Well, the holidays are officially upon us. Even though I am steeped in food on the regular, I am still waaaaaaay behind in my holiday preparations. I haven’t even menu planned. Blargh!! I do this to myself every. single. year. I invite a ton of people over because I LOVE LOVE LOVE hosting but then I end up all stressed out the day of first night dinner because I’m running around trying to get sh*t done. It also doesn’t help that I have a strict 8:30pm bedtime (I work full time and have 2 kids. I’m in survival mode here, people) so there’s no staying up super late and doing tons of baking for me. Nope, I’d rather just woman up and deal with it come the day of the holiday. The good news, however, is that I know a few people in food with some amazing food blogs so inspiration is but a click and an hour of web-surfing away. The other bit of good news is that I’ve been writing for a lovely website called, InterfaithFamily.com, an organization whose mission is to support interfaith families exploring Jewish life. I’ve written several posts for them over the couple months so I thought I’d get organized and give you a look-see. I also had the IMMENSE pleasure of writing a guest post for Chanie at Busy in Brooklyn. All links will be posted below! I hope you get some inspiration for your holidays or your daily meal-planning. Shanah Tovah!
I am an extremely scheduled person. I need my routine and schedule to feel ‘contained’. I need it to feel safe. I’d like to be all, ‘I go wherever the wind takes me’, but with a full time job, 2 kids, a husband and a hobby or two, my structure and routine is what gets me through the day. When I studied adolescent development and learned more about attachment theory and how structure and boundary-setting is not only beneficial for child development but also for caregiver attachment, I didn’t quite understand just how much it is needed until I had kids of my own. Heck, I didn’t realize how much I needed it as an adult until I had two little people and myself to care for. I recently started yet another side gig (this one in the home decor side of life — you can find my yarn art and boho mobiles HERE and see more pictures below) and when talking to a friend about it she asked me how I find the time. I reflected on that question a lot for some reason and realized it wasn’t so much that I was ‘finding’ the time as ‘creating’ the time via my daily routine. By the time I get home, it’s ‘go’ time. My husband and I are switching off between bathing children, doing laundry, cooking dinner, cleaning dinner, playing with children and then getting children ready for bed. Every afternoon/evening is a sprint but it’s worth it because by 8pm, the kids are in bed and that’s when I get my ‘me’ time. That’s how I find the time. I create it in order to take care of myself so that, in the end, I can take care of them.
Speaking of time, I am finally on spring break and am loving every second of it. I also finally went camping with the kids for the first time. I had been kind of dreading camping with kids for a long time. I used to have this giant fear of being tired. It so consumed me, this fear of being tired, that it actually prevented me from doing things like camping with my husband and Siona. But a person learns a lot about themselves after a year of solo-parenting while pregnant, including that one can survive and function on very little sleep and massive amounts of coffee. So, with that in mind, I told husband I was ready to give camping with kids a try . . . so long as he packed all the coffee in the world. Next thing you know, we’re packing up the car and headed for Anzo Borrego, CA. It’s not every day your husband plans a camping trip for you in the desert during a heat wave. Hot doesn’t even begin to describe what this was. Sadly, because it was as hot as it was, our camping trip was cut short by a night and we ended up only staying one night. BUT, we truly made the most of it and the girls were friggin’ champs. We also saw a real live roadrunner and heard coyotes howling at the moon so . . . worth it (pics from the trip are below).
Anyway, I wanted to bring you a chocolatey treat before you finish your Passover meal-planning. I also wanted to send a friendly reminder that egg creams are completely kosher for Passover and should absolutely be enjoyed. I had my first egg cream when I visited my now in-laws in 2009 and it is now a family tradition to enjoy one (or several) each Passover. It’s honestly a simple thing and, truth be told, I would not really enjoy someone adding seltzer to my chocolate milk but for some reason, during Passover, it’s so frikkin’ delicious. I hope you enjoy! Happy Passover!
P.S. This recipe is dedicated to my friend, David Wolkin, who is part Jewish Hipster superhero extraordinaire and part grouchy ol’ Jewish zaidy who just wants to be left alone with his egg creams and his white fish. This is for you, buddy. Also, your wife is AWESOME. Seriously, how’d you score that one!?
Saying ‘good night moon’ in the Anzo Borrego desert.
My squishy face, Ed.
Sunrise in the desert
The last of the blooming cacti for the season.
One of my wall-hangings – found on my Etsy shop, LadyPops Shops
Alright, alright. I got one more hamantaschen recipe for ya. What can I say? I like triangle-shaped cookies that can indulge my love of toppings or ‘fixin’s’, as we say down South. Oh man, I love fixin’s. Gimme alllllll the toppings. Be them sweet or savory, I love toppings. As a kid, I had some weird eating habits that revolved around toppings or condiments. One of my favorites was a baked potato in which I would top with shredded cheese and salad dressing (a vinaigrette was my preferable dressing for this delicious dish).
I also went through a phase in which I ate lunch foods for breakfast. This included, but was not limited to, microwaveable mac n’ cheese and Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs. Have I mentioned I should be 500 pounds? Anywho, for as much as I love condiments (I’ll take all the mayonnaise please), there are a few condiments that if you were to put them on my food, I might threaten to shiv you. These include mustard (Only on hot dogs and THAT IS IT), whipped cream (Waste of calories. It’s just fluffy air), shredded coconut (NEVER. EVER. EVER.). But tehina, yes please!! Oh my goodness, just put it on everything, especially these cookies. I based these hamantaschen off of Danielle Oron’sSalted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies, made beautifully by Molly Yeh. I’ve been following Danielle on Instagram for a while and truly love what she’s doing with food, especially since she brings so much tehina into the mix. So I took the flavors from those amazing looking salted tahini chocolate chip cookies and made them into a hamantaschen. I think it worked out nicely. Maybe you’ll make them and let me know?
Me in Middle School, circa 1993, probably dreaming about something with cheese and mayonnaise on it.
Double Chocolate Hamantaschen with Tahini + Caramel Drizzle
Ingredients
½ cup butter (or margarine), room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp cold, brewed espresso or strong coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 cup cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark)
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg + 1 tsp water (egg wash)
1/4 cup dark and white chocolate chips - FOR FILLING
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/4 cup raw tahini
Maldon sea salt
Instructions
Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth.
Add egg, milk, espresso, and vanilla until mixed thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and saltl. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture until incorporated.
Note: if the dough is too soft, increase flour amount by 1/4 cup of flour until firm.
Shape dough into a disk, wrap in saran wrap and chill for AT LEAST an hour.
On a floured work surface, roll out dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. With a 2 3/4-inch round cutter, or wide=rimmed drinking class, cut out circles; place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gather scraps, chill, and repeat.
Whisk together remaining egg and 1 teaspoon water in a bowl. Brush circle edges with egg wash. Place 1 rounded teaspoon chocolate chips in center of each circle.
Lift sides of dough toward center, over filling, to form a triangle; pinch seams together. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center.
Bake cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, 1 sheet at a time, about 12 minutes.
Let cool 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Dip a small spoon into the caramel sauce and drizzle over cooled cookies. Repeat with tahini.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
