Matcha glazed cut-out sugar cookies jewhungry kosher

I created this post in February (obviously). I edited and uploaded all the pictures on February 1.  All I had to do was actually write something and write out the directions/ingredients.  And then BAM! It hit . . . morning sickness.  Or rather, all-damn-day-long sickness.  I have spent the last 8 weeks becoming incredibly intimidate with my toilet (sorry y’all. Reality can be gross) because I am pregnant.  Holy Toledo, we’re having another baby.  This wasn’t so much planned, to be honest. The husband still doesn’t permanently live with us so getting pregnant wasn’t like, on the top of my list at this juncture of my life.  And, since we’re in the trust tree here, I’m gonna go out on a limb and be honest and say that this has been the hardest 3 months of my life.  I was excited for roughly 2 days and then the reality of being pregnant, by myself, working full-time and taking care of a toddler hit me and I got scared.  And then the nausea and extreme exhaustion hit and I got a little depressed.  When food is a major part of your creative life and then you can’t even bear to look at it, well, things can get rough.  Below are some highlights of the last 3 months that I hope will help paint a picture as to why I’m been so m.i.a.:

Matcha glazed cut-out sugar cookies jewhungry kosher

1.  My #1 and #2 food aversions were (and I’m only JUST not getting over it) coffee and pasta sauce. If you know me, then you know how much that one hurt. It’s like being allergic to my two best friends in the whole world.

2.  At one point during the early weeks, I dreamt that I gave birth to a frog. Ultrasounds have since shown that I will, in fact, be giving birth to a human. Huzzah!

3.  Siona and I have become incredibly intimidate with matzah ball soup as that was the only thing I would/could eat for roughly a week or so. Thank Gd, my mom visited and made us jars full of it.

4. I started showing early so for the past several weeks I’ve been walking around in my normal pants/jeans only now they’re being held together by a rubber band. Keeping it classy, y’all.

5. My clock has changed entirely.  8pm is my new midnight.  5am is my new 8am and 8am is my new 11am (which means, now that food and I are starting to do the long road of relationship repair, I want to eat lunch foods at 8am. It also means I’m asleep every night at 8pm and I recently starting waking up at 5am).

 

Matcha glazed cut-out sugar cookies jewhungry kosher

 

So now you know why I’m posting a Valentine’s Day post in March, when I should be posting about Passover.  I can’t say this post signals a return to blogging (see aforementioned bed time of 8pm). I wish I could say it does. I miss it a lot. I miss the outlet and the creativity and having something that’s truly just mine but I can’t imagine how in the world I can find the time and energy to do it. That isn’t to say that there won’t be guest posts coming up on Jewhungry as I have some amazing blogger friends who have agreed to help keep Jewhungry alive during this hiatus and for that, I am so eternally grateful. I don’t know what the future holds, all I know is Siona and I are taking things one day at a time. I can’t believe it’s almost April, which means we’ve already got 8 months down without our beloved Yonz with us full-time (seriously, military spouses, how in the WORLD do you do this!?) and we have only 5 months to go. If the past 8 months have shown us anything, it’s that there are good days, there are bad days and if I want to get through this then I’m going to have to open myself up and ask for help . . . and keep going to bed at 8pm . . . and start drinking coffee again.  I do hope that you continue to check back now and again and thanks for sticking with me.

 

Jewhungry the blog kosher sugar cookies matcha sprinkles

 

Now for the cookies! Way back in February, I thought I’d glam up the usual cut-out sugar cookie by adding a light Match tea glaze and some rainbow sprinkles.  According to my co-workers, who actually ate all the cookies, they were moist, delicious and just the right amount of sweet. The cookie dough itself is not overly sweet, lending itself to be the perfect canvas for the fancy glaze and party sprinkles. And don’t let the heart-shape full you. You can eat these bad boys ALL year round.

Matcha glazed cut-out sugar cookies jewhungry kosher

 

 

Ingredients for Cookies:

1.  3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened to room temperature
2.  3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
3.  1 large egg
4.  2 tsp vanilla extract
5.  2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions for Cookies:

1. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamed and smooth – about 1 minute.

2.  Add the sugar and beat on high-speed until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

3. Add the egg, and vanilla and beat on high until fully combine, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

4.  Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Turn the mixer down to low and add about half of the flour mixture, beating until just barely combined.

5. Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until just combined. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment to about 1/4″ thickness. Stack the pieces (with paper) onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. You must chill. If chilling for more than a couple hours, cover the top dough piece with a single piece of parchment paper.

6.  Once chilled, preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer the cut cookie dough to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used.  If using sprinkles, apply them onto one half of the cookie.

7. Bake for 9 minutes, until very lightly colored on top and around the edges. Make sure you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. I’m not kidding with the 9 minutes. Mine baked perfectly at 9 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Ingredients for Decorations/Glaze:

1. Assorted sprinkles
2. 1 1/2 tbsp matcha tea powder
3. 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4. 1/4 cup hot milk

Directions for Glaze

1. Whisk sugar, powder, and ¼ cup boiling water in a bowl until smooth.

cookies 9
There’s an understanding in the general outside world that Jews don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Rather, religiously observant Jews don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.  And this is true though, again, I’m speaking in general.  My husband and I aren’t big on it.  What with the whole “St.” Valentine thing and whatnot, it’s just generally accepted as something the ‘goyim’ do.  However, I grew up ‘celebrating’ and loving Valentine’s Day and to be honest, I still do.  I have rather fond memories from elementary school that have all kind of become jumbled in my head as one big heart-shaped, pink doily.  By the time I reached high school, being a nerd and all, I’m pretty sure Valentine’s Day was spent with my beloved girls friends.  We probably went to our local Chili’s and drowned our love-sorrows in sweet tea and queso dip all the while saying how we didn’t need a boyfriend but secretly wishing we could at least experience ONE Valentine’s Day with a boy.  I do have vivid memories of a Valentine’s Day spent during my senior year with my dear friend, Allison.  I believe we had dinner at La Madeleine (Do those still exist?!) followed by a romantic viewing of Lethal Weapon 4 (I had a thing for Mel Gibson in high school all thanks to a kilt, a Scottish accent and some blue face paint—shalom, Braveheart. Of course that crush was quickly squelched after the whole Passion of the Christ incident). What can I say? We lived large. read more…

I invite you to know Ali Brand Stern, today’s guest blogger for our Love Stories series, which, if you’ve been following the series, you are realizing has moved into September. Yep, forgot to account for the obligatory Rosh Hashanah posts so our Love Stories were interrupted. However, we are back and still in love.

I met Ali, whose love story is written below, and her husband at the same place I met the previous guest blogger, Stef. I met them all at the glory that is The Pardes Institute of Judaic Studies. I knew I wanted to be friends with Ali during the obligatory opening introductory ‘get to know you’ circle that opens every first year of school at Pardes. There were roughly 60 – 70 people in the room and everyone’s not-so-secretly trying to prove just how smart they are when they introduce themselves. And then it’s Ali’s turn. Ali stands up in the Beit MIdrash, introduces herself and proceeds to tell everyone she just got married and, rather than try to prove her brain power, which is pretty powerful, she continues, “So, sorry ladies and gents, but I’m taken”, and then proceeded to sit right back down as if she didn’t just tell a room full of rabbis, Torah scholars and the like that she’s off the market. Yes. Please. Ali is one of the funniest and most genuine people in the world. When I was trying to wrestle with leaving my single life behind and marrying my husband, it was Ali whose wisdom and open-mind I sought out. She is someone whom I believe truly lives her life to the fullest and I admire her so much. Ladies and gents, here’s Ali. xoxo, Whit

Ali and I representing our class at our friends' wedding.

Ali and I representing our class at our friends’ wedding.

Thirteen years. That’s how long my husband and I have been partners. When I tell people our dating history, I follow it up by saying that I met my husband, Noam, when I was a fetus. That’s not actually true, but it sometimes feels like it. I don’t know many other thirtysomethings who have been with their better half for the better half of their life.

Talking about the beginning of our “love story” is like talking about the day I realized I had a left arm. I can’t recall when, but I’m sure there was a day when I said to myself, “I have another arm? This is awesome! This will help me accomplish so many more things in my life!” That’s sort of how I feel about my husband. I can’t really remember a time when he wasn’t there.

I met Noam three weeks before my 17th birthday while we were attending a summer program at Brandeis University called Genesis, which was a glorified nerd camp for Jews. Are there summer camps for Jews that aren’t also nerd camps? No, probably not.

Noam was the first Orthodox Jew I ever really met. He was sweet (still is), short (still is) and wore an over-sized, severely faded Pearl Jam t-shirt (which I later made him burn for fashion reasons. I have nothing against Pearl or her delicious jams.) Noam sat down across from me during the first Shabbat dinner at Genesis. My actual thought when I saw him was, “That one. I want that one.” Although full disclosure, I thought the same thing when they brought out cake for dessert.

Having never attended Jew camp before, I didn’t know any of the songs that everyone else started to sing at the end of the Shabbat meal. Actually, I could barely read Hebrew. I felt like an idiot. And there is nothing more painful than being a 16-year-old girl sitting across from a super cute little yid and feeling like an idiot. But because Noam is who he is, he quickly caught on that I was just silently mouthing the world “watermelon” over and over again, trying to look like I belonged. Noam got everyone to sing the only song I knew (which could very well have been Dayenu, complete with hand gestures. I don’t remember.) Noam stuck by me the rest of the night. And that was it. That was the night I met my left arm.

Ali and Noam in Jerusalem, 2013

Ali and Noam in Jerusalem, 2013

We fell for each other quickly, in a totally PG-summer camp sort of way. During one of our many night walks through the deserted college campus, Noam asked me if I was a fruit, what kind of fruit I would be. I told him I would probably be an orange because I have a layer that you need to get past in order to really know me (Leave me alone. I just finished reading Ralph Waldo Emerson that summer and had even underlined a few passages in a vintage fountain pen, so clearly, I was really, really deep.)

A few days later, on my 17th birthday, Noam gave me a gift. It was an orange, partially peeled. He told me that he hoped he had gotten past part of my “layer”, and was looking forward to getting to know more about me.

At the end of the summer, I went back to Boulder, CO and Noam went back home to Maryland. We said our goodbyes and left our relationship as “two people who cared a lot about each other, but lived super far away.” We didn’t want to label ourselves and what we had. Dan Savage would have been proud. I never thought I would hear from Noam again. I cried a lot. Had there been Facebook when I was 17, I’d like to believe that I wouldn’t have posted thousands of very meaningful and totally poignant song lyrics from all of the Lilith Fair albums. But I would have. Because I was that awesome.

Fast forward 8 years. Fast forward through hundreds of long distance phone calls and emails. Fast forward through my parents flying Noam out to be my high school prom date. Fast forward through that time when I was a freshman in college in Seattle and Noam was studying in Israel during the height of the Second Intifada, and he called to tell me that the café across the street just blew up, and it was terrible, but he was okay and he loved me. Fast forward through me not being able to tolerate the long distance anymore and finally transferring colleges to be with Noam at Brandeis.

Fast forward 8 years to the afternoon at Walden Pond when Noam got down on one knee and took out an orange, almost entirely peeled. Fast forward to when he told me that he wanted us to spend the rest of our lives getting to know each other better.

Newly engaged; peeled orange and all.

Newly engaged; peeled orange and all.

Two weeks after our wedding, we ran away together to Israel, where I met Whitney. Our year-long-honeymoon-adventure in Jerusalem turned into five years living in Israel. Living abroad was the greatest gift to our marriage. We dodged rockets and killed cockroaches. We walked towards each other religiously and spiritually and built ourselves a happy little home somewhere in the middle. We made each other laugh, and we drove each other completely insane in ways that only your partner can. We helped each other up when we fell down. In 2011 when I lost my dad to cancer, Noam stayed at my father’s bedside reciting Psalms, serving as my father’s spiritual guardian. Noam is so much more than my left hand; he is my spare soul.

Noam and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this July. On our wedding day, we stood in front of our family and friends and pledged to spend the rest of our lives helping each other peel back our layers. I think we’re off to a good start.

Ali's Orange Peel and Poppy Seed Cookies.

Ali’s Orange Peel and Poppy Seed Cookies.

Ali’s Orange Peel and Poppy Seed Cookies:

Ingredients

– 1 tbsp orange zest

– 1 egg (room temperature)

– 2/3 cup sugar

– 1/2 cup butter/margarine

– 1 tbsp poppy seeds

– 1 1/4 cup flour

– 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions

Blend butter and sugar. Add egg and orange zest. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (except seeds). Slowly add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg/zest mixture. Add poppy seeds. Bake at 360F for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

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