How to get rid of five kilograms of flour in one week
One–Bake challah for Shabbat for our family
Two–Bake challah for my son’s friend’s family, who is hosting him for Shabbat
Three–Bake bread or rolls for the siyum that my son is hosting this week. A siyum is a celebration of the “completion” of the study of a tractate of the Mishnah or Talmud, or a book of the Torah. My son completed the Mishnah. I was hesitant about doing this so close to Pesach but I figure ten teenage boys means using up a lot of chametz.
Four–Bake cakes for the siyum and Shabbat
Five–Make quiche, pancakes, muffins?
All amounts are approximate, and we’ll do the baking all at once, in a team. Am I the only one who spends more time cooking than cleaning this time of year?
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Rafi G Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 1:28 PM
lots of baked goods to eat…… make pizza for dinner or something like that
mominisrael Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 1:43 PM
Did that last week–still have some in the freezer. But may do it again.
skeptical Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 1:59 PM
What ever happened to selling it (safek chametz at worst) along with the real chametz?
mominisrael Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 2:10 PM
skeptical–we don’t sell real chametz. This flour isn’t chametz (most flour in Israel is, because the grains were washed), although I suspect it got damp at one point, so I’d rather get rid of it. I’m not telling anyone else what they should or shouldn’t do with their own flour.
Jameel @ The Muqata Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 2:20 PM
Host a gigantic Waffle party?
Baila Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 4:49 PM
Why so much left over?
And I gotta tell you, between your commitment to your blog, the KCC and THIS, I’m exhausted just reading you!
Be careful, you’re gonna fall asleep at your seder!
mominisrael Said,
April 7, 2008 @ 7:03 PM
Baila, I come to the seder exhausted no matter what–I think it’s some kind of compulsion. I order flour in bulk.
jameel–I saw a waffle-maker on sale but two waffles at a time won’t go very far around here.
RivkA with a Capital A Said,
April 8, 2008 @ 6:05 PM
I definitely spend way more time & energy trying to finish all the chametz!
It took me years to realize that the weight I gain “on Pesach” is really from weight gained the month *before* Pesach, eating lots of chametz instead of yummy fruits and vegetables….
triLcat Said,
April 9, 2008 @ 6:15 AM
we always end up having pancakes, b/c I’m afraid of baking bread.
of course, last year, I got attacked by some pancakes…
faith/emuna Said,
April 9, 2008 @ 12:39 PM
yashar koach to your son on his siyum!
i used to be like that, spending precious pre pesach time baking to use up chametz. a few yrs ago i decided not to make myself crazy using up chametz. i am careful buying chametz from about shvat! (today my husband is doing pesach shopping and also buying 2 bags of chametz pasta for supper! most of the yr i have kilos in stock!)anyway if i do have chametz leftover thats not easy to deal with, the unopen chametz i donate to tel chaim and open stuff to the local maon. its really not a good use of my time to bake now, ive doubled up on baking the past few months (including preshaped unbaked challah for this shabbat). if you enjoy the baking and have the time great. if not i highly suggest giving it away. oh and kishke is great for odds and ends chametz, also muffins, much faster then yeast baked goods. good luck! faith/emuna
Ariella Said,
April 9, 2008 @ 5:41 PM
While I really, really hate having to throw food out, I don’t think I will manage to finish everything, particularly open boxes of things my family decided it does not care for. But I will definitely be spending more time cooking next week — for 3 days’ worth of meals.
Jameel @ The Muqata Said,
April 9, 2008 @ 5:47 PM
BTW: You don’t sell Scotch? That’s real chametz…
skeptical Said,
April 9, 2008 @ 5:55 PM
It is a well-established practice to sell real chametz (supported by halacha: shas, tosefta, etc); it has been done by gedolim through the centuries; where does the minhag NOT to sell real chametz come from?
mominisrael Said,
April 10, 2008 @ 1:53 PM
Thanks for the kind words. I have it, and it will get eaten, so I’d rather use it then survive on bread adn tuna like we did last year. I don’t really consider this the last minute, especially since I did the shopping yesterday (yay for us).
Good luck, Ariella. Actually I consider this kind of a fun challenge.
Jameel–we don’t own Scotch. We have a bottle of KP brandy that he takes out every year to bring to shul when he has yahrzeit. We’re not drinkers.
mominisrael Said,
April 10, 2008 @ 2:02 PM
The first line of the previous comment was meant for Faith and RivkA.
Skeptical, even though I am not sure why it bothers you so much, I’ll answer you. The loophole of selling chametz, as we practice it now using a contract and leaving the chametz on our property, is only 3-400 years old and was established mainly for tavern owners who would suffer great loss by getting rid of all of their stores before the holiday. Last year our rabbi spoke out against the practice, but encouraged us to buy after the holiday from businesses who sell their chametz.
I am not asking anyone to follow my chumras nor do I claim to be frummer than anyone else. Remember you’re talking to someone who doesn’t eat gebrokt.
mominisrael Said,
April 11, 2008 @ 8:29 AM
PS The rabbi also suggested a party before Pesach to use up the scotch.
Jameel @ The Muqata Said,
April 12, 2008 @ 8:52 PM
MoI: gebruchts isnt a chumra – the GRA said it was a minhag shtuss.
We’re not drinkers, but we use it for smachot, and I don’t fly enough to replenish my scotch simcha stock if I used it all up before Pesach.
skeptical Said,
April 13, 2008 @ 5:28 AM
The idea of selling chametz is not 300-400 years old! The Rambam discusses it in Hilchos Chametz uMatzah, 4:6.
And as the Aruch HaShulchan states in OH 290:15, “our selling of chametz has a good foundation from the Tosefta, and the Yerushalmi, and *all* the poskim” The Tosefta is 2:12-13, and the Yerushalmi is Pesachim 2:2 (which are what the Rambam paraphrases in the Mishneh Torah.) I’m sorry to sound “bothered” but I don’t like when modern rabbis try to undermine long-standing, well-established traditions of our ancestors because they have decided they want to be frummer. Of course I don’t blame you for following your rabbi, but I would encourage you to object and inquire why, all of the sudden, the mechira should be avoided.
Gebrokts is not a minhag shtus, and anyone who thinks it is should read the Shut Baal HaTanya, siman 6.
mominisrael Said,
April 13, 2008 @ 7:26 AM
Skeptical: Our rabbi isn’t against selling chametz in theory. He is only against the idea of households selling a few shekel worth of chametz because he felt that the practice should only be applied in cases of great loss i.e. storeowners. He doesn’t like the new chumra of not buying from stores that sell their chametz.