This past Erev Shabbos was a busy one.  My father’s chemo day has been moved to Thursday, so more of the Shabbos preparation has been piling up on Friday.  Aaron and Hindy were arriving for Shabbos.  Guests were coming for Seuda Shlishis (third meal) Shabbos afternoon.  I needed to run to Monsey for a nursing home visit.  Candle lighting was at 4:12 PM.   And, there was so much to get done.  Thankfully, we had an aufruf to look forward to attending Shabbos morning.

I woke up before 5 AM on a mission.   All the ingredients were on hand, but not much of the cooking had been started.  I had been too exhausted on Thursday to start my Shabbos cooking, but thank G-d, I had plenty of energy early Friday morning to accomplish all that I had to do.

I decided to start with the funnest part of the Shabbos preparation.  I used my large soup pot to make the Rice Krispies Treats batter for the Aufruf Cake and decorated the top with simple Marshmallow Tulips.  After turning the cake onto a doily, I placed it on one of my Upcycled Chalkboard Chargers and wrote a mazel tov wish in metallic marker right on the charger.

Now, off to the Shabbos cooking marathon:  chicken soup, cholent, Broccoli Kugel, farro, grilled chicken, meatballs, stuffed turkey breast, cranberry relish, Tomato Medley with Arugula Pesto, baked apples and more!