The Bunny Box

Some of you may recall my history with candy-making is...not great. You may recall the " fudge fiasco " of 2011, or the apple cider caramels I made for mishloach manos one Purim a couple years back that took all day and came out so awful I didn't even post about them. Well, ever since those awful experiences, I've pretty much avoided any kind of candy recipes.  Cooking sugar on the stove has just been a major no-no for me.  I've made a few simple syrups, but I did so begrudgingly and with great trepidation. I've even seen these seemingly simple microwave caramel recipes floating around, but I've been too scared to attempt them. But then a few days ago, I saw something new.  It was a recipe for caramel sauce made with coconut milk, honey, and sea salt.  Nothing else.  I had all the ingredients on hand and a free day coming up. I went for it. And I'm not sorry, either. I had intended to cook this longer so that it would become a candy, as ...

The family and I were invited out for Shabbos lunch this week and I offered to bring dessert just as I was perusing Tastespotting.com and "spotted" a recipe for Apple Meringue Pie.  What a perfect opportunity to try my hand at meringue! And why didn't I try sooner? It's so incredibly easy! This recipe is delicious and PERFECT JUST AS IT IS! (adapted from Dine & Dash ) Note the stiff peak. :) Apple Meringue Pie ~4 apples, 3 diced and 1 sliced thin 1/2 C water 1/2 C sugar 1 tsp cinnamon juice of 1 lemon (or just eyeball some lemon juice.  Don't gotta be too scientific) 2 egg whites 4 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 graham cracker pie crust Bring water and 1/2 C sugar to a boil in a small pan over medium-high heat.  Add in diced apples, lemon juice, and cinnamon.  Let cook for about 10 minutes. Beat egg whites and 4 Tbsp sugar on high with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Add in vanilla and beat until vanilla is i...

I'm trying to get in a habit of posting here more regularly, which is probably a bad idea with the end of the semester rapidly approaching.  I really don't cook much these days, and when I do it's fairly boring.  I did make cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving that came out pretty delicious, but it's not post-worthy and I didn't get any pictures. (Recipe here .) We've been living off of a lot of Shabbos leftovers, basic pasta dinners, tuna, and eggs lately.  It's not that I don't enjoy those dinners from time to time.  It's good to have a break.  But after a bit, it just leaves me feeling kinda "meh" about life.  So every now and then, I get these flashes of inspiration and wreck my kitchen to create a dinner that brings a little spirit back to the table. Which brings us to Tuesday.  On Tuesday, I stood around wondering what we'd eat for dinner when I remembered two things: I had a package of tofu in the fridge I had stir-fry veggie...

This is going to have to be a quickie post, because I have to go to bed. You see, our upstairs neighbor is in the habit of blasting his music at odd hours on Sunday mornings Today he was blasting it around 4:30. I was not amused. Tomorrow I have a long day, and as you can imagine, I'm tired. So this will be quick. Cookies. Gingersnaps. Made them on pure impulse (and some other ingredients). Recipe below. Gingersnap Cookies Ingredients: 1 Cup whole wheat flour 1 Cup all-purpose flour 1.5 tsp baking soda 1.5 tsp ground ginger 2 tsp cinnamon .5 tsp salt .5 tsp pepper 4 Tbsp butter/margarine 7 Tbsp canola oil 1/3 Cup sugar 1/3 Cup Splenda (or other bakeable sugar substitute) 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/4 Cup molasses 1 Large egg Extra sugar for rolling Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the dry ingredients (all except the sugar) in a bowl (or in a tupperware container, and s...

Well hello, there!  I hope you all enjoyed your month of Jewish Holidays.  Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and then Sukkos, and now we're all kind of sick of eating, right? Nah.  Never. But all the same, this Shabbos called for lighter fare and less time in the kitchen, especially since I've had a virus for the past week.  So I decided to keep it REALLY simple and just make a pot of classic chicken soup for dinner. But then, you know me.  I can't just leave it at that.  I had to do SOMETHING interesting with it. While walking through the grocery store contemplating what I'd make, I found myself irked by the price of a chicken these days.  $14?  For a chicken?  That's max 2 meals for us.  But $10 for a 5lb package of frozen ground chicken?  That's a lot more meals.  Bang for your buck, ya know?  So I started formulating ideas. What I landed on was making wontons for the soup.  That idea lasted until I started try...

Rosh Hashana has come and gone, and Yom Kippur is coming fast. How did all this time just fly by me? Two years ago, I used this time to work on myself, pray as hard as I could, take on resolutions to do better with everything, in the hopes that G-d would see and finally let me have a baby. It must have worked, because almost exactly one year later, I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl. I had hoped to spend that Rosh Hashana thanking Hashem for this amazing blessing, but when the time came, I was just such a mess, so exhausted, and so overwhelmed, I barely noticed the holidays pass by. And then we get to this year. I am exceedingly grateful for my daughter and all the amazing gifts I've been given, but as Rosh Hashana approached, I was yet again too busy to properly prepare myself. I still have almost a week until Yom Kippur, and my goal is to use them as best I can. If any of you have suggestions, please let me know. How DOES a wife, mother, student, intern, etc., m...

One year ago, 7:14AM Erev Rosh Hashana I gave birth to an amazing little girl. The past year has been both the best and hardest of my life, and as I look back over it I know I have a lot to be thankful for. As I look forward to my daughter's second year, I know I have a lot to pray for. Happy birthday to my sweet little bundle of joy. May you have many more years full of happiness, health, love, wonder, and all the good in the world. Everyone have a chag sameach and a k'siva v'chasima tovah!

First of all, I'd like to state the obvious: I love calzones! They're easy to make and so wonderfully customizable for whatever I've got hanging out in the fridge.  Er...maybe not ANYTHING, but at least the stuff that hasn't developed it's own ecosystem. Secondly, before I tie that statement to anything relevant (like, say, a recipe) I want to talk about my week.  Not this one.  Last one. Last week, The Huz took a week off from work so we could have our first real family vacation.  We took a trip to Albany to visit his grandfather (very enjoyable trip, though unfortunately he passed away this morning, BDE), took The Boo to the library for the first time (she had a blast in the baby room!), took a trip to the beach (deets and pics to follow), and spent the weekend out of town with some friends. All in all, it was a wonderful, though exhausting, week. Let me focus for a minute on that beach trip. Ahhh....thanks... I've been craving the beach ...

You're gonna hate me. I hate myself for this. I made AMAZING stuffed portabella mushrooms on Tuesday, but I was so hungry that I ate them before getting any pictures. :( I know. I'll accept my punishment. But trust me. These were amazing. Served with roasted veggies=FULL MEAL OF AWESOME! Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms Portabella mushrooms 1 package garlic couscous, cooked (or whatever couscous you want to make is cool, too) Ricotta/cottage cheese Shredded mozzarella Optional: sauteed spinach, sauteed onions, fried crispy onions, Any other awesomes Wipe mushrooms with a damp paper towel to clean and remove stems.  Rinsing mushrooms waterlogs them. They're little sponges. Place in a pan, gill side up. (Some people remove the gills, but I love their flavor so I keep them.) Sprinkle mushrooms with a pinch of salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Spread a layer of ricotta/cottage cheese on.  Don't skimp.  If you're going to add any other toppings...

Hey guess what!  You can now follow The Bunny Box on Twitter! I mean, I can't promise it will be too interesting, but I'm likely to post more there than I do here. I will probably mostly use it to say what I'm cooking and share recipes I've found. Also, there may be mention of cute babies. Also, there may be random thoughts. Also, there may be nothing at all.  I promise you nothing. In any case, I'm here @BunnyBoxTweets . (Can you believe someone already had TheBunnyBox?)

I know, I know. It's been a while since my last post. I'm supposed to be better about keeping up on it, but I'm not. For what it's worth, I have a lot to talk about today! My first story is kind of sad and tragic. You see, a few days ago, I decided to try making "Coffee Pops." I'd seen the idea on several other blogs and thought it would be a good way to get my coffee while holding my daughter without worrying about scolding her.  So I brewed a pot of coffee, mixed it with milk and splenda, and poured it into my bunny Popsicle molds. I had high hopes and I was eager. Perhaps TOO eager. The next morning, I went to remove a popsicle from one of the molds, but it hadn't loosened enough and my dear, sweet bunny pop cracked in half. In honor of the bunny's memory, I wrote a poem.   Ode To A Popsicle Stick    Little Bunny Fu-Fu  That's what I might have called you  But your life was cut too short to have a name.  ...

Things are heating up here on the East Coast, and the humidity doesn't help. So this week for shabbos, I decided to try my hand at a simple sorbet. I went for watermelon because I'm seeing them everywhere and they're just sooooo tempting when you feel sticky and icky after being outside for only 10 minutes. And as I had also bought a bunch of mint leaves so I could make some Limonana , I figured why not add a little mint. The result is this beautifully pink, deliciously refreshing, and wonderfully icy treat. Make it. Love it. Watermelon Mint Sorbet (Note: This recipe is based off of Paula Dean's recipe for Raspberry Sorbet .) Ingredients 1 seedless watermelon, cut into chunks, without rind 2 Cups sugar (note: I actually halved the sugar and water in this recipe and made only 1 Cup of simple syrup, adding a about 1/2 cup of Splenda to the sorbet while it mixed in the ice-cream maker. You can try the original 2 cups, but remember that it was for raspberr...

I've gotten so many requests for this recipe, and I realized it never got posted to my blog. I have no picture for it, but here's the recipe. Note: I NEVER measure anything for this recipe. The measurements I give are approximations. I recommend tasting as you go and adjusting accordingly. Chummus 1 can Garbanzo beans 1 tsp-1 Tbsp olive oil (more olive oil will result in a thinner chummus) 2-3 cloves of garlic 1-2 Tbsp Tahini 1 tsp lemon juice OR the juice of 1 lemon 1-2 tsp Cumin powder 1 tsp Parsley (either chopped fresh, or dried) The following seasonings are just to taste: Paprika, Ground red pepper, onion powder, salt, pepper Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree to desired texture. Taste, and adjust seasoning. You can also add other flavorings such as: Pesto, roasted peppers, spinach. If you can dream it, you can make it. :) Enjoy!

This is a quicky post. Just wanted to share my lunch. Romaine lettuce, strawberries, cherries, green apple, and Ken's Raspberry Walnut Dressing. Yum!

It's strawberry season, ladies and gents! Of course, it's almost over. And of course, while strawberry season comes to a close, I'm only just getting around to it. But yesterday I headed out to Baugher's Farm to pick them for myself.  I brought along my mom and my daughter, both of them first timers!  They basically just sat on the bench while I did all the labor, but they enjoyed the beautiful weather and the sprawling green landscape. As you can see, I got a decent amount.  Still, the pickin's were slimmer than I'd hoped. Since I don't cook or bake as much as I used to, what with this small, precious, demanding person who's entered my life, I figured I'd better freeze these babies for future use. I washed them, cut off the tops, dried them with paper towels, spread them out on a baking sheet, and stuck them in the freezer. In a little while, I'll take them out and seal them in a freezer bag. Supposedly, they...

Before I became a mom, I though baby drool, spit-up, and other bodily fluids were...pretty darn gross.  I knew I would become a mom one day, but I couldn't really imagine actually DEALING with all of those things. Yet here I am.  Wearing my daughter's lunch like a badge of honor. I always knew I wanted to be a mother one day, but I never really knew why.  Maybe it was societal pressures, maybe it was biology.  Whatever it was, it was there, even before I ever developed an interest in children. And now I've made it. And I finally know why. I won't bother enumerating the wonderful things about having a baby of my own.  You can't quantify love.  I just wanted to share this feeling with you all. My daughter's bodily fluids are actually still pretty gross. And smelly. And sometimes don't wash out. But I wear them with pride. I am a mother. And that makes me mother enough. :)

Today hasn't been a "healthy" day for me. I mean, I went running this morning, but...food-wise... Well, I rounded it out with a really good dinner. Not incredibly healthy. Not incredibly unhealthy either. But definitely delicious. Scallion Pancakes   (I lost the website where I got this recipe! :[ ) Ingredients: 2 Cups flour 3/4 Cups boiling water 2 Cups scallions, green part only, thinly sliced (I had one cup.  It worked out.) 1/8 sesame oil (I didn't have this, so I just used conola oil :-\) 1/4 Cup vegetable oil Instructions: Place the flour in a food processor and using the opening, slowly poor the water in with the processor on until a sticky dough comes together. Place the dough on a clean work surface and form into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel (not a fluffy towel, no need for fuzz in the dough), let rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll out, one at a time, into an 8 inc...

Tonight, the Huz and I were watching the most recent episode of Once Upon A Time, which featured a "poisoned" apple turnover.  Needless to say, this made me hungry...even though we were watching it while eating dinner...  This seemed like a great opportunity to use the puff pastry recipe I got from my favorite Facebook group, Jewish Balti-Mommies.  It also seemed like a great use for the ancient apple that was in the fridge.  Yeah, it was totally delicious.  Puff Pastry Dough 2 Cups flour 1/4 Cup oil 3/4 Cup water 1 tsp salt Mix all ingredients together Let rest for 10 minutes Apple Turnovers (yields 2 large) 1 batch puff pastry dough 1 apple (I used granny smith) sugar (I'm guessing it was between 1/4 Cup and 1/2 Cup) cinnamon (1 tsp?) Slice apple thin and then toss with sugar and cinnamon until well coated Split dough in half, roll each half into a large circle. Place half of the apple slices on one half...

Ok, this is another quickie.  I was jonesing to make SOMETHING today, so when it got to be after dinner (consisting of leftovers from shabbos: lentil tacos, FTW!) I decided to make something I've seen trending in the blog world: Roasted Chickpeas.   Chickpeas are, as I'm sure you know, high in protein and fiber, low in fat and other ickiness, and probably have other nutritional benefits, too. And when you roast them with various seasonings, they become a crunchy, flavorful snack!   The process is simple:  Step 1: Open a can of chickpeas and drain  Step 2: Rinse chickpeas, then dry between two paper towels  Step 3: Mix chickpeas with whatever seasonings you want.  Step 4: Roast at 450 degrees farenheit on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through.   See? Simple!   So that's my snack for work tomorrow. It probably isn't CHEAPER than a storebough snack, but at l...

Ok, it's late, so this is going to be quick. First, I made a dinosaur. Look at those eyebrows! Second, I made taco pizza! It was tasty! And pretty easy to make! So, that was my most brilliant idea ever. :) And now, a recipe! Taco Pizza Pizza dough (I made mine from scratch using my usual recipe , and added cilantro and lime juice) Vegetarian ground beef taco seasoning 1 small onion, diced 1 red pepper, diced 1 green pepper, diced 1 can corn, drained 1 can fire roasted tomatoes 1 can fire roasted green chiles Shredded cheese Avocado, sliced Saute onions in a large frying pan with olive oil. Add taco seasoning to onions, stir, then add vegetarian ground beef.  Crumble up beef while you mix it with the onions and seasoning. When the beef food product is hot, seasoned and a little browned, remove from pan and set aside. Put peppers and more oil into frying pan and saute for about 2-3 minutes. Add in corn and chiles, continue to saute...

In every life, in every culture, there are events and stories which become so deeply ingrained in an individual personality or a societal memory that they simply cannot be left behind. For the Jews, there are so many. Thousands of years of history filled with far too many national tragedies. All my life I have been exposed to these tragedies, as well as the triumphs, of the Jewish narrative. Some were so far away, so long ago, that I could never connect to them, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't imagine the suffering. I couldn't realize the people. They were stuck as characters on paper. Characters I didn't know, couldn't relate to. But when it comes to the Holocaust, the most glaring blight of the 20th century, I had the opportunity to hear the stories from the survivors themselves. They would come to our school, show us pictures, show us scars, tattoos, and tears that will never fade away. I used to sit and wonder, "If the Nazis came to get me, would ...

picture source As I embark on Pesach cleaning, I find myself faced with the same dilemma I have every year: The balance between what I need to do and what I feel I SHOULD do. My husband is anti-chumra on Pesach. He insists that Pesach cleaning should be bare minimum to avoid shalom bayis issues. I grew up putting away toiletries and scrubbing every inch of the home. My husband says I don't even have to vacuum. (If you wouldn't pick up the chometz and eat it, he says, it's not substantial chometz. Unless it's an actual chunk of chometz, it doesn't matter.) Every year, I try to adhere to his Pesach rules, and I end up feeling anxious and guilty, like I've for sure missed something important because I didn't have a nervous breakdown and shout obscenities at anyone. Isn't that what Pesach cleaning is all about? So, okay, I get where he's coming from. It makes sense. I'm sure he's right. But isn't Pesach a time where we're supposed ...

It's Purim ! Can you guess what my daughter is dressed as? A bunny, of course! So is her cousin. :) Today was Ta'anis Esther (the Fast of Esther) and as it happens, I have a little tradition about fasts. I always, with very few exceptions, break my fasts on mac & cheese. Sometimes it's the boxed stuff (gotta love it!), sometimes it's just pasta with cheese melted on it. This time, I still had some of that spinach left in the fridge, and I had a craving for fettuccine alfredo, so I decided to try making my own cheese sauce with spinach. It was pretty yummy, if I do say so myself. After dinner, I had to run to megillah reading, and when I got back at almost 10PM, I remembered that I had wanted to bake some cupcakes tonight. I could just do it tomorrow, but then I'd have to do it with my dear daughter screaming in my ear. So I went ahead and baked them. And took a few pictures. And experimented with staging my shots to get them the way I want them. I came ...