Next Monday is the Jewish High Holiday and festival of Passover, commemorating the Hebrews’ escape from enslavement in Egypt. Our book special this week is:
Passover Seder: Touch, Turn, Open and Learn!
“Clever paper engineering turns ‘The Passover Seder’ by Emily Sper into interactive educational fun,” writes Publisher’s Weekly.
“Kids can rotate a seder plate laden with bitter herb, charoset, etc., to match each item with its English and Hebrew names (transliteration provided); pull a tab to ’spill’ a drop of wine for each of the 10 plagues and look behind flaps to find the afikoman.
“The text outlines the steps of a seder and adds bonus facts. Bold yet polished graphics ensure a strong visual appeal.” (Shrinkwrapped, hardcover no dj, 20 pages.)
“[This is] a great book for beginners,” writes Kyra Anderson of This Mom blog on family and wellness. “We had our very first home Passover seder last night…it was a tremendous success!”
The North American Montessori Center also lists this book under “suggested reading” about Passover.
This book is on sale only through March 21st. Purchase it for $5 (list price $10):
I am barely hanging on to the shirt tails of the weekend. What I would do for one more day free of structure or schedule.
And while the gracious thing to do is let go, I find myself shamelessly bargaining with Father Time:
“If you grant me just one more day, I will use it to prepare my 2009 taxes, vacuum the house (even behind the doors), and finally get around to properly organizing my study.”
Meanwhile, I am secretly planning a sleep-in ’til 9 a.m., making coffee, crawling back into my new king-size bed and reading until noon, with Bear and Angel curled up at my feet. Ah, sweet Sundays.
But Father Time is onto me, and just snubs my appeals, then goes back to his business of ticking. The totally uncompromising dude, like Father Universe and Sister Fate, seems to know something I don’t, and insists upon doing things on his own snazzy watch.
So, with resignation, I program my alarm clock for 5:45 a.m. so that I may arrive showered, caffeinated and alert for my first class, Awakening Yoga, at the University of Alberta.
In all truth, it is a lovely way to start the day – often I am waking up right along with my students! – and by the time they hit the floor for a well-deserved savasana, the sun is starting to pour in through the gymnasium windows, bathing us all in warm late-winter light. This is one of the most auspicious times of the day, for me, to connect with inner stillness and tap the deep well of gratitude and peace. I enjoy the serene looks on the students’ faces, as they so often roll up their mats, smiling to themselves, and get on with the rest of their day.
It is true; yoga is like a sweet secret whispered within; a best friend, who always has a story or insight to enliven your senses, a built-in confider and confidante, a great and enduring companion whose simple presence in your life makes you a fuller person; someone who knows the real you, and reminds you when you forget, that you are all that you need to be, already.
That is why I “do” yoga – or rather, try to live my yoga, on and off the mat; some days better than others; because that secret smile is not only becoming – on everyone – but it illuminates, and communicates with a guiding light within that seems to grow brighter and, like a beacon, attract good people and things into my day, who radiate at friendly frequencies.
By 8:30 a.m. on Mondays, I have almost three hours under my belt, and several hours to myself before teaching my evening classes at Yoga Within. Sometimes I use the time to come up with a new rockin’ retro playlist for Fun Flow Yoga, or I do my own home practice and catch up on some errands.
Tomorrow, though, I will test a recipe that I am hoping to serve with brunch at the Spring Soul Yoga Retreat. My mom’s delicious and savoury breakfast strata has always been a hit with people, and she’s given me some of her time-tested tips for improving the recipe. As I write, I am making the bread “day-old” and anticipating sampling this yummy soul food for the rest of the week. Thanks, mom!
Well, time to hit the royal hay. Hmmm, maybe I will sleep sideways tonight in my new king-size bed!! So long, Sunday, and happy zees! No longer must I live with perpetual hotel-room bed envy – and that is a reason, in itself, to be pretty darn happy.
3/2/10 I don’t think I’ve said yet WHERE Tabby wants to go to college. While not an Ivy Leage .. gonna cost us almost as much. The logical choice for someone who wants to be involved in the latest/greatest scientific research regarding marine mammals is, hands down, University of Hawaii. So … that’s where she needs to go! Somehow. Thus, the recipe contests begin!
I have found a great website: http://www.contestcook.com/recipecontests.htm which lists tons of opportunities for her to experiment and compete. Some require the entrant to be 18 and I am proud to represent her in those cases! There are a few I want to enter myself — particularly dealing with Asian cuisine (which I’ve had an opportunity to learn a bit about based on my work parking me there for long periods of time over the past few years!)
Anyway, there are EIGHT contests with recipes due within the next week: Two with Bisquick type prepared flour; a potato one; a tuna one; a pickle one, a chicken one; a slow cooker one; a cookbook contest where we can enter up to 7 recipes! Time to get the old noodles churning!
This week I decided that I would try to cook some interesting meals since I have some extra time. For Monday I chose to make Ox-Tail Soup. Really different and fun to cook, I think that the end result was too thick and rich to have served on It’s own as an entrée, Probably should have kept it as an appetizer.
Next up is my Alnwick Soup. A total disaster. I forgot to remove the fatty salty rind from the ham hock, and also forgot to discard the initial boil water and start fresh. The dish ended up thick and salty, almost inedible. We went out for mexican food instead.
This last dish was a success and by far the best of the week, Homemade Lemon/Basil Pasta. We went out and bought a pasta roller and made so much that we were eating for two days. This dish alone made the week’s effort worthwhile.
I’ll apologize in advance for crappy photos today. I was too excited to eat to bother lining up shots/lighting properly. You can deal.
Part 1: (Cheese)burgers
Season the meat with garlic powder, Spanish paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and mix in diced onion. Pan fry and melt on a slice of mozzarella.
Part 2: Roasted potato wedges
Cut red potatoes into wedges, place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, paprika (or as my lil sister calls it, “lolrika”), cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Roast.
Part 3: Onion rings
Beat two eggs, add salt, pepper, paprika, (generous amounts of) cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Dip rings of onion into egg, then flour, back in the egg and in the flour again. Deep fry in canola oil.
Part 4: Dipping sauce
Whip yogurt in a bowl. Add dijon mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and Sriracha sauce! Delicious and tangy.
Put it all together
Saute onions and sliced mushrooms. Stack them on top of the cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard and whatever condiments you like. Top it off with an onion ring for extra crunch. Be prepared to eat in silence because you won’t have time to breathe between bites. Top it off with a peach Izze (my new favorite!).
28 oz. Imagine® Organic Low Sodium Free Range Chicken Broth
9 oz. Pasta of choice (you could use Dairy Free Pierogies)
4 0z. Tofutti® Better Than Cream Cheese Herbs and Chive flavor (you can also use 4 0z. of Smart Balance® buttery spread as an alternative)
1 10 3/4 oz. or 11oz. can condensed tomato or tomato bisque soup
Snipped Fresh Chives (optional)
Instructions:
Step 1: In a medium sauce pan bring broth to boiling. Add pasta; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Step 2: In a bowl, whisk 1/3 cup of the hot broth into the cream cheese spread until smooth. Return all to the saucepan along with tomato soup, heat through.
Step 3: Sprinkle with Chives before Serving
Yields 4 servings
This makes a great lunch, and it is quick and easy.
