Cafe Liz

Purim is approaching, and while I haven’t decided on a costume, I did decide to dress up my hamentaschen in Middle Eastern outfits. Hamentaschen are traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cookies notable for their three-pointed form, which according to tradition resembles the three-cornered hat of Haman, the holiday’s antagonist. (In Hebrew, for some reason, they’re called oznei haman, or “Haman’s ears.”) Last year I dressed up my hamantaschen as Japanese-inspired mochi cookies, this year I they resembled Middle Eastern pastries. The Purim [...]

Rosh Hashanah starts this Friday, and I’m hosting. Festive holiday meal! And I get to cook it all! Yay! (Well, aside from the dishes my guests are bringing.) My excitement could easily lead to way too much food, if I weren’t limited by a combination of time and resources. Needless to say, I’ve been spending the week dreaming about what I’m going to make. And, doing trial runs of potential desserts. In all honesty, jello isn’t my favorite dessert — [...]