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Making pesach at home for the first time. Tips?
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amother


 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 8:37 am
What do I need to know? What do I need to buy? What do I cook? I am starting from scratch... we r a family of 5 (3 kids). Any tips and advice wud really b appreciated!
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 8:49 am
I'll try to be more targeted later. But I just want to give you perspective: if you have to drive a significant distance to get to wherever you used to go, seder night you will be so happy ;-) Hatzlacha!
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amother


 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:22 am
PinkFridge wrote:
I'll try to be more targeted later. But I just want to give you perspective: if you have to drive a significant distance to get to wherever you used to go, seder night you will be so happy ;-) Hatzlacha!


Thanks! I will be waiting to hear from u.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:24 am
1) make an exact menu for all meals. do it now. this will help you make up your grocery list. nothing on your menu needs to be gourmet, aim for simple food as much as possible.

2) go through the haggadah. make sure you write down all the items/food you will need in relation to the seder NOT meal-related. (seder plate, contents thereof, scallions if you have minhagim using them, etc.)

3) kitchen items: note how many pots/pans you are likely to need to cook what is on your menu. make sure you have at least one frying pan for meat and one for dairy. eggs are likely to be made. are you grating your own horseradish? get a food processor. and when it's finished doing the grating for you, step away from the processor before opening it. or open it outside. just a tip. if you're going to bake cakes, an electric hand-beater is a good thing to have. it's also a good idea to have measuring spoons/cups/mixing bowls(s). again, a lot of this depends on your intended menu. also, don't forget a matza cover.

4) place settings: if you're not doing disposables, consider getting dishes that are not too heavy or too thick. you need to be able to store this stuff. also, try to get glasses that hold the minimum shiur for the 4 cups of wine. these can double for a kiddush cup.

5) consider how you intend to clean your kitchen/dining room. make a list of supplies, including lining material, if you intend to line any surfaces. if you aren't planning on selling any chametz, start working on using up the stuff in your freezer.

6) if you're going to do any special kid-themed decor for pesach, consider it early. last-minute is stressful.

7) work out a cleaning schedule now. you won't have to panic later.
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cbg




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:30 am
THREE MOST IMPORTANT RULES ABOUT MAKING PESACH

KEEP YOUR LISTS, MENUS, SHOPPING,CLEANING TO DO, FROM YEAR TO YEAR.

ITS NOT TIME FOR SPRING CLEANING/OORGANIZING. THE TOP SHELF OF THE LINEN CLOSET CAN WAIT, IF YOU ARE SURE THERE IS NO CHAMETZ THERE.

BE THANKFUL AND HAPPY Very Happy
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momX4




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:57 am
Dont bake the first year. It is hard enough doing everything else. They sell great cakes, cookies and desserts. I slowly started baking and now I only buy cookies for the inbetween days.

Every year after pesach I buy a list of things I can use for next year. (like more peelers because everyone wants to help peel)
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amother


 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 9:59 am
Thanks to all of u for taking ur time to respond! Kee them coming! U r really helping me!
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kollel wife




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:32 am
This is a mother whose #9 baby was born a few days before Pesach - #8 was 11 months.

I would take a calendar and plan the cleaning and then cooking going backwards from Erev Pesach.

It's hard to answer so well without the size of your house/apartment, ages of children, your schedule/ability to get things done at home.

I would first start with the cleaning. Let's for now assume you will want a couple of days for cooking.

So begin your "count-back" before that.

Starting with bedrooms/playroom plan which weeks you'll have that done first. Living room next.
Sometimes you can put a baby gate to prevent chometz from going to rooms that have been cleaned already.

Kitchen last - although if you're cleaning upper cabinets you can clean in advance and just put a label on the outside cleaned already so you and your husband will be careful not to put things away with crummy hands. If you have an extra freezer also do that in advance.

The final cleaning week is for lower cabinets, fridge, clean/kasher oven, sink(s) etc. Any lower cabinet that's been cleaned can be taped very will duct tape to prevent small kids from opening. You can leave out necessary but minimal pots and pans from there lower cabinets for cooking as you are still cooking chomitzdik.

During these weeks NOW of cleaning or even before take care of clothing shopping (socks, tights etc) whatever you were planning on doing in advance.
Also right now you can plan menu and purchases of dishes/pots, food processor, mixer (hand mixer works well even for me with large family). You might want one very large pot for soup.

Make a food shopping list and get recipes from friends etc. Make a food list.
Main dishes, side dishes, desserts, baking

I don't if you eat g'brokts, buy ready made products etc but here's anyway


milk - remember no cereal, less milk may be needed than usual
leben,yogurt
American cheese
Cream cheese (we use a lot of this)
matzo
grape juice
wine
eggs
oil
cocoa
baking chocolate
potatoe starch
(matzo meal/cake meal)
potatoes
apples
sweet pot
squash
carrots
onions
salt,pepper, other spices
chicken
shnitzel
meat
apple juice

Also make a list of what you want to cook which day. You can make hard boiled eggs, roast you chicken bone and put up chicken soup right away as soon as you are Pesachdik. Then you can start more complex things like kugels of whatever the next day when you are fresh and not tired.

You can PM me if you want.
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studying_torah




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:35 am
Find out your husband's minhagim regarding store bought food for pessach; some ppl use only home made food so your prep will take more time.
Good luck!
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summer0808




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:35 am
BIG QUESTION! will you buy prepared foods or will you make everything from scratch. VERY big difference in prep.

Also remember that your family is still small. There shouldn't be that much advanced cooking. Probably one pot of chicken soup for each 1/2 of Y't.

If you can afford it, Make your houseware list and do it now. When I set up the first time I put together my order and the store toiveled it and delivered it a few days before Y't, like a Kallah order.

It's totally worth it! I love staying home for the Seder!
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:35 am
1 - Start early!! (I have 2 bedrooms done already).

2 - Try to have everything except the Kitchen and dining room done by Purim.

3 - Turn over your kitchen a few days early (seder is Friday night).

4 - Search this site a lot since we've posted cleaning lists and menus in the past.

5 - If you "must" bake, bake my brownies - they were a hit here last year and are so simple http://imamother.com/forum/vie.....art=0

6 - Everything takes longer than you think. You have to shop for groceries, vegetables, meat... And you never get everything the first time so you have to shop again.

7 - Preparing the Seder plate takes a long time

8 - try to use recipes that you use during the year with little adjustments.

9 - Go simple
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gp2.0




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 10:54 am
Ooh there are some great tips here. I will be following this thread too. We've stayed home for Pesach before, so I'm not that worried about cleaning, but we've never done seder. I like the idea of going through the haggadah beforehand. I can just imagine us all sitting down at the seder and being like - hey what are we dipping in this salt water - oops we don't have it. LOL
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spinkles




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 3:01 pm
1. Look at your calendar. When is the first day of your kids' vacation? Now count back 3-4 days. This is the day you will turn over. Write it in BIG LETTERS. Turning over is going to take a long time. You won't be done the first day.

2. You need the kids out of the house for a full day when you turn over, whether that means your dh or a babysitter or Uncle Moishy.

3. Do bedrooms, closets, etc. before Purim. After Purim comes living room, dining room, kitchen.

4. You can sell whole chunks of your house if necessary. We sell the basement.

5. Cook suppers now and freeze so you have good food (microwavable) while you're turning over.
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Sanguine




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 3:49 pm
sprinkles wrote:
1. Look at your calendar. When is the first day of your kids' vacation? Now count back 3-4 days. This is the day you will turn over. Write it in BIG LETTERS. Turning over is going to take a long time. You won't be done the first day.

2. You need the kids out of the house for a full day when you turn over, whether that means your dh or a babysitter or Uncle Moishy.

5. Cook suppers now and freeze so you have good food (microwavable) while you're turning over.

sprinkles - I thoughtthat I'm neurotic (I have 2 rooms done already - Actually my whole upstairs cause my 2 big kids do their own room so I'm done there), but I think you're extreme (couldn't think of a nice word) about this turning over business. Everyone has different set ups so OP's can be much easier than yours so stop scaring her.

Do you empty dish closets and silverware drawers? I have 3 Pesach closets in my kitchen so I don't empty anything. I don't even clean the top closets. I just tape them shut. There's no crumbs up there. How would they get there? Maybe OP plans to use paper and will only have a few Pesach things. She can leave it all in a box on the floor or on the counter...

How old are her kids? Little and everyone goes to sleep by 7:00 every night? DH can turn over together with her in the evening instead of babysitting while she works alone...

How is her kitchen set up? My Chalavi is so separate from my B'sari that I kasher the whole B'sari while we still eat on the Chalavi side chametz.

Did you ever hear of going out for pizza the week before Pesach? Eating sandwiches and Mana Chama?

sprinkles, I think you should try to get a better Pre Pesach system - You're even scaring me and I've made Pesach many years (and I make seder for at least 15 who sleep over too).

OP - No matter what, there is extra work the first year. I reuse my counter covers so they're all cut to size. - that takes a lot of time. You really should start early so you're not "surprised" by things you forgot about.
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Simple1




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 4:00 pm
momX4 wrote:
Dont bake the first year. It is hard enough doing everything else. They sell great cakes, cookies and desserts. I slowly started baking and now I only buy cookies for the inbetween days.

Every year after pesach I buy a list of things I can use for next year. (like more peelers because everyone wants to help peel)


This is probably good advice. But if you can handle it, maybe you can limit baking to very easy stuff like one bowl brownies or blondies. There are some recipes on this site that are so easy and it's cheaper than buying ready made . You can stay away from recipes that are more complicated.
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OOTBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 4:03 pm
1) Get as much cleaning help as you can affor
2) Don't overdo it. Pesach cleaning isn't spring cleaning. Get ahold of the article/book? written by Rav Scheinberg z"l about that if your DH will hold by it.
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eschaya




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 5:28 pm
Following, since I too will be making pesach for the first time this year. Only problem is I'm in school full time and working part time, so I dont have much time to do anything. But this thread is good so that at least I know what to start buying in advance. Thx
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yOungM0mmy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 6:57 pm
The first year we made pesach, I had a 5 week old, a 1 1/2 year old and a 2 3/4 year old. We didn't do Seder that year, but did the rest. We had nothing! I bought a plug in electric burner with 2 hobs, and a convection microwave - no scrubbing and cleaning and kashering the oven and hob. I only did meaty, and had some plastic bowls and spoons for cereal and milk or yoghurt. We did all disposables, and I bought a cheap set of 4 big and small plates, and bowls, a few glasses, and a cheap set of cutlery for cooking, putting boiling hot food on, etc. 2 big frying pans - 1 with a lid, 3 big pots and a smaller one (I have since bought a few more), several mixing bowls - plastic and glass. I don't empty any of my closets or drawers, just store the pesach stuff in a corner of the counter or on a side table.
We use no processed foods, and I did no baking at all (still don't - we have egg and nut allergies, so no point), we have fruit, homemade sorbet, or homemade compote for dessert.
I didn't buy a food processor the first year, used a hand grater, a hand juicer and a stick blender. Stick blender is amazing - use to make soups, can use to chop onion, make mayo. Last year I bought an electric juicer which was such a gift - I make my own lime juice, lemon juice and orange juice. Still no food processor.
We had a set of serving dishes from our wedding that I didn't like and had never used, they have since grown on me, and that's our serving dishes. The next year we added real wine glasses and better cutlery - even though we still use (nice) disposables, the cutlery and wine glasses make a massive difference, and are easy to wash up, without having to wash loads of dishes as well.
Lists, lists, lists. The first year (and second) we got to the middle of seder and realised we have no broken bowl to pour the wine into.
The first year, my menu was chicken soup, and one pot chicken meals, with potatoes and assorted veg. We had no almost no guests, and I had enough to do without trying to figure out good pesach menus. Since then each year I've expanded a bit, and DH's biggest compliment is that he never feels hungry at home on Pesach. Yes, it's loads of work, but actually, I much prefer being home now than being anyplace else.
Regarding cleaning, especially with little children, I find it easier to do it all closer to Pesach, than do it before Purim, and worry about the kids undoing all my work. Mine are now 8 and down, and trust me, I have found real chametz in the wierdest places - not the top shelf of the airing cupboard, but definitely in the kids' drawers, toy boxes, behind furniture, etc so you do have to clean properly, but don't go completely neurotic. I remember going to my grandmother's house soon after purim, and not being able to have soup croutons, I don't know, they might jump?? I hated Pesach as a child, and am determined not to make my kids hate (the run up to) Pesach.
Good luck, make sure DH helps you, and have fun!
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OOTBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 7:06 pm
yOungM0mmy wrote:
I remember going to my grandmother's house soon after purim, and not being able to have soup croutons, I don't know, they might jump??


You might be surprised. One of the items on my Pesach cleaning checklist in my previous home was to check the area between the dining room's tile & and the family rooms carpet for chametz -- the item commonly found there was SOUP CROUTONS!
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Feb 11 2015, 8:13 pm
Buy a separate egg slicer, wine bottle opener, can opener, colander, and kitchen knives, paring and chef's.

Get help, both to watch kids while you do things, and, to help with housework. Both.

Have enough matzah.

Have Pesach spices. You don't need many.

Have enough Hagaddas.

Hugs.
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