Cookies and Pain

I had company this past weekend, and today I’m in a lot of pain. It all started when somebody offered me some gluten-free cookies for free. I figured “Hey, I’m having company this weekend; it’s a good idea to have desserts and snacks on hand!” Unfortunately, none of my guests liked the cookies, and I […]

Catching up

Things have been absolutely CRAZY around here the past couple of months. Hannah just moved to Israel a couple of days ago, after living here for the past 6 months. She took up a lot of my time and energy- if she wanted to talk, I wanted to spend that time with her while I […]

Happy New Year!

Rosh Hashona is usually a time for families to get together. But my oldest, recently married daughter was going away upstate for the holiday, where the sleep away camp she used to attend is hosting a free event for families and alumni of the camp. I’ve never attended because I don’t think they can safely […]

Catching Up

I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, but my life’s been busy. My daughter got married at the end of June, and I’d mentally planned on a bunch of blogs related to it. Jewish weddings spread out the festivities for the weeks before and after the wedding itself. The Shabbos before, the bride and […]

More Adventures in Free Food

A while ago, I blogged about various sources for getting free food. There’s the organization that used to be called “Food Not Bombs”, but has since been renamed “Community Solidarity.” They mostly distribute food that stores would have thrown away: over ripe produce, dairy products  that are just at or past  the expiration date, and […]

Barbecue Fun

We had a barbecue at our Shul (synagogue) last night, and I really enjoyed myself. I coudln’t eat EVERYTHING there, but I still found plenty to eat. It was easy enough to avoid the potato and corn chips, pretzels, pasta and potato salads, and the buns. I’m well aware that the tossed green salad and […]

Happy Hanukkah!

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah celebrates a miracle, when 1 tiny jar of olive oil burned for 8 nights instead of only one. So, fried foods have become associated with the holiday- especially if they’re fried in olive oil. Potato pancakes, known as latkes, are the Hanukkah treat that I grew up with. They’re fried […]

Mazel Tov!

On Sunday, I went to my cousin’s wedding celebration. The actual wedding took place in Tel Aviv the week before, but they also had a party in New Jersey for those who couldn’t make it to Israel. He grew up in New Jersey and she grew up in Israel, and both have extended family on […]

The Cost of Free Food

  A while ago, I posted about all the free food I was getting from various sources. There’s the organization that used to be called Food Not Bombs, but has since been renamed Community Solidarity. They collect food donations from individuals and stores, and give it away to anybody who has the time and energy […]

Holiday Cooking For One

There are a LOT of Jewish holidays this time of year. First come Rosh Hashona, the Jewish New Year. Then 10 days later it’s Yom Kippur, when we fast and pray for forgiveness. What’s less well known are the holidays of Succos and Simchat Torah, which start a few days later. Succos lasts a whole […]