Focused at Fifty

 Sheryl and I at Passover 2015 ***I know Passover was in the beginning of April, but I still wanted to post this piece for my series in "Cooking Through Family" as I used a family recipe. Thanks. :) Marc Passover is one of those Jewish holidays which inspires excitement and dread for   me at the same time. And the reason for both is purely selfish. I am excited because I love the foods surrounding this holiday. I dread it because of how long the Seder (the ritual dinner) may last.  The holy Jewish festival occurs each Spring and commemorates the Jews' exodus from slavery by their oppressors in Egypt. It is one of the most celebrated of holidays and lasts 8 days or 7 depending on whether or not you are in America, Israel, or the rest of the world. The length of the festival also depends on how religious a Jew you are.  Sheryl set a beautiful table! The first night of Passover is all about the special ritual dinner...

Visiting Mom and our traditions What a difficult month this has been for me. I'm not asking for a pity party and actually I'm finally getting out of my funk. You all lend me your ears and that's all I can ask for. J I have a couple blog posts written and am in the process of polishing them up to post soon. I wanted to explain my absence though. It was the 5 th anniversary of Mom's passing this year. A sad time every year. At least I don't sob openly in public anymore. Those who have lost someone close know how easily that can happen during the first couple years. The pain is still there, very raw. I am very very sad. But I process it, sometimes confront it, sometimes overwhelmed by it. That sob comes in private. I then put it back in its place until the next year when the scab is ripped off again and the process starts all over. Each year, the wound gets smaller, but still pain hurts just as much. You just learn how to deal with it better. Hope this mak...

***Blogger's note: I have changed the names of the individuals and some of the places discussed below for privacy. Pic courtesy of Firstnetsource.com The other evening I stopped at my local firehouse social club, the hosey, to meet my friend Sue for a beer. A lot of my neighbors and friends head down there on Wednesday nights for drinks, games, and fun. I figured I'd join them for one beer, maybe two, maybe two and a shot of Fireball. You get the idea. I had just walked in and who did I see across the bar but my friends Dan Myers and his wife Louise. I hadn't seen them in a couple of years since they had moved west to Missouri. I had gotten to know them fairly well when I was bartending at the hosey a while back. They lived around the corner from me and then moved out west for work after Dan had spent month after month job hunting in our economically depressed county. He finally gave up and went where the work was after no success up in this area. I went over,...

Much of what I write about is for my brother and sister. The blog has become sort of a written record of my family's history. My father has often forwarded family photographs, scrapbooks, heirlooms, and anecdotes my way and it was he who dubbed me the official family historian. I feel a sense of duty to my family since Mom passed away, to remember and record these memories, whether snippets or lengthy stories. My blog has become an easy way to share my family history with not only them, but also extended family and friends.  I find my cousins and close friends having "Aha!" moments when they rediscover past memories. My memories of Nana (Nanny) and Grandpop (my Mother's parents) extend from approximately 1973 through my Grandpop's passing in 1976 to Nana's subsequent passing two years later.   They lived at 22 Endwell Lane in Willingboro, New Jersey, in a one story rancher built in 1967. It's still there today. One funny memory was that my Nanny insis...

Guanciale OK, OK I have to say it and it's a bit sacrilegious, but this Jewish guy likes bacon. and furthermore, I like most pork products! I'd say my Jewish mother Abby may be rolling over in her grave but I know she isn't. She once told me she could eat bacon and not feel guilty because it was sooo good AND it didn't look like a pig. What??? LOL. OK Mom. And I am my Mother's child because I now use that same justification! :) For John's birthday back in November, I decided to get him a huge cheese box from DiBruno Brothers on Chestnut Street in Philly filled with his favorite Italian foods and some new ones too. Since I call him the Big Ragu and he is the most Italian person I know, I knew it'd be sure fire hit. Inside was the prerequisite sharp provolone, a rustic hot soppressata dry sausage, balsamic glazed figs, lupini beans, Italian long hot peppers, guanciale, and a bunch of other awesome foods! For those who do not know what guanciale is, it...

Every month, my office sends out a department newsletter over email. There are several sections such as anniversaries, birthdays, get-to-know new employers, co-worker trivia, and quotes. I began reading the co-worker trivia section to try and figure out who it was. The first sentence was "the first thing I notice about people is their confidence." Wow, I thought, I do that too! I always am drawn to other confident people! Next, the person "preferred cats over dogs, and summer over winter." Hmmm, I thought, me too. I have two cats and I am SO OVER this winter! After that, the person had written that they liked Asian food, the color royal blue, movies with happy endings, and mint chocolate chip ice cream. You know, I said to myself, I could easily be friends with this person! I have so much in common with them. Now I also like the color grey and coffee ice cream but royal blue and mint chocolate chip ice cream are ultimately at the top of my list! So I checked a...

"Voile" Pasta Measurer by Alessi Throughout the years, I have acquired several favorite cooking tools as gifts or through my own discoveries. I am always on the lookout for cool kitchen gadgets. Mom's favorite kitchen tool was the wooden spoon. When we stepped out of line, she would grab it and threaten to paddle us with it. She was kidding/half serious most of the time but I think I remember once or twice when I got the spoon to my butt for being a bad kid. Mom swore by wooden kitchen tools and to this day, I have plenty in my kitchen as well. The first favorite kitchen tool is the "Voile" Alessi Pasta Measurer. Alessi is an incredible Italian design company. Check out more of their wares at www.alessi.com . It was a gift from my father and stepmom Martha. Each circle in the pasta measurer is for a different amount of pasta. It was truly a perfect gift from the two of them as it encompassed Martha's passion for the kitchen and cooking, and ...