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

Since I ran out of matza meal by the time yom tov started, thanks to all of the cake and kugel making that’s been done, I’m committed to using only what I have on hand.  That means being a little more creative about what to make for some of the chol hamoed meals.  This recipe for pizza fills the bill since it uses matza farfel instead of matza meal, and I still have three boxes left of that.  This will be for chol hamoed lunch tomorrow.

Pizza Pie

• 3 c. matza farfel
• 2 1/2 c. boiling water
• 5 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 oz shredded cheese
• 1 can seasoned tomato sauce (I use tomato paste, thin it with water, and season it myself)

To make the crust, pour the boiling water over the farfel to soften.  Drain well.  Beat eggs with salt and pepper, and mix with drained farfel.  Cover a large pan with this mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Then remove crust from oven and cover it with the tomato sauce.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5 – 8 minutes.

Avivah

I got this recipe from a friend who made it for my sheva brachos almost seventeen years ago, and I’ve made it a number of times and gotten rave reviews every time.  I rarely make ice cream anymore, except for Pesach, but this was the first year I’ve made this for Pesach.  It usually has a crumb topping, but for Pesach I left it off.  My kids liked this more than any other frozen desserts we made this year, except for the strawberry ice whip, which I told you has emotional staying power from year to year. 🙂

Incredible Vanilla Ice Cream

• 2 containers whip (regular size), coconut cream, or dairy cream
• 2 – 3 eggs
• 1/2 – 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 t. vanilla

Mix up the whip until thick, then mix the other ingredients into it.  Then:

• 5 eggs, separated
• 1/3 c. sugar

Beat the egg whites and sugar in a clean, dry bowl until stiff.  Mix the egg yolks into the mixture above.  When egg whites are stiff, fold both mixes together.  Put in a pan and freeze.  You can grate baking chocolate on top to add a decorative touch.

Avivah

>>Could you please post how you make your fruit sorbet? I am assuming you don’t have a KLP ice cream maker and i am curious to know how you mke one without.<<

Here’s the recipe for the fruit sorbet – the name of it is really a misnomer because there’s no fruit in it.  It’s very easy and not a bit healthy; I doubt you can find anything redeeming about it nutritionally.  On Pesach we eat things and use ingredients that I don’t use the rest of the year, and this recipe is a perfect example of that. 🙂

Fruit Sorbet

• 2 packages of jello
• 2 c. boiling water
• 1 container of whip

Mix the jello with boiling water, chill slightly but not until set.  Beat the whip partially, but not until stiff.  Combine the jello and whip, then freeze in a pan.  Take out a few minutes before serving.

I don’t have an ice cream maker, but in the past when making sherbert, what I’ve occasionally done is to mix all the ingredients together, pour into a pan, freeze, and then every 20 minutes or so to stir it. Another easier option that I did more often was to freeze it, then whip it, then freeze again only once more.  That way it has a sherbert-like consistency.

For Pesach desserts (on yom tov and Shabbos, not chol hamoed) we usually have one frozen treat with one baked good at every meal.  I don’t like to have more than that because it seems like overload to me.  Examples would be vanilla ice cream with apple pie, mocha squares with strawberry ice whip, or chocolate cake with fruit sorbet.  Even though it’s a lot more sugar than I generally use, everyone generally just has a piece of each per meal, so it’s still not horrible.

Avivah

Here’s a quick and easy Pesach lunch:

Matza Pizza

• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. milk
• 4 matzos
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 16 cheese slices or equivalent of shredded cheese

Beat the egg and milk.  Brush one side of the matza with this, and put the matzos next to one another on a well greased pan, with the dry side down.  You can cover with sauce and put the cheese on top, or cover with cheese and pour the sauce on top.  (I’ll try covering it with cheese and then the sauce, for a different presentation.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Update – we made this, and tried it with and without the egg and milk.  I didn’t taste it but my kids did, and they didn’t think there was much of a difference.  They felt it was faster to make without it and would rather stick to just putting the sauce straight onto the matza.  We also tried it with the cheese on top, and the sauce on top, and they preferred it with the cheese on top, in the traditional way.

Avivah