Jar It Up

Mason Jars are one of those things on earth that make my life cleaner, prettier, and simpler. I'd love to do a little round-up as to how these fabulous glass jars make my economical world go 'round, but for now here's how they keep they keep me just a bit saner come the Purim time of year: jarred Shalach Manos (i.e. "Purim Baskets"). (2008) Spring-pea Pesto in a jar. Stick in the fridge, and blend up on demand. Dinner's a cinch!

(2009) My grandmothers Oatmeal Espresso Chocolate Chunk cookie mix in a jar. A useful gift to stick in the pantry for late night cookie monsters, rainy days, or last-minute play-dates.

(2010) Cinnamon Chocolate Biscotti + Chai Tea bags. A cozy tea time in a bottle.

I'm not quite finished with this year's just yet (there are some details that can't be done until the last minute), but let's just say I would totally enjoy a Cupcake in a Jar if it were dropped off on my doorstep!

Hamantaschen: Reinvented

I have to admit it, I was always quite the Hamantaschen-hater. Never really had digs for this triangular Purim cookie - they always seemed a little stale, or loaded with preservatives to keep them soft... The filling never did it for me either; prune, poppy - and I'm out. This year I decided to get my holiday baking on with Freida, and for educational purposes there would be no skipping the  buttery dough. I searched around a bit for a recipe that appealed to me, but in the end I mixed bits and pieces from a few different places and wound up with a rather bright and fresh tasting dough! I also decided to improve from the inside out, and went with some filling I love - strawberry-rhubarb. Let me tell you, these little cookies came out perfectly buttery, flaky, sweet, and fresh!! Thought I'd share the recipe...

Hamantaschen:

- 1 1/2 sticks butter/margarine, softened

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon (or more) lemon zest

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 3 cups all purpose flour

I used a mixer to cream the butter with the sugar, added the egg etc. It looks really crumbly at first, so put the mixer on high and let it pund out some good-looking dough. Form the dough into a large disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Flour a surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out circles (you can use the lip of a glass) to lay on cookie sheet. Drop a teaspoon of filling in middle of each circle, and pinch 3 corners into a triangle (if it doesn't want to stick - use some water). Bake for 17 minutes on °375. Let cool (lest your scorch your palette with searing jam!).

P.S. I'm currently obsessed with ikat print! I was overjoyed to find these beauties at Marshalls, but can find ikat napkins like that one here.

Purim Shpiel

With Purim around the bend, I thought I'd get Freida familiar with characters from the Magillah and peak her interest with the gist of the story. One morning this week we whipped out some card-stock, markers, and old discarded toilet paper rolls (which made these guys super easy for her little hands to grasp), and got on the Purim-puppets bandwagon (yes, I know Queen Esther looks like a transvestite - it was 7am!!).

She knew a bit about Purim from some songs (and by "a bit" I mean she knew Vashti had pimples and we yell at Haman), so I thought I'd clear a few things up with here. Boy, was I ever in for a surprise... She was so disturbed from the tiniest little hint of hatred in the story. She couldn't handle the fact that we don't like Haman, and she really didn't want to contend with discarding Vashti just because she wasn't all that pretty. She kept going in to grab Haman and give him a big hug! I was so shocked!! Here I thought I was being a good mom and teaching my little love about the Persian miracle, only to wind up feeling like I left her in the wake of utter disturbance...! And believe me, I didn't teach her anything meagerly grave - in our version, Haman was sentenced to a time-out.

After I finished up that awkward little class, she wanted to Skype my mom and do her own puppet show for her. In the middle she started giving Haman and Vashti hugs, so my mom gave the explanation a shot. It came out like this, "Haman was mean to us, that's why we don't like him anymore." Really? Is that what I'm teaching her? I mean I know that concept is important, but should I really be teaching her that at 2 years old? Anyways, the fact that it didn't go down so well taught me a good lesson in parenting... But at least she had fun with these little guys!

For now we'll just have puppet free-play, sing happy songs, and try again next year. :)

On the Flash Sale Radar...

The Mini Social is brimming with heaps of goodies today! Including 3 of my most favorite children's books, some charming casual-dress clothes for boys, legendary loot by mid-century artist Charley Harper, awesome graffiti style learning via Alternative ABC's, and a collection of adorable baby threads!

If you are not a Mini Social member yet, you are now officially invited to join the party here.

Happy thrift-ing!!

It's (Purim) Party Time!!

Last year I leaked a preview of an Alice in Wonderland-themed Purim party flyer designed by my brother Yossi (over at Yossi Graphic Design) for his Purim Stock collection. I don't know who said Jewish advertising has to be cheesy (but it is more often than not!) - there's something so refreshing about modern, well-thought-out, well-designed Jewish graphics! This year, I'll grace you once more with a peek at my favorites - but you've got to head over to the site to check out the rest of the fabulous line of Purim Stock!! Take a bit of a break from the mainstream and up the fun-factor by doing something novel - host a Purim shin-dig like it's 1982, or for a more glamorous effect; a Purim speakeasy!