Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Blizzard Baking

The Blizzard of 2015 is in the books.  The snow started on Monday afternoon, and didn't stop til 11 PM on Tuesday night.  My husband and I worked from home, while the kids did homework, reading, and watching TV.  We did some group shoveling.

And I did some baking.

Three loaves of Bread Machine Challah:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/bread-machine-challah/11ed53fc-166d-408c-9967-e7890973dc5f

I made one Babchallah:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chocolate-cinnamon-babkallah-dough

I made one batch of Flour Bakery's chocolate brownies.

I made one batch of Flour Bakery's Oreo's.

I made some Hamentashen.

I made one batch of banana chocolate chip muffins.

And school was cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, so on Wednesday, I made:

One batch of maple brownies and

One batch of Smitten Kitchen's salted brown butter crispy treats.

And on Thursday I am going to work.  If school is cancelled, my husband will stay home with the kids and eat some of the baked goods.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Catch Up Post

Sorry for not updating you earlier!

1.  Picked up the Bar Mitzvah invitations this past weekend.  They look fabulous.  My son really liked them, which is important.

2.  Made a few new dishes this week.  I made a Kosher By Design - Chicken Oreganato, which was good.  The kids liked the chicken, but not the potatoes.  I also made Smitten Kitchen's Key Lime Pie, which was fabulous.  And I also made a Hershey's Oatmeal Cinnamon bar, which was great.

3.  Naomi has not been able to shake her sinus infection.  Three weeks of anti-biotics has helped it but not cured it.  Now she is taking Flonase.

4.  Attended the City of Newton's MLK Jr. Celebration at Temple Emanuel yesterday with the kids.  It was a very nice event.

5.  Did I tell you that I think I found a dress for Mark's Bar Mitzvah party??????  I love it.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

2015 - The Year My Little Man becomes a Jewish Man

We got THE date in the spring of 2012.  And now, the DATE is approaching.  And now, I can call this year, the year of the Bar Mitzvah.  The date - May 30, 2015.  The year my son is called to the Torah to become a Jewish adult like the rest of his family.  The date that we all hear him chant his Haftorah and the Torah.  The date that family and friends will fly and drive to come and hear my baby become a Jewish adult.

My son will be counted as a Jewish adult after that, which means when our family attends Minyan, we are a family of three Jewish adults.  My son is expected to fast on Yom Kippur.  My little man becomes a Jewish man.

Mark started Religious School at Temple Emanuel when he was five, but his Jewish education started before that.  We would chant Shema to him every night and when he became old enough, he chanted with us.  We attended Tot Shabbat with him and later Shabbat Alive (which we all continue to enjoy).  We did Shabbat at home on Friday nights complete with candles, wine and homemade challah.  When he was born it became a goal of mine to have Shabbat at least three times every month.

And as soon as we got THE DATE, I started to plan.  We booked the venue, the caterer, the photographer, the DJ and the hotel.  And now we are getting into finalizing the invitations.  We started looking for a Tallis.  We started looking into purchasing Kipot.  I am working on the hotel bags and the centerpieces.  We have dates to start looking at new suits for the boys and dresses for the girls.  Mark has started his Bar Mitzvah project.  Mark will be writing a sermon. 

The day is coming, and when that date comes, I will be ready.