Category: Jewish Holidays
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Babylonia, Music and My Father
Tonight is the third yahrzeit of my dear and holy father ztL. My father was a paradigm of Torah learning and teaching, a humble and optimistic person much like Rabbi Akiva who laughed when others cried. He was one who sang as he studied Torah, dancing with his talmidim through the joys of finding…
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Sukka Clouds of Glory
Sunday night is the beginning of the holiday of Sukkos, סוכות. We are preparing for the holiday in Jerusalem amid a flurry of shopping, building and cooking. To commemorate Sukkos, we constructed a temporary home called a Sukka that we use during this week-long holiday. Our Sukka is built to commemorate the protective clouds…
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Yom Yerushalayim: A Day of Gratitude, Responsibility and Love
“Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) is a gift given to our generation,” I declare often to my children. “It is not a small gift and it is not a gift to be taken for granted. It came at a high price and we have a huge responsibility to appreciate this treasure and care for it properly.” For generations, we…
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Simple No-Cook Salmon Appetizer
There are times that a simple no-cook appetizer is the way to go. Like, when there are six Yom Tov (holiday) meals in a row and you’re looking for a new creative way to serve an appetizer with minimal effort. The upcoming Shavuos holiday comes on the heels of a Shabbos, calling for six consecutive…
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Basil Pesto Butter
It was a luncheon to remember. The food was delicious, colorful and plentiful. The camaraderie among the adults and the kids was remarkable. But, there was one stand-out rockstar at that luncheon. It was the herbed butter.
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Sukkos Lulav Napkin Fold
Among other mitzvos (Jewish commandments) unique to Sukkos (Jewish Feast of Tabernacles), we acquire a set of Arba Minim (Four Species). Each of the Four Species has its own unique character: The Lulav (palm) is an impressively tall and straight green date palm branch with tightly bound leaves. It has a sweet date flavor…
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Sukkos No-Knead Ciabatta: Harvest and Humility
The Autumn Jewish holiday of Sukkos is referred to as Zman Simchaseinu (season of rejoicing) and Chag Ha’Asif (Festival of of Gathering). It falls at the time of year in Israel that the grain, grapes and olives are ready to be harvested and brought to market. The winter, spring and summer months of hard work in…
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Apples and Roses: A Rosh Hashana Table Arrangement
I was looking to create a SimpletoWow fruit and floral arrangement worthy of the Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) table. On Rosh Hashana, we dip an apple into honey as a symbol for a sweet new year (see Dip the Apple… Rosh Hashana Cupcakes), so incorporating apples into the arrangement was a no-brainer. I wanted…
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Tisha B’Av: On Sadness, Continuity and Redemption
According to the Jewish calendar, the festival of Pesach (Passover) always falls out on the same day of the week as Tisha B’Av. In Hebrew, there is no real word for coincidence because in Judaism things are just not coincidental. Things that happen in the same way were meant to be that way. And so,…
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Simply Perfect and Healthier Cheesecake
Shavuos is the holiday that we literally count the days toward its arrival. We count 49 days (seven weeks) from Pesach (Passover) to Shavuos, blessing the sefira (counting) every evening from the second night of Pesach until Shavuos begins. From a culinary perspective, many of us count the days until we can enjoy the delicious…
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Charoset Ices
Last year in Israel, we discovered that Ben and Jerry’s manufactures Charoset ice cream for Pesach (Passover). We bought it at the Israel supermarket for its Passover-themed value but we devoured it for its delicious taste. After all, charoset is a traditional dip consumed at the Passover Seder. It is typically prepared with chopped apples, nuts, cinnamon…
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Frosted Candied Grapes
We are taught that parents are to give their children special foods and gifts in order to engage them at the seder. So, why not combine the elements of tradition and whimsy in creating these adorable and delicious candied grapes?
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The Blessing and Renewal of Tu Beshvat
Tu B’Shevat reminds us of the dormant potential in the trees and in each one of us. Just as the trees and their seeds lie dormant during the harsh and cold winter months, often we have times of dormancy. Our hope is that we recognize the potential in ourselves, our children and those around us,…
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Savta’s Sweet Potato Latkes
Savta loves to make latkes and kugels. I vividly remember how delicious they were when we were growing up and Savta’s kugel and latkes have become a real delicacy for my children. This is Savta’s sweet potato latke recipe. It is perfect. INGREDIENTS 4 medium red potatoes, peeled 1-2 onions, peeled 1 sweet potato…
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Leah’s Parsnip Latkes
Leah has been in charge of preparing Sunday night’s dinner. Leah has a taste and flair for interesting vegetable combinations. Delegating the responsibility of preparing dinner frees me and gives others a renewed appreciation for all that dinner preparation entails. Best of all, it introduces all of us, the diners, to the cook’s creativity…
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Simply Perfect Sufganiot in a Zipper Bag
I like to stay close to the latest trends in cooking and design. One trendy and helpful technique in preparing dough is to use a zipper bag for preparing and kneading the dough. It is a great idea for most dough and really reduces the cleanup. Best of all, since the zipper bag can be discarded…
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Simple Baked Potato Kugelatkes
Traditionally, we eat potato latkes (pancakes) on Chanukah. We eat foods prepared with oil to commemorate the miracle of the oil in the Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple) once the Jews were victorious over the Greeks. After the miraculous war, the Jews entered the desecrated Temple and only found enough pure olive oil to light the Menorah…
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..In the Honey: Rosh Hoshana Honeycomb Cupcakes
Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) is coming and our friend (and Davida’s superMom), Staci Segal, is sponsoring a pre-Rosh Hashana bake sale to benefit benefit Ohr Meir U’Bracha, The Terror Victims Support Center of Israel. Last year, Davida baked delicious muffins for this bake sale. This year Davida and Staci’s daughter, Chava, are studying in Israel,…
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Dip the Apple… Rosh Hashana Cupcakes
Rosh Hashana is coming and our friend (and Davida’s superMom), Staci Segal, is sponsoring a pre-Rosh Hashana bake sale to benefit benefit Ohr Meir U’Bracha, The Terror Victims Support Center of Israel. Last year, Davida baked glazed carrot muffins for this bake sale. This year Davida and Staci’s daughter, Chava, are spending the year studying in…
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Simple Cheesy Zucchini Logs: Gluten Free and Low-Carb
Davida and her friend, Chava, made delicious calzones for Melave Malke a few weeks ago: Davida’s Easy and Delicious Calzones for a Melave Malka Feast. Although the calzones looked and smelled heavenly, Don and I were only able to enjoy them vicariously. Since we are still on low-carb diets, we needed to find an alternative cheesy…
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Simple and Easy 5-Ingredient No-Boil Lasagna
This is the simplest and most delicious lasagna recipe that you will ever make. It requires one mixing bowl and one baking lasagna pan with no boiling . It creates a firm and easy to slice lasagna with minimal effort and mess. It takes only a few minutes to prepare and one hour…
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Simple Mini Cheesecakes with Gorgeous Garnishes
Shavuos is on its way! Cheesecake is one of the staples of the upcoming holiday of Shavuos, since we are commanded to eat dairy foods at our festive meals (Countdown to Shavuos: Floral Inspirations and Dairy Recipes) on Shavuos. This year, Don and I are still on a low-carb diet. We didn’t want to…
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A Few Good Blossoms: Floating Arrangements
I began this SimpletoWow blog in January with an original post, It’s all about the arrangement (psst….even with last week’s roses), on arranging last week’s open and just-wilting roses. It was intended to showcase simple and wow ways to use what you have in surprising and unexpected ways. As the Jewish holiday of Shavuos approaches (see Countdown…
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Upcycled Glass Jar Floral Arrangement: Simply Stunning
My friend Marilyn, and her family joined us for a meal over Pesach (Passover). Since we were in a small apartment in Jerusalem with our extended family, we did not have enough room to host everyone in the dining room. Instead, we set up tables and ate in the courtyard. Marilyn sent flowers before Yom Tov…
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Bekurim: First Fruits from Hollister
This morning, on my return from my morning walk, my neighbor, Hollister, surprised me with a wonderful gift. He handed me a bag with the first heads of lettuce harvested from his vegetable garden. I protested that he should keep this precious first harvest for himself, but he insisted that he wanted me to have…
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Countdown to Shavuos: Floral Inspirations and Dairy Recipes
We are commanded to count 49 days or 7 weeks of sefira (counting) from Pesach until the holiday of Shavuos. Every night after it gets dark, we make a bracha and count one more day toward Shavuos. While Pesach commemorates our becoming a nation and our freedom after our miraculous exodus from Egypt, Shavuos commemorates our…
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Seder Table Ideas and Inspirations
Every year, I try to set a majestic and unique seder table. There is something magical about that first Pesach (Passover) meal: the anticipation, the new dishes and the silver wine goblets. Over the years, I have tried all types of tablecloths and seder themes. There are a few helpful tips that I have incorporated into…
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Simple Low-Carb Broccoli Crust Pizza: Perfect for Passover
Cauliflower rice has become the rage as an ingredient in faux fried rice and as a low-carb pizza crust alternative. As an experiment, I tried similar adaptations of broccoli and have found it to work beautifully. My family is always looking for something delicious and nutritious to eat on Erev Pesach (the eve and day…
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Five Simple Ways to Rediscover the Wow in Pesach
I love Pesach (Passover). I love the purity and the newness. I love the springtime freshness and the themes of freedom and family. I don’t mind the cleaning and the rotation of special dishes and ingredients. The secret is that I do a bare minimum of the cleaning and really try to put the emphasis on…
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Mason Jar Salad with Purim Croutons: A Simple Purim Mishloach Manos Wow
Purim is coming! One of the mitzvos (commandments) unique to the Jewish holiday of Purim is to deliver gifts of food, called Mishloach Manos, to friends and family. The parameters of this mitzvah require each Jewish adult to send a minimum of two ready-to-eat-foods to at least one person. I like to send Mishloach Manos…
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Five Simple Tips to Keep the Wow in Purim
Tzippy Respler Adar II, 5776 For years, I had been remarking that Purim is more stressful for me than Pesach (Passover). Most people scoff when they hear that. I had become the Purim Grinch, especially because the Holiday of Purim is one that is based upon fun, joy and goodwill. I get that. But for me,…