pargiot
Curry Pargiot
Swedish Vegetables
Israeli Salad
Garlic Green Beans

Quiet weekend (the calm after the storm)

2010-03-05T05:36:00.001-08:00

All is well and we are returning to our regular scheduled programs. One family is eating with us for friday night dinner and we are alone (my God!) for lunch. I'm looking forward to the rest and relaxation that shabbat gives us. I'm also looking forward to playing the new board games that we now have (Galaxy trucker, Agricola and Dominion).

On the food side, we are cooking sides for a friend of ours who is bed ridden. Somehow she torn a muscle in her leg and is now bed ridden for a few weeks. Her friends have arranged for meals to be delivered for shabbat.

Shabbat Parshat Ki Tisha

Dinner - 13

Garlic Chicken Vegetable soup

Red Curry Beef

Roast Chicken

Lentils braised in wine

Corn Relish

Rice

Lunch - 7 (how do you cook for only 7?)

Spinach Meatloaf

Prepared Shnitzel

Artichokes

Left-over sides

Green Salad

Modest = Privacy?

2010-03-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

In modern judaism, there is a concept called 'tzinut'. It applies in particular to women's clothing. A dress that is too short, or does not cover the shoulders or shows too much decolletage is considered to not be tzanuah. I was taught that this word meant modesty.

While learning gemara today, we can across this word in a different context. A person does not want others to trespass on his property because it is not tzanuah. The translation there is 'privacy'. That is, you don't want people passing on your property because it violates your privacy. Clearly, the term modesty is not a good translation.

If we take this translation, women should wear appropriate clothing not because they want to be modest, but because they want to preserve their privacy. They should not expose portions of their body that they want to remain "private".

Consider the Amish. They observe the concept of modesty. Their clothing has no zippers because these would be immodest. That is, they are fancy and show hubris. A true amish man or women eschews fancy clothing because they are modest and humble. At issue is not the amish man's privacy, since both a zipper and a button perform the same function.

This translation of Tzniut as privacy provided a new insight to me on judaism. A man or woman who is not tzanuah is exposing themself, placing private areas on display.

One of the challenges with this approach is that modern concepts of privacy have changed. Women's boots were popular in the late 1800's because it was immodest to show ones ankles. Today, there is no such concern. Even ultra-orthodox women expose their ankles, although they do wear stockings.

That's my food for thought today.

Post Wedding!

2010-02-26T06:17:00.000-08:00

What a feeling! Married off my son and gained a daughter. The wedding was very special. As befits our family, it went off according to schedule, even finishing 15 minutes early. Yet, no-one felt that it was too short or that something was missing. The dancing was perfect and the shtick funny and smooth. All in all, a good evening was had by all.

The young couple are like cats that have just eaten the bird. They walk around with a big grin. No worries. What a wonderful time to be young, in love and married! May they have many such years together in happiness and health.

The weekend after the wedding it is traditional for the families to have meals together. The mother's of the couple have arranged to serve meals at the local synagogue. Of course, both families are making parts of the meals. Like the marriage, this weekend is a partnership.

My father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law and two brother's in law are in town. My brother was here for the wedding and returned home earlier this week. It is so nice to have our family with us. We have shared many wonderful moments this week.

On thursday, we spend a few hours in Machane Yehuda, the open air produce market in Jerusalem. What fun to see all the fresh produce. The prices were remarkable for Americans. Fresh produce is much cheaper in Israel. We bought 10 kilograms of strawberries (22 pounds) for about 13 dollars. That's going to be dessert for Shabbat lunch.

On the food side, my brother-in-law and I have made julia childe's boeuf bourguignon and a cajun chicken jumbalaya. Both are labors of love, and smell wonderful. We made mashed potatoes, stuffing, brussels sprouts and cabbage salads. No guest is going hungry this weekend.

May we always be honored to share such wonderful times together.
Elliot and Leiah

Pre-Wedding festivities

2010-02-19T03:56:00.000-08:00

My oldest is getting married on Monday! We are very happy and deep into the execution phase of this event. We believe strongly in the National Geographic motto: "Dream It, Plan It, Do It". We have passed the planning phase and are now in the "do it" phase. Most of the preparations are in place. Family is arriving from across the globe (so far, my mother-in-law, my parents and my brother). Friends are stopping by. Presents for the new couple are mysteriously arriving on our doorstep. Excitement is in the air!

Our tradition is to have a men's event for the groom the weekend before the wedding. This is sometimes called an Ufruf (OoffRoof). My son invited a number of his friends to stay the weekend. My wife and her mother are going to stay at a friends house so that the testosterone can flow freely at our house. No females allowed (at least for meals).

For lunch, some friends from the community are also eating with us. Their wives will be spending time with my wife while we party.

Meal wise, Its manly food. Very few vegetables, lots of meat and starch. I went to the meat store and saw prepared Kubeh (dumplings with meat filling). I took a package to the counter and the owner asked me if I was going to use it for soup. I explained that I was and he took my select back and got a different kind of Kubeh. This one is called Kubeh Yerushalmi. I made a chamusta soup with spinach and lots of garlic. It looks good, but I'm sure that most of my boys will not touch it. Too many leaves.

Shabbat Parshat Bshalach
Dinner - 16
Chamusta Kubeh Soup
Turkey Pot Pie
Roast Garlic Chicken
Sweet Chili
Noodle
Pititim
Oriental Rice (by Mark R.)
Garlic Green Beans
Israeli Salad

Lunch - 20
Prepared Shnitzel
Tas Kebab (beef and rice casserole)
Schezwan Chicken
Rice
Brussel's Sprouts
Israeli Salad

Mishpatim (Rules)

2010-02-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

This was it, the last quiet before the wedding storm. Guests begin to arrive this week. Next shabbat is the groom's weekend. My wife is running away from home for the weekend and we will be invaded by 20 something men. Then the wedding and the follow-on parties, culminating in Purim and our traditional pizza and sushi feast. 10 days of pure excitement.

I need a break already.

This weekend, we hosted my sister's niece and my sister's sister-in-law. They experienced the full jaffe shabbat, complete with food, games and a bleeding child from the park next door. Never a dull moment. A friend of mine took me for a two hour walk shabbat morning to a near-by forest. It was quiet and peaceful. Now if only my legs can recover from the hike.

Food was good this weekend. We ate out at a friend Friday night. It was so nice to be able to enjoy being a guest. The company was great and we caught up on current events. Shabbat lunch was at home and I tried to make different recipes. The big hit was my spinach meatloaf (recipe included at the end of this post).

Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim
Lunch - 10
Spinach Meatloaf
Shepherds pie
Kumquat chicken
Brussel's Sprouts
Stir fried red peppers and celery
Stir fried green beans and mushrooms
Israeli Salad
Fresh Strawberries for dessert

Spinach Meatloaf
1 kilo ground beef
1 package frozen spinach (thawed is warm water and drained)
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
fresh ground pepper and salt

Mince the onion and garlic in a food processor. Chop the spinach with a knife until there are no really big clumps. Mix the spinach, ground beef, minced onion/garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper, trying to get a more or less even consistency. Put in a 325 degree oven (160C) for about 45 minutes until its nice and brown. Serve hot or rewarm the next day.

Wet and Cold

2010-02-05T05:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome to winter in Israel. From where we post, it is in the high 40's (6-10 Celsius) and raining. The biggest problem is not the cold, but the houses. Since it does not stay cold for very long, and since it NEVER freezes, there is usually no central heating. Once the house cools down, it stays cool. Average indoor temperatures are in the low 60s. So this weekend, we finally get to be home and have a "normal" shabbat. Smallish meals, with 10 for dinner and 9 for lunch. The menu is comfort food, warm and simple. The guests are all old friends in keeping with the theme.

My mother-in-law is the first arrival on the wedding train. She will be staying with us for three weeks until just after the wedding. Like mother like daughter. She arrived yesterday night and spend all morning cleaning. When I get to my destination, I want to sit back and relax for at least 24 hours. Guess that's why I love my wife, we complement each other.

Shabbat Parshat Yitro
Dinner - 10
Chicken Vegetable soup
Roast Chicken and Garlic
Red Curry Beef
Sweet and Sour Hot Dogs
Rice
Steam Broccoli
Green Salad

Lunch - 9
Meat Roll
Honey-Soy Chicken
Sweet Chili
Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Green Beans
Israeli Salad
Grasshopper Pie

What a week

2010-01-29T01:48:00.000-08:00

Busy busy week, full of events. Last shabbat had a bar-mitzva. Sunday night had a bat-mitzva. Monday night had a bar-mitzva. Wednesday night had a bat-mitzva. This morning (Friday) saw a funeral. This weekend is Tu-B'shvat, and we are going to visit my sister.

So many events, mostly happy, with a bit of sadness towards the end. The funeral was for our friend Shlomo Ron (may he rest in peace). Shlomo had a Phd in physics and worked as a computer programmer. A few years ago, he had a stroke and has been less than fully functional since. This week, he had another stroke and passed away. For him and his family this is a blessing. For all those concerned, we will remember him as a dedicated individual who was a fixture in the community and an example for us all. May his memory serve as an example and blessing to us all.

No cooking this week, and I know that I will need to cook something complicated next week. Cooking is therapy for me and when I don't do it on a regular basis, I get lost. I love the physicality of cooking, the senses of touch, taste and smell are fully involved. In my normal line of work, I sit in front of a computer or lecture hall and type or talk. It is good that I can focus in such an environment, but I do miss the physical sensations. Cooking is life and you get to feel good when people enjoy your food. Sustenance and pleasure on the same plate.

Next week should be quieter, but we are now in the final stages of planning for my son's wedding. It is the quiet before the storm, and before we know it the house will be rocking and we will be moving at warp speed. (what fun!)

Our moto was borrowed from National Geographic: Dream it, Plan it, Do it. All the phases are important and bring satisfaction. He we go....

Why can't we be like them?

2010-01-26T21:44:00.000-08:00

An Israeli arab woman from Jaljulia was hit in a traffic accident recently. She suffers a blow to the head which caused her brain stem to swell. She was determined to be brain dead at the hospital.

The woman's family asked their Mufti for permission to donate her organs and he agreed! The family told the hospital to donate the organs to anyone who needed it, regardless of religion or race.

Three people have new organs (liver and kidney) and one person can now see thanks to a corneal transplant.

Thank god that there are good people on this earth.

Trouble in Oz

2010-01-21T04:41:00.000-08:00

We host many students for Shabbat who spend a year in Israel studying at a seminary or yeshiva. For the most part, we have been impressed with the quality of the students. This year, we have seen a serious drop in quality of the young men. On our community, there have been instances of american yeshiva students walking drunk on friday evening and getting into fights.

Recently there was an article on Mynet (in hebrew) about a drug sting among yeshiva students. At the very end of the article it says that all the students were from families in Canada and the US. By the way, I have no doubt that some of those arrested were indeed involved. Perhaps some of them were innocent, but not all.

With the downturn in the global markets, I have heard that yeshivot and seminaries have lowered their standards to the point where you are excepted to the school if you can pay the tuition. I am sure that this is not completely true, but I do believe that there is serious pressure to maintain student numbers and school finances. This recent spat of drug related issues is most likely related.

I am disappointed in this state of affairs, but I hope that the students and their parents will learn a valuable lesson. Does anyone know if a criminal record in Israel transfers to the United States or Canada?

Someone needs a break (not us)

2010-01-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

Its a wonderful day outside. Sunny, in the mid seventies (low 20's). This week was interesting. My boys are growing up and moving to their own rhythms. One son went to visit a yeshiva on Monday evening. He got back on Friday. It is very nice to know that they can take care of themselves! Two boys went on school trips and came back exhausted but happy. My army son is on extended leave of absence and will now be looking for a temporary job until school starts this fall. Oh, and we got report cards. Some good, others less good. To each his own.

This weekend, we were invited out once again for a meal. This time it is dinner. No problem, we over compensated by inviting friends for lunch. One family is preparing for a Bar-mitzva next weekend and they are totally stressed out. Another just got over a back food allergy. The third family is just fine and is coming to keep us company! All told, 22 people. Nothing like a small meal.

I ordered new board games this week. They will not be here until the end of February, but we are looking forward to learning new games and expanding our brains. All of these games won awards in the past five years. They are all "EuroGames", which means that they are strategy games where players are involved even if it is not their "turn". The games I order are:
Agricola: Build a farm
Dominion: Build a kingdom
Galaxy Trucker: Everyone builds space trucks and then works together to complete missions

Here are some best of the decade reviews: The thinking gamer, Dane101, Algorithmancy.

A friend came over last Shabbat morning and said: "Now I understand what happens at the Jaffe's on Shabbat morning. People come over and turn on their brains!". I am so proud.

Shabbat Parshat VaEyra
Lunch - 22
Grilled Chicken
Corned Beef
Red Cooked Chicken Salad (chinese)
Lemon boneless chicken thighs cucumber salad
Plain rice
Israeli salad
Eggplants and peppers (indian)
Zucchini and mushrooms (stir fried)
Pickles
Chickpeas and ginger

just can't resist

2010-01-13T04:56:00.001-08:00

This TSA Checkpoint is going to be a big hit in the Internet. I can't believe Playmobile actually built this toy. Oh well, its really fun to discuss on Amazon!

Migraines?

2010-01-11T03:53:00.001-08:00

I occasionally suffer from migraines. Fortunately, as I get older, they are less frequent and for some reason, less painful. Perhaps it is just that I can predict their onset and cut them off before they get too strong.

An article in the Boston Globe references new research on the causes of migraines. Light has always been a trigger for my headaches, and for those who know me it is why I wear wrap-around sunglasses whenever I am outdoors.

In the Boston Globe report, Rami Burstein of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center studies the effects of light and migraines on blind people. Patients who had no optic nerve were unaffected by light, but those who were blind, but could still register light reported increased pain during their migraines.

I'm hoping that this study identifies the way that light triggers migraines. Perhaps someday, I will not need to be so careful with full sunlight.

elliot

Missing post?

2010-01-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

Didn't get to post yesterday before Shabbat. Part of the problem is that I did not cook this shabbat. We were invited out for both meals. Yeah for us! The second half of the problem is that the infection I had two weeks ago is back with a vengeance.

I spent most of the weekend in bed. Tomorrow, its back to the doctor.
Elliot

Geek Cartoon Puns

2010-01-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Now most of you are not going to get this, but trust me that the following cartoon pun is amazing!

Kudo's to XKCD! They rock my boat.

A Regular Shabbat! (Finally)

2010-01-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

Since the week before Thanksgiving, we have had non-regular shabbatot. Sometimes because my wife was running an event, sometimes because we were under the weather, and sometimes because we were invited out. I enjoy going to other peoples houses for meals, but it means that we cannot have sleep-over guests at our house.

So, this is a regular shabbat. No events, no meals out, only one person slightly ill, and four sleep-over guests. We have two gentlemen from Torat Moshe and two women from Shalavim. We have one extra guest this evening, who had a grandchild today at 9am. She pulled an all-nighter, so I'm not sure how awake/aware she is going to be at dinner.

There is a Sheva Bracha meal this shabbat to which we are not invited. The hosts asks if I would make a corned beef, and of course I agreed. To my usually excellent corned beef, I make a glaze of brown sugar, powered ginger, dried mustard and soy sauce. Too bad I had to sent it away, it looked wonderful!

So, for this shabbat, I made comfort food. My wife and I agreed that we are actually a meat and potatoes family. More exactly, we are a protein and starch family. No problems there, something for everyone.

Shabbat Parshat V'Yechi
Dinner - 12
Oriental Kohlrabi soup
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Plain naked shnitzel
Brussels Sprouts
Garlic Green Beens
Pastries for dessert

Lunch - 12
Roast Chicken
Kol Dulce Con Carne (beef and cabbage)
Mashed Potatoes
Pepper and Onion Confit
Israeli Salad
Strawberries for dessert

Whoops, more strep

2009-12-28T02:26:00.001-08:00

I spoke too soon. I've got strep also. Fortunately, the antibiotics should knock it down. This explains some of the symptoms. So far, 24 hours and still no relief. Should be soon, or we'll have to change meds.

Such is life,
Elliot

Sick at home

2009-12-27T09:01:00.001-08:00

My wife and I both have had a sinus infection for at least two weeks. We finally went to the doctor and were prescribed antibiotics.

I really don't like being sick. I get fatigued easily and spend most of my time sleeping. Its not relaxing, since I wake up coughing and hacking after a few hours.

One of my kids woke up this morning with a fever and sore throat. Guess what, strep! More antibiotics.

Thank god for modern medicine. I'm sure I would not have lived past childhood had I been born 200 years ago.

Get well soon,
Elliot

An interesting Shabbat

2009-12-25T06:08:00.000-08:00

Lots of unusual things happening this shabbat. First, one of our good friends has been on vacation with their family for the past three weeks. They should have arrived back home on Monday, but because of the snow storm in the US, their flight was cancelled and the first available flight back arrived today, friday afternoon! They will be eating with us tonight (assuming that they can stay awake) and at a friends tomorrow for lunch. I talked to them just before shabbat and they sound pretty wiped out.

This weekend at shul, there is an "event". The shul has brought in a professional chazan and choir. I am personally totally opposed to chazanut in prayers because I believe makes prayers into a broadway show. I pray to talk to God, not to attend a performance. Thankfully, the shul is big enough that there will be another minyan without the performance.

One of my fellow students is coming over for dinner tonight and to play Settlers of Catan. Its unusual to mix school and home, but every so often, I think its helpful to share our home life with colleagues.

Finally, we were invited out to lunch this week, so my cooking duties were only for friday night. Here is the menu:

Shabbat Parshat Vayigash
Dinner - 18
Vegetable soup (with a turkey stock base)
Beef Burgundy (my wife appreciates consistency, so we have it almost every weekend)
Red curry chicken and vegetables
Sweet Chili (see thanksgiving)
Rice
Cajun roast vegetables (use my cajun dry rub on vegetables and then roast in an oven)
Quick Kimchi
(Green salad is we feel up to it)

Book club (Indian Food!)

2009-12-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

My wife is part of a book club where they all ready the same book and the get together to talk about it. Each time they meet at one of the members houses and that person is supposed to provide something to eat. Ideally, the food is somehow related to the book that they will be discussing.

This month, the meeting was at our house and the book was Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is a set of short stories about the Indian American experience. So, I was tasked to make Indian food.

I love cooking unusual (for me) foods, and this was a great challenge. Fortunately, I had the perfect cookbook for the task: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi. My version was published in 1987, but the recipes are still fresh. This evening, my menu included:

Simple Yellow Rice (pg 11)
Chickpea and Ginger root salad (pg 363)
Crispy-fried Eggplant slices (pg 461)
Garden Tomato Soup (pg 241)
Spiced Creamed Spinach (pg 259)

Everything was very tasty. The book club loved the food and left over just a bit of rice and a single bowl of soup. In the interest of sharing, here is my version of Spiced Creamed Spinach and Garden Tomato Soup.

Spiced Creamed Spinach
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (cusbara)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons butter
2 pounds (1 kg) fresh spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Mix the spices and the water, removing any lumps. Melt the butter in a large pot with a cover and pour in the spice mixture. Cook for 2-4 minutes. Pack the spinach into the pot, add the salt and cover with the heat turned down for 5-10 minutes. Open the top, stir and recover until the spinach is uniformly cooked. Remove the pot from the heat, add the yogurt and stir to incorporate. Do not simmer the yogurt. Serve warm.

Garden Tomato Soup
4 tablespoons butter
8 large tomatoes, cored and diced
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
1/2 piece of ginger, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 cups of water
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup heavy cream
2-4 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, ginger, bay leaf, peppercorns and cumin along with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for about 20-30 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Mash the tomatoes in the liquid with a fork or spatula. Add the water and parsley and bring back to a boil. Add the heavy cream and the basil and bring back to a simmer. Taste and serve.

What fun to cook this food. I usually have most of these spices in my pantry anyway, but I don't usually put them together in this way. Have fun.

Elliot

Settlers of Catan Tournament

2009-12-18T05:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we participated in a Settlers of Catan tournament and fundraiser in support of AV Israel. AV Israel is non-profit organization dedicated to helping hearing impaired and deaf children learn to listen and speak. The Hashmonaem team brought 6 people to the event, a full fifth of the contestants (31 people played). We placed first and third, winning the first rounds and then crushing our opponents in the final round. What can I say, strategy gaming is fun. In addition, the entrance money went to a good cause.

This shabbat is cold and rainy in Israel. Wonderful heavy rains cover the country and the streams are full of water. To make it even better, we were invited out for both meals! Tonight, we will attend the third annual family dinner with our relatives from the community. There are between 40 and 60 of us now living in Hashmonaem; first, second and third cousins. The dinner is pot-luck, and of course, we are bringing our signature garlic green beans.

Tomorrow, we are invited out to another couple's house. We will be bringing 9 people. I'm always surprised and pleased that people can invite us over. Its rather daunting to host our family, even for one meal.

My transplant son has been struggling with mouth sores for the past month. At first, we did not understand the underlying cause. It could have been infection, viral, fungal or even a drug reaction. It was very painful and he lost more than 10 pounds because it was painful to eat. After many trips to the specialists at Beilinson hospital, they finally determined that it was not bacterial or viral. The consensus was that it was a drug reaction. The localized medications that he has been taking have almost totally cleared up the problem, to the surprise and gratification of the doctors and my son. It is truly a miracle that he is healthy and well. We continue to thank God, the doctors and everyone involved for his continued good health.

Shabbat shalom,
Elliot

Chanuka - first day

2009-12-11T06:13:00.000-08:00

Very busy day and hence I'm posting just before Shabbat (again!). My wife is running an event this weekend and will not be eating any meals with us. arghhhh. On the other hand, I can make non-atkin's friendly food, so all is not lost.

We have two young ladies staying with us for Shabbat and a friend is eating over for both meals. It will be small meals (for us). The gaming crowd is expected to show up anyway, so the house will not be empty.

Shabbat Parshat Vayeshev
Dinner - 10
Hot-Sour soup (turkey stock base)
Pargiot in wine sauce
Garlic Meatballs with potatoes
Noodles
Zucchini and carrots

Lunch - 9
Split roast chickens
Restaurant wings
Hard boiled eggs
Rice salad
Creole Eggplant

The food smells great!
Shabbat Shalom,
Elliot

Transplants in the news

2009-12-04T02:23:00.000-08:00

I saw an interesting article this week about a 47 year old father in Israel who donated a kidney and part of his liver to his 19 year old son. The transplants occurred over a period of six months, first the liver and then the kidney, six months later. The articles claim that this type of double transplant is extremely rare, probably because they are from a live donor.

What I found most interesting that the articles got a significant amount of press in the ultra-orthodox community. In fact, I first found the article at Etrog News. It was picked up by Yeshiva World news and then by the Jerusalem Post and other mainstream papers. I suspect that the father in this story is ultra-orthodox, but there is no mention of his background in any of the articles.

First, the ultra-orthodox condone and encourage live organ donors, so this is indeed a positive act. Those same organizations are opposed to organ donations from cadavers because of a concern that doctors will take them from a person who is not actually dead.

I'm happy for the positive press, and I hope that these articles will increase the awareness of organ donations within those communities.

Slow days of winter

2009-12-04T02:11:00.000-08:00

I don't know why or how, but after the Thanksgiving event and weekend, we have been under the weather and slightly depressed. Perhaps its just the relative lack of sunlight in the winter, or perhaps its the flu and illnesses that are going around. Everyone in the family is just a bit off.

We have been on a roller coaster with the Army the past two weeks as my oldest son is trying to find a new unit. We have learnt all about protectzia. When things don't go your way, you call everyone you know to try and find the right angle. We will be much better prepared for the next child, as our oldest has really broken new ground.

Our transplant recipient has been struggling with mouth sores for the past two weeks. They are painful, and the doctors are unsure about their cause. More tests, and meanwhile, we sit through fifteen minutes of gargling twice a day with three difference mouthwashes. We hope that they will identify the cause soon, as its hard to watch your child suffer.

This weekend, we have no outside guests, but we are hosting a few neighbors for meals. Four tonight and six tomorrow. My oldest has invited a friend of his for dinner, so we have 13 for dinner and 14 for lunch. Both sets of guests are somewhat picky eaters.

Shabbat Parshat Vayishlach

Dinner - 13

Turkey based Vegetable soup

Corned Beef

Hot dogs

Pepper steaks and fried peppers

Rice

Ratatouille

Lunch - 14

Chulent with dark turkey meat

Garam Massala Pargiot

Hot pepper Pargiot
Israeli Salad
Sesame Noodles
Quinoa
Tomato and Pesto salad
Deviled Eggs

Relaxing Weekend (yes)

2009-11-27T04:08:00.000-08:00

After the Thanksgiving holiday, we need a break. Fortunately, we have left-overs. Tonight, we have the G families over for dinner. These two families are probably among our closest friends. That is a good thing since we will indeed be having leftovers.

We also have a niece and her friend staying with us. Tonight's dinner will be 21 people. Just a small gathering! Tomorrow, we are going out for lunch, so we will get the break that we need.

Because things were too boring, I decided to get immunized for the winter flu and the swine flu today. One shot in each arm. Hopefully, I will not feel any side-effects. After three hours, I'm fine. I think it is important to get these inoculations, because the alternatives are worse. I really don't enjoy having the flu. It knocks me out for about a week. I am hoping that the flu shots can keep me healthy, or minimally, reduce the impact if and when I do contract one of these illnesses.

On the cooking side, pretty plain food. We have a two vegetarians, a gluten and sugar free eater, and a bunch of omnivores. Good thing we have lots of alternatives.

Shabbat Parshat Vayeitzei
Dinner - 21
Mushroom barley soup (with turkey stock)
Parve Broccoli soup
Sweet Chili
Corned Beef
Stuffing (a bit of everything)
Zucchini in tomato sauce
Quinoa
Sesame noodles
Israeli Salad
Cabbage Salad

Post Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

The hall, just before opening

Carving staff: taking apart the birds before service

Photos courtesy of B. Gilor

We celebrate our anniversary on Thanksgiving. Its a rather large affair, with about 350 of our friends. We have been having this party for many years, learning from year to year and adjusting as we go. Last night was one of our nicest events. The decorations were wonderful, the food delicious and the company divine.

As usual, the big hit was our sweet chili. Here is a link to the recipe that we posted last year. Same recipe, just a bigger quantity. We made wonderful stuffings this year. The list included:

Traditional mushroom, onion and celery
Dark bread with garlic and dried tomatoes
Jalapeno and hot sausage
Pesto and black olives
Creamed corn with soy milk
Apples and raisins
Shredded carrots and onions

The first five were cooked in the birds. They were soft and rich. The last two were done separately in the oven. The crowd certainly voted with their plates, leaving much of the apples and carrot dishes as left-overs. Remember for next year!

I tried brining a turkey this year. I used one cup of salt, one cup of brown sugar, and 2 tbsp thyme to one gallon of water. Soak the bird for 12 hours and then cook as usual. I could not tell the difference. Next year, we will have to do a more careful scientific study. Perhaps three and three.

Out of time!

2009-11-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

Boy a re we running late. Five minutes until shabbat.

I'll post the menu and fill you in on the rest after shabbat!

Shabbat Parshat Toldot
Dinner - 10
Hot dog soup
Beef Burgundy (Julia Child's)
Orange-Ginger chicken turnovers
Red lentils
Zucchini and Peppers
Garlic Meat balls in a wine sauce
Noodles

Lunch - 11
Roast Chicken
Stuffed Zucchini (with beef)
Garlic Green beens
Red Lentils
Roast Potatoes

Winter?

2009-11-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

My family woke up today in a bad mood. Nothing serious, just not the usual patient, cooperative people I usually see in the morning. My wife says that its the weather. It has been overcast all day and is now drizzling. When there is insufficient sunlight, people tend to be less happy and more depressed.

This week we got the news that my son in the army was asked to find a new unit. We are very proud that he made it as far as he did, but now he needs to look for something new. Just another bump in the road of life. On the plus side, we love having him home until he is relocated. His fiancee is equally happy to have him around.

For some reason, we don't have guests from the seminaries and yeshivot this weekend. We invited over a family from the community for lunch. We look forward to a quiet weekend.

With the onset of winter, I'm trying a new soup: Ginger Chicken soup. The chinese believe that this soup is a cure-all for colds and flues. It certainly smells good and it so light that I would try it if I had a sore throat (which I do not, thank god).

Shabbat Parshat Chayei Sarah
Dinner - 9
Ginger chicken soup with couscous
Chinese meat balls (based loosely on this recipe)
Stir fried chicken
Rice

Lunch - 15
Kol Dulce Con Carne (beef and cabbage)
Garam Masala Pargiot (dry rub and sauteed)
Naked Shnitzel (no bread crumbs)
Mashed potatoes
Stir fried zucchini
Cole Slaw

Quiet on the eastern front, excitement in the west

2009-11-06T05:50:00.000-08:00

Our house is very quiet this weekend. We were invited out for dinner, and we have no guests for lunch! Oh the travesty! We will just have to make do with our own company. Its clear and bright outside with highs in the mid eighties (around 30 for the metric crowd).

In the west (Cleveland to be exact), my brother's son is celebrating his bar-mitzvah this weekend. Great excitement, many guests and highs in the low 60's (low teens). Most of the US family will be there to cheer him on as he reads from the torah, gives a short speech and eats tons of good food. I'm sorry to miss it.

On the cooking front, I went out to see Julie and Julia with my wife and our friends this week. I really enjoyed the movie. Julia Child was a larger than life person and the movie captures that quality. The food scenes were great and I even learned something (mushrooms brown better when you don't crowd them).

So, this weekend, I only made one meal. Meatloaf for the wife, stuffed chicken breasts for me. The meatloaf contains nice browned onions and mushrooms (thanks julia), lots of parsley and a cup of red wine. It smells great.

The chicken breasts started life in my refrigerator as schnitzel, flattened breasts split in half. I (my son), pounded them thiner using a rubber mallet. Be careful not to pound too thin, as the meat just falls apart. Then I made a stuffing of sautéed mushrooms, browed onions (see a theme here?), rice and chives from our garden. I sautéed the rice with another cup of red wine until the wine was absorbed. The color and flavor were really nice. Put a couple of tablespoons of stuffing in each chicken breast and roll them up nicely. Brown and place in a covered over-proof dish with some chicken soup. Cook covered for 30-40 minutes. They look wonderful, the wine gives the stuffing some color and the browned chicken outside looks very nice.

Add some roasted fennel, sautéed cabbage, plain rice and an israeli salad and we have way too much food for just the 7 of us.

Oh well, we'll be thinking of my nephew and our family in the US of A.

Shabbat Parshat Vayeira
Lunch - 7
Meat loaf
Stuffed Chicken
Roasted Fennel
Sautéed Cabbage
Rice
Israeli Salad