End of 2008

I can't even believe, that it is already the end of 2008. The year (and the last several months) have flown by. Between returning from our saunter to Italy to find that my firm was laying me off, then finding a new job (and back to working on architecture again) and as in a new role on the Owner's side instead of on the design side, and new fully engrossed in work as well as playing mom to Baby, time really has flown by. And, did I forget to mention - I'm 14 weeks pregnant.

As if we didn't learn the first time around, we're going to go for number 2!

So, in my true Jewish nature, I kicked off December with a meal this past Sunday that started when I read the 2nd Ave Deli Cookbook too early for my own good (pre-breakfast). No, it wasn't because of those crazy preggo hormones that I was hunkering for all this food - it was that I hadn't had breakfast yet. Trust me - looking back on the past 3 months, I realize now that I had felt this queasiness early on, but I didn't realize that I was pregnant. My appetite hasn't been up to par at all, and cooking dinner at night was like pulling teeth. And having to deal with any sort of meat? Oy no. That just really made me lose my appetite all together. Hence, the lack of weight gain, but baby has been growing.

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm eating all right, but just at night, no appetite. Especially not for strongly-flavored food. I felt like, if I had basic chicken noodle soup every night, that would be perfectly fine for me. I don't know if it's the preggo combined with stress (hello, have you seen the pit that's called the economy?), or if it's just the hormones - but from 3pm onward, it's just not a really fun time. No puking, just queasy. And worn out. And wanting to have chefs and servants at my beck and call. Oh wait - that's pretty normal.

So my Jewish meal. I was reading too many recipes, and suddenly I wanted to make noodle kugel, latkes, and pierogies, all in the same day. Maybe I just needed the carbs, who knows. But I remembered, my friend Tamara, who made noodle kugel 12 years ago, and I remembered really enjoying it, so I tried my hand at it. And I didn't yet get to the pierogies, but I have the ingredients ready to go in the fridge - so one of these nights... one of these nights.

Noodle Kugel
1 pack egg noodles (cook to just al dente, just under the recommended minimum cooking time)
5 eggs
1 cup sugar
Raisins
1/2 cup milk
Juice of 1 lemon
Rind of 1 lemon
1 T vanilla extract

Butter, for buttering baking dish

Preheat oven to 350. Cook noodles as noted above. In the mean time, mix all the remaining ingredients. Mix noodles with egg mixture, and pour into greased baking pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.


Latkes
3:1 proportion of potatoes to onion, all roughly shredded and left to drain (I used about 3 cups potato)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T salt
1 t pepper
1 egg, well beaten
(you can also add other herbs - I've added mint, parsley, and chives in the past - think about what you'd like in a baked potato!)

Flour

3/4C frying oil

Shred potatoes and onions (easiest done in a food processor). Drain over the sink to remove excess liquid. Squeeze lemon juice over mixture to prevent pinking of potatoes.

Mix potatoes and onions with S/P and egg, and any other herbs you'd like to add. The mixture should be a bit thick - if necessary, sprinkle in flour to make it thicker, so that the batter stays intact when you form the latkes for frying . In the mean time, heat about 1/4" oil in a pan - test the heat by dropping in a bit of the mixture, and see if it sizzles. If it does quickly, you're good to go.

Now, I kept 1 messy hand and one clean hand. The messy hand formed the mixture into 3" patties, the clean one tonged the frying latkes to flip them and move them to a draining rack. Ease each patty into the hot oil, and you can add more than just 1 if the oil does not overcool with each addition of a patty - otherwise, hold off until the oil gets hotter. The longer the latkes sit in the oil, the oiler they'll be. Fry each side until golden brown, and set on rack to drain.

Enjoy as quickly as you can out of the pan - they're best when they're crispy! Serve with sour cream and applesauce (I like both on my latkes).


More to follow on them pierogies!