Skip to main content

Birthday Weekend

This weekend marks my oldest son's nineteenth birthday.  He planned on having a small birthday party with his friends.  Surprisingly, the friends now have a life of their own and are not home for Shabbat.  I don't think this is in any way an indication of their friendship.  Instead, it is a statement of maturity.  After high school, the boys and girls leave the local community and begin to participate in the greater Israeli community.  Many of the girls are involved in Sherut Leumi, which places them in underprivileged neighborhoods across Israel.  The boys tend to go to a religious yeshiva for one or more years.  What ever they choose, its away from home.  Last weekend, most of the friends were here, but this weekend they are spread across Israel.  We'll have the party anyway and wish him the best.

We placed one of our calling cards with Machon Gold this week.  We told them to call us if they ever run into trouble placing their girls for a weekend.  On thursday, a host up in Haifa canceled at the last minute so we now have three young ladies for Shabbat.  My oldest son (the birthday boy) also invited two of his high school buddies.  Number four son is away with his high school.  That leaves us with 7 immediate family, 4 girls and 2 boys = 13.  Not bad.

The menus this week are pretty simple.  Its going to be a cold rainy weekend.

Dinner - 12
Oriental Potato Soup
Chicken Stir fry - Zucchini and Carrots, Bell Peppers and Ginger, Bok Choy and Bell Peppers and Onions.
Garlic Bread
Brown Rice
Kimchi

Lunch - 16
Turkey pot pie
Chulent
Naked Shnitzel
Spicy Sauted Green Zucchini
Potato Kugel
Green Salad
Kimchi
Stir Fried Pumpkin Pie (cinnamon, allspice, brown sugar)
 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oriental potato soup sounds interesting, how do you make it? See, I know better than to ask for an actual recipe!
Elliot said…
Oriental potato soup is made with onions, potatoes, beef, sesame oil and soy sauce.

Ideally, marinate 2 pounds of beef and one large diced onion in 1/2 cup soy sauce for about 1 hour. Saute the beef and onion in sesame oil (2 Tbsp) until the beef is browned. Add 12 cups of water and 5-7 potatoes that you have turned into matchsticks. They don't need to be small or perfect. Bring to a boil and them simmer for 45 minutes.

Popular posts from this blog

A change of pace (Kidney Failure)

I have been trying to keep this blog focused on hospitality and food.  God though has other plans for his creations and I find now that I will have to expand the scope to cover new topics.  I'll try to continue blogging about my menus and our guests, but expect more posts that have little or nothing to do with food. In February of this year, My second oldest son, Asaf was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. Simply put, both his kidneys are damaged and scarred from some infection or defect that happened years ago.  They will likely cease to function sometime within the next six months. The good news is that there is no immediate danger to his life.  Kidney Dialysis is a viable option and can maintain his health for up to ten or more years if necessary.  Unfortunately, the process is not easy and there are potential side effects. Given Asaf's generally excellent health and age, Kidney Dialysis is considered only a stop-gap measure and not a long term solution. The best solutio...

Back and Hosting again

I'm back in Israel with an apartment, appliances, dishes and a plan.  I am now living in Raanana.  If you are in the area, and/or just want to come for a shabbat, let me know. This weekend, I have two of my boys and their families.  It should be a nice start to my new place.  I am very much looking forward to hosting them and to bringing out my new board games. Dinner: Wine Challot Garlic Soup w/ croutons Roast Chicken Pasta and Sauce +Meatballs Salad Rice Dessert Lunch: Challot Jumbalaya Salad Slow Roast Tomatoes Potatoes Sweet Potatoes Pargiot w/ Ras Al Hanut rub Tchina Dessert Seudat Shishit: (because it feels like we never stop eating) Salad Avacado Egg Salad Tuna Salad Pita

Mid Pesach weekend and Recap

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 ...