My Passover Kitchen! Sort Of

Even though we don't have a separate specially built and equipped "Passover Kitchen," mine is pretty close to that dream/ideal.

I am very happy with the new kitchen we did less than two years ago. I did most of the designing. Almost everything for Passover lives in it easy to access all year long. Anyone who has to kasher their kitchen annually knows what I mean. I still clean it of course, but only two closets get switched. And I have some pots in the laundry room, which is just across the hallway.

Here are some photos. Sorry, but I don't have time to chat.

Chag Pesach Sameach 

Easy Entertaining Tips

Our entire clan came to our humble succah for a Friday, that's just before Shabbat lunch. Our succah isn't all that large. I don't think we all managed to fit inside at once, even with an extra table and all the chairs set up.

The kids decided on the menu. They'd bring bagels*, and I'd provide the trimmings, salad, cheeses, chummus, techina remember that this is Israel and the rest of the trimmings. One daughter decided to bring pancake mixture, ready to pour, and even her own frying pans, as if I don't have any. But the advantage to that was that she washed them and took them home, so I didn't find them in the sink afterwards. 

Yes, of course, I served on disposable plates etc. Emptying the local reservoir of water isn't good for the environment either. To make things easier for the food fussies, I sliced the fresh vegetables and served them in small individual bowls. Everyone was able to take only what they wanted and assemble their own salads. And we had the food "buffet" inside, since there wasn't room on the tables in the succah. My still referred to as the new kitchen has a convenient counter near the dining room table. Both were needed for the buffet. Yes, there was that much food.

Lots and cheese and spreads were leftover, along with just half a bagel. And the kids were very good in helping to clean up before going to their various homes. But one of the "toddler boys" left his calling card...

I hope the next "family event" will be soon and wonder who's hosting. We take turns.

*technically, they were rolls, not real bagels. Real bagels are pretty much impossible to find nowadays, sigh...

Post-Pesach/Passover 5779, 2019

Yes, it's hard to believe but last night as Shabbat ended, so did Passover for Jews wherever.  This is a rare year when even those of us in the Holy Land find ourselves still in Passover mode for eight full days. That's because as Passover ended, Shabbat began, and on Shabbat we are forbidden to cook, shop, switch the kitchen etc. Also, the chametz we had sold stays sold until after Shabbat.

Before the Chag Shvi'i shel Pesach, the last day of Passover, we make a special blessing Eruv Tavshilin which starts the cooking of a meal which is to be eaten on Shabbat. We may finish the cooking, and do any other food preparation for Shabbat as part of that Eruv Tavshilin.

After Havdala, the ceremony that separates the Holy Shabbat from the regular days, we can then start rearranging the kitchen into regular Chametz mode. About an hour plus after Shabbat, if we've sold our Chametz, we retake possession.

It didn't take me all that long to take off the counter coverings and get my kitchen back to normal. I made sure to find all of my coffee paraphernalia before going to bed, figuring that in the morning I'd be too confused and tired to think straight. Especially since this is the first year/Passover in the new kitchen, it's a bit more complicated to remember where I'd stashed everything.

B"H, thank Gd I found it pretty easy to get this new kitchen in and out of Passover mode. I'm pleased, thank Gd, with my kitchen.

No, I haven't yet had any chametz. Some years it takes me until Shabbat.

Baked Vegetable Omelet

On Friday I had a Baked Vegetable Omelet. Since I had the oven going it seemed like a good idea to bake lunch, instead of using the stove top.

It's one of those things I couldn't even imagine doing before having my kitchen redone/renovated. I had spent the previous year without a functioning oven. Now, thank Gd, I have two turbo ovens, one for meat and the other parve, in which I can bake more than one thing at a time. Having two ovens makes a kosher kitchen very easy to cook in. We hardly eat anything dairy, so the second oven has remained parve, meaning neither meat nor dairy. I make lots of side dishes, fish, cakes and challot in it.

While vegetables for Shabbat were baking in the oven I took a smaller oven pan, covered it with baking paper, and then cut onion, squash, pumpkin, cabbage, tomato and two eggs. I topped it with a bit of vegetable oil, and then into the oven it went. Once I could see that the eggs looked cooked, I checked the vegetables with a fork, to see if they were soft. I don't pretime my cooking, since there are too many variables.

My lunch, Baked Vegetable Omelet, was delicious, and the pan didn't even get dirty.

Simple Kitchen "Repair"

From the very beginning of my new kitchen, there was no water pressure from the dairy sink. And it went from bad to worse. I called in the kitchen guy and told him that he must have made a real mistake and had to fix it.

He couldn't understand why only drops were coming out. So he did what I should have done immediately and/or what my kids could have done when they visited. He got a tool to unscrew the little filter at the opening of the faucet.

Without that little filter the water flowed nice and strong. Simple cleaning didn't clean the filter, so he put it in a cup with vinegar and told me to rinse and screw it back on in the morning. That's what I did. Now I can easily wash the dishes, and the hot water comes out quickly, too.



PS In all honesty, I had been thinking of it, but the filter didn't unscrew easily. I should have tried harder, but I never would have thought of using vinegar to clean it.

Another Batch of Challah in New Kitchen

My first batch of challah and rolls pretty much lasted until the end of the Jewish Holiday Season. Between being invited out for meals and buying just a few rolls to supplement, I only restocked/baked more challah yesterday.

My new Electrolux oven is large enough for me to get all the challot in at once, spread over two trays. I used the lower heat plus fan and just kept the upper tray in a bit longer. I experimented a bit with the recipe. This time I didn't add eggs to the batter. We'll see if the challah is less crumbly.

You must understand that my husband and I don't eat a lot of challah or bread. One smallish roll suffices unless we have guests. So, most of what I bake as challot are round rolls. Yesterday between the challot and rolls, there were about sixteen 16 pieces. That should hold us for awhile. I would have baked a bigger batch, but I don't have freezer space. We only have the refrigerator freezer. That's also why I didn't make cakes, too, when I was baking. Since I have plenty of the two types of 1, 2, 3 cookies I had made when the family came, I don't need cake to serve on Shabbat.

All we need now are guests.

Easy Recipes and Enjoying The New Kitchen

Yesterday we had guests for a Succot lunch. They had been great fans of my new kitchen during the years I just talked and complained. I got a lot of support from them, so it was very exciting to host them. I served a fish meal, mujadarra, eggplant, baked vegetables, salad and salmon.

Mujadarrah:
1 cup brown rice
1 cup lentils
small/medium onion cut
a bit of cooking oil of your choice
4 1/2 cups boiling water

Put all but water in pot, saute a bit, then add boiling water, cover, bring to boil, lower to a simmer until you can't see any water. Leave covered at least another 10 minutes. Serve.

"Impressive" Eggplant:
eggplant
tomatoes
onion
fresh garlic
vegetable oil

Slice eggplant partially, so it opens like a book.
Fill with sliced tomato. Sprinkle diced onion and garlic, then oil. Bake in medium-high (or whatever is recommended by your oven manufacturer) oven until cooked.

"Fancy" Salmon:
Filet of salmon
lemon slices
fresh garlic
mustard
Decorate your salmon. Wrap in foil, if you're baking it at the same time as the other dishes, so it won't overcook. Otherwise just bake in a medium-high (or whatever is recommended by your oven manufacturer) oven until it seems ready. You can check that the salmon has changed color and is flaky where thickest. Yes, it's that simple.

I enjoyed the meal and hope everyone else did, too.

PS It was so much fun being able to cook so quickly. I could fit all three baked dishes in the oven at the same time. I love my new kitchen!!

Has Anyone Used One of These?

It's a meat/fish grinder. It was probably given to me by my mother or mother-in-law as part of my basic Passover or regular cooking equipment when I got married close to half a century ago. They had heard that things were pretty primitive here in Israel. They no doubt also heard stories from  people who fled Israel in the 1950s, traumatised by the need to store fish in the bathtub. I was also prepared to kasher the meat, since I, too, had heard stories...

In 1970, it was no problem to buy your meat and poultry already kashered. And if you went to the fish store early enough before Shabbat or the Jewish Holidays, your fish could be ground. I just make gefilte fish a couple of times a year at most, and recently I've been buying jars of it. Only once did I use that fish grinder for Passover, when we were late at the store. And nowadays you can buy it ground. Also I'm pretty sure that nowadays the fish stores won't send you away with whole fish, even close to the holidays.

When I was clearing out the kitchen closets to prepare for my new kitchen I found the ginder. Since I saw rust, I decided to dump it. Why not? I used it only once in forty-eight 48 years.

Have you ever used one? Do you still use it?

New Stovetop

When I was searching for new kitchen appliances, gas stove top and ovens, I noticed that there's a choice in the arrangements of the four burner stovetop. Although the total size is the same, in terms of how much of the counter it takes up, there's a big difference in pot space between the two.

I chose the stovetop that has the four knobs close together, not spread out in front or on the side. That leaves enough room for one burner to be much larger. And the manufacturer makes it extra strong, two circles of flame.

As you can see in the photo, I can cook in  two large pots, with room to spare. And there's room for two smaller pots, too. That's the most efficient arrangement. I don't have enough counter space for a five or six burner stovetop.

Cooking is so much easier now.

Practical Low Tech Kitchen Gadget

For someone like me who eats and cooks lots of fresh fruit and vegetables this little sink hanging insert seems like a great idea.

I found it in the Naaman Outlet, Pisgat Zeev Mall, when I was there to buy a dish-drainer. Instead of having to clutter my counter with a plastic strainer for the wet produce, I can now let it drip into the sink.

Before buying it, I had to ascertain that it would be a suitable size.  That was more complicated, since my sink is a bit larger than standard. First I called my husband who was home and asked him to measure the sink. Then I checked all of the labels on the drainer to see who large it is. No dimensions listed, so I asked the young clerk who was manning the shop for a tape measure. He didn't have one. So I looked around at other items of similar sizes to find something with measurements, and I found one. Then I compared the size of the drainer with that item and visually calculated the approximate size. According to my estimate, it should fit, so I bought it. And I also explained to the young clerk what I had done and demonstrated to him. I added that he should request from his boss a tape measure or they may lose sales.

There wasn't a color that really matched my kitchen, so I chose the lilac for fun.

A Peek into The New Kitchen, The New Dish Drainer

I must confess that although my new kitchen has been functioning for a couple of weeks, I haven't finished setting it up. There are still some things, mostly Pesach/Passover dishes I haven't put away, and there are a number of items I still have to buy, such as a couple of stools for sitting at the dairy counter/table and a step-ladder or stool to help me reach some upper shelves. Remember that I'm short and most probably getting shorter.

Yesterday I finally got myself a new dish drainer for the dairy sink. My husband and one of our daughters picked out a different one for the meat sink last week, which was assembled by a son who dropped by very luckily for us. The counter area around the sinks are different, so what's good for one doesn't fit the other sink. And for the past few years, my husband washes the meat/fleishig dishes, while I was the dairy and parve ones.

A lot of people told me to buy the dish drainers and other kitchen accessories online, but I like to see and touch products first, even though I have a good concept of size and space. And for sure I'm going to have to try out the stools, to make sure I feel comfortable getting on and off.

Since I had refused to allow the old dish drainers into the new kitchen, to be perfectly honest I had wanted to replace them for at least a decade. The cutlery compartment was always falling off, besides after years of use, it was grimy. In the interim I purchased a couple of those dish-dryer cloths which are popular nowadays.  They were disastrous. Even my talents couldn't prevent breakage. One of my favorite dishes flew off and shattered. Maybe they're good when you just wash a few things by hand, but there was no way I could safely pile up all the dishes, pots, pans, cutlery etc I had.

So, yesterday I went off to buy myself a new dish drainer. My original plan was to buy a hanging one, rather small to hang to the left of the sink on the wall, but my son convinced me that it wouldn't work well. So, I just looked for a small counter one. There actually is enough space on the counter for a larger dish drainer, but I plan on using the counter space for eating and food preparation.

I decided to go to the mall in Pisgat Zeev for two reasons. First of all, it is relatively close by. Second, it has two stores, which most probably would have a choice of dish drainers at reasonable prices. The stores are the Naaman Outlet where everything is discounted; I got the tray/basket for onions there. And there is a Home Center, which has a really nice selection of products, though it's not one of their larger branches.

First I went to the Naaman, and they had one dish drainer. It seemed nicely made, not too big, but it was only one level, meaning not much drying space, and cost NS100. So I then went to the Home Center, where there was an really large choice of dish drainers of all materials, sizes, styles etc. I ended up choosing one on display that I had noticed previously. The size seemed right, and it has two levels, plus a small compartment for cutlery and a section for hanging glasses. It was the most efficiently planned one on display, a real space-saver. At NS80, the price was right, too. It was the last of that model and didn't have a box. I had to pay another 30 agarot for a large bag, since bags are no longer free in most stores, and it was too large for the bags I had brought along.

I washed it well when I got home, and it's now in use. For full sinks of dishes, I do have the cloth to cover the counter...

What do you think of it?

#morningcoffeehaiku in New Kitchen

hard to choose a mug
at least the coffee's ready
cold press in the fridge
#morningcoffeehaiku

such perfect coffee
grateful for my new kitchen
Rosh Hashanah soon
#morningcoffeehaiku

strong sun defeats clouds
cold strong coffee wakes me up
Gd willing great day
#morningcoffeehaiku

love my new kitchen
enjoying the great upgrade
planning was fun, too
#morningcoffeehaiku

coffee wakes me up
sun still hidden by grey clouds
perked last night and chilled
#morningcoffeehaiku

early coffee, sigh
didn't sleep enough again
too much on my mind
#morningcoffeehaiku

another grey morn'
looks brighter with new cellphone
coffee cheers up day
#morningcoffeehaiku

morning sans smartphone
it died suddenly last night
still coffee sunshine
#morningcoffeehaiku

awfully early
didn't sleep enough last night
coffee to rescue
#morningcoffeehaiku

Cooking in New Kitchen, B"H

Yesterday, although it's still a mess in my house, I began cooking for Shabbat. I used both ovens, though not simultaneously. Since they are large and have a turbo setting I could even use more than one tray at a time. That's a timesaver for sure. I bought Electrolux which is larger inside than the Sauter.

Some of the cooking/baking was done in bulk so I won't need to do it weekly. Challot and cakes freeze well for sure. I may have enough challah rolls to get me through most of the fall Jewish Holidays, Rosh Hashanah, pre/post Yom Kippur meals, Succot and Simchat Torah, depending on how many guest we have and meals we're invited out. The cakes will be enough for a few weeks, especially if I make my traditional Rosh Hashanah Applesauce Cake. And I already froze some of the baked chicken breasts.

So, yesterday's cooking/baking was truly a time investment, besides learning how to use the new ovens.

For those wondering about oven temperatures, something I never paid attention to with my old oven,* I sort of followed the guidelines on the inside of the oven doors:

To whet your appetite, here are some photos of my cooking/baking experiments from yesterday:

Challah recipe

Simple Basic Cake**, with blended banana and mango rescued from the freezer

These Chicken Breasts were simply layered over sliced onion and topped with tomatoes, dehydrated basil and coarsely grated pepper. I baked them covered with foil. I could see their cooking progress, since I used a pyrex baking pan. (Recipe)

Oven Baked Chicken, the food my kids consider my specialty

Besides enjoying the ovens, I'm super happy to be finally cooking on gas after almost two years of using an old two burner electric "hot plate."

The kitchen is almost completely organized. I think that all of the chametz dishes and pots are stored, but I will need help with the Passover things which will be on higher shelves. More updates, Gd willing, in future posts.

Bottom Line:

Was the expense and chaos of a new kitchen worth it?
YES!

*The numbers had long been rubbed/cleaned off the old oven, so it was like telling time from a sundial. 

**I made a few small changes, cinnamon instead of vanilla, and the blended banana and mango instead of some of the water. That's the beauty of the recipe; it's very adjustable.

Kitchen Chaos, First Success, B"H

As you probably know by now, we've been renovating our kitchen. There are lots of ups and downs and even some unpleasant surprises. On the whole it  has been an enjoyable experience, and even the small crises have turned out for the better. We're at the "tail end" I hope, and Gd willing, by the end of the week, I really hope and pray that our kitchen will be not only gorgeous, but fully functioning.

There's lots more to be done, even though the kitchen guy had hoped to be finished by Friday. But the "lots more to be done" are really the smaller jobs, like the electric outlet "frames," tweaking some of the carpentry, installing the ovens and hooking up the gas.

I also have to get a few new kitchen accessories like new dish drainers, stools, step stool etc. I also had to get some sort of basket or tray for the drawer where the onions and potatoes are to be stored.

 On Friday, I found myself with a bit of time in Jerusalem before the stores closed. It may sound a bit crazy, but the first thing I looked for and considered most "urgent" was the "potato basket." I checked out the FOX Home in the Ramot Mall, and I found something nice, but it wasn't on "sale." The full price was too high. Then since I was dropped off in Pisgat Zeev, I went to that mall. Golf and Co. also had something nice, if not nicer, but it was also full price. I almost bought it, since it was better than the one in FOX Home. But I decided to check out a couple more stores. Home Center didn't have anything suitable. Davka in the Naaman Outlet I found a wooden tray that seemed to be the right size, and since it was 80% off making the reduced price less than NS20, I bought it.

The kitchen still isn't ready, but the onions and potatoes and garlic seem very cozy in their new home.

Bye Old Kitchen, You're History

Kitchen Saga

I may be terrified, but I'm not sad about getting rid of my old kitchen. We've used it well for over thirty years. Kitchens aren't people. They are just kitchens, things.

I'm excited about getting a new kitchen. I'm terrified of the mess, the chaos.

I've been talking about getting a new kitchen for years. That's ever since I realized that there is no way I could get decent sized ovens in the old one. And I need two ovens.

The last time I bought a new refrigerator it was almost impossible to find one that could have the door hung from the other other side.

And did I mention that things got moldy in the corner closet and wet under the meat sink?

Yes, this old kitchen had paid its dues. Over thirty years is a nice age for a kitchen to be retired.

That phrase "get a new kitchen..." It's not very accurate. Because you don't "get a new kitchen," like getting a new coat or set of dishes. A kitchen must be planned, planned very carefully. And it isn't cheap. And the old one must be emptied and taken out. It's a process. It is neither easy nor cheap.

Gd willing in a couple of hours, we'll be on our way...

Shelves Cleared, Books Out, Almost Gone

When we had our house built and kitchen planned thirty-five years ago, cookbooks, diet books, childcare books etcetera were very important to me and read a lot. In recent years I haven't opened a single one of them. So, even though in the new kitchen, that wall of closets where the shelves are will remain, the books are going. The shelves will be used for my coffee accessories, the French Presses, mugs, whatever fits.

A few months ago when I first advertized that I had cookbooks and others for the taking, some neighbors took some. But now I'm still stuck, so I took them all down, put them in a box and advertised that they're near my door.

 Now, barely twelve hours later, the box is emptier.

Gd willing more books will find customers/readers. Whatever doesn't will be taken to be placed next to the paper recycling box in the neighborhood. 

Nowadays, when I need a recipe, which is rare, I just look on the internet. Even my recipes can be found on the internet, on this blog!

Pre-New Kitchen Chaos #1

No doubt that over the next two weeks I'll be posting lots of pre-kitchen chaos posts. This entire undertaking is terrifying, and I can barely keep track of the things I must do, buy etc.

I hired someone who is responsible for dealing with all the professionals, from the carpenter to the painter to the plumber, electrician, plasterer, general workers etc. He even does a lot of the dirty-work and professional stuff himself. Besides that, he tweaked the plan I had come up with with my son-in-law, sketched it professionally enough to bring it to the carpenter, etc, etcetera.

I'm keeping a wall of old cabinets, so the colors we've chosen all have to tie in together.

When he said that next Sunday he's planning on coming with the sledge hammer to break up/down the old kitchen, I could barely breathe. Yesterday I picked up a few boxes from the grocer and filled some. I emptied a few closets and threw out lots of stuff. This is only the beginning.

Somehow by Sunday I must get the place ready and set up a temporary kitchen around the house. We are grateful for invitations and excuses not to be home. We'll move the fridge to the AC outlet. There's a full-size sink in the laundry room. We are anyhow using an old electric cooking thing and no oven. It will be chaos, and then...

Updates to come, Gd willing.

New Kitchen Progress, Gd Willing, After 9th of Av

For months, I've been working on getting us a new kitchen, and for years I've been talking about it. Honestly, I had no idea how complicated it could be. Somehow even building our house seemed easier. Then there was nobody around  to tell us that we were doing it wrong. We didn't comparative shop in terms of architect and cablan, builder. We just chose professionals who made us feel comfortable, neighbors, then planned and trusted them.

We didn't do that awful a job. None of us were terribly experienced, not the architect, nor the builders and certainly not us. Davka, the house has held up rather well. But to be honest, the biggest mistakes were in the kitchen planning. That's one of the reasons we need a new kitchen, and the other is that the plumbing needs replacement. Actually I'm keeping an entire wall of closets from the old kitchen and not changing them at all. The planning of those closets was mine alone. At first I thought that I'd get new doors for them, but then to save money, we're not. The formica on the new part of the kitchen goes well with it. Wherever we can save money, we will try.

A few months ago I thought I had it all wrapped up with the right plan, builder, color scheme etc. Then at the last moment, I canceled. One of my daughters helped me find someone else to do the work, and I'm much happier with this one, even though it'll cost a bit more.

The new kitchen contractor "tweaked" the plan in a great way. He's not pushing, which is good.

I took a couple of trips to Jerusalem to look at ceramics, colors etc, and things have changed enormously since my first plan.

Now since the 9th of Av is so soon, nothing gets signed until afterwards.

Kitchen Plan "Tweaked"

Yesterday, before Shabbat, I had a couple of shiputznikim, best translated as "jack of all trade" repair guys over to see the kitchen before giving estimates for the job. I trust you read yesterday's post about my kitchen plans, if not, then click here, thanks.

Quite a number of people, including professionals had seen the plan, and everyone said it was good. But then one of the shiputznikim yesterday took a look at it, walked around the kitchen and said:

"You should make a change. Move the sink to the corner, and then you'll have much more storage space. Corner storage is never very useful."

Wow! I knew immediately that he was right.

My original plan did have a corner sink, but not there. I even blogged about some young kitchen salesgirl trying to tell me that she knew more than me and corner sinks weren't good. Read Kitchen Update #1. That was actually written almost a year ago.

What do you think?

Now we're waiting for estimates to choose the professionals to do the job Gd willing.

"New Kitchen" Update

Well, we're back to square 2 or is it 3...

I have a plan and chose two out of the three basic kitchen materials, but I don't have the professionals yet to do the job.

This is a sketch of our 3.3m X 3m kitchen with what we need/want. This isn't the professional work plan of course. It was designed by my son-in-law and I. A few kitchen professionals who saw it found nothing to change. My aim is a totally functional kitchen, nothing fancy. It should be easy for us to use as we get older, Gd willing.

Here are the Formica for cabinets and the synthetic "marble" for counter tops I chose. They are simple and classic but not too plain. Remember that our "living space" is an "L," so that you see the kitchen from the dining area. We still have to choose wall tiles.

About a month and a half ago, we were just about signed up with someone who could do it all, including a new door and windows. You could say that the pen was on the contract, but at the very last second one of the family experts told us to clarify a few things. And then the deal fell apart.

In the workshop of the carpenter I visited yesterday.

And then it was Passover and all that involves, so basically I took over a month off from "the kitchen." I spoke to another couple of local workers, a carpenter and what's called a shipputznik, someone who does all the plumbing, building etc. They are supposed to come to give estimates. And now my son-in-law and I got back to work on it, too.

Yesterday, we went to his kitchen carpenter and got a recommendation for another shipputznik, who are supposed to also look at the existing kitchen, the plan and send estimates.

I decided to stick with the materials/colors I had chosen previously, which all the good carpenters work with. This isn't to be a kitchen to "wow;" it's supposed to be a great, comfortable and easy to use one. I do think that a certain features I'm planning will "wow," because they will create the sort of multi-purpose usefulness that is necessary in a small space. I davka don't want a professional kitchen planner, because they have their styles/agendas. My kitchen has to suit me, and I know what I need. Remember that we've been in the house for over thirty years, and many of its best features were my design. I had to be reminded of that by my eldest... And my son-in-law is also very talented in designing and the measuring aspect, so we seem to make a good team.

Bli eyin haraa, not to tempt the "evil eye," I hope, Gd willing, that I'll be able to finally sign contracts and get a new functional kitchen.