This will be my last pregnancy update.

I was 36 weeks pregnant on Saturday, September 26, 2009.  40 weeks is the “due date” and 37 weeks is considered “full term.”  But 36 weeks is considered safe and close enough to full term.  It is the minimum gestation to have a home birth, which is what I was planning.

The pregnancy was very very hard on me with lots of fatigue and discomfort, but was going quite well from all other ways of looking at it.  The baby was growing at just the right rate.  He moved a lot and his heartbeat was always perfect.  I had an ultrasound at 20 weeks which showed he was a boy and that everything looked normal. My blood pressure was 110/60 or a bit less every time.  My last midwife appt was Wednesday before this all happened and my blood pressure was normal, along with everything else.

On Sunday, he only kicked and moved twice, at 11am and 6pm, no matter how much I poked and prodded.  And each of those times it was weak and short-lived.  When his position dropped a week and a half earlier (normal pre-birth occurrence), his movement also decreased but he checked out fine and started kicking at normal levels shortly afterward.  So I kept telling myself it was nothing.

Sunday night was the start of Yom Kippur services and we were at synagogue.  When services were over around 10pm, I went to one of the members who was a doctor and got her advice.  She said to call my midwife immediately.  I did and the midwife said to head directly to the ER.  The ER close to our house isn’t very home birth friendly and doesn’t have great OB services so we were going to go to my backup hospital way south of us.  But we already 10 mins north of our home and Michael was too tired to drive far, so we decided to go to Sutter Santa Rosa which our midwife often uses as a backup and where several doctor members of the synagogue happen to work.  The plan was to get monitored for an hour or two then go home.

We arrived about 11pm and were immediately sent up to labor and delivery and put on a monitor.  When I heard the perfect strong heartbeat I felt so relieved and thought that was it, we’d be sent home.  But the heartbeat was too perfect.  It’s supposed to go up and down with movement, only he didn’t move.

My blood pressure was high, in the 140′s to 160′s, with the bottom number in the 70′s I think (hard to remember) and there was protein in my urine.  I had had edema in my lower legs for ages.  Those three things together are not good though and I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.

They sent me for an ultrasound.  They do a rating out of 8 points.  He got a 2.  The heartbeat was strong but there was nothing but tiny movements and the blood flow through the cord was impaired.  One of his lungs was collapsed and they didn’t know why.  They told us he was better off outside of me than inside.  They thought his brain was probably not affected at this point and that he would probably be okay, though he’d need some intervention.  A c-section was the only possible choice.

They waited until my midwife Claudette arrived (once in the hospital she became my doula).  I am very anti-c-section except for medical emergencies but I knew this was the only option.  I chose my midwife precisely  because she does not follow mainstream thinking and has the skills and experience to safely help women choose to avoid interventions they are sometimes pushed into.  She told me to have the c-section.

I spoke with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist about my chemical sensitivities and drug reactions and they were very accommodating and worked with me well.  I was still scared to death and crying. But I would do anything to save my baby’s life and this seemed to be it.

At 2am they took me to the operating room.  The surgery was just awful.  No pain or anything but it felt just horrible all around. It was an emergency but not the full-out get the baby out right away kind so I had a spinal vs general anesthesia and they were able to take their time so my internal organs didn’t get too messed up.  Claudette held my hand the whole time and Michael stayed with Miriam in the room where she was sleeping on a mattress the staff set up.

William Gabriel Norwitz was born at 2:54am.

They wouldn’t let me see him.  I had almost no updates.  They had a team of doctors working on him.  He didn’t cry.  They intubated him but it took 3 tries.  I had to stay there for another long long while (I’m guessing half an hour but it felt much longer) to be sewn up.

I went to the recovery room but still didn’t know how my son was.  I knew he had been intubated and was in the NICU and that he had a cleft lip.  Post-surgery, my blood pressure went up.  And up.  At first they weren’t too worried and gave me meds.  But my pressure was more than 200/100 (dipping down to the 170′s or 180′s as well) for a couple of hours after several doses of a couple different meds.  I could tell how freaked out everyone was.  I knew I was in danger of a stroke or seizure or death.  I didn’t care.

They let Michael go see William and told him he was “probably not going to make it.”  I was shocked when I heard this.  I was worried about brain damage but thought he would survive.  We woke Miriam up.  A few minutes later, Michael and Miriam went to see him and Michael asked for some hard numbers.  What are his chances?  He was told “zero.”

I told them over and over again, do not let my son die before I can see him.  It took a very long time but they finally brought him into my room in an incubator.  I couldn’t move my lower body yet and could only reach his hand to hold it.  He looked so unhappy and uncomfortable.  I told them I wanted to hold him.  Our Rabbi was on her way and they were afraid of transferring him before she arrived.  I kept insisting but logistics kept it from happening.

When the Rabbi arrived it still took a while but they did give him to me.  I opened my gown and placed him skin to skin on my chest and arm, then we put a blanket over both of us.  He had the ventilator breathing for him and his eyes were gooey so I’m not sure he could see anything (I still don’t know what color his eyes were).  But he was awake.  Once on me he relaxed and seemed much more comfortable.

I held him for about half an hour while the Rabbi performed a naming ceremony for him.  Gabriel is his Hebrew name.  Michael held him for a little bit as well.  Miriam chose to stay in the room at times and to go out with Claudette at other times.  We gave her many chances to decide what she wanted to do.  She understood her brother was going to die and was very very upset about it.

This entire time was when my blood pressure was through the roof.  I had been getting over a cold and the crying and stress filled my sinuses and nose so I couldn’t breathe at all except through my mouth.  And then my throat started to swell up and I had trouble breathing.  I asked for oxygen and they said my sats (O2 saturation) were fine but I said give it to me anyway and they did.  It helped slightly.  The BP stuff didn’t scare me because I didn’t care at that point.  But my throat swelling did.  I did not want to not be able to say goodbye to my son.  The staff monitored me closely of course but they thought it was stress.

I did not find out until Thursday that my surgeon had given me an antibiotic during surgery that was a “cousin” to penicillin.  (I didn’t quite catch the name but it sounded like Ciprosporin.)  I told him about the throat swelling and how that is the reaction I got to amoxicillin (penicillin family) and his eyes got real big.  He said that was anaphylaxis and that I needed to add that class of antibiotics to the list of ones I couldn’t have.

When the 3 of us had said our goodbyes, we asked them to remove the ventilator.  They said we could have kept it in longer but we didn’t want William to suffer anymore and we knew there was no hope at all he would survive.  His lungs were hard and wouldn’t not inflate properly even though they were putting through pressures that were much higher than any newborn would get.  And his cord blood pH was so low that no baby ever survived it.  And the placenta was small with poor blood flow.

The neonatologist said he might live and gasp for a couple of hours, but he went in just 10 minutes.  Peacefully on my chest, in my arms.  He died with his little thumb in his mouth.  William died around 6:30am, after only 3 1/2 hours of life.

I held him for another hour or so.  My breathing improved and my blood pressure went down to insanely high but out of the danger zone (they’d cheer when it got down into the 170′s).  Michael held his body then and Claudette did briefly as well.  Miriam said goodbye but chose not to touch him.  Then they took him away and began the transfer to send me to my hospital room.

Although my doctors were still from Labor and Delivery, they put me one floor down, in Cardiac & Telemetry, in a private room.  Losing a baby is a rare occurrence in that hospital and they treated me with the utmost respect.  For my entire stay, every single person, from my nurses to the dietitian, was told what happened before meeting me.  Claudette had brought my birth plan (which had my chemical and medication restrictions listed) and my door sign, which they put up (asking perfumed people not to enter).  They also put a sign on the Purell dispenser outside my room asking people not to use before entering.

They took some care to get me unscented nurses though we had some laundry product issues.  Other staff with scent stayed away or worked with me by phone.  And the next morning Michael brought some safe liquid soap that staff used instead of the sink soap dispenser. With the door closed and the air conditioner on (the window didn’t open) my room wasn’t too bad.

I left for home Thursday late afternoon.  It’s been a difficult recovery, with lots of physical pain and a lot of work to find pain meds I tolerated that worked.  My blood pressure is still not normal but is mostly in the 140′s and 150′s now.  They gave me meds when it spiked to 161 and I spent the night feeling like half my head had been sawed off (this while being on heavy narcotics) so I know now that the recovery room migraine was caused by Labetalol (as opposed to any of the 100 other things it could have been caused by).  And I know I tolerate Toperol (anti-inflammatory) and Dilaudid (narcotic). My incision is healing well but I have welts and blisters and severe itching from the bandage adhesive.

My synagogue, Congregation Ner Shalom, was amazing and, between them and friends and family, I  had visitors and phone calls nearly around the clock, which comforted me to no end.  Being alone were the worst times, especially night and early morning. Although we had to delay the burial, we counted it as sitting Shiva.

As of Saturday afternoon.  I can get out of bed by myself (that feat took several days), use the computer, use the toilet, and stand for brief periods of time (a minute, maybe two).  I took a shower in the hospital which wiped me out and caused terrible pain.  I took one at home yesterday but needed much help with it.  Today I used a borrowed shower seat and was 95% independent.  I am eating and drinking normally.

We will meet with the neonatologist in a couple of weeks when all the test results are in.  They are waiting on some pathology slides and a chromosomal report.  But the diagnosis so far is pulmonary hypoplasia.  Or severe underdevelopment of the lungs, which were 1/10th the size they should have been.  This condition is usually secondary to other issues but, in this case, they think it is caused by a random genetic disorder, which also caused the other birth defects, and led to the failing placenta which led to my pre-eclampsia.  They say it is not related to my age or health but can happen to anyone, though it is rare.

The funeral was yesterday.  It was brutal but I needed to see him buried.  The cemetery is walking distance from our house with trees and grass.

That’s about all I have in me for now.  Thank you again to all who have visited, called, emailed, prayed, or otherwise supported us through this.  It means more than I can say.

William Gabriel Norwitz
Born and died September 28, 2009
10th of Tishrei, 5770

Goodbye my sweet boy.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

I got my chance May 8, 2009.  I announced the meal as vegan and gluten-free (the other meals there are vegetarian or vegetarian plus some fish), planned a menu, and set to work.  I quickly realized that, while my cooking skills are pretty good, my catering skills are quite lacking.  It didn’t help that we were never sure exactly how many people would show up (RSVPs are due two days before, but they’re flexible).

I planned for 20, got 18 (equivalent of 15 since several were small children), and cooked enough for 30.  Whoops.

A few folks lingering over dinner

After many years of cooking Passover Seders for upwards of 20 people, I have learned the trick of saving complex or new recipes for smaller venues.  Everything I made was simple to moderate and something I’d cooked many times before.

The Menu:

Chili-Cornbread Casserole
Roasted vegetables (red beets, golden beets, rutabaga, & leek with rosemary)
Green salad (romaine, cherry tomato, daikon radish, carrot, orange cauliflower, & mustard balsamic dressing)
Fresh strawberries with cashew cream
Challah (from masa) with sesame seed & oatmeal

Chili Cornbread Casserole

The good news is the food all came out fabulous.  No mishaps at all.  I can’t tell you how relieved I was about that.  The bad news is we had some disasters with the timing.  One of the disadvantages to cooking a large meal outside of your home is that you tend to forget things.  Well, Michael and I left a box of miscellaneous items behind.  Unfortunately, they were essential items for both of the dishes I had to finish up and bake in the synagogue kitchen.

Michael running home to get it set us back about 45 minutes, and we were already running 15 minutes late.  So everything was pushed back an hour (which means at least my time estimates were dead on).  The challah also took longer than expected, even though I had deliberately made them thinner than usual so they’d cook faster.

Salad and strawberries

All in all, I’d call it a success.  The next time I get the chance to cook for a crowd, I’ll have a clearer idea of amounts.  And hopefully the timing will work out better.

Roasted root vegetables

For anyone interested in the amounts of ingredients I used and what it all cost, check out my blog entry Catering Lessons: The Cost of Cooking for 30.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

I’m afraid I was boring this year and brought exactly the same things I brought last year.  But, hey, why mess with success? Every dish was popular.  I picked some lovely greenery from my garden to put in vases and brought the following dishes:

Lemon cranberry sauce	Organic cranberry sauce made with lemon instead of orange.
Edamane salad with roasted red cabbage	Organic cold salad made with edamame and roasted red cabbage.
Pumpkin Pie	Organic vegan gluten-free pumpkin pie.
Cashew cream	Organic raw vegan cream made from cashews, lemon, stevia, and seasonings.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

This recipe disappears fast and gets raves (even from the meat-eaters).

I originally made it with red bell pepper and I love it that way, but I can’t justify buying bell peppers when they’re not in season. They’re very expensive, imported from far away, usually not organic, and rarely any good. So I use red cabbage as a substitute. It works well and provides a nice color contrast.

Recipe:

2 bags frozen shelled edamame (32 oz)
3 red bell peppers or 1/2 large red cabbage
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (estimate)
3 Tablespoons very good extra virgin olive oil (estimate)
Handful of fresh herbs, minced
Salt and pepper

To spread out the workload, you can make the vegetables the day before and leave them in a cold oven until you’re ready for them.

Peppers: Roast washed peppers whole in a 350*F oven for about an hour, turning several times. When peppers are cool enough to handle, remove seeds and stem and cut into strips, about 1″ long.

Cabbage: Cut cabbage in half, remove core, and slice in to long thin strips, then cut the strips in half so they are 1-3″ long. Roast dry (or with a touch of olive oil) in a 350*F oven until very dehydrated but not brown.  Stir often.

Slicing raw cabbage

Boil the edamame according to directions, drain.

While still hot, toss the soybeans in a bowl with olive oil, then vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add the vegetables at any point.

Cool edamame on counter then add finely chopped herbs, I used parsley, sage, lemon thyme, and oregano.

Put in fridge, serve chilled.

Nutritional Information:

The edamame alone is:
120 grams protein
96 grams total carbs
60 grams fiber
36 grams usable carbs

The rest of the ingredients will add basically no protein and a small number of carbs (maybe 10g at most). This recipe makes enough to serve a dozen people at a potluck. If we take that to mean there are 12 servings total, each serving has 10 grams of protein and 3-4 grams of usable carbs.

Edamame salad with roasted cabbage

An earlier version of this recipe with red peppers was posted to my lowcarb website December 1, 2003. A version of the recipe with red cabbage was posted January 24, 2004.

Note: Recipe rewritten with new pictures 12/08.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

Start with the right pumpkins.  Your fabulous jack-o-lantern is not a good candidate, not even a fresh, uncarved one.  Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are bred for looks.  The inside is watery and does not taste very good, though it’s technically edible.  Your compost pile or worm bin will love it though.

Our pumpkins came from the pumpkin farm across the street from us, the Peterson Farm.  They grow several varieties, including the jack-o-lantern type.  We got my favorite, the Cinderella Pumpkin (which Michael is cutting up below).  It gets its name from the deep color and carriage shape.  Plus a couple others, including the pumpkin pie pumpkin, which looks like a smaller version of a jack-o-lantern.

Instead of carving, we displayed them outside in our Sukkah and for Halloween.  They lasted just fine for a few weeks outside in the cold (not freezing) and rain.

Michael cuts a cinderella pumpkin in half

Wash the pumpkin and cut it into manageable chunks, then remove the seeds with a fork.  Roast the seeds later.  You can leave the gooey insides part (remove for jack-o-lanterns but don’t bother with other pumpkins). Cut the pumpkin sections further to good baking chunks (not too small or they’ll be a pain to peel).

Cutting the pumpkin into pieces (picture by Miriam Norwitz)

We had three pumpkins and made three big trays of pumpkin chunks.

Chunks of pumpkin ready for baking

Roast them until they are soft all the way through, but not burnt.  Pretty much any temperature will do.  Go ahead and put them in while cooking something else.  At 350*F, expect it to take about an hour.  But don’t go by timing: poke your pumpkin with a fork often.

Pumpkin fresh from the oven

The only hard parts are cutting up the really big pumpkins and taking the skin off (okay, removing the skin isn’t hard, but it’s tedious).  Do this after the pumpkins are cooked and when they are cool enough to handle (I left these out overnight).  Pull off any burnt parts and peel or slice away the skin.  Don’t worry about bits of skin that are left with the flesh.  A small amount is fine.

Important note: The juicier pumpkins will have liquid in the tray and drip more as you peel them.  Lightly wring out the flesh before using.  But don’t toss that liquid.  I save it (in the fridge or freezer) and use it as an easy soup stock.

Peeling cooked pumpkins

Take the pumpkin flesh and put it in the food processor.  In batches if you need to.  Process until smooth.  I put the various batches into one big bowl since there were different pumpkin varieties and I wanted to mix them.  This is the result.

Pumpkin Puree

Anything you don’t use right away, freeze.  It freezes very well with little to no loss in taste or texture.  I like to measure it into 2 cup containers (zipper bags work but I prefer Pyrex storage containers (that’s glass with a tight plastic lid) if I have enough of them).  That way I only have to defrost exactly what I need for a recipe.

Now what do you do with it?  Pumpkin pie is the obvious first choice.  I’ve also used it to thicken vegetable stews. When I could eat dairy and eggs, the puree was fabulous in pumpkin cheesecake.  Although most of us think dessert when we think pumpkin, the truth is its a wonderful savory food too, and it’s lowcarb, the lowest of all the winter squashes.

As for more things to do with pumpkin puree, I’m stuck.  If you have a good recipe, please link to it in the comments.  I still have 10 cups worth to use up.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

Pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving 2007

Because I couldn’t find one perfect recipe, I used the crust from one and the filling from another. Actually, Michael did the work.

Lowcarb notes: we’ve made this pie (filling and crust) with xylitol instead of sugar and it works fine.  Leave out the molasses.

We decided to triple the recipe this year but somehow ended up with 4 pies (and 6 crustless cupcakes we made for a nut-allergic friend).  We used small/medium springform pans.

The crust:

From:
http://www.somethinginseason.com/2007/10/pumpkin-pie-from-scratch-part-1.html
(note: this lovely site has been shut down)

Basic recipe:
2 cups whole pecans (you can substitute walnuts if you like)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Michael processing pecans

I used pecans and organic cane sugar and flaxseed goo for the egg (1 tablespoon fine flax meal in 1/4 cup water, nuked for a minute then left to cool). You simply grind it all in the food processor and then press it into the pan. Cover the bottom and an inch or more along the sides with a good thick crust (1/4″ or so).

Crusts ready for filling

The filling:

From: http://www.tazarat.com/results.asp?id=33

Basic recipe:
3/4 lb firm tofu
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin puree or 2 cups fresh-cooked pumpkin
1 cup Sucanat (organic evaporated cane juice/cane sugar) or brown sugar
2 TB oil
2 TB molasses
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ginger powder or 1.5 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Michael & Miriam measuring pumpkin puree

We used homemade pumpkin puree (from Peterson pumpkins) which I measured into 2 cup bags and froze. For the sugar, we used organic cane sugar. Michael used 4/5 of a cup instead of a full one in 2007 but we forgot in 2008 and used the full amount.  The pies tasted great and weren’t too sweet. The oil was sunflower (also oiled the pan with it). Instead of ginger powder, we used twice as much grated (both fresh and frozen work well) ginger.  In 2008, we couldn’t find nutmeg in the pantry so substituted cardamon (yum…I think we’ll have to do both next year).

Pumpkin pie filling

You just food process and/or mix everything and pour it on the crust. Spread out evenly.

Filling the crusts (picture by Miriam Norwitz)

The directions say to cook for 1 hour at 350*F, until cracks appear.  But this isn’t nearly long enough.  The filling takes 1.5 to 2 hours; unfortunately, the crust starts to burn after you pass 1 to 1.5 hours.  The secret is to turn off the oven after an hour or so, before you get that burnt smell, but leave the pies inside where it is warm.  The filling will continue to set.  If your oven doesn’t hold heat well, leave it on a low temperature (like 200 or 250).

The good news is that overcooking the crust actually tastes good.  People liked it even when it was burnt, though it was better when it was just caramelized.  Just keep an eye on it and you’ll be fine.

Pumpkin pie display

This is a rich pie with plenty of spice, but still a good pumpkin flavor. It is softer than your usual pumpkin pie but part of that is regular pies have a very firm crust that holds the filling (this crust doesn’t do that at all). The texture is good. All in all, it was a success.

I made a cashew cream to go with it. The cream was also a huge hit. It was great on it’s own but even better with the pie. They went together superbly.

Pumpkin pie with cashew cream

Note: Recipe rewritten with new pictures 11/08.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

Cranberry sauce is one of those dishes that is so easy to make I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t do it. Especially given that the canned stuff is so bland and without texture.  You do want to use organic cranberries here, as chemically-grown berries tend to be high in pesticides.  2008 was not a good year for cranberries and they were horribly expensive.  Fortunately, you don’t need a lot of them (1 lb served over a dozen people).

This recipe freezes extremely well. It also lasts in the fridge for a long time. I froze a batch leftover from Thanksgiving 2006 and served it for Thanksgiving 2007 with very little reduction in taste or texture.  I used the recipe again for Thanksgiving 2008.

Ingredients:

Fresh cranberries, 1 bag (about 16 oz)
Fresh lemon zest from 2 small lemons (organic only)
Fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon (2 if not juicy)
Fresh ginger root, grated, 1-3 teaspoons
Salt, pinch
Stevia, pinch or two (optional)
Organic cane sugar, as desired
Water as needed

In 2008 I used 3 TB sugar and no stevia and ended up with perfect sauce that was not very sweet (which is how we like it).  In 2006/7 I used a bit less sugar and some stevia.  In 2008 I also used 3 TB water to thin out the sauce a bit.  How much water you need (if any) will vary a lot based on how juicy the berries are, how much you cook it, how much sugar you use, etc.

Rinse the cranberries in water and drain.

Put into an empty pot on the stove and heat gently while stirring until the cranberries start to soften.

Zesting a lemon over cranberries

Add stevia and sugar to desired sweetness. The stevia is optional but will help reduce the overall sugar level. I end up using about half of what is called for in a traditional cranberry sauce that also has a sugar boost from orange juice. Don’t use all or mostly stevia as the dish will be too bitter (I love stevia but it doesn’t mesh well with lemons).

Add salt, lemon, and ginger.

Stir and cook until the cranberries start to pop open and the texture is to your liking. Mash a bit if you wish or leave mostly whole. Adjust sweeteners/seasoning if needed.  If the flavors aren’t coming together, you probably need a touch of salt.

This cranberry sauce makes a great traditional accompaniment to turkey or other Thanksgiving fixings. It’s also good as leftovers with a variety of foods as a condiment. Miriam enjoyed dipping carrots in it. And for Thanksgiving 2007, some people ate it straight as a dessert.

Finished cranberry sauce

Note: Recipe rewritten with new pictures 11/08.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

I made the cashew cream to go with a vegan pumpkin pie I took to a Thanksgiving Potluck in 2007 and again in 2008, though it’s delicious on anything sweet.

Recipe:

2 cups raw cashew pieces (I keep them in the freezer)
Juice of one small lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Dash or two of white stevia powder (or use a another sweetener if you prefer)

Soak the cashews overnight (anything between 4 and 24 hours is fine).

Drain and rinse the nuts and blend them with as much water as they need.  You may need to do this in several batches.

Michael & Miriam blend the cashews

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Keep blending, then stop and use a spatula regularly to get it all. Make sure it is very smooth.  Don’t be afraid to add water, but taste the cream frequently to make sure you aren’t over doing it.  If the blender is strong, the nuts will cream up and absorb the extra liquid.  If not, you’ll have a somewhat gritty cream (which won’t take too much liquid, so be aware) but it will still taste good.

Finished cashew cream

Serve as you would whipped cream.  It will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

Cashew cream over pumpkin pie

Note: Recipe rewritten with new pictures 11/08.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

Being a green mom I’m opposed to 1) spending lots of money on something meant to be used once and 2) buying new plastic/vinyl.  Being someone with multiple chemical sensitivities though, I’m not able to just pop into Goodwill and look for used costumes.  I didn’t want to take the time to make something either.

I found a used Superman costume on Craigslist from someone who said there was no fabric softener.  I didn’t notice a scent on it when I bought it (but then I didn’t notice the rip in the seam either) but it came out after being washed.  Miriam said it itched and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.  But it turns out she was okay if she wore clothes underneath it (which was a good idea anyway because it was cold out).  I just washed my hands after every time I touched it and had her change immediately upon coming home.

Miriam & Michael fly off to Halloween storytime at the library

Last year, her first time trick-or-treating, we found exactly one item in her bag that she wasn’t overtly allergic to and let her eat it.  She bounced off the walls for a while then gladly agreed to trade in the rest for daddy to take to work and she got to pick out a toy from a local store.

This year they went trick or treating in a more popular area so the treats were smaller.  This meant far less chocolate, her biggest allergen.  About 2/3 of the candy was chocolate, orange, or something else she reacted to (like the treat from last year, which has dairy) and it went into daddy’s bag (traces of dairy or gluten aren’t problems for her and she can eat each of those as treats once in a while, but egg, chocolate, and orange are not okay ever).

I snagged the one good thing in what was left for myself (peanut butter taffy, yum!) and she had a taste of it.  Then she got to pick one candy for herself with the caveat that we didn’t know what might have orange so she was taking a risk that she might pee her pants.  She had a sour cherry lollipop (the round junky kind with a chewy center, which made for some amusing expressions as she’s had almost no candy in her life…she now says she wants to give away all the chewy candy).  She did some bouncing around and we explained that it was the sugar (actually, it was probably mostly the artificial crap).

She is keeping crayons and a tiny joke/coloring book she received. We did take away a smartie necklace she was wearing because it was orange colored and smelled like orange.  She willingly gave it up when I told her that.  We went and washed hands and neck but she’d been wearing it for a while and did end up having to pee in the middle of the night, though no accidents.

The deal is, and she’s totally cool with it, is that she will get a toy (she was okay with my picking one out and not telling her in advance…anyone know a cheap source of a real working stethoscope?  I’ve been wanting an excuse to get her one for ages) in exchange for the candy in daddy’s bag.  As for the rest of the candy, she can keep it or exchange it for the Yummy Earth lollipops I bought her (two flavors I know are orange/grapefruit/tangerine-free…I can’t buy from the bulk bin, only separately wrapped bags of single flavors) or for another toy.  So far, she’s opted to have a Yummy Earth treat each night.

I am really happy that we could encourage her to trick-or-treat with abandon and not worry about what she was getting.  That would ruin the fun.  She still gets her treats (edible and otherwise) and she had a blast Halloween night despite the drizzle.

I stayed home…I can’t risk the cigarettes and pesticides I’m sure to encounter.  And I already had a headache.  Maybe next year I’ll go with my gas mask on and let people decide if it’s a costume.  I hate missing so much of the fun stuff in her life, but I’m grateful that, so far, she’s able to participate in them herself.

Halloween day, Michael’s office had a Survivor (TV show) dress-up theme, complete with an eat-gross-things contest.  His special treat was deep-fried crickets (“but, Cyndi, they’re not traife”).  Oh, and a big bag of chocolate.

Miriam & Michael prepare to go trick-or-treating

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

Sukkot occurs 5 days after Yom Kippur, in late September or October.  It reminds us of the time when the Jews wandered in the desert in the years between leaving slavery in Egypt and entering the land of Israel.  The Sukkah (or Succah) is a temporary hut reflective of the ones carried through the desert during the Exodus.

It can be any size: big enough for one person or for a crowd.  You spend the 8 days of the holiday taking your meals in it, or sleeping there if you wish.  One wall can be a building and another is open (or partially open).  The other two are made out of just about any material.  Our two side walls weren’t as sturdy as the article linked to above say is required, but they worked.

The roof needs to be of materials grown from the ground.  We used mulberry branches from the tree in the pictures.  You should be able to see the stars but not have gaps that are too large.

I organized the Sukkah building party (for Sunday, just before the start of the holiday Monday at sundown) before I had a clue what we were going to use as materials. Then our tenant built a raised bed for my garden.  I said it was too tall and he said, no problem, I’ll just cut off the top.  When I saw the leftover wood, I knew immediately that was the Sukkah roof’s frame.  It was small but I figured it was big enough for our family to eat in and we could each spend some time standing in it for the gathering.  I also considered the mulberry tree to be an extension of the Sukkah roof.

So, here’s how we started: one wobbly wood frame, an open space in the driveway (dig that new gravel we put down a few weeks ago), an old garage door we’re painting this year (so I don’t care about screw holes), some scrap wood, the chuppah poles from our wedding (6 foot long dowels wrapped in ribbon), and some miscellaneous tools and fasteners.

Sukkah Frame

First, we reinforced the frame with some extra nails.  Then we cut some scrap wood and nailed a piece across each of the 4 corners.  This was to serve as a stop for the poles.  Next, we turned the frame over, put the poles so they were on top of the scrap wood corners, and held them to the frame with pipe clamps.  Finally, what you see in the picture, is someone pre-drilling the holes in the frame for screwing the frame to the garage.

Building the Sukkah

Did I mention that both the batteries for my electric drill and circular saw (interchangeable batteries) were dead?  Yes, I’d charged them, but they’re old.  Couldn’t find our hand saws either.   We borrowed a circular saw for the scrap wood but had to use hammer and nails for the hole pre-drilling and brute strength to screw the frame to the garage door.

Putting the Sukkah up

We did it!  Our Sukkah was a 4′x8′ wooden frame screwed to a garage.  With 6′ poles on all corners, helping support the weight and create the structure.  A friend loaned us the clothes for the two side walls and I tacked an old sheet up for the back wall.  The floor was an old area rug and we covered the roof with freshly cut mulberry branches.

The round glass-top table was inside the Sukkah most of the time but we pulled it out for our celebration potluck Wednesday night.  We added some more tables to hold food and other items.

Our Sukkah decorations were minimal but we had some Stars of David Miriam made in Synagogue over the High Holy Days, beeswax candles from Bloomfield Bees, and half a dozen pumpkins from Peterson’s Farm.

Our dinner was the cornbread challah I invented for the occasion, ceviche, a couple of salads, wine and seltzer.

Celebrating Sukkot

All in all, I’m very proud of our Sukkah (and no telling me how pathetic it was…it doesn’t look like the pictures you see in books but it met the religious requirements and was a lot of fun).  Maybe soon all those bricks will be my long-dreamed of patio and we’ll eat outside all year round.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

At our last time hosting a Jewish potluck with these friends, we made a great challah from a Pamela’s bread mix.  It came out great and worked well with a braid too.  But Miriam had her first life-threatening allergic reaction in August and our top suspect is tapioca (negative in the allergy testing but we’re not letting her have it until we can do it in a controlled manner with medical backup).  As anyone gluten-free for a while knows, pretty much every gluten-free bread mix or product on the market contains tapioca.  It’s a great flour, but Pamela’s has it too and we just can’t take the chance.

I ordered some more of Primavera’s fabulous organic masa and was going to make tortillas (to go with the ceviche I made for the main dish).  Then I thought…what if I braided and baked it instead?

First I took the fresh masa, scooped some chucks out of the bag with a spoon, evened them out, and rolled them into 3 balls.

Masa rolled into balls

Then, I rolled each ball into a log.

Masa balls rolled into lengths

And braided it, crimping the ends well and pushing down on the dough so it wouldn’t come apart.

Braided dough

Then it went for a roll (all sides) in a plate of sesame seeds.  I added some oatmeal so it would be “bread” we could say Hamotzi over.  This is completely optional if you don’t need it for religious purposes.  The oats didn’t change the taste or texture at all.  If you react to the wheat contamination in most oats, use ones certified gluten-free.  The sesame, on the other hand, was delicious and added a nice crunch.

Sesame seeds and oatmeal

I carefully moved each loaf to a baking pan generously coated with olive oil.

Challah ready for baking

I baked them at 325*F for about 35 minutes, turning once halfway through (use two spatulas so they don’t break apart).  I left them in the oven with the heat off for another 10 minutes or so.

Finished challah

Miriam ate about half of what was there and the rest of us made sure the plate was empty.  Even the nonallergic folks thought it was fabulous.   It came out dense and chewy, almost like a bagel (hmmm…) but still light enough to have the mouthfeel of bread.

I’ll have to experiment a little.  The oil kept it from sticking and also made it richer, which was what I was going for.  Without the oil, it might taste more like a tortilla.  But, overall, I’m very happy with how it came out.

Happiness is a little girl jumping for joy singing “it’s challah that doesn’t make me sick!!!”

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

Challah is a braided egg bread that plays an important role in the weekly Shabbat prayers.  As you pray, you touch the bread, or touch someone touching it.  Though of course I don’t have any or allow Miriam to eat it, that isn’t enough when it’s happening in my house.  We can’t leave the crumbs and contaminated surfaces behind when people go home.  And cleaning well often isn’t 100%.

So I decided to make challah.  Or at least a bread-like substance that was challah-like.  Technically, challah should contain chametz (one of the 5 grains, also meaningful for Passover), but fortunately no one minded that it didn’t.

I’m not much of a baker (i.e., I stink) so I just bought a mix.  The bread a friend made from Pamela’s Amazing Wheat-Free mix was so good, I got that one.

Pamela’s Amazing Wheat-Free Bread Mix
INGREDIENTS: Sorghum Flour, Tapioca Flour, Sweet Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Organic Natural Evaporated Cane Sugar, Chicory Root, White Rice Flour, Millet Flour, Honey and Molasses; Rice Bran, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum, Yeast Packet.
1 slice of bread (1/16th of loaf) has 25 usable grams of carbs (29 total minus 4 fiber).

As it happens, they even have a recipe for turning the mix into challah on their website.

We used the egg-free alternative directions but super-concentrated it.  So for 3 eggs, I used 1/2 cup of water and 4 tablespoons flaxmeal.  We also made it dairy-free

Recipe:

1 bag Pamela’s Wheat-Free Bread Mix
Equivalent of 3 eggs
1/4 cup palm shortening, melted
1/2 cup soy milk (use anything)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 yeast packet (enclosed)

The recipe calls for a stand mixer, which we don’t have.  It recommends a whisk attachment, which we do have on our stick blender.  But that made the too-dry dough fly all over.  Even adding some water didn’t help.  So Michael mixed it by hand with a large whisk then kneaded it with his hands.

Now the mixture was too sticky, so I added some brown rice flour as Michael kneaded.  And it turned out glossy and smooth and really nice.  It was so easy to handle I just braided it by hand instead of the plastic bag piping business the website recommends.

I think I could have easily done a true braid, but I started easy  by just making two long rolls and twisting them then sealing the ends.  I did this on a floured (rice) cutting board then moved it (with a dough scraper) to a greased baking pan.

I wanted to put sesame seeds on the outside, but didn’t have any.  So I did a light sprinkling of some ground sesame salt we had.  I didn’t do anything in place of the egg wash for the outside.

I put this in the oven, turned it on to 150*F for a minute, then turned it off (it was a cool day), and let it rise for a little over an hour.  Then we turned the oven on to 350*F and let it bake for one hour.  The bottom got a bit over-brown, almost black, but was still edible, and the crust was strong and thick.  The insides were soft and luscious.  I didn’t do a good job sealing one of the ends.  Also the two twists never really melded together and were like separate pieces of bread.

Our guests all loved the bread, though it didn’t really taste like challah and all of them were wheat-eaters.  I’d gladly make it every week if it weren’t so carby.  It’s definitely a winner for special occasions.  I think dividing it into two loaves and baking it for less time would soften the crust while still cooking the insides.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

This year, a first-night seder on April 19, 2008, wasn’t the most stressful, but it was the weirdest.  All the food came out well but, otherwise, everything that could have gone wrong did.

I always find dietary and other restrictions to be a challenge (in a fun competitive sense) and I pride myself on creating a safe space for all of my guests, with food they can eat (perhaps not everything, but a decent meal).  But this year pushed me to the brink.

We had our own restrictions: no meat, nothing that Miriam is allergic to (she can get sick from crumbs and I want her to have a few days a year with other people where she can eat anything she wants), no chemical products on the guests, etc, but they’re seamless for us.  And we can still have a full seder.

(In foreground: matzoh plate next to my seat; in background: the main table with Miriam (brown dress), her Aunties Connie and Jan (holding babies), 3 other friends, and Grandma Julie standing at right.  The note on the door to our bedroom warns people not to open it, since that’s where the kitties spent the evening.)

This year, due to medical issues with guests, we had to leave the doors and windows wide open but couldn’t turn on the heat, we couldn’t light our candles (beeswax even), we couldn’t take photographs (except when the reactive guest left the room, so my food and other photos are lacking), we had two guests who invited themselves at the last minute (and one arrived scented and had to scramble to change clothes and wash-up), dinner was completely out of order and late, we had 4 (yes, four) cancellations the day of the seder, there were 2 guests who simply didn’t show up (medical emergency and they had a bad email address for me), oh and we nearly killed one guest (her fish allergy, which we always managed to accomodate in the past by being careful, was far worse that day, and we did more last minute cooking than usual, which made for more fumes)

Add to that the fact that I dropped a few of the usual rituals and customs to save time, but then ended up with even more gone due to the above restrictions.  We didn’t start with eating hardboiled eggs like we have in most years, due to Miriam’s allergy.  Two years in a row now I’ve had the idea of using whole walnuts instead, but then I can’t find any.  We skipped the handwashing and didn’t sing a single song.  And the post meal sections got lost entirely.  No Elijah’s cup, which I’m still upset over.  We only did the hunt for the affikomen.  It felt more like a dinner party than a seder.

Oy.

We were supposed to have 20 guests (including 5 children) but, with all the additions and subtractions, we ended up with 16 (including 4 children).  Three were new to our seder (2 had never been to any seder).

We had two tables.  The main one is our regular dining room table.  Michael always sits there, at the end furthest from the kitchen.  Then we move a buffet and desk back to add another table.  I always sit at this one, in the chair nearest the kitchen (behind the wood doors to the right).

(Main table to left has Grandma Julie (white shirt) and 2 friends; secondary table has my cousin Sara next to Miriam (visiting from the other table) and 3 friends)

Ritual Foods:

Oat flour matzoh
Horseradish
Parsley
Wine
Grape juice
Charoset
Salt water
Roasted beet (an ancient alternative to a roasted lamb shank)
Roasted egg

(Seder Plate: Parsley, horseradish root, roasted egg, roasted beet, salt water, charoset)

Dinner Menu:

Beet borscht
Gefilte fish
Mushroom and olive compote
Baked yams
Pan seared roasted halibut with rosemary
Drinks: Wine (red & white), grape juice, water, seltzer, lemon slices
Dessert: Macadamia Nut Torte

(Connie offers a toast)

(Sara gets Miriam some yams, as a friend looks on)

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

I started with two horseradish roots. They were 8 – 12 inches in length, and fairly skinny, maybe an inch or two in diameter. I chopped them into inch-long segments like so:

Then I loaded them into the food processor. Prepared Horseradish is either white or red, the latter colored by the addition of a small amount of beet; I find it augments the taste in a subtle but pleasant manner. I added in a small piece, maybe equivalent in size to one or two of the horseradish root slices.

A splash of white vinegar serves two purposes. First off, it lubricates the food processing so that the blades actually grind up the root slices; otherwise, they simply get moved around and jam the blades. Also. it acts as a preservative. The finished horseradish quickly loses its heat when exposed to air, and the more vinegar you add, the better it will retain its heat (although you don’t want to add too much, as it will be excessively moist and vinegary-tasting).

Process until it is finely ground, with no chunks of white root visibly remaining. Occasionally stop the blades so you can scrape the sides with a butter knife. But be careful … the mix at this stage is extremely powerful and it will bring tears to your eyes.

Once it’s done, immediately dish a few tablespoons out into small serving bowls. This should be one of the last tasks you do before the meal, because if it loses too much of its heat while sitting on the open table it will be bland and uninspiring. In the past, I have been shy about adding vinegar, and the result was almost tasteless by the time our guests bit into it (compensation perhaps for one year in which I somehow made it far too strong, and nearly killed all our guests simultaneously in the process).

After it’s served, be sure to return the lid of the food processor to its place so the mix is kept away from air as much as possible.

When we have leftovers, I transfer them again to glass jars, and make sure the lids are sealed tightly on at all times when they are not in immediate use.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.

This is only the second time we’ve made gefilte (gelfilte, gelfelte, gefelte) fish. The stuff in jars is pretty good (some people hate it but I grew up on and adore the stuff) but every last brand has eggs in it. And pretty much all have gluten (matzoh meal), many have MSG, and some even have preservatives. The eggs make it forbidden food in our house.

For Passover 2006, we used a recipe I adapted from two found online:

Yahoo Food
About.com Home Cooking

We used 3 lbs of halibut (I made the mistake of getting it on the bone–what a pain!–though it did mean we had skins for the stock) and simmered it in stock for a couple of hours. It came out well, with good texture (not as compact as the jarred kind, but still firm) but quite bland. With extra seasoning and horseradish, they were quite acceptable.

I would have liked to use carp, but the only decent source is 45 mins away and we didn’t have time. So this year I decided to use rockfish. Partly because it has more flavor than halibut and partly because we were serving halibut for the main course.

I used less fish because it was boneless. And I doubled most of the seasonings.

Gefilte Fish Recipe:

2.5 lbs fresh fish fillets (you can use any white fish or even non-white; we used 2.57 lbs of rockfish
6 large carrots
4 large onions
4 eggs or flaxseed goo replacement (we used 4 TB flaxmeal in 1 1/3 cups water, heated
8 TB almond meal
3 TB salt
1.5 TB white pepper
3 TB sugar
3/4 cup ice water (or as needed)

Bone and skin fish, if necessary (save for stock). Food process carrots and onions until fine, transfer to large bowl. Gently pulse fish in small batches. You don’t want total mush but it should be chopped well. Add seasonings in with a fish batch to distribute them more evenly.

Add the almond meal and cooled flax goo to the bowl and mix well with a pastry blender to break up chunks. As you mix, add the water as need to make the consistency right. Don’t add it all unless you need it.

Get the stock going (we didn’t have stock prepared so we used plain water). Then form the mix into small firmly packed ovals.

Gently drop into the simmering water.

Okay, so now you simmer (meaning medium-low heat, no boiling) for 2 hours, remove with a slotted spoon, and chill completely before serving. Easy, right?

Well, no. Our balls totally and utterly fell apart. I figured out that much of the problem was that the water got up to boiling and the pressure of it (all those bubbles) destroyed the fragile balls. But what made them so fragile?

I have a few theories

1. I made Michael a cup of water (chilled in the fridge), with strict instructions to add a little bit at a time, as needed, and not use it all. He misheard me and dumped it all in at once.
2. The almond meal was homemade (most of it went into the dessert) and pretty coarse. Almond flour would have been better.
3. Maybe there were too many carrots and/or onions.

Whatever the reasons, we had fish soup on our hands. Even the best balls were a mess. So I decided to try straining the fish (with pressure on it to squeeze out as much liquid as possible) and sticking it in a mold to chill. I saved the fish broth and froze it.

Guess what? it worked! I would have loved a pretty mold, but couldn’t find one (aside from a plastic Christmas mold I have no idea how I got). So I used a glass Pyrex baking/storage dish and cut the gefilte fish into squares.

It came out pretty good. Decent flavor and texture. But next year I’m going to stuff it in a mold and use the water bath method to cook it. Without eggs and wheat (and fancy machinery), it is always going to be a delicate dish.

Serve with plenty of fresh horseradish.

©2012 Norwitz Notions. All Rights Reserved.