Happy Purim

The holiday of Purim begins tonight at sundown. I dug out this old photograph of my friend Myra (on the right) and myself at the age of four both dressed as Queen Esther. What doesn't show in the photograph is how beautiful the costume was. Mum made it entirely by hand, sewing sequin bows along the hem of the skirt, and using silver ric-rack to trim the poncho. I loved it so much I continued wearing the skirt as a poncho for years and then dressing a large teddy bear in it when it would no longer go over my head. I don't know what eventually became of it, but I've had a soft spot for blue satin and sequins ever since. And tiaras??

I baked Hamantaschen this year using a new recipe. The filling is an orange/honey/poppy seed mixture, but the dough has both butter and sour cream. The pastry is yeast-risen, yet it maintains the texture of a rich cake. Recipe Here. I used a different filling, and substituted orange peel for lemon. As the recipe made 36 pieces(!) Mr. ETB took a tray to work, which were well received.

Ten years ago, Danny asked me to bake a novelty cake he spotted in a cookbook. Little boys (and some big ones) do love trains! I improvised one for him with what I had at home (when we lived on the farm it was too long of a drive to just run out for unplanned groceries). It wasn't the fanciest cake, but he loved it, and never forgot that I made him the cake he wanted for Purim. Ten years later, I have a Nordicware pan shaped like railroad cars, so I thought it only right that I re-create his favourite cake. He loved it, but truth be told-I think the improvised one had more charm. I made a short video: