Posts tagged as:

Passover

Playing Hookie and Sedering

by Eating Bird Food on April 20, 2011

I’m so glad you all liked the charoset recipe. Based on some of the comments I received I think I might start referring to it as “the spreadable Larabar” once Passover has ended. I think that describes it quite well!

The batch I made on Sunday is dwindling rather quickly (i.e. it’s all gone). When Isaac uses a condiment or dip, he doesn’t play around. I’m not kidding, I have to hide my hummus from him because he can polish off the whole container with 5 crackers. But, to be fair, I may take smaller bites but I’ve eaten just as much charoset as he has – it’s delicious!!

So now that I’ve updated you all on the charoset situation at our place, here’s a little recap of yesterday…

I took off work early so I could hang with Isaac before the Seder. We took advantage of the nice weather and explored Maymont, one of the prettiest parks in Richmond. If you’re ever visiting (particularly in the spring, summer or fall months) I’d highly recommend checking it out.

We stopped to smell the flowers,

maymont flower.JPG

monkeyed around

maymont trees.JPG

and shared some mango Soul Ice.

soul ice.JPG

After galavanting we came home and got ready for the Seder by preparing a dish.

Sweet and Crunchy Quinoa Salad.JPG

I searched for a recipe and decided to make this Sweet and Crunchy Quinoa Salad. Quinoa being kosher for Passover to crucial!! I doubled the recipe and left out all the oil, except for 1 tablespoon for roasting the taters. It turned out great – I loved the sweetness of the cranberries and sweet potatoes as well as the crunchiness of the scallions and pine nuts.

The Seder we attended was with Isaac’s family and their chavurah group and it was very similar to last year’s.

The Seder plate, which includes symbolic items: the shankbone, the egg, the bitter herbs, the charoset mixture and the vegetable.

Seder Plate.JPG

The matzoh.

It wouldn’t be Passover without matzoh…

or Isaac for that matter.

My friend Elle came with us too. It was her first Seder.

T’was a fun evening of celebrating the Exodus from Egypt.

Now for a couple updates:

I have a new header! If you’re reading through email or a reader click over and check it out. I’d love to hear about you think! Sam Bock illustrated/designed it and she’s awesome. If you’re on the market for design work, definitely check out her website.
I’m in the May issue of Health Magazine (pg. 12). It’s nothing big- just a note from me about an article in their April issue, but it’s still cool to see my name in there. It’s also fun because on my favorite bloggers, Jenna is featured on the same page!

Happy Thursday! Enjoy your day.

{ 26 comments }

Get Your Charoset

by Eating Bird Food on April 17, 2011

I’ve mentioned before that Isaac is Jewish. Although I’m not, I like to celebrate with he and his family. It’s been really fun for me to learn the traditions and participate. Since Passover starts today at sundown I thought it would be appropriate to share a traditional Passover dish that I have come to love – charoset.

Charoset is a sweet, brown, pebbly paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build cities in Egypt. The mixture varies depending on region. For instance, a typical recipe from Eastern Europe would include nuts, apples, cinnamon and sweet wine whereas a Sephardic recipe is thicker and contains ingredients native to the Middle East such as raisins, figs and dates.

I’ve had several different varieties and liked them all, however being the dried fruit queen that I am, I fell in LOVE the Sephardic version. Luckily I was able to snag Isaac’s mom’s recipe so I could make it myself (and share it with you)!!

matzo with charoset.JPG

Amazing Charoset

Makes about 3.5 cups so if you’re only making it for yourself, you could easily cut the recipe in half.

Ingredients

2 cups raisins
1 cup almonds (or pecans/walnuts)
4 oz dates (about 7), pitted
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
4 dried fgs
1 or 2 tbsp of sweet wine or fruit juice (I used POM juice)

Preparation

Grind dry nuts in food processor, remove and set aside.
Put the nuts, raisins, dates and figs into the food processor a little at a time and add the apple sauce and wine/juice as you grind to help keep it moving.
Pulse until the mixture looks like a coarse paste. Remove the charoset from the processor and place it in a sealed container.
Enjoy – spread onto matzoh and serve!
Refrigerate any leftovers for later use.

Charoset is traditionally served at the Passover Seder and used as a spread on matzoh but that doesn’t mean you have to be Jewish to enjoy it.

Maybe it’s the fruit and nut lover in me, but I honestly think this spread would be delicious on just about anything. I already have plans to have a big bowl of charoset oats this week and to try mixing the spread into plain yogurt. It would also be phenomenal as a spread for crackers or on a cheese plate. The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy your Monday. I have some fun posts coming up this week, including a recap of the Passover Seder dinner we are attending on Tuesday evening. Stay tuned…

{ 39 comments }

While I was out..

April 9, 2009

Sorry I’ve been absent for a couple days; I can explain. I was home sick all day Tuesday and didn’t really leave the couch, except to get my computer charger, eat, heat up water for tea, and use the neti pot (don’t knock it til you tried it.. this little pot is awesome). For some [...]