The Party's Over

it is 11:00 p.m. in the holy city of zefat.  my grandson just fell asleep.  his sister woke up and I put her back to sleep.  their mother was returning the deflate able trampoline that she rented for the birthday party and their father was fast asleep.  I cleaned up the entire yard and threw away all of the debris.  I took out the trash, put the leftovers in the fridge and washed all the serving bowls and silverware.  I did not get as much as a thank you from the daughter-in-law.

I spent the entire day cooking and baking.  I had a late start because I was exhausted.  I made two cheesecakes, a chocolate birthday cake and two mashed potato kugels.  I also baked 3 packages of frozen cheese barekas.  I ran to the local supermarket to buy more whipping cream and disposable aluminum baking pans.  I went to the large supermarket last night but they were out of the 9x11 aluminum pans.  I bought the round ones which I thought, would make serving a bit harder.  I know that most cheesecake is round but I have been making rectangular cheesecakes for years now.

I bought a sugar picture of 'Ben Ten' to put on the cake.  I was going to make a layer cake but I truly didn't have the patience.  I froze one of the cakes and used only one for the party.  my daughter-in-law asked me to make a small birthday cake.  she said that most people would prefer the cheesecake and the birthday cake would be a waste.  she bought the frozen barekas, tons of veggies to make a fresh salad and a huge watermelon.  I was not up for making lasagna and quite frankly, didn't have the money to do so.  I thought about buying mini pizzas or soy hot dogs but they were very expensive, too.

I bought a large sack of potatoes and made a huge pot of mashed potatoes.  I didn't have the energy to grate that many potatoes.  I don't have a large food processor.  I added grated onions and diced mushrooms, a lot of eggs and some flour and I had two kugels.  I would have liked to add more mushrooms but my son raided my pantry twice this week and ate the canned mushrooms.  the pashtida, as the Sephardim call kugel, was a big success.  it was a bit peppery but everyone liked it.  I had two servings, myself as well as two cheese barekas.  oh well....

I tasted the icing on the chocolate cake and had a taste of the cheesecake as well.  I made the icing with whipped cream and vanilla pudding.  I had a recipe for chocolate frosting but it involved cooking so I opted for the pudding version.  I spread the frosting on the cake but didn't pipe it on.  it didn't look fancy.  I placed the picture and scattered colored sprinkles on the cake.  it was and old fashioned looking party cake.  my grandson liked it.  all the kids wanted to eat part of the picture.  my daughter-in-law had called her mother in distress because she didn't have a birthday cake.  I don't  know if she didn't like my cake or really didn't think I had made one.

my daughter-in-law came home from work in a state.  I had picked up both kids from gan this afternoon.  I left the mashed potatoes on the stove and ran out to pick them up.  I had cleaned the backyard yesterday and bailed out the remaining greenish water in the large swimming pool.  I also bailed out the water in the wading pool.  I put the pool away in the storage shed.  it was a job and a half.  I brought down some chairs and went upstairs to bake the frozen barekas.  that took about another hour and a half.  last year while I was dealing with the barekas, my son presented my grandson with the bicycle that I had bought for him.  this year I didn't buy a gift.

I am planning on going to town in the morning to check out the second hand clothes store.  I had seen a dress there last week and it fit.  I had my heart set on buying that dress but it was promised to another lady.  somehow, the dress is back in the shop.  perhaps it really was destined for me.  we shall see.  I bought a small piece of meat for the holidays as well as organic whole wheat flour and brown sugar.  I make a honey cake for my daughter-in-law's father every year.  for some reason he prefers whole wheat.  this is quite unusual for a Sephardi person.  I also prefer whole wheat honey cake.  I am planning on baking and cooking next week. 

my neighbor gave me a small freezer so I am now able to make meals ahead of time and have enough room in the freezer.  I am quite excited about that.  I was planning on buying a small freezer when I finish paying off my new fridge.  I had enough room in my cooking area to accommodate the small freezer.  it's like the size of an office fridge.  it has 4 drawers.  it was the answer to my prayers.