Rainbow Martini

Parshat Noach: A Rainbow Martini

I hope that you enjoyed the drinks from the holidays!

I just recently noticed that the colours do not always show up on my blog, so I am going to try to work on that. But in the meantime, if the colours are not showing up on your computer screen, please know that I attempted to make the blog as much of a rainbow as possible by making the first row red, second row orange, etc.

This week's parsha is Noach, with the Noah and the ark story. I always liked the ending of the story with the dove bringing an olive branch and then a rainbow. The rainbow is supposed to be a symbol of God's promise to never destroy the world again. As a teacher of young children, I tend to see rainbows in the students' drawings a lot. One time, I asked one of my students about the rainbows in her drawings and she answered simply, "When I look at rainbows, I feel happy." I think that's true for many people, young and old, that rainbows help to bring happiness, comfort, and hope.

Not too long ago, Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was held prisoner for years, was just returned home to his family in Israel. This is definitely cause for both celebration and a little bit of wariness and worry for the future: Gilad's future and Israel's future. I hope that this Shabbat can bring us what the image of the rainbow helps to provide: a little happiness, comfort and hope for the future of a better world.

Presenting a rainbow drink!!

Recipe for.....

Malibu Reggae Rainbow

Cocktail - Long drink

2 oz Malibu® coconut rum
1 oz Midori® melon liqueur
3 - 4 oz pineapple juice
1 splash cranberry juice

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Pour in the Malibu rum, then Midori melon liqueur (which will sink to the bottom). Gently pour in pineapple juice. Do not shake. Gently splash in a bit of cranberry juice. Do not mix. Drink will be layered, from top to bottom; green, yellow, red.

Bottom's Up! Simchat Torah is Here

Bottom's Up! An Upside Down cocktail

Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday) to you all! I hope that you are enjoying the holiday so far. In the spirit of the holiday season, I will keep this post short.

Introducing...

Bottom's Up!

two versions:

shot:

-one shot of triple sec or peach schnapps

-2 drops of vanilla extract

-shot of pineapple juice

-drop of grenadine

drink:

-one shot of vodka

-one shot of triple sec or peach shnapps

-2 drops of vanilla extract

-4 shots (or the rest of the glass) of pineapple juice

-drop of grenadine

Some of you may think that I chose this drink because during the upcoming holiday of Simchat Torah, that you may say the expression "Bottom's Up" a lot. However, there is another reason besides the name of the drink. If you look carefully, this drink is supposed to look the same if you look at the glass from the bottom up, or from the top down. This holiday is celebrating the end of the year of weekly readings of the Torah portions and the beginning of a new year of weekly readings of the Torah. I always thought that it was strange that we start the new Torah cycle at this time of year and not at Shavuot when we celebrate that we received the Torah. But, this is the season that we people get another chance at a new year, a fresh start. So, we are similar to the Torah in a way, still the same, but in a way different and changed for the new year.

Enjoy the next holiday and...bottom's up!

Sukkah in a Glass

Happy Sukkot 5772!

I have always liked this holiday and it is a special one for my family. I know what you're thinking, that I like Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival, because it usually falls around Canadian Thanksgiving. Well, that is definitely a coincidence, and not the reason that I like the holiday. Mostly, I like the holiday because it is the one time during the year that my whole family on my mom's side squeezes together into a sukkah. Even though it is usually cold and we have to bundle up in our coats, scarves, etc., it is a special time for us to be together.

I remember learning as a child that we eat and spend a lot of time in the sukkah even though it is super cold out because it is supposed to remind us that we are strong and that we, as a Jewish people, can survive anything, even the Canadian cold fall weather. But, then during my 3rd year of university when I studied at Hebrew University, I realized that Sukkot in Israel is actually in fantastic weather for eating outside! So, there went that theory.

My cousins and I even discussed this while sitting in the Samson family sukkah in Efrat. I think it was cousin Maury who spoke about the image of the sukkah in this famous verse that is in many t'fillot:

"hapores sukkat shalom aleinu","הפורס סוכת שלום עלינו" God who protects us with a sukkah over us

He said that this image of a sukkah as a form of protection is kind of intriguing, since it is not always the most protective, stable structure. Why not a building or better yet a fortress? But, as long as God is part of the structure, protecting, then maybe it will make it safer. I think that when you think of an empty sukkah, that it seems fragile, but, maybe when the image of that structure includes people in it, together they make each other stronger and feel safer.

So, this cocktail is an attempt to create your very own sukkah in a glass, complete with brown "walls" to represent the wooden walls of many sukkot and a green and beige top to represent the green and beige schach (roof). This is also adapted from a cocktail that I helped my Sabba make in a sukkah one time when we had a dairy meal. Oh yeah, fyi, this cocktail is DAIRY, so make sure that you're aware of this when you make this cocktail.

Sukkah in a Glass

-take a cold glass and dip the rim of the glass into graham cracker bits

-add the following ingredients into the glass:

-one shot of chocolate liquor or Khalua

-1 and 1/2 shot of chocolate milk

-one shot of peppermint schnapps or creme demint

-fill the rest of the glass with chocolate or mint ice cream

-add a fresh mint leaf on the top

Sweet New Year 5772

Rosh Hashana 5772- A Sweet New Year and a Sweet New Drink

After a long time away from the blog, I have decided to try to get back into it. So, I am welcoming the new Hebrew year of 5772 with a new drink!

Many people consider Rosh Hashana to be a time for reflection on the past year. During the month right before Rosh Hashana, it is a time to ask others for forgiveness for wrongdoings of the past. There is a lot of preparation for this holiday, soul-searching, reflection on past wrong-doings, not to mention the food and drink preparation! Some of us reflect and soul search while we prepare food, so this holiday is perfect for that! There are a lot of foods that are served during Rosh Hashana to help to introduce sweetness, peace and other elements to the upcoming year. For instance, apples and honey, the typical Rosh hashana food, are meant to bring sweetness to the year. Pomegranates, my favourite fruit, is supposed to represent the many many mitzvot, or positive commandments that we are hoping to do in the new year.

Not only are there a lot of tastes to Rosh Hashana, but there are also a lot of sounds to Rosh Hashana, in particular the sound of the shofar. If the food that we eat is supposed to help with bringing a taste of the positive elements of the coming year, then the sound of the shofar is supposed to be like an alarm, reminding us all to do the work of reflection and soul-searching. It can be a bit of a piercing, sour sound to some, but still an essential part of feeling the holiday.

So, I thought that a drink that has both elements of the sweet and sour would be fitting for this holiday to help with reflection and for preparation for the new year.

Introducing...

The Tekiyah Shot

-honey (enough for a squirt on the wrist)

-slice of apple

-shot of tequila

-teaspoon of lime juice

1) pour tequila into a shot glass and leave a bit of room in the glass for the lime juice

2) add lime juice

3) for the shot...first squirt the honey on wrist, lick it!

4) drink the shot

5) eat the apple slice

And as for my reflection, I hope that you all forgive me for abandoning this blog for so long. I am excited to be a part of this again, and I would like to remind you all that if any of you would like to contribute to the blog, just let me know.

Shana Tova U'Metukah/Have a Sweet New Year!

Parshat Eikev

Al Ha'aretz v'al Hamazon

In this week's parsha (Eikev, in case the title of my blog didn't show up on your computer), is the famous phrase: "V'achalta, V'Savata, U'v'rachta" (D'varim 8:10). It's famous because, among other things, it is quoted in one of the paragraphs in Birkat Hamazon:

כַּכָּתוּב, וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָֽעְתָּ, וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ עַל הָאָֽרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָֽתַן לָךְ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, עַל הָאָֽרֶץ וְעַל הַמָּזוֹן.

I wanted to use the version from birkat hamazon instead of from the Torah for a few reasons:

1) so people could relate to it better

2) b/c it doesn't have annoying Torah notations/trop that messes up the font when I copy and paste it from DavkaWriter

3) to further my point about the bracha!

The bracha is about the land (aretz) and the food (mazon). I like how the rabbis put together the idea of where the food comes from in the bracha. When people understand a little bit more about where food comes from and how it got to their bodies, I think that more appreciation stems from them. This is not just useful when it comes to thinking about food, but also about other aspects of the world. It is important to try to be open to constantly learning about historical context and practicality about where our materials come from so that our appreciation and gratefulness continues to grow and develop.

I would like to urge you all to consider where you get your beer, wine, and other liquors and make the decision wisely. Is it important to you to support local beers and Israeli wines? Or is it more important to you to buy wine and beer according to season? Or perhaps organic and fairtrade products are of atmost importance? whatever it is, please continue to make it a DECISION and not just "what happens".

On that note, I am including a link to an interactive picture sequence of how bread is made:

http://www.warburtons.co.uk/our-world/seed-to-crumb/

On another note: I am leaving this coming Tuesday on a trip to Europe! I am very excited for the upcoming travels, but I regret to inform you that I will probably not have time to update my blog when I'm there. So, in honour of the upcoming travels, here is a recipe for a French martini, which I hope to have when I am in Paris:

1 1/2 oz vodka
1/4 oz Chambord® raspberry liqueur
1/4 ozfresh pineapple juice
1 twist lemon peel

Pour each of the above into a tall bar glass. Shake with ice, pour into a cocktail or martini glass, and serve.

Nachamu

This Shabbat, we are all seeking comfort after Tisha B'Av. Many of us will seek for that comfort through song. I've always liked the Jewish accapella version of the song "Nachamu ami" from this week's haftarah and I will definitely be playing it for those who I teach at Ramah Nyack. Also, today is Zimriya at Ramah, so many many more will be seeking comfort from being with others in their community and singing together.

Shabbat, in general, is a comforting time. Many have told me before that they feel that it gives them comfort to know that Shabbat is coming up at the end of the week.

I am NOT recommending to seek comfort through these drinks! However, I do think that in celebration of Shabbat and of what we do currently have in our Jewish communities around the world that we should celebrate and seek comfort from each other.

p.s. I want to give a quick shout-out to two Rachels in my life who are graduating today from the YU Social Work Program!

Here is the recipe:

British Comfort recipe

Southern Comfort, gin, lemon juice and orange juice into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes.

Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Matot-Masei

This Shabbat could be both sweet and sour. It is the last Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh Av, one of the bitter months of the year. However, it is sweet, because it is the last Shabbat before moving on to a new book of the Torah: Devarim. So, I propose a drink that is both sweet and a bit sour: margarita!

(also, a margarita is very fitting since I suggested a drink in honour of Canada Day and American Independence Day last week, so now I've covered all of North America!)

Rina Strawberry Margarita:

-2 shots of tequila

-1/2 shot (or more, it's about your taste) of lime juice

-1/2 teaspoon of salt

-4-5 ice cubes OR 4-5 frozen strawberries (preferred)

-blend in blender

-add a lime wedge!

OR

-buy the frozen margarita mix and add as much tequila as the can tells you

-feel free to add your own frozen fruit