I hate shabbos food!

yoyosma

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 3:11 pm

Withhumor, sorry, I didnt know you were Chassidish. Now that you say so, I understand a bit more about why people follow what 'everyone does'. It is a little different when you live in such a community. I always made fun of blueberry or apple crisp, I used to say it was an east coast thing because growing up in California no one that I knew served it, but in NY it seemed mandatory!
So while I still think you are the boss, I think you should make the standard Shabbos fare, but add a few special things for yourself.

withhumor

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 3:38 pm

I’m not naive and we have a pretty open minded household. I guess it’s impossible to explain what it’s like living neck to neck with a million people here (in boro park) who all do the exact same thing and the kids go in the same class! It’s difficult simply because I HATE SHABBOS FOOD! If it makes you guys feel any better, I just prepared a pot of beef stew with mushrooms, onions and red pepper. I added wine and I coated the beef with flour & spices before adding to the pot. I can’t wait to dig in and I hope this week I will enjoy it with some ‘others’ and not just by myself.

What I was really hoping to achieve from this thread was not ‘why can’t you’ but more like ‘maybe you should try a meat kugel…” suggestions which will help a ‘different’ food blend into our traditional menu. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Flowerchild

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 4:04 pm

I wish I could help you,but my food wouldnt fit your food, I have some good meat recipes and soup recipes, side dishes as well, but they are different in flavor completely from what you would normally eat.

chocolate moose

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 4:10 pm

So, With, from the food that's traditional, eat what you like. .....For example, I know a woman in C.H. who doesn't like gef. fish and simply doesn't eat it.

If you think it's bad chinuch to make yourself other food, then you have no choce.

DefyGravity

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 4:19 pm

Do you like meat turnovers? Maybe intoduce that as an extra side dish.

Is there an acceptable kugel that you usually don't serve, but might enjoy eating? I made a layered noodle/ground beef kugel last week, maybe you could introduce that. It's just a slant on an oldie but goodie.

lotte

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 4:27 pm

withhumor wrote:

Why? Because nobody does differently,. Everybody east the same old food every week and if I do anything different my kids are embarrassed. Let’s just say they like the routine and they are upset when it’s messed with.

How do you do the ribs anyway for shabbos? (I don’t go near fish in any shape or form)

Your kids will be embarrassed????
Why-do you set your table in the middle of the block so everyone see what's on your plate?
Do whatever is good for you and btw-I do know MANY Chassidishe families who eat any type of food that is under the sun!

LubavitchLeah

Fri, Feb 16 2007, 4:50 pm

Teneleven said

"" btw-I do know MANY Chassidishe families who eat any type of food that is under the sun!""

I beg to differ. Most Chassidishe families living in a specific community dont tend to alter their Shabbos menus to include unusual, exotic or different dishes. Most are pretty machmir about serving specific foods for certain courses. So I 100% understand what the OP means by deviating from the norm, it can be a big deal and I have no doubt if guests in her community would come for a meal and observe other courses besides the norm, they would be shocked and may consider this very strange. Ofcourse one can add some meat dishes, like the OP already did-sounds delicious, I would love some of that stew.
However "ridiculous" people view this or judge it, thats not the point, its a reality in some pockets in communities, not to play with tradition. That includes Shabbos foods, there are even mystical connotations attached to certain foods, involving gematria. If anyone can remember this or knows please enlighten me, I was once briefed on this, forgot sadly.
Im not commenting out of whether I agree with changing foods or not, thats simply not the point in this moms post.

Raisin

Sat, Feb 17 2007, 3:03 pm

There is minhag, which is important, but if you really don't like any of the shabbos food, than defnately you should enjoy what you are eating.

A nice meat dish is definatly shabbosdig - pot roast (you can make this with a cheap cut of meat like chuck and it is yummy), pepper steak, meat stir frys, stews (cholent but not cooked for so long...in fact you could leave it overnight for the cholent) different sorts of veg. kugels (creamy brocolli kugel is yummy), knishes. As long as it doesn't overtake your menu, why should anyone care.

btw I used to cook all sorts of different foods on shabbos. Different sorts of vegetable soups, etc But then I figured my guests (mainly not frum) come to me for a real shabbos experience so now I make all the very traditional foods, gefilta fish, chicken soup, chicken, kugel (on longer fridays, rice or roast potaotes otherwise) etc

Although I have sefardi guests who find my food really exotic!

It is also easier not to have to think up new menus each week.

When it comes to Yom Tov I think up new things because no one can eat chicken for 3 days in a row.

mumof1

Sat, Feb 17 2007, 5:12 pm

I serve the traditional as you mentioned but I add dips with challah salads with fish, and I serve meat, chicken and kugels for the main.
to make your meal enjoyable there should be something for everyone. there are minhagim about what you should eat but I have yet to hear from anyone that meat, salads and the like are not allowed.

withhumor

Sat, Feb 17 2007, 8:12 pm

Defy, that sounds yummy and practical for the overheating necessary on shabbos. I also like the meat turnover idea, my guy (7 yr old) would love that! I’m kind of out of the loop with recipes because my mother never made any appetizer stuff or pies with meat, it was always a main course.

My beef stew was heavenly and dh and my son (who is a huge protein guy) smacked their stomachs… I chopped up half a red pepper, a huge onion, a cup of mushrooms… stir fried with garlic until translucent. Then I tossed the beef pcs with flour & spices. Then I added to the veggies and stirred until it was browned. I added chicken soup, teriyaki sauce, and red wine and let it cook for a bit over an hour. Then I popped it in the oven (I leave my oven on 225 all shabbos) and it was something amazing.

When I served it, I also plopped a piece of kugel next to it and everybody felt honored. I am still looking into ‘meat pie’ stuff that would make it look kugel’y and I get to have my fancy meat. Thank you for your support, ladies!

greenfire

Sat, Feb 17 2007, 10:16 pm

I make whatever I want - whenever I want - so I guess my advice will not be any good to you. When there are alot of days of yom tov we eat milchigs - fried omelets with cheese & veggies with little red potatoes with rosemary & garlic ... mmm - we are different alright - but we like it!!!

Mama Bear

Sat, Feb 17 2007, 11:09 pm

I also have the "shabbos menu carved in stone' minhag, but there are sooo many variations you can make within our minhagim.

You can make tomato dip, or spinach dip, or other dips with the fish.

You can make all kneidlach or nokerlach or wahtever with the soup.

any kinds of salads, turnovers, side dishes etc. with the chicken, any kinds of kugels, and you know something? you dont HAVE to serve boiled soup chicken! You canserve beef! Shnitzel! any kind of food. make is a yomtov seudah! On Yomtov we always have some great pickled veal or smoked chicken for the main course.

Morning, with the eggs you can make a zillion salads. Same with the cholent, you can make it a goulash, any salads with it, any kugel, and dessert is as wide open as possible.

You can still serve the fish/soup/chicken & ferfel & kugel - fish/eggs/cholent traditional meal,with so many additiions, side dishes, and salads. good luck.

downsyndrome

Sat, Feb 17 2007, 11:45 pm

Hey, withhumor, you know very well that the Shabbos meals are very, very overfilling. You don't need to substitute EVERY traditional food in order for you to have what to eat; prepare the traditional and just add one or two variations for yourself.
For Friday night I would sugggest that you boil some flanken into your chicken soup and shortly b/4 Shabbos you remove the flanken, place them in pan, pour sweet 'n sour duck sauce over 'em and pop em into the oven until the meal. Eat them when you serve the main plate.
For fishes, you can have cold, baked salmon, marinated salmon, etc.
My sil just told me that the first time she brought tomato dip to the Shabbos table her dh asked her to please remove it cuz it was too sporty - not Shabbbos'dig enough. She got him to relax and by now there is no Shabbos in her house without tomato dip on the table and dh is the first one to reach for it.
Don't give up on tradition, but slowly add some new foods. Enjoy.

Ozmom

Sun, Feb 18 2007, 12:22 am

strange...and there I was thinking it was a mitzva to eat meat on shabbos. Confused

what sort of community do you live in that dictates what you should and shouldn't eat on shabbos? I've never heard of such a thing.

mirikush

Sun, Feb 18 2007, 2:28 am

Quote:

what sort of community do you live in that dictates what you should and shouldn't eat on shabbos? I've never heard of such a thing. What

me to.... and I hang out with chasidishe families on shabbos when we are invited out and we all have salads, dips etc. Of course the the menu is fish, soup, meat (at night) and fish, cholent (day) but it is always accompanied by salads (ie hatzalim, tomato dips, humous, avacado, israeli, pasta, potato, egg, spinach etc......
edited by mod2 you may pm me

baseballmom

Sun, Feb 18 2007, 10:13 am

Since I am not personally familiar with the specifics of the chasidshe community's shabbos I apologize ahead of time if this is not relevant, but why can't you make the traditional food that your kids and dh and community eat, and then make one thing for you each shabbos - you can eat the same as everyone else excpet for this one food, which is something you like.

amother

Sun, Feb 18 2007, 11:34 am

Quote:

what sort of community do you live in that dictates what you should and shouldn't eat on shabbos? I've never heard of such a thing.

And I never heard of people eating meatballs and spaghetti on Shabbos until coming onto this site. Confused

Ruchel

Mon, Feb 19 2007, 5:22 pm

It is something I don't understand... eating the same thing every shabbes would be hell for me... and I don't get the shabbesdik/non shabbesdik
food... aren't we supposed to enjoy shabbes food? just my opinion.

withhumor

Mon, Feb 19 2007, 6:26 pm

I’ve seen a post where someone wrote that a carton of juice on the shabbos table is not shabbosdig. I can’t say I ‘agree’ because there’s no right or wrong, it’s only an emotional FEELING that we develop base don our youth. In our home, Shabbos was a time for grape juice, wine, favorite sodas etc. Drinking grape juice doing the week felt strange and we never did. I guess you would feel that way if you would drink one night during the week from your husband’s silver becher cup?!?! Basically, we develop an attachment to things and it’s not so easy to change it. We hold on to it for the ‘comfortable memories’ it invokes. What greater gift can I give to my children?