Making pesach at home for the first time. Tips?

spring13

Thu, Feb 12 2015, 10:00 am

A few notes, based on my experiences/preferences. In general, I like to avoid too much use of disposables, and don't like a lot of KLP products (for health, taste, and price reasons), so I do most of my own cooking/baking. So that's where some of my suggestions are coming from. But if it's easier or cheaper for you to buy X or do Y, that's obviously fine - you gotta do what you gotta do, especially your first year.

1. I use Evernote, an app/synced website for making lists and menus and keeping track of things like recipes. It's cloud storage, can be accessed on a computer or phone, and is easy to use. I have a "notebook" of Pesach lists so I can refer to previous years' or keep an eye on my available utensil and ingredients.

2. If you're interested in buying dishes, keep and eye on Amazon and Woot.com for deals on Corelle. It's relatively inexpensive, lightweight, and thin, so it takes up less storage space and is easier to shlep up and down (depending on where you'll keep it during the year). Pretty but not so fancy that you'll be afraid to let your kids touch it. Cups can be sturdy plastic - don't forget a couple of sippies if your kids use them, or travel coffee mugs if you and your DH will want.

3. Utensil list. I got most of it from Amazing Savings. I try to hit a middle ground between utensils that are cheap but decent quality - hopefully you'll be using them for years to come, so you don't want to have to constantly replace them.
-1 large and 1 small sharp knife for each gender, plus a cutting board for each.
-1 large soup pot, 1 sauce pan, and 1 large and 1 small frying pan for each gender.
-Baking pans can be foil for now, even if you decide to get solid ones in the future. Don't forget foil cookie sheets!
-Measuring cups, measuring spoons, mixing bowls (1 big, 1 small for each gender), a colander.
-A couple of vegetable peelers, plus a ladle, a cooking spoon, and a spatula for each gender, maybe a wooden spoon for baking and a rubber spatula.
-A cheese grater and/or microplane thingy than be awesome if you're a cheese nut like my family.
-Oven mitts, dish towels, sponges, tablecloth (or just plastic covers if you wash and use your regular ones).
-A hand mixer, maybe a stick blender, and a food processor. I got a Hamilton Beach one last year that has two different size bowls - it was inexpensive but seems very sturdy. Foil pans for food storage, plus some plastic containers - like the ones takeout soup comes in, or the Ziploc ones.
-Inexpensive serving things - I get the heavy plastic bowls/platters/spoons from Amazing Savings, like they use at a shul kiddush. A couple of trivets for hot pans of food.
-Parchment paper, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, plastic bags.
-If you drink coffee, consider getting a cheap coffeemaker or a French press. I can't handle 8 whole days of instant!
-Salt and pepper shakers!
-Sink racks, dish racks.
-Kiddush/seder cups

4. Ingredient list - not exhaustive, just things you'll probably end up using.
-Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cinnamon, oregano, parsley.
-Sugar, honey, Splenda or whatever if you use it.
-Matza meal, cake meal. I also get almond flour, which is fab if you don't eat gebrokts or generally want to be healthier. Potato starch or tapioca starch.
-Baking soda, cocoa powder, vinegar, lemon juice, oil. I like safflower and olive oil best. Coconut oil can be useful also - I avoid cottonseed and Pesach margarine (I'm crunchy like that).
-Eggs. All the eggs.
-Tomato products. I usually skip the ketchup or only buy a small bottle, but I make sure to have some crushed tomatoes and paste for cooking.
-Ground nuts (plus almond flour, as mentioned above). I love hazelnut cake and macaroon type things!
-Chocolate chips. Because life is nothing without them.
-Quinoa, if you use it. Farfel is fun also.
-Almond milk, almond or cashew butter if your kids will miss pb.
-I do get some treats like fruit snacks and Bissli and some juice boxes, some candies.
-Instant coffee, ground coffee, tea bags.

5. Depending on your kitchen setup and how much you plan to move things around, it might help to get some plastic drawers or countertop shelving to help keep things organized.

6. Don't get obsessed with finding Pesach versions of your usual chametz-laden recipes or meals: unless you'll all die without some kind of pasta, don't bother spending the money for the Pesach version. Stick with stuff that's the same year-round. Roasted veg, salads, chicken, tuna, baked potatoes (or sweet potatoes), vegetable soups, things like that. Keep the fruit and vegetable content of your meals and snacks high, because too much matza or matza products just ain't good for you. If it's a big deal to go 8 days without a certain item then by all means get a potato starch version of it - just don't do that for EVERYTHING. My major thing is to make sure I have Dr. Praeger's KLP fishies!