Waffles & Ice Cream For Dinner

Today we had waffles for dinner. Waffles and ice cream.

In December I learned that a friend of Shaya's was diagnosed with brain cancer. Little Caleb was a fighter and his story taught me so much through the duration of his six month battle. Sadly, Caleb was called back to his maker yesterday afternoon. 

I followed Caleb's journey closely. I cried on the bad days, smiled when I saw his radiant smile on my computer screen and marveled at the incredible strength his family has displayed through it all. 

Amidst my tears this morning I decided we would have waffles for dinner- with ice cream, and syrup. It occurred to me that life needs to be filled with fun, happy moments. We need to fill our days with happy, loving times with our families. It's ok to eat dessert for dinner- my kids loved this idea :-) It is time to embrace the messy playroom, it's a sign of life, fun and laughter. It is time to take spontaneous trips to do fun things, for one never knows for how long the opportunity will be there.

Hug the ones you love, and let them know you love them. Be kind and soften the edges that sometimes cause us to be aggravated with the ones we love. And eat waffles for dinner. With ice cream. 

Waffle Recipe

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1 tablespoon sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Ladle the batter into your waffle iron and proceed to follow your waffle iron instructions. Enjoy with ice cream and syrup. 

Shakshuka

Israel is my favorite place on earth! Which means I was double (triple?) excited when my brother (who lives in Israel) announced his engagement to a wonderful girl from Jerusalem! We are SO excited to go celebrate their wedding in the beautiful land of Israel - and my kids are over the top excited for their very first visit!

A few weeks back, my brother Levi and his bride Aidel came for a visit! We enjoyed spending time with them - and then we were in for a treat when Levi created an Israeli breakfast for all of us. We arrived at my parents' house and watched as Levi created "shakshuka". He dropped some of this and some of that in the pan and a short time later presented us with a beautiful and super tasty dish.

Mushky loved the shakshuka so much that she asked me to make it for her just as soon as I got my new kitchen loaded with pots and pans from our old house - so today (with some help from my brothers Levi and Yossi)  I made her shakshuka for dinner and it was delicious!

(Note - This is not an exact recipe - and you can put whatever you want in yours. I made it based on what i had in my house today.)


Shakshuka

Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
5 small mushrooms, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red baby peppers, diced
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
4 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Fresh parsley, chopped
Scallions, sliced

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and peppers (and any other veggies you want to throw in). When the veggies are soft, add in the crushed tomatoes and let it cook together with the vegetables. Then gently pour in each egg one at a time so it has its own space to cook. Sprinkle with salt and pepper - and any other spices such as cumin or turmeric. I cooked it uncovered on medium-high for a few minutes and then covered it and cooked it on low. Cook until the eggs have reached the desired level of doneness. Remove from the pan and sprinkle with parsley and scallions.