Purim Is Coming!!

I foresee the next couple weeks being super busy so I decided to reduce, reuse, and recycle this Purim post from last year! It's getting about time to start making these tasty treats again so here is my tried and true trick to delish hamantaschen! Along with that a link to some tips for your mishloach manot HERE and crafty tags to accompany said parcels HERE.

So with out further ado, here is the oldie :)

Shalom!

So after getting confused and frustrated with the myriads of different Hamantaschen recipes out there, and making a few dud recipes, I decided to do something simple and just use plain pastry dough and jam for the filling.

  Yummy, simple and quick!

 

Pastry Recipe

3/4 cups of either shortening or butter (chill for best results)

2 cups of sifted flour

3/4 tsp of salt
4-5 Tbsp of ice cold water

Use a knife or pastry cutter to blend dough until you can form it into a ball. 

use a cup to cut out your rounds

If the pastry is still cool then cut it in half, put one half in the fridge to keep cool until later. Roll the half you keep out to about 1/8in thick and use a cup to cut out round roughly 2.5in across. 

fold #1

Place 1/2 Tbsp of your choice of fruit jam or other filling in the middle of the rounds and fold in a triangle shape.

As you're folding, dab little water on the inside of each corner to seal the edges so your filling doesn't go south on you.  

fold #2

  to best insure that the filling stays in your pastry is to have them folded in a "pin wheel" format like the picture below. Each side should have one corner under and one over.

fold #3

Bake in the oven at 350 until filling is bubbly and pastry is golden brown roughly 20min. You can also brush pastries with a glaze of cream, water, or egg before baking if you wish. I used milk and sprinkled with a little sugar.

Have fun!

From Me To You

I stayed up rather late last night writing the previous blog post...finally I was like "I need to go to bed!" crawled in under my cozy blankets...but I couldn't sleep...G-d had other plans...a rhyming novel apparently ;)

From Me To You

© K.Taylor Written December 21, 2012

I looked for Christ in Christmas

I looked in the stockings stuffed to the brim

I dug to the bottom but I didn't see him

I looked on the tree so shiny and bright

but got distracted by the cookies and twinkly lights

Then I looked for him in the presents a bit

but saw only the cards labelled "From ol Saint Nick"

I looked for Christ in Christmas

but didn't have much luck this year

then came Easter, surely I could find him here!

I looked in the Easter aisle here than there

lots of chocolate, but I didn't see Jesus anywhere!

I went to church had a stale square wafer,

two teaspoons of juice in a tiny cup made of paper

but I can count to 3 and things just didn't add up

Finally I looked in the bible,

that's where we should've start,

and as I dug deeper

 it cut straight to the heart

I learnt Shabbat is a sign

of seasons and cycles of time

 All through G-d's word there's this recurring theme

G-d has something call "moedim"!

For pete's sake why didn't I know!?

HaShem appointed His times long ago!

We begin with Pesach

celebrating G-d's great redemption

Our chains were broken and we were set free 

from Egypt's bitter bitter slavery

We eat matzah for seven whole days

cause chametz represents arrogancy

and there's just no room for that

 in what Yeshua did for me 

Shavuot we stood under a cloud

heard the words spoken clear and loud

and three times we repeated our vows

Yeshua is the bridegroom! 

Yes yes I see it all now!

Rosh Hashanah the trumpet will sound

and you better be ready

it just might be Him who's comin to town

Ten more days to get things straight

then it's time to pass through the judgement gate

We know we have sinned 

we know we have done wrong

so we fast on This Day all the day long

"We have erred and have caused a great breach

because your commandments we didn't keep"

The righteous he covers they'll never be lost

the wicked however are strained out like dross

Then out comes the lumber for a seven day feast!

We live in a sukkah...some might call it the least

but it's not about what we make with our hands 

it's about the provision G-d gave us in the desert sands

The cloud and the fire that guided our way

The Rock that followed

giving us water each day

The tag on the end is the last of the assembly 

"Shemini Atzeret" which represents eternity

Oh how awesome the Olam Haba shall be!

When the Mashiach shall forever dwell with me

No it doesn't stop there!

Chanukkah we commemorate His strength and might

remembering the Maccabees and their holy fight

and rededicate ourselves to Him when the menorah we light

as we kindle a new flame each consecutive night

And lets not forget Purim!

The spiel, the mask and disguise

all to remember how G-d used Hadassah

through ways that seemed quite normal or hidden

to save us from those who from the world wished us ridden

She became Queen Esther

but you see she had a hidden identity

which brought us salvation in our time of great need

proving that even when we don't see

HaShem is always here for you and me

Yes where ever I opened and looked 

It wasn't hard to find Mashiach at work

Christmas and Easter on the other hand?

G-d never said "use it to worship Me"

Nope! Open the book, go look and see!

I also learned the things that HaShem had to say

about people who changed His feasts and His ways.

Combining holy with polluted things

Then calling it "kosher" 

forgetting the curses the mix brings

That's when it hit me and I couldn't ignore it

He has an order and I've gotta stop messing it up

after all it's the least I can do - after He drank my cup

poured out His blood and saved me from sin's power too

So now I am wondering..what about you?

Maybe it's time for you to search too?

Cause it hardly seems right 

these things that we do,

when we let the light of His Torah shine through

No I am not condemning

Heck! I was there too!

But G-d kept me up late last night

to write this little note entitled "From Me To You"

 and I'm just wondering what you'll do

cause this time G-d's having the party

....and He's invited YOU!

My family has been on the awesome journey of Torah for over ten years now. Sometimes it's hard to express it all to people...especially at this time of year. Please feel free to share with your friends! This was HaShem's doing so if it can be of use in sharing why you do what you do....DO IT! Then let me know how it went!!! :o) Shabbat blessings to all!

Hamantaschen

So after getting confused and frustrated with the myriads of different Hamantaschen recipes out there, and making a few dud recipes, I decided to do something simple and just use plain pastry dough and jam for the filling.

  Yummy, simple and quick!

 

use a cup to cut out your rounds

Pastry Recipe

3/4 cups of either shortening or butter (chill for best results)

2 cups of sifted flour

3/4 tsp of salt

4-5 Tbsp of ice cold water

Use a knife or pastry cutter to blend dough until you can form it into a ball. 

If the pastry is still cool then cut it in half, put one half in the fridge to keep cool until later. Roll the half you keep out to about 1/8in thick and use a cup to cut out round roughly 2.5in across. 

fold #1

Place 1/2 Tbsp of your choice of fruit jam or other filling in the middle of the rounds and fold in a triangle shape.

As you're folding, dab little water on the inside of each corner to seal the edges so your filling doesn't go south on you.  

fold #2

  to best insure that the filling stays in your pastry is to have them folded in a "pin wheel" format like the picture below. Each side should have one corner under and one over.

fold #3

Bake in the oven at 350 until filling is bubbly and pastry is golden brown roughly 20min. You can also brush pastries with a glaze of cream, water, or egg before baking if you wish. I used milk and sprinkled with a little sugar.

Have fun!

Mishloach Manot...Sending portions

Mishloach Manot, the "Purim Basket"

Mishloach Manot literally means "sending of portions"

It is considered a Mitzvah (good deed) to do this on the day of Purim. This comes from the very first instructions regarding the festival in Ester 9:22 

"...that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. "

 Here are some tips for this years Mishloach Manot!

Make a list so when you do your shopping or baking you will have it handy and make sure not to forget anyone. 

When making your list, think about your friends, family and people in your community...are there people who recently lost a loved one, widows or single parents, families struggling financially, expecting a baby, who are sick, or maybe just moved to the area?  Remember, HaShem blesses us with abundance so that we may bless others who may lack, so use the opportunity to fulfill this divine mission.

Do some baking ahead of time. You can bake hamantaschen (click here for recipe) and many other Purim goodies ahead and freeze them until you are ready to assemble your baskets.

Basket, bag or box? Decide how you are going wrap your baskets and make sure you have the necessary materials. 

For small portions: 

Boxes: these can be purchased at your local dollar store. It's an easy inexpensive way to make a really nice package, it also prevents cookies from getting broken or squashed during delivery!

Bags: You can use brown lunch bags and decorate them with festive stickers or stamps.

For larger amounts:

follow the "gift basket" method, purchase some woven baskets from the dollar store or recycle some that you have around the house(come on everybody has them don't they!?)and wrap it in celophane with a colourful ribbon!

And of course don't forget to put a pretty recipient tag on it to finish it off! Check out the post "Purim Tags" http://dancingtotherhythm.blogspot.ca/2012/02/purim-tags.html to see some examples.

But I am not a baker.... Don't worry! You are not limited to home baked goods. There are lots of other things you can send to people. Fruit, gourmet cheese, wine or fancy carbonated grape juice, nuts, and canned perserves are just a few of the things you could put together to make anyone say "Happy Purim!"

Beware! Just a word of caution! Many people are allergic to peanuts these days so make sure that if you plan to put nuts in your basket (in any form) that the recipient is NOT allergic. If you don't know if the person you plan to send it to has any allergies it would probably be best to ere on the side of caution and stick to things that are nut free! The last thing you want to hear is that they ended up in the hospital after biting into that Hamantashcen that you gave them because you forgot you used almond flavouring or put walnuts in the filling!! Not the best way to spread the joy of the holiday...

 Make it an community affair!  Ever heard of a "cookie exchange"? Call up a few friends and organize for each of you to make a different Purim goodie then divide them among yourselves so everyone has some of every kind. That way you don't have to make 3 different kinds of cookies. You could also have a "ladies day" and bake your goodies together.

If all else fails... and in spite of all this Purim still catches you by surprise...There's always Timmies! Pick up a few boxes of Tim-bits and go spread some Purim joy! 

I hope this helps you get a start on Mishloach Manot this year! For more Purim related blogs check the "Labels" box along the right hand side for "Purim". More coming soon!

Purim Tags

 Purim is coming up on Adar 14/15(coinciding with March 8th and 9th on the secular calender this year). So I thought that now would be a good time to start thinking about mishloach manot (lit. "sending of portions").

 So today I started making some colourful Purim basket tags.

You'll Need

- an assortment of colourful paper and or cardstock

- markers and pens

- stick glue, glue tape, or sticky mounting squares

- scissors or paper cutter

- any embellishments that you would like to use

Cut your paper to the desired sizes.

I made my tags one sided so when I go to use them I will punch a single hole in the corner and tie it on to the basket with ribbon.

Arrange your accenting coloured paper on your cardstock pieces until you are happy with your design and glue down.

Take a black marker and outline the edges of your tags. 

Use a ruler to make sure that the line is straight and you don't slip! 

** I used a tissue to wipe the marker off the the ruler to to make sure the ink wouldn't smudge on the tag as well.

Decorate the fronts of your tags as you wish. You could use stickers or other embellishments, a special holiday message, or simply write the words Purim!

I am planning on writing my personal message on that back of my tags so I stuck with a simple design with "Purim" written on the front in a nice font.

If you have kids, get them involved! You could even delegate this special task to younger children that aren't able to help with the baking and let them do it while you bake. If they can't use scissors simply give them some pre-cut squares of plain card stock and they can decorate them. Glitter glue, stickers, and pre-cut paper shapes are some things that kids can easily work with by themselves.