it is 12:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed. I just got home from the neighborhood supermarket. I ran out to buy some chicken. I am craving chicken soup for Shabbat. I bought a ton of meat for the holiday but I was truly fantasizing about chicken. I ended up buying wings. I think it will make a decent soup. when the kids arrive on sunday, just before the holiday; they may be hungry. I usually give them tuna salad. they might just want a bowl of soup this time. my son is recuperating from a sinus infection, so chicken soup might be just, the remedy.
as it turns out, the kids will only be joining me for one evening meal. I have decided to keep the menu simple. no kugels this year. I just bought noodles to make a sweet kugel but they can be used for the soup. I thought about making a bulgur pilaf instead of rice. I bought only a few mini potatoes and sweet potatoes. I think i'll just bake them. I decided not to make tsimis. I throw it out every year. I didn't buy apricots or prunes. they are a trigger for a sugar binge for me. I'm still on my no sugar diet and dipping every thing in honey is not an option for me. I have been putting dates in my smoothies but I haven't gone off the wagon completely.
I made 4 honey cake loaves to give out. I used coconut oil and spelt flour this time. I hope they came out okay. I don't think i'll be having any. I wanted to hit the health food store to buy chickpea flour to make a non gluten honey cake for myself but it was just too hot to get there. I was lucky to have gotten a ride home from the supermarket. I might just head out early on sunday morning to buy challahs and get the flour and a vanilla scented perfume at the pharmacy, that I liked. we shall see. the holiday comes in early. I would cook today for the holiday but the kids prefer freshly cooked food.
I have to prepare a small amount of the traditional foods that are omens for a good year. they include: beets, leeks, gourds, fish head, pomegranate, dates, carrots, apples, black eyed peas and of course, the honey. I bought precooked beets and a bag of the beet leaves, which everyone loves. I bought these strange shriveled up looking string beans, that contain the black eyed peas. I bought a small chunk of pumpkin. they have a green squash that looks like a gourd but is very bitter. I try to avoid it. I bought a quince that I cook up every year for a new fruit. no one likes it. I usually have it all to myself. I also bought a star fruit which basically has the same texture and taste as a red pepper, but slices into stars. I bought a few 'prickly' pears which we call sabras, which grow out of cactus trees. my daughter-in-law likes them.
I bought a ton of fruit last week but I ate it all. I have been coming home late from work and making fruit shakes instead of having dinner. I have been 'sampling' my food at the yeshiva and hitting the carbs pretty hard. I know that I lost weight because the waistbands of my skirts are looser but I don't think it is ten pounds yet. my friend, who is doing the 16 hour intermittent fasting, has dropped over twenty pounds. I'm holding at 12-13 hours of fasting with the occasional 14-16 hours.
I desperately need to wash the floors with bleach today. I am too tired right now. I am waiting for a boost of energy. I just had a fruit shake and two salmon fillets. I'm still tired. I worked until 8:00 p.m last night. I left food for today, tomorrow and for sunday afternoon. I don't have to go in before the holiday to cook. I made them an eggless chocolate cake and a honey cake. I left turkey schnitzels and carrot kugel in the freezer. I even froze a tin of couscous. I hope it is enough. we are down to ten students but I cook more treats for them. the other evening I made flourless tahini and peanut butter cookies.
I wish you all a good Shabbat and a very happy new year.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Cleaning Up My Act
it is 10:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed. I just finished washing the kitchen and dining room floors, yet once again. the place reeks of pish. the puppy is incorrigible. I threw in a load of laundry and just put in a batch of duvet covers. I am just trying to clean up my act. I also scraped off a bunch of slime from the yeshiva's kitchen floor yesterday. I am on a mission. the kids are coming to safed for Shabbat. I don't know if they will be sleeping here but i'm sure they will be leaving their toy Yorkshire puppy with me. it will be sheer pishie pandemonium with the two untrained female puppies and my male 4 year old male dog, tiny.
yesterday I ate at the yeshiva. I seldom have a meal there. I made tabouli salad, hash brown potatoes, red lentil dahl, Israeli salad and ratatouille. I had a yogurt drink on the taxi ride home and I didn't have anything else. I haven't broken my fast yet. I made rice and hot dogs for the dogs this morning. I might just have a hot dog sandwich before I go to work. I am waiting for a gas canister delivery. I need to clean the downstairs apartment. we are going to have my grandson's birthday party on Saturday night. I already ran out yesterday to the party goods store to buy spiderman balloons, banners, napkins, party bags, and disposable table cloths.
I skipped the plates because they were exorbitant in price. they didn't have matching cups so I bought a bunch of red and blue plates and cups. I think it will be swell. I ran to rosh pina to buy him a very expensive collectible 'it' clown doll. I actually waited an hour for the bus to get here and it was full. I was lucky to find a seat. I ended up buying two dolls so I decided to save one for Chanukah. I didn't buy any candy for the party. I spent enough on the gift and party goods. I hope they don't cancel on me. I don't know if they are planning to have Shabbat lunch here with me so I will buy some food just in case. everything is always a last minute decision. I don't work that way.
I usually would have already shopped for rosh hashannah but I still don't know the plans this year. who knows? perhaps they are staying in Jerusalem for the holidays. one must be flexible. at 68 years old, this is not an easy feat to do. I have no idea as to what I will make for lunch today. I didn't seem to lose any sleep over it yesterday. I watched an old movie and went to bed at 2:30 a.m. I have been catching up with movies lately. and my favorite cooking contest from Australia is currently viewing. yeh!
8:30 p.m. : the guys came with the gas balloons but they didn't take a credit card. I had absolutely no cash on me and haven't picked up my checks at the bank. luckily for me, my neighbor was home and lent me the money. I just came home from work and stopped off at an ATM machine to repay my neighbor. I had to take a taxi home. I was wasted. I was ready to finish up my cooking around 5:00 p.m. when the manager came in to let me know they were expecting 35 for dinner. they were apparently, hosting a meal for a bride and groom and I had already prepared enough for my usual group of about 17.
I quickly, defrosted another 2 pounds of chop turkey meat to add to my meatball mixture and broke up 2 bags of spaghetti into tiny pieces to make a noodle kugel. I sliced up a dozen or more egg tomatoes and made a salad with onions. I had already baked a carrot kugel and eggless chocolate cake and cooked white rice and green lentils. I didn't finish until 7:00 p.m. I stopped off at the party goods store and got more things for the birthday. I got home and ate a cold hot dog and that's it for tonight's food intake. I had a tuna patty and a couple of lentil patties at work before I left. that's quite enough of food today.
yesterday I ate at the yeshiva. I seldom have a meal there. I made tabouli salad, hash brown potatoes, red lentil dahl, Israeli salad and ratatouille. I had a yogurt drink on the taxi ride home and I didn't have anything else. I haven't broken my fast yet. I made rice and hot dogs for the dogs this morning. I might just have a hot dog sandwich before I go to work. I am waiting for a gas canister delivery. I need to clean the downstairs apartment. we are going to have my grandson's birthday party on Saturday night. I already ran out yesterday to the party goods store to buy spiderman balloons, banners, napkins, party bags, and disposable table cloths.
I skipped the plates because they were exorbitant in price. they didn't have matching cups so I bought a bunch of red and blue plates and cups. I think it will be swell. I ran to rosh pina to buy him a very expensive collectible 'it' clown doll. I actually waited an hour for the bus to get here and it was full. I was lucky to find a seat. I ended up buying two dolls so I decided to save one for Chanukah. I didn't buy any candy for the party. I spent enough on the gift and party goods. I hope they don't cancel on me. I don't know if they are planning to have Shabbat lunch here with me so I will buy some food just in case. everything is always a last minute decision. I don't work that way.
I usually would have already shopped for rosh hashannah but I still don't know the plans this year. who knows? perhaps they are staying in Jerusalem for the holidays. one must be flexible. at 68 years old, this is not an easy feat to do. I have no idea as to what I will make for lunch today. I didn't seem to lose any sleep over it yesterday. I watched an old movie and went to bed at 2:30 a.m. I have been catching up with movies lately. and my favorite cooking contest from Australia is currently viewing. yeh!
8:30 p.m. : the guys came with the gas balloons but they didn't take a credit card. I had absolutely no cash on me and haven't picked up my checks at the bank. luckily for me, my neighbor was home and lent me the money. I just came home from work and stopped off at an ATM machine to repay my neighbor. I had to take a taxi home. I was wasted. I was ready to finish up my cooking around 5:00 p.m. when the manager came in to let me know they were expecting 35 for dinner. they were apparently, hosting a meal for a bride and groom and I had already prepared enough for my usual group of about 17.
I quickly, defrosted another 2 pounds of chop turkey meat to add to my meatball mixture and broke up 2 bags of spaghetti into tiny pieces to make a noodle kugel. I sliced up a dozen or more egg tomatoes and made a salad with onions. I had already baked a carrot kugel and eggless chocolate cake and cooked white rice and green lentils. I didn't finish until 7:00 p.m. I stopped off at the party goods store and got more things for the birthday. I got home and ate a cold hot dog and that's it for tonight's food intake. I had a tuna patty and a couple of lentil patties at work before I left. that's quite enough of food today.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Shabbat Shalom
it is 6:00 p.m. in the holy city of safed. it is about a half an hour from candle lighting. I made Shabbat lunch for about 35 people at the yeshiva. I prepped most of the food yesterday and came in this morning to finish. I made two separate pots of traditional beef stew that stays on the electric platter all night. I got canned garbanzo beans and navy beans which made the job easier. I added barley and white potatoes and at the end I threw in some sweet potatoes. I kept on tasting the stew and it was sweet so I kept on adding salt. I finally realized that I wasn't really adding salt. I had grabbed a bag of sugar instead. oh well...
I made a huge amount of pasta salad and a quinoa salad with craisins and roasted peanuts. I also made an egg salad and a large amount of tahini sauce. I mashed up two industrial sized cans of tuna with some mayonnaise. I cut up several packages of herring into bite sized pieces and added hot peppers. I couldn't do anymore so I left the raw vegetable salad for the manager to do. I cabbed it home at 4:00 p.m. I worked for 4 1/2 hours. I was truly tired. yesterday I worked for 6 1/2 hours. the yeshiva guys were happy to see me today. they expect an exceptional lunch. sorry to say that I made very basic Shabbat food and nothing exotic today. I would have liked to make a cake but I simply ran out of time.
at home, I broiled two chicken bottoms for myself and the dogs and made a piece of salmon in the toaster oven. I cooked some fresh string beans, white rice and a pot of black beans. they are actually still cooking. they take so much time. I am ready to shower and relax. I will pop off to bed early tonight. that's if the new puppy lets me sleep. she is very hyper on the bed. wishing you all a good Shabbos.
I made a huge amount of pasta salad and a quinoa salad with craisins and roasted peanuts. I also made an egg salad and a large amount of tahini sauce. I mashed up two industrial sized cans of tuna with some mayonnaise. I cut up several packages of herring into bite sized pieces and added hot peppers. I couldn't do anymore so I left the raw vegetable salad for the manager to do. I cabbed it home at 4:00 p.m. I worked for 4 1/2 hours. I was truly tired. yesterday I worked for 6 1/2 hours. the yeshiva guys were happy to see me today. they expect an exceptional lunch. sorry to say that I made very basic Shabbat food and nothing exotic today. I would have liked to make a cake but I simply ran out of time.
at home, I broiled two chicken bottoms for myself and the dogs and made a piece of salmon in the toaster oven. I cooked some fresh string beans, white rice and a pot of black beans. they are actually still cooking. they take so much time. I am ready to shower and relax. I will pop off to bed early tonight. that's if the new puppy lets me sleep. she is very hyper on the bed. wishing you all a good Shabbos.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Back To School
it is 10:00 a.m. in the holy city of safed. summer is definitely over although we are still experiencing hot weather. I went to the local pool yesterday but it was empty and I didn't have a gal pal around to hang with. I left after about an hour. I am not one to do laps or serious exercise so it was boring for me. I cooled off a bit and then stopped off at the supermarket to get some fruit. I bought two packages of ground almonds to make non gluten blueberry muffins. the recipe called for a cup of greek yogurt. I had eaten chicken and traditionally wait six hours until eating dairy; so I used orange juice. I only added a bit of maple syrup so they were not sweet. I am still on a non sugar regimen. they actually kept their shape and resemble real blueberry muffins.
I had an ice coffee shake one day at the pool and a yogurt, peanut butter and date smoothie in Jerusalem last week. and except for the fruit flavored yogurts I had, that is all the sugar I've consumed in months. I don't think that I have dropped a lot of weight but my waistline is definitely smaller and the jelly belly is going down. I am still doing the intermittent fasting regimen. it is my only safeguard against overeating. it is like second nature to me now. I do not feel deprived. there really isn't anything much that tantalizes me. I could benefit greatly by portion control but I am not there yet. I still enjoy a full appetite.
I need to go to work today. I had a two week, non paid, break from the yeshiva. I think there are only about ten guys presently there. I just had the repairman come and finish repairing the screens. it is wonderful having new screens. I feel so grateful. unfortunately, the pigeons returned to the upstairs balcony with a vengeance. I repaired the netting as best as I could but I didn't shovel up the poo yet. what a drag! speaking of poo; I just got a new puppy. my grandson's friend, on the next block, had a Chihuahua/pincher that I fell in love with. I offered to babysit the puppy because I really loved it.
last week, the mom of the little boy, called to ask me to keep the puppy. apparently, she can't cope with work and three small children and a puppy. I offered to hold onto the dog until she wants it back but she didn't want it back. I forgot how hard it is to have a puppy in the house. I am constantly tripping over her and her pee. I take her for walks but she doesn't know how to poop outside. she finally peed on a diaper pad outside the house this morning but still poops in the living room. she is also hyper. she has a lot of toys to play with. my big dog, 'tiny', isn't thrilled with having a puppy in the house. he has eaten all of her puppy chow and doesn't let her near the water dish. she wants him to play with her. it is very exhausting.
my biggest fear is that she will run away. she is very tiny right now. her name was 'stay' but I call her 'teeny', now. I had three Chihuahuas in the past, and one was the love of my life. he died young. another one, I gave away to a great family because my female pincher was torturing him. he had a very happy life and recently died. the third one was on loan from my son and she was horrible. thankfully, she was returned to the breeder. I will have to have teeny fixed soon. I will not have the male dog castrated. it is against jewish law.
I forgot how expensive it is to have puppies. I am not one of these people who spends tons of money on a dog. I will have to buy her a sweater. in the meanwhile, she is chomping away on a giant chew bone of tiny's and has been eating his large dog chow, while he ravages her puppy chow. does anyone else see a certain irony in this?
my grandson will be turning ten in two weeks. I hope they will come to safed for his birthday, which falls out on Shabbat. they stayed with me for about five days during their break. we spent a lot of time at the pool and the cheap toy stores. I blew my salary on them. we went to an arcade in rosh pina and I blew over a hundred dollars that evening. I also lost my cell phone that afternoon on the way to said, arcade. I took them back to Jerusalem at the end of the week and stayed for a couple of days. their mom had to go back to work. we went to see the new 'dora' movie and I took them to a maul the next day. we met up with my girlfriend and had a pizza. the next day I went to meet my friend alone and we saw a really bad action movie and then had an early dinner.
it was unbearably hot last week and I felt wasted each day. it was good to get home, but I couldn't move for a couple of days. I went to the pool on friday with my friend and we stayed in the water til about 3:00 p.m. it was so refreshing. I don't really swim well but I love being in the water. I did start swimming across the width of the pool with my friend. I am not motivated by myself. I cannot believe that Rosh hohsanna is just a month away. it's time to buy honey and start making cakes. I am not so inspired with the family being in Jerusalem. I am trying not to stress out over the plans. I will be happy not having to make any holiday meals. last year I was invited to join the kids in Jerusalem and I made a mistake and stayed in safed, it was the worst holiday I have ever experienced without the grandkids. I hope this year will be more festive.
I had an ice coffee shake one day at the pool and a yogurt, peanut butter and date smoothie in Jerusalem last week. and except for the fruit flavored yogurts I had, that is all the sugar I've consumed in months. I don't think that I have dropped a lot of weight but my waistline is definitely smaller and the jelly belly is going down. I am still doing the intermittent fasting regimen. it is my only safeguard against overeating. it is like second nature to me now. I do not feel deprived. there really isn't anything much that tantalizes me. I could benefit greatly by portion control but I am not there yet. I still enjoy a full appetite.
I need to go to work today. I had a two week, non paid, break from the yeshiva. I think there are only about ten guys presently there. I just had the repairman come and finish repairing the screens. it is wonderful having new screens. I feel so grateful. unfortunately, the pigeons returned to the upstairs balcony with a vengeance. I repaired the netting as best as I could but I didn't shovel up the poo yet. what a drag! speaking of poo; I just got a new puppy. my grandson's friend, on the next block, had a Chihuahua/pincher that I fell in love with. I offered to babysit the puppy because I really loved it.
last week, the mom of the little boy, called to ask me to keep the puppy. apparently, she can't cope with work and three small children and a puppy. I offered to hold onto the dog until she wants it back but she didn't want it back. I forgot how hard it is to have a puppy in the house. I am constantly tripping over her and her pee. I take her for walks but she doesn't know how to poop outside. she finally peed on a diaper pad outside the house this morning but still poops in the living room. she is also hyper. she has a lot of toys to play with. my big dog, 'tiny', isn't thrilled with having a puppy in the house. he has eaten all of her puppy chow and doesn't let her near the water dish. she wants him to play with her. it is very exhausting.
my biggest fear is that she will run away. she is very tiny right now. her name was 'stay' but I call her 'teeny', now. I had three Chihuahuas in the past, and one was the love of my life. he died young. another one, I gave away to a great family because my female pincher was torturing him. he had a very happy life and recently died. the third one was on loan from my son and she was horrible. thankfully, she was returned to the breeder. I will have to have teeny fixed soon. I will not have the male dog castrated. it is against jewish law.
I forgot how expensive it is to have puppies. I am not one of these people who spends tons of money on a dog. I will have to buy her a sweater. in the meanwhile, she is chomping away on a giant chew bone of tiny's and has been eating his large dog chow, while he ravages her puppy chow. does anyone else see a certain irony in this?
my grandson will be turning ten in two weeks. I hope they will come to safed for his birthday, which falls out on Shabbat. they stayed with me for about five days during their break. we spent a lot of time at the pool and the cheap toy stores. I blew my salary on them. we went to an arcade in rosh pina and I blew over a hundred dollars that evening. I also lost my cell phone that afternoon on the way to said, arcade. I took them back to Jerusalem at the end of the week and stayed for a couple of days. their mom had to go back to work. we went to see the new 'dora' movie and I took them to a maul the next day. we met up with my girlfriend and had a pizza. the next day I went to meet my friend alone and we saw a really bad action movie and then had an early dinner.
it was unbearably hot last week and I felt wasted each day. it was good to get home, but I couldn't move for a couple of days. I went to the pool on friday with my friend and we stayed in the water til about 3:00 p.m. it was so refreshing. I don't really swim well but I love being in the water. I did start swimming across the width of the pool with my friend. I am not motivated by myself. I cannot believe that Rosh hohsanna is just a month away. it's time to buy honey and start making cakes. I am not so inspired with the family being in Jerusalem. I am trying not to stress out over the plans. I will be happy not having to make any holiday meals. last year I was invited to join the kids in Jerusalem and I made a mistake and stayed in safed, it was the worst holiday I have ever experienced without the grandkids. I hope this year will be more festive.
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