Little Yellow Notepad

Mushroom dip

1 large onion, pulsed a few seconds in the food processor, until there’s no big chunks 

1 lb fresh mushrooms, pulsed a few seconds in the food processor, until there’s no big chunks

2 cloves fresh garlic 

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

½ cup of mayonnaise 

In a large frying pan, Fry onions in 2 Tablespoons oil, after a few minutes add the mushrooms, mixing them.

Allow to simmer a few minutes and then add soy sauce and apple cider vinegar. 

Simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until well down. Add mayonnaise to your liking. This lasts in the refrigerator for a few weeks and can be made in advance.

Matbucha

After my son came back from two years of learning in Israel,  he enlightened me that every respectable Shabbos table needs matbucha. Well, I took his word seriously and did some googling and came up with my own variation that met my criteria; no chopping, no peeling, easy to make in bulk and lasts in the refrigerator (and freezer!)

1 tablespoons oil 

4 cloves garlic 

2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes in tomato juice

1 16 oz jar sliced jalapeños 

In a large pot, brown garlic in oil. Add can of tomatoes and drained jalapeños.

Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for an hour.

Optional; pulse with an immersion blender to thicken a bit.

This can be made weeks in advance and stays fresh in the refrigerator for many weeks and freezes well too!

Olive tapenade aka olive dip

(I always called this olive dip, until one week one of my guests was so excited and said “Oh, you have olive tapenade!”

I wasn’t about to disagree with her, and so what I always thought of as humble olive dip got an upgrade to Olive Tapenade and I feel so much classier! That is, until they ask me for the recipe and I humbly share that’s it’s pretty simple.

1 21 oz jar pitted green olives with pimento 

½ cup mayonnaise 

In the food processor with the S blade – blend olives with mayo. Add mayo to desired consistency. 

Low and slow meat:

Use brisket or roast of choice 

Combine a generous amount:

onion powder 

Garlic powder

Oregano

Salt 

Pepper

Mix the spices and pat on both sides of the meat.

Cover tightly with foil.

Put in the oven at 275 for 4-5 hours, depending on thickness of meat.

Once cooked, slice and return to the original pan with the liquid. Return to oven for 2-3 hours at 275. Thicker meat ex chuck meat, will need longer time.

Lemon Dill Salmon

2 lb slab of salmon, defrosted 

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder 

1 teaspoon pepper

Mix and pat over the side of salmon

Mix: 

2 Tablespoons oil of choice

¼ cup lemon juice 

1 tablespoon dry dill

2 cloves garlic 

Drizzle over salmon. Bank uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes  – until done.

Best gadget:

Meat/fish thermometer with temperature alarm.

You put the probe into the salmon, close the oven door and put the attached timer on the counter or magnet it to the oven. Set the food type and then just forget about it; it’ll beep when it hits the right temperature. No need to open the oven every 5 minutes and see if it’s ready and then worry that it’s underdone or overdone!

I remember the day the biggest ball dropped.

I didn’t actually drop it – it kind of landed from above. 

Onto our Shabbos table.

My husband and I were hosting a journalist for a Shabbos meal; she wanted to do a column on our newly founded Chabad House and having her over seemed to make sense.

There were signs the ball was going to drop, but we missed them. Primarily, kids giggling and squeeling at the stop of the steps. 

And then it was launched – the big exercise ball that was supposed to stay in my bedroom had been rolled out and it landed squarely on the Shabbos table.

Continue reading “Six Habits of Moms Who Actually Enjoy Tishrei” →

Why is he wearing the same shirt as yesterday? 

I start panicking.

I know he has enough shirts.

I sent a dozen.

But it looks the same as yesterday’s!

Oh, one second.

I forgot, two of the T-shirts have similar sleeves.

I mentally go through my son’s wardrobe.

I try to remember what he’s been wearing every day of the week since camp started; I mentally go through the photos I’ve seen of him so far.

Maybe it wasn’t the same.

I make the picture bigger.

It’s getting too blurry to see; because in truth I’m only seeing a small swatch of sleeve in a sea of 400 boys, but I know it’s my son because I recognize the corner of the outer rim of his yarmulka.

I make the picture bigger and smaller and smaller and bigger.

He’s wearing the same shirt two days straight.

No, he’s not.

Argh I think he is.

And then the next horrifying thought:

What if he’s also wearing the same undershirt?

And although I don’t want to believe it, deep down I know this is probably the truth.

Feeling like it’s a judgement call on me, the mother, I push the thought away.

I’m still staring at the picture.

Until my senses return and I ask myself; Ok, what can you do about it?

And I begrudgingly admit the answer; NOTHING.

I can do nothing.

And I should do nothing.

I should practice mentally letting go.

I look again;

I hadn’t even noticed what was going on in the photo; he’s standing on a bench cheering. I take that as a sign he’s happy. He’s happy!

Unaware of my emotional roller coaster, he’s still having a great time – regardless of the shirt he’s wearing.

I try to do some mental housekeeping;

To clear my brain and free up space.

He’s in camp. Let him wear what he wants.

And if he never changes his bedding either, does it really matter? 

Practice letting go.

With a deep breath, I leave the page of photos.

Could it be that looking at 796 daily pictures of my kids in camp isn’t actually the healthiest way for a mother to spend her summer?

“It’s my chair! I called the spinning chair first!”

“No, it’s my soup chair!”

“It’s my mandelin chair!”

I’m staring from one kid to the other, trying to figure out what this all-out brawl is about.

I didn’t know we had a spinning chair, a mandelin chair or a soup chair, whatever that means.

They’re all grabbing one of the bar stools, of which we have 6 identical ones.

With tears streaming down her face, my 4 year old continues insisting, “It’s my mandelin chair, I called it first!”

My 5 year old is still adamant it’s a soup chair and my 6 year old is determined to get the spinning chair.

Continue reading “The Spinning Chair” →

Hi my name is Goldie and I suffer from principalaphobia.

I was born being scared of principals and their offices. It didn’t take any harsh and scary lectures or speeches or lessons; it was just part of my DNA. The principal says, and I do; and then I just stay under the radar and try to go unnoticed. Because one thing is for sure: I did not want to ever be called into the principal’s office.

And then I got married to an amazing husband who has endless tales about principal office visits. When I told him about my phobia, he stared at me blankly.

“They’re just people,” was the best answer he could give me. He had a good point. But I wasn’t there yet; I didn’t have the capacity to think past the fear and intimidation. 

I became a mother and that’s when the real life learning really started.

Continue reading “Principalaphobia” →