A Simple and Delicious Summery Shabbat Treat!

July means berry season, and what better way to use this tasty summer produce than by making a sweet treat for Shabbat?

No-Bake Berry Cheesecake

1 lb. cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
8 oz. whipped topping
1 graham cracker crust
blueberries, strawberry halves

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice until well blended. Stir in two cups of the whipped topping. Refridgerate for several hours. Before serving spread remaining topping over the cake and decorate with fresh berries!

Enjoy this recipe? Kar-Ben's "My Very Own Jewish Calendar" is filled with fun facts, recipes, activities, and more!

Recipe: Make Your Own Chocolate Hanukkah Gelt

Make your own gelt this year for Hanukkah with this kid-friendly recipe from the new cookbook Maccabee Meals. With eight different menus for creative Hanukkah parties, order your copy in time for Hanukkah.

 

Treats for Hanukkah with Maccabee Meals

It is already November, and Hanukkah is just around the corner. The first candle is on December 8 this year (next year Hanukkah begins on Thanksgiving!). People are already in Hanukkah event and party planning mode, if the number of repins on our Pinterest are any indication! 

Looking for new ideas this year? Check out Kar-Ben’s cookbook Maccabee Meals, which features over 30 recipes and many explanations that are sure to add a kick to your celebrations. Learn how to make all sorts of latkes, cookies, salads, and sides. Try this recipe from Maccabee Meals for your next Hanukkah Celebration! This is a great project for kids!


Alef-Bet Pretzels
Ingredients
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 c. warm water
3 c. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
Kosher salt
Margarine or oil spray

1. In a bowl, dissolve yeast in water.
2. Add flour, sugar, and salt and work into a dough.
3. Cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
5. Grease cookie sheet.
6. Divide dough into pieces the size of a golf ball. Dust hands with flour. Roll dough into sausages and shape into the letters on the dreidel.
7. Place on cookie sheet, brush with egg mixture, and sprinkle with salt.
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until brown.


Enjoy Maccabee Meals during the festival of lights and B’Tayavon (Bon appetite)!

Win a copy by posting your favorite Hanukkah treat in the comments here or at our Facebook page. A winner will be selected at random.

The Secret to Great Matzah Balls with Recipe

Like any comfort food, everyone has a different favorite way to enjoy matzah balls. Some cooks like to make them large, small, densely packed, light enough to float, with schmaltz, boiled in broth and everything in between. Just about every cook has a secret or two for making "the best" matzah balls.

My husband's grandmother, Elisabeth (but to him, Oma) had the secret that I like best out of all the ones I've read or heard about. Slight in stature, making matzah balls in a large pot required a step ladder. She would climb it and watch the tender dumplings as they cooked, talking to them about how they would be perfectly delicious before she covered and simmered them.

How do you like your matzah balls best? What is your secret for making them delicious?

E-Z Matzah Balls

What you need:
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup matzah meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water

bowl
measuring cup and spoons
fork, spoon
plastic wrap
large pot with cover
pot holder
timer
What you do:
1. Mix oil and eggs together in a bowl.
2. Add matzah meal and salt. Mix well. Add water and mix again.
3.Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
4. Fill a large pot with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
5. Wet your hands and take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. Drop into boiling water. Reduce heat to a slow boil. Cook covered for 30-40 minutes.
6. Remove from water and serve in chicken soup.

(from Matzah Meals, A Passover Cookbook for Kids by Judy Tabs and Barbara Steinberg)

How to Get Moving

First Lady Michelle Obama recently made an announcement about a new campaign we can all get excited about. It's called Let's Move, and it's based on four principles: encouraging children and families to make healthier food choices, improving the quality of foods in our schools, make healthier, more affordable food available to across the nation, and educate children about the importance of physical activity.


Adults can learn a thing or two from this program as well! For me, the easiest way to eat healthier was to shop at local farmers markets during the summer and fall. I can get affordable, fresh, locally-grown produce. I'm inspired to cook new dishes and look forward to the return of my favorite fruits and vegetables that are in abundance at various times of the season.

A simple way to get kids excited about new foods is to invite them into the kitchen to cook with you! Little hands can help out with basic tasks like as kneading your challah dough for Shabbat, mixing the charoset at Passover, or picking out apples to serve at Rosh Hashanah. Kids learn how to make traditional foods and even the pickiest kids will be curious to try new dishes if they see how they're made.

Check out Matzah Meals and Tasty Bible Stories for easy, kids-friendly recipes with a Jewish twist!

That takes care of the food portion of Let's Move. The physical activity part isn't so easy!

Alef-Bet Yoga for Kids combines yoga poses with the letters of the Hebrew Alef-Bet. Kids use their imaginations and their bodies to form Hebrew letters. Alef-Bet yoga can be done indoors as well as outdoors and it doesn't require more than a book and some floor space.

Sometimes, all it takes is some music to get you moving! Rabbi Joe Black's book Boker Tov! includes a CD with his catchy tune about waking up and getting ready for the day. Perfect for slow movers, sleepyheads, and grownups on the days when coffee isn't enough.

Does your class or family practice Alef-Bet yoga? Do you have any ideas of how to integrate Let's Move into your Jewish home or classroom? Send us your photos and we'll post them on our blog and Facebook page!