New book helps take the stress our of Passover preparation

New book helps take the stress out of Passover preparation

By Mala Blomquist

Meira Spivak wants to help you not to be stressed about preparing for Passover – for real!

Meira is the Oregon NCSY director, an international speaker and also a trained facilitator of the

S.I.T method of creativity and innovation. She is a mother of eleven children and has used her first-hand knowledge of cooking, cleaning and child-raising to help other parents navigate Pesach preparations.

She released a book at the end of January titled, How to Make Pesach in 5 Days, based on the class she has been teaching for many years of the same name.

“I feel like people get over stressed about Passover prep,” says Meira. “People are cleaning their moldings – what are you doing? There’s no leavened bread on your molding.”

She’s all for cleaning, but she believes that people get stressed when there is so much to do, and they are spending their time on things that are not important – and not part of the preparation.

Meira also mentions that she intentionally used the word Pesach in the title and not Passover.

“If somebody only makes one seder for Passover, it probably doesn’t take them five days,” she says. “This (book) is really for the people having multiple guests for many meals. You know, it’s overwhelming if you’re not organized about it.”

The 70-page guide contains an easy-to-follow fiveday blueprint – along with sample menus, shopping lists, and heirloom recipes – to help you move quickly

I RA SPIVAK

M E

and efficiently through the steps of removing chametz, kashering the kitchen, and shopping and cooking for the holiday. Plus, a stress-free plan for taking care of pre-holiday details, such as preparing clothing, inviting guests and planning meals. Meira shares that she always tells people not to make a big deal out of things that are not a big deal. “It’s like when I go to the store during Thanksgiving time, and I see these people throwing things in their cart, and they’re so overwhelmed. I think, ‘I do this every week for Shabbat, chill out,’” says Meira. “What this book tries to do is break down everything, so it’s not a big deal.” She purposely did not put complicated recipes in the book because she believes when you come to a Pesach seder, the important part is the messaging and the experience. “If we’re so caught up about the brisket or when we’re going to eat, then we’re missing the point,” says Meira. “Things are going to go wrong – it doesn’t have to be perfect. Go with the flow. It’s more important for your kids to see you being positive and smiling; it doesn’t help anyone to get stressed out.”

To order How to Make Pesach in 5 Day, visit oregon.ncsy.org/ pesachbook. All of the proceeds from the book will be donated to NCSY for their programming. NCSY’s mission is to connect, inspire and empower Jewish teens and to encourage passionate Judaism.

Meira’s favorite recipe in the book is for her mother’s “killer” Rocky Road Brownies.

ROCKY ROAD BROWNIES

Recipe by Susan Rabinowicz

This recipe’s ingredients are broken down into three parts:

INGREDIENTS:

A

1 ½ cups oil 3 cups sugar 4 teaspoons vanilla 6 eggs

1 ½ cups potato starch 1 cup cocoa ¾ teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon salt

1 bag chocolate chips 1 bag miniature marshmallows

B

C

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the ingredients from group A. Add the ingredients from group B and mix thoroughly. Then fold in the ingredients from group C.

Pour into a 9” x 13” pan and bake for 45 minutes.

WARNING – you might not be able to stop at one!