Gearing Up for Passover

I always wait till the last minute to clean out the yeast for Passover. Yes, it has happened again.

The good news is that I'm about to make a foray to the store aisles for some celebratory supplies. We're having the Seder with friends this year, and they actually do the cooking and we chip in for the expenses. There'll be singing, celebration, Torah reading, and of course the personalized version of the Seder dinner.

Passover is a special time of year for us, my favorite! I was actually born on Passover Day on the Jewish calendar the year I was born...the modern secular calendar rarely corresponds with it yearly. There are so many things I find significant in the Passover account in the biblical text, and one of those is that God remembers His promises of deliverance. A really neat significance was that He championed the cause of His people when they became enslaved, and not only brought out the Hebrews, but a vast mixed multitude from all the peoples of Egypt. It was this mixed multitude that stood before the mountain from which God spoke in the hearing of everyone and gave His covenant...to the entire group who'd been brought out safely.

I love that picture! It's one of the most compelling accounts in all of scripture to me, and on Passover, we fulfill the command to "Remember."

For fun, here is a tune to a song sung at Passover...the words in Hebrew transliterate into this sentence "Mikimi mei'ofor dol" which means "He raises me from the lowly dust."

But to make things more celebratory for the entire weekend, I'm going to make a big pot of Matzah Ball Soup (BIG pot!) and will be trying out some new unleavened recipes during the following week of unleavened bread.

I was perusing blogs on my day off (imagine that? :)) and found some really great Passover eats at epicurious.com. I'm going to try their matzah spinach pie one and the one for Matzah "Crack"...a sweet that seems to be making the rounds at Seders and has been a bit hit.

It looks like a variation on making homemade toffee, and is incredibly easy! Here's another blog's article on it


Well...I'm off to shop and cook! I'm working nights this week and I'd best make the most of my days :)

I'll post pics of the soup and chocolate matzahs. The soup's a frequently-requested favorite by friends, and it's easy. I will say it's one of the few things I "cheat" on by incorporating some kosher boxed ingredients. It's one of those half 'n half recipes that personalizes what might otherwise be a straight-from-the box meal. One day I'll experiment with it enough to get the same flavor with only homegrown ingredients, or at least that's my goal!

Have a great day, all! I'll be busy for the next couple of days, but hope to get some pics and recipes here to show :)