Shehecheyanu & Strawberry Applesauce

The sun went down and the day turned to night. While it was dark outside, around the globe Jewish people were illuminating the world by lighting the first Chanukah candles.

With latkes sizzing in the pan, our family gathered to light the menorah for the first time this year. Levi and Shalom began by singing the first bracha, blessing, for the menorah. The first blessing thanks Hashem for giving us this special Mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah candles. They then continued on to recite the blessing which thanks Hashem for the miracles He performed for our people so many years ago - as well as for the miracles we see around us on a daily basis! The third blessing, "shehecheyanu", is the blessing said when we do a Mitzvah for the first time during the year, hence it is said on the first night of Chanukah, or on whichever night one lights candles for the first time on Chanukah.

We say, "blessed are You, Hashem, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion."

What a beautiful blessing this is! Amidst the fun of Chanukah, the pretty lights, the chocolate coins, the yummy latkes, the fluffy doughnuts, the dreidel games and of course the Chanukah gelt we give to our children, we take a moment and thank G-d for bringing us to this moment. Recently whenever I say this bracha it is a reminder to me of how truly blessed I really am. It reminds me of how lucky we really are that here we are once again, being afforded the opportunity to light the menorah and remember the miracles of long ago - and for this I am truly grateful.

We must recognize the importance of each moment that Hashem grants us, and follow the example of the flames on the menorah, and use these moments to light up the world. If G-d has chosen for me to be here today, then I must do my best to do good things and make this world a better place! Take each day and celebrate the beautiful miracle it is!

Happy Chanukah!

Last night we enjoyed our first latkes for Chanukah with strawberry applesauce. When I lived in my aunt's house in Brooklyn, she would make delicious strawberry applesauce, and this year I decided to do the same! This one is super easy!

Wash fresh strawberries and place in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse a few times until the strawberries are processed and smooth. Add a jar of plain applesauce to the bowl and pulse a few more times until well blended. Chill in the fridge and enjoy!

Kreplach in Chicken Soup

Yom Kippur is almost here and my house is abuzz. Challah dough rising on the counter, lots and lots of chicken baking in the oven and two honey cakes are baking in the other oven - filling my house with a delicious scent of cinnamon. Levi kindly offered to go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients necessary for making the rest of our pre Yom Kippur meal - and so I have a few minutes to think and reflect..and share a recipe with you.

One of the foods I will be making will be "kreplach". What are kreplach you might ask? Kreplach resemble wontons and are filled with chopped chicken mixture and then either boiled, fried or baked - and are traditonaly eaten in chicken soup.

Believe it or not, I have eaten kreplach before Yom Kippur for years and years and years, but somehow never quite thought to ask why we eat them. So today I did a little researching on the matter. On a very simple level, the meat (chicken) inside of the kreplach symbolizes the severity of judgement - while the white dough on the outside symbolizes G-d's mercy. As we prepare for Yom Kippur by eating a special meal, we symbolically "cover" the severity with kindness. When we eat the kreplach it reminds us to ask of Hashem to sugarcoat anything harsh that may G-d forbid be in store and to envelope those things with mercy and kindness.

They can also serve as a reminder to each of us of how to deal with the people around us. They can remind us that instead of being quick to judge those we love and we could judge others favorably. Instead of reacting to the ones with love with harsh words, we can do our best to use kindness and passion. When Hashem sees us treating others in this fashion, I have no doubt that He will judge us favorably as well!

May it be the will of Hashem that each and every one of us be blessed and sealed for a wonderful year filled only with health and happiness and joy! May blessings be showered upon us with reckless abandon and may the only tears we cry be tears of joy and may we merit to see the coming of Moshiach in the very near future!

Gemar chatima tova!!!

Kreplach

Wonton wrappers
Cooked chicken  (I will use the chicken from my chicken soup.)
Oil
A small onion, minced
Salt
Pepper


Sautee the onion in a little bit of oil. Add in the cooked chicken (shredded or chopped) and season with salt and pepper (I might add some garlic too.) Sautee until just starting to slightly brown and remove from the pan. Place a small amount of the chicken mixture on a square wonton wrapper and fold over to form a triangle. Seal with the edges with a little bit of water. 

To cook: Either drop them into a pot of salted, boiling water, fry them  or bake until crisp at about 400 degrees. 

Enjoy!

(Photo credit to my cousin Rashi Weiss.)

Split Pea Soup

Coming home from work hungry as always, I reached into my fridge to grab some of the split pea soup I made for dinner last night. While delicious, it is hard for me to eat this soup without tears falling from my eyes. My recipe for split pea soup is a fairly new addition to my family's meals - and it is one of my favorites from my cousin Rashi Minkowicz, of blessed memory. 

I have tried over the past four weeks to write this post - and each time I find that I am unable to put my thoughts into actual words - but I have decided that today I will put my thoughts "onto paper", as a letter to my incredible cousin. 

Dear Rashi, 

To begin with, I want you to know how lucky I feel to have been able to see you on Monday night, March 10. When Mushky told me she was trying to video chat with your beautiful daughters, Henya and Tonia, I told her that was fine. A few minutes later Mushky came to tell me it wasn't working - and I guess I was having a lazy moment, and so I told her that we could try again another day. But then Rashi, you started sending me messages to hurry up and get the chat working because your girls were anxiously waiting to see Mushky. I relented, got up off the couch and headed to my computer. I clicked here and there and lo and behold, there you were holding your cute son Alter. You had this huge smile on your face, and the excitement could be seen in both of our homes as we set our girls up for a chat. We smiled at each other, we said hello and marveled about how fun it was for our girls to see each other - and then we each walked away from the computer. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would see you, how could I have known that the very next night you would suddenly be called to heaven? But thank you! Thank you for insisting that I get the video chat working. 

While I am thanking you, I should thank you for the huge role you have played in my life. With 6 brothers, I always felt like you were my older sister which I didn't have. Throughout the years you taught me so much, and have done so very much for me. I have this funny memory of you sitting on my bed with me in Berel and Breindy's house when we were both there for school - and you made a puppet show of sorts with your toes - I thought you were so cool and funny! The truth is, that you always knew that one shouldn't take life too seriously - you knew that there is always a place for fun. 

When I found out that baby number three was on the way, and I was too tired to move, I shared my news with you, and asked you (a mom of 8!) how I could manage to go to work, run my Chabad house activities and take care of my home as well as Mushky and Shalom. You were so excited for me and also let me know that if you could manage your life, I could manage my life. You taught me that when things seem hard, one still continues on. 

In December when we finally! came to visit your family in Alpharetta, I remember marveling at how you had a whole bunch of kids playing with playdo right on your dining room table - I couldn't believe how brave you were! You reminded me of the importance of allowing our kids to do messy things, even when it's a pain to clean it up. 

When I needed advice, or needed a recipe I always knew I could always count on you to help me. You were always an incredibly giving person - and that is yet another lesson that I carry with me in my life . Along the way you helped me out in so many situations, and for this I will be forever grateful. 

I also want you to know that while you are no longer here with us physically, you live on in our hearts and souls and actions. Each week when I host Torah and Tea, I think about you. Each time I think about rescheduling an event when things get hectic, I remember that you would never consider this to be an option - and always managed to pull everything off, no matter how busy or crazy your day was. 

Rashi, you were a shining example of how one should live their life - and I hope that I could somehow manage to accomplish just a fraction of what you were able to accomplish. And please know, that I will be there for Hirshy and your 8 wonderful children. I will do whatever it is that I can to help them as they bravely continue to live their lives. (And don't you worry - I will most certainly make sure to send Hirshy the link to the clothing labels I promised to send you.)

Dearest Rashi, I miss you terribly and I pray for  a time when we will see you once again with the coming of Moshiach, may be it be very soon!

With lots of love, 

Rashi 

Split Pea Soup

Canola oil

Carrots, diced

Onions, diced

Celery, diced

Fresh parsley, chopped

Fresh dill, chopped

Fresh garlic, minced

1 bag split peas

Salt

Pepper

Water or chicken stock

Heat some oil in a pot. Add carrots, onions, celery and garlic and sautee until slightly soft. Then add fresh herbs. Then add water and the package of split peas. Season and bring to a boil - then simmer until soup thickens and the split peas break down to create a thick soup. 

Nish Nash Salad

A day doesn't go by that a blog post pops into my brain...the problem is that I never get around to transferring the post from brain to blog. Today I decided it was time to get this post transferred..been meaning to post it for a  year.

One year ago today, my uncle Shaya, of blessed memory, passed away. My uncle was an incredible individual. He was a dreamer and a doer - when he wanted to accomplish something, he didn't let anything get in his way. My uncle and has family have always been a very big part of my life. Growing up, Shaya was a big part of my family. Shaya together with his wife Goldie and my cousins Henya and Yossel, would come visit us many times during the year - and they always came for Rosh Hashanah. Shaya was the Chazan for Rosh Hashanah services for 20+ years at Chabad of Tidewater. When Shaya and Goldie opened their own Chabad House in Harlem, I truly missed hearing his voice as we went through the Rosh Hashanah tefillot. The tunes he sang are the ones that still play in my head on Rosh Hashanah.  Shaya was a lively individual with a great love for life and even greater love for sharing Torah with those around him. Shaya has certainly left his mark on the world - and left it a better place. While a year has gone by, and we still miss him dearly, his memory lives on. It lives on in the beautiful, vibrant Chabad House in Harlem. It lives on in the form of stories our family still shares with each other. It lives on through the lives of the many, many people Shaya touched during his life.

As you may know, our 8 month old son was named for Shaya. We hope that our beautiful baby will grow up to me an incredible individual just like his great uncle Shaya.

The Shabbat after he passed away, I decided to do a little asking around of my cousins and try to pin down what some of his favorite foods were. That Shabbat "Nish Nash Salad" graced our table as we shared stories and memories. This is my interpretation of this salad.


Nish Nash Salad

1 bag shredded cabbage or cole slaw mix
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Sugar
Lemon juice
1/2 bag Nish Nish Crackers

Empty bag of cabbage into a large bowl. Season with mayonnaise, a little bit of mustard, a little salt, pepper, garlic and a little sugar and a few squirts of lemon juice. Mix well. Add crackers to salad just before serving and mix well. Enjoy!