Coconut Cookies for Passover

It's Matzah Week! At least for some of us. My congregation just started observing the calendar that Torah to the Tribes uses so we are celebrating a little earlier than most this year. I wanted to share this cookie recipe today for those of you who are craving something sweet for this Feast but don't know what to make. Or if your Passover is still coming up I think this would be a great addition to the menu.

(Menorah lattes. An ongoing project in my life.)

I don't know if you've had a Passover cookie before, but often other than the name and the shape they bear no similarities to real cookies. They tend to be dry, crumbly, and not very good. These however are nice and chewy with a little bit of toasted coconut crispness on the edges. Since they contain no refined sugar or flour they fit with the GAPS diet and are Paleo friendly, so this should be a winner even for those on restricted diets. They don't taste like a diet cookie though; if you like coconut, this is the Passover cookie of your dreams!

You know how the best part of a coconut macaroon is the edge that got toasted? Flattening before baking makes the entire cookie that good!

You will need:
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup finely shredded coconut flakes (unsweetened)
3 tablespoons almond meal or almond flour
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (I used 100% cacao but feel free to use whatever kind  you like)

Preheat your oven to 350°.
Mix together the egg, honey, and salt until smooth. Then add in the remaining ingredients. You will end up with a sticky mixture that is not as together as a typical cookie dough. This is what you want.
Since it is so sticky you'll want to line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Scoop about two tablespoons of your dough per cookie. I ended up with 9 cookies. Then using a clean, wet hand pat your cookies until they are flat. Since they have no leavening they will stay whatever shape they are.
Bake for 14-16 minutes. Your cookies are done once the coconut is nicely toasted and golden brown. When your house starts smelling heavenly of toasted coconut it's time to take them out.
Let cool before eating.

I really like that these aren't cloyingly sweet but if that's more your thing you could add an extra tablespoon of honey.

I know the food restrictions can be a little confusing during this week. If you need a little clarity or inspiration check out these posts for more meal ideas.

Happy Feast of Unleavened Bread!

Scratch Off Omer Counter

I'm excited to share with you a new way to count the omer...with scratch offs!

Why count the omer? This is actually something we are instructed to do in Leviticus 23:15-16. The fifty days we are to count link the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Shavuot or Pentecost. This is the time period that the Messiah spent still on earth after being resurrected from the dead. What is an omer? Omer is the Hebrew word for sheaf - which is a bundle of grain. First Fruits during Matzah Week is when part of the barley harvest would be waved to YHWH, and then at Shavuot the same would be done with sheaves of wheat.

This is an easy DIY to put together since it's really just two things, a print and stickers. There is also some flexibility with how you use it. I liked the large size of this, but there's no reason you couldn't print this as an 8" x 11" in a normal printer if you would prefer. If you don't have time to order the scratch off stickers, using regular stickers to cover up the days as they go by would work. Or even just cross them off with a pen. It's up to you!

You will need:
Printable omer calendar
One inch scratch off stickers (I used gold ones from here)

Directions:
Print off the omer calendar. I got an 18" x 24" engineer print at Staples, which at $2.99 was the most cost effective option I found. The paper is thin, so it's not ideal for photographs, but works just fine for our purposes.
I used scotch tape to place my counter on the wall. You could also glue it to a foam board or attach to canvas if you prefer.
Then place your scratch off stickers above the numbers and you are set to go! Each day scratch off another sticker until we get to Shavuot.

Update: A friend told me she is going to take hers to an office supply store to get it laminated. Her plan is to mark the days with dry erase markers and use it each year!

The past couple of years of counting have brought me more than a few days where I'm not sure if I already did my omer count or not. I remember doing it, but maybe that was yesterday? Anyone else with me? So I decided to put seven days in each row to make it easier to double check. Just make note of what day you started counting on and things will add up. You could also make a habit of counting at a certain time each day or even saying the traditional blessing of, "Blessed are You, YHWH Eloheinu, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the omer."

If you look closely in the photos you may notice something is amiss. Funny story about assembling my counter: I expected to be left with one of my fifty stickers when I got done, but there were strangely two left. How could this be? Every row has seven numbers...with the exception of the second row which somehow has only six. Upon closer inspection of the photos I discovered that I had inadvertently left off day 13! I have no idea how that happened, but it is corrected in the downloadable version. Ha! 

Other ideas for counting the omer:
DIY Flair Calendar
Making a paper chain
Printable Cards from Torah Sisters Magazine
Kids Counter
Kosher on A Budget's Omer Counter
Writing the count in your planner

DIY Clay Matzah Jewelry

Here's an easy craft you can make to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

You will need:
air dry clay
paint - I used brown, white, and yellow acrylic
rolling pin
knife
fork
hot glue gun
plain pin back, barrettes, and ring

Step one: roll out your clay. How much depends on how many matzah pieces you'd like to end up with. I used about a golf ball sized piece of clay and wound up with 15 matzos. Roll to about quarter-inch thickness.

Step two: decide what size you'd like to your matzahs to be. I cut mine into roughly one inch squares, with a few bigger ones for pins. Use your knife to cut out squares. A pizza cutter might also work well. You can be as perfectionist or not as you'd like.

Step three: this is a fun part! Lightly press your fork onto each piece several times to give it that matzah texture. The holes need not go all the way through the clay and the end product will be sturdier if they don't. 

If you'd like to use your matzahs to make a necklace with, now would be a good time to poke a hole so you can string it up later.

Step four: let your matzah squares dry out. Mine were good to go the next day, but yours may vary depending on thickness and the type of clay you use. Just wait for them to be completely dry before the next step. It shouldn't take more than a few days!

Step five: when your squares are dry, it's time to paint. I mixed brown and white paint to make a shade of tan, and then used yellow and more of the dark brown, going for the golden brown look of matzah.

I started off with painting the squares tan, then adding small specks of the dark brown and splotches of yellow. This helps to mimic the speckled look of traditional matzah. If you're not happy with how one looks, just paint over it and try again!

Step six: I'm sorry but you'll have to wait one more time for these to dry. Mine were okay after a couple hours.

Once they are dry, congratulate yourself. You just made clay matzahs!

Step seven: grab your jewelry backs and hot glue gun. I painted the barrettes cream before hot gluing on the matzah, but other than that, just decide which direction you'd like your pieces to go and hot glue them into place.

Now you have matzah jewelry! Pretty easy, wasn't it?

There are many other things you can do with with these matzah pieces too. Instead of gluing to a ring or barrette you could attach them to magnets. Leave them as is for Lego sized matzah. Put pushpins on the back for your Count the Omer Flair Calendar. I'm planning on getting a picture frame and gluing these matzos around the edges for a cute decoration for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

20 Fun Ideas for the Fall Feasts

October is going to be a busy time for those of us celebrating the Feasts of YHWH. Whether you are new to the festivals or seasoned Methuselah I'm sharing some great ideas to make them extra special this year.

If you're staying at home you'll want to make a sukkah, like this one from Chai and Life.

Or you could go camping...

Sukkot foliage like palm leaves make a great table runner.
From Sugar & Cloth.

You could set this pretty table. From Sugar & Cloth.

You'll be outside a lot so be prepared for the weather with this DIY lemon (or etrog!) umbrella.

From Studio DIY.

Wear this shirt.

From Mt. Tabor Tees.

Order these cookies or get cutters to make your own version.

Make DIY stained 'glass' with your kids to teach them about the feasts.

From The Climbing Tree.

Make these easy palm leaf sticks to stir your Sukkot drinks.

From The Merry Thought.

Have friends over for a potluck dinner in your sukkah.

From Chai and Home.

How good does this apple stuffed challah look?

From Torah Sisters Magazine.

Stay warm with this DIY constellation scarf.
From A Beautiful Mess.

Share this Yom Teruah printable with a friend.

Keep the kiddos entertained with finger puppets, especially handy on Yom Kippur.

Spend time under the stars.
From The Climbing Tree.

 Get a better idea what you're looking at with this constellation map.

From Mr. Printables.

Decorate with letter balloons.

Transform any dessert with this Chag Sameach topper.
From Chai and Home.

Take a virtual tour of the Sukkah PDX exhibit from the Oregon Jewish Museum.

Take notes from this gorgeous party. Can you say #sukkahgoals?

From Love Sarah Schneider.

How will you be celebrating?

PS - I'm posting late this week so Shabbat shalom!

Music & Moonlight Yom Teruah Celebration

There are some passages in Scripture that you can just tell were written by a man. I don't mean that as an insult or a bad thing, but you know how guys sometimes don't include a lot of specifics when they tell a story? There are definitely parts of Scripture like that. I would like more details, please.

Yom Teruah is one of those 'left out the details' parts. We know more about YHWH's other festivals; instructions that lend easily to activities and menus. For Yom Teruah we aren't even told why to celebrate, though we can see the significance of its prophetic meaning. We know the Day of Sounding involves not working, lots of shofar music, and that it happens under the light of the seventh month's new moon.

Music and moonlight. Take what Scripture says and go with it.

Since it is the only festival that happens under a new moon, why not make it an evening under the stars? We need to be looking to confirm that it is the new moon anyway, since we don't know the day or hour. :) Lovely music is a happy addition to any occasion but never more appropriate than for a day known as Sounding.

The decor was super simple to put together. A 30 cent piano songbook got it's pages cut out and hot glued together for a table runner. Other pages had a single letter printed onto them (in a regular printer), were cut into triangles and glued to string to make a pretty bunting.

The goldenrod is a wildflower that is plentiful in our yard and area this time of year.

A candlelit alfresco dinner with string music. What could be lovelier? If your family or congregation has musicians you could ask them to take turns playing. A group hymn sing would also be beautiful.

Many of us have missed the beauty of Yom Teruah for a long time. Knowing so little about this set apart day means that YHWH has more to reveal to us about it. But we need to embrace the truth of what Yom Teruah is in the Scripture. A Day of Sounding, music, and moonlight.

To be honest, it is sad that most of the traditions of this feast day get wrapped into the not Biblically based Rosh Hashanah. We aren't going to get into it, but there is no festival of YHWH in Scripture that is called Rosh Hashanah. I know it is celebrated as the Jewish new year but Scripture tells us Aviv is the first month of the year. Moving on.

That's not to say it is bad to have apples and honey. If they are in season in your part of the world, apples are a logical choice to serve as they are healthy and loved by all. Using honey to symbolize the sweetness of YHWH's forgiveness after a time of repentance or to look forward to the sweetness of the Messiah's return seem reasonable to me. Just be aware that this is simply a man made tradition, not instruction from the Torah.

In addition to shofar sounding and any live music, create a playlist of background music to play during dinner. Good violin or piano is very elegant and I like to play string versions of my favorite songs. 

How are you planning to celebrate Yom Teruah this year?