Tea-parties happen

My daughter.  If there is ever a moment of pause, when the world goes quiet and I start to read a book, she comes up with a plan.  She will plan you right out of the room.  Every detail of an event is accounted for, every minute scheduled.  So one pleasant and quiet Sabbath, she came to me with her plan.  It was a tea party for the family.  I agreed, she took off! 

This was the result.  A perfectly perfect party, in her room, surrounded by 1000 of her closest stuffed friends. 

Boys at a tea-parties.  It is a beautiful and unnatural thing. 

Daddy had to fold himself up cross-legged to join us on the floor.  Crossed legs do not come easy for our poor daddy.  He is smiling through the pain.

A Sabbath tea-party insures that the goodies are simple and delicious.  Leftover challa, cookies from dessert and fruit.



I will keep this photo forever.  Partly because it is cute but specifically because I can use it against them one day when they try to leave me.
 "Mom, we are going to college."
"Oh yea.  How 'bout I show them how you guys really like to party?"
 
Blackmail: when a regular nice mom just won't do.




That's beautiful life folks. 



Pesach Seder

My family and I, since September, have been part of a group in our church that is studying the Torah. Now the Torah is a Jewish text. It is fundamental to the Jewish faith. But it is also fundamental to the Christian faith in being the very word of God and the first five books in our Bible. In studying Torah and the Jewish foundations of our faith, we have discovered the Feasts of the Lord. These are times during the year that the Lord has set apart for certain purposes. This time of year is set apart for the Passover or Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Though thought of as a "Jewish thing", it was commanded by God to be celebrated every year as a remembrance of the Israelites deliverance from Egypt. To believers of Messiah, the Pesach is a time for us remember His sacrifice on the cross. Both were miracles of God and both are salvation stories. To attend a Messianic Pesach Seder is to understand how beautifully and completely the Old Testament foreshadowed and prophesied of Messiah. If you ever have a chance to attend one, I would recommend it! This is the 3rd one we have been to and it just gets better every year! Here are some pictures.

3 of my babies at the Pesach table.
Looking down one of the tables during the seder

My sweet boys wearing kippahs or head coverings worn during special times of prayer.

Our sweet Pastor Roman teaching us the way of our Messiah. The washing of feet.


Dipping the parsley/cilantro into the saltwater.

The children reading the four questions. Jolie got to read!

Asher eating the bitter herb. (horseradish!!!)

I know they look sweet as heck but watch out!!!! (Zaddok and Judah)

They got to check for Elijah but ran to the wrong door so I was not prepared for the pic! BTW, he wasn't there.


That was just a peak into our night last night!

Shabbat food. A celebration!

So I am a foodie. I love all types of food. (I know someone reading this just said, "Yeah, we can tell by your round hiney." For shame!) I do not discriminate. Okay, so maybe I discriminate a little bit. I cannot stand prepackaged, bland, cafeteria style food. I crave food with a simple, fresh and delicious personality. So I love to use our celebration of the Sabbath as a chance to make things that I love. Tonight I am making a pot roast, mashed potatoes, simple cucumber salad, and challah. Dessert will be as American as apple pie. Okay, so it is apple pie. But it will be served with Blue Bell! And of course there will be wine for me and a beer for the hubby!

So this post will take you, my dear friends, through a bit of our Shabbat(Sabbath) meal preparations. Just don't linger too long or it might go straight to your hips!

This is my roast. I pat it dry, season it and sear it. Then I add a little water to the pan. I add onions, garlic, sage, oregano and thyme. I cover it or put it in a dutch oven, pop it in a 300 degree oven and cook the heck out of it! I am serious. If you want it to be tender you have to cook it for 6 plus hours. You won't be sorry. Just make sure it's covered or you will be sorry. Does pot roast dust mean anything to you?



Then we have the serious part. (It's bread and that is always the serious part around here.) Challah. My family has grown to love this traditional Jewish Sabbath bread. It is a simple recipe but becomes special when it is braided, egg washed and bespeckled with sesame seeds. It is a huge loaf that is promptly devoured by my grubby little munchkins. I wish you all could smell the yeasty yummy bread smell coming from my kitchen right now!




The potatoes are easy. Boiled and mashed. This time I put 5 small red potatoes with the roast. I'm going to mash them in with the rest of the potatoes along with some of the drippings from the meat. Also I like to use REAL butter and some cream. Sometimes when I am feeling frisky I use sour cream! Yum!




The salad is much better in the summer with fresh veggies. But I love the crispness and acidity of this dish. Slice sweet onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Make a dressing of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, a little sugar, salt and pepper and pour it over the veggies. Let it marinate all day and enjoy!




Mmmm, apple pie. So good with some homemade vanilla Blue Bell. Crazy good.



Here are the Shabbat lights that are kindled for us to remember our Adonai and obey Him.


And here is a plate of Shabbat goodness.


And here is my family enjoying the meal and each other!


Shabbat Shalom!

PS-Here is my sous chef:

Thank you very much 30.

First, I just have to ask, has anyone else ever gotten dizzy while taking the Christmas lights off of the tree? Oh yeah, I did! I mean seriously! I just walked around the tree a few times to unwind the lights. It wasn't like I'd been drinking. You know what happened? I turned 30... and then I turned into my mother. She can't even turn a corner with out getting sick. Oh well. Just another one of those things I have to thank 30 for.

So no dinner tonight. We got busy ate a late lunch and had to be to Torah study. So we had cereal and fruit. However last night we had a wonderful Sabbath (Shabbat) meal with some friends. She made a roast with potatoes and carrots with challah bread. She also made 2 pies. One was buttermilk and the other was eggnog! I brought a salad made with dark greens, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onion and kalamata olives and some homegrown black-eyed peas from Marsha Smith in the old hood! It was a great way to start the Sabbath.

My baby girl made me so proud today. She really followed through with her conviction to help animals. She called the local shelter to ask what they needed. Then she took the list and her own Christmas money to purchase those things. Then she was able to go take them to the shelter herself. She has such a servants heart. I can't wait to see how God uses these gifts he has given her.





So one last thing,



Sorry, I just had to.