Sukkot Stuffed Recipes to Try

In most of the world Sukkot falls on the time of the final ingathering of the crops for the year. Gardens are emptied of the last of the tomatoes and peppers before the first frost, and huge fields are being harvested. Most of us are very far removed from the sigh of relief much of humanity surely felt at the end of an abundant harvest. While it is a blessing to live where an abundance of food available year round, we do miss out on noticing much of YHWH's provision. 

One way to remind ourselves that YHWH meets our needs is through the Sukkot tradition of stuffing vegetables and other foods. This shows that he not only gives us good things but generously 'stuffs' us full. Serving a meal of something stuffed is a good talking point of what (besides food) that YHWH has faithfully provided. Give one of these recipes a try this week!

Chili Stuffed Spaghetti Squash from Making Thyme for Health

Lentil Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Will Frolic for Food

Pad Thai Spring Rolls from A Beautiful Mess

Veggie Black Bean Enchiladas from Cookie and Kate

Vegan Stuffed Poblanos from Minimalist Baker

Butternut Feta Hand Pies from A Beautiful Plate

Veggie Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from How Sweet It Is

Chipotle Pumpkin Enchiladas from A Beautiful Mess

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers from Minimalist Baker

Broccoli Rabe and Black Bean Quesadillas from Cookie and Kate

Pineapple Boat with Sorbet from The House That Lars Built

Almond Butter Baked Apples from Making Thyme for Health

Which of these doesn't look fantastic? I'm thinking it would be a great night for Mexican food in the sukkah. :) And that pineapple boat with fresh sorbet or ice cream? What dreams are made of! If you need inspiration, take a trip to a local farmers market. You could also stuff your favorite fillings into manicotti or apples into a pie. A very happy Sukkot week to all of you!

Spring Feast Printable Roundup

My first Passover was more than ten years ago. It was new to us and we had no idea what it was supposed to look like. I remember scouring the internet for something, anything to get a better idea of how to celebrate and finding almost nothing of help. You could hardly find anything online about Passover, let alone the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. Today it is so exciting to see other bloggers sharing their creativity to help us celebrate YHWH's feasts! Today I am sharing with you a few free resources that will help you celebrate the Spring Feasts this year, whether or not you are new to it.

1. Passover Printable - Land of Honey
- I shared this last year, but it's still a great way to decorate!

2. Passover Busy Book for Kids - Torah Sisters
- With puzzles, coloring pages, and mazes this will keep kids occupied at the Seder table or use it for fun throughout the week of Unleavened Bread.

3. Why Is It Place Cards - Almost Makes Perfect
-A quick way to make your Seder table a little more sophisticated and have the Ma Nishtana at the ready.

4. Ten Plagues Finger Puppets - Tori Avey
-Tori thoughtfully made two versions, one is in color ready to print, and the other is black and white to color yourself.

5. Happy Passover Cards - The Climbing Tree
-Since Passover things aren't easy to find, this is just what we need to spread the joy of the Spring Feasts and say, "Chag Sameach!"

6. Find the Afikoman Game - Joyfully Jewish
-This sounds so fun! Go on a treasure hunt and work on your Hebrew. Print off a set in a different color for each child participating.

7. Seder Plate Labels - Chai and Home
-An elegant addition to your Seder Plate that will teach a little Hebrew.

8. Four Cups of Wine Printable - Hebraic Roots Network
-A fun decoration to remind us of the Seder meal.

9. Unleavened Matzah Verse - Land of Honey
-Keep this up for the duration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

10. Count the Omer Calendar - Kosher on a Budget
-A simple way to count the days until Shavuot.

11. He is Risen Printable - Kraft and Mint
-Use this to celebrate First Fruits!

12. Passover Matching Cards - The Climbing Tree
-Two activities in one. Decorate the cards, then play memory games.

I would recommend printing on a thicker cardstock type of paper. It's sturdy and gives it a better look I think. Of course you can also opt to have these professionally printed if that works better for you. If you know of any other great printables for the Spring Feasts please share with us below!

DIY Matzah Pinata!

I'd like to say that the Feast of Unleavened Bread does not get the hype it deserves. We have a directive to celebrate and feast for seven days, what's not to love about that? Even though it immediately follows Passover we should let it shine on it's own and have a separate celebration for it. What's the best way to do that? A matzah pinata, of course!

You will need:
- a thin, square cardboard box (mine was about 33" by 33" by 4")
-hot glue gun
-glue sticks
-cream crepe paper (I used this kind, it's made in the USA)
-brown crepe paper
-ribbon

The process of making a pinata is simple but a little repetitive. You'll definitely want a friend to chat with or something to listen to while you do it. Basically, what you're doing is cutting fringe into your crepe paper (though I suppose this is optional), and, starting at the bottom, hot gluing your crepe paper across the box. You will want to randomly disperse bits of the brown crepe paper to resemble the different shading on matzah.

Do this the whole way round your box, one side at a time, and attach your ribbon to the top if you're going to hang it up. Be sure to use plenty of hot glue to reinforce it. My box was almost three feet square, but feel free to make it whatever size you like!

If yours is as big as mine you will need two rolls of the cream crepe paper and one of the brown. Need more specifics? Studio DIY has a super detailed guide to making pinatas. Check it out here.

Word to the wise: fill your box with candies or goodies before beginning the pinata-fying process. It's way easier.

If you don't have the heart to bash this in with a bat, this still makes a fun decor piece or even a photo booth prop. What do you guys plan on doing to celebrate Unleavened Bread this year? If you make a pinata, be sure to share a picture with me on Instagram or Facebook!

DIY Torah Portion Chalkboard

I made this chalkboard a couple of years ago and it has been one of my all time favorite DIY projects! In addition to serving a practical purpose it is extremely simple and inexpensive to make. Hard to beat that, right?

After we bought our house I knew I wanted something in our kitchen to keep our focus on Scripture and help with memorization. Each week I put a verse from the Torah Portion up.We have it hanging so you see it when you're heading out the door. This has been a great bit of encouragement and reminder of truth as we go about our days.

This is the before and after of my project. I wish I had taken photos of the process, but that was not on the priority list when we were getting our house ready to live in. Thankfully it's so simple you'll be able to follow along. I found the frame in a thrift store. As you can see, it was peeling and a little worn. It took only a few minutes of work to transform something damaged and discarded into a declaration of the word of YHWH.

This is a great project for kids to help with, and it can be there job to select the verse or to write it on the board. About 90% of the time ours is from the weekly Torah Portion, but I will also write Scriptures that have really been resonating with me. I am not perfect about getting it changed each week, but it's still wonderful to have truth displayed in your home! It can be a great dinnertime topic or conversation starter with guests. And just writing a verse down gives it time to sink in and is a great memorization tool for me.

You will need:
Picture frame with some type of backing you can paint
Chalkboard paint
Spray paint (optional)

Directions:
Take apart your picture frame. Wipe down the outer frame and remove anything that's peeling (if needed). If it has glass in it to protect the photo you can go ahead and recycle that.
If you'd like your frame to be a different color, spray paint it over newspaper. You may have to give it a couple of coats to make it look even.
My picture frame came with a photo on cardboard, so I put my chalkboard paint directly over that. You can also cut a piece of cardboard or a thin piece of wood to fit in your frame and paint over that. Like the spray paint, it might need a couple of coats to get rid of streaks.
Let it dry.
Reassemble the frame, this time with the chalkboard instead of a painting or photo. And hang wherever you'd like.

Matzah Week Pictures

Happy Feast of Unleavened Bread! My sister arrived in town a half hour before our Seder started, and it's been a great week having her here!

Remains from the Seder meal are my new centerpiece. Obviously couldn't bring myself to eat the chocolate Seder plate.

My new favorite way to eat matzah. Cream cheese and mushrooms and kale sauteed in garlic and shallots.

A friend surprised me with a copy of Paula Shoyer's The Holiday Kosher Baker. It's so fun to have a book devoted to sweet treats for the Feasts!

Another great way to eat matzah: cream cheese, smoked salmon, red peppers, and arugula.

The Passover section of The Holiday Kosher Baker.

Counting the Omer! And putting the Passover stickers to good use.

 This was not a bad situation.

Pavlova, chocolate ganache, cheesecake (sans crust), raspberries, and freshly whipped cream. All organic! Perfection.

The Passover pup!

Free Printable for Passover

Here is a printable to use for decorating for Passover and the Feast of Matzah. Just download, print, and put it on a bookshelf, your desk, the refrigerator, or wherever you'd like.

I recommend printing it on a light card stock. It holds up better than regular computer paper and gives it a more polished look. Print this out as an 8 x 10 like I did, or go smaller if that works better for you. 

This printable is completely free for your personal use! I'd love to see how you use it, so please tag me or send pictures my way. :)

Download here!

Free Milk & Honey Printable

I hope everyone has been enjoying lovely spring weather as we countdown the final days of the Omer. Seeing lovely chalk art on various blogs and coffee shops and cafes inspired me to create this printable for Shavuot.

Styled simply with a fresh tulip in an antique milk jar and honey.

 Exodus 3:8 describes Israel as a land "flowing with milk and honey." With the centrality that dairy--ice cream, cheesecake, blintzes, and more--plays in the Shavuot celebrations I thought it would be fitting. It is an excellent reminder of the beauty of the land of Israel and also the abundant blessings YHVH provides each of us.

So thankful for the many fresh blooms in my yard!

This printable is free for your personal use. I hope you will use it to decorate your home for Shavuot.

Milk and Honey printable by Land of Honey.

Download this printable for Shavuot here.