Fine Arts Friday: 5775 Calendar Edition

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for maternal boasting. Proceed at your own risk.

So, in case you were wondering – and I can’t imagine that you weren’t - here’s the thing about neglecting one’s blog:

It turns out – and yes, this came as quite a surprise for me, too - that when one allows days weeks months to go by without making time for blogging, one finds oneself with a rather extensive collection of partially-written posts.

I mean, consider the following images, which have been rattling around my Drafts folder since before Rosh Hashanah.

As veteran Our Shiputzim readers will no doubt recall, every year my mother puts together a family calendar, and the various grandchildren prepare the artwork.

Here are the Shiputzim kids’ beautiful contributions (I warned you that there would be boasting… :-)) to the 5775 calendar:

Parshat Shmot - January 2015
(Roughly corresponding to Tevet-Shvat 5775)

Bikurim (Shavuot) - May 2015
(Roughly corresponding to Iyar-Sivan 5775)

As always, please be sure to click on the pictures for a much better view.

Stay safe, warm, and dry, and have a wonderful Shabbat!
!שבת שלום ומבורך

Freshly Baked Goods Friday: Meta Challah Edition

To continue the previous post’s sheaves of wheat theme, check out the incredible challah that one of our yom tov guests made for Shavuot:

In case you can’t tell - as always, click on the photos for a better view – it was supposed to look like a bundle of wheat.

Or, to put it in hashtag terms:

Wheat flour that was baked into a challah and then shaped into wheat stalks #HowMetaCanYouGet

Thank you, dear Yom Tov Guest! The challah tasted as good as it looked!

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Erev Shavuot 5773

Reason #5432 for making aliyah:
You know Shavuot – aka Chag HaKatzir - is coming, because you see wheat being harvested in fields along the side of the road.

"וַתִּדְבַּק בְּנַעֲרוֹת בֹּעַז לְלַקֵּט עַד כְּלוֹת קְצִיר הַשְּׂעֹרִים וּקְצִיר הַחִטִּים..."

“And she clung to Boaz's maidens to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest...”
(Megilat Ruth 2:23)

And on a related note, here’s Ofra Haza singing “Shibolet BaSadeh”:

The lyrics are available here, and an English translation is available here.

!חג שבועות שמח

Iyar Top Ten

The Our Shiputzim Editorial Board proudly presents:

The Top 10 Reasons That Iyar Rates As One of the Twelve Best Months to Be Living in Israel

10) The entire country is decorated in blue and white.

9) The IDF – which, as I’ve noted before, does its very best to ensure that religious soldiers’ needs are met – automatically grants shaving exemptions for the duration of Sefirah to any soldier who so requests.

8) The shaving exemption even applies to IDF soldiers appearing on national television during the Yom HaZikaron ceremony at the Kotel.

7) In any given year, at least one of your kids is chosen to play an active role in a Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut ceremony – whether in gan, school, your community, or even the army.

6) Three years after I first shared my in-laws’ incredible pictures of the Kotel in the summer of 1967, that post continues to be extremely popular - especially in the weeks leading up to Yom Yerushalayim.

5) That satisfying feeling of accomplishment you get after successfully completing yet-another Iyar Challenge (i.e. supplying each of your kids with enough white shirts to make it through the first week of Iyar).

4) The amazing seasonal music. (See, for example, Udi Davidi’s beautiful Hitna'ari (including a translation).)

3) Four words: Yom HaAtzma’ut in Israel. There’s nothing like it!

2) The way the Pesach/Yom HaShoah/Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut/Yom Yerushalayim/Shavuot continuum serves as a poignant reminder that the future of the Jewish People is here in Israel, where we’re B”H privileged to have front row seats on Jewish history.

1) The newly-minted four-day Lag BaOmer weekend…

!שבת שלום ול”ג-ל”ד שמח

The requisite fast day food post

Longtime readers are aware of my deep-held belief that the waning hours of a fast day should be spent blogging about food.

Hence, the following:

Here in TRLEOOB*, we like to break our fasts with soup.

This explains why several of the Shiputzim kids whiled away the afternoon preparing potato soup, and you’re all invited to come partake this evening. (It looks and smells delicious!)

But in the meantime, here’s another soup recipe, which I made for the first time for Shavuot:

Zucchini Soup

Adapted from my friend K.’s recipe, this soup even proved to be a hit with a certain so-called “anonymous” Our Shiputzim reader, who normally tries to stay far, far away from zucchini in any shape or form…

Ingredients

• 6-8 onions
• Olive oil
• ¾ kilo zucchini – diced
• 2 medium potatoes – peeled and diced
• 3 small cucumbers – diced (yes, cucumbers!)
• 2 heaping TBSP soup powder (we like onion soup powder)
• Water (or use vegetable stock instead of the soup powder and the water)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Croutons for garnish

Directions

Sauté the onions in the olive oil until golden brown. Add the zucchini, and cook until they start to change color. Add the potatoes and mix through. Add the soup powder, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot and then let it simmer for about 30-40 minutes.

Add the cucumbers, and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Use a blender stick to puree. For a thinner consistency, add more water if necessary.

Garnish with croutons, and serve either hot, room temperature, or chilled.

כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Waiting period

It’s an age-old question:

How soon after Pesach may one resume baking chametz brownies?

Immediately? Not until after Lag BaOmer? Well into the summer? Rosh Hashanah?

After all, in many households – TRLEOOB* included – brownies are considered to be a Pesach staple. (B”N, I’ll try to post the Shiputzim family’s favorite Pesach brownie recipe in Nissan IY”H.)

Naturally, this means that by the end of Pesach, no one wants to even LOOK at another brownie.

<brief aside> Have you ever met anyone who did NOT insist that their Pesach brownies “taste even BETTER than chametz” [sic]? And yet for some reason, once that last Pesach dish is put away, no one bothers with their flourless dessert recipes anymore… :-) </aside>

My personal take is that Shavuot is an ideal time to bring brownies back into the baking fold.

But if that seems brazenly early for you, why not consider making brownies with a twist? Say, for instance, brownies with ganache?

Admittedly, healthy or dietetic, they aren’t – what with the evil pareve cream and all (see recipe below) - but hey, if it means that your family can start indulging in these classic chocolate treats sooner, one could easily make a case that calories and chemicals are a small price to pay. Don’t you agree?

Ganache-Covered Brownies

Based on my friend E.’s brownie recipe and adapted from here.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup cocoa
• 1½ cups flour

Ganache

• ½ container pareve cream
• 250 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (we used a combination of the two)

Directions

Mix brownie ingredients together by hand and pour into a baking-paper-lined  9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until done. Let cool in pan.

Melt parve whip and chocolate together in the microwave. Pour the ganache over the brownies in the pan and spread. Refrigerate.

!בתאבון

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Fine Arts Friday: 5773 Calendar Edition

As you may (or may not…) recall, every year my mother puts together a gorgeous family calendar, and the grandchildren prepare the artwork.

And so, in honor of Shavuot, here are the Shiputzim kids’ contributions (in ascending order, according to the young artists’ ages) to the 5773 calendar:

 January 2013 (roughly corresponding to Shvat 5773)

December 2012 (roughly corresponding to Kislev 5773) – The text comes from “Maoz Tzur”

As always, please feel free to click on the pictures for a closer view.

!שבת שלום וחג שבועות שמח

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P.S. The latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is available here. Special thanks to Ilana-Davita for including my chocolate chip cake recipe. And speaking of Shavuot and cooking, the yom tov menu here in TRLEOOB (=the real life equivalent of our blog) includes – among many other things - the Shiputzim family’s favorite cheesecake, milchig lukshen kugel, and tuna croquettes.

Shavuot 5771

The cheesecake is in the oven*, and so now’s the perfect time to sit back and enjoy these two classic Israeli Shavuot songs:

“Saleinu Al Kteifeinu”

The lyrics are available here.

“Shibolet BaSadeh”

The lyrics are available here, and an English translation is available here.

!חג שבועות שמח

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* Not to show off or anything – well, not TOO much, anyway… - but BA”H, the entire Shiputzim family made it all the way through Sefirat HaOmer with a brachah. How about you? Did you earn your cheesecake? :-)

Around the J-Blogosphere

Several items of interest:

1) G6 presents pictures and a video of Shavuot preparations in her shul.

2) Leora shares her stunning shots of Yerushalayim's Old City, from her visit three years ago.

3) A Mother in Israel talks about hosting a Bayit Cham. All I can say is that I’m glad this idea hasn’t made it to our community – or not yet, anyway…

4) The latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is available here. Special thanks to Jewish Boston for including my carrot bread.

5) And, finally, speaking of recipes, be sure to check out the all-new Our Shiputzim Recipe Page, where you’ll find {cue: TV announcer voice} - for the very first time - every. single. recipe. that’s EVER been posted on this blog in one, convenient location. You certainly won’t want to miss this exciting opportunity, and so head on over to the Our Shiputzim Recipe Page TODAY….

!שבוע טוב וחודש טוב

The Iyar Challenge

Whew!

That was close!

But, B”H, I think we did it. Another (more or less) successful Iyar Challenge has been completed…

{catches breath and heaves a huge sigh of relief}

What’s that you say?

You’ve never heard of the Iyar Challenge?

Well, then, I suppose I’m going to have to write a post about it. (And look! By a fortunate coincidence, this post’s title is all about this very topic… ;-))

I should begin by explaining that the term “Iyar Challenge” suggests different things to different people. For instance:

• For cheesecake fans, it refers to counting Sefirah with a brachah every night until Shavuot.
• For Israeli kids, it implies collecting ridiculous amounts of wood for the Lag BaOmer bonfire.
• For Israeli teens, it alludes to the odd custom of staying out all night - right in the middle of bagrut season.

But as parents of Israeli schoolchildren are well-aware, the real Iyar Challenge is ensuring that one’s offspring have enough white shirts to make it through the first week of Iyar.

Because after all, the beginning of Iyar is essentially one long kacholavan day - including most of the following:

• Two days of Rosh Chodesh
• The day before Yom HaZikaron (i.e. the day when many gannanot celebrate Yom HaAtzma’ut with their young charges)
• Yom HaZikaron
• Yom HaAtzma’ut, at night (assuming, that is, that the Yom HaZikaron shirt is no longer, um, as white as it could be…)
• Yom HaAtzma’ut, during the day
• One or two Shabbatot (depending on the year)

In other words, we’re talking about a minimum of 5-6 white shirts per child – and, usually,  a great deal more than that – within a 7-8 day span!

Furthermore, remember that the Iyar Challenge comes right on the heels of Pesach and the countless white shirts that it entails…

Note: The jury is still out on whether school uniforms are helpful or a hindrance in this regard. On one hand, the overall white shirt supply is increased. But on the other hand, most of the white shirts can now only be worn on Shabbat and Yom HaAtzma’ut itself. </note>

Thus, as you can see, the Iyar Challenge is extremely demanding.

Oh, and to those who would insist that the Chidon HaTanach is the real Iyar Challenge, all I can say is: You obviously aren’t responsible for your family’s laundry…

How do you handle the Iyar Challenge?

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P.S. The latest Haveil Havalim is available here. Special thanks to Susan for including my tribute to my grandmother z”l.

A feature, not a bug

Those seeking accurate information about the flotilla affair should check out  Jameel and friends’ excellent and up-to-the-minute coverage. May we soon be privileged to enjoy besurot tovot, yeshu’ot, and nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) as well as the fulfillment of the well-known pasuk from last week’s parsha:

“And it was, when the Ark journeyed, Moshe would say: Arise, Hashem, and may Your enemies be scattered, and may those who hate You flee from before You.” (Bamidbar 10:35)

*****

Interestingly, in the days immediately following Shavuot, the Shiputzim kids willingly – and even eagerly - make an exception to their longstanding aversion to leftovers.

Of course, when the original menu includes favorites such as potato soup, milchig lukshen kugel, cheesecake and more, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that leftovers regularly enjoy a brief spell of popularity during the post-Shavuot period.

Yet, there are those here in TRLEOOB* who would argue that tuna croquettes are the primary factor behind leftovers’ all-too-fleeting, annual turn as a feature-not-a-bug.

Here, then, is the recipe:

Tuna Croquettes

Note: This recipe is extremely forgiving. In fact, I rarely bother measuring any of the ingredients.

Ingredients

• 4 cans tuna in water, drained and chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 TBSP onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I use rolled oats instead.)
• 4 TBSP mayonnaise

Directions

Mix ingredients together and form into patties. Place patties into a well-oiled pan (I use canola oil), and bake at 400 degrees. When the first side is golden-brown, turn and continue baking. Eat warm or cold. (We prefer them cold.)

!בתאבון

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Misplaced optimism

I believe it was Einstein who famously defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.

And yet, nevertheless, millions of seemingly rational and intelligent parents worldwide – including YZG and myself – persist in answering the phone every. single. time. it rings.

We do so, even though we know that at least 97% of the incoming calls here in TRLEOOB* are for one of the various and sundry teenagers who dwell in our midst.

In other words, chances are that any given phone call won’t be for us.

But YZG and I don’t let the unfavorable odds deter us, and instead, we continually allow hope to triumph over experience.

As noted above, Einstein would probably have blamed this naive and misguided optimism on our mental instability.

And he might have had a point.

After all, back in his time, communicating with invisible friends – which is today referred to as “blogging” – was definitely not an indication of a sound mind.

But I would posit that there’s more to it than that.

Indeed, if you’re a parent, you’ll understand that the main reason WE answer the phone is because our kids don’t bother doing it themselves.

You see, even when the phone is ringing off the hook, the aforementioned adolescent denizens of our home are apparently – and inexplicably - oblivious to the noise.

It’s enough to drive the most patient of parents crazy.

Which would suggest, I suppose, that Einstein wasn’t that far off the mark…

!חג שמח

May you have a wonderful and joyous Shavuot!

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Yerushalayim 1967

Many years ago, when the CTO was in third grade, he wrote an article about Yom Yerushalayim for his English class:

The Six Day War

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When my father’s parents were first married, they came to Israel for four years. They lived in Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). My father was born in Israel. My father was born almost a year before the Six Day War (Milchemet Shayshet HaYamim). The Jordanians had half of Jerusalem. The Jordanian part of Jerusalem had the Kotel. My grandparents lived in the Israeli part of Jerusalem. Then the Six Day War started. During the first three days of the Six Day War, my grandmother and my father went into a bomb shelter (miklat). They heard airplanes, and they were very scared. Then they saw that the airplanes were Israeli airplanes. For the three last days of the Six Day War, my grandmother and my father came out of the bomb shelter. By then, the Israelis got back the Kotel. That year on Shavuot, everybody went to the Kotel.

THE END!!!

The following pictures were taken in the summer of 1967:

  As you can see, the Kotel plaza is still unpaved.

 YZG and his mother. YZG is sitting on the large rock just to the left of the big pile of rubble in the center of the first picture.

  YZG being held by his father in front of the Kotel.

The men’s side.

The women’s side.

.ותחזינה עינינו בשובך לציון ברחמים

Happy Yom Yerushalayim!

 

Shavuot one-upmanship

For those who enjoy bragging about how strict and/or exotic their family’s minhagim (customs) are, the upcoming festival of Shavuot offers little scope.

After all, it’s a holiday which is famously devoid of specific mitzvot or ritual observances.

Of course, there’s the whole spend-the-entire-night-learning-Torah thing. But between Chodesh Irgun, Lag BaOmer, and other fake annual traditions , staying up all night is a fairly common occurrence in this country.

And so, by default, every session of Shavuot one-upmanship always boils down to the same question: How many of your family’s yom tov meals are dairy?

Both meals? (That would be, all four meals for those in the Diaspora.) Only one? Neither? Or do you eat your blintzes and cheesecake, clear the table, and then have fleishigs?

Here in TRLEOOB*, we generally have dairy at night and then meat for Shavuot lunch. (When Shavuot falls out on a Friday, we switch the order of the two meals, in order to avoid having a heavy besari (meat) meal right before Shabbat.)

What does your family do?

The following recipe is a mainstay of the Shiputzim family’s Shavuot menu. Note that by no stretch of the imagination can it be considered to be either low-fat or low-carb.

But, hey, Shavuot comes but once a year…

Milchig Lukshen Kugel

Ingredients

• 500 grams noodles
• 100 grams (8 TBSP) butter (or use 2-3 soupspoons of oil instead of the butter for a slightly lighter variation)
• 5 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 container (¾ cup) sour cream (i.e. shamenet chamutzah for the Hebraically-oriented among you)
• 1 container (250 grams) cottage cheese (I use 5% fat)
• Cinnamon to taste

Topping

• 2 cups crushed cornflakes
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup brown sugar

Directions

Cook the noodles, and after draining and rinsing them, immediately return them to the pot. Add the butter and let it melt all over the noodles. (There’s no need to turn the flame back on. The heat of the noodles together with the still-warm-pot should do the trick.) Add remaining ingredients and mix through.

Place mixture in an oiled baking pan. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of noodles in pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for one hour or until done.

!בתאבון

Related posts:

• Shabbat lukshen kugel
• Cheesecake

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Interpreting a Midrash

The following exchange was overheard here in TRLEOOB* a few days before Shavuot, in reference to the famous Midrash which teaches that all the mountains “argued" about where the Torah should be given:

Shiputzim Child #1: But mountains don’t talk!

Shiputzim Child #2: {nods sagely} Yes, but Hashem can understand mountains…

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* TRLEOOB = the real life equivalent of our blog

KCC 42

The latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is available here.

Special thanks to Gillian for including my cheesecake recipe:The cheesecake in this picture still needs a few more hours in the refrigerator.

One of my high school teachers used to say that whoever manages to count the entire Sefirat HaOmer with a brachah (blessing) gets to have cheesecake on Shavuot. I’m pleased to announce that the entire Shiputzim family has earned their cheesecake…

חג השבועות שמח

!ושבת שלום

A royal mix-up

The following exchange occurred after a certain Shiputzim child (ACSC) came home from gan on Sunday:

ACSC: There was no food, and so David HaMelech went out of Eretz Yisrael.

Me: {tries to keep a straight face} ELIMELECH went out of Eretz Yisrael?

ACSC: Yes.

***

And speaking of the megilah which we read on Shavuot, how would YOU transliterate the name of Naomi’s daughter-in-law?

Basically, there are three options:

• 1. Use the standard English spelling – i.e. “Ruth” – and hope that the readers realize that you’re not using the English pronunciation.
• 2. Go the phonetic route – i.e. “Root” – and hope that the readers don’t think you’re talking about Tu B’Shvat.
• 3. Follow accepted transliteration rules – i.e. “Rut” – and hope that the readers understand that the name does not rhyme with “shut,” “but,” or “hut”.

Personally, I tend to alternate between options (1) and (3), depending on the context.

How about you?

Yes, Virginia, there IS cheesecake in Israel

A refrain popular among the new oleh crowd is: “How can I replicate my favorite cheesecake recipe using unfamiliar Israeli ingredients?”

However, the truth is that there are now several varieties of Israeli cream cheese. Moreover, one can splurge (both financially and calorically) and purchase the readily-available Philadelphia-brand cream cheese.

Yet, back when we made aliyah, there were fewer options.

But after several years of sampling cheesecakes (it was a rough job, but somebody had to do it), I finally put together a cheesecake recipe which suits the Shiputzim family’s collective palate.

I should note that the recipe for the filling comes from Our Shiputzim Military Expert Be-All-You-Can-Be’s wife; the topping is my mother’s recipe; and I got the idea for the crust from the Israel-Food list.

Say cheese… cake

Crust

• 150 grams of chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (We like the Hadar brand.)

Filling

• 1 kilo of 5% gvinah levanah (literally, “white  cheese” –one could use 4 packages of cream cheese, softened, instead)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 3 eggs

Topping

• 2 containers (1.5 cups) sour cream (i.e., shamenet chamutzah for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you)
• 3 TBSP sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place cookie crumbs in buttered 9” (23 cm) spring-form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool somewhat.

Next, prepare filling. Beat gvinah levanah, sugar, and vanilla until well-blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing slowly. Pour filling over crust and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until the center is almost set. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Finally, mix all the topping ingredients together and pour over cake. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Refrigerate for at least four hours (or overnight) before serving.

Note: On the Israel-Food list, someone recently suggested that better results can be achieved by draining the gvinah levanah overnight. I’m considering using this idea; I’ll keep you posted.

!בתאבון וחג שמח