cakewalk

Also, there's lots of chocolate covered marshmallow stuff. And it has to be the most disgusting marshmallow ever invented. Truly vile. As opposed to melting in your mouth this stuff just sort of ... disintegrates.

Kind of like spearmint colored Listerine? Could've been maybe blueberry? You're not talking about something like "fruit rollups", are you? Soba Spearmint listerine is close, although a little more on the blue side than the green side. Maybe they were going for blueberry, but they missed by a long shot! And no, nothing as good as fruit rollups! (Which we used to call "shoe leather" way back when I was a young'un.) The fruit slices are shaped like a half-circle, flat, covered with sugar, and so phosphorescent that you need sunglasses to look at them!

Ah, that's where we "answer to a higher authority." Corn syrup is kitniot (legumes), which Eastern European Jews don't eat on Passover!

Last Pesach I saw these blue fruit slices. Sort of a turquoise blue. I still can't imagine what fruit they were supposed to be like.

Kosher for Passover candy. Well, when we were kids we used to sell the stuff for our Hebrew School, much like kids sell Girl Scout Cookies, etc. It was always a big thing. I think a lot of Jewish kids, all over the States, have had this experience. And the stuff was usually pretty awful (although it rarely stopped us from eating it). I mean, fruitcake would be a step up (especially if it was real cake ). Mostly it was pure sugar with as much artifical flavoring as possible.

I'm another whose children are perfect, since I don't have any. But I have nieces and nephews and my friends have kids, and I've watched most of them grow from fairly obnoxious kids into utterly obnoxious adolescents and, lo and behold, for the most part into healthy, caring, polite and even sincere young adults. I'm not sure how this transformation actually takes place; in fact, it's rather a mystery to me. But take place it did. But I do think that kids are NOT "little adults," and expecting them to behave as such can be problematic. They are kids. They are going to get on your nerves and in your hair, that's part of their role, it's what they're about. They do need to be taught the basics (again and again) when they're young, but we can't expect them to absorb the stuff until they're older. There's this time warp that has to be allowed for.

Yes, I think everyone hates the egg. And quite often it's "forgotten." Because it's not in the haggadah! I'm not sure at what stage in history the hard boiled egg was added to the ritual, but it really isn't part of the "set" haggadah. Some haggadot will add a sentence like, "at this stage, hard boiled eggs dipped in salt water can be eaten" or whatever. And it's true that the more you add to the story, the more praiseworthy it is, but you can do something other than hard boiled eggs. It's sort of a strange paradox but the seder, as much as it is "set" and "ordered," really does invite innovation. Happy Pesach to all.

I just finished wolfing down a jumbo sized Joyva halvah bar (chocolate covered). That has about a gazillion calories. Damn but it was good.

I've been thinking somewhere along these lines. I've been reading these posts and thinking about the comments made, for example, about Sandra Lee (is that her name?), or "cooking" from pre-packaged ingredients, etc. I've never seen any of these shows, never heard of the Frugal Gormet (I lived overseas for many years, so I missed a lot of American pop-culture), so I'm really wondering. There is a difference between simplicity in cooking and having "more schtick than substance." Where do you draw the line? Why is Jeff Smith's simplicity viewed as schtick, but not Mark Bittman's, for example? (BTW, I have "How to Cook Everything" and I love it; my niece just moved into her own place and I bought her a copy, and she loves it too. I'm not dissing on anybody here.) There's a huge gap between "Julia, Jacques and James" and someone like Sandra Lee (and the Frugal Gormet?) I appreciate simplicity in cooking (in everything, actually). Granted most things fall into the grey area rather than the clear black or white, but what is it that you think makes the distinction between simple, good cooking and "charlatanism"?

I just think that is such a sweetly naive statement. Yes, those are the basic ingredients for an egg cream. I guess you are unaware of the different ways and combinations those simple ingredients can be put together -- not to mention the good-natured (and sometimes not so) feuding that has continued for years over the PROPER way to make an egg cream.

I dunno. The original story sounds like plain old rudeness to me. Germany is not a "foreign culture." They know what brownies are. They know what sugar is. They know what cheese is. They know what chocolate is. They may well have realized that these brownies were going to be much sweeter than what they preferred, but they could have each taken a brownie and had a few bites. But I guess all it needs is for the first person to refuse, then plain old "mob mentality" rules. (And as I re-read this I feel I have to add: that was a general "mob mentality" comment, not a reference to Germany!!)

No coke. Pepsi.

Lions and tigers and bears and blueberry bagels ... oh my! (shudder)

It does look great. Thanks!

Hey, if I-95 is still closed by the time Passover rolls around, the stress level is REALLY gonna reach serious proportions!

I think it's considered "kitniot" (legumes). Traditionally, Ashkenzi Jews don't eat kitniot, Sephardi Jews do.

Good going. And now wouldn't you like to add it to the eGullet recipes?

Dark chocolate. Mmmmmm.

I just finished eating some decidedly mediocre pizza that they ordered at work (three slices, no less!) So now I'm full, albeit not terribly satisfied, and my tastebuds are craving something sweet. I'm in need of chocolate!

I also don't eat meat during Passover (because I only have Passover dairy dishes). I make a lot of "quiches," using a grated potato crust. I quite like it. I don't really use a recipe. Coarsely grate potatoes, chop some onion, add an egg, some matzoh meal, S&P, mix together, pat into a baking dish and bake until the potatoes have browned. That's your "crust" (it's sort of like a very thin potato kugle). Add any sort of quiche filling you might normally use, and bake until set. They come out great, can be reheated or even cut up and eaten at room temperature.

Wonderful phrase which immediately brought to mind the image of rows of animated vegetables -- fresh, frozen, and canned -- lined up and ready to do a pole vault. Guess which team wins?

Great term, I like that. College students can be forgiven their sanctimoniousness (or "earnestness"), that's what they're all about. I was a "veggie" for a while back in the day, but for me it was pure rebellion (my father was a butcher). One fine day I fainted. So I started eating meat again. Oh happy day.

Sunday 3/14/04, about 7:10 pm, LOOONG line out the door, about halfway down the block. I didn't wait. maybe tomorrow. Was it in the newspapers today? I walked by last Tuesday evening, about 7:30. Also, a long line out the door. So I guess they're catching on. (I didn't wait.)

Incorrigible. You are simply. I think Thomas Wolfe wrote a book with an appropriate title.

When cholent is good, it is very very good. When it's bad ... fuggedabowdit! You're right, by Saturday night or Sunday, you'll have a lot more answers on this thread. Sephardic cholents (there are so many different versions) are delicious, different flavorings and ingredients than standard Ashkenazi stuff. But I find that they all really need to mellow overnight. I never made cholent in a crock pot. How many hours do you let it cook? I always put whole wheat berries in cholent. They can sit on the blech for days, probably, and still retain shape and still have some bite to them. Also nice is to add some almonds. I don't like eggs in cholent, they develop a flavor that makes me wince. But throw in some chick peas, they're great. Oh the list is endless.