It's 12:25 am and I can't remember the last time I felt this productive

Chatzos Challenge - BRING IT!

(this post is for you)

A friend of mine recently started a blog detailing her adventures in making Shabbat early enough to meet the chatzos (mid-day Friday) deadline - a concept I've never heard of until she brought it up.  Sure - it's always wonderful to prepare Shabbat early enough so that you're not racing around counting down the seconds until the 18 minute window before candlelighting is up (I may speak from experience) - but I did not know that such a custom exists.

It's as though the Torah is teaching us organizational skills...

Anyway, you can read more about the concept on her blog.  For me, getting anything done before Friday afternoon is icing on the cake because I work out of the house full-time, and I don't cook in advance and stock up my freezer (although I may do that in the future).  So tonight - I don't know what got ahold of me.  Here is a run-down of what I've done so far:
* Floormated (thanks Hoover!) the living room floor
* baked challah
* made Shabbat lunch chicken
* made 2 different kugels (one noodle, one veg)
* prepped and marinated Friday night chicken (hubby will cook in the morning)
* polished candlesticks and kiddush cup
* laid tablecloth on table (the kids like to help me set the table for Shabbat and I love doing it with them, so that's our activity for tomorrow afternoon)
* cleaned the kitchen
* 1 load of laundry, start to finish

So - why am I still awake?  Because my throat is dry and I wanted some warm apple cider before I go to bed.  Also, kugel #2 is still in the oven so I am waiting for that.

There's no way I'm expecting such activity on a routine basis.  Certainly I don't want my Thursday nights to be all about the kitchen.  But it definitely is nice to know that certain things are already done.

An egg co-op in Houston?

Why yes - of course!  Um - what is an egg co-op?

(it's ok, I've never heard of one either)

My understanding is that an egg co-op is similar to participating in a co-op for fruits and veggies.  The benefit is that you know where your eggs come from, and you know about the chickens who worked so hard to lay those eggs for you.  You get to support a local farm and also improve the health and well-being of your egg-eating family. 

The way it works is that you buy a "share" for the specified length of the program.  Your share will be a certain number of eggs each week delivered straight from this farm.  You can also buy half-shares.  The co-op needs a minimum number of shares in order to commence, so time is of the essence.

Here at our local Jewish Community Center, a program is underway to begin an egg co-op to purchase farm fresh eggs.  Now, everyone touts farm fresh eggs, but really, these are straight from the farm.  As in, this farm.  Right outside of town.  Not hundreds of miles away.  I believe this is a fairly innovative program along with the CSA (community supported agriculture) fruit/veggie program our JCC operates.  Not too many JCCs have such programs, so we are very lucky.

Judaism, of course, supports and advocates for humane and ethical treatment of animals.  After all, how can we nourish ourselves if we don't take care of the beings who nourish us?

If you would like more information about this program, contact the egg co-op administrator at the JCC at jhandy [AT] jcchouston [DOT] org.

Meal planning check-in: Week ending 2/12

Well, here we go again.  What shall I make for dinner this week?
I finished the chicken soup from shabbat, and I feel like there is so much leftover food in the fridge from this weekend that needs to be creatively re-invented, so I feel like it's only right to use up that food before making fresh food...
I also want to make the pasta-tofu dish that was suggested in the comments here.  I think homemade pizza is in the plans for this week.  Maybe something with fish...like fish wraps?  We used to eat a lot of those when we were in grad school...

Maybe what I need to do is to make a list of my family's favorite recipes, and work from there?  Then I don't have to start from scratch every single week?

What are your family's favorite weeknight recipes?  Share in the comments box!

*HOT!* Free Matisyahu song download

If you're a fan of Matisyahu, you can download the song "Darkness into Light" for FREE for a limited time from the Amazon MP3 store.  Check it out here!

Calling all Supermoms - time to take a break

Tonight I met up with a dear friend of mine (more on that in another post) and we chatted about our relatively new roles as moms.  After discussing a few situations - that now seem so ordinary because we don't stop and think, we just do - she said to me, "Wow, so you really are Supermom."

(truly - I'm not - I have Shabbat dinner chicken in the oven right now and I still have to report to work tomorrow, as an example)

Which got me thinking about all of the things moms do just because, and all of the things that happen behind the scenes ("the laundry doesn't fold itself" is a common refrain in my household)...and then this post caught my eye.  There are so many things that demand our attention RIGHTNOW...but just as important is that we don't lose ourselves in this whole mothering role and that we pay attention to our own needs.

So how timely to find a post that speaks to easy ways to pamper ourselves!!  I'm happy to try any of these starting tomorrow!

How do you like to pamper yourself on the cheap?  Leave a note in the comments box!

For the kosher Starbucks addicts out there

While we're on the topic of staying warm, my thoughts always turn to a warm cup of something yummy, like out of Starbucks (or your favorite local coffee shop).  Given the recent changes to some of their products, it's a bit of a challenge to know exactly what is kosher and what should be avoided, but fortunately we have technology on our side!!

Have you heard of KosherStarbucks.com?  I just recently found out about it and I want to share it with you!

It's a terrific site that goes item by item, giving you exact details of what's permissible and what is not.  You can even subscribe to it so that you are alerted instantly when there are updates! 

Anyway, I think it's a handy site and I hope you find it handy as well.

What's your favorite Starbucks drink?  I love lattes.  Leave a note in the comments box with what you love to order from there!

Get ready for wintry weather!

If you haven't been outside recently - watch out!  It is COLD!!!

Please be careful and be strategic re: food and gas.  You don't want to be stuck in the cold pumping gas, and you also don't want to be one egg short of a challah recipe when making challah this week.  Take the time today to plan out your recipes for the rest of the week and grocery shop asap.

A good excuse to plan for Shabbat early!