While I’ve enjoyed writing in this space very much, it feels like blogging has evolved so much in my absence, not to mention the community of Israelis abroad, Israelis returning to Israel, Anglos making aliyah, Jewish parents looking for non-crappy holiday crafts, Hebrew learning in the US…to name a few of the areas I set out to cover here. After trying to figure out where I belong on the spectrum of personal vs. informational blogging, on the spectrum of insghtful words vs. practical DIYs, what I’m comfortable sharing, how to maintain internet privacy and yet not hide behind anonymity (so 2000s, right?), I’ve decided that I don’t have all the answers. I do hope one day to find my stride and return to blogging. For now, though, I wanted to thank you all for reading and say a proper le-hitra’ot. I’ve enjoyed your support, your comments, your own writing, and our little corner of the blogging world so very much. I’ll see you in the comments sections, okay?

Materials

• Cardstock or other heavy paper
• Coffee filters
• Washable markers
• Spray bottle filled with water
• Letter-sized sheet of craft foam (sold at craft stores)
• Hole puncher
• Yarn or ribbon
• A tapestry needle (a large, dull needle used for sewing knitted pieces – you can find them in most craft stores, and you can use a plastic one for extra safety if you like)
• Decorative scissors
• White glue

Process

1. Decorate the coffee filters using washing markers

2. Place the filter on scrap paper or a washable surface and spray with water.

3. Hang filters to dry.

4. Fold the foam sheet in half. Punch holes along the two short sides of the foam.

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5. Thread a piece of colorful yarn onto a tapestry needle. Tie the yarn onto the needle with a knot, so that needle can’t fall off. Tie the end of the yarn to the top hole.

6. Give it to your kiddo to sew up.

7. Using just one circle of glue, attach the decorated filter to the foam sheet.

8. Print out the “Afikoman” label. Cut around it with decorative scissors and attach to the holder.

I am a strong advocate of universal Hebrew literacy in the community and this project is a great contribution towards that goal. Good on you, Israeli Leadership Council. Hat tip to Shirah of Hebrew Play for pointing out this opportunity. Pay Shirah a visit, she has lots of great information on promoting Hebrew in the US – and if you are in Boston area, you can find out how to meet up and play in Hebrew!

The other kitchen of this winding tale is a mud kitchen, which we didn’t do this week. I cleared out a spot for it, where we used to store the recycle bins. By angling the grill a bit and moving around the bins, I made a little  play space. Not the most glamorous, between the air conditioner and the recycling, but Ash loves it. We didn’t start the mud kitchen, though, because I didn’t find the materials I was hoping for lurking in the depths of the storage closet. In the meantime, we tried the water pouring wall from the summer fun list…which was a big flop, and not just because the materials I gathered didn’t work that well. Ash was completely uninterested in it: as soon as he saw the bucket I’d filled with water, he ran to get his matchbox cars and happily dumped the water over them and that was that.

Which proves my theory that a bucket of water is the best thing ever. I’ve been known to put one on a towel in the middle of the kitchen in the dead of winter.

And so the tale of two kitchens continues.

Right now in my supermarket, there are some local, seasonal vegetables. They’re hanging out in a display meant to look like a farm stand: humongous tomatoes, corn, and a nice array of summer squash. All the summer fruits I love so much are on display – peaches, plums, and apricots – but they’re still trucked in. I’ve been ignoring the produce section in favor of farm stands, farmers’ markets, and the quarter-portion of a CSA box I share. But as soon as the summer harvest is gone, I’ll be back to the produce section and then I’ll have to contend with its strange insulation from growing seasons and geographical limitations.

My goal for this coming year is to collect and make use of seasonal recipes. Here in August I’ve been concentrating on recipes that use summer squash, corn, tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce and other greens, potatoes, and all the summer fruits. I’ve been noticing that some of my favorite veggies are either winter crops, like brussels sprouts and cauliflower, or root vegetables that keep well for the winter, like carrots and sweet potatoes. I realize I can buy just as nice a cauliflower in the super right now as I will be able to in November, but then what will I do with all the beautiful zucchini? There is something exciting about waiting for the season.

Some summer recipes on my to-try list:

• Cherry tomato and beet salad from The Boreka Diary
• Cucumber salad from Urban Organic Gardner
• Garlic pickles from בריאות בקלילות, a new favorite cookbook
• Summer squash and chive pancakes from Skinny Taste – I made these already (with whole-wheat flour) and they are amazing
• Tomato, basil, and corn soup from Barefoot and Cooking
• Mara’s kale and potato au gratin from Kosher on a Budget
• Ari’s Simpler Moussaka and figs with honey and feta from Ari Cooks
• Beefy zucchini from Real Food, Allergy Free
• Mimi’s Meatballs with swiss chard from Israeli Kitchen
• Grilled beef cigars from JoyOfKosher
• …And some kind of impromptu pesto before the summer is over

Got any more for me?

While we’re in the business of making the play kitchen, I figure we should also set up a mud kitchen, which is at the top of my summer fun list. I’m not sure what we can use as the base for the mud kitchen, but it may well be lurking in our storage closet behind all the cardboard pieces I’ve stacked in there for the indoor play kitchen. I’m going to use the mud kitchen as an excuse to rid my kitchen of stuff I should really toss, like old nonstick pans and way expired spices. (I am okay with the newer nonstick I already own for limited low-heat use, but I don’t plan to buy any more for health reasons.) We may have to round out our mud kitchen with a few items from the dollar store, but I’m hoping we can repurpose all of its components from home. After nearly four years of obliviousness to birthdays, Ash is in full-on birthday appreciation mode and I think he’ll love “baking” mud birthday cakes. All right, I’ll admit it, I kind of like playing with mud too. Still.

Anniversary Peach Cake (parve)

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup + 1 tbs unrefined sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp + generous dash cinnamon
• 1/2 cup walnut halves
• 3 peaches, sliced

In a medium-sized bowl (or in your stand mixer), cream the coconut oil with 3/4 cup sugar. When blended, add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Blend in the baking soda, then the cinnamon, and then the flour.

Place the walnuts in a small bag, seal the bag, and crush with your hands. Mix about half (1/4 cup) into the batter, and set aside the bag. Pour the batter into a round cake pan. Arrange the peach slices over the top.

To make the topping, add a generous dash of cinnamon to the remaining walnuts in the bag. Add a tablespoon or so of sugar, then re-seal the bag and mix well. Pour over top of cake.

Place the cake pan on a lined cookie sheet (it may drip slightly) and bake in a medium oven (180°C /350°F) for about 30 minutes. The edges will be crisp and the center just cooked through.

Nature Play

• Make a mud kitchen – lots of ideas here and here
• Try some land art
• Build some gnome/fairy houses - I didn’t realize this is a”thing,” but I loved doing it as a child!
• Catch some bugs in jars and examine under a magnifying glass
• Make a shell necklace

Outdoor & Active

• Ima-kiddo yoga in the backyard – I need to get my hands on this book (originally in English) to use as guidance
• All the swimming we can get in!
• Explore our local and local-ish state parks and beaches
• Make an obstacle course in the backyard
• Croquet – buy a set? DIY somehow?
• Build a water pouring contraption
• Visit a farm

Art Activities

• Make a fresh batch of playdough, reserving some for mixing with bits of flowers, twigs, and leaves – I use the “playclay” recipe in MaryAnn Kohl‘s First Art, which is amazing
• Sidewalk paints – we’ll use powdered paints in place of food coloring
• Rain art – another idea from First Art
• Splatter art outside on the grass
• Make a travel Shabbat candle box – not really to do with summer except that summer is a good time to do Shabbat crafts (though some clever people have thought up Tisha be-Av crafts)
• Make some garden ornaments – clay? Mosaics?

Kitchen Adventures

• Bottle up some homemade chocolate syrup – like this or this, but with the sugar content drastically slashed and therefore potentially ending up as a big fail
• Experiment with more ice cream and frozen yogurt recipes, to go with that syrup
• Try some new homemade artikim – like these or these (but with all full-fat dairy, that’s how we roll)
• Make a batch of sourdough starter, with the goal of making this challah
• Find more salad ideas – I love my tomotoes and cucumbers in lemon and olive oil, but sometimes one needs a change
• Perfect a honey-sweetened rendition of lemonade
• Try some recipes from my new copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, a birthday present from my sister!
• Test out zucchini bread recipes, although it looks like I’m going to have to give our zucchini plants a little help in the mating department first

What fun stuff do you have planned for the rest of the summer?

I hope everyone had a nice Shavuot holiday. I made mushroom-stuffed blintzes, caprese salad with fresh basil from the garden, and chocolate mousse for dessert.

I am also going to take a short break from blogging. We have been hoping to have more children for a long time, and we had another setback this week. I know hope will come back to me, but it hasn’t yet, and I need to wait for it quietly.

Shabbat shalom.

Lag ba-Omer, one of my favorite holidays: rained out. Yet another reason to make aliyah.

My brilliant idea for bilingual garden markers: rained out.

Look how cute they were:

Although more than a few boldly withstood the downpours we’ve been having, I have to admit that most ended up looking like this:

So, still a work-in-progress, our little garden and its markers.