Wow! COVID-19 has done quite a number on what we used to think of as “normal.” Nowadays, “flattening the curve” is the highest priority in my house. My husband (may he have a refu’a sheleima) is at high risk. We quickly stopped having direct contact with the outside world to try to ensure he doesn’t get the virus. Our hearts break with those who have been affected by this pandemic, and we want everyone to be as safe and healthy as possible. When we hear about those who struggled with the virus and came out the other side, we cheer their wins. When we hear about the overburdening of the system and the crazy-long hours the healthcare teams are working, we are so grateful for their efforts. May all the cholim of Bnei Yisrael have a refu’a sheleima.

The following recipes are super-versatile. They could grace your Purim or even your Pesach table. They might even be candidates for an unusual shalach manos offering.

Before presenting my “eggciting” egg recipe, I’d like to weigh in on one of the most persistent kitchen controversies of all time: how to peel a hardboiled egg. You’d be surprised how strongly some people feel about their own tried-and-true methods. I have friends who swear by the running-under-cold-water method. Others make a pinprick or cut the egg shell in half and scoop out the inside with a spoon. (What? You haven’t heard of that? It is only for people who don’t care if the egg salad has crunchy bits of shell in it. I definitely do not recommend this method.)

With the start of 2020, we have launched on a brand new year – and a brand new decade! May we all have perfect, 20/20 vision this year (if only in the metaphorical sense) to revisit our aspirations and goals. For me, this mid-winter new year has always been a good time to reevaluate and plan for the future. And while long-term goals are great, having several small goals that are easily attainable will start the year off right. Breaking a big goal down into manageable chunks is crucial. And those chunks should be easy to accomplish and have a time limit. The Chofetz Chaim once said that his resolution for the New Year was to bentch from a bentcher from Rosh Hashanah until Chanukah. That was his goal. It was doable and had a time limit.  

Chanukah is a spiritual time filled with the possibility of accomplishing that which appears impossible. The Maccabees won over the powerful Greeks in spite of the odds. They won not because they were the most prepared, the most numerous, or had the most weapons. They won because they showed up and tried, and Hashem was with them.

When we know Hashem is with us, we, too, can truly do anything, even what appears to the outside eye as impossible. We need only decide what we want to do. I feel strongly about this. (Yes, vanilla and Trader Joe’s are only two of my hot buttons; I have others!) I strongly believe that each of us is solely responsible for his or her life. You get to choose how you act and who you are today, no matter what experiences you’ve gone through. It doesn’t matter what your parents did or didn’t do, or what your friends, colleagues, or bosses did or thought. Today is your day, and only you are in charge of your life.

After a super-long summer, winter hit with a bang. (Arctic winds are no joke.) What to do about dinner, when all you want to do is curl up under a blanket after coming in from the cold? (Okay, okay, so we don’t feel like cooking in the summer, either.) Plan easy meals, that’s what! The obvious answer is to shlep out the crock pot during the week. It’s good for more than cholent. Just throw some frozen cutlets into it in the morning – don’t forget to plug it in! – and come home to the aroma of a delicious chicken dinner when you and the kids walk through the door in the afternoon! Plus, there’s another quick-and-easy dinner technique that I just learned about, called sheet pan cooking. Read on!

When I was growing up, my mom used to get up crazy-early on Thanksgiving morning and start cooking the turkey. While the turkey was in the oven, she made the corn, broccoli, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and more on the stove top. My aunts and uncles would come over, and we children would do an arts and crafts project at the table. Then we’d all sit around the table and say what we were thankful for before eating a crazy amount of food. My father (may his neshama be blessed) used to mix his food together so that the mashed potatoes, corn, and cranberries, topped off with the turkey, formed a huge pile, an amalgamation of the different flavors and textures. To this day, that’s one of my favorite things to do, too. Thanksgiving with family and friends close by, laughing and eating, is my kind of holiday.