Passover '05 - Day -3

[jbsegal]

(This entry is likely to be updated later today...)
(Yes, -3, this house is doing 2nd seder this year.)

A) 17.8# chicken and 17.5q water, along with dill, carrots, celery, parsnips and onions, on. It really should be 20# of chicken. I may run out in a few to correct that.

B) External ingredients for a 3x batch of matzah balls obtained: 12 eggs, 3c meal.

C) 12# apples, 3# walnuts ready to be turned into charoset.

D) 18 eggs on to boil.

Quiz: Which of the above was the single most expensive ingredient purchased today (Everything mentioned above was, indeed, purchased today).

Answer: The walnuts (walnut meats), at $5/#, for a total of $15.

The chicken was purchased at McKinnon's and was a combo of $.59/# leg quarters and $.39/# frames (IE: Backs and leftover bits from cutting chickens into the 'normal' pieces.) YAY! It totalled $10. Yes, if you insist on cooking with kosher poultry you won't get that sort of deal.

I think I'm going to at least get the apples into peeled, cored, smaller pieces today.

Comments

[wolfkitn.livejournal.com]

um, the water? *ducks*

[smoakes777.livejournal.com]

Hey, matzah question, since your cooking it today. How egg-heavy are matzah balls? I have a slight egg allergy; I can eat cookies made with eggs with no ill effects, but if I eat scrambled eggs I swell up. which are matzah balls closer to (don't worry, I won't die even if I eat them scrambled, so you're not going to kill me if you get it wrong). I'm going to Seder on Saturday and I already can't drink the wine... don't want to avoid anything else unless ab. necc.

[redbird]

The recipe I use works out to about 1/4 egg per matzoh ball. I say "about" because it depends on how big you (the cook) like your matzoh balls.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I have no idea how many a single batch of my ((grand-)mother's) matzah ball recipe makes, as I haven't made less than 3x in years, but it's at LEAST a dozen, so redbird's 1/4 egg per ball is not an unreasonable maximum, for fairly large balls.
The quantities in the recipe are:
4 eggs
2 T chicken fat (from the soup)
.5 c chicken soup
1c matzah meal
1/4 t powdered ginger
parsley, salt, pepper.

So, fairly eggy, but not pure egg.

[redbird]

You need better trick questions--it was obvious that it would be the walnuts.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Well, had I not gone to the dirt-cheap(-especially-when-things-are-on-special) local meat store, I'd've been paying at LEAST $1.20/# for the chicken...

But yeah, it wasn't /very/ tricky.

[scliff.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's one big chicken.

[wolfkitn.livejournal.com]

heh, that was my initial thought also. :)

I was right!

[warlord-mit.livejournal.com]

I was thinking "walnuts" when you asked the question. Why do you feel it's a trick question?

Happy Pesach!

Re: I was right!

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

18# of meat should not cost 1/3 less than 1/6th as much nut meat - at least not of any common nut.

Not that I'm really unhappy about it, but I was expecting to pay at least $25 for all the chicken...

Re: I was right!

[warlord-mit.livejournal.com]

See, I'm not surprised. It takes a lot of labor to pick the walnuts, shell them, and pull out the meat. Not all of that can be automated. Moreover, walnuts grow on trees which means there's a yearly cycle of availability based on the growing season. Chickens, on the other hand, can be farm raised in small areas and don't take a long time to get to be big enough to eat.

Even "in season" walnuts are still a few $/#, and even more shelled. This is not walnut season, so you're getting last year's stock. I've also seen chicken at under $1/# fairly often, so that just doesn't surprise me. Maybe I just shop a lot?

[electriccat.livejournal.com]

YUM!! I really look forward to your matzah ball soup (especially moreso since I'm back to eating chicken again)

I might actually have to try cooking it myself at some point. Its comfort food.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

How many people are you feeding?