Thursday, October 29, 2009

Pretentious Cole Slaw



head of broccoli
carrots
red onion
craisins
cashews (or other nuts you like)
sunflower seeds

3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar or splenda

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

KCC is now up!

To see the latest KCC, head on over to Israeli Kitchen and have a read.

I will be hosting the November edition.

If anyone is interested in contributing a recipe, review or story about Kosher food, head one over here and fill out the form.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Blogger's Evening

Life kind of hit me upside the head this past week and I just haven't felt much like blogging anything. The baby will most likely be cutting his first teeth in a few days and anyone who has gone through this with a baby knows it means an interesting set of Seven Dwarves move in. In addition to Grumpy (of which we see A LOT), there's Kvetchy, Clingy, Snotty, Hungry, Pukey and Poopy.

I did finally get started on redoing my blog's banner. It's a bit of a work in progress but it's nicer than what I had before.

I also will most likely be hosting my first 'carnival', I'll be playing hostess for the November KCC.

The blogger evening was very nice, my first opportunity to get away for a significant length of time from the baby. If AMiI will forgive me, I'm just going to post a link of her own review of the evening here complete with links to all the blogs of those who participated.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Cinnamon chocolate chip cake



I've had this recipe from my mom for many years. For some reason it's something I very rarely make. But judging from the few crumbs that were the only thing to survive through Shabbat, I have a feeling it's going to become a regular here.

When the cake was baked and cooled, the sugar and chocolate on top, together with the golden, crunchy cake was just wonderful.

Now on to the recipe...

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used soy milk)
3/4 cup margarine
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 - 3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 tablespoons melted margarine

Mix together the batter ingredients.
In a separate bowl, mix topping ingredients.
Pour 1/2 of the batter into a greased 8x8 pan. Top with 3/4 of the chocolate chip crumble. Cover with the rest of the batter and finally, the rest of the chocolate chip crumble.
Bake 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Yeshiva Dance

Podcast

The Jewish Calendar, a brief podcast by Rav Hillel Maizels and my husband, Zach Kessin on the '365 Days of Astronomy daily podcast' site.



It was interesting to watch... and let's not forget, he only was dealing with the pain of contractions. Never mind the incredible pelvic pressure that also comes with childbirth.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Simchat Torah, 2 years ago...

I wrote this two years ago. I'll have a new post about this year's Simchat Torah in a few days, bli neder.

I found out that I had PCOS about 2 months into my marriage with Zach. I was told it would mean fertility treatments if/when we wanted to have a baby. And treatments would only be possible if I got the green light from my GI because of the liver tumors.

Of course at the time, we didn't know they were tumors. That took almost a year to diagnose.

That Simchat Torah I stood in the women's section watching over the mechitzah as the men danced. I watched Zach dancing around the Bimah holding a Sefer Torah. I watched other men dancing around the Bimah holding their children and I prayed that by next year, despite what the doctors were saying, that Zach would be dancing around the Bimah with his child.

The year passed with more doctors' visits than I care to remember. The long process of being diagnosed with the liver tumors (made longer by health insurance bureaucracy) and then finally the green light to start treatments and the naivete that once I started treatments I'd get pregnant right away.

That Simchat Torah I stood in the women's section watching over the mechitzah as the men danced. I watched Zach dancing around the Bimah, once again holding a Sefer Torah. Now while there's nothing wrong with that, it's rather an honor, I watched and cried and felt guilty. That it was my fault Zach wasn't dancing with his child. That I had wasted so many years with an undiagnosed liver tumor and undiagnosed fertility problems and only when I was married was I finally doing something about it. That my husband was saddled with a problem.

I couldn't bear to go to services the next day.

And another year passed. With even more visits to the clinic as fertility treatments started in earnest. The long process of trying to get pregnant - from injecting myself black and blue to having scheduled sex. Having to talk to a Rabbi knowledgeable in how one goes about collecting a sperm sample to use for IUI when masturbation is forbidden and so is sex with a condom. And month after month of negative pregnancy tests.

Until finally.

That Simchat Torah I made the effort to go and watch the men dancing. I had spent Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur on bedrest and most of Sukkot. But I wanted to watch the dancing for an hour at least and as I watched Zach dancing around the Bimah yet again, I prayed and cried to God to keep safe the tiny life that had started growing within me.

And another year passed. And God did indeed keep safe the life growing within me and in May we welcomed our son into the world.

And this Simchat Torah I stood in the women's section watching over the mechitzah as the men danced. I watched Zach dancing around the Bimah with a smile I thought would split his face as he held his son. I watched and cried in happiness and thanks and said a heartfelt prayer to God, thanking Him for giving us this opportunity and that we be continue to be blessed by our son. Zach carried NS around for most of the night and as we walked home after, he commented that he didn't have a chance to hold a Sefer Torah this time.

As holy as the Sefer Torah is, I felt it was a good trade-off.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Telling secrets


My oldest and youngest... think they're conspiring against me?