Not much new

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday was a very quiet day, mostly just hanging out, reading the Sunday Times. I am determined to get outside, though, at least once a day, so we went to Rising Tide, our lovely organic shop, for their ready-to-eat specialties. We chose salmon, eggplant, and greens; and there are leftovers for lunch today. Once out of the house, I could appreciate the fantastic cloud formations and the setting sun in Sea Cliff at the harbor. It's so good to have these visual treats.

This morning, we went to the gym together. Merwin goes to a water aerobics class. My friend Elaine treated me to a cup of coffee at Gila's cafe at the gym, and I saw and greeted others with real pleasure: it feels like ages since I have been there. I tried a few things I could do without hurting the rib. Breathing is still not exactly normal either: the pneumonia is getting better but is not gone yet. I walked the track, tried the reclining bike, then the treadmill. Dear Mimi, the instructor of the class I am missing, gave me some tips on how to exercise while walking the track. I also stepped into the empty SPIN room to see how it might be to do that exercise. It was OK, as long as I didn't scrunch over. I plan to go to the early a.m. class tomorrow a.m.

Hey, if my 89-year-old friend Gladys who cracked two ribs (not just bruised) is already on a stationary bicycle, I should be able to do it too!

Continuing with recipes:

I posted the recipe for cheese kreplach on 13 Dec. The dough is exactly the same for meat kreplach.

To prepare the filling: Choose a French roast (whatever that is: this is my mother's term; it'll be some cut of chuck) about 2 and 1/2 lbs. Simmer in a small amount of water in a tightly covered pot until it is almost tender. Let cool in its liquid.

Meanwhile or the day before, cook down onions in oil until very soft. My mother's old-world method of softening the onions was to add a pinch of baking soda—not enough to affect the taste. But time will also soften the onions without browning them. Try it both ways to see. Cool the onions.

You can put the meat with liquid and the onions in the refrigerator and continue a day later if you wish.

Grind the meat and onions together; add the liquid from the pot and 1 egg. Put a tsp. or so of the mix on each square of dough. Fold the squares of dough over to make a triangle, and scrunch the edges to seal.

In case you missed the recipe for the dough: it's made with 7 C of flour and 5 eggs, with enough water added to make it pliable. You roll this out quite thin, but not so thin that the filling pokes through.

Ease the kreplach carefully into simmering water (add salt if you use it). Simmer for 10 minutes or so. These can be added to soup. Or lift out kreplach with a slotted spoon, place in lightly greased pan and bake at 350 till brown.

Love to all,
Bernice