Once in a lifetime

Thanksgivukkah was a gastronomic mashup of epic proportions and portions.

A dreidel spinning during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade
+ Thanksgiving nametags on menorahs as place settings
+ sweet potato latkes and cranberry applesauce
+ turkey AND brisket
+ pumpkin spice sufganiyot (doughnuts)
+ a cornucopia of gelt and dreidels
= EPIC holiday mashup!

Here are a few "pinteresting" recipes that were among our favorites:

pumpkin spice Rice Krispie treats

cranberry applesauce

Thanksgivukkah may have come and gone, but Chanukah is still here (barely - where is the time going?!) For those of you who celebrate, happy Chanukah!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

...Thanksgivukkah!

Never before and never again in this lifetime will there be a holiday mashup quite as awesome as what's in store tomorrow: Thanksgivukkah. The Pilgrims and the Maccabees, both champions of religious freedom, will share a day tomorrow, which they won't do again for another 70,000 years:

"This year, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will overlap, producing an anomalistic hybrid holiday that’s come to be known as Thanksgivukkah. There are conflicting reports about whether it’s happened before and when it will happen again, but most mathematicians and calendar experts seem to think this is the first occurrence. Although the holidays would’ve overlapped in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln didn’t formally establish the holiday of Thanksgiving until two years later, in 1863, which means that 2013/5774 will mark the first Thanksgivukkah in history. 

Just how rare is this holiday? Some reports say Thanksgivukkah will happen again in 2070; others, like Jewish physicist and calendar expert Jonathan Mizrahi, say it won’t repeat itself until 79811. Either way, it’s safe to say that for most of us, Thanksgivukkah is, indeed, a once-in-a-lifetime event."                     

-ReformJudaism.org

To celebrate, I've put on my "Sweet Genius" hat and am preparing to make hybrid desserts to honor both holidays. I truly don't remember the last time I was this excited to bake. It's a Thanksgivukkah miracle!

Right now, it looks like a bodega threw up on my kitchen counter...

... but tomorrow it will look like culinary crossover creativity. I hope.

This is the face

This is the face of the man who prefers the indoors to the out, but he silently swats away the bugs because he knows how happy it makes me being in the sun.

This is the face of the man who would rather eat at home, but he drives 40 minutes to take his wife, a recently reformed vegetarian, to a barbecue festival.

This is the face of the man who is a somewhat fussy eater, but he can eat his weight in collards and black-eyed peas.

Gaston Collard & BBQ Festival
October 5, 2013

I love this face.

A day late and a dollar short (Friday Fragments)

Somehow Friday came and went without my realizing it. Thus the late edition of Friday Fragments.

• It took almost two weeks, but the hole in the ceiling is finally no more. It's far from perfect (ok, that's putting it mildly; you'd have to be Stevie Wonder to not see the patch), but it's DONE.

• I realized this week that I used to be a good speller. And then I became a teacher. Seriously, I was real competition in the school-wide spelling bee, but now, thanks to years of reading misspelled words, I excitedly submit words in Words with Friends only to find out that they're spelled incorrectly. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

• Joan Rivers was HY.STER.I.CAL! At 78 years old, she has more energy than I have at more than half her age. She was in constant motion, pacing the stage, climbing on chairs, and rolling on the floor. She was wonderfully raunchy and managed to offend every cultural/ethnic/social group in the room (I have mad respect for equal-opportunity offenders). It was an absolute treat to see such a legend in person.

Because Joan was so sparkly, we couldn't capture her presence on camera,
but we did document our pre-show dinner date.

• Continuing my cooking streak, I made my favorite Pinterest recipe to date: oven toasted ravioli. Yum-O!

Don't judge my lack of plating skills.
Or my mismatched dishes.

• Hubby has been enjoying his new window creation and got to show it off to his mom during her visit this week (she, of course, was a fan; she has great taste).

• Also this week, I fell in love with a new-to-me YA hero, Daemon of the Lux series. Thanks for enabling my fangirl obsessions, Margie!

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• Speaking of obsession, I leave you now (before I'm two days late) with some (more) beautiful eye - and ear (love his voice) - candy (six days and counting!).

I hope your weekend is off to a great start and that it continues to be fabulous!

This post is part of Friday Fragments
@ Half-Past Kissin' Time

Chef Cheryl is back in the house (#iPPP)

In my late 20s I found that I had a small love of cooking - not a big one, mind you. You wouldn't see me in the kitchen for five hours preparing a gourmet meal, but making a dish that would gather people around the table and make them "mmm" was surprisingly satisfying to me. After marriage, I liked cooking even more, now that my mismatched college collection of dishes was gone and I had real pots and pans and gadgets with which to play, now that my dollhouse-sized kitchen grew into a real kitchen. Like any good Jewish woman, I'd make army-sized portions, even when it was just the two of us at the table (which we only ate at during the first year of marriage; now we eat at the coffee table). I would pour over cookbooks and magazines, was always eager to try something new, and got a thrill making an edible concoction out of nothing (I would have been a great Depression-era cook).

Then we moved into an apartment, back into a kitchen the size of a shoebox, and my love of cooking started to dwindle. Add to that the fact that I had begun working outside the home again, and the microwave became my most frequently used cooking appliance. Our pantry was bare, but boy was our freezer full!

This non-cooking phase has lasted an embarrassingly long time, but thanks to my recent obsessions with Pinterest and MasterChef, the longing to cook has come back. "So domestic," I again became in the kitchen this week, with homemade egg salad, fried rice, tuna croquettes, and crockpot ranch potatoes.

I didn't realize until posting these that I made all boring colored food this week. Hmph.

I'm not the only one who Instagrams (has that become a verb yet?) what she eats, right?

A MasterChef, I'll never be (I'm lucky when I don't ruin spaghetti). But as someone who lives to eat, I'm thankful my apron is finally finding its way back around my neck.

The way to my heart...

...is through my stomach. Seriously. Whereas the majority of my family eats to live, I live to eat. If I could eat 24/7, I would - especially restaurant food and takeout. It wasn't always that way. When I was younger, there were very few foods I liked, or at least thought I liked (I was practically double digits before I would even try a slice of pizza... weird, I know). It wasn't until I started eating at friends' houses that I began to try foods I didn't think I'd like because I didn't want to be rude to my friends' parents. Much to my surprise, I found that in reality, there are very few foods I don't like. But at the age of 13, after spending time petting a calf at the zoo and then coming home to lasagna, I stopped eating red meat and pork (though I hadn't pet any pigs, I thought they were just as cute). This coming year would mark my 20th year without these meats. Five years ago, I added gelatin and poultry to the list. Once I found an edible substitute for chicken, it really wasn't hard to maintain a pescetarian lifestyle. Except for that pesky - but delicious - chicken broth. It's amazing how many dishes are cooked with that liquid! Cooking at home, it's easy enough to substitute vegetable stock, but eating out (which we do a lot of around here), I constantly had to ask if the rice, soup, and even refried beans were cooked with it. There were many foods I could not enjoy outside of my own kitchen because of this dietary restriction I had put on myself, but I remained strong in my decision to abstain from consumption of this animal product.

Fast forward to last week. For five years, I had deprived myself of so many favorite foods - Mallomars, gummy bears (the vegan ones don't quite cut it), and my beloved cheddar broccoli soup from Panera - only to discover that a pill I have been taking for the past two years has traces of gelatin in it. I felt like I had been caught accidentally looking on someone else's paper: I didn't mean to cheat, but I did. That night, when we were at a banquet, the waitress informed us that the rice had been made with chicken stock. Guys, the rice looked SO good. It was really the only thing on the plate that I wanted. Could I just pretend I didn't hear that? I thought to myself, pushing the rice around the plate with my fork. And then I remembered the gelatin-laced pills. I haven't been 100% pescetarain this entire time anyway. How important is it that I start now? Do I still hold the same beliefs about consumption that I did five years ago? As I warred with myself, all the time drooling over the rice, I finally came to the decision that a flexitarian, or semi-vegetarian, lifestyle might be a better fit for me these days - and then promptly snarfed my rice as though I were a Survivor contestant.

While I have yet to devour a Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuit or an Arby's French dip (the only meat I've craved in the past five years), I did finally have a bowl of cheddar broccoli soup at Panera today. I felt no guilt, only the sweet satisfaction of my tummy being full with one of my favorite comfort foods.

Friday Five: New Obsessions

Sometimes I get obsessed with something and feel the need to share my crazy.

These are a few of my latest addictions.

1. GetGlue

This is probably the lamest addiction I've ever had,
but you can't tweet/FB about unlocking stickers
(*cough, cough,* Amanda, Jennifer, April)
and expect the 6-year-old sticker-collecting whore inside me
to refrain from at least checking it out.
Stickers aside (though, let's face it, that's the best part),
it is fun to see what your friends are watching.
As someone who loves to talk about TV and movies,
this has been a fun "secondary" social media site for me.

2. NOOK Color

Thanks to a surprise bonus payment for one of my projects,
I finally "broke down" and bought an eReader.
I'm a convert!
That's not to say I'm never going to buy another tangible book.
My series books will continue to have homes on my real-life bookshelves.
The turning point for me was finding out that I could
do on an eReader two of the things most important to me
in my world of reading: borrowing books from the library
and sharing books with friends.
Once I realized how easy it was to continue doing both of these things,
I could no longer argue against getting one.
Plus, having an eReader is a much handier way
to read NetGalley loans and the like.
So far, I'm not disappointed.
And how super cute is that case?!
If you have a NOOK, we should be "NOOK Friends!"
I don't have a huge collection yet,
but once it grows, I would love to start swapping books!

3. Pretzel Crisps

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With a consistency of the perfect blend between
a potato chip and a pretzel,
and the taste of a bagel chip,
this is my new favorite snack.

4. Covet by SJP

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My mom gave me a bottle of this forever ago,
and being a one-scent woman,
I never really used it.
I'm not sure why I picked up the bottle a few months ago,
but I did, and now I can't put it back down.

5. This bookmark 

The first thought that comes to mind is,
"Why didn't I think of that?!"
After the fit of creative jealousy subsides,
I have nothing but total love for this Etsy find.
As a Wizard of Oz fanatic, this is easily my new favorite bookmark.

What are you obsessed with lately?

These are a few of my fave Cola things

Today marks our one-month anniversary of living in "Cola." To commemorate the occasion, I thought I'd pay homage to a few of my favorite things that I couldn't enjoy back in Johnstown.

Ah, sweet tea. When you say it down here, they bring you a nice, cold, wonderful beverage that I would swim in if I could. News flash, North: unsweetened ice tea with a packet of sugar is not, never has been, and never will be the same as sweet tea.

Publix sushi. PUBLIX. I'm sorry, Bi-Lo and Giant Eagle, you just don't know how to treat a girl who enjoys eating things like sushi and Tofurky. Publix, I will never again move somewhere that requires me to cheat on you. It was an unsatisfying affair. Thank you for taking me back.

Pinkberry wannabes. Our city is so hip, we actually have two probiotic frozen yogurt places. Dairy Queen, I love you. I've loved you a long time. And truthfully, I always will. But every once in a while, a girl wants a treat that's not going to leave her feeling guilty. Yogen Fruz gets it (and my money).

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Shopping! Lots and lots of shopping! And all within a ten-minute drive. Mountains are pretty, but they can't clothe you. 300 acres of stores? That can clothe you.

Oh, South, you're just as wonderful as I remembered. Let's make a promise to never leave each other again.

Ce-eh-lebrate good food, come on!

Can you tell that I spend a lot of time singing my own versions of songs? It's a childhood phase I never outgrew.

This was the food scene for the past week.

With the end of Passover, this is the food scene tonight.

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So, let's hear it for the food! Aw, let's give the food a taa-aa-aaste. Let's hear it for the flour! You know you gotta understaa-aa-aand. (I can just imagine Hubby rolling his eyes as he reads this post.)

Have yourself a savvy little Passover...

Okay, it doesn't have quite the same ring as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," but I'm sick, so cut me some slack.

While the main purpose of Passover is to honor the Exodus from Egypt, I view the holiday as a big cooking challenge. Like Iron Chef.

"Chef Cheryl, your secret ingredient is matzo. How many edible dishes can you make with this tasteless cracker?"

I've made matz n' cheese, matzagna, matzodillas, matzza, matzwiches, and matzffins (in addition to the more traditional staples, like matzo brie, matzo ball soup, etc.). I've gotten so into the challenge, that I even wrote an article about it this year in hopes of inspiring the next generation of Passover Iron Chefs.

If you're celebrating Passover, Chag Sameach! If you're celebrating Easter, happy Easter! And if you're celebrating neither, have a great weekend!

If you're interested in the specifics of any of my matzo creations, give me a shout. I'm happy to share!

Suppertime! (for $10 or less)

The girls at Girl Talk Thursday are talking food tonight, so how can I not join the convo? The way to my heart is through my stomach.

"So, you’ve got $10.  Dinner needs to get on the table.  What’re you going to serve?"

This one is easy. When I need a lot of food fast for not much money, Mexican is the way I go. There are a plethora (the other way to my heart is by using the word "plethora") of dishes I can make with any or all of the following ingredients: fake meat crumbles (or real meat if you're a carnivore), black beans, refried beans, corn, salsa, hot sauce, cheese, Mexican or saffron rice, chips or tortillas. If I'm feeling fancy, I might add some cumin or cilantro. These ingredients are never in short supply at our house and are used for burritos, enchiladas, nachos, quesadillas, Mexican lasagna, or Mexican casserole. The best part is that I don't need to break out a cookbook. It's fairly difficult to ruin Mexican food and incredibly easy to fake it. If made right, it also feeds an army, which means leftovers for our little family of two.

Mexican: it's what's for dinner.

Lay off my natas!

After having slept for nearly 14 hours, I am now awake enough to say a proper hello and tell you a bit more about my travels (lucky you).

First of all, thanks for all the lovely comments, and hello to my new readers {waving}. I promise to pay you all a virtual visit once I get back to the States.

The travel to Portugal was obviously successful since I'm here safe and sound, and the transatlantic trip taught me several things:

• It's totally worth the $40 to get a day pass to the US Airways Club if you're going to be in the airport for 4+ hours. Lunch, TV, free wi-fi, comfy chairs... it's the best.
• People drink a lot of alcohol when it's free, no matter what time of day it is (see above note).
• Pink grapefruit Airborne tastes yummy.
• Air travel makes some people lose their minds. If it happens to be the person sitting in front of you, there's no need to pay for the in-flight movie.
• Just because your flight leaves the gate on time doesn't mean you'll actually be in the air on time.
• A 7-hour flight does not mean you'll get to sleep for 7 hours; you have to factor in the 2-hour dinner before they dim the lights and the rude wake-up call 2 hours before you land so that they can serve you subpar tea and danishes.
• If you've only gotten 3 hours of sleep in a 32-hour period, it's okay to take a small step off the caffeine-free wagon (said caffeine will give you quite a jolt after being free of it for 4 months).
• When you're trying to get into a country at the same time as 10,000 other people and only one customs officer is working, be prepared to stand in line for two hours. PS. There are no bathrooms between the plane and customs, so you should use the airplane facility, even if the captain has already turned on the "fasten seatbelt" sign.
• If you're waiting for 2 hours to clear customs, you will have to go on a scavenger hunt through baggage claim to find your luggage.

After the first order of business of de-grunge-ing and eating, I spent my first day in Portugal exploring the rocky (and windy) coast of Cascais.

The water and sky are both so blue (and the sky is so cloudless), it's difficult to distinguish the two without the waves.

The coast is a geology teacher's dream: sinkholes, mica, and salt deposits (oh my!) all in once place.

Aloe grows in abundance (I wish this stuff had grown on the beaches where I enjoyed sunburning).

After posing with the parentals...

(I told you it was windy.)

...we explored the S. Jorge de Oitavos Fort.

(the flag of Portugal)

We also explored a traditional Portuguese supermercado (but I forgot to take my camera in) and passed by the Portuguese version of Target.

Today, day 2 in Portugal, we laid low. Portugal is a very Roman Catholic state, so most things are closed on Sundays. We did, however, chow down on some traditional Portuguese pastries. They were all yummy, but my favorite so far is the nata, which is in the left side of the box.

It's kind of like a sweet custard encased with a puff pastry, and then it's torched on top like creme brulee.

Despite my best efforts to have a back up so that I could avoid the camera disasters I usually have on once-in-a-lifetime trips, I'm experiencing a camera FAIL. So our first stop tomorrow is to find a camera. Then it's off to Baixa (downtown Lisbon) to see the architecture, do some shopping, and finally try a Ginjinha.

Well, it's nearing midnight here, so I better bid you adeus.