Important questions

According to an old family joke, there are three important questions* which one must ask a prospective spouse.

And so when YZG and I were practically engaged, I decided that the time had come to find out where he stood on these critical issues:

1) “Which part of the chicken do you prefer – the white meat or the dark meat?” Since YZG likes white meat but I prefer the dark meat, he was able to answer this question to my satisfaction. (This way, both of us get to eat what we like.)

2) “How many hours do you wait between meat and dairy?” I approved of his answer to this question, too. After all, I grew up waiting a full six hours, but YZG’s family only waits five and a half hours. In other words, I gained half an hour.

3) “Do you eat gebrochts?” I should note that this third question is really supposed to be the joke’s punch line. I mean, who doesn’t eat gebrochts?!! But instead of laughing along with me, YZG said, “I don’t think you’re going to like the answer to this question…”

And so every year around this time, I quote the Journeys “Pesach Blues” song and remind YZG that, “it’s not my fault we don’t eat gebrochts!”

But the truth is that not eating gebrochts really isn’t that bad. (YZG – you didn’t see that, right?)

Like A Mother in Israel (who was also surprised to learn that her husband doesn’t eat gebrochts), we’re not fanatic about no gebrochts. Basically, the only thing we avoid is matzah mixed with water. Other liquids are fine.

For instance, I make Pesach rolls with not-from-concentrate orange juice instead of water, and we enjoy matzah meal-based brownies. (The latter point is very significant. I’m not exactly a fan of so-called shehakol brownies…)

In any event, the following recipe contains no matzah products at all.

Non-Gebrochts Broccoli Kugel

Ingredients

• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 5 heaping TBSP potato starch
• 1 32-oz bag frozen broccoli
• A pinch of salt
• A shake or two of pepper
• A pinch of onion soup mix
• 6 eggs, beaten

Directions

Sauté the onions in the olive oil. When golden brown, add the potato starch, and mix through. Then add the broccoli, and heat through. Remove from fire, and mix with remaining ingredients. Place in a greased pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

!בתאבון

Update: I posted a picture of this kugel here.

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* Check out Mother in Israel’s post for other shidduch questions…