Buy Ambien Online Canada Buy Xanax Netherlands Buy Discount Phentermine Online Buy Alprazolam Cheap Online
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Top News

Rosewater Baklava Hamantaschen for Purim: Helping Purim Beat Halloween From Here On Out

March 13, 2014
0
Share

PictureThe hamantasch uncooked; see below for cooked

I don’t even know guys. This might be the best thing ever. A random and fortuitous amalgam of happenings brought forth this little miracle unto our lives. Such happenings include: Purim being this weekend; my having recently acquired rosewater; my dislike of Halloween; my pint of poppy seeds, intended for my hamantaschen filling, having gone rancid. So lucky! Such fortuitous. 

       So, yeah, almost Purim! Purim is to Halloween what Hannukah is to Christmas. They aren’t reeeeally substitutes, but they get passed off to impressionable, sad children as replacements. (Jews don’t like Halloween ostensibly because it’s super pagan (no worship of idols!) and Catholic in its origins, but I think it’s because they don’t want their children to eat so much candy that they’d get cavities and need to see the dentist who is the son of that yenta from synagogue who brags about her son being a dentist.) It’s about when King Ahasuerus got super drunk and ordered all the young ladies to line up so he could pick his favorite to be his wife, and he picked Esther, a Jew who didn’t let on that she was a Jew, who had been raised by her uncle Mordechai, which is a name that you always have to say with the required Yiddy question mark at the end. So the king’s Jafar, named Haman, decides to kill all the Jews, but then Esther tells her hubsking, ‘Hey I’m Jewish! You can’t kill the Jews!’ and the King is all ‘Oh man you are right! Jafar Haman get thee gone! You are evil! We are going to celebrate this holiday by making delicious cookies in the shape of your three-cornered hat! I don’t know why the celebratory traditional food should be in the villain’s honor, but there we are!’ So that is Purim.
I was planning on making regular traditional poppy seed filling for my hamantaschen, but my poppy seeds were rancid. Boo and hiss! But it turned out to be $3 well wasted, because I was forced to try something new and much more interesting. I recently bought but have never used rosewater, so this was the time. The time was now. I dove into my nut drawer and came to the surface with almonds, cashews, and pistachios. Perfect! I had a sudden vision of a Middle Eastern marketplace, like a live-action version of the “Sugar dates! Sugar dates & figs! Sugar dates & pistachios!” scene from “Aladdin”, with men offering me baklava that I would have to turn down because of the honey. (I know baklava is Greek but it is also found in central and southwest Asia so BACK OFF.) I have really weird visions. So I wanted the nuts chopped roughly and cooked in a syrup. I decided to use my very old very on-the-brink Magic Bullet to chop them because I figured it was too weak and senile to do much damage. However, by some Purim miracle, the little machine suddenly got its groove back and pulverized my nuts before I could stop it. So cray. I was left with ground nuts…which actually turned out to be even better! I can’t wait to make actual baklava using this; it is RIDICULOUS.
I kind of dislike crispy or crunchy cookies; I am all about the chewy (with few exceptions). To have chewy more than crispy dough here, I had to make decisions that led to poofy dough when cooked, spreading wildly like a badass hamantasch. It’s delicious and I suggest you try it!
HAMANTASCHEN DOUGH
Ingredients:

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cups minus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Directions: 

  1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl or in a measuring cup. Try not to drop the full cup onto the floor as I did.
  3. Mix the dry & wet together well, and knead for a few minutes until forms a nice ball.
  4. Split in half and wrap each half in Saran wrap/clingfilm.
  5. Refrigerate for an hour.

BAKLAVA FILLING
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup raw pistachios
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup agave plus more if needed
  • 1.5 tablespoons rosewater
  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Directions:

  1. Grind the nuts in a food processor. It can be a little chunky.
  2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, mix all ingredients over medium heat.
  3. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes. Let it lightly boil, and turn down if it is boiling too heavily. It should reduce greatly after 10 or so minutes and become a paste.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Take the refrigerated dough out of the fridge and let thaw for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Flour a clean surface and roll out each dough section until as thin as you can get it without it becoming flimsy. I went to about 1/4 inch thick, which is probably on the thicker side and probably why mine got so pouffy. That’s just science. The thinner you roll it, the less pouffy it will get, so decide how you want your cookies.
  3. Take a 4-5 inch circular thing, like a jar lid or a mug (or a circle cookie cutter if you are the freaking queen of England or something) and press into the dough multiple times. Like, you know how to do this.
  4. Take a tablespoon of filling and place in the middle of each circle.
  5. Fold the sides up so they meet at a point at the top, and then fold the bottom up. We are making triangles, p.s.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350F while you are folding the hats.
  7. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden but not browning.
  8. Enjoyyy! Don’t eat 8 before they cool off like I did because you will not feel nice.

I hope you decide to try these! Happy Purim!

Picture

I love my pretty new colorful equipment! That’s all.

Picture

If you run out of Saran wrap like I did, use a big Ziplock!

Picture

Sometimes you feel like a ground up nuts.

Picture

There’s thread on the PPK about what cool things people have found at TJ Maxx & similar places. I only get cooking supplies there, like these! Vanilla paste and rosewater for a few dollahs? Hollahhh.

Picture

“My hat is has 3 corners, 3 corners has my hat. And if it’d not 3 corners, it would not be my hat!” That’s a song of Haman’s that we learned as small jews.

Picture

Pre cookery. The few jelly-filled ones at the back are actually filled with an Earl Grey Apricot jam, courtesy of my friend Stephanie from Swell Baked Goods in Memphis. It is sooo delicious, as is everything she makes.

Picture

See they got pretty puffy but I like that! This is the cool way to do it. Happy day!
original comments: https://laughfrodisiac.weebly.com/my-own-creations/rosewater-baklava-hamantaschen-for-purim-helping-purim-beat-halloween-from-here-on-out#comments
Related Posts

New Orleans Inspirations: Cream of Root Beer & Cream of Almond Shaved Ice

September 8, 2014
0

Picture

   
    One of my absolute favorite places in New Orleans was the old school (and regular type of old) shaved ice shoppe Hansen’s Sno-Bliz. Born in 1939, Hansen’s sells amazing snow cone treats that somehow have fluffy ice and sophisticated, absolutely delicious syrup flavors. I had many wonderful flavors there, but missed out on the cream flavors (because cream). So we are recreating them here with our trusty beloved Vitamix! (NB: You can participate with any method of creating shaved ice.)
        Husband had the most incredible sounding combination one day – cream of root beer and cream of almond. I was hella jealous and I swore that I would recreate an even better version myself. I believe I have done that, even though I never tried the original and so cannot compare. But mine’s better. And it doesn’t hurt cows.
CREAM OF ROOT BEER & CREAM OF ALMOND SHAVED ICE 
PART 1: ROOT BEER SYRUP
Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C plus 2T white sugar
  • 3/4 C water
  • 2T root beer extract (mine is a soda-making base and tends to be on the weaker side)

Directions:

  1. Boil all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for about 8 minutes. 
  2. It should reduce somewhat but still be liquid and not be too sticky. 

PART 2: ALMOND SYRUP
Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C white sugar
  • 2/3 C water
  • 2t almond extract

Directions:

  1. Boil all in saucepan for about 8 minutes (as above) 

Picture

The most interesting part of Hansen’s Sno-Bliz was that they first put the shaved ice in a cup, then poured in your syrups, and then put the whole thing in a machine that added more fluffed ice on top. After that, they’d put more syrup on top of the new ice! It was a multi-part process, so this is too. (Although I guess it doesn’t have to be, but you know what they say about easy things not being worth doing or something like that.)

PART 3: SHAVING THE ICE
Ingredients: 

  • 2/3 C plain almond milk
  • 3 C cubed ice 

Directions:

  1. Crush in your high-powered blender until completely slushified. 
PART 4: SYRUPING AND RESHAVING
Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C cubed ice
  • about 2 C shaved ice (as made above)
  • 1 batch root beer syrup
  • 1 batch almond syrup

Directions:

  1. Divide the shaved ice evenly between two glasses or containers.
  2. Pour half the root beer syrup over one glass and mix it well..
  3. Pour half the almond syrup over the second glass and mix it well. 
  4. Now take the root beer glass and dump the entire contents into the blender with 3T more root beer syrup and 3/4 cup cubed ice. 
  5. Blend until slushified. 
  6. Empty root beer slushy back into glasses (1-3 depending on appetites). 
  7. Now take the almond glass and dump the contents into the blender with 3T more almond syrup and 3/4 cup cubed ice. 
  8. Blend until slushified.
  9. Empty almond slushy back into glasses.
  10. Enjoy!!!!

Picture

My root beer slush, before the second ice blend, fell a little flat…because I forgot to cool the syrup.
And then of course mix the two flavors together if you want for a delicious combination! Enjoy !
Picture

Pouring the syrup straight from the pan

Pumpkin Mousse Pie with Gingerbread Cookie Crust: Because Pilgrims

November 27, 2013
0
       Hey so apparently it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow! Did you know, because I kind of forgot. Hence I’m giving you my required Thanksgiving recipes and posts this late in the game. You have been looking at blogs for weeks now, inundated with recipes for stuffing, seitan roasts, pumpkin this and that. Bu if, like me, you are deciding today what to make for tomorrow, then make this! It’s easy and delicious and has pumpkin; what more could you ask for? Also, I’m pretty sure the Pilgrims didn’t eat it, which I think is a main criterion for Thanksgiving food.   
        Last week’s (ok, it might have been longer than that; I’m verrbizz) cookie pie crust was pretty amazing, so I decided to do the same sort of thing but with pumpkin pie. The proper cookie base for Thanksgiving/pumpkin is, of course, gingerbread, so that’s what we’re making here. If you don’t like gingerbread (because I know some people don’t, bless their hearts), you can easily and deliciously sub this cinnamon cookie crust in for this. If you don’t like pumpkin, I’m very sorry. 
PUMPKIN MOUSSE PIE 
WITH GINGERBREAD COOKIE CRUST
For the gingerbread cookie crust:
Ingredients:

  • 2/3C sugar
  • 1/3C + 1T brown sugar
  • 1/2C canola oil
  • 1t vanilla
  • 1/3C almond milk
  • 3T molasses
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 1t ginger
  • 1/2t nutmeg
  • 1t baking powder
  • 1/2t baking soda
  • 1/2t salt
  • 2C flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. 
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix your sugars, oil, molasses, milk, and vanilla for a few minutes, until it is thick and caramel-like. 
  3. Add the rest of your ingredients and mix well. 
  4. Press the mixture into a pie dish, and bake for 15-17 minutes. 
  5. Let cool (seriously, let it cool). It will puff up like whoa but we like that! And it’ll fall as it cools. 

For the pumpkin mousse:
Ingredients: 

  • 1 can (15 oz.) pureed pumpkin 
  • 16 oz. silken tofu (I used one container of the water-packed variety)
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 1t vanilla extract
  • 1T coconut oil
  • 1/2C sugar
  • 1/4C maple syrup, agave, or mixture of the two

Directions:

  1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste for sweetener. (It makes more than will probably fit in your crust, so save the rest as a separate mousse. Or an ice cream base!) 

Assembly:

  1. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the cooled pie crust. It’ll be thin, so let it set in the fridge for several hours or until, well, until tomorrow! 
Picture

Precooked coooookie crust (you know what I’m saying that like, right? Like a certain cereal).
Picture

It’s super puffy at first, like level with the sides…
Picture

…but then it falls a bit
Picture

Using my London tube map dishcloth in honor of their lack of Thanksgiving over there.
Picture

It’s starting to remind me of an egg yolk. Not my intention.
Picture

It’s pretty pretty, yes? (I meant the first pretty like ‘somewhat’, not like an idiot.)

PictureSide boob

         I can’t share a picture of a piece of the pie, because I can’t touch it until tomorrow. Oh well. The mixture was delicious! Because of the simple components of the mousse, authentic pumpkin flavor comes through, not just the fall spices of ‘pumpkin-flavored’ stuff. If you like that sort of thing, this is for you! I don’t think you can go wrong with this combination of pumpkin and gingerbread. Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of vegan food, and good luck with anti-vegan comments from relatives. Or really any comments. 
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *