Dear mom,

I know I started it, but I REALLY want to change the topic. I’m tired of this working-mom-only-child-guilt back and forth grumble. I just have one thing left to say: I can’t decide whether my lack of embarrassment about you mentioning my green poop in public is an indication of good or bad parenting. I have zero shame about my vibrant digestive tract and blue jello/kool-aid habit.

Regardless of how that relates to your parenting skills, let’s give ourselves hardy pats on the back to forgive the mistakes and acknowledge our okay-ness and move the F on. Or do you need more space to process?

Passover is over, Natalya’s wedding is over and the opulent days of cooking, eating and celebrating together have come to a pause. I am now laying on the floor of terminal 4 at JFK, legs up the wall, trying to get some blood flowing before hours of cramped feet on my flight back to Israel.

I was weirdly not looking forward to coming home for Passover and now I’m weirdly not looking forward to returning to Israel for the rest of the semester. I feel disconnected from life there after being away for only three weeks. Whenever I come home, I sleep too much, eat too much, whine too much, throw my clothes on the floor like someone will pick them up for me (because someone most always does) and am reckless at the grocery store. I regress. I just want to crawl back under my big down comforter and go shopping at Whole Foods when I wake up. The energy required to have responsibilities again is daunting.

Things at home were good. There were no tears at any of the family dinners; yelling in front of strangers was kept to a minimum; we only did one round of shots before each Seder and your gefilte fish was good; conversations were tame. I didn’t even pick up any quotable Abe references. There’s not much to report about Natalya’s wedding either — it was just plain fun.

So the visit was good and normal, which is strange. Maybe I built up the eccentricities of our family and friends in my head while I was away… but I’m pretty certain that all this normality is not normal for us. Am I disappointed by the lack of crazy? Maybe just bored.

This is why our blog is important … Now, after this small reflection, I am feeling more optimistic about getting back to the streets that no one is allowed to forget that Moses, Jesus, Mohamed and Natalie Portman worshiped… To using physical force against hunchbacked old women in our fight for the best cucumbers in wrinkled veggie bins at the market … To bearing the strength of my elbows as I squeeze my body onto buses. In a few hours I’ll be back to this craziness and more. Until then I’ll muster the will to go back to being in charge of my life. It seems hard and fun and I’ll still miss home.

xo,

Shaina

Below are a few of the Passover recipes I mentioned in our previous post for Passover ideas. I will say that year was our best year for Seder food yet. Especially the Yemini Charozet… yum. 

Dvora’s Yemini Charozet

• 2/3 cup walnuts
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 inch slice of ginger root
• juice of one orange
• 1 tbs ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• dash of cayenne powder

First, toast walnuts, almonds and sesame seeds separately. Spread nuts evenly on tray and place into toaster oven on 350 degrees for 5 – 10 minutes or until golden and fragrant. All toaster ovens work at different speeds, so check frequently… nuts go from toasted to burnt very quickly (especially the sesame seeds!), so be vigilant.

Once nuts are toasted, dump dates, raisins and spices into a food processor and add orange juice as needed. Add walnuts and almond once the fruit is blended and pulse until nuts are crushed, but not pureed. Once desired consistency has been reached, stir in sesame seeds. If you are nervous about the spices, you can stir them in afterwards. The result should be sweet with a spicy edge. This charozet doubles as a jam – the cumin is a surprising touch. It’s perfect treat to swirled into yogurt or spread over an apple.

Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad

• 8 Persian cucumbers
• 2/3 C raw peanuts
• 1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1 cup chopped cilantro (about 3 big handfuls of loose cilantro)

Dressing:

• 1 tsp chili flakes or ground cayenne (depending on spice tolerance)
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 3 tbs salad vinegar
• 1 tsp brown sugar or honey
• dash of sea salt

Creamy Avocado Quinoa with fresh dill

• 3 medium zucchinis, cut into 3/4-inch circles
• 3 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 3/4 inch circles
• 
1 1/2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 
dash of sea salt and black pepper

• 1 large ripe avocado
• 
zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 
2 cloves grushed garlic
• 1/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt (optional)
• 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

• 2 cups quinoa, cooked, room temperature (I use tri-color quinoa)

Garnish with:

• 
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup goat feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
• 
chopped fresh dill

Preheat oven to 375 on convection setting. Place zucchini and squash coin in large mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread thinly on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place into oven for 15 – 25 minutes, until outer edges become brown and crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Meanwhile, mash all of the dressing items together with the back of a fork into a creamy sauce. Gently fold dressing and zucchini and squash into quinoa. Garnish with dill, feta cheese and pine nuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.