Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. To make the dough, combine 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar, and 2 and 3/4 cups flour in a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer (or a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one) and then scrape the dough into a ball and leave it in the bowl, covered, for 15 minutes. To make the filling, peel one large sweet potato and one large regular potato and cut them into cubes. Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with water. Cook over medium-high heat until they are soft. In a pan, heat 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and sauté 1/2 yellow onion (chopped) and 2 cloves of garlic (crushed). Combine the potatoes and the cooked onion mixture and use a mixer to mash the potatoes. Stir in salt, pepper, and a pinch of brown sugar. Roll out the dough (you might have to use flour on the surface you’re working on so it doesn’t stick) and place about 1/4 cup filling onto a corner of the dough. Stretch the dough over the filling and press it down on the other side to seal it. Cut the knish apart from the rest of the dough and place it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Keep repeating this until you have used up all of the dough. Brush the top of each knish with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the dough is cooked and starts to turn golden brown. Enjoy!

The next Jewish recipe I made was for a honey cake (from the same cookbook–I kind of changed it a little though). It looks a little like banana bread and has a similar texture, however, it tastes very sweet and has cinnamon, honey, and walnuts in it. When it was in the oven, it smelled like Christmas because of the cinnamon Here’s the recipe:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, combine 3 cups flour, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. In a separate mixing bowl, combine a Tablespoon of instant coffee with 1/2 cup of boiling water. Blend in 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup of honey, the grated peel of one orange, and 2 Tablespoons of vanilla. Crack 4 eggs into a medium-sized bowl and beat with a mixer until they are frothy. Add 1 cup sugar gradually while beating with the mixer. Add the egg/sugar to the coffee mixture and blend with the mixer. Then add the flour mixture and stir in 1 cup chopped walnuts. Bake for 50 minutes in a 9×13 pan. (Tip: buttering the sides of the pan and lining the bottom with parchment paper is the best way I’ve found to get a cake out of the pan easily and prevent it from sticking to the bottom or to the sides.)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

2 sticks butter, softened

Directions:

Place the first three ingredients in a food processor and blend well. Add the butter (cut into pieces) and pulse the food processor until it forms a dough. Knead the dough until it comes together and roll it out into a round, flat, disk shape. Use a fork to prick small holes in it. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool and then break it into pieces or use a knife or a pizza cutter to slice it into wedge shapes.

1. Creamy Fruit Pops- In a blender, blend 2 cups of fresh fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, cantaloupe, or others) with a little bit of fruit juice or milk (1/4 cup). Stir in vanilla ice cream one scoop at a time until the mixture is the consistency of a thin smoothie. Pour into containers and freeze.

2. Chocolate Banana Popsicles- In the blender, combine 2 bananas with 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of plain yogurt, and a few large squeezes of chocolate syrup. Stir in chocolate chips if you want, then pour into containers and freeze.

3. Lemonade or Limeade Popsicles- Make lemonade with fresh lemon juice or lime juice according to your favorite recipe, adjusting it so that the lemonade is a bit stronger than usual. Pour into containers and freeze. You can also add a drop of red food coloring for pink lemonade popsicles.

You can also dilute your favorite ice cream with milk (or your favorite sherbet with fruit juice) and freeze in containers. Encourage kids to get creative with inventing their own recipes and mixing different fruits and flavors. Good luck and have a great summer!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

½ cup each chocolate chips and dried cherries

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend together with flour mixture using two knives. It should look like crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips and the cherries. Whisk together buttermilk and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture. Gently knead dough 4 or 5 times on a lightly floured surface. Pat dough into a circle and cut into 8 pizza-shaped slices. Make an egg wash of one tablespoon milk and one egg, beaten together, and brush it on top of the scones. Sprinkle tops with sugar and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

1) Butter crunch– this candy is almost exactly like toffee except it is softer and chewier due to the low temperature at which the butter-sugar mixture is cooked. I found the recipe in a 1942 Woman’s Home Companion cookbook. To make butter crunch, melt 1 cup butter over low heat and add 1 cup sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add 1/8 cup of water and 1 Tablespoon of corn syrup. Cook over low heat until it reaches 290 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Stir slowly to prevent burning. Remove from heat and stir in 2/3 cup of almonds. Pour into a buttered pan and let cool. Melt 4 ounces of chocolate or chocolate chips and spread the melted chocolate over the top. Sprinkle it with 1/3 cup almonds that have been chopped finely. If you want, you can spread chocolate and almonds on the other side, too.

2) Peppermint Patties–this recipe is from the same cookbook: Combine 1 cup of water, 2 cups of sugar, and 2 Tablespoons of corn syrup in a saucepan. Stir gently over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, then cover and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and keep boiling (without stirring) until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Tip: If crystals form on the side of the saucepan as the mixture boils. The cookbook recommends using a damp cloth wrapped around the tines of a fork. Pour the syrup onto a marble slab or saucepan that has been sprinkled with cold water. If you have marble countertops, you can do this right on the counter. Do not scrape the pan. Let the syrup cool to 110 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Once it has cooled, use a broad spatula or a knife/spoon to “work it smoothly, toward the center of the slab.” As it cools, it will begin to look like icing and then harden into fondant. Knead the mixture to soften it and then place the fondant into the top of a double boiler. Heat over medium heat (DO NOT BOIL) and stir in a teaspoon of peppermint extract. Drip the melted fondant onto wax paper with a spoon and make circular patty shapes. When they harden, dip them into melted chocolate and let them cool.

3) Peanut Butter Cups–Peanut butter cups are really easy to make. Just melt chocolate or chocolate chips and pour the melted chocolate into a cupcake liner in a cupcake tin (just enough to cover the bottom). Then place a few teaspoons of peanut butter on top of the chocolate and cover with more melted chocolate. Kids may also enjoy decorating the tops with M&Ms, sprinkles, or other candies. Refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grind 1/2 cup almonds and 1/2 cup pecans in a food processor until they are almost like a powder. Add 2 sticks of cold butter (cut into pieces) into the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Add ¼ cup powdered sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract into the processor. Pulse for a few seconds and then add a cup of flour. Pulse a few more seconds, then add another cup of flour. Make small cookie dough balls out of the mixture and put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bottoms start to turn brown. Once the cookies cool a little, roll them in powdered sugar and cool again. Roll in powdered sugar again. Eat.

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, chopped

2 Tablespoons chopped onion

1/4 cup vinegar

2 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 cups cubed potatoes (cooked)

1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped finely

Directions:

Fry the bacon and onion together until the bacon is cooked. In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir the vinegar mixture into the bacon pan and cook for one minute.  Add the cooked potatoes and the parsley.

*Tip: Don’t let the double boiler pan touch the water, or the icing will turn grainy. Good luck!

The produce that is in season right now is very easy to use in foods that kids will enjoy. Lettuce and spinach can be used in salads paired with dressings that kids like (Ranch, for example) and fun toppings like cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, or another vegetable that kids like. Salad bars can be a lot of fun if kids are given interesting toppings! Strawberries are also in season this month. You can use them in fruit salads or eat them as an after-school snack with a sweet dip (store-bought or homemade: vanilla yogurt with honey and fruit preserves stirred in). Or for a dessert that kids will have fun making, you can melt chocolate chips and dip strawberries into them, then cool them on wax paper. Adding nonpareil sprinkles or drizzling melted white chocolate over the top can be a lot of fun too. Here is my recipe using strawberries for a tropical fruit salad from the summer class I taught last year:

Ingredients:

3 oranges

1 can cubed pineapple

1 large can mandarin oranges

1 box fresh strawberries

A few drops of lemon juice

Maraschino cherries

Sweetened flaked coconut

Directions:

Cut each of the oranges in half horizontally. Scoop out the insides and put them in a blender or food processor. In a large bowl, combine the pineapple cubes and mandarin oranges. Slice the strawberries and stir them in. Pulse the orange insides in the blender and strain them into a bowl. Mix the juice with the lemon juice, and Pour it over the fruit salad in the bowl. Serve the fruit salad into the orange halves and garnish them with cherries and coconut.

Boil one pound of potatotes until they are soft, then mash them and season them with butter, milk, and salt as you normally would. In a seperate pot, boil the cabbage until it is no longer crunchy (you don’t want it to be too soggy though). Drain the cabbage and reserve it in a seperate bowl. Cook 2 or 3 slices of bacon in a large saucepan along with 1/4 to 1/2 of a small onion (chopped) and add the reserved cabbage.  Stir in the mashed potatoes and serve. Many old recipes also recommend using a pinch of mace to season the dish. Some people like to make a small indenation in each serving and fill it with melted butter.

If you have shamrock-shaped cookie cutters, they can be used as molds with this next recipe for Rice Krispy treats:

In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter over low heat. Add one 10 oz. package of marshmallows and stir until they have completely melted. Add 3-4 drops of green food coloring and remove from heat. Stir in 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal. You can press the Rice Krispies into a baking pan lined with wax paper and then cut them into squares, or you can wait for them to cool down a little and the mold them by pressing them into a cookie cutter and then letting them rest on a sheet of wax paper. This recipe is super-easy for little kids to help with, too!

Irish stews are also very popular on Saint Patrick’s Day. Irish people mainly raised sheep and grew root vegetables before migrating to America during the potato famine of the late 1840s and early 1850s. A common meal for people who did work like this was a stew made from lamb, potato, onion, and parsley. Since the recipe arrived in America, people have begun to using other types of meat and adding beer to the stews. Another traditional Irish recipe which has been “Americanized” is corned beef. Although many people think of this dish as Irish, the closest thing to it that is actually from Ireland is bacon and cabbage (cooked pork and cabbage simmered with herbs and garlic and served as kind of a stew). The use of corned beef began in New York City’s Lower East Side as a cheap alternative to pork–suggested to Irish immigrants by their Jewish neighbors. I hope that everyone enjoys these recipes and has a great Saint Patrick’s Day!