Monday, 31 December 2007
40th Anniversary
Saturday, 22 December 2007
GPS
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Snow No-Show Just Ice and Mess
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Birthday Celebrations
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Superest Super Sunday Hits Stamford!
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Visit to the Musuem of the American Indian
Might not have the name of this musuem correct, however, I'm sure you get the picture! Not always easy to figure out a place to visit in DC that will prove interesting to all. One of the suggestions was the American Indian musuem so we decided to give it a try. The building was beautiful; inside was a display of women's outfits. Very beautiful decirated with beads, shark's teeth, etc. We were told that young men save the teeth from the sharks they have killed; when they decide to get married the future bride sews the teeth on her dress. Could look bad if he doesn't get enough. Also watched a native of Guatemla weave some of her stories. Very interesting and the finished product was beautiful.
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Now we're up to Chanukah!
Monday, 26 November 2007
Indian food at M & M's
Thanksgiving Visit
Well Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had the family from Virginia, DC, North Carolina, Georgia and Connecticut! And, if you count where Msrc goes to school, Massachusetts was represented as well! The dinner was at Matt and Rachel's with other meals at Marlene and Mandeep's. The turkeys were juicy and delicious and the sides were outstanding! I think David said there were 15 sides, I don't think there were quite that many. We had creamed corn, creamed onions, sweet potatoes with Indian spices and butter, another version for the vegans without the butter, sausage stuffing, vegan stuffing, applesauce, carrot ring with peas, squast with carrots, beets, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, hmmh that's all I can remember. I think if there were more I'd know since we ate leftovers for days! Not complaining it was great!
Saturday, 17 November 2007
Friday night dinner
Fresh Pea Soup St. Germain Serves 2-3
butter or olive oil
2-3 shallots, minced
3 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 3 pounds of garden peas) or frozen peas
2-1/4 cups water or vegetable broth
3-4 Tbs whipping cream (optional)
salt
pepper
curry powder to taste
croutons for garnish
Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the shallots and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas and water and season with salt and little pepper and curry powder. Cover and simmer for about 12 minutes for young peas and up to 18 minutes for large or older peas, stirring occasionally. When the peas are tender allow them to cool and puree the soup in a food processor or use a submersible blender. Stir in the cream. Garnish with croutons.
The last part of the menu was supposed to be stuffing one of the pumpkins that Patty and Nolan bought for us when they were visiting. Frankly the thought of being up to my elbows in pumpkin gook just didn't turn me on so I used the recipe as a casserole instead and added diced butternut squash. Actually this one got rave reviews!
It is from a book called "Olive Trees and Honey". This is a treasury of vegetarian recipes from Jewish communities around the world. This recipe is from Uzbekistan.
Bukharan Stuffe Pumpkin
3 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1-1/4 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
pinch of saffron or 1/4 tsp turmeric
1 Tbs hot water
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
1 tart apple peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (optional)
1 quince, peeled, cored, and diced (optional)
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)
1 small pumpkin 4 to 5 pounds
To make the stuffing: In a medium,heavy saucepan, heat the oil over med heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and saute until well coated, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still slightly underdone, about 15 minutes.
Dissolve the saffron in the hot water and stir into the rice. Add the currants, cilantro and any combination of chickpeas, apples and/or quince, if desired.
Cut out a disk from the stem end of the pumpkin about 4 inches in diameter. Scoop out and discard the seeds and loose fibers. Sprinkle the insides with sugar and salt.
Pack the stuffing into the pumpkin and put on the lid. Arrange a cabbage leaf, if using, in the bottom of a deep baking pan or large pot to prevent the bottom on the pumpkin from burning. Place the pumpkin in the pan and add enough water to reach about 1 inch up the sides. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, or bake in a preheated 375 oven until the pumpkin is tender, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges or scoop out the filling. Serve warm. I made the mixture in a casserole dish and baked it for 1 hour at 350. Also, for the rice I used the Trader Joe mixture of long rice. It was quite delicious!
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Hats off to Andy Rooney
In case you missed it on 60 Minutes, this is what Andy Rooney thinks
about women over 40:
As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are
just a few reasons why
*A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and
ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.
*If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit
around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually
more interesting.
*Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming
match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of
course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.
* Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know
what it's like to be unappreciated.
* Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins
to a woman over 40.
* Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier
than her younger counterpart.
* Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you
right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
* Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons.
Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart,
well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?",
here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!
Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!
forward to five fine, fun, fabulous, fancy-free female friends over 40.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind!"
---Dr. Seuss
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Mah Jongg
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Block Party
Well, the weather is finally getting cooler so our neighborhood had a block party today! All things considered it was a very lovely day! We decided to have it be late in the afternoon so no one would think we were serving lunch or dinner! People went all out with snacks! We had so many cakes, squares, veggies and fruit it was amazing! With all the food we had it was interesting, very few doubles! One family brought their outdoor fireplace and all the ingredients for s'mores! You're right, that was the highlight! The kids had a real good time playing football on the lawns! What fun! The plan is to have next year's party in the Spring! A much better choice!
Thursday, 1 November 2007
Getting Ready for Thanksgiving
"Port-Roasted Chestnuts with Grapes"
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup ruby Port
2 TBS butter, diced
2 1/4-inch strips orange peel (orange part only) (for those of you who may have just received a microplane, this would be a good time to use it!)
1 tsp sugar
2 7 to 8 ounce jars whole roasted chestnuts
2-1/2 cups seedless red grapes (about 14 ounces)
Coarse kosher salt
3 TBS chopped fresh Italian parsley
Combing broth, Port, butter, orange peel and sugar in large wide skillet. Bring to boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil mixture until reduced and thickened enough to coat spoon, about 8 minutes. Add chestnuts and grapes; sprinkle with salt. Reduce heat to med and simmer until Port sauce is reduced to glaze and sauce coats chestnuts and grapes thickly, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl, sprinkle with parsley.
This recipe came from Bon Appetit, it can probably be found on their website www.bonappetit.com Last night I made two other recipes from the magazine: Smashed Rutabagas with Ginger-Roasted Pears (I added apples as well, my pears were not it great shape!) and Polenta Souffles with Mushroom Cream Sauce. In this recipe it calls for vegetable broth, I substituted Creamed Portebello Soup. The good thing about this souffle is that it doesn't rise that high so you don't have to worry about it falling!
More recipes for Thanksgiving to come as I continue to try them out!
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
The Fund Raising Presentation
Before I start I want to give credit to Dr. Misha Galperin,
Ex VP and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Washington. What I have to tell you is based on
Galperin’s Yom Kippur message entitled Jonah,
A Pair of Jeans and a Story of Jewish Peoplehood:
A Message for Yom Kippur 2007/5768.
Galperin talks about Jewish Peoplehood; “The story of
Peoplehood does not and should not come down to a
well-spread bagel. Peoplehood is the combination of
culture, religion, history and values under a Jewish
umbrella that gives us a profound feeling of being
connected to other Jews. In America we talk about
individual rights being a central and abiding feature
of being an American citizen. However, the American
story is not the Jewish story. The Jewish story is not
about rights it’s about responsibility” and that is what
I want to tell you about!
With this as our background; I want to talk to you about
dreams, however, I want you to consider 2 kinds of
dreams; first your own dreams and second those we
dream on behalf of the Jewish Community. For tonight’s purposes, let’s concentrate on the later!
It’s a warm sunny afternoon, our bus pulls up in front of a low, one story school building…could be any school in Stamford, however, we’re on a Women’s Division Mission in Afula our sister city in Israel.
We’ve come to hear about an afternoon program for children at risk called the SPACE program (Schooling Priorities and Community Empowerment; part of the Ethiopian National Project – in partnership with The Joint and Jewish Agency). This is a comprehensive and integrated package of programs aimed to advance the scholastic achievement of youth and empower the Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel.
What to expect? Who are these kids? Why are they at risk? We are met by someone from the Joint as well as a lovely young woman, I would guess to be in her 30’s , dressed in a Jeans jacket and pants, black turtle neck and a wide hair band holding back her curly hair. What’s different about her? She’s Black, with a red mark on her forehead and a small earring in her nose. She is the first Ethiopian woman we have met since arriving in Israel. Her name is Mahail.
Mahail is the coordinator of the SPACE program. She came to Israel when she was 9 and has been living here for 21 years; she is dedicated to this program because she wants to see her community succeed. She wants her kids (both her own and in the program) to have the same opportunities as other children in Israel. As you may or may not know to get ahead in Israel you have to be able to do well on tests (this includes both the Army and to go on to University). These are dreams we have for our kids; these families have the same dreams. There is, however, a major difference in the Ethiopian Community; the parents of these kids can’t help them. The majority of the parents cannot speak, read or write Hebrew. These immigrants are different from others that have come to Israel. With the Russians, for instance, they had to learn a new language; with the Ethiopians they know no other language. They cannot write at all, most of them have never even seen a pencil! The SPACE program was established to help these kids do better in school and it is working!
The most amazing part of the afternoon is meeting the kids! We split our group in half to make the experience even more intimate. We are introduced to 4 teens: Avitah with the beautiful smile; he loves to play soccer; he learned English in the 3rd grade, he has 2 sisters and 4 brothers, Chaim is also into computers and soccer, he tells us he doesn’t need help doing his homework he can do it himself, Hadassh whose parents came with Project Moses likes books and computers, and Gila who was born in Israel, her parents came with Project Moses. They tell us about the program, how they are doing much better at school and the wonderful personal attention they receive. Then we ask them about their dreams, and you know what, they are just like our kids:
Avitah wants to be a football player and own a Ferrari, not just any Ferrari, a blue one!
Chaim wants to be a bank manager
Hadassah wants to be Prime Minister (and why not!)
Gila is not sure what tomorrow will bring; she wants peace in Israel. She would like to be a journalist or a lawyer
We come away thinking that we can be dream makers; we can keep their dreams alive; just like we would for our kids; we have that responsibility, after all didn’t we bring them to Israel for that purpose???
So what am I telling you? We in this room, along with all the other givers to the Campaign, have a unique opportunity and responsibility. We can change the lives of these kids and thousands of other people in 60 countries throughout the world. We can give them the tools to make their dreams into realities! Join David and me, be dream makers, you will never feel better.
So, what do I want you to do…
if you have not yet pledged to the 2008 Campaign,
take out your pledge card now and join us, make a
commitment, be responsible. Keep in mind, there’s
a time to listen, a time to think and a time for action…
this is the time for action!
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Fund Raising Debut
Sunday, 21 October 2007
A Little Bit of sugar...
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
True Confessions
3 TBS butter or extra virgin olive oil, or a combination
1 med carrot, peeled and diced
1 med onion, peeled and diced
1 med potato, preferably high-starch (russet or baking) peeled and diced
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or a pinch of dried thyme
Sale and pepper
4 med zucchini, trimmed and diced
2 med ripe (but still firm) pears, peeled, cored and diced
4 cups chicken or veg stock, or use water (I used veg stock for obvious reasons!)
mint leaves for garnish
1. Put butter and/or oil in a large skillet over med heat; within butter melts or oil is hot, cook carrot, onion, potato and thyme with a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, adjusting heat so vegetables do not brown. When onion is softened, about 5 minutes, add zucchini and continue to cook until everything is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Add pear and cook until has softened, about 5 minutes more. Add liquid and bring to a boil; taste and adjust seasoning. Cook mixture, then puree. Serve cold or reheat and serve hot, garnished with mint, if desired. Serves 4
Well, this is definitely the season for this soup. It's the end of the zucchini season and the pears are wonderful!
Friday, 5 October 2007
Reflections on Life by Sylvia
Well, the project went on hold for 3 years, until yesterday! Earlier in the week I received an email from my cousin Shelly; she is Billy and Marilyn Wallach's younger daughter. She is in the process of putting together a book about mothers and daughters. Here is what she had to say: "...it occurred to me I really knew very little about her. I thought about what her favorite color was and I didn’t know. I didn’t know much about her childhood, her relationship with her mother, her siblings, who were her friends, did she have a boyfriend in high school, how she felt about her life, and so on.
I live in a community of women close to my age..mostly in the baby boomer generation whose mothers, if they’re still alive, are elderly. Most of them said they too knew very little about their mothers. I decided to write a book..a sort of resource guide to spark women to talk to their moms before they run out of time. I sent out a survey (I’m going to forward one to you) and got so many responses. I couldn't’t believe how many people sent back things they wanted to know about their mothers. The idea took on a life of its own"
Doesn't this sound fascinating and I appreciated that it got me back into the conversation with Mom. It is so amazing, we live this life as if the people we know and love will be here forever and that's not how it works. So, last night we continued the conversation we started in 2004. The stories were as wonderful as ever. When David came home he participated as well. We all had such a wonderful time. I taped Mom as she spoke so now I have to transcribe what we talked about.
So, I told you about the piece work, I'll give you some more stories as I get them written up. Now it would be fun to have Aunt Shirley and Mom together and see if they remember things differently! Also, I have to corner Uncle Paul the next time he comes to visit so we can get some of that Plotkin/Barkon history on paper as well!
Friday, 28 September 2007
Birds Feeding Frenzy
I haven't posted the sukkah in its final stages as the cross branches have not been taken out of the woods yet! I'm sure this will be done by the end of the holiday, or not!
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Sukkah Construction
Well, it is that time of year...Sukkot! Every year we go through the debate about whether or not to build a sukkah; this year David decided to bite the bullet and buy a "real" sukkah! The kit he bought had the sides and brackets to use to hold the whole thing together. You had a choice in construction; you could purchase everything from them or buy the wood yourself. David decided on the later option and he did a fantastic job of purchasing the lumber; cutting it and, eventually putting the whole thing together! As you will see from the final picture WE DID IT! It looks great! With less than 24 hours to go the only part left is to put the branches across the top and the decorations! Promise, a final picture when it is ALL done! The premise of the sukkah is to build a portable hut similar to what our ancestors used when they were traveling in the desert! There are some who sleep in their sukkah, not sure if we'll go that far! The other thing that was interesting about building the sukkah was that we worked on it for so long it was totally dark out, so, believe it or not David agreed to put the outside lights on! Wow!
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Yom Kippur
Putting together the menu requires careful thought. You don't want to eat anything spicy or salty since you can't drink or eat for the next 25 hours! Well the menu will be chicken, stuffed zucchini, salad, challah and pumpkin bread pudding. The bread pudding is an attempt to use up the leftover challah for the past few weeks!
Well, that's what's going on here!
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Fresh Mint Tea
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Time out for Rosh Hashanna
Thursday, 13 September 2007
We're back!
Rather than do a quick post now I will wait until the weekend to start a description of the trip. On another note, tonight I was able to figure out how to show our pictures on the tv. Jean Duncan showed us her pictures of their latest safari on the tv...it was such a pleasure to see the pictures in such a large size! Well, after umpteen attempts, I was finally able to get the pictures to play! The only bad part is that they are not edited! Oh well, still fun and the Grands definitely enjoyed them! Will start posting some of them in the next few days!
Lorraine
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Leaving for Scotland tomorrow night!
Monday, 3 September 2007
Labor Day Weekend
Saturday, 1 September 2007
Visit to Silverman's Farm
Hal, Bess and their kids (the four men are their sons).
Thursday, 30 August 2007
The US Open
Summer flowers
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Felting 101
Friday, 24 August 2007
Well, here we go!
This past year I completed a family cookbook. I included as many family pictures as I had. It seems that people spend more time with the pictures than the recipes! I have now come up with the idea of publishing another book that is nothing but old pictures. What I plan to do is borrow family member's old pictures, identify them, copy them and then publish them divided by family groups. So, in affect, this will be a pictorial family tree. Wonder how long it will take me to do this one? The cookbook was only 2 years!