By Meryl Feld / Editor
Passover will look different this year for our community. We will not be gathering how we traditionally do. We won’t be welcoming guests. Many will be hosting seder for the first time. We may cook less or more food than past Passovers. Some have never experienced Passover in their own homes.
Preparing for Passover does not have to feel overwhelming. The Kosher Baker, Paula Shoyer, sat down with The Chronicle (virtually of course) to help us prepare.
“Try to do it as traditionally as possible because that’ll connect you to the seders of your past. Of your parents, your grandparents, your friends, where you’ve gone in the past. Bring those traditions to your table and that will enrich your experience when we’re all feeling disconnected from everyone,” Shoyer said.
Shoyer is the author of three cookbooks and teaches cooking classes across the world for Jewish organizations and synagogues. She has made over 25 television appearances and was named A Woman to Watch by Jewish Women International. Her blog, The Kosher Baker, is well-known in the kosher blogger community.
Keep it simple
“My first advice to everyone is keep it simple,” Shoyer said.
In the past she has always made two separate menus for the two sedarim. This year she isn’t and recommends you do the same. The turkey she is making for the first seder will still be delicious come second seder.
Good recipes can make your preparations easier. “I’m really big on recipes that are really interesting and delicious and look complex, but they’re not complex to make. I highly recommend my recipes because they’re easy, they’re delicious,” Shoyer said.
You can find helpful Passover resources ranging from a shopping list to a recipe index on Shoyer’s website, TheKosherBaker.com. She is working on adding even more tried and true recipes to her website.
Shoyer prides herself in putting herself in your shoes when she writes recipes. It’s important to her that her recipes are clear and easy to follow. “My goal has always been to stand in the shoes of the person in the kitchen and think about how many steps they’re willing to follow, how many tools they have to use, how many dishes they have to clean at the end and how many stores they’re going to have to go to buy the ingredients.”
Shoyer wants people to give themselves permission to simplify their preparations. “You totally have a pass this year,” she said, “You need to still make it special for your family, but you can do that without making so many different things.”
Plan ahead
“I always say Pesach doesn’t scare me because it’s just like every other holiday, Shabbat, Thanksgiving, it’s just about the planning,” Shoyer said.
Her second piece of advice is to plan ahead. “Sit down and figure out eight days’ worth of menus… plan out the entire week and put together your list based on that.”
Shoyer said that this year will require a bit more planning than other years, due to difficulty getting deliveries or grocery stores selling out faster than usual. Since some are not going into stores at the moment, they may need to order things and since deliveries may be unreliable, it’s important to plan ahead.
“You just have to plan a little bit more in advance,” she said.
You can even start planning for next year! Her best advice that she likes to give people? Save your receipts from Passover shopping and mark what you want to remember to buy less of, or more of, next year.
“As you go through the holiday, make a list of what you wish you had,” so you can be better prepared for next year. This will help you build on what you learned in previous years, as it’s difficult to remember year to year.
Tens of thousands normally go on Pesach programs that are now cancelled. Shoyer expects there to be more demand on Passover products as more people will be making Passover for themselves. She hopes some companies will produce more products than planned, but to be safe, “As soon as you can, get those lists together so that you can get what you need,” she said.
While seder may be different, Shoyer recommends focusing on our blessings. “If you’re healthy and your family is healthy and you’re able to make seder this Passover, then you have to know that you’re one of the blessed ones,” Shoyer said, “Don’t take that simple reality for granted this year.”