Bitter but Sweet

I arrived in Boston yesterday evening and woke up this morning to my mother cutting up horseradish root. The Michael/Brown family is all about tradition, and many members of my family do not take well to change. Even with all the stress that the beginning of this year brought, my family is still holding our annual Passover Seder. We are having 28 guests for dinner…that’s right, I typed 28, and I’m not joking. We will all be gathering on March 30 in my parents’ home in Brookline, MA, where my mother and I will have been food slaves for several days prior. In fact, she is already crying. The tears are not from stress or sadness but instead from the root that I mentioned earlier. The reason we eat this bitter herb that induces tears upon hitting our tongues is to remind us (Jews) of the bitterness of slavery, and all those who are not free in any way.

The recipe that we use is from my grandfather. It is written in his handwriting and something that he always used to prepare and bring for Passover night. He would make warning labels on the computer and print them out so that everybody would know how strong it is. If anyone didn’t listen (like his oldest son Bob and his granddaughter Wendy) they found out the hard way.

Horseradish is quite simple to make besides the crying and pain that one goes through when making it.

Add:

Peeled and chopped root to a food processor

Vinegar

Sugar

Let me warn you to only try a little. I have seen what happens when too much is taken, and it is not pretty.

For the next few days I will be blogging about all the food my mom and I are preparing for Passover. I will explain why we prepare each dish and so on.