Summer Shabbat

We had friends over for Shabbat.  We like having people over, and it’s a shame we don’t get our act together in advance more often to make plans.  In previous homes, we were on the walking paths, and people dropped in.  This is not the case anymore, and we miss it.

Shabbat lunch was a series of light easy to throw together food.  That’s what we do in the summer: challah and/or pitot, hummus, techina, pickles, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, guacamole, salsa, and tortilla chips.  Most of that simply needs to be opened and dumped into a bowl.  I made the hummus, techina, and guacamole, plus hard-boiled the eggs and mixed the tuna.  I forgot to make the salad.  The entire meal preparation, not including the challah, took under an hour, and only the eggs needed to be prepared before Shabbat.  The most important piece is to share with friends who don’t care if you eat with your hands.

Guacamole:  6 ripe avocados, 1 lemon, 1 TBS lime juice, 4 large cloves of garlic- crushed, 1 ½ tsp cumin.  Peel and mash the avocados.  I use a hand-held pastry blade, but a fork or potato masher works just as well.  Add the other ingredients; mix, and voila, you have yummy guacamole.  You can also add pepper, salt, olive oil or less cumin.  Ess and enjoy.

Hummus: This is harder to quantify.  I tend to toss things together, but here’re the basics.  1 can chick peas- well rinsed, 4-6ish TBS techini paste, 6 cloves garlic, 2 TBS olive oil, 2-3 TBS cilantro or parsley, 4-? TBS lemon juice, ½-1 cup water.  You can use a pastry blade or masher, but I like to make this before Shabbat and use my hand-blender.  Toss everything into a 4 cup measuring cup, but use only 1/2 cup water at first.  Add more if the hummus is too thick.  The straight sides on the measuring cup make it easier to mix.  Blend until smooth.  You may need more lemon juice or water.  Add these slowly so as not to overwhelm or make the hummus too watery.  I like lemony hummus.  Fresh lemons are stronger than lemon juice.  You can also add all or any of the following: cumin, pepper, salt, za’atar, whole chick peas, pine nuts, roasted peppers or almost anything else. 

Techina: I will often mix this up at dinner for a dressing or a dip for raw veggies.  Again, measurements are relative to my taste.  Start slow with seasonings and work your way up.  You can always add more but you can’t take any out.  Mix about ½ techini paste with ½ cup water.  Add 3 TBS lemon juice, 3-4 crushed cloves of garlic, a dash of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and/or pepper (optional).  Dip, drizzle, and eat.

If we get fancy I'll make a chicken salad do a salad bar.  Take all the veggies you'd put in your salad, but put them out in different bowls.  Add bowls of nuts/seeds, some dried or fresh fruit, maybe cheese.  Make 2 dressings.  Let everyone make his/her own salad.  Simple, refreshing, yummy.  Shabbat is supposed to be about God, relaxation, food, and friends.  Come on over.  We always have extra food.