Holiday Hell Week (Easter Edition!)

Having grown up in ballet, 'Hell Week' was the week before the production opened. It was always busy and rather stressful trying to balance everything.

Likewise, the week of a major holiday can be difficult to balance, with church, shopping, cleaning, and cooking. Adding food sensitivities into the mix can make it even more difficult to juggle, but the antidote to all this madness is planning ahead. I plan both what we eat and when to make it. Luckily, I won't have to make everything!

Just most of the things.

First, the menus:

Maundy Thursday

Turmeric chicken soup with mazto balls (recipe)

My GF, DF, EF matzo ball recipe can be found here

GF, EF, matzah (recipe)

Good Friday

Warm potato salad with 'French' herbs

Braised chicken thighs in wine and vinegar

Green salad

Charoset (recipe #2)

Coconut macaroons (recipe) These aren't egg free, but I'm going to attempt making them with aquafaba

Easter Sunday

For church breakfast:

Breakfast skillet (recipe)

Cacao banana bread (recipe)

Easter Dinner

Brisket

Lamb (I won't have to deal with the meat at all, that's my dad's job!)

Both mashed and roast potatoes (not me)

Roast asparagus (also not me)

Salad (not me either)

Sugar snap peas with pine nuts, fennel, and lemon zest

Drop biscuits (recipe)

Dessert

Shortbread (recipe) I will be making two different flavors: anise orange and jasmine green tea

Rhubarb pie

Now the schedules:

On Wednesday, I will be making the matzah for the rest of the week, rendering tallow, grinding rice for flour, and doing the shopping. And definitely some cleaning!

Thursday I will be making the dinner items for that day, as well as grinding the spices for the shortbread. I also hope to make the macaroons so I have time in case something goes terribly wrong!

On Friday, I will be making all the dinner items for that evening, plus the shortbread, and the pie crusts.

Saturday will be a busy day! I will be baking the banana bread, making the skillet so I can just re heat it the next morning, doing the dry ingredients for the biscuits, and I plan to make the rhubarb pies. I still haven't decided in what form the pie will be; traditional, rustic, or sheet? I need to decide soon.

So on Sunday, hopefully all I will have to do is make the sugar snap pea dish, and I can enjoy the day.

This is unlikely, but I can dream, can't I?

If you don't already, please follow me on Instagram or Facebook (icons are at the top of the page) if you want to keep up on what I'm cooking this exciting week.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season!