Cooking for the New Year

Chernowitz Challah

After the meal - Honey Cake

Before the meal

 
Something wonderful happens when family sits together at a dressed up table for a holiday meal. It could be the anticipation from the night before - the smells of cooking pot roast, the cake, decorated and displayed, but off limits to itchy fingers, the late night preparations. It could be the recipe searches weeks before the holiday, preparations, shopping for seasonal ingredients. But what I have learned in the past few years of family life is that the energy and time that I devote to ensuring everything comes together shines brightly on the faces of those who sit with us during the festive meal. As any mom knows, there is nothing better than that.

World History for kids

We live in Bridgeport, a poorer, though not the poorest, neighborhood in the south side of Chicago. With the lower income, come schools with less potential, individual attention, and fewer talented teachers. I have been struggling with the curriculum since I first began participating in raising Vizhon (three years ago). At first, I thought that math practice and reading assignments at home would do the trick. But the kiddo is in sixth grade and the paucity of education she is receiving is devastating. So, the poor child is faced with math, grammar, science, geography, world history and US history lessons at home. It's hard, but doable.

Great New Recipe

For dinner last night, I planned to make some maple-glazed tuna accompanied by pear-potato salad. Since I grabbed mahi mahi at the store instead, I'll try the maple glaze next week. The potato salad, however, was quite refreshing. Curry, pears, potatoes, almonds and a hint of lemon... light, complex (and I try to use that word sparingly), inviting so many creative pairings.

Goldfish drama

A few years ago, I adopted two goldfish from a family who no longer wanted to participate in the weekly tank scrubbings. Goldfish are not an easy task. As I learned, they need at least 15gallons of water per fish to stay healthy. They can live up to 30 years and that most often they die from organ failure from not having enough space to grow.

One of my fish has developed a strange growth over the past few months. It's not an ulcer and it doesn't seem to be filled with liquid. And he's no longer growing, unlike his buddy. He is also very sensitive to water quality - the slightest variations cause sores to appear on his tail. They have been pretty serious on a few occasions. These, I've learned to battle somewhat successfully. PimaFix, MelaFix and an AquaClear Filter. I love the filter since it lets me remove the carbon filter without losing all of the filtration - and this, for fish as dirty as goldfish, is quite important. The foam insert keeps a lot of the debris out of the water and the medication has time to take effect. Between the three of these items, we have overcome everyone of his diseases. Believe me, I was sure he wasn't going to make it quite a few times.

Strange how attached we become to even the smallest creatures.