At Home with Peppelah

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At Home with Peppelah

Welcome to Home with Peppelah! I’m a mom, home cook, and storyteller, sharing easy recipes and real-life moments.

I’m all about creating connection through food, family, and a little chaos. Join me as I cook, reflect, and bring my table to yours. Please reach out to me directly with any questions you may have via email at [email protected] comments and dms get lost and we hate missing you

07/18/2025

Loss is hard. Grief is harder. But getting used to the version of yourself that exists after someone you love dies, that’s the hardest part.

I miss my dad so much. He wasn’t just a parent. He was my safe place. I could call him when I was falling apart at work or school he’d talk me through it. I wasn’t always the easiest kid, and I definitely made mistakes, but he never gave up on me. Ever.

When I had cancer, he had it too. I watched him get sicker and sicker while I was trying to survive. And when he died, I was still fighting for my life. I carried a lot of guilt for surviving when he didn’t.

But today isn’t just about mourning. In Judaism, we’re taught to mark the anniversary of someone’s death as a day of remembrance. It’s a way to keep them with us. Not in grief, but in memory, in presence.

Today is my dad’s birthday. It’s also the day he left this physical realm. He was born on the 18th and died on the 18th, in 2018. In Judaism, the number 18 stands for chai, which means life. Triple 18 = Life, life, life. And somehow, that feels fitting. Like he’s still here in some way, reminding me to keep on going, to live life to its fullest.

I miss you dad. May your memory forever be a blessing. Amen.

07/05/2025

Mediterranean Pasta Salad-highly requested recipe ⬇️
A bright, fresh, make-ahead salad that’s totally adjustable. The real star here is the lemon garlic dressing, but the rest is up to you. Swap what you want, add what you like. This is how I make mine.
Ingredients:

Pasta Salad
•1 lb rotini (or any small pasta like bowtie or penne)
•1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (multicolored if you like)
•½ cup kalamata olives, halved or left whole
•1 red bell pepper, finely diced
•¼ cup chopped banana pepper rings
•1 small red onion (or ½ a large one), thinly sliced + soaked in cold water with salt for 10min
•3 Persian cucumbers, halved lengthwise and sliced
•½ cup feta cheese (preferably packed in brine), crumbled

Dressing
•½ cup extra virgin olive oil
•⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
•1 tablespoon lemon zest
•2 garlic cloves, grated with a microplane (or very finely minced)
•2 teaspoons honey (or more to taste)
•Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
•1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:
•Cook pasta in generously salted water according to the package (9 minutes for rotini is perfect).
•Drain and rinse with cold water until pasta is completely cool.
•While the pasta cooks, slice red onion and soak it in cold water with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Drain before adding.
•Prep the rest of the veggies and feta, and toss them into a large bowl with the cooled pasta.
•In a jar, combine all dressing ingredients. Shake until well blended. Taste and adjust: more honey if it’s too tart, more oil if needed.
•Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve cold, and enjoy every bite. ⬇️Tips+Tricks in the comments⬇️

07/04/2025

My family came to this country in the 1800s, fleeing the pogroms in Russia. If it weren’t for the USA, I probably wouldn’t be alive. It’s on days like today that I think about that, about how lucky I am to raise Jewish kids in a place where we’re free to be who we are. I’m deeply grateful to everyone in the military who protects that freedom. Even with the rise in antisemitism, I still believe this country has our back in the long run. Happy Fourth and Shabbat shalom! 🇺🇸🧨🎆

🇺🇸 🇺🇸 ❤️

07/02/2025

Corn 🌽 update! My handsome Guatemalan man (mi Chapin) who grew corn the first 20 years of his life is bringing that tradition into our family and honestly I love it. They’re getting so big and I cannot wait until we get actual corn!! We’re def in a good spot for it too since this area is known for corn, to***co, and cotton so it’s kind of meant to be. We’ve always wanted to raise our kids with both of our cultures, Jewish and Guatemalan, and this just feels like one of those full circle l’dor v’dor moments. From his roots to our garden. There are tomatoes and cucumbers growing in there too 🥰🍅🥒

06/30/2025

Our first little harvest❣️🍅🌶️

🍅 #

06/29/2025

🇮🇱

#🟦

06/27/2025

In our gardening era.

When we bought this house last July, we didn’t realize how much peace we’d find in the dirt. My husband grew up in Guatemala growing food. My family were farmers on one side, so it’s always been somewhere in us.

We didn’t read any books or watch tutorials. We just started planting. Tossed seeds into the earth like prayers and waited to see what took. There’s a Buddhist term for this kind of thing. I forgot what it’s called and I didn’t feel like Googling it, but it feels too sacred for that anyway. We’ve just been calling it mindfully cultivating.

And don’t tell Rudi, but it’s basically meditation. And also, don’t tell him, but it’s def been therapy too.

He just thinks he likes being outside, which he does. It reminds him of home. And for me, it’s been healing. There’s something about the rhythm of watering plants and checking on the squash that feels like something we were always meant to do.

So here we are. Watching things grow. Following instincts. Finding joy that’s not actually small at all.

Right now we’ve got corn, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, jalapeños, black beans, radishes, watermelon, basil, thyme, dill, and cilantro.

If anyone wants me to share more about our little chaos garden, let me know. We’re not experts. We’re just listening to the land and hoping it speaks back.

06/26/2025

I look at this photo and feel so many things at once.

It was about a month and a half after I had Charlie. My breasts were huge. I had just started chemo. My surgery hadn’t been scheduled yet because I still had twelve rounds to go before I could even think about a lumpectomy. I was still in the thick of it. What I didn’t know then was that my cancer would spread. That my dad would die. That the lumpectomy wouldn’t be enough. That I’d end up needing a double mastectomy. That it would reach my clavicles and change my life forever.

When I look at this picture, I know this woman but I don’t know her anymore.

Losing my breasts felt like losing a part of me. Like an arm or a leg. It was grief I hadn’t been prepared for. But they weren’t making me sick anymore. And I had to let them go to live.

I don’t miss this version of me. But I don’t hate her either. I just feel for her. I want to go back and wrap my arms around her and say you’re going to make it. You don’t know how strong you are yet. But you will.

And now, with another scan coming up, I feel all of it again. I always get anxious when one is around the corner. My brain knows it’ll be ok, my heart knows I’ve been through worse, but the fear still creeps in. It always makes me reflect on how far I’ve come, on everything I’ve had to let go of to stay here, and on how grateful I am to still be here. Baruch HaShem🪬

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06/13/2025

We go into this Shabbat Praying for our brothers and sisters in Israel and Iran. May Hashem watch over every soul and bring peace to our people. Holding close the strength and beauty of being Jewish, especially now. We’ve walked through darkness before and we’ll get through this too. Shabbat shalom🕯️🤲🏼🕯️
🤍עם ישראל חי💙

❤️

06/01/2025

Shavuot Sameach! 🧀🍰📖

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