This is the final cleaning phase and your vacuum cleaner is going to be running all week long! Go over all the bedrooms, living spaces, offices, the dining room, kitchen – every possible area that needs to be vacuumed.
Begin to prepare and cook foods that you prefer refrigerating rather than freezing.
Prepare seder plate items. Don’t save this for the day of the first Seder. I promise your Erev Pesach will be much more relaxed if you don’t!
Set up guest areas and set you seder table.
Most of all – have a spiritually uplifting chag!
Here are two great recipes to add to your Passover collection:
Crispy Rainbow Trout
This was my grandfather’s recipe. We used to beg him for this delicacy every time we’d go to his house for lunch. One day I arrived early and actually caught him cooking his famous trout. I honor him for making something so simple. He figured out what you don’t need to do-add too many ingredients to hide a good thing. “This is it?” I asked. It wasn’t that the method was so complicated; it was that the fish was so fresh-possibly the best fish I had ever tasted.
At the time, as a child, it seemed to me that there should have been a lot of magic and secret ingredients. But that was it – fresh fish.
Prep: 5 min Total: 10 min Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
6 rainbow trout fillets, about 3 pounds 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 3/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper 4-1/2 teaspoons paprika 4 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
Preheat broiler. Spray a broiler pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Rinse trout and pat dry. Arrange fillets in prepared pan.
Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Drizzle olive oil over fish.
Broil for 5 minutes or until slightly brown and crispy at edges. Place trout on a platter and serve immediately.
Italian Zucchini
Prep: 10 min Total: 25 min Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, coarsely chopped 2 zucchini, thinly sliced 2 teaspoons prepared crushed garlic (substitute frozen or dried garlic powder)1/2 teaspoon crumbled, dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preparation:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and saut? 2 minutes.
Add zucchini, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, and saut? for 3 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Tips: For more flavor and pizzazz, saut? a carton of fresh sliced mushrooms and some red bell pepper strips. Add to zucchini and then season with a little extra garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
Ambrosia Soup
This is a non-traditional variation on classic ambrosia. It looks fabulous presented in a glass bowl and ladled out at the table. I like to serve it as a fruity sidekick to rich chocolate desserts.
Prep: 8 min Total: 2 hrs, 8 min Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) containers non-dairy frozen ready-to-whip liquid topping, thawed 1 (4-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained 1 (12-ounce) container frozen strawberries in sauce, thawed 1 (15-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained 1 (15-ounce) can sliced peaches, drained, cut into bite-sized pieces 1/2 cup coconut flakes
Sliced mango, cut into bite-sized pieces
Preparation:
Place topping, oranges, strawberries and sauce, pineapple, mango and peaches in a large glass bowl. Stir gently.
Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Sprinkle coconut flakes on top. Serve.
