I said I would do this, but wow, was it harder than I expected!
Illustration by Lea Kron
Yechezkel and Shmuel Chaim Rosenbaum, age 35 and 11
Attorney and 6th grader
Baltimore, Maryland
Cooking for 12
I had always considered cooking a Shabbos for my family, and with my wife constantly busy with our six-year-old triplets, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
The first thing I did after volunteering for the task was establish the appropriate precautions to ensure that I would actually follow through on my commitment. We immediately invited my brother-in-law and sister-in law and their family for the upcoming Shabbos. My eleven-year-old son, Shmuel Chaim, wanted to participate as well, and we agreed to prepare Shabbos together.
The next step was creating a menu. Like most families, we have a lot going on, and I knew I had to be very planned to give this Shabbos a chance to succeed. We also had to find times that would work for me and Shmuel Chaim together. I decided to prepare a few dishes I knew my family would enjoy. When my wife mentioned that there were a few new recipes she wanted to try, I decided to add those to the menu too.
I’ve assisted my wife with cooking before and wasn’t overly intimidated by the prospect of following recipes. While I knew that my wife would end up helping me significantly more than the rules permit (don’t judge — those rules were meant to be broken), I decided to at least try to conform. I immediately eliminated any recipes that necessitated mixers, food processors, or other kitchen equipment — those are above my pay grade.
Create a free account to keep reading.
