Hanukkah Craft- Wreaths

I'm not aware of wreaths being solely a Christmas decoration.  We made this craft at a workshop where other children used Christmas themed scraps of fabric- and we used white and blue.

First we cut a circle out of recycled cardboard.

 Then using two different fabrics we placed one on top of the other and tied them together to create a 'bow'.

We repeated that step 30 times! 

Finally we glued our thirty bows around the perimeter of the the circle being careful to rotate them slightly. 

Finally we tied a blue ribbon and glued it on.

I hole punched the cardboard and added another ribbon to make it easier to hang.

I imagine I will have these for years to come- My mom still has the macaroni wreath I made in kindergarten and she puts it up every year. 

What decorations of yours was your parents favorite? 

What is your favorite homemade decoration? 

Hanukkah Latke

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah- there is a buzz of excitement in the house.  

As is the tradition we made latke- we like to make the traditional potato ones and this year we tried a carrot curry recipe.  Every year we make the latke ahead of time and I quick freeze them.
On the nights we eat them I heat them up on a tray in the oven.  Anyone who has made latke knows that it is messy and the smell of frying oil permeates the house.  By making them ahead of time we are able to avoid the hassle and enjoy our guests.  

To see a recipe for potato latke and my post from last year (where I took much better photos!) click HERE. 

Traditionally they are served with sour cream and apple sauce.

I prefer the apple sauce. 

Happy Hanukkah! 

Home Education-

This week has flown by- I had great intentions of posting on both Lady Of The Arts and
Making Men Out Of Monkeys but it is just not happening this week.
I have reoccurring carpal tunnel syndrome and my therapist made me promise not to use the computer…Shh- 

If your are interested, please check out my posts over at
Making Men Out Of Monkeys- where we did this project:

If you are part of the tribe- may you have an easy fast- - 

Squash Flower A Potchky To Make

I saw these for sale at the Farmers Market- I was told they are the male flower of squash and that they have a slight squashy flavor. 

I bought them and brought them home

Not sure how to cook them I decided to stuff them

Spinach, onions and nuts

folded the petals over

fried them

and ate them with scallops (and a floret of broccoli) 

We didn't really taste the squash flavor- a bit of a potchky* to make. 

*potchky: Yiddish for lots of work for small return 

Take a look at our non-kosher scallops though- those were amazing- Dr. J invented a sauce using fresh herbs from our garden: sage and oregano, shallots, olive oil, butter and lime as well as lime zest. 

Do you ever make something and think 'well that was hardly worth the effort'?

Have you ever cooked squash flowers?

Jewish Cemetery In Prague

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe and was established at the beginning of the 15th century, when Jews were forbidden to bury their dead outside of their own district.  

The cemetery contains approximately 12,000 tombstones.  

As the Jewish community flourished in Prague, the cemetery became too small.

Laws (against the Jews) would not allow for the purchase of more land for burial.  

To accommodate their deceased, earth was brought in and people were buried on top of already existing graves, with the old tombstones being raised to the surface.  

There are some area of the cemetery where people are buried 12 layers deep.  

This accounts for the close proximity and unevenness of the tombstones.

The Hebrew letters are mostly faded, I became fascinated with the symbols, often on the top of the tombstones, which have withstood the test of time.  

Symbols such as a pitcher were for Jews from the tribe of Levites and hands for those from the tribe of Kohen, the priests descendant of Aaron. (Both pictured above)

Others symbols represented professions: 

Physicians had a lancet, Tailor would have scissors and an Apothecary a mortar. 

click on any collage to make it larger

Dr. J and I visited the day after a rain fall which somehow felt and looked perfect.  
We walked slowly and quietly and it was beautiful.  

Hamentachen Purim

Hamentachen are a Jewish pastry formed in the shape of a triangle.  The cookie is made by using a circular piece of dough, adding a filling and folding the sides to create a three cornered shape.  Traditional fillings include any types of jams, prunes, nuts, poppy seeds, apples, chocolate or caramel.  The cookie is usually yellow in color but we made a few batched with green and blue food coloring (Great idea A!).

This treat is traditionally eaten during Purim and it is said to resemble the ears, or hat, of the evil Haman described in the Book Of Esther. 

My youngest monkey wanted to try some new ingredients so he chose gummy worms:

And Gummy Bears: 

 We used Toblerone which I think is clever because it's already in the shape of a triangle:

Unfortunately gummy bears and gummy worms don't bake well:

This is what a sad monkey looks like:

We also made some with Twix bars, Snickers bars and peanut butter- YUM!

A perfect batch: 

To Read About The Purim Story

A Round-Up of Hamentachen Recipes

Big thanks to the W family!

The Jewish Museum (Last Night Of Hanukkah)

Tonight is the last night of Hanukkah and what a wonderful eight days it has been.  The last night is always my favorite night because the menorah's are gorgeous and the mood is calm.

The Jewish Museum in New York sells a beautiful collection Judaic object d'art.   They have procured some amazing designers that have made beautiful pieces for sale in both their Museum shop and online shop.  Several of their works are also featured as part of the museums permanent collection.

Jonathan Adler 

This dreidle by ceramic artist Jonathan Adler- features contemporarily-designed, polished nickel Hebrew letters on a luxe, brightly colored enamel background-

Richard Meier

A celebrated architect who contributed to The Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona- designed this menorah with each candle holder representing a historical Jewish event.  

For example the first five candle holders represent locations of Jewish exodus from Egypt, Roman Palestine, France, England and Spain and the rest signify the violence they had to bear including the horrific concentration camps.

He also used the same concept to design mezuzas: 

Mezuza's are traditionally placed on the doorpost of Jewish homes and hold a small piece of parchment paper with biblical inscriptions- 

Adam D. Tihany

Designer Adam D. Tihany has designed a very modern and stylish collection of Judaica, produced by the skillful hands of Christofle Silver for The Jewish Museum. Tihany’s two identical candlesticks, used to begin each Sabbath and festival, are designed to be placed together to form a unified whole: two uplifted palms. 

I also love these Hanukkah plates which feature images of menorahs from the 17th century- 

For today- the last night- all Hanukkah items are 20% off.

http://shop.thejewishmuseum.org/jmuseum

The Story Of Hanukkah

 Today, at sundown, is the first night of Hanukkah.  Jews are fond of making celebrations of overcoming obstacles and The Festival of Lights is no exception.

A long time ago the land of Israel (at the time Syria) was ruled by a cruel tyrant named Antiochus (Auntie-Oh-Kiss).  

He wanted all the people of the land to worship him and his Greek gods. He outlawed Judaism and forbid Jews from studying Torah.   

Antiochus set up statues of his gods in the Jewish Temple.
The Jews were outraged- one Jew smashed an idol and declared "All who want to fight for G-d, follow me".  
His name was Mattathias and he and his five sons led the fight against Antiochus and his army. Judah, the strongest of his sons was nicknamed Maccabee- which means hammer.  Succeeding his father, Judah became the leader of the freedom fighter- who were known as the Maccabees.

After three years of fighting the Maccabees won and freed the city of Jerusalem.  They cleaned out the Temple and prepared to rededicate it.  

They needed pure oil to light the menorah and they only found enough oil to keep it lit for one day.  Then a miracle happened and the menorah stayed lit for eight days.

Thus we celebrate the Festival of Lights to commemorate our religious freedom and to celebrate the miracle of the light.  Each year, on the 25th of Kislev (which this year falls on Dec 1st) we light the menorah.
Here are some photos from last year of our menorahs:

 

Spike is a Jew too:

My mom made him a kippah- so sacrilegious and cute!

Let the eight crazy nights begin!
If you have not seen this video- grab a gin and tonica and get into Hanukkah.

Latkes

Potato pancakes are traditionally served at Hanukkah.  

Jews eat foods cooked in oil to commemorate the miracle of Hanukkah.  

After the desecration of the the Temple there was only enough oil left to light the menorah for one night. 

Then a miracle happened there (Israel) and the oil lasted for eight days. 

Potato pancakes are a staple for many different cultures, especially in Eastern Europe.  

I grew up eating these as a quick and easy meal.  

During the year we often make 'fritki' (Polish for Hash browns) and really it's the same recipe.  

There are many variations, this is the one I use:

5 potatoes

1 onion

1 cup of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

dash of pepper

2 tablespoons of matzah meal

2 eggs

oil for frying

Peel the potatoes

Grate the potatoes and onion

mix up the eggs

Squeeze as much of the liquid as possible out of the potatoes-

this makes them crispier

Add all the dry ingredients then mix in the eggs

Fry them up

Eat them- or quick freeze them on a cookie sheet then transfer to an air tight container-

Traditionally they are served with apple sauce and sour cream.

Our family tradition is to have a Latke Party where we blast Hanukkah tunes construct an assembly line and make several batches (over a hundred) then freeze them so they are ready to bake and serve when we host our Hanukkah parties. 

I generally serve them as an appetizer as well as a 'kids meal' option during our annual bash.