PURIM'S COMING!!

When I was growing up in Toronto, there were basically two choices of Hamantaschen.  There was cookie dough or yeast dough- only the Czech or Hungarian holocaust survivours that I knew baked and ate the yeast ones! And there was poppy seed filling (muhn) or prune filling. I sure don't remember any creative variations while I was young, and quite frankly most people ate a hamantasch or two just to, as we say in Yiddish, "yotzei zeyn" - to say that they had one in honour of the holiday.

And if you think they're any more impressive in Paris- forget it.  We were there 2 years ago, and there was not one interesting one in sight, and we searched out 6 different kosher bakeshops!

Enter  Purim, 2014. Especially here in Israel, our culinary world is filled with an endless run of chef reality shows, reports and reviews of very high-level kosher restaurants and cookbooks, and many fabulours blogs and facebook pages.

So it's no surprise to see what fun people are having these days with their hamantaschen!
There are articles upon articles in the local and North American press about the wild, exciting fillings, doughs, and- yes- toppings! that people and places are offering. 

Sweet and savoury, small and huge, healthy and multi-coloured, dairy and meat, flaky and crispy, seeded and sprinkled, the triangular ideas are almost endless, and I encourage you to try hamantaschen ideas you've never even thought of before!

But I must admit, maybe it's because my mother is Czech, or maybe it's because of this great thought  I read ( poppy seed is "muhn" in German, and there's a famous poppy pocket cookie called "muhn-taschen" meaning "purses", so because it sounded like " HA-Muhn-taschen" sounding like Haman, that's how it became a Purim cookie!! Isn't that cute?)-   my favourite is still poppy seed!

Poppy seed filling for Hamantaschen-

225 ml milk or water
225 gr ground poppy seeds
190 gr sugar
45 gr raisins
15 gr butter or butter-flavoured margarine
10 gr cinnamon
120 gr ground sponge cake crumbs
5 gr lemon rind
2 tart apples, grated

Boil the milk, poppy seeds, sugar, raisins, butter, and cinnamon in a small saucepan, stirring constantly, till the mixture is almost dry.
Remove from the heat and empty it into a bowl. Stir in the crumbs, rind, and apple. Let it cool.

HAMANTASCHEN WORKSHOP MONDAY EVENING IN JERUSALEM 19:30-22:30
220 shekels per person, call me to register- 055-660-4851.