Wall-to-Wall Papering

In my grandmother's home and the homes of many Jewish families, it was customary to clean the house and wash the floors on Friday. No sooner did the floors dry than they were covered with newspapers so they would stay clean. As any New York Jewish family can tell you -- for they are all connoisseurs of linoleum "paper placement" - it is much better to spread out the New York Times than the Daily News. Not only does the Times cover more area, but since it has fewer pictures and black on the pages, it leaves fewer smudges when you remove it.

On Friday's, at Grandmother's, I used to play "reading hopscotch." I'd get down on all fours and crawl around like an infant to catch up on current events.

We never saw the linoleum until the next week when it was time to wash the floors again. In our minds, clean newspapers on the floor meant a yuntifdik (holiday) feeling.

And, for the life of me, I don't remember what color our floors were.

Beef Pot Roast (Gedempte Fleish)

INGREDIENTS

1 package onion soup mix
1 cup water
2 slices chuck, approximately 2 pounds each
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon minced garlic, or to taste
6 potatoes, cut in quarters
1 green pepper, cut in quarters
6 carrots, cut in quarters
2 stalks celery, cut in quarters
Dash of catsup

In a large skillet, dissolve onion soup mix in cup of water. Trim off fat and cut meat into bite-size pieces. Add to onion soup mix. Season with salt, pepper and garlic.

Cover and simmer 1 hour. Lay potatoes, pepper, carrots, celery across top of simmering meat. Sprinkle catsup on top of meat and vegetables and cook another 1-1/2 hours.

SIDE DISHES: Serve potato pancakes, or kasha varnishkas, or crumble matzo into bowl and cover with gravy from pot roast.