When I need to go to the grocery store, I try to go during work and school hours so that it is not crowded. Following these guidelines, I never have to wait to checkout at my grocery store of choice. This week has been quite a different story. Finding a parking spot was a challenge - and each and every register in the store had a line to wait in.
Pre-Thanksgiving rush I suppose. (It's a good thing the whole neighborhood isn't preparing 3 course meals for Shabbat each week - because then my grocery store would always be full!)
As you may know, I have taken a very part time teaching job at the local Hebrew Academy. I love my job and especially love the great conversations I have with my cute third graders. With Thanksgiving approaching, I decided it was a good time for a unit on Modeh Ani. We talked about how we say Modeh Ani each and every morning in order to thank G-d for returning our souls to us - and entrusting us with another day to fill with amazing acts of goodness and kindness. We then moved on to speaking about the many wonderful blessings we have in our lives, and each student listed some of the things they thank Hashem for in their lives. The direction of our lessons then moved on to the importance of gratitude in our lives. We spoke about the importance of thanking those that help us and even wrote thank you letters to some of the important people in our lives. To culminate the unit, we read "Rivkah's First Thanksgiving" by Elsa Oken Rael - this storybook is about a little girl who explains to her immigrant family that Thanksgiving is a holiday for all Americans - and how as Jews in America their family (and all of ours too!!!) has soooo much to be thankful in this wonderful country.
Having spent a good deal of time teaching discussing gratitude with my students - I can say that I have plenty to be grateful for - things like a great husband, two cute kids, health for my family and of course the means to live a comfortable life! Along with the serious thanks - I am also grateful for whipped cream and other yummy treats!
If you are still looking for a pareve dessert to go with your turkey...here is a recipe that I found in Quick and Kosher by Jamie Gellar - hard as it may be to believe, I pretty much followed the recipe in its entirety - and it was AMAZING!
Applesauce Cake with Whipped Cream
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
12 oz. applesauce
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt (I skipped the salt - just because I always do)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar (I certainly used more of this!)
1/2 cup non-dairy whipped topping (I made a whole container)
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan. Combine the flour, sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix well. (I used a hand mixer.) Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Pipe whipped topping onto each slice before serving. Enjoy!
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