Monthly Archives: August 2023

This week in the kitchen – compote, apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut and pickles

canning, frugal strategies, lacto fermentation

This morning I wanted to get an early start in the kitchen this morning. I needed to take dd6 to an introductory meeting at her kindergarten at 9:45, and I was hoping to get some traction on some food preservation before then.

My husband brought home a bunch of apples yesterday. Sometimes I don’t get to fresh produce right away and I always regret it, because it’s so much easier to process food when it’s fresh and blemish-free. I have a apple corer-slicer-peeler but my apple corer sections apples into six pieces and is so much faster that I’m willing to use apples with peels on them. I wasn’t looking at the clock but I felt mighty quick in filling up two large pots with the prepared apples.

I haven’t done much food preservation lately, and today decided to make apple compote, which translated into fifteen quarts/liters once it was cooked. I add a little water, some vanilla and let it cook down slowly. It’s so flavorful and as it was cooking, several times dd6 and gd4 asked me what that good smell was! Usually I add cinnamon but I didn’t feel like it this time. Of course I canned all of those lovely jars so I can keep them on a shelf instead of in a fridge. It makes me smile thinking of pulling them out in a few months for dessert for Shabbos dinner.

The next logical step was to do something with all the beautiful cores, so I decided to make apple cider vinegar.

Making apple cider vinegar is really easy: first fill a jar halfway with apple scraps.

Add water to fill the jar until about an inch from the top. Add a tablespoon of sugar per cup of water you used.

Cover it with a cloth and stir it once a day for a couple of weeks.

Then let it sit for a couple of months until it’s ready, and strain it out. That’s it.

I keep mine on the counter for the first couple of weeks so I can stir it daily to be sure everything stays submerged under the liquid , then put it away somewhere out of my immediate kitchen zone to finish fermenting. Last year I was really happy with how delicious the apple cider vinegar was. I told you then that it was so good I wanted to drink it by the cupful!

I got all that finished and had about forty five minutes to spend with my grandchildren before I needed to leave with dd6 at 9:40 am.

Later in the day, I turned my attention to the cabbages.

I wanted to turn them into sauerkraut, but I don’t have a cellar or basement or even a home that is usually air conditioned to keep the temperature low for an extended time. If I would shred the cabbage as I usually do, it would ferment within three days. Everything ferments much more quickly in the heat. I decided to chop the cabbage coarsely for the next batch so it would take a longer time to ferment. I made two four liter buckets full, which will be much less once it breaks down and compacts, but will still be a nice amount.

That was enough food preservation for today, first of all because I was tired and secondly because then I needed to make dinner, put the kids to bed early and leave to ds6.5’s introductory school meeting, this one only for mothers. It was on arriving there that I learned he’s going to be going into first grade, not gan chova (pre1A). His teacher looks wonderful, as all of the teachers in this school have been. I’ve been very happy with this school and feel so fortunate that by moving here, our boys have a great place to learn.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with ds6 and his new teacher. They started hiring staff a week ago and it looks like the gan is actually going to start on time on September 1st! Since my husband and older boys won’t be home at that time of day, I’m going to be taking the other three kids with me to this meeting. It will be short and everyone will enjoy seeing his school – the twins went to Siblings Day at ds11’s school and saw his class and ds6/5’s gan. And then I took everyone to see dd6’s gan prior to the meeting today.

Back to food preservation: a couple of days ago, for the first time in ages I made lacto fermented pickles. In the past I’ve sometimes made amazing, delicious pickles, but it’s so unpredictable how they’ll turn out – sometimes they are just not good. I finally decided to try it again, this time using bay leaves as the tannin source (tannin being the ingredient that keeps the pickles crunchy). Grape leaves are recommended and I have loads of them on my vine, but I have another year until we can harvest the grapes, and I don’t know if the grape leaves have the same status. No, it wasn’t important enough to me to call a rabbi to ask.

I wanted to use tea bags but I didn’t know where my husband put them and when I saw that bay leaves are a tannin source, figured I’d use them. I bought a kilo bag of bay leaves over a year ago. Do you have any idea how huge a quantity that is? I’ve hardly made a dent in them. So if these work well for crunchy pickles, there’s a lot more I need to use up. If you live locally and want some bay leaves, I’m happy to share. 🙂

After a day and a half, I put them in the fridge. I hope the experiment will be successful, since most of us in the family really like pickles, and they’re so much healthier, tastier and cheaper when you make them yourself.

Avivah

How to reduce your likelihood of catching a virus

health

Last week, many of my family members spent Shabbos together in Jerusalem and afterwards several of our older children had mild cold symptoms. One asked me with concern if it had been brought back to the rest of the family here.

I told her not to worry – no one here caught anything, but even if they did, these things really don’t concern me. People may be under the weather but they get better – this is the natural cycle and it’s not something to get anxious about, or make a big deal of. Every person has been supplied with an incredibly sophisticated system to protect them from disease and help them heal if they do come down with something – our immune systems.

Three years ago I was talking with my accupuncturist and she introduced me to the term ‘terrain versus germ theory’. While I wasn’t familiar with the term prior to our talk, I was very familiar with the thinking behind each theory.

The germ theory posits that the germ is the danger to health. The focus is thus on eliminating the germ, and is the focal point of the medical world.

The terrain theory posits that it’s the health of the host that is of primary concern, and the threat of a germ is minimized by strengthening the host.

Why do some people stay healthy when others around them are getting sick? Is this random, or is this something we can affect with our direct actions?

There are germs floating around everywhere, all the time. To focus on the germs that we can directly do nothing about is disempowering and makes us fearful and passive victims, waiting to catch whatever the latest bug is going around. This approach leads people to feel helpless, that the answer is outside of their locus of control, and dependent on others to find the answer for them.

While germs have been and will always be a biological reality, when we focus on the health of the individual, on supporting the most powerful health system that is known to man – our immune system – we take back power.

There is so much you can do about your personal health. Stress and poor diet are two highly negative influencers of personal health, both of which lead individuals to be much more likely to catch whatever is floating around.

The best defense is a good offense! To minimize the likelihood of getting sick, you can proactively focus on building your personal immune system.

Reduce stress – Turn off the news that is non-stop anxiety inducing; bad news is their business and how they make money! Who benefits if you get anxious and start looking outside of yourself for solutions? Instead focus on all the wonderful things in your life. Taking time to write three things you’re grateful for daily requires just a few minutes and shifts your mindset and focus. Negative emotions weaken immune response, and positive thinking strengthens your mind and body!

Get out into sunlight and fresh air. I always find my mood brightens without moments of doing this. Spend time in nature. Twenty to thirty minutes a day spent just sitting in nature is correlated with a notable drop in cortisol levels.

Take a daily walk or exercise in some other way. Exercise strengthens the immune system. If you walk with a friend or family member, you get the double benefits of increased relationship while exercising!

Invest in the relationships that matter most to you and and spend more time interacting with those you love. Did you know hugs strengthen the immune system? The less robust someone is, the more they need this – for example, our elderly need increased physical contact and social connections.

Improve diet – The most common diseases that kill people in the US every year are: heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, obesity, Alzheimers, and diabetes. Do you know that almost every single one is highly correlated to diet?

Simply eliminating sugar from the diet would dramatically improve the immune system of every single person on the planet. It’s curious how hospital menus are filled with processed food and sugar, and also interesting how people are frequently told by doctors that it doesn’t make a difference what they eat, when diet is the biggest influencer of health.

There are also many ways to alternatively support immune health, some of which I’ve shared over the years. Well known supplements to boost immune function include vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc. There are many, many other ways to prevent and treat illness; in the past I’ve shared different home effective home remedies that use ingredients found in the typical kitchen.

If there were a significant health threat, what would be cause natural immunity to be negatively impacted and make people more susceptible to getting sick?

First of all, raise stress levels – flood the airways with frightening and alarming news.

Simultaneously forbid stress-reducing outlets – spending time with family and friends, exercise, time in nature and physical contact between humans.

Cause deep personal economic distress by shutting down the ability to earn and pay bills. Keep children from attending school and take away the predictability of their regular routine.

Mock and marginalize anyone who suggests that individuals can reduce their risk of catching whatever is going around, or treating it, by improving diet and using alternative means to support their immune systems. Insist that nothing matters except the germ, and all steps taken to wipe it out are justified, regardless of negative impact.

Does this look like the perfect recipe for physical disease and mental health issues?

Worldwide these measures were taken to supposedly keep the population healthy. It’s distressing but not surprising to see the statistics and recognize the feverish focus on the germ, with the corresponding stressors on the host, have had a hugely negative impact on world health. Hopefully humanity has learned the dangers of an approach like this.

Reducing exposure to germs can never be of benefit to the average person unless there is simultaneously a focus on improving physical and emotional health.

As a parent who cares deeply about the well-being of my family and has spent hundreds of hours learning about various aspects of health, my focus is on supporting wellness, not focusing on disease. That has been extremely effective throughout the years, and continues to be where I recommend that concerned individuals put their focus whenever health is a concern.

Be empowered, not fearful. As we move into the fall season when sickness begins to become a concern, be assured that there is so much you can do to protect your families. Regardless of current or future threats to your health, this is a timeless approach that is helpful regardless of the specifics of a particular pathogen, virus or microbe.

Avivah

Homemade Cracker Recipe

recipes

This is a generic recipe for crackers. You can use whatever kind of flour or oil you prefer, though what I used is noted below. You can sprinkle the top of the crackers with zaatar or other spices, or mix it into the batter – there’s room for experimentation so try different flavors in different batches.

Homemade Crackers

  • 1.5 c. white spelt flour
  • 2/3 c. water
  • 3 T. coconut oil
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • optional: 1 – 2 t. spices or dried herbs to taste (I added dried parsley)

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the water and oil. Mix, then spread thinly on a cookie sheet. (I line mine with parchment paper.)

Bake for ten minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celcius. Cut into squares. Return the oven for another 18 – 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Avivah

School updates and setting goals for the coming year

personal development

The older boys finished off their summer break last week with a trip to Jerusalem for Shabbos to celebrate the bris of our newest grandson, the first grandchild to be named after my father-in-law. My husband and I stayed home for Shabbos with the four younger kids, and together with my oldest daughter and her family who are staying with us for a while after her birth, we celebrated the twins’ sixth birthday. Shabbos was also the twelfth anniversary of our family arriving in Israel. And August is the month I started this blog, so this month marks seventeen years that I’ve been sharing here with you!

Ds15 and ds14 are now both learning full-time in a local yeshiva, which means I still see them but they’re not around much. That also means that after twenty two years, this is officially the first year we’re not homeschooling any children. With the younger kids still home for summer vacation and being so busy, I’m not feeling that yet, but it will hit me at some point.

I finally was able to register dd6 for kindergarten yesterday; it’s a multi-age local kindergarten a ten minute walk from our home. She’ll be starting on September 1, as will ds11 and ds6.5. I’m pleased with the school options for all of them.

As of yesterday, the new kindergarten that ds6 is supposed to attend is not coming together quickly, to say the least. I asked those responsible at the city council to tell me honestly if it’s likely they’ll open on time since to me it doesn’t seem like that will happen, and I’d like to prepare for what I’ll do if the school isn’t ready. They told me they don’t want to think about that possibility and that it has to work out.

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In the midst of all this busyness, I’m trying to take quiet time to assess where I am in my life and what I would like to move towards in the year to come. I’m using a format that I used in 2019, and when I looked back at that journal of my goals for the upcoming 3 -5 years, it’s amazing to see that I reached almost every single one.

As has been said, we overestimate what we can accomplish in one year, and underestimate what we can do in ten years.

I’m now considering what my next goals will be. When I set goals, I do so in different categories: health, spirituality, financial, personal fulfillment. Or in other words, BE/DO/HAVE – what do I want to be, do and have?

It’s so easy to overwhelm oneself by taking on too much, so I find it more effective to take on small bite sized steps. For example, in my category of spirituality, I’m adding on saying the 13 Principles of Faith (Ani Maamins) daily.

I decided to do this after hearing the interview of parents who lost a son in the Meron tragedy. As I shared at the time, three of my sons were there that night, arriving on the scene right afterwards before any official announcements had been made about what occurred. These parents started the Ani Maamin initiative, and since strengthening my faith is an ongoing effort, this seemed like a good choice for me.

This takes a very short time so it’s not a big commitment time-wise, but I try to stick with what I take on so I have to take on something small enough to integrate long term.

I’ve clarified my goals in a couple of areas, but there are other things I’m still thinking about. Are there actions I want to do, or feel like I should do them? Are there goals I’m afraid to set because I don’t know if I’ll be able to stick to my commitment, and I don’t want to fail? Am I not setting certain goals because they’re too big and intimidating? Is there a long term goal that I can break into smaller pieces to make it doable, rather than not think about it at all?

That will take more time working it through; I’m trying to finish this in the next week so that I can be ready to begin in all areas by Rosh Hashana. I’d love to do a vision board again – I’m grateful to the person who visited and brought a stack of magazines a couple of years ago, and made it possible for me to do a vision board workshop with the teen girls I was working with, as well as with all of my family members. I transferred some of the pictures from my last vision board over a year ago and pasted them into my current planner. This planner is about to end and it would be nice to refresh the pictures rather than transfer them a second time into my new planner.

There are many ways to work through these life goal questions, but however you do it, it’s valuable to take time to set some personal goals. If you set goals, you might not reach them but you’ll still come out further ahead than if you don’t set any goals at all. As the saying goes, “Reach for the moon – even if you fall short, you’ll land among stars”.

Avivah

Our wonderful new family additions

parenting

On Shabbos at 12:15 pm, our second daughter gave birth to a son (her third child, second son). Less than 24 hours later, our oldest daughter gave birth to a daughter (her fourth child, second daughter).

For those who are wondering, yes – these are the sisters who got married twelve days apart, had their first daughters 14 weeks apart, their sons two weeks apart – and now these children born within 24 hours.

It took twenty three years for our first eleven children to be born. Having grandchildren accelerates the rate of our family expansion, and it’s taken just six years for the number of grandchildren to match the number of our children. Bli ayin hara. There are now all of these wonderful children to have relationships with.

Since my oldest son and youngest married daughter were visiting when our newest granddaughter was born, they were all able to see her a few hours later.

New granddaughter, three hours old

We’ll have to wait a few days to see our new grandson; I’ll be traveling to Jerusalem on Wednesday and will see him then. The older boys will go for Shabbos to be there for the bris.

When starting this blog seventeen years ago, I kind of wondered what our family would look like in the future, but my mental picture has paled next to the reality. It’s been astounding and humbling to watch how our lives have unfolded and our family has grown.

Avivah

This week in the kitchen

frugal strategies, homemaking

It’s been months since I’ve done any canning. I did some pantry organizing this week and was surprised at how many empty jars I have. That’s a good thing, since it means that I’ve been regularly using up all that I canned!

I did a quick inventory and saw what hasn’t been getting used. There wasn’t much of a surprise there – I canned delicious clementines that were bitter after canning, then turned them into clementine jam. However, we don’t use regularly use jams, so they’ve been mostly sitting. That, along with some canned grapefruit and lychees, are not getting much attention. Fortunately it’s less than ten jars so I’m going to think about what to do with them in the next few weeks to clear the shelf space for something more useful.

I had a bunch of cabbage that needed to be used, so I decided to make a large pot of meat cabbage soup. I sauteed a few onions, added two kilos of shredded carrots, two large heads of shredded cabbage, a kilo of green beans, 3- 4 cups of meat gravy (I pour gravy off roasted meat or chicken and keep it to cook soups and stews with), a liter of home canned tomatoes, and two liters of home canned tomato juice. My son didn’t have a chance to grind the meat I was intending to add so I left that out; it didn’t need any additional seasoning because the gravy was so flavorful.

I did an experiment when making this – I had a number of large cucumbers that were beginning to turn yellow. I figured that since they’re in the squash family, I could use them as a substitute for zucchini. I’m pleased with how it worked out: since it has a higher water content than zucchini, it dissolved and became more of a thickener than recognizable on its own.

While I prepared this I thought a lot about my aunt. She was one of my most beloved people and passed away several years ago. I remember her making a vegetable soup using vegetables from her garden, serving some for dinner and then canning the rest all up – just like I did yesterday.

I canned 14 quarts and 7 pints of cabbage soup, the smaller jars for ds17 to take to yeshiva with him. I also canned seven quarts of beef stew for him. I told him to think about what dishes he’d like me to prepare so I can make them for him in the next couple of weeks, so he’ll have variety, but he said he’s not picky and is happy with whatever I make him. Sending canned meals for him this last year has made a huge difference for him.

(Ds6 and dd5 in background peeling cucumbers)

I also canned 14 quarts of chickpeas, since it makes it very easy to prepare chumus from scratch. I have other canned beans that I use much less frequently, but I use lots of chickpeas. I had about six cups of soaked chickpeas that didn’t fit into the canner so I decided to cook them and use them this week. Unfortunately, as happens too often when I cook chickpeas, I didn’t keep a close eye on them, so the water boiled down and they got a bit scorched. It made me think that perhaps I should stick to canning all the chickpeas I want to cook.

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During the year I get up by 5:30 am and often much earlier, but during vacation it’s nice to be able to sleep in. The younger kids wake up before six in the morning; I don’t like hearing or seeing young children when the hour is still 5, even 5:59 am. 6 am is fine. Yes, it’s completely psychological! But since they continue to get up earlier than my mental settings would prefer, today I decided rather than starting my day feeling put upon, I’m better off getting up earlier like usual.

This morning I continued to channel my aunt, who made biscuits for breakfast every morning. Hers were always delicious, light and flaky. I substituted butter for the Crisco she used to use, and spelt flour for white flour. Then, not being fully awake, I accidentally measured out baking soda instead of baking powder. I realized the mistake before mixing it in and tried to take it out, but some remained and the final result was perfect except for the taste of too much baking soda. Oh, well. They were edible, but not the delicious biscuits I remember from my aunt.

Before going to bed, I made a batch of flaxseed mixture to bake into crackers today. I intended to put them in the dehydrator first thing in the day since they need three hours to bake on low to be ready, then they’d be finished before we left for our trip. However, my seventeen year old son is in the middle of building a playhouse for the kids and left the transformer I need for the dehydrator in the backyard.

I didn’t feel like going outside at that moment so chose to try out another cracker recipe in the meantime. While the kids were having biscuits and scrambled eggs for breakfast, I mixed up the new recipe for crackers. I’m not a pinterest cook and don’t care about rolling them out perfectly; they taste great and we’ll take them on our trip later this morning.

Next I’m planning to make a large batch of plum compote, if I can keep the kids out of the plums long enough! They’re gobbling them down. What I’ve done in the past that has worked really well for us is to can compote in quart sized jars, then have it available for a Shabbos dessert.

We’ll also be hosting a kumsitz for men and boys Thursday night, so this afternoon the boys will be preparing food for that. I took ds17 shopping and he bought some good stuff! I’ll stay out of the kitchen while they work. My daughter and her husband will be coming for Shabbos and will hopefully arrive with my husband in time for the kumsitz.

I had hoped my older two married sons would be here for the kumsitz as well – I love when all of our sons sing together – but one changed plans and won’t be coming at all during this vacation period, and the other one is coming with his family on Friday.

Avivah

Seeking charedi foster family for ten year old twins

parenting

I received this message from two different people so far, and am sharing it here to help spread the information to those who might be in a position to assist.

>> Looking for a warm and supportive Chareidi foster family for a pair of twins about 10 years old who are now in the jurisdiction of the welfare authorities after their family suffered a major crisis.
The authorities claim that they have not yet found a Chareidi foster family that matches their lifestyle and they are recommending a family with a different lifestyle. If you know of a chareidi family interested in fostering these children, please call Tal. 02-594-0880, only between the hours of 12.00 and 13.00. <<

The unfortunate reality is that there is a shortage of charedi foster families, and often the only option is to place charedi children with foster families who have a different religious environment. This is something that ds6’s bio parents discovered when they were looking for a family for him – that almost none of the available religious foster families were charedi.

To foster a child is a tremendous chesed; you can potentially dramatically change their life trajectory for the better. As a strong proponent of win-win, I would caution that it’s important to understand what the background and needs of the children are and to consider carefully if this is something you can do, so that it will be as positive an experience as possible for everyone involved. This is a huge commitment and someone should go in with their eyes wide open, with a realistic idea of what is involved. (I am available to discuss this if you have spoken to the person listed above and are seriously interested in taking these children in.)

I don’t know anything about this situation but perhaps one of you knows someone who can help. The message has been sent to me in English and Hebrew, which makes me wonder if the children might be English speakers, but that would definitely be one of the things that would need to be clarified.

Avivah

Our teen boys keeping busy with chesed

parenting

We had a difficult couple of weeks after the bedroom change that I mentioned in my last recent post. Thankfully over the last week we’ve shifted into summer vacation with the arrival of my two sons who are usually away at yeshiva and the presence of our other two sons who sleep at home but are not around most of the day.

The younger children are so happy to have them all here; the older boys are all great with kids and are warm and caring older brothers. Since they willingly spend time with their younger siblings, it makes my life much easier. Especially with everyone home from school for the month of August, it’s extremely helpful and appreciated as it gives me a break during the day.

There was a bit of a delay in everyone being here at once, because ds17 stayed away a few days longer in order to help my oldest son do some renovations on their new home. Their home comes with a porch that was designed to be able to easily convert to an additional bedroom, and they needed to tile the floor and close in the room before they move in.

After working with my oldest, ds17 came home Sunday; that same day ds15 and ds14 left to continue working on the renovations for the next couple of days. Ds15 came home first, and ds14 stayed another day to finish up. They got a lot accomplished together. We’ve done a lot of DIY renovations on our homes over the years, and it makes me very happy for my current teens to have the skills and experience to help their older brother do this work.

I’m also very grateful to Hashem that after six years of marriage, our son and his wife are going to be moving into their own home. I’ve been so encouraged to see how Hashem has made everything work out for them – beginning with them signing the day before the price went up on the same apartment style by 100,000 shekels. Then a month later, it was another 100,000 higher, and a month later, another 100,000 higher. They had fortuitous ‘timing’ (more accurately, divine intervention) each step along the way.

When we talked about leaving RBS, my husband and I discussed the likelihood of any of our children one day living there. We didn’t want to leave if any of our then married children would move there. It didn’t seem like any of them would be interested in living there, and our oldest son definitively told me it wasn’t a match for them. Then a development that is more like a new city than a new neighborhood was planned and less than a year after we moved away, my son and his wife bought their home on paper (in the planning stage) in RBS-D. After two and a half years of waiting for it to be built, they’re moving in this week.

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The last couple of years, my teen boys have spent their summer vacation mornings busy learning in shul – my seventeen year old son has organized ‘yeshivas bein hazmanim’ during every vacation for the last couple of years, taking over for my son who did it before he got married.

I was glad when he told me he wouldn’t be doing it again this year – it’s so much work: he does the fundraising, shops for food, makes breakfasts for everyone who comes, gives a class for the younger boys, and takes them on trips. The kids enjoy it and though I sometimes wondered if parents took it for granted, he knew the boys appreciated it and felt the satisfaction of doing something that was needed.

Boys have approached my other sons wanting to know if it’s true that ds17 wasn’t going to be running it this summer, and asking him to please do it. He continued to answer that he wouldn’t be running it this year.

A couple of days ago a parent approached him and he agreed to run it again, but he assured me it will be structured differently and it make fewer demands on him. This is something that won’t happen if he doesn’t do it, and now even after telling me that during his past vacations he didn’t have time to do things that were important for him because he spent so much time organizing, he’ll be doing it again this summer.

Though I would prefer he doesn’t do it because I saw the pressure it’s created in the past, it does seem like the changes will make it better for him. I can’t complain about him being community-minded since that’s something I value, and I do see having opportunities to step up and do things that others aren’t doing is a plus in living where I do.

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For the past couple of years, our teens have spent their mornings learning and then worked in vacation rentals. There is so much work but not enough capable people who are willing to do the work, and they could all fill every day with work if they wanted.

Though they are all responsible for earning the money they need during the year, this year they’ve all decided they want to cut down on the work they do so they can enjoy their vacation more and spend time together.

It’s not that they mind working hard, since part of their time together has been lots of volunteer work at our shul. Our shul has undergone major renovations and when they’ve needed manpower, they regularly turn to our boys for help. (They call them directly; they don’t even call me or my husband anymore!) Yesterday was a particularly intense day, as they’re working hard to be able to use it for this Shabbos, after weeks of being in an alternate location.

The boys are not sure that’s going to be possible because there’s still so much to do. I guess we’ll see tonight!

Avivah