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The Raw and The Cooked

Simple Meals + Honest Book Reviews + Practical Living

Genesis 37:1 – 40:23 | Vayeshev | “And He Settled”

I was just telling my mother on the phone last night, after Shabbos ended, that I realized, that day, the first night of Chanukah is…. tonight. And even though it’s written on all three of my calendars, Chanukah always has a way of sneaking up on me. Every year. We’ve had the Chanukah PJ’s in rotation since Rosh Hashana, so at least there’s that. And so today, in addition to packing school lunches, baking sandwich bread for the week, and Sunday Stuff, I’m going to add homemade latkes to the list. We got our menorahs out, the dreidels, and magically found three unopened boxes of candles (another Chanukah miracle!), and threw last minute invites out to our two local cousins to join in tonight. Latkes + Chicken Taco Bowls. Cheers, Happy Chanukah, everyone!

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One-Pot Winter Dinners for the Overwhelmed Mom

December is… a lot. The magic and lights and celebrations are real — but so are the 4:30 p.m. sunsets, the jackets and snow boots everywhere, the restless kids who cannot go outside, and the witching hour that hits right as the light disappears.

If you’re nursing, tired, overstimulated, or buried under the winter gear of four small children, this season can feel like a marathon you didn’t train for. And in this season? Dinner doesn’t need to be gourmet — it just needs to get done. 🤍

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Re-Reading Gone Girl Thirteen Years Later

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I found myself standing in front of a Little Free Library box at our neighborhood playground, while my cousin, sister-in-law, and I let the children burn off steam before we all stuffed ourselves with approximately 3,000 calories worth of Thanksgiving dinner. And there it was: Gone Girl. A perfect, slightly weathered paperback copy, begging me to take it home with me.

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Genesis 32:4 – 36:43 | Vayishlach | “And He Sent”

This weeks parsha post is dedicated to our sweet girl, who turned seven earlier this week. We are so proud of the polite, kind, smart, vivacious, funny, and beautiful girl she’s turned into. And wow — those seven years went by f-a-s-t. Suddenly, Jacob’s line makes a little more sense to me, 29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. Motherhood — especially these early years — is a kind of serving too. And somehow, the years feel like days.

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Sourdough Discard Brownies

If you have a sourdough starter, and you’re looking for discard recipes, this one is it. I’ve tried so many brownie recipes over the years, and this one knocks it out of the park, every time. My children, especially my older daughter, request them for special occasions. It’s pretty easy to throw together, and very low fuss, you’re going to dirty your stand-mixer and a small sauce pan, that’s it!

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Genesis 28:10 – 32:3 | Vayetzei | “And He Went Out”

This little hole has been the soundtrack of my mornings for weeks — the steady tap-tap-tapping of a very determined woodpecker working on my deck post like it was his life’s mission. And while I was extremely annoyed to watch him destroy perfectly good lumber, I have to admit…I was also rooting for him.

Because look at it now. It’s perfect. A tiny doorway. A winter shelter. A home. And this week in Vayetzei, the timing feels almost too on-the-nose.

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