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pre-bar-mitzva -- all is well weekend

Ah, another week gone, and along with it, some stress.  My oldest son is engaged to be married in a few months.  All was under control except for the hall.  In Israel, it is very common to have weddings with 500 to 650 people in attendance.  My son and his fiancee would like a "small" wedding of only 300.  Some hall will not handle an event will less than 500 people.  Most of those that will, charge a different per-head fee based on the total.  Up until this week, we didn't know how many people would be invited, so we were stuck.

With the holiday season over, it was time to start moving, so a friend made calls to a list of halls and collected general prices and terms.  On Tuesday, my wife and the mother of the bride went to a hall, discussed terms and agreed on the date.  By Wednesday morning, the deal was signed.  We now have a date and location for the wedding!

With that challenge completed, the rest is smooth as silk.  The band leader is a friend and will be handling the event personally.  The only major item left is the photographer, but that is less of a concern. We are ready to go... in three months.

Next shabbat, my fifth son will be having a bar-mitzva celebration.  Our tradition is to take the family and close friends to a field school for the weekend.  It is a low key event, but everyone there gets to reconnect with other family members and friends in a quiet atmosphere for 25 hours.  No pressure, just time to chat and watch how nicely the family has grown.

My father in law arrived on Tuesday, and the airlines lost his checked baggage (as usual).  I am just in awe of how many times they have managed to lose his luggage.  24 hours latter, it arrived at our house with nothing missing, so all is well.  We look forward to spending the next two weeks with him.

But that event is next weekend.  This weekend, we can kick back and relax.  No guests, although we do have a family (who are also family) sleeping over for a Sheva Brachot weekend of a cousin's son.  Otherwise, its going to be slow and nice.  We were invited out for dinner, which makes it even better!

This weekend, I tried a new technique for beef.  My son and wife love beef and will not eat chicken.  They don't like the taste of chicken....  So I'm always searching for beef recipes that will reheat well.  In most cases, you need a sauce.

This time, I took beef rounds which we buy sliced from the butcher and pounded them into thin pieces with a rubber mallet.  Add some seasoning and saute lightly in a hot pan.   Each piece takes only two minutes to cook.  Add some fried onions and red peppers, and you have a nice dish with no sauce that should re-heat well.

I also made a nice vegetarian chili with some of the zucchini we had lying around.   It is based on this recipe, but I used only one kind of bean.  Looks nice and is not spicy.

Have a nice weekend,
Elliot

Shabbat Parshat B-reishit
Lunch - 8
Pepper Beef
Chicken and Rice
Garlic Green Beans
Noodles
Vegetarian Chili

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