Happy birthday, Israel!

The hilarious Benji Lovitt has written his fifth annual "What I love about Israel" list - this year with, of course, 64 items.

A few years ago, I wrote my own list, 13 things I love about Israel. I'm not as funny as Benji but here they are....

1. Felafel with cheeps and charif and pickles. Mmmmmm....

2. Walking on Ben Yehuda on Motzei Shabbat.

3. Watching kids play in parks that are full of ancient artifacts.

4. The whale sculpture in Old Jaffa.

5. Seeing Israeli kids riding the buses, hanging out, running around, just being kids and speaking Hebrew!

6. Spotting the blue paint in Tsfat.

7. Bumper stickers!!!!

8. The grottos of Rosh Hanikra, especially when the water levels are really high....

9. Watching the faces of first-timers when they really do float in the Dead Sea.

10. Reading Rachel's poems at her graveside.

11. Knowing that the young men and women carrying those big guns are Jewish kids ready to defend their homes and families.

12. Feeling Shabbat as it comes into Jerusalem...the frenzy of activity followed by the lovely calm. (And the shuk - rugelach and tomatoes and hummus and pita and spices and oranges and.....)

13. Feeling like I'm coming home.

Happy birthday, Israel. May you be safe and healthy and proud.

Matzah Meal Popovers {recipe}

1 1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup of oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups matzah cake meal
7 eggs

Combine water and oil, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in the dry ingredients until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool slightly. Beat in the eggs one at a time, until well blended. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin pan, and fill the cups. Bake for 30-40 minutes until brown and puffy. Remove from oven and turn out onto a towel to cool. Serve warm with butter, or make sandwiches with tuna, or whatever you like!

Yum!

What's your favorite Passover recipe?

The 15th of Nisan Approaches

Three hundred years ago a ship called the Mayflower set sail to the New World. This was a great event in the history of England. Yet I wonder if there is one Englishman who knows at what time the ship set sail? Do the English know how many people embarked on this voyage? What quality of bread did they eat? Yet more than three thousand years ago, before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Every Jew in the world, even in America or Soviet Russia, knows on exactly what date they left – the fifteenth of the month of Nisan; everyone knows what kind of bread the Jews ate. Even today the Jews worldwide eat matzah on the 15th of Nisan. They retell the story of the Exodus and all the troubles Jews have endured since being exiled. They conclude this evening with two statements: “This year slaves. Next year, free men. This year here. Next year in Jerusalem, in Zion, in Eretz Yisrael.” That is the nature of the Jews. - David Ben Gurion, 1947

Wishing you and your family a Chag Sameach, a sweet and healthy Passover holiday! 

New American Haggadah {review}

I was very excited to receive the my review of the New American Haggadah, especially after this piece in the New York Times, which made me giggle a little.

And then I opened it. It is gorgeous.

It's hardcover, with beautiful illustrations. The translation is very interesting and literal, and the commentaries are creative and actually add something new to the text, which I truly appreciate. There's a very interesting timeline of Jewish history running throughout the book.

It is a fantastic study document, and I recommend it to all Seder leaders. You will learn something new, you will gain different and lovely insight into the Haggadah text, and you will be able to enhance your family's Seder with these ideas.

That said, I cannot imagine ever using this Haggadah at my family's seder. Firstly, there are no transliterations. Its sheer size and bulk make it really unreasonable to use as a family Haggadah. The commentaries are on their own separate pages and you have to turn the book to read them, and the timeline also requires you to turn the book, but the opposite way! I know that much has been made of the design of this book, and it is so beautiful, but it really doesn't seem like it would be a very realistic book to use during a Seder, itself.

In addition, I have spent most of my life struggling with translations that are masculine-based. In fact, I put my own Haggadah together many years ago in order to restructure the translation into something gender neutral. It's really not that hard, yet Nathan Englander chose to translate using masculine language. I'm disappointed, really, since I would imagine that a New American document would be a little more gender sensitive. (According to that same New York Times article, even the Maxwell House Haggadah has become gender-neutral.)

So, I definitely recommend that this book grace your shelf. It is beautiful to behold and there are new insights, definitely. But I recommend that you find a different Haggadah to use at your Seder table, if you are still looking.

What Haggadah does your family use?
P.S. Today over at my other blog, the #blogExodus prompt is Redemption, and I talk about my family's Haggadah...

Using up the Chametz {recipe}

So it's that time of year when I'm using up the chametz.
And I am trying so hard not to buy any more.

So when Sam asked for French Toast, I was so excited to remember that I had a challah in the freezer just begging to be sliced up.

I love French Toast, but I just don't always have time to stand at the stove and flip the bread. (Um...4 kids!?) And many years ago, I discovered the overnight baked French Toast deliciousness. But sometimes, I don't plan ahead...and then I figured out how to make baked French Toast without the overnight part and...voila...French Toast is a basic, easy to make meal!

I adapted the recipe from here....

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons honey (I don't measure. I just squeeze it in the pan.)
2/3 cup orange juice (or milk if you don't have any)
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (who measures?)
1/4 teaspoon salt
glug of vanilla
6 (1/2- to 3/4-inch) thick slices of Challah

Heat oven to 375.
Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray and then put butter and honey into then pan. Heat in oven until butter melts and honey is bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and stir well.
While it's heating, in a large wide pan, whisk together juice, eggs, spices, and salt. Dip bread in, turning it once to coat it well, let it soak about 2 minutes per side, then carefully set each piece of bread into the honey-buttered pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until well-browned. Before serving, flip over each piece so the honey-butter side is up.

It smells and tastes amazing.

What do you do to use up the chametz in your house?

Looking for #BlogExodus? Check it out over here.

#BlogExodus and #Exodusgram Update!

What a fun project this is turning out to be!

I was hopeful that #BlogExodus would inspire some new bloggers or some "retired" bloggers out of retirement....and it has!

Here are some of the BlogExodus posts I've seen so far... (titles are blog titles, not post titles!)
(Follow #BlogExodus on Twitter for other posts that I may have missed)

Sh'ma Koleinu
TorahBlahnik
Davka.org
The Table
Jane the Writer Writes
A Good Question!
Cookie Crumbs
RavIma
Under a Tree in Oconomowoc
Blessed Little Bird
oh, I almost forgot my own posts!
Thoughts from Rabbi Phyllis 

Are you posting for #BlogExodus and I missed it? Let me know in a comment!

And, very cool, I'm really enjoying the different ways that people are interpreting #Exodusgram, the photo project.

You can see some of them here, using Webstagram and others at a Twitter search for #Exodusgram.
Make sure to check out the Bible Belt Balabusta's creative Lego Exodusgram pics!
(It is much trickier to link to other people's pics, so I'm going to have to get you to go click around to see them. Trust me, it's worth it. Very cool.)

Are you doing Exodusgram and I've missed it? Help me out!

Here are some of my Exodusgram pics.... (which you can follow on Instagram or my Tumblr)

Learn and Teach (Day 3)

The Narrow Places of Mitzrayim (Day 1)

Chametz (Day 2)

 Remember, there aren't any rules....so if you haven't started, there's still time to join in! (Feel free to rearrange the order of the days to suit yourself!)

Tasty Manischewitz Treats {review}

Back in January (!) I received an awesome box from Manischewitz, with the following contents:

My kids were so excited, they immediately opened the container of (Sugar Free) Macaroons and consumed half the package before I even realized it. And then they proceeded to eat them over the next few weeks. "The best macaroons!" they pronounced them. I must admit, that was a good enough review for me and I didn't get even one! (Do you like macaroons? This is a love-hate thing, I've found. I found a recipe for Pesadik brownies that uses chopped up macaroons...now that's delicious.)

Then, I made a whole (almost) Pesadik dinner for the family. I used the gluten free pasta to make a baked pasta dish, and I made the Red Velvet Cake. First...the pasta dish:

I didn't tell them it was gluten free pasta. It was a little gummy while cooking, and it definitely isn't the same as the "regular" pasta that I usually make, but my kids ate it with no complaints at all! My brother-in-law, who often eats gluten-free products, said that it was quite good gluten-free pasta. High praise!

 

Then, the cake:

Now, if you've been around here before, you've noticed that I'm a baker.

So I don't usually buy mixes like this, on Pesach, or ever! But how could I not try it out? 

 I must admit, it smelled like matzah meal and I didn't have high hopes as I mixed it up.

 And I thought the frosting had an odd flavor when I tasted it....

But my kids ADORED it. In fact, Sam asked if I would make it for his birthday next year.

Uh-huh. Totally not kidding.

Which doesn't mean that he's going to get it for his birthday. But I thought that was amazing praise.
It actually tasted quite good...like real red velvet cake! Impressive for a Pesadik baked good that came out of a box.

As you can see from the picture above, we also got some White Chocolate Covered Matzo - which we thought was too sweet, and some Mediterranean Matzos, which I think will make awesome Matzah Pizzah.

The other notable thing in the package were the Guiltless Gourmet Crunches - a sweet, crunchy cashew snack food that was really delicious. I would definitely eat that year round.

Thank you to Manischewitz for the samples!

So....as you head on out to do your Pesach shopping, these are some of the new offerings you might find on your shelves! What new products are you going to try this year?

(Disclosure: I received the package from Manischewitz and we tasted the food. I was not compensated in any other way for this review!)

P.S. If you're looking for #BlogExodus, head over to my other blog, rabbiphyllis.blogspot.com, and if you're looking for #Exodusgram, head over to my tumblr, imabima.tumblr.com.