Pure Joy For Yom Kippur

While sitting on the couch last night and reading Shaya a book, we suddenly heard the garage door open. I said to Shaya, "Mushky's home!" and he went running for the door! After his mad dash to the door, Shaya opened the door to the garage and found Mushky walking up the stairs with my father right behind her! (Thanks to the Dad for driving to Richmond and back to pick her up!!) When Shaya saw Mushky, what I saw was absolute, pure joy. He started saying "Mushky's home! Mushky's home!" and the look on his face was worth a million dollars! My father watched the scene and shared that the drive was worth it just to see the joy on Shaya's face. We are of course all thrilled to have Mushky home - our family went right back to feeling whole the minute she walked in the door! 

Heart feeling complete once again, with my kids dancing to music in the kitchen, I got back to work on cleaning the kitchen. While emptying the dishwasher I did some thinking. 

With Yom Kippur approaching it occurred to me that I could learn a thing or two from Shaya's joyful happy dance at Mushky's arrival at home. Like most things in life, we can approach Yom Kippur from any angle we choose. We can go into this most special day of the year with fear and anxiety. We can worry about the what ifs, we can wonder if we have truly repented - or we can go into Yom Kippur with a joyful heart and mind. We can enter these 26 hours that we spend together with Hashem in a joyous way. We can look at Hashem through the eyes of a preschooler and talk to Hashem with joy and confidence. We can choose not to worry, we can choose to dance with joy as we ask Hashem, our Father, to bless us with a year filled with goodness that is sweet and not hidden behind challenges. We can greet this holy day with the simple and pure joy that I witnessed in my home last night. 

May Hashem bless each and every one of us with a year filled only with revealed blessings! May each of us be sealed for health, wealth, happiness, peace of mind and of course the coming of Moshiach! 

With that I share a recipe for a salad we will enjoy at our first pre Yom Kippur meal today! 

Beet Salad

Spring mix (check for bugs accordingly) 

Sliced beets (I buy the precooked ones) 

Fried sliced mushrooms

Diced red onion

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy! 

Apple Crisp and Rosh Hashanah

With Rosh Hashanah almost here, it has been quite the busy day - make that a busy week so far! RSVP lists, menus, shopping, setting up guest bedrooms (thanks for visiting Yossi and Zlata - makes our celebration so much more fun!!), cooking, baking and who knows what else! 

With all of the hustle and bustle, it is still not lost on me that one year is ending, and another, brand new year is about to begin. As I drove myself to work this morning I had some quiet time to contemplate the year that is coming to a close. As I made my way through my memories of the year I enjoyed looking back and seeing the many wonderful blessings Hashem has bestowed upon me and my family. Good health, the necessary money to cover our needs, pride in my children, success in the things I have done and the list goes on and on. It occurs to me that sometimes our lives become chaotic - and then we can find ourselves focusing on our stresses and things that don't appear so sweet. 

In the last couple of weeks I have started a new daily ritual with Mushky. A friend had made a suggestion, and it  turned out to be a lovely addition to my daily life. Adjusting to a new school and to life in a dorm can be a daunting task - and I set out to help my daughter, and myself, focus on our daily blessings and highlights. 

We now have this great tradition. Each night we message each other and start by sharing a victory. We share something that we have accomplished, but that was hard or challenging for us. I have loved picking out something each day that makes me feel super accomplished and hearing what Mushky has to say has been a great way to watch her grow. 

Next we share three things we are grateful for. Even on a rough day, we can always find things to be grateful for. I have really enjoyed seeing what my daughter is grateful for each day. 

Then we share a highlight for the day - this is great - it forces us to truly reflect on our day and pick the one thing that "made our day"!

After a couple of days of doing this, Mushky suggested that we begin adding a daily goal. I LOVED this idea...I now go to sleep each night with a solid goal, that I have shared with my daughter - which makes it real! 

As Rosh Hashanah rolls in, I have taken some time to think about my victories, highlights and what I am grateful for in this past year - this activity between me and Hashem - and then I came up with some goals to work on in this coming year. 

May each and every one of you be blessed with a sweet year filled only with openly revealed blessings and may we celebrate the ultimate celebration, the coming of Moshiach, very speedily. 

-Rashi

Here is a recipe for the apple crisp we will be eating for dessert tonight:

Apple Crisp

8 apples (gala or pink lady)

Orange juice

Cinnamon

Oats

Sugar

Flour

Oil

Peel 8 apples and slice thinly. Place in a 9x13 pan. Mix apples with some orange juice and cinnamon. In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups each of oats, sugar and flour. Pour oil into the mixture and mix until you have a crumb mixture. Sprinkle crumbs on top of apples. Sprinkle some cinnamon. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours on 350. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Wraps

Sometimes as parents we do truly wacky things. This past Sunday we spent the day in Busch Gardens as per Mushky's request before she headed off to school in Coral Springs, Florida. Normally a Busch Gardens day translates into leftovers for dinner - of which we had plenty from Shabbat. But not this day. Realizing it would be some time before Mushky got a meal cooked by her mom, I asked her what she would like to eat for dinner. She requested grilled shnitzel and I agreed.  It felt almost crazy to come home from a day in the sun and start cooking dinner when I had perfectly good food in the fridge..but this is what we do for our kids. We returned from our day out and I got to work on those grilled shnitzel wraps! (Recipe at the bottom)

It has surely been a few strange days as we prepared to send Mushky off to school. While getting Mushky ready to embark on her new adventure, I had ample opportunity to revisit my own journey off to school. It's so strange...23 years later and so much has remained the same - while at the same time she goes off to school with luxuries I couldn't even dream up.

So as I helped Mushky pack I watched her iPhone, iPod and iPod touch get loaded into her bag. Couldn't help but let her know that I traveled with just a walk man - lol! At some point I mentioned that she is lucky because she can FaceTime us but that I didn't have that option - and she replied with "oh, you only had Skype" Hahaha! If only I had Skype! I look back at my 14 year old self and I still can see the tears at leaving home, still can feel the uneasiness as I took a bus to Montreal without knowing a soul. I can still remember the moment I walked into my aunt and uncle's house (thank you Berel and Breindy for three great years with your family!) and eating and then going to my new school for the first time.

I have spent so much time wondering how Mushky will adjust. Wondering how she will navigate an airport all on her own. How she will grow up with out her parents standing right by her side..and then I remember...I remember that I did ALL of that! Sometimes I even wonder how I managed to do the things I did all on my own - but knowing I did tells me that Mushky will do the same, albeit with the help of a cellphone, Uber and who knows what else.

So as I get ready to hear about her first day of school, I remind myself that this too will be ok and that soon enough I will be asking her what she wants for dinner on her first visit back!! Good luck Mushky! I know you will make us all proud!

Grilled Shnitzel Wraps

Chicken breast strips
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Black pepper
Garlic
Paprika
Oregano

Tortilla wraps
Sliced avocado
Coleslaw
Chopped lettuce

Season chicken breast with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, paprika and oregano. Mix well. Heat grill to approximately 450. Grill for about 4 minutes on each side. 

Toast tortillas. Fill center with sliced up chicken, cole slaw, lettuce and avocado. (Some of us add ketchup and mayo.) Roll up and enjoy!

Have A Nice Day!

My trip to the grocery store this morning got me thinking. I ran in in giant hurry, with 20 people coming for the Seudah HaMafseket (meal before Yom Kippur) and not having shopped for food - I was in a time crunch. When I arrived at the checkout to pay for my items I was already in a tizzy. I was rushing (which isn't helpful), had to rearrange my menu due to a produce department that was missing all sorts of things (thanks Hurricane Matthew) and had even managed to drop my keys in my cart - which the cashier found and kindly handed to me. While waiting to pay, the fellow who was bagging groceries asked me if I wanted paper or plastic. I replied that I would like plastic - and then he proceeded to use paper while asking me again. I quickly realized from his demeanor  that this nice young man was dealing with some cognitive difficulties. I smiled and said plastic again. When I finished paying the young man looked at me with a giant smile and said, "thank you, have a nice day, come see us again soon". 

As I headed to my car I realized that the cheerful have a nice day and come see us again soon left me in a better mood than I had been when I arrived at the checkout counter. With Yom Kippur just hours away this wasn't lost on me. It occurred to me that in life we many times walk around rushed, harried and frazzled - and as such, we can find ourselves interacting with others in a hurried, unkind and possibly rough around the edges type of fashion. This young fellow taught me the importance of kindness. 

In just a few hours we will begin Yom Kippur. We will spend 25 hours praying to Hashem. Telling Him we are sorry for what we have done, we will resolve to do better in the future. We will also cry out to Hashem and ask Him to treat all of us with love and kindess and grant each of us a year filled with only sweetness. 

In that moment at the grocery store, I was reminded of the importance of kindness. Just one tiny act of kindness can really go a long way. Let us all resolve (and act upon!!) to be more kind in this shiny, brand new year. When G-d looks at His people, and sees our kindness towards one another, He will know that we are truly deserving of the wonderful year we will surely be sealed for! 

G'mar Chatima Tova! May each and every one of us be sealed in the book of life - for a good year filled only with good and joyous days! 

Here is a recipe for the sweet potato soup we had for our first pre Yom Kippur meal today. 

Sweet Potato Soup

Olive oil

3 onions

1 container cubed sweet potatoes

Water

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Oregano

Sage

Fresh dill 

Chop 3 onions and sautee in some olive oil. When they start to get soft, add in the sweet potatoes and continue to stir until they get a little soft. Cover with water and sprinkle in salt, pepper, garlic, oregano and the sage. Bring to a boil and then lower. Cook until sweet potatoes are soft. Sprinkle a handful of fresh dill and then puree the soup using an immersion blender. 

Waffles & Ice Cream For Dinner

Today we had waffles for dinner. Waffles and ice cream.

In December I learned that a friend of Shaya's was diagnosed with brain cancer. Little Caleb was a fighter and his story taught me so much through the duration of his six month battle. Sadly, Caleb was called back to his maker yesterday afternoon. 

I followed Caleb's journey closely. I cried on the bad days, smiled when I saw his radiant smile on my computer screen and marveled at the incredible strength his family has displayed through it all. 

Amidst my tears this morning I decided we would have waffles for dinner- with ice cream, and syrup. It occurred to me that life needs to be filled with fun, happy moments. We need to fill our days with happy, loving times with our families. It's ok to eat dessert for dinner- my kids loved this idea :-) It is time to embrace the messy playroom, it's a sign of life, fun and laughter. It is time to take spontaneous trips to do fun things, for one never knows for how long the opportunity will be there.

Hug the ones you love, and let them know you love them. Be kind and soften the edges that sometimes cause us to be aggravated with the ones we love. And eat waffles for dinner. With ice cream. 

Waffle Recipe

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1 tablespoon sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Ladle the batter into your waffle iron and proceed to follow your waffle iron instructions. Enjoy with ice cream and syrup. 

Shakshuka

Israel is my favorite place on earth! Which means I was double (triple?) excited when my brother (who lives in Israel) announced his engagement to a wonderful girl from Jerusalem! We are SO excited to go celebrate their wedding in the beautiful land of Israel - and my kids are over the top excited for their very first visit!

A few weeks back, my brother Levi and his bride Aidel came for a visit! We enjoyed spending time with them - and then we were in for a treat when Levi created an Israeli breakfast for all of us. We arrived at my parents' house and watched as Levi created "shakshuka". He dropped some of this and some of that in the pan and a short time later presented us with a beautiful and super tasty dish.

Mushky loved the shakshuka so much that she asked me to make it for her just as soon as I got my new kitchen loaded with pots and pans from our old house - so today (with some help from my brothers Levi and Yossi)  I made her shakshuka for dinner and it was delicious!

(Note - This is not an exact recipe - and you can put whatever you want in yours. I made it based on what i had in my house today.)


Shakshuka

Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
5 small mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red baby peppers, diced
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
4 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Fresh parsley, chopped
Scallions, sliced

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and peppers (and any other veggies you want to throw in). When the veggies are soft, add in the crushed tomatoes and let it cook together with the vegetables. Then gently pour in each egg one at a time so it has its own space to cook. Sprinkle with salt and pepper - and any other spices such as cumin or turmeric. I cooked it uncovered on medium-high for a few minutes and then covered it and cooked it on low. Cook until the eggs have reached the desired level of doneness. Remove from the pan and sprinkle with parsley and scallions. 

From The Mouths of Babes

A few days ago I parked in the driveway after picking my kids up from school. As we pulled in we heard the sound of the Shofar, and one of my older kids asked "is that a neighbor's kid playing with their Shofar - or did Moshiach come?" To which my two year old starting clapping his hands and saying, "I want to go see Moshiach!!!" As you are aware, Moshiach had not yet arrived, and it was just the neighbors playing around. That said, this little story made me pause, as I thought about just how excited my baby was to see Moshiach. I was amazed that even at his young age he knew that it would be an incredibly exciting moment. It was a good reminder that our work is still not done and we need to continue to flood the world with Mitzvot! May it be the will of Hashem that we hear the sound of the Shofar announcing the arrival of Moshiach in the very, very near future! As we get ready to celebrate Yom Kippur and stand before Hashem as His gates are open before us, let us make sure to cry out together and ask for a time where we will know only peace and harmony and health and happiness!! 

I am in the midst of baking cinnamon buns for dessert, so I will share the recipe with you. (Thanks to my cousin Malkie for this awesome recipe!!)

Gmar Chatima Tova! May you be sealed for only good!

-Rashi

Cinnamon Buns

1 3/4 cups warm water

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

3 tablespoons yeast

1/2 tablespoon salt

2 eggs

5 1/4 cups flour

cinnamon and sugar mixture

Mix warm water, sugar, oil and yeast and let sit for 15 minutes. Add in the salt, eggs and flour. Mix well. Roll out dough and brush with oil. Then rub on cinnamon and sugar mixture. Then roll dough up from the edge...as you roll up one layer, brush with oil and rub with cinnamon and sugar. Continue roll up until the whole thing is rolled up into a log. Then use a sharp knife to cut into slices. Place on a greased baking sheet. Allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Bake on 400 for 12-15 minutes. Top with your favorite glaze. Enjoy!