The 19th on the 19th

A Guest Post by Zahava

So. Here we are again. It is hard to believe that yet another year has passed without you as a physical presence in our lives.

I specify physical, because I feel your presence daily as I go about the business of living my life.

One of my favorite adult memories of you is the weekend that David first spent Shabbat with us up in Schenectady. You offered him chocolate cake or cherry pie. His answer made you grin with delight: “Yes, please!” Without missing a beat, you turned to me and said, “This one, you can bring back!”

You – like so many Jewish mothers – were driven by a desire to nourish (both gastronomically and emotionally), and you were beyond delighted when people allowed you to spoil them.

The past few weeks have – from a professional standpoint -- been exceptionally hectic. David was travelling for work,and I was up to my eyeballs in wonderful and challenging projects. Today is the first time in several months that I have had the time to prepare Shabbat for my family (thank G-d David is a good cook, and an even better sport)!

As I began to plan out my menu, it dawned on me that I had subconsciously chosen your favorite recipes for Shabbat. I have long known that I inherited your belief that “love = comfort food.” And so in your honor, tonight, after we usher in the Shabbat Queen and say good-bye to the saddest day of the year, we will enjoy a number of your “go-to” recipes.

We will start with your delicious beef-based tomato cabbage soup, followed up by your sweet and sour meatballs, rice, and broccoli. Tomorrow’s lunch is oven-fried garlic chicken, green salad, and potato salad. And we have a marble pound cake for dessert.

I can’t think of a more appropriate way to honor your memory than spoiling the people I love with the food you taught me to both love and prepare. I just wish I were making it for you. But then again, I guess I am.

I love you Ima... with all my heart.

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