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Creamy cashew cream, vanilla, and fresh tomatoes. Ever think you would hear that combination? Well if you are used to my website, I Want That For Dinner, you know I am very creative in the kitchen. If eating healthy and gluten free without creativity, life can taste very bland. I hope you are up to try something new tonight for dinner and follow this delicious recipe!

Bakto flavors were kind enough to send me delicious vanilla products for me to create dishes for my blog. Thankfully, the extremely fragrant ground Madagascar vanilla bean made its way into the package. I chose to make a recipe that was not a typical dessert with vanilla. I thought about savory dishes and realized tomato is considered a fruit, but eaten in a savory dishes. I then Googled adding vanilla bean to sauce, and hundreds of websites popped up… I wasn’t crazy after all! After reading many of the comments, the consensus was that vanilla added a warmth and flavor without the usual sweetness.  To finish my sauce, I chose to add a little spicy chili flakes and cream to balance all of the flavors together.

Have you ever made a cream out of cashews? It is SO simple and tastes like actual dairy, but is Pareve and vegan.  All you have to do is mix raw cashews with water and process for a few minutes in a good blender and there you have it, non dairy cream.

Follow the directions in my recipe for Cashew Cream and Tomato Sauce to make your cream sauce and mix it with my spicy tomato sauce to top your first Pasta after Passover.  Enjoy the return to chametz.

Having an incredible Pesach with Kosher Travelers in Tiberias — one of Israel’s 4 holy cities — it’s breathtaking and beautiful here!

Some vlogs and picts of all that’s going down…

Burning Chometz Erev Pesach in the AM with my fam and David Wallace owner of Eddie’s Kosher Travel.

At the Rambam’s Kever in Tiberias just hours before candle lighting.

During Chol Hamoed, we stayed local, walked along the Kineret and enjoyed a speed boat ride as a family.
The view from my hotel, possibly the most beautiful view I have ever enjoyed on vacation.

In the commercial kitchen of the Leonardo Plaza – take a look at this big momma stand mixer!

See how they cook in bulk for Pesach in a hotel kitchen.  It was impressive, clean and the staff was incredibly nice and helpful in prepping for my demo out by the pool.

The demo was fully packed, even the standing room was maxed out.  My menu included year round favorites that just happened to be kosher for Passover.  Eddie’s Kosher Travel co-owner, and David’s prettier half, Chana Wallace chose the menu and selected my Yom Tov favorite Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup.  I make it every Rosh Hashanah and Pesach but was concerned how well it would go over on a hot day, poolside.  But she knew what she was doing because it was the first thing to go! The rest of the menu included Quick Gazpacho from Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes, A Fresh Basil and Caramelized Onion Chicken, I made with the fresh and flavorful ingredients on hand in the hotel kitchen, Turkish Salad, Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries, and Chocolate Meringues with Raspberry Dipping Sauce.

What have you all been doing this Chol Hamoed?  Share your fun in the comments below, I would love to know how you are spending and enjoying your Pesach.  Moadim L’Simcha and Good Erev Shabbos!!!! Lots of love from Israel!

The recipes have been made and the delicious food consumed, so what do you do now with your left over Temp Tee containers??? Well craft them of course!!

This project is fantastic not only because it’s absolutely perfect, but because it takes an item that would normally be thrown in the garbage made purposeful again.

TEMP TEE Potted Kitchen Herb Garden

SUPPLIES:

Temp Tee Containers (empty)
Spray Paint – white and any other colors of your choosing

Rubber bands Optional

Box

Step 1:

Clean your Temp Tee containers and dry them completely.

Step 2:

Make a series of whole on the bottom of your container. This way the soil can breathe and the water can seep out of the container.

You will use the container for the soil and the top of the container as the base to capture the runoff water.

Step 3:

Take your box outside and turn it on its side. Place the container inside and spray paint it white, making sure to cover all the words and design on the container. Let it sit for 2 hours

Step 4:

Spray paint container your second color. You can see here that I chose to do 3 different containers. Let it sit another 2 hours.

Step 5: OPTIONAL

If you want to do a striped design then place rubber bands around your container and spray paint on top of them. Let that sit and dry and then pull of the rubber bands. You will get this very neat striped affect.

Step 6:

Once your containers are dry, you are ready to add soil and add your herb plants. These Temp Tee containers are small enough to sit on your kitchen windowsill making these the perfect herb planters.

We would love to hear from you and see the beautiful herb containers that you make! Please send in your photographs to info@joyfkosher.com and you may be featured on the Joy of Kosher website.

Happy Crafting!

Till Next Time!

In my mind, Pesach cooking becomes a game of “find the flavor in the veggies.” My favorite method of enhancing the flavor in dishes is to sauté onions at a very low temperature for a long time, even hours. Try sautéing a big pot of onions and freezing small containers of them. It will eliminate the first step of almost all of my recipes.

Carrot Orange and Ginger Soup

This thick and filling soup is both pleasing to the eye and to the palate. If you aren’t a big fan of ginger, reduce the amount slightly. Because the soup is pureed at the end, there is no need to chop the onions and carrots very small, which means this soup comes together in minutes.

Butternut Squash and Apple Latkes

These latkes have a delicious savory flavor from the onions and squash, but the apples add the perfect hint of sweetness to them. If your taste runs a little bit sweeter, you can add some sugar to the batter, or try it with a sweeter variety of apple.

Potato Kugel Meat Roll

I wish I could take credit for this amazing idea, but that goes to my friend Miriam R., who introduced me to this concept. It’s a fun and unusual take on potato kugel, perfect for a time like Pesach when everyone is bored of “plain old potato kugel.”

Chicken with Zucchini and Wine Stuffing

This chicken has a history that is as unusual as the chicken is delicious. The first year my parents were married, they were going to spend the first days of Pesach in Boston. They woke up on Erev Pesach to find that it had snowed (no, that isn’t a typo!) so much, that they were unable to make the trip from New York. Suddenly, they had to prepare for two seders, and two days of Yom Tov in one day, in a snowstorm. My mother ran to the corner grocery, and saw some nice fresh zucchini on sale. She bought a couple of them, and made this delicious chicken. She has served it every Pesach since then, for the Seder. Any talk of making any other dish would lead to a serious protest. This chicken has a wonderful aroma, that my family and I associate with the Pesach Seder. Best of all, it is super easy to make.

Shopping list

From the produce section:
Onions (11)
Fresh ginger
Carrots
Oranges (1), juice
1 small butternut squash
3 Granny Smith apples
Potatoes
Zucchini (4)
From the aisles:
Potato starch
From the butcher:
2 pounds Swiss steak
1 whole chicken
From the wine shop:
Dry red wine
From the pantry/fridge:
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Eggs (11)

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Passover 2012) – Subscribe Now

My absolute favorite new recipe – this creamy coleslaw is a versatile beautiful staple at my table. To make it dairy use Temp Tee Whipped Cream Cheese to make it pareve and kosher for Pesach just eliminate the cream cheese and instead add an additional 1/3 cup of mayo. To make it pareve year round use soy cream cheese or sour cream. Use lemon juice or white or apple cider vinegar and use full fat or light mayo. See? I told you! This easiest and prettiest recipe woks with what you’ve got on hand. And people always, always, always! ask me for the recipe. Enjoy and Happy Passover.

Got coleslaw tips? Share ‘em here, now!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored video as part of a partnership with Temp Tee Whipped Cream Cheese. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Squash often gets a bad rap with both kids and parents but once they discover spaghetti squash, they gain a whole new appreciation for these versatile winter vegetables.

The vitamin-rich, high-fiber squash is the perfect way to get your noodle-loving children to develop a love of vegetables. When you scrape the flesh with a fork, it naturally gives way to long, thin strands that resemble pasta. Children also love the bright yellow color. Perfect for Passover and gluten-free eaters, spaghetti squash with a simple tomato sauce is a terrific dish to add to your weekly repertoire all year long.

Kids as young as 4 years old can use a butter knife or plastic knife to mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms and dice the zucchini. They can also wash, dry and rip up the fresh herbs. Kids 8 years old and up can open the canned tomatoes with a can opener.

So get your kids and get cooking.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Vegetable Sauce

Click here for more ideas to cook with your kids.

First Episode of Joy of Israel  – my new food and travel show – is underway!  We spent the 36 hours in the Golan sledding on the Hermon and Cooking up Israeli cowboy food at a kibbutz/ranch.  Oh and I road a horse for the first time in about 25 years!!!

Check out this behind-the-scenes photo album from the shoot.

Photo Album link HERE.

I made a new friend at the gas station on the way up north.  Check it out.

What’s the most interesting thing you ever saw at a gas station or on the side of the road on a road trip?

Pineapple is great eaten fresh, added to fruit platters or salads, grilled on its own, or cut into tiny chunks with hot pepper for salsa.  Peel pineapple by cutting off both tops. Stand the pineapple on a cutting board. Run your knife along the sides of the pineapple to remove peel completely. You can use a melon baller or edge of potato peeler to remove any remaining parts of the peel.

Radishes. There are five types of radishes: Red Globe, Black, Daikons, White Icicles and California Mammoth White. They are all fat free, cholesterol free, and full of vitamin C.

Jicama is also known as a Mexican potato or turnip. The flesh of jicama is 90% water and is a great source of fiber and vitamin. You can store jicama in a cool dry place and it will last for a few months.  Jicama is a sweet, crunchy root vegetable that can be eaten raw, jicama is great in salads, soups and on vegetable platters. Jicama is popular in Mexican cuisine. Choose jicama that is medium-sized with dried roots. Full of vitamin C, 46 calories and 6 grams of fiber per cup, jicama has many health benefits as well.

Mangos are one of the most consumed fruit in the world. They are versatile and can be served alone or in salads, desserts, appetizers, fish, chicken or meat dishes.  When unripe, the amount of vitamin C increases, and when ripe the amount of vitamin A increases.

A plantain is a firmer version of a banana, but isn’t as sweet (lower sugar content). Yellow plantains are a bit sweeter, and green plantains are starchier. They are treated very similarly to potatoes and are a staple food in tropical regions. Plantains are considered a carbohydrate, but contain less carbs than yams or rice and are fat free as well. Steamed, broiled, grilled, fried and baked, plaintains are even ground into flour and happen to be gluten free.

Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable, and are sodium and cholesterol free. An avocado has only 5 grams of fat per serving, and the fat is mostly monounsaturated (the good kind of fat). 90% of the world’s avocados are produced in California.  Besides for its creamy texture and awesome flavor, avocado is nutritious and provides one with healthy fats that are essential for a healthy body. Monounsaturated fat can help lower cholesterol when used in place of saturated fat, and the vitamin K, potassium, folate, vitamin C and E in avocado help lower cholesterol as well. Avocado is great in tartares, salads, soups and even used in some baking recipes. There are hundreds of varieties of avocado, some with smooth and some with bumpy skin. Test for ripeness by putting some pressure on an avocado. If it is too firm it is not ripe, but if it is too mushy it is too ripe.

Enjoy these recipes seasonal recipes:

Spaghetti Squash Pineapple Kugel

Spaghetti Squash Pineapple Kugel

Jicama Radish Salad

Guacamole with Plantain Chips

To get the recipes for the Pineapple Chutney, Pineapple Crisp, Tuna Tartare, and Mango Sorbet order Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Bitayavong Spring 2012)  – Order here.

As seen in Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Bitayavon Spring 2012) – Subscribe Now

Passover is an inspiring celebration of Jewish history, tradition and family memories.  Attached to the spirituality of Pesach however, is the frantic pace of preparation that is often pushed to the extreme.  Our motors start running the day after Purim when we’re able to start cleaning for Passover; when we spend enormous amounts of money on specialty foods to take the place of much craved chometz; and when we turn our homes upside down while getting the kitchen ready.

This zealous preparation has become a tradition all its own.  In spite of the fervent planning, preparing and celebrating though, the anxiety and stress do not have to accompany the more conventional traditions of this Festival of Freedom.  Instead, you can incorporate some serenity….

The beauty of the Hagaddah is that we are free to interpret and vary it as creatively as we choose.  There’s no rule that tells guests to sit around the dining room table crammed next to each other while reading.  Instead, sit leisurely around the living room, relaxed on the couches and easy chairs, or sprawled across the floor.  Remember one of the four questions asks why we sit leaning…and the answer is that we can finally relax because we are no longer slaves in Egypt.

So relax…ritual has already dictated most of our menu for the Passover seders.  Not much room for creativity to fill the seder plate except for the ingredients in charoses… traditionally made from wine, cinnamon, chopped nuts and apples though I often replace the last two ingredients with mangoes and dates.  So far things are easy.  Likewise, the festive meal doesn’t vary much from year to year at our house either.

After the two seder nights, the pace might pick up a bit for the six days and nights of Chol Hamo’ed meals which must be planned for.  The Festival of Freedom takes on new meaning when it’s discussed in the context of your kitchen.  Therefore, as we welcome in Pesach, we can choose to free ourselves from the heavy baggage of unnecessary groceries, free ourselves from the frantic need to buy prepared foods, to imitate the meals we prepared during the rest of the year laden with excess sauces, gravies and fillers.  Instead, turn toward the basics of good, healthy eating.

The idea of dieting or eating healthy is built into the Jewish calendar two times each year.  Yom Kippur teaches us that eating (much) less is manageable, and Pesach teaches us that eating differently is an option, too.  You’ve already cleaned the house out; your pantry and fridge are free from chometz.  Like a new year’s resolution, now it’s up to you to continue to choose the right foods.

So un-stress yourself for the Chol Hamo’ed meals.  Focus on frivolous-free foods for the week.  The week’s menu is easily planned and bellies are filled to satisfaction with just the basics; no factory made packaged meals or prepared side dishes are cluttering your kitchen.  Serve these dishes with fresh vegetables for a well-balanced meal.

Passover is also a great time to go out to dinner – simply because the ballabusta of the house might want a night away from the kitchen.  You’d be surprised to find out that at Abigael’s on Broadway, I stick to a contemporary menu during the holiday, with most of our classic favorites.

So instead of being tied to your shopping cart and enslaved in your kitchen, enjoy the freedom from spending too much in the grocery stores for readymade foods.  Enjoy the pleasure in knowing that you now have an opportunity to feed your family with healthier, smarter choices.  Enjoy preparing delicious lamb chops during this festive week and any other time of the year in the recipe that follows.

Braised Lamb Chops

I’d like to make a pre-Passover confession and get it out of the way right now.  Somewhere between the third and fourth cup of wine, I switch to grape juice.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love wine, but the stress of seder night, a roomful of guests, a sinkful of dishes and a hallway full of kids is not how I like to enjoy the fruit of the vine.  I also don’t like to drink wine leaning in any direction at all.

But I do take time to carefully select the right bottle to kick off the seder so I hope my first glass of kosher wine for Passover will be the best wine of the night.  It’s the wine we use to celebrate our Kiddush and a milestone to the hard work and blessings that brought our family together around the seder table yet again.

I switch to grape juice toward the end of the night because at midnight, after 2 or 3 glasses of wine, I couldn’t really tell the difference between a $15 bottle and a $50 bottle and that’s just not fair to the winemaker who planted, pruned and picked the grapes I’m supposed to enjoy on this special night.

When you choose your special bottle to start the Passover seder, it’s not necessarily about choosing the most expensive wine, but you want to choose a wine of unique quality.  It’s nice to have a wine cellar, but it’s even nicer to be sitting around a table with people who are able to share the experience of a great wine, that may stretch your budget but exceed your expectations.

Here are a few kosher for Passover wine recommendations that would be a great way to celebrate your Passover holiday seder this year.

2009 Ruhlman Gewurtzaminer (Alsace); $17.  Violet and rose aromas, mineral notes and a lingering tropical finish.  This is a complex white with the right balance of acidity and richness to pair well with turkey, veal or other flavorful light meats. A wonderful find and one of my new faves!

2010 Harkham Select Shiraz (Hunter Valley); N/A.  Six months in French oak yields a surprisingly complex wine for this select/reserve bottling, showing dark fruits, cocoa spice and a rich, long finish.  If you’ve sworn off the varietal, it’s time to try again and see the promise and potential of Australian Shiraz.

2009 Carmel Single Vineyard Merlot (Israel); $24.  A delicious wine from the Sha’al Vineyard, it was aged in oak barrels for 10 months. The wine is deep in color, with a rounded, supple aroma of plums and ripe berries.  Full flavored with a smooth, velvety finish.

2010 Barkan Tzafit, Assemblage (Judean Hills); $29.  I was initially intrigued by the blend of 53% Marselan (a cross between a Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache), 20% Caledoc (a cross between Malbec and Grenache), 15% Pinotage and 12% Carignan.  Aged in oak for 10 months, the wine has an aroma of chocolate and morning dew with soft tannins with a slightly tart finish.

2010 Shiloh Legend (Judean Hills); $35.  A blend of Shiraz (45%), Petite Syrah (40%), Petite Verdot (9%), Merlot (6%), aged for 8 months in French oak barrels separately, and an additional 8 months after blending.  This is a deep dark red with black fruit aromas and an aroma of cocoa, leather and mint with a full, lingering finish.  You’ll be fighting with Elijah for the last glass!

A happy and healthy Pesach to everyone and be sure to share your first glass with us at Joy of Kosher

Ah, the Passover seder. A family time! So much anticipation… such a big event… so rich with tradition… so…boring?

It sure can be. With a long meal that takes forever to actually start, a virtual prayer book that you have to get through, and potentially adults and children of all ages who need to be engaged, entertained, and, let’s face it, fed, it’s no wonder the seder can sometimes seem to be more of a burden than a pleasure. But it doesn’t have to be; in fact it shouldn’t. It just takes a bit of thought and planning.

First of all, whether or not you are making the whole thing, sharing the efforts with others, or simply going as a guest, you would do well to plan – or delegate the planning – especially if you’ll have your children with you. By the way, it doesn’t make much of a difference if your child is 4 or 40…

To plan the seder you have to take a good look at who’s going to be there. Now, it might be too late for this, but you can file this thought away for next year: not every configuration of people works. Like if your family consists of rambunctious little kids and you join your friends who have a bunch of surly teenagers, you just might have a hard time making everyone happy.

Level of observance is a big one too. A traditional conservadox family might not necessarily be the best match to have seder with a very religious, orthodox family.  That’s not to say it couldn’t work; it’s all about expectations and planning.

Here are a few things we have done over the years, or adopted as a regular tradition, that has kept our children happy over a span of many years of Pesach seders and hopefully many more to come:

• Toys at the table – You heard me. Our table is always set with special props that help the children ‘experience’ the Exodus for themselves. Such as the ten plagues (nowadays you can go into any Judaica store around Pesach and buy a ‘ten-plague kit’). Or little baby Moshe in a basket. These items can be used for little impromptu tossing (ping-pong balls make great ‘barad’ or hail and are Oh-so-fun to throw around the room!) or for the kids to simply play with to keep them happy and interested.

• Little treats – I grew up with strict seder rules: No eating until we get to the part with the matzah. That’s all fine and dandy for those who are old enough to wait.  But for little ones, or for those who have a hard time following rules… (ahem… me…) treats serve many purposes. Whether it’s a bag of chocolate chips doled out one at a time for correct answers to questions or participating in a discussion, or larger candies or other treats, believe me, these little candies are well worth having. In fact even for those who are not going to eat them until later, collecting them and trying to amass the biggest pile is incentive as well. So little candies: have them at your seder.

• Games – There’s no need for me to enumerate the endless number of possible games, trivia quizzes and the like that you can do at the seder. In fact, go ahead and google “seder activities” and you will get a nearly endless supply of results. What I will tell you is they WORK. I always have a number of games up my sleeve to appeal to the many aged people at my seder and I pull them out whenever there is a lull, or people start to lose focus. Just to throw out a few ideas, charades, twenty-questions and trivia are easy go-to options… and they are better if you bother to look them up and print out questions and answers in advance!

• Re-enactments – Have your children make a play! Whether you go all out like my sister has done, hanging blue tablecloths on the walls with colorful fish for the Splitting of the Red Sea, or like my friends who make pyramids and Phaarohs and totally decorate, or allow the children to create something more spontaneous during the seder, these activities engage the children and allow them to really internalize the story about which  they are celebrating.
  

• Let everyone participate! – I remember the first seder I went to where participants took turns reading the Haggadah aloud, and read it in their choice of Hebrew or English. When you get to a song, sing it! If people of different backgrounds are in attendance, take turns singing the songs each grew up with. What a difference it makes when everyone feels a part of the seder!
  

• One seder beats two… – Last but not least, there’s nothing like Pesach in Israel where you put all of your energies into one awesome night… Try it someday J

Have a Sweet Week this Passover with amazing desserts brought to us from the folks at the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts, the kosher cooking school in Brooklyn, NY.  CKCA’s pastry chefs got in the kitchen to create these non-gebrokts Passover desserts special for Joy of Kosher readers. During the final tasting, CKCA director Jesse Blonder exclaimed, ‘These are the best Pesach desserts I’ve ever had—hands down.”

Passover Chocolate Nut Spice Cake

This is an exceptionally moist, really different kind of Passover cake. It takes a little work, but it’s worth it. You will need a 9-inch springform pan, a baking sheet, a box grater, and a food processor. I use a hand-held beater for the egg whites, but of course you can use a stand mixer. The cake can be made one or more days in advance.

Italian Meringue Coffee Dacquoise

These delightful Italian meringue layers are baked on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Trace two 8-inch circles on the paper with a pencil, and then turn the paper over. You may either pipe the meringue into the circles through a pastry tube, or simply use an offset spatula to spread it into the circles. The meringues can be made a day or two in advance and stored in plastic bags.

Passover Choclate Lava Cake Dessert

Passover Coconut Macaroons

Orange Lemon Sponge Cake

Contributed by The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts featuring Lynn Kutner

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine Passover 2012 – Subscribe Now

The Passover count down has officially begun. In the coming weeks we will all be busy cleaning our homes and planning our menus. For many that’s the easy part, but I have a confession to make, it’s not so easy for me.  I honestly have no clue how to clean. In my family we all stick to what we are good at, and I suppose for me, that’s crafting.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a great cook and I love to experiment in the kitchen, but I think I’ll pass on the sponge and broom for now.

What I love about this tablescape that you are about to see, is that anyone can really create it! These DIY Passover crafts are so incredibly simple; incorporating everyday items that you find in your home with inexpensive products that can be purchased at your local craft store.

Craft #1 Place Settings

Supplies:

Wooden Clothes Pin

Double Stick Tape

Washi Paper Tape (Easily found at any craft store)

Ribbon

Stapler

Scrapbook Label or Tag

Directions:

-Take your Washi Tape and stick them to your clothes pins.  If you don’t have tape then you can just as easily color them with markers or paint.

-Write the person’s name on your scrapbook label or tag. You can also make these tags with regular paper and scissors with fun edges.

- Cut a small piece of ribbon and staple it to the side of your tag.

- Attach the tag to the clothespin with double stick tape.

You can now attach your place setting craft to a folded napkin or anywhere else on your holiday table.

Craft #2 Chargers

It’s not Passover in my house without the coffee cake. I buy boxes upon boxes of mixes from Manischewitz year after year. I came up with this great upcycling craft to repurpose the items that I would normally just throw out.

Supplies:

Leftover food containers or boxes like Manischewitz

Oak tag paper

Mod Podge

Sponge

Tissue Paper

Aluminum Tin

Directions:

-Cut up your left over boxes and tissue paper and put it into an aluminum tin

-Trace circles about 12” round onto your oak tag paper. I just traced a normal charger that I had at home for the shape I wanted. Cut them out. I found that I could get (2) charges for every (1) oak tag I purchased.

- Using the Mod Podge spread a thick layer onto the oak tag circles. Lay down the tissue paper and box scraps all over. Create a beautiful design. Seriously do not worry about what it will look like. No matter what – they will be great! It’s so easy my boys joined in with me to do this craft!!

- Let dry for 12 hours.

These make a great charger for your kids table!! And don’t you just LOVE these adorable Chocolate covered locust treats from Zelda’s Sweet shoppe? Perfect for those hungry little kids to munch on during the Seder!

Craft #3 Pesach Washing Station

Supplies:

Leftover matzah box

Scissor

Hebrew Stencil (optional)

Wooden Clothes Pin

Double Stick Tape

Washi Paper Tape (Easily found at any craft store)

Ribbon

Stapler

Directions:

-Open the left over matzah box so that it lies flat on the table.

-With a stencil or free hand cut out the words Pesach or Passover

-Take your Washi Tape and stick them to your clothes pins. If you don’t have tape then you can just as easily color them with markers or paint.

- Cut a small piece of ribbon and staple it to the side of your letters.

- Attach the letters to the clothespin with double stick tape

-You can now attach your Passover/Pesach letters to a towel basket by your sink or even let them stick out of your floral arrangement!

Whatever you do this Passover to enhance your holiday ambience, may it be making these simple crafts or creating a lavish floral tablescape like this one featured here from Papaya Events, just remember to laugh, breathe, and soak up those special family moments that are shared during this Yom Tov season.

The Seder Plate, Matzah Container, and Seder Glasses are available for purchase at Not2shabbey.com

BIO Abbey: I’m Abbey, a visual artists and shabby chic lover. Almost everything I come in contact with inspires me. I get new ideas for designs all the time, and wishes that there was an endless amount of time to just create! Follow me on my blog not2shabbey.com,  Facebook and Twitter for updates on new goodies, giveaways, contests, and special promotions.

Papaya Events is a full scale event production and floral decor company, specializing in weddings and large affairs. They also have a boutique flower shop offering magnificent floral arrangements and bouqets to enhance your home.

PHOTO CREDITS – SHAYNA PUNIM CHILDREN AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY

When I’m planning my passover dessert menu the first thought that comes to mind is back to basics. Food the way it is meant to be eaten. Fresh and unmarred, good clean baking with limited ingredients. A chance to get creative and to use what is available. It is amazing what creations can be discovered when simplifying the possible components. Instead of concentrating on crusts and cakes, the focus is on rich custards, and creams. Smooth silky concoctions offset by crisp berries and juicy seasonal fruits. Sticky Fudge made with dark chocolate and roasted nuts.

Cream Cheese Fudge and White Chocolate Ganache

Passover is an eight day holiday on which the Jewish people remember the redemption from Egypt. The Israelites left Egypt in such a hurry that the bread for the journey didn’t have enough time to rise, because of this we do not eat Chametz or any leaven bread on Passover. This includes grain, and almost all processed foods unless it is certified kosher for passover. There is a custom that during passover we don’t offer our guests food because of the many different opinions of what is permissible and what is prohibited to eat on passover, we don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable if they must refuse our invitation. Instead guests may be free to feel at home and to help themselves.

Flourless Pound Cake with Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Our family abstains from most processed food except for chocolate and dairy products. We eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, meats and dairy. Homemade applesauce is a family favorite as well as fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning. I adore dairy desserts and fill my menu with laborious confections such as Tiramisu and mouth watering ice creams and Parfaits. Taking my time in the kitchen, folding together the light fluffy mousse and licking the spoon covered in sweet cream cheese. Another favorite, effortless and decadent dessert is chocolate covered matzah with whipped cream cheese and homemade preserves.

Lemon and Berry Cream Cheese Parfait

Passover is a time to spend with family and friends. Reflecting on overcoming our personal boundaries, simplifying our lives and homes. Getting back to basics and remembering what is really important. The first step is looking deeper into what we eat. Real food made in our own kitchens. Feeding our loved ones thoughtfully. Seeing the smile on their faces while sitting together enjoying the holiday.