Time to PARTY!

Purim is tonight!

For my non-jewish friends out there...Purim is the holiday celebrating the events of the Book of Esther. Basically, Haman (an ancient Persian Hitler type-guy) tried to wipe us all out. He's the one that ended up dead. We survived. G-d Helped! Let's EAT!

Seriously though, Purim is one of the most FUN holidays we've got!  Kids dress up in costume (because the Miracle of Purim was hidden in natural events), we exchange gifts of food, and there's some law about getting drunk until you don't know the difference between Mordechai (the hero of the story) and Haman (the seriously bad-guy)...Please note: Judaism does not normally promote the abuse of alcohol...but I guess there's a time and a place for everything ;)

 
And, one of the best traditions  of Purim are Hamentashen.  Hamentashen are a delicious, jam filled triangular cookie that are supposed to resemble Haman's hat (or some say his ears...he must have looked like a Vulcan.)     Anyway, I'm not sure what's more fun, making them or eating them.  I used to make them with my mom...and here...is me making them with my kids...

Admittedly, not the most flattering picture...but we're all girlfriends here...

Anyway...the only drawback to Purim is that knowledge that if Purim is here...Passover is around the corner!  

For those of you who may not know, for those of us who are dedicated to creating a truly Kosher Passover, it requires about as much work and preperation as getting ready for Xmas.  That's what I always think aroud Xmas time anyway -- "I'll be doing all of that cleaning, rushing and shopping right before Passover!"  There is always so much to do and remember before Passover arrives (one month and counting!)

Thankfully, this year, I have a little help.  Rebekah of cluborganized.com has created an awesome guide to getting ready for the holiday.  It's called Make Pesach in Six Weeks, but you can certainly use it even if you only have four left to go! It's full of checklists, tips and advice so   you won't forget anything this year (like cleaning the Chumetz out of your coats!) You can read the full review of it here. Enjoy! 

And...here's one more "solution" for you...if you haven't made hamentashen yet...and still want to...this is the simplest recipe I've ever seen!

Busy Mom's Hamentashen

INGREDIENTS:

    * 1 (18.25 ounce) package moist yellow cake mix
    * 1 cup all-purpose flour
    * 2 eggs
    * 2 tablespoons water
    * 1 cup fruit preserves, any flavor

DIRECTIONS:

   1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
   2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix and flour. Stir in the eggs and water to form a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch round circles and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place a teaspoon of filling into the center of each cookie and pinch the sides to form three corners. Moisten with water if necessary.
   3. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
 

Happy Purim Everyone! To my non-jewish readers: I hope you enjoyed this little digression! Feel free to try the hamentashen - one of my friends from college makes them every year for her Xmas party!