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a few degrees of freedom

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.




Comments

Arica said…
Mazel tov Doctor and happy birthday! I hope the banana cake was good!

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