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Cousin Clara’s Never-Fail Sweet and Sour Meatballs
(Subtitled: If you don’t like ketchup, you must not be from Minnesota)
Make these a day ahead of serving them, because reheating only makes them better!
The Meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs. chopped meat
1 egg
1 large carrot, grated on the small hole side of the grater
1/4 c. matzo meal or fine breadcrumbs
black pepper to taste
dash of ketchup
Knead all the above together gently by hand in a large bowl.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan…
The Sauce:
1 large bottle of ketchup (1 lb. bottle at least)
Same large bottle of ketchup, filled with water
Optional: tomato paste
Boil the the sauce and gently form and add the meatballs, about the size of a small walnut. Simmer about 2 hours and then remove from heat. Add 1/4 c. of brown sugar.
Thanks to Liron for suggesting I “digitize” my handwritten recipe for posterity after I spent a panic-struck half hour looking for it. As my mom (z”l) would have said, “Delish!”
Grindel, Hamburg, Germany
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- Names of the Deported
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- An Apartment Building In Hamburg
During our visit to Hamburg over Passover last year we walked many times from our hotel in Rotherbaum to various parts of nearby Grindel, the old Jewish area of the city. Along our route we saw brass plaques embedded in the sidewalk noting the names of Jews who lived in these houses and whom the Nazis deported to Riga and elsewhere. Deported, it states on these plaques, nothing more. These plaques also raise questions. Who were the other people who lived in these houses? Were they non-Jews who heard their neighbors being taken away, never to return? Did they help their Jewish neighbors in some way? Did they turn them over for transportation? Questions, questions.
In certain parts of the city, other reminders of World War II literally loom overhead and stand witness to the horrific suffering inflicted on the German population. Looking back through the comfortable distance of nearly 70 years in time, it’s easy to forget that had these terrible acts of war not taken place, our world today would be a very different place.
There’s no denying that throughout our pleasant stay in the city, for me there was also an undercurrent of unease. Even watching the countryside pass by during our 5-hour train ride to Frankfurt raised uncomfortable feelings. As a second-generation American Jew and one generation removed from the Holocaust, I believed I would be less affected by this trip. I was wrong.
Moving right along at full tilt
Or is it tilt-a-whirl?
Trying hard not to think about all the things that still need doing before our Passover holiday in little over a week’s time. Things have become a bit more complicated while I deal with recovering from another bout of pneumonia (the 2nd in two months) and a third round of antibiotics. Everything leaves me breathless. Thankfully, I have two sisters-in-law to lean on for cooking (and a strange feeling to not be including my mother-in-law (z”l) in that sentence), though the festive meal is at our house. I’ll be leaning on my sons and husband for the post-meal cleanup, which takes almost as long as the cooking and preparation.
Also weighing heavily on our minds as we go into the week before Passover holiday is the current situation in the south, which picked up considerable speed this weekend. Since early Friday morning, at least 75 rocket and missile attacks have been launched from Gaza, including an anti-tank missile that was fired on a school bus, mortally wounding a 16 year-old student. Who knows how many more rocket attacks before this post is published Sunday morning Israel time.
Meanwhile, Mr. Haniyeh has asked that Israel stop retaliating, to which I can only reply, “Chad Gadya.”
Updated: seems I’m not alone in my thoughts on the latter subject. The Wifely Person Speaks. Go listen.
Better shared!
