What's For Dinner

it is 11:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat.  i am exhausted.  i went to town today to check my bank account.  it isn't good.  i spent way too much money on food and am back in a bad overdraft situation.  i will be lucky if they do not start bouncing my checks.  i simply lost track of all of the checks that i wrote.  i don't exactly know what to do at this point.  i'm praying that i'll survive the holiday.

i have been cooking and baking for a couple of weeks already.  today i made a dozen banana-pineapple cupcakes and two honey cake loaves.  i have already frozen a small cut of beef cooked in sweet wine, a package of BBQ chicken wings, a package of turkey meatballs in a piquant sauce, a package of chicken thighs in a piquant sauce and a package of chicken thighs in a thai sweet chili sauce.  i also made a sweet noodle kugel with pineapples.  i usually place a meatball in an artichoke bottom and spoon the sauce over it..

i have a lot of side dishes to make on wednesday.  i want to make a chicken stir fry with peppers and carrots in a plum sauce, a couscous with dried cranberries, and some sort of rice dish.  i need to make the symbolic foods that we eat on rosh hashana, too.  i have to cook: leeks, string beans, pumpkin, beets, a sheep's head, and some fish. yes, i said sheep's head.  i've been wanting to do this for years.  i ran to the big supermarket this morning and they didn't have any fish heads.  i have never attempted this before.  it isn't really large.  it may be a half.  i have been on line to find instructions.  the sephardim love the brains.  i think it is also a delicacy for ashkenazim, too.

i asked a sephardi lady at the bus stop how she prepared a head.  she gave me the basic outline and then spent nearly a half an hour telling me her life story.  she ranted on and on and did a monologue similar to mine.  it's amazing that we had similar lives.  i'm only making small amounts of each symbolic food. i want to make a tsimis with sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots and pineapple.  i'm planning on making two types of cabbage salad.  i need to cook up a pot of fish for the shabbat  meals too.  i want to do this all before the holiday starts.  i don't like cooking on the holiday.

i bought a bunch of sweet round rolls and placed them in the freezer.  i hope they won't be too dry.  i don't see myself going back to the store any time soon.  i hope i haven't made too much.  it's only the 2 big kids, the 2 small kids and the 2 old ladies at each meal. i guess i can always freeze the leftovers.  i served a chicken soup on shabbat that i had made and frozen on tuesday.  it was delicious.  as long as the kids don't catch on that i'm cooking in advance and freezing everything, they will enjoy it.  all i need is strength.

i bought 6 chocolate bars to make fish and apple candies.  i will try to make them tomorrow morning before i have to pick up the kids.  they are really a hand full.  they both  scream a lot and boss me around a lot.  the boy was getting very aggressive with me today.  he is quite strong.  i am totally beat. it's time to go to sleep.