I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays! The pics above are from our first night seder at Mimi and Papa’s house – it was so cute with the boys wearing their matzah-patterned yarmulkes! Av had his birthday during Passover so we brought in a doberge for him from Gambino’s in New Orleans a couple of days before the holiday started to celebrate (a kosher-for-Passover cake from mix just doesn’t compare with a doberge! Bleh! haha!).
Second night seder we had here at our home, and we did it a little different. First night seder is always very traditional with all the traditional food and all that. Second night we try to make different because…well, doing the same 3-4+ hour thing two nights in a row can get a little…you know…
So! Instead of sitting around the supper table for hours & hours, we had the first part of the seder – everything before the meal – *in the living room*. On our comfortable furniture. We figured that if the idea is to enjoy the Passover seder as free people rather than the slaves we were in Egypt, we ought to be free of dining room chairs and be able to sink into the couch or leather club chairs – we brought in some chairs from other rooms and some rocking chairs too! I think everyone enjoyed it. We read from the same haggadah (similar to this one) as first night, but Av added some new readings and things to think about and talk about. My favorite question to ask of everyone is “what is the first seder that you remember? Or what was it about a particular seder that you remember best?” because we go around to every participant and *everyone* always has a fantastic answer. Some happy, some bittersweet, some hilarious.
Since I figure everyone had traditional Passover foods on first night, I cook different things for second night. I just don’t enjoy desserts (cakes, brownies, etc. full of matzoh meal) and other foods trying to masquerade as ‘regular’ food so I cook things that don’t have to work around the Passover rules. We had barbecue short ribs, olive-crusted rack of lamb, collards with matzoh balls, chopped liver, cole slaw, potato salad, and chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert.
Oh! I have to mention that Av’s birthday cake was enjoyed before Passover, but he got his present during Passover. Can you see what it is? hahaha! He says he is going to mount it on the side of our little chicken coop (fresh eggs from sweet little bantam hens!) when we get it built. More pics soon…
If you weren’t having Passover the last several days, I hope you had a beautiful, meaningful Easter.
Dogwoods are blooming, the azaleas are just about to burst open, wisteria is everywhere…
If you weren’t celebrating Passover or Easter, I hope you were busy taking in this glorious weather. Oh, it’s so good!