Category: Snacks

Candy Sushi

The days between camp and school seem to stretch on forever, especially with Hurricane Irene keeping us trapped indoors. We colored, painted, modeled stuff out of play-dough, built lego, surfed on the ipad, and played candyland. When a tantrum threatened to rear its’ ugly head, I knew it was time for some candy. But instead of handing out lolly pops, I decided to turn our nosh into a fun craft. Candy sushi is fun to make and even more fun to eat. Set out some chopsticks so your kids can practice using them.

I made these using store-bought rice krispies treats, but you can definitely make your own. Just follow the directions on the box and prepare thin sheets of treats on wax paper that are about 4″H x 6″W (or just spread out on a cookie sheet and cut to size with a knife).

Candy sushi is a great craft to make at a birthday party. Package each roll in a sushi container for an adorable take-home treat. You can also prepare these for a cute kids shalach manos!

Candy Sushi

2-3 rice crispy treat squares (such as Snack Delite brand) or 1 home-made 4″x6″ sheet
1 green fruit roll up (I like joray sour apple fruit roll)
a few sour sticks, twizzlers, or other long strips of candy

Method:

Place rice krispies treat squares on wax paper and roll out with a rolling pin (I used one from my kids playdough set) until it measures about 4″x6″, or prepare home-made sheets. Place sour sticks along the length of the treats, near either end. Roll the edge over the sour sticks, pressing down to make sure it is tight (I use wax paper to help me do this, just like you would use a bamboo mat to make real sushi). Continue rolling around until your have a log. Place the log on top of the fruit roll up and wrap around tightly. Cut into slices (you can save the ends for noshing) and serve!

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Watermelon Ice Cubes


The weather here in New York last week was truly unbearable, with temperatures over 100 degrees. I am the kind of person that just cannot stand the heat. Anything over 75 degrees is too hot for me. But of course, I cannot control the weather, so I need to come up with ways to deal with it. If there’s a heat wave going on, I usually don’t leave the house. Otherwise, on hot days, I tend to go from my house, to the car, to any indoor place with air conditioning. If I have to be in the sun, I make sure to have cold water with me, and if there is a sprinkler around, I’m more than likely to drench myself!

It was one such day that I was dreaming up some ideas for an ice cold drink to cool off with. I decided to make some lemonade, but instead of traditional ice cubes that tend to water down beverages, I opted to make some cranberry-juice ones to turn it into pink lemonade. I was about to head out for some lemons when the amazing food guru Alton Brown tweeted about watermelon iced cubes. Brilliant! I knew I had to make them!

Ice cubes are a great way to cool down on a hot summer’s day. Here are some other fun ice cube ideas:

– For iced tea or coffee, make a tray of tea or coffee ice cubes to keep your beverage cold without watering it down.
– Citrus ice cubes are great for tea or cocktails. Juice lemons, limes or oranges and put a quarter slice of citrus in each cube.
– Decorate your ice cubes with sprigs of mint, maraschino cherries, or edible flowers.
– Coke and ginger ale ice cubes are a great addition to any cocktail.
– Punch ice cubes work well in a punch bowl for your next party.

Watermelon Ice Cubes

watermelon
food processor, blender or juicer
bowl or pitcher
mesh sieve, strainer or cheesecloth
ice cube trays

Method:

Cut up watermelon into pieces (they don’t have to be perfect, you’ll be blending them anyway). With a spoon, scrape away any leftover bits of watermelon off the rind. Blend the watermelon in a grinder until pureed. Over a bowl or pitcher, pour the mixture through a strainer and press pulp to remove all the juice. Pour watermelon juice into ice cube trays and freeze. If you have leftover juice, just remove the ice cubes from the tray, store in a ziploc bag and refreeze. You can make more cubes, or, add the juice to lemonade, or use it to make popsicles.

Yield: 1 quarter watermelon equals approximately 2 trays of ice cubes.

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{Guest Post} Apple Turnovers

Hey guys,

Since Chanie’s computer is out of commission, I’m filling in for a day with one of my favorite quick and easy recipes. I love to bake but I don’t always have the time. This recipe uses frozen puff pastry (I love Pepperidge Farm’s), which allows me to cut down on prep, but not taste! I really enjoy these, and I hope you do too!

PS Dont tell Chanie I told you, but she likes to use these ready-to-make frozen apple turnovers. If she ever serves them to you for dessert, just make believe it’s my recipe ;)

Apple Turnovers
from the Balabuste’s Choice

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk

Filling
4 cortland apples (grated)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp boiling water
touch of vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat ovent to 350 degrees. Roll out dough and cut into 3×3 inch squares. Combine filling in a saucepan and stir over flame for 20-25 minutes. Cool filling. Place a tbsp of filling into each square. Fold the sides to make a triangle. Brush with egg. Poke edges closed with a fork to prevent sides from opening.  Place on lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 min or until golden brown.

Glaze when cooled.

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Oven Baked Organic Sweet Potatoes

Last year, we spent Purim in Asheville, North Carolina, by a friend of my husband. We drove about 12 hours to get there, the longest drive we have ever taken by car. It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be, but by the time we got there, I was definitely happy to be able to stretch and sleep! Lucky for us, our friends, the Rabbi and Rebbetzin of Asheville, had set up warm and comfortable accomodations. Purim in Asheville was a lot of fun. My kids enjoyed the Purim party, a magic show, and an adorable play put on by the Hebrew school kids. Even better was the delicious food that the Rebbetzin, Chana, prepared during our stay. One evening, she prepared oven baked organic sweet potatoes as a side dish. This was not new to me, as my mother always made them growing up. However, the organic part definitely was. I was never into the whole organic trend. It’s expensive, hard to find in my neighborhood, and since I turned out fine until now, I figured I’d take my chances. But Chana had recently given birth to twins, and she wanted to eat clean and healthy during her pregnancy, so she adopted a diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables. Being as I grew up eating oven baked sweet potatoes, I knew how they were supposed to taste. So when I put a spoonful of the organic stuff in my mouth, I immediately tasted the difference. It was so fresh tasting, full-bodied, and over-the-top sweet! It felt like eating a decadent dessert! Ever since then, whenever I plan on making oven baked sweet potatoes, I make it a point to buy organic ones. I really taste the difference!

I wouldn’t exactly call this a “recipe” because there is honestly nothing to it. I just find that sometimes we get so hung up on finding “recipes” for things that the star ingredient ends up getting lost. We’re busy taking delicious, wholesome, healthy sweet potatoes, adding butter, brown sugar, eggs and cream (amongst other things) to make sweet potato pie. What happened to baking a sweet potato just as it is? It is so sweet and delicious, it literally needs nothing! Don’t get me wrong, just a few days ago I took perfectly delicious baked salmon and mashed it up into salmon patties. I do it too. But I’m just saying, we definitely live in a “kugel” society and it’s nice to eat a vegetable purely for what it is every once in a while!

Oven Baked Organic Sweet Potatoes

Remove the stickers from the sweet potatoes, wash well (so you can eat the fiber-rich skin later) and dry. Put in a 9×13 pan. Place in a 400 degree oven. (I used to individually wrap the sweet potatoes in foil but I find that they come out a bit more watery that way). I can’t tell you exactly how long to bake them, since it depends on the size of your sweet potatoes. I go by the smell test. When the smell of sweet potatoes starts wafting through the house, I know they are almost ready. It should take about 1 1/2-2 hours to bake. Just give them the squeeze test with your hand, and when they are very soft, and you can see the delicious syrup has started dripping out of it, they are ready!

Since we weren’t home to give out shalach manos last year, I made Purim cards and sent them to family and friends, letting them know that we gave a donation in their honor in lieu of shalach manos.

Here is the card we sent out:


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Quick & Easy Chocolate Rugelach

My friend Dina and I have been friends since childhood. Growing up, we lived around the corner from each other, and after getting married and moving, we still do! We’re always swapping recipes and oohing and ahhing over the fabulous food we see on the food channel. Between the two of us, I am more of the cook and Dina is more of the baker. Whenever I see a great cake recipe, I send it her way, hoping that she’ll make it so that I can get a taste (she usually sends over a piece!). On a lucky day, she’ll invite me around the corner for a hot cinnamon bun and some coffee. One such day, Dina brought out these delicious rugelach. I thought they must be a patchke to make since they looked so good and tasted even better. But they are super easy and require only 3 ingredients! I have made them more than once when having company over at the last minute. They are totally floored when, without advanced notice, I manage to put out piping hot chococolatey flaky goodness!

Quick & Easy Chocolate Rugelach

Puff pastry squares
chocolate spread
Powdered sugar

Method:

Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight. It is easiest to work with when it’s chilled. With a knife, cut each square into 3 even strips. Smear with chocolate spread and roll up. Place on a cookie sheet seam side down and bake at 350 until browned, approximately 25 minutes. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Note: you can brush with egg-wash if you’d like, however, since you are dusting them with powdered sugar, it is not neccesary.

VARIATION: You may also use nutella, jam, or any other filling of your choice.

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