Passover Denial

I had intended to post something every day. After all, how difficult is it just to write a few lines? Unfortunately, I have been plopping into bed here at Ari’s house at 12 or 1 p.m. The last few days I have been a sort of tag team baton. Tuesday, I was picked up by Matt and Naomi. They live near Dupont Circle here in Washington. Matt works in Baltimore as a sports show producer and Naomi teaches in a charter school here. Naomi had a doctor’s appointment in Baltimore. They dropped me at Jess and Alex’s and continued. Jess left work early, met me after a few minutes, and we shopped for Passover stuff. A considerable kink has been put in our preparations this year. The corporation that makes Mother’s Margarine has moved and did not distribute this year.

Considering the limitations of Passover, not having this staple available is downright annoying. There are a few other minor companies that distribute kosher-for-Passover pareve margarine, but finding a source of availability, considering the number of people looking, is like searching for the holy grail, if you will excuse my mixed metaphor. The prize goes to Beth, who did find it on the Net, but at an outrageous expense for an untenable quantity.

We met Sami’s school bus, picked up Izzy at school, and dropped them off at gymnastics. Then we went to Wegman’s on the outside chance that nobody frum had looked there. No luck! Also, the maid who was supposed to come that afternoon and finish the kitchen so we could cook begged off because her earlier client asked her to stay longer. Naomi joined us and we had a wonderful dinner at Sushi Ya with just us girls. Matt works until 10:30 p.m. usually and Alex had Hebrew school. After we got the girls to bed and spent a little while moving around and unpacking kitchenware and collecting laundry, Naomi drove me back to Ari’s. Matt had stayed over at a friend’s house to watch a special hockey game. I spent an hour surfing the web for anti-margarine desserts for Passover and passed out.

The next morning, I went to work on the computer making corrections to try to finish up this job and get it to the printer. Matt picked me up at 1:30 p.m. and we arrived at Jess and Alex’s just a few minutes before the maids. I printed out some promising recipes and tried to make chocolate crepes in a two-foot area of the kitchen, but had to resort to setting up a work station on top of some boxes in the dining room to be able to get anything done while the maids were cleaning. When they finally left (after doing an amazing job in a very short time), I was able to get the crepes made and some homemade Passover noodles. When Jess came home at 6:00 p.m. we figured out a strategy for making a mousse to fill the crepes. Alex came in a few minutes later with the girls from Hebrew school and Jess ordered dinner from a kosher Chinese place. While Alex was taking care of a humongous pot of chicken soup, Jess and I concocted a mousse by making zabaglione (a recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence of the food network). We substituted Sabra for the Marsala wine and when it had almost reached the requisite 160 degrees for killing salmonella bacteria, we melted in bittersweet chocolate. After reaching 160 for a minute, we put it in an ice bath and then whipped it until it cooled. It was a good consistency for filling the crepes and was quite delicious, although a little boozy.

Alex was anxious for us to finish in the kitchen so that he could begin his whirlwind of activities. By the time Matt returned to pick me up at 10:45 p.m. the kitchen looked like a butcher shop with turkeys, cornish game hens, roasts, etc. everywhere.

Ari got some amazing photos and videos of the Pope mobile as his new job is right down the street from where the event was getting started.

and

and on Flickr.

Today, Matt had an eye doctor appointment in Columbia. I could have driven to Baltimore myself, but my work is still hanging around. I hope it can go to the printer this afternoon. Also, Alex is more than a little manic right now trying to get it all done and I fear I will only make him crazier. He and Jess have a lot more energy than I do at this age. I am afraid that my days of all-nighters are long gone. I feel a little queasy today and after long hours with the dog, I need some time to clear out my chest congestion from the allergy. Izzy was so cute yesterday. Without my ever mentioning anything about my allergy, she patted me and told me that if any of Zeek’s hair gets on me, she will give me tissues to clean it off. Saul tells me that Larry caught something and was throwing up last night. He covered an InDesign class for Larry today. Hopefully, he will be up to the seders this weekend.

Jess told me that they have been making various jokes and puns at work concerning Passover for weeks now. It is a very big thing at the Retreat Center where she works. Last night, while we were filling and rolling crepes, she talked about being in Passover denial. Unfortunately, ready or not, here it comes!