Recipe: Hamantaschen

Purim is upon us, or will be Saturday night. It's loud, brash, costumed, and carnivalesque. Merriment comes in many forms, including baking, so for those looking to make some traingle-filled-deliciousness, here you go:

Hamantaschen

Ingredients:
Dough
1/2 lb. butter (1 cup/2 sticks/16 tbsp*)
2 large eggs
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour + more to roll out dough
1 tsp. baking powder

Filling
{Be wild! The options are infinite.} Last night I used:
Raspberry Preserves
Blackberry-Pomegranate Jam
Apricot Jelly
Nutella
{Basically, you want the filling to be thick so it doesn't run. Mohn (poppyseed) is traditional though, truth be told, not my favorite, no matter what the Slate wizards claim.}

1. Combine butter, eggs, and sugar. Mix well.
2. Add flour and baking powder. Mix well. Add more flour as necessary. The dough should be just a slight touch sticky.
3. Place dough in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Roll out dough about 1/8" thick. Cut out circles. (I use a pint glass as a cookie cutter.)
6. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Make triangles -- I find this pinwheel technique (as shown at the bottom of the link) the best for creating secure triangles.
7. Bake for about 13 minutes at 350.
8. Eat, share, enjoy!

*Last night, we decided to make a third batch with 1.75 sticks of butter remaining. They turned out fine, so you can reduce the butter if you so please with little, if any, consequence.

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Tutorial: How to Make a Challah Cover

One of the most frequent queries I get is "how do you make a challah cover?" I've avoided answering this question directly because there is no one way to do it. In a pinch, an unfolded napkin is just as functional in covering challah (delicious egg bread eaten on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) and most Jewish holidays) as a beautiful silk-screened, embroidered, quilted, or otherwise crafted piece of art.

But Sew Mama Sew has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate how to make a challah cover. The tutorial includes templates for paper-piecing Shabbat in Hebrew as well as complete cutting and piecing instructions. Even if you don't need one for yourself, here's a chance to impress your friends when you give them a fabulously modern challah cover with Hebrew letters. (A big thanks to Michelle, Anna, Brenda, and Torie for making sure the templates and instructions made sense to non-Hebrew speakers.) It may be in another language that uses a non-Roman alphabet, but you don't have to be able to read it to piece it!

Head over to SMS for my Challah Cover Tutorial. I'd love to see what you make!

p.s. If you want to machine-bind your challah cover, you can find my machine-binding tutorial here.

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Items Complete and Not-So-Complete

A week ago Sunday I pulled out the "Sukkah kit" out of the garage, stared at the pieces, and started building. About an hour later, I had the basic structure and walls put together, admittedly a tad awry (that's what happens when you fly solo on building things and then get a little lazy: the doorway was a little crooked, but that affected neither structural integrity nor useability. Aesthetics, yes, but I was too lazy to do any more than mumble about that). What is this "sukkah" thing? Well, some of my friends have taken to calling it my "fort," which works, although I'm not sure it would do me much good in the face of marauding enemies. At its most basic, a sukkah is a temporary dwelling that commemorates the transient shelter used by the Israelites in the desert. But Sukkot, the 7-day festival for which we build the Sukkah, is also a harvest festival, and a joyous one at that. So there are decorations and parties and general merriment.

At one point I thought I'd make a reusable fabric chain, sort of like Malka did. But time got the best of me, and paper chains it was. My friend Katie and I made the chains yesterday, just in time for our afternoon Sukkah party. We used pretty paper, though. And hung red lanterns and decorated tables with gourds and put out lots of food. The weather even cooperated, as the gloomy morning turned into a lovely, sunny fall afternoon.

The not-made fabric chains had company in the not-finished project department. I also thought about--and even started--a mini-quilt or table runner or something. But that was not to be as I pieced the top but got no further. But that's ok because I have another plan in mind for this flimsy and I think I might even like the new idea better than the old one.

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New Bag for the New Year

I was lucky enough to be able to test Rae's new Showoff Bag pattern this weekend. This is super bag: big, roomy, fun, and straightforward to put together. This is the first time I've had the honor of testing a pattern and, I must say, it totally appeals to my sewer + editor side. Sometimes, when I'm not sewing or working on my own work, I do some freelance editing. And I really like it. Since pattern testing combines sewing and editing, I was a pretty content person this weekend.

This also gave me a chance to use this lovely piece of home dec weight fabric I've had in my stash for a while. It's from Joel Dewberry's Ginseng collection and I bought it on sale several years ago and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. Since the pattern uses a half-yard of fabric on the exterior, this was the time. I used dark denim for the top panels and handles, also from my stash.

For the interior, I opted for some coordinating Curio Grunge in Butternut (by Moda). I had enough fabric left over from the exterior to add a matching pocket, and I remembered to add my label before putting the bag together. (This might be an obvious step, but I tend to forget it). Rae will be making the pattern available, both for personal use and with a seller's license soon. If you'd like to try your hand at winning a copy of the pattern, head over to Emily's blog and enter here (and drool at her amazing cakes, so awesome!).

Edited to add: The bag pattern is now available here.

And with that, I'm off to cook some more...Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight. To those who celebrate it: shana tova u'metukah (a good & sweet new year). Or just pretend your new year starts tonight, and have a good & sweet new year as well (eat some apples and honey while you're at it).

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Odds and Ends

Kate is organizing 100 Quilts for Kids again this year, and she's trying to get the word out early for an early fall push. Every year I try to make and donate a few quilts (some years more than others, admittedly), and one thing I really like about this particular donation endeavor is that it focuses on local donations. So search out a local charity, hospital, school, etc and donate the quilt you make to them. This not only connects you to your local community and emphasizes local needs but also saves on shipping. What's not to love?

Malka just announced that Moda will be replicating and printing her hand-dyed fabrics. So while these won't be uniquely hand-dyed, they'll be pretty close and will make her unique look more accessible and affordable, which is great.

As I soldier on without my sewing machine, I've decided that hand-piecing and quilting are really not for me. I got myself a Sashiko kit and started it but haven't gotten very far. I should take a picture but that would admit and showcase my poor performance. Maybe I'll take one anyways. I like the idea in theory, I just want to be making other things. But I'm using this time to work on a quilt design based on a Hale and Hearty (a New York soup, salad, sandwich place) brochure. I thought I'd be able to find the brochure online, but I was wrong. Once I get it worked out, I'll post my drafts. I've also resolved to sew a garment this summer. It will be a July/August project, and I'm thinking of starting with Meg's Schoolhouse Tunic pattern since reviewers suggest that it's a good beginner option. After seeing Julie's Kyoko Dress, I'm also contemplating that option. Maybe for garment number 2. Any thoughts, suggestions, or advice on garment sewing and fabric selection? I'm all ears.

Total non-sequitur: if you've always wanted to go to Paris, here's a Parisian trip giveaway for you.

And with that, I'm off to get ready for Shavuot, one of my favorite Jewish holidays. This 2-day holiday is all about dairy -- blintzes, ice cream, cheesecake -- and includes all-night learning. I mean technically, it's a harvest festival falling exactly 7 weeks after the second day of Passover and celebrates the giving of the Torah (hence the all-night learning). But to my vegetarian self, the dairy is key. Also, it's traditional to read the Book of Ruth which is, I think, one of the most fascinating Biblical texts. So it contains a nice package of customs and such. Chag sameach to all who celebrate it.

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Bag It

I had a whirlwind trip back to Michigan for a conference + seeing friends, returned last night for a day in the archives, and, since Passover starts tonight, I'm off to a seder in a couple of minutes. But I wanted to briefly post about this bag I made last week for a friend who a) loves bags, b) loves green, and c) helped plan the roundtable we organized. The picture is terribly blurry -- night, no flash, and poor overhead lighting will do that. But I sort of love the unintentional artsy blurriness; had I more time, I would have futzed around with the colors, exposure, and saturation to make it truly crazy. The bag does use some of the Marimekko fabric I picked up last week -- when I bought it, I knew this piece would be perfect for a Katie-bag. I made it by modifying this "wasp-bag" tutorial to work with the materials and sizes I had. There are some things I would change if I make it again, but I'm pleased with it overall.

And with that, chag sameach to those who celebrate Passover!

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Shana Tova!

 

[Delicious, from Alexander Henry's new Farmdale collection.] 

Shana Tova U'Metukah

{A Happy and Sweet New Year}

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, begins tonight. As someone who has always lived according to the school calendar (my working days were all spent in schools and universities as well), the new year beginning in the fall makes a lot of sense to me. New opportunities, new starts, new chances all fit with summer slipping into fall. Eating apples and honey and hearing the sounds of the shofar (a ram's horn blown like a trumpet of sorts) are two elements that mark the Jewish new year. The holiday lasts for 2 days (this year, Wednesday sundown through Friday sundown) and is both festive (lots of delicious food) and serious (symbolic casting away of sins).

Whether or not one focuses on sin in a religious sense, this new year, like others, is a time for taking stock, reflecting on the past, and moving toward the future. It's less about resolutions and more about resetting. I'm certainly pleased that I'm entering the new year with exams in the past and new projects (work and fun) in the future.

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Friday Recipe: Zucchini Lasagne (kosher for passover, I promise!)

Passover (it's day 4) makes me very jealous of Sephardic Jews (of North African and the Middle Eastern heritage) as they can eat a category of food called "kitniyot" -- corn, beans, pulses, legumes, and such -- that Ashkenazic Jews (of European descent) cannot. It's not the ban on bread and bread-like items that makes this holiday challenging for vegetarians, it's the restrictions on kitniyot and therefore sources of protein, that are difficult. Also, Passover reminds you just how many [processed] foods use corn syrup and soybean oil.

In any event, I had an epiphany when I realized that my friend Alix's Zucchini Lasagne is kosher-for-Passover as it brilliantly uses zucchini strips in place of noodles.

Friday Recipe: Alix's Zucchini Lasagne

Ingredients:
*3 large zucchini
*salt
*cooking spray (olive oil will work too)
*1 small onion, finely chopped
*2 medium garlic cloves, minced
*12 oz button mushrooms, sliced
*3 cups tomatoes, chopped (approx. 3 beef steak tomatoes)
*1 tbsp dried basil
*1 tsp dried oregano
*¼ tsp nutmeg
*¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
*1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch thick strips. Place in a bowl and salt generously, tossing once or twice to coat well. Lay strips on paper towels on your work surface. Set aside 1 hour. 

2. Meanwhile, spray a large saucepan with nonstick spray (or use olive oil) and set over medium heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes.

3. Add garlic; cook 20 seconds.  

4. Add the mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until they give off their liquid and it reduces to a glaze, about 7 minutes.

5. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, oregano, nutmeg and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down and the sauce thickens, about 25 minutes.

6. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.

7. Blot any moisture off the zucchini strips with paper towels. Use one third of the zucchini strips to line the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan, laying them lengthwise like you would lasagna noodles. Top evenly with one third of the sauce, then one third of the shredded cheese. Place half the remaining zucchini strips on top, as before, then top evenly with half the remaining sauce and half the remaining cheese. Repeat this process one more time: using the remaining zucchini, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.

8. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling, about 45 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing into 6 pieces; serve. 

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Friday Recipe: Hamantaschen

It's that time of the year again....Purim starts Saturday night. Purim (literally, "lots") commemorates the events of the book of Esther and involves all sorts of celebratory activities involving noise, costumes, drinking, and food. Though I think Purim is supposed to be one of those holidays everyone loves (see: noise, costumes, drinking, and food), I can't say it's up there with my favorites (see: noise).

To be honest, however, I'm not sold on the book of Esther. I think Vashti (the deposed queen) is much maligned for totally reasonable and even responsible behavior. She rejects the King's advances to promenade in front of his court, or in modern lingo, his frat. While this helps set up the annointing of Esther as queen and then savior of the Persian Jews of yore, I find it a highly problematic nonetheless.

But this textual issue notwithstanding, there are some lovely aspects of the holiday. In particular, the tradition of mishloach manot, or the sending of gifts, is fun. Basically, you make packages of food and drink and deliver them to friends. I haven't quite figured out why raisins and twizzlers appear so often in these gift bags and baskets (I get that they're sold in individual packaging, but still....), but hamantaschen always make the rounds. Hamantaschen, which represent Haman's ears or hat or anything else related to the misanthropic character, are triangular stuffed cookies. Traditional fillings include prunes, poppyseed, apricots, dates, and cherries. I'm more a of modernist, however, and use chocolate and strawberry jam.

I wrote my recipe on an index card at some point, and I don't know its original source, though I imagine most hamanraschen recipes are somewhat similar.

Friday Recipe: Hamantaschen
~ 30

2/3 cup butter (or margarine if making them pareve)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
Filling of your choice (chocolate chips, nutella, jam, etc)

1. Cream butter with sugar.

2. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Add in dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Cover and chill for ~ 1hour.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degreed.

6. Take a chunk of dough and roll it out, about 1/8 inch thick.

9. Use a cookie cutter (or pint glass!) to cut out circle shapes.

 

10. Place a small amount of the filling in the center of the circle. Pinch the sides together to create a triangle (a little water often helps hold the pinched points together.  Place of greased baking sheet.

  

11.  Bake on 375 degrees for about 12 minutes. 

12. Enjoy!

 

Tips/Nptes:

*I've forgotten the baking powder and salt and they still turn out fine.

*One year I had no chocolate chips, so I used Hershey's Kisses. I think some of their newfangled filled ones (e.g., caramel) could be excellent in hamantaschen.

*Be careful with jam. Sometimes it leaks and/or bubbles out of the dough and creates a mess.

A few friends came over on Wednesday night to help bake hamantaschen and make mishloach manot. The bag decorating (which I only watched) was pretty hilarious.

For those who celebrate it, Chag Purim Sameach!

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Latkes, Sufganiyot, and a Second Night of Chanukah Giveaway

Apologies if I confused a few people about latkes and sufganiyot in my last post. They are indeed distinct food items.

image found here

Latkes are potato pancakes (most frequently made with regular white potatoes, but sometimes with the addition of sweet potatoes, zucchinis, or even beets, according to Joan Nathan's Chanukah recipe round-up in this past Wednesday's New York Times).

image found here

In contrast, sufganiyot are doughnuts, usually of the stuffed variety. In America, red jelly of some unknown berry origin usually protrudes. Israel offers a more extensive variety with all sorts of chocolates, creams, and other flavors (scroll to the end of this post for a list of 8 options).

And oil -- lots of it -- connects the savory latkes and the sweet sufganiyot.

Speaking of food, the Second Night of Chanukah Giveaway:

• Home-baked (from my vegetarian kitchen) rugelach. 
• (If you are already stuffed full of holiday food, these are freezable.)
  
• I will be baking them Sunday night and will mail (or deliver, if someone local wins) them on Monday, provided the winner emails me an address to which to send them in time.
• To enter, comment and tell me a cooking or baking story (successes and disasters both welcome)
• Winner will be selected by me, either randomly or by some other undecided selection mechanism
  

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Chanukah 5770/2009, Presented by Seagrams

8 Days of Chanukah Giveaway

...brought to you by Seagrams (the dog, not the whiskey)

Admittedly, Seagrams likes any holiday with food, so that really only excludes the fast days, such as Yom Kippur. But the chanukiah (chanukah menorah/candelabra) chewish toy has replaced gefilte (a fish) as his toy of choice. And latkes (or doughnuts) are pleasing to his palate as well.

Chanukah, or the Festival of Lights, starts tonight. Chanukah is actually a minor Jewish holiday but in America, given its proximity to Christmas, it's taken on a larger role culturally. And while the December holiday season has amplified the gift part of Chanukah (see: proximity to Christmas, above), lighting chanukah candles comprises the important part of the holiday. So on the first night, we light 1 candle, on the second night, 2 candles and so on and so forth.

But gifts do play a role in this holiday, and I'll be doing some giveaways during Chanukah as a result. The offerings will vary between crafting supplies (mostly fabric) and finished products, as I want to make sure my readers who don't spend their free time at a sewing machine can also get a treat. Growing up, we received small Chanukah gifts, like socks. But small can be fun, such as funky smartwools such as these, or:

Gelt (Yiddish for money) for the fabric lovers:

2 pieces (fat quarters or close to it) of fabric --

the brown flowers peeking out from above and the Alexander Henry Egypt print below

To win this fabric:

Tell me the best small gift someone has given you (define small as you wish!).

One entry per person.

Make sure I can reach you.

Giveaway open until I post tomorrow night's gift.

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Shana Tova!

Shana Tova!

A happy, healthy, and sweet new year to all who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) this weekend. In a couple of minutes, I'm off to the airport to head home to my family for the holiday. I know my mom and some of our guests have been cooking. When I get home, I'll make my vegetarian soup and kneidels (matzah balls) for everyone.

It's been a busy week, sandwiched between 2 weekends away, so not much crafting has occurred. I worked for a few hours last night on a small gift for a friend I'm seeing this weekend, but didn't quite finish. Ah well. My carry-on bag contains the chuppah for Beth & Harley, and I'm excited to give it to them while I'm home.

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I Stand Here Ironing

I've spent a lot of time in the past 5 or so days at the ironing board, with my trusty (heavy!) iron, heating up an already-warm space. Such is the price of sewing in the summer. But a price well worth paying as the blocks you see are part of the chuppah I'm making for my friends Beth and Harley.

I've tried to alternate cutting, ironing, piecing, and trimming in order to keep the increased heat level to a minimum and maintain a varied pace of work. So far, so good. I've been thinking about the quilt front for a long time, and I started gathering fabric in the spring. I'm modifying a pattern from Evelyn Sloppy's Strips and Strings and dove right into cutting and sewing without reading her directions too carefully. Somehow my eyes skipped over her fabric quantities, but even once I looked more closely, I somehow ended up with far too many light and medium colored strips. Not to worry, I'm confident I can find uses for them!

I'm a consummate multi-tasker, and ironing demands being done alongside something else. Most of the time, I watch shows via the internet or DVDs from the library. But sometimes 2 things at once is insufficient. In which case, I iron, sort of watch something, and try and throw in some balance or plyometric exercises (not too close to the ironing board!). Other times, I read a book, in paragraph-long stints, in between moving the iron. And, then, of course there is time to think.

Which, this week, brought me to Tillie Olsen's short story, "I Stand Here Ironing" (1961), which centers on a mother's thoughts about her daughter while ironing. My thoughts are perhaps less profound and less centered on mother-daughter relationships. They tend more toward the things I need or want to do, the ideas swimming in my head about a paper I'm working on, the movies I want to see (Julie and Julia!) or, with some regularity, what I want to eat for my next meal. Nevertheless, Olsen's story is ultimately about the desire to empower or, at the very least, the hope that a daughter will be empowered. For me, ironing is not necessarily empowering, but part of an act of creation that is very empowering; yet for many others around the world, ironing is demeaning, forced, and soul-crushing.

In the Jewish calendar, it is almost the month of Elul, the last month of the year and the month of preparation for the new year, Rosh Hashanah. Since Jews are oh-so-fond of rituals, there are of course a bevy of activities one could incorporate into one's life as a marker of this month -- shofar*-blowing, extra-psalm-saying, and the like. But for me, the thought, the pausing to take stick, the re-evaluation corresponding to these indicators is far more important (and alas, in my experience, frequently secondary). Over the summer I've been thinking a lot about empowerment: what it means to me, what I need to do to feel and be empowered, how I can empower others near and far.

One of my goals for the year -- the new Jewish year, the new academic year (school supply sales and apples-and-honey coincide for me as signs of a new year) -- is to embrace empowerment and empowering; to find ways to empower myself on a personal level, as an individual within my local communities, and as part of the larger world; and to act to empower others locally, nationally, and internationally. These are lofty goals, in lofty language, but I think it's important.

And participating in Iraqi Bundles of Love (with a classy new blog header!) is just one of many ways to empower others around the world. I do want to apologize for not wrapping my bundle as nicely as others have done -- in my hasty effort to mail it on Friday, nice packaging went out the proverbial window. In any event, I want to post IBOL Guy's comment on my post (since I don't always read the comments on other blogs):

So, we had a meeting later yesterday, about the bigger project. One of the two chaplains present commented on the theme of giving that is such a key component of Ramadan. He then asked about the fabric and knitting supplies, and I told him there was some coming. Some, like maybe a few hundred bundles. That knitters and quilters seem to understand the whole thing about giving.

I don't think he was ready for the whole "hundreds of bundles of love" thing. But then again, I doubt the mail folks are, too.

Note to self -- need to stop in and warn them.

Thank you, BTW. This has had me on cloud nine this whole time.

This is a project that can really empower the giver and the recipient. Just as giving is an important element of Ramadan, so too is giving in which the giver and recipient are unknown to one another and giving that helps sustain the recipient (the whole teach a person to fish concept) the highest forms of tzedakah, or charity, in Maimonides' formulation. Just some interfaith, Judeo-Muslim food for thought.

*A shofar is a ram's horn and comes in the small and long-windy-big varieties. Think the sound of a trumpet.

**I know this is a longer and more intense post than usual. Sometimes it just happens that way.

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Ahh, Delinquency

Pretty.

I was trying to hold out on posting until it was time to post the winner of the May SMS Giveaway, but I'm here now.

Sooooo, if you're looking for the SMS Giveaway (ends tonight), go here.
If you're looking for the SEWN Giveaway (ends June 7), go here.
If you're looking for the super-duper Fat Quarter swap (sign-ups end June 3), go here.

Some real hippos (Lake Naivasha, Kenya)

Now on to other delicacies and delights, or just delinquencies.

*Last week I managed, just barely, to post a recipe for a Soba Noodle salad. I said I would be returning to Friday recipes. I meant to post a custard fruit tart and/or cheesecake recipe this week -- it was Shavuot, one of my favorite Jewish holidays in part because of the tradition of eating dairy feasts. (Other highlights of the holiday include the emphasis on learning through all night learning sessions the first night, the reading of the book of Ruth (my favorite Biblical text), the barkey harvest (or just that it's the edge of the spring/summer divide), and the fact that it's a reasonable 2 ay holiday). In any event, delicious dessert recipes to come...sometime sort of soon.

*Way back when, about 2 weeks ago, I posted about the gift I made my mom for mother's day, out of the delightful Alexander Henry Juicy fabric. I promised to post pictures. But then I forgot to take pictures while at home in range of the gift. As a result, I'll have to wait until the next time I'm home to grab some photos and share it. Apologies.

*Finally, even farther back into the past, I posted about this whirligig quilt. In the comments, I promised a tutorial on my non-template method. I still owe you that one. It's on my list of June things-to-do. I'll do my best.

On the non-delinquent front, I offer you one of Laura Gunn's new fabrics, Climbing Lantern Pods in Turquoise. Can you really not swoon over this one?

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Granny Smith Apples, or Why I Like Sukkot

My friend David likes to make fun of the apples on the back of my challah cover. Admittedly, it's a rather fall-themed fabric, but I rather like fall (as do others). The front of the challah cover (which I use year-round) is perhaps autumnal, but not necessarily:

There may or may not be maple leaves on the black fabric, but I don't think David ever noticed that element.

But back to the apples. I know there are many apple varieties, and some would say Honeycrisps or Galas or Fujis are the way to go. I would beg to differ. There are few fruit experiences better than a small, hard, very green with white spots, very tart Granny Smith apple. In my experience, the matte bright green white spots is a fairly accurate predictor of delightful tartness. And the annual experience of excellent apples often signifies Sukkot's presence or imminence.

The reasons why I like Sukkot overlap with many of the reasons I like autumn. For example, leaves changing color:

[These pictures are especially for those of you who live in Israel and requested envelopes full of pretty autumn leaves. More than one of you made this request, and you know who you are. It's difficult to send leaves without an actual address, you know.]

Sukkot is the festival of the tabernacles, hence those funky temporary little huts Jews build in their backyards and on their porches -- who doesn't like getting out their drill to piece their hut together in a modern fashion? Thus the holiday actually commands the people of the book to take their books outside, to eat outside, to sleep outside...in other words, to be outside, to live outside, to appreciate the (ideally) glorious autumn. Clearly this works better for American Jews in New England than in, say, Texas or Florida, but location aside, encouraging people to get outside serves as one of Sukkot's many virtues.

I wanted to build a Sukkah this year, but alas it will have to wait for next year. If I did have a Sukkah, it would be under this tree,

One might not see the tree through the skach -- that which covers the top of the sukkah, usually branches of some sort, so long as one can still see the stars through it. (Growing up, the extensive backyard bamboo covered our sukkah and most of the neighborhood sukkot.) But the fallen leaves would offer a nice crunchy accompaniment to meals, parties, and the like.

That's right, parties. The sukkah party circuit is rather enjoyable, and hopefully includes apple cider,
locally pressed, or not. Sukkot is, after all, a harvest festival and should be celebrated as such. So bring out the gourds, the cider, the squash, the pumpkin bread, and enjoy with guests. Indeed, the tradition of inviting guests to join one in the sukkah is another element of the holiday I respect for it emphasizes the value of community.

The full harvest moon (tomorrow night), the (perhaps in a couple days) crisp air, the foliage, the cooler nights (that make a down comforter so lovely) and cooler days (fleece comes out of the closet), delicious soups (I recommend Cream of Pumpkin of Roasted Vegetable Black Bean -- recipes forthcoming), meals in the Sukkah with friends, and, of course, the easy availability of Granny Smith apples all make Sukkot one of the best holidays on the Jewish calendar.

Chag Sameach!

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A Post-Rosh Hashana Shana Tova

I had hoped to get in a shana tova blog entry before Rosh Hashanah started Monday night, but a long drive, baking, and a Monday afternoon presentation conspired against that. But it's still "the holiday season," as they say at, um, other times of the year, so Shana Tova (a good year)!

Since Rosh Hashanah is all about sweetness (apples & honey and all that), my contribution to the first night's awesome dinner with Mark and Marissa was chocolate babka (essentially, a jellyroll of buttery bread and chocolate). I know Mark well enough to know that anything chocolate will be very much appreciated, but Marissa informed me that I hit upon his favorite dessert, so I was extra pleased with myself.

Babka is not a dessert that one should try to make when pressed for time, and yet for some reason I plunged ahead. Last year, when I made my first foray into babka-making, I tried this New York Times recipe, the same one that inspired the plunge in the first place. The New York Times Babka is good, but I found the dough a little dry. This time I surfed the web for another option and hit upon this one from smitten kitchen. Yum. Check out smitten kitchen's pictures, they're amazing. I can offer this photo to tantalize you in the meantime:


I made the delicious loaves seen above with a few modifications to smitten kitchen's recipe:

First, at about 11 pm Sunday night I discovered that I only had 3 eggs so the 5-egg version wouldn't really work. I therefore cut the recipe by 2/3. This demands a little arithmetic, and the math gets harder with eggs. But I cracked two of them, beat them well, and used 2/3 of that mixture plus 1 yolk. I'm not sure that the culinary experts would approve of this sloppy adjustment, but it worked.

Second, I don't own a KitchenAid or any other type of standing mixer (if you would like to purchase one for me, I will happily send you my address). This means that dough hooks and paddle attachments are out, and my hands are in. I started the dough mixture with a whisk, then used my hand-held mixer until it exhausted its capacities, and then employed my very own hands. They work. They integrated the butter into the dough quite well. Then they were very greasy, but that's ok because I have a sink and soap and dish towels that eliminate greasy hands.

Third, I lessened the butter. I used one stick of butter in the dough (rather than the 1.66666 sticks that 2/3 of the recipe would demand). I used 3/4 of a stick in the chocolate mixture rather than a full stick. And it was good.

Fourth, I'm a chocolate purist. Hence, when I made the NYT version, no apricot nonsense was allowed to dilute the chocolatey goodness and, in this version, cinnamon was nowhere to be found (maybe I ran out of cinnamon? hmmm). Also (and this is where the real, card-carrying chocolate purists may kill me), I like milk chocolate, so I used some in the mix and did not add any additional sugar, as milk chocolate is already sweet.

Fifth, I don't think the streusel topping is necessary (and maybe I was running out of time), so I eliminated it. As you can see in the picture, I used some of the chocolate mix on top and that worked out quite well.

Finally, I started the dough Sunday night and let it rise overnight in the fridge before rolling it out to make the actual babka. This too was fine. I say this just as a reminder that one need not complete the recipe in one day. Starting it in the evening and finishing it in the morning works quite well. The only challenge with this method is smelling the amazing babka-baking smell in the middle of the day and being good enough not to dive right it.

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