Give Us This Day Our Daily Unleavened Bread



Show me the matzo!

My favorite Passover holiday memories from long ago include my mother's wonderful cooking but my most favorite was finding the hidden matzo and getting a $20 bill from my Uncle Art.  On the downside, going without leavened bread for the week was tough (when I actually did it), but the upside was the fried matzo (matzo brei) we'd have for breakfast every single day.  Sometimes cinnamon & sugar was the topping of choice, and other times it was good old, delicious maple syrup - Log Cabin, I think.  Just writing about it makes me want to go to sleep so I can wake up and have it for breakfast ASAP.

Passover Bulletin:  Here's the lost 5th question that we now ask at the sedar:  "Why, if matzo is spelled matzo, do we still call it matza?"

The other "sacrifice" we had to make during Passover was the very limited choices when it came to baked goods.  There were a couple of types of cake, made with matzo meal, and coconut macaroons (not those fancy French kind that are all the rage), and that was about it.  Today there are endless choices, if you can drive all the way to Fairfax or a few special bakeries scattered throughout the Los Angeles area to wait in an endless line with other mensches.  If not, here's an easy recipe that has just a few ingredients, takes just a little bit of time, and makes the best Passover macaroons you'll ever have - or so said my friend Bonnie.

Fancy French Macaroons Non                          
4 cups Melissa's coconut chips
1 cup raw almonds
equivalent of 3-4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup teeny semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup Melissa's Dried Orange Peels, diced

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil.  Separately mince the almonds in a processor and then do the same for the coconut chips.

Mix all the ingredients together.  The mixture will not be like cookie dough but like a mixture of stuff slightly held together by wet egg whites which is what it is.  If not wet enough, add more egg white.  Then put some mixture in a tablespoon, press it lightly with your fingers, then place it carefully on the parchment and repeat, leaving at least 1" between mounds.  If the mixture scatters a little when placing it on the baking sheet then just pat the loose pieces back together.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let rest for a minute or so and then move to a cooling rack.  Start another batch until all the mixture is baked.  When cooled place the macaroons in an airtight container, each layer separated by parchment paper, or place a few in a cellophane bag, tie with a ribbon, and think of how much easier this was then driving to Fairfax. 

HAPPY PASSOVER EVERYONE!



Show me the matzo!

My favorite Passover holiday memories from long ago include my mother's wonderful cooking but my most favorite was finding the hidden matzo and getting a $20 bill from my Uncle Art.  On the downside, going without leavened bread for the week was tough (when I actually did it), but the upside was the fried matzo (matzo brei) we'd have for breakfast every single day.  Sometimes cinnamon & sugar was the topping of choice, and other times it was good old, delicious maple syrup - Log Cabin, I think.  Just writing about it makes me want to go to sleep so I can wake up and have it for breakfast ASAP.

Passover Bulletin:  Here's the lost 5th question that we now ask at the sedar:  "Why, if matzo is spelled matzo, do we still call it matza?"

The other "sacrifice" we had to make during Passover was the very limited choices when it came to baked goods.  There were a couple of types of cake, made with matzo meal, and coconut macaroons (not those fancy French kind that are all the rage), and that was about it.  Today there are endless choices, if you can drive all the way to Fairfax or a few special bakeries scattered throughout the Los Angeles area to wait in an endless line with other mensches.  If not, here's an easy recipe that has just a few ingredients, takes just a little bit of time, and makes the best Passover macaroons you'll ever have - or so said my friend Bonnie.

Fancy French Macaroons Non                          
4 cups Melissa's coconut chips
1 cup raw almonds
equivalent of 3-4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup teeny semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup Melissa's Dried Orange Peels, diced

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil.  Separately mince the almonds in a processor and then do the same for the coconut chips.

Mix all the ingredients together.  The mixture will not be like cookie dough but like a mixture of stuff slightly held together by wet egg whites which is what it is.  If not wet enough, add more egg white.  Then put some mixture in a tablespoon, press it lightly with your fingers, then place it carefully on the parchment and repeat, leaving at least 1" between mounds.  If the mixture scatters a little when placing it on the baking sheet then just pat the loose pieces back together.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let rest for a minute or so and then move to a cooling rack.  Start another batch until all the mixture is baked.  When cooled place the macaroons in an airtight container, each layer separated by parchment paper, or place a few in a cellophane bag, tie with a ribbon, and think of how much easier this was then driving to Fairfax. 

HAPPY PASSOVER EVERYONE!