It’s erev yom tov, and since we did so much cooking before Pesach, we’re able to pull a number of kugels, main dishes, and desserts out of the freezer.  We adapted our menu plan for the last days to have some more variety, so we added roast turkey, farfel stuffing, gravy, ratatouille, sweet potato wedges, and carrots with pineapple to the other things planned, but that’s made already.  We only needed to make two salads, two roasted vegetable dishes, and bake some butternut squash today, so we’ve all been able to enjoy a relaxing day.  But – because I know that days like this can end up with the most rushing at the end (because everyone assumes there’s nothing to do until an hour before it’s time to light), I want to be careful to avoid that frustrating scenario.  There’s a saying, ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’, and if I didn’t learn something from the past and plan around that, I’d be inviting myself to have a frustrating late afternoon today.

I didn’t invite guests for this part of yom tov, since I was hesitant to invite people in advance, just in case I gave birth early again.  But we really enjoy having company!  Today I hopefully called a neighbor and invited her along with her visiting extended family for lunch tomorrow.  We have enough food made that an extra ten or fifteen people for lunch is no big deal, but they couldn’t come – their cooking is all done.  Since so many people cook on yom tov and either don’t yet have their cooking done or wouldn’t mind putting whatever extra they had into the freezer, plus she would be working all day today, I thought it was worth asking.  Her 9 year old niece visiting from NY and my dd8 have really hit it off and spent hours together during the time they’ve been here, so even though they can’t come, I know they’ll still end up enjoying each other’s company over the next couple of days.

Here’s the last recipe I’ll be posting for Pesach this year.  My kids love this recipe, but in the end I didn’t make it for this year – too many other tasty things to make!  I’ll probably make it for the coming Sunday, though, assuming I have enough matza left – my kids will be happy to have it even after Pesach!  A couple of years ago I made it for the first time for guests who don’t keep kosher or Pesach traditions, and they enjoyed it, too – so I guess that’s saying something for it!  It’s an easy recipe, and it makes a generous amount.  Some people find that a dairy meal on the last day breaks up the long stretch of meat meals, and this is a nice dairy main dish.

Pesach Lasagna

• 4 eggs
• 2 lb. cottage cheese
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1 lb. shredded cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t. basil
• 32 oz. tomato sauce
• 6 whole matzos

Soak matzas in some milk for less than a minute – they should be wet, not soggy.  Beat eggs, and add cottage cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil.  Mix well.  Pour a little sauce on the bottom of two 9 x 13 pans.  Layer the matza, then the cottage cheese, then sauce, then shredded cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 – 50 minutes.  Let cool ten minutes before slicing.

You can also saute some onions, garlic, and any shredded veggies of your choice, and add that as another layer.

Enjoy the last days of Pesach – so much work goes into preparing for this week, and then it zooms by so quickly!   I’ve enjoyed our Pesach so much and hope that all of you have, too!

Avivah