Lemon + Wild Blueberry Hamantaschen

Well. I haven't been on this thing in quite a few months. But there's nothing like a holiday recipe for a quick comeback!

I made a big batch of hamantasch dough for Babyccino, and have been getting recipe requests that I've been responding to via text message. Here's a much easier way for ya'll to get in on the easiest most fool-proof hamantasch recipe ever! And it's all thanks to The Shiksa (I adapted her recipe a bit, but more importantly I used her folding method)!

Over the course of the last two months the girls and I have moved into a new apartment, and while unpacking was taken care of immediately, and nesting done all along the way, we are only just getting settled enough to really call it home. And home means holidays. And holidays usually means food... Hence, this post.

This dough was so easy to whip together - you definitely have all the ingredients on hand. And there's none of that waiting or refrigerating bullocks. Just dump your ingredients into a mixer (or a bowl :)) and start mixing it to incorporate it all. It will look shockingly crumbly before it takes on the form of nice good sugar-cookie-like dough. Just keep mixing past the crumbliness, and it'll morph to perfection before your very eyes.

Flour a work surface (these are the very best and worth every damn cent!!), and use a rolling pin to spread out your dough to about 1/8 inches thick. Use a 3" (or larger!) cookie cutter, or a glass with that sized rim, to cut out your cookies circles. Use less than 1 teaspoon of filling per cookie! I think this is where I used to always mess up: overstuffing. Also key factor, using a filling that won't be too runny and seep out the edges. Thicker jams and fruit preserves work much better good ol' American generic jelly. Reserve that stuff for the PB&Js. Pick up a jar of serious jam and you'll be much better off. I love using Bonne Maman for hamantaschen (and for Sunday eggs and soldiers). The flavor is off the charts! Plus once we've done one dry, I remove the labels and put those cute french jars to use throughout the house. This year I used Wild Blueberry, and I can personally vouch for the consistency being perfect for Purim cookies.

Once you've jammed all your circles, it's folding time. This is the utmost important part in any successful hamantasch. Folding, as opposed to just pinching corners, is what keeps your little packages nice and neat. Much like wontons. You can even set out a little bowl of water to use as a "seal" if you're having trouble. But you shouldn't have trouble. Follow The Shiksa's guide to How to Make Perfect Hamantaschen, and you'll be sitting pretty. Bake for about 23 minutes on 350. And that's a wrap!

Here is the recipe:

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Easy as pie, right? Enjoy!!

P.S. Check out "Stomp Stomp Stomp (the Cookie Song)" by Karen Daniel for an adorably refreshing Purim song!

Artist: Maja Lindberg

I was working on a blog post for a company recently, and was researching the Dreamworks logo (you know the boy fishing from the moon?), and I happened upon a children's artist that totally made me look. Maja Lindberg is a Sweden based illustrator and designer who says her work is inspired by fairy tales, dreams and childhood memories. Her art totally struck a chord in me, and I really related to some of her themes and inspirations. (I know that sounds really weird, since it's just childrens art, but since I've been working through so much pain and introspection, I find myself relating strongly to the oddest of things!) Here are some of her pieces:

Up In The Air

Fishing for Stars : Sometimes you feel lonely, even when you are surrounded by friends and family. But tomorrow is a new day…

The Babysitter : Who hasn’t been surrounded by kids and felt like this?

The Balloon : In many of my illustrations the children are up in the sky and flying. The best dreams that I’ve ever had is when you realize that  you are able to fly. It’s so easy and you wonder why you never done it before. I still remember one special dream that I had when I was a kid, I just moved my legs and started to raise up in the sky and I flew over the landscape, looking down on the hills, fields and the ocean.

Night Meeting : Face your worst nightmare, and hopefully you’ll learn that it wasn’t that bad.

You can check out more and buy her prints on her Etsy site.

Fun with Fiete

Since my initiation into modern adulthood, I've discovered some simply fabulous apps that have slightly changed my mind about things. It's taken some time to sift through the junk and come out with some treasures, so while I already did the dirty work, I figure I'll share the bottom line goodies with you! Starting with one for the kids:

Fiete is an adorably illustrated interactive story board, inviting pudgy little fingers to try their hand at helping this friendly european sailor, Fiete, with his basic tasks: putting on his reading glasses to read the paper, fry his morning eggs, load cargo onto the ship, fix the tires on his car, etc. There are 16 different interactive scenes, including different levels of the sweetest matching game you'll ever find.

I originally bought this app for Freida, but it's Hudi who's been adoring it! She loves figuring out just how to put the sunflower seed into the planter pot, is obsessed with giving the ladybug back her spots,  and cracks up when she uses the needle to pop his balloon! It's a perfect app for babies and toddlers, and the best part is the peaceful mellow backround music - something you don't find very often - this app won't make you want to pull your hair out. : )

It is the most beautiful children's app I've ever come across, and the charming little nuances and wonderfully well-done sound effects make this my very favorite app at the moment. Believe me, it's well worth $3 - perfect for lazy Sunday mornings in bed.

One Last Summer Scoop

So! The end of August is a little lad to be sharing Summer tips, but I've only just discovered the very best ice cream scooper EVER. And I figured I'd share the joy of deliciously delectably just-soft-enough scoops of summer-y goodness, for you to savor the last little bits of the ice cream season.

You may have heard of the $20 Zeroll ice cream scoop. Well, this is it's knockoff. And while I feel bad for the awesome folks at Zeroll for coming up with the most genius ice cream invention since the waffle cone only to have it ripped off and sold for under 5 bucks, I'm happier that someone actually did knock it off and bring perfect scoops of ice cream to the masses. The idea is this: the scooper is made of cast aluminum and is filled with self-defrosting fluid in the handle. Just by holding the handle, you're warming up the liquid and when you turn it upside down to scoop... well, the proof is in the pudding ice cream.

We've been eating way too many ice cream cones around here since I bought this amazing little kitchen gadget! It may just be the best $5 you'll ever spend. Get one here.

2 more things:

• this idea from Pinterest is genius for saving time when serving dessert to guests
• for those of you with an ice cream maker, this Apple Bourbon ice cream recipe looks insane!

Cooler Tights for Warmer Legs

As the start to the school year comes a creepin' up, and thoughts of holiday dinners and chilly evening Sukkos meals start cropping up on my radar, I start browsing around for warmer hybrid winter wear. Items that can add a layer of warmth without too much heat. Tights/leggings and hats are always my top go-to accessorize for warming up the kids. In California we can't just transfer to winter wardrobes just yet (nor any time at all for that matter!) because the daytime hours bring with them so much warm sunshine! We need pieces that we can pull on in the morning, whip off a few hours later, and stick on again in the evening... That said, leggings and tights are really imperative to the change of seasons. And these tights by Funky Legs totally caught my eye!! How cute??