For fundraising for Ride for Reform we are having a few bake sales. I guess this means I need to learn how to bake.
Mission 1; Blondies.
I was going to bake brownies for this first bake sale but the first three stores I checked out did not have brownie mixes. Strange. Apparently there are some stores you can find Betty Crocker mixes, but I since it was Friday at 1:30 and the stores start to close for Shabbat, I was out of luck. Retreating to a little shop near my apartment I grabbed a bunch of brown sugar, chocolate chips, butter and baking powder.
Before trying a recipe that I have never used before, I figured I'd make them for dessert for Shabbat. Good thing I tried them out first...
We don't have a great selection of baking pans or anything like that in our apartment, a big difference compared to the 25-pieces of cookware. So I used these little bread pans. 2 x 8 in. They cooked a lot faster than I anticipated and they were a little crispy. By crispy I mean rock hard. One of my friends here said we should save them for when we need to build a retaining wall. I could not disagree. They were pretty solid.
So I decided to try again and watch a lot more closely. The cook times I give at the bottom of the recipe are variable, watch your blondies if you try to make them.
Butter - 1 cup (melted)
Brown Sugar - 2 cups
Eggs - 2 (beaten slightly)
Vanilla - 2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 2 pinches
Flour - 2 cups
Chips (chocolate or other) - 2/3 - 3/4 cups
Turn on your oven and set it to 175 C or 350 F.
Melt the butter
Add the butter to brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly.
Mix in eggs and vanilla.
Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and then the chocolate chips.
Grease a baking pan with butter, lightly floured. Whatever you have. I used two small bread pans and one larger baking pan each time I made them.
Bake in your over at 350 F for anywhere between 17 - 25 minutes. It totally depends on your oven or your pans. The important thing is to watch them.
They are done when the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
I didn't make this recipe up myself. I followed one found at the Simply Recipes website.
I don't have pictures right now, since my camera is broken. Maybe I will add one on an update if I can get a friend to take a picture.
B'tayavon!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Ride for Reform
Earlier this week I went to the first meeting for the Ride for Reform, the bike ride I am doing next spring. I'm really excited to be getting started on this. Then reality started to set it, I only have a few months to get ready for the ride.
They have posted the route on their website, and it doesn't look that intense, but I've never rode this far on back to back days before. But other than that, I think I can get my legs into shape to take care of that. Tomorrow I'm planing on joining Dan and Leah, and maybe others, on the road to take a little ride to the Jerusalem Forrest.
The route this year starts in Modiin, if you're familiar with the Channukah Story, it is said to have taken place here. By the end of five days we will be finishing at Masada and the Dead Sea. So I guess I have a way to get down there this year, it's just going to be on a bike and not a bus!
I am worried about one thing though, fundraising. I've never done fundraising for myself before. We're kicking it all off by having a bake sale on Sunday to see what we can start raising together. Adding in to my wariness is that I need to do this all from Israel with little "actual" contact with people in the states. I know this is the digital age, but I would feel more comfortable doing this face to face. ?מה לעשות (Mah La'asot). What to do?
If you are a facebook user, I have created a community page. Please follow along there as I post about my progress. I will probably be putting more on that page than on here.
But what organization is this fundraising going towards? The Ride4Reform collects donations that benefit the IMPJ (Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism). Reform Judaism in Israel is very different from back in the USA. The communities are smaller and there are not a ton of them. Part of the issue is that they are at a disadvantage because so many people in Israel see what many call Orthodoxy as the only way to be observant.
The IMPJ is the Israeli version of the URJ that helps support these communities, helps them with outreach and putting out information about being involved in the Progressive Movement here. They also support youth activities and so much more. This is an incredibly important cause to me, especially in light of some of the issues with the "Rotem Conversion Bill" that was in the forefront this summer. I am really excited to help the IMPJ and to have a lot of fun riding across Israel to do it.
If you're looking for more information about the IMPJ, you can visit the IMPJ website.
There is also plenty of information on the web about the Rotem Bill that still has not been defeated in the K'nesset.
They have posted the route on their website, and it doesn't look that intense, but I've never rode this far on back to back days before. But other than that, I think I can get my legs into shape to take care of that. Tomorrow I'm planing on joining Dan and Leah, and maybe others, on the road to take a little ride to the Jerusalem Forrest.
The route this year starts in Modiin, if you're familiar with the Channukah Story, it is said to have taken place here. By the end of five days we will be finishing at Masada and the Dead Sea. So I guess I have a way to get down there this year, it's just going to be on a bike and not a bus!
I am worried about one thing though, fundraising. I've never done fundraising for myself before. We're kicking it all off by having a bake sale on Sunday to see what we can start raising together. Adding in to my wariness is that I need to do this all from Israel with little "actual" contact with people in the states. I know this is the digital age, but I would feel more comfortable doing this face to face. ?מה לעשות (Mah La'asot). What to do?
If you are a facebook user, I have created a community page. Please follow along there as I post about my progress. I will probably be putting more on that page than on here.
But what organization is this fundraising going towards? The Ride4Reform collects donations that benefit the IMPJ (Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism). Reform Judaism in Israel is very different from back in the USA. The communities are smaller and there are not a ton of them. Part of the issue is that they are at a disadvantage because so many people in Israel see what many call Orthodoxy as the only way to be observant.
The IMPJ is the Israeli version of the URJ that helps support these communities, helps them with outreach and putting out information about being involved in the Progressive Movement here. They also support youth activities and so much more. This is an incredibly important cause to me, especially in light of some of the issues with the "Rotem Conversion Bill" that was in the forefront this summer. I am really excited to help the IMPJ and to have a lot of fun riding across Israel to do it.
If you're looking for more information about the IMPJ, you can visit the IMPJ website.
There is also plenty of information on the web about the Rotem Bill that still has not been defeated in the K'nesset.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
One Long Day
One thing I have found fascinating about Jerusalem is the fact that there are tons or arts activities, often. There is an Arts/Jazz event off Emek Rafayim that happened a few times each week this summer, there was the two week Art Fair and concert series near the Sultan's Pool and tons of others that I've missed.
Last night there was an arts fair on Emek Rafayim. They closed down a few blocks of the street and people set up booths all over the place. Personally, I didn't do any shopping at the booths selling earrings or scarves (surprise surprise). However, I was very much engaged by the various street performances. We stopped to watch some really cool fire dancers and some performance troupes putting on a few shows. We stopped to listen to a band performing, which was completed with a sweet fiddle solo, and paused to watch a "monkey" climbing around a tree.
I wish I had some pictures, but my camera is broken... bummer.
Tuesday was a really long day, and it was good to unwind after that.
In the morning, my Hebrew class took a little trip to one of the old neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It was one of the earliest ones to be built outside the walls of the old city. Today it is just off the edge of Ben Yehudah Street. There were some really cool buildings including the Ticho House, two Synagogues right across the street from each other, the old hospital that became Hadassa before Hadassa was moved across the city, Rav Kook's apartment building and many more awesome places. It was one of the first times I was able to spend time looking at the history of the area instead of running around trying to find a restaurant to meet people.
After the normal Biblical Grammar class we had a large group project. In my History of the Zionist Movement class we have been looking at Russian Zionism around the turn of the 20th Century. We were all assigned different parties to be apart of and prepare a song, posters, a speech and questions to challenge the other parties. Dressed up in costume we conducted a mock Duma. I was very skeptical at the start of the process, but it was really fun by the end.
Almost everyone embraced the project and it was pretty hilarious to hear some of the period-appropriate slurs being shouted at each other during the speeches and the question section. Someone in my group even had the great idea to bribe the party leaders and the other attendees of the Duma. The challenge was getting this all together in less than a week.
Yesterday was a pretty good day!
Last night there was an arts fair on Emek Rafayim. They closed down a few blocks of the street and people set up booths all over the place. Personally, I didn't do any shopping at the booths selling earrings or scarves (surprise surprise). However, I was very much engaged by the various street performances. We stopped to watch some really cool fire dancers and some performance troupes putting on a few shows. We stopped to listen to a band performing, which was completed with a sweet fiddle solo, and paused to watch a "monkey" climbing around a tree.
I wish I had some pictures, but my camera is broken... bummer.
Tuesday was a really long day, and it was good to unwind after that.
In the morning, my Hebrew class took a little trip to one of the old neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It was one of the earliest ones to be built outside the walls of the old city. Today it is just off the edge of Ben Yehudah Street. There were some really cool buildings including the Ticho House, two Synagogues right across the street from each other, the old hospital that became Hadassa before Hadassa was moved across the city, Rav Kook's apartment building and many more awesome places. It was one of the first times I was able to spend time looking at the history of the area instead of running around trying to find a restaurant to meet people.
After the normal Biblical Grammar class we had a large group project. In my History of the Zionist Movement class we have been looking at Russian Zionism around the turn of the 20th Century. We were all assigned different parties to be apart of and prepare a song, posters, a speech and questions to challenge the other parties. Dressed up in costume we conducted a mock Duma. I was very skeptical at the start of the process, but it was really fun by the end.
Almost everyone embraced the project and it was pretty hilarious to hear some of the period-appropriate slurs being shouted at each other during the speeches and the question section. Someone in my group even had the great idea to bribe the party leaders and the other attendees of the Duma. The challenge was getting this all together in less than a week.
Yesterday was a pretty good day!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Mitudellah
Yes, it is November. Yes I am going to write about Ice Cream. I do realize that my friends and family back in the USA are sitting in freezing weather. But here it is still warm enough to get ice cream on the way home, when the sun is still out.
There is this little shop that is, as you can guess, on my way home from school. There really are a lot of restaurants nearby. They sell frozen yogurt and ice cream. I have to admit, I haven't had their ice cream, but I have grabbed some frozen yogurt way to many times on the way home from school.
Being slightly sour, which mixes really well with sweet toppings. Oh geeze do they have sweet toppings. On your cup of frozen yogurt, you can put up to four toppings. Between gummies, all types of chocolate and other candies. They also have fruits, nuts and many other things. I will say, there is nothing too special about the food.
It is a cute little place though. A nice seating area outside that blends into the coffee shop next door. There is one thing that makes this place really unique. On the Azza side of the restaurant, there is an open section of wall that has a counter. Instead of having seats or stools, there are swings! Yep, that's right, swings that you sit on and eat your ice cream.
This is a nice little shop and a place you should stop at if you're nearby. I wouldn't make a trip across the world for it, but if you're in the neighborhood, stop in.
There is this little shop that is, as you can guess, on my way home from school. There really are a lot of restaurants nearby. They sell frozen yogurt and ice cream. I have to admit, I haven't had their ice cream, but I have grabbed some frozen yogurt way to many times on the way home from school.
Being slightly sour, which mixes really well with sweet toppings. Oh geeze do they have sweet toppings. On your cup of frozen yogurt, you can put up to four toppings. Between gummies, all types of chocolate and other candies. They also have fruits, nuts and many other things. I will say, there is nothing too special about the food.
It is a cute little place though. A nice seating area outside that blends into the coffee shop next door. There is one thing that makes this place really unique. On the Azza side of the restaurant, there is an open section of wall that has a counter. Instead of having seats or stools, there are swings! Yep, that's right, swings that you sit on and eat your ice cream.
This is a nice little shop and a place you should stop at if you're nearby. I wouldn't make a trip across the world for it, but if you're in the neighborhood, stop in.
Monday, November 8, 2010
3 Hours in the Library
Yesterday I spent three hours in the library doing research. Not the same research that I had been doing for five years at the University of Minnesota with my nose deep in history books. Instead, by the end of the first two hours, I had a stack of five different editions of Torah translations, three different commentaries on the Torah portion and I had picked up and put down a handful to a half-dozen other commentaries, Midrash and more that I decided were not useful to my purposes.
What do I have to show for all of this work? More than two pages worth of notes and a bunch of different ideas about what I want to talk about. Now comes the hard part. Reducing all of this material into a 500-word D'var Torah. For those unfamiliar with this term, a D'var Torah is basically a short sermon but focuses more on the portion of the week and some of the commentaries related to it.
Much like making a sauce (something I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to do), you have to reduce and reduce and reduce until you get to the solid result. The advice I was given by my advisor is that this exercise is mostly about the process, and less about the product, although the product is important.
So my task for the next week? Make it relevant, and be ready to edit it.
The bottom line? This is so much fun! I could honestly have spent all day in the library doing this, but there are classes to get to.
Speaking of classes, back to homework.
What do I have to show for all of this work? More than two pages worth of notes and a bunch of different ideas about what I want to talk about. Now comes the hard part. Reducing all of this material into a 500-word D'var Torah. For those unfamiliar with this term, a D'var Torah is basically a short sermon but focuses more on the portion of the week and some of the commentaries related to it.
Much like making a sauce (something I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to do), you have to reduce and reduce and reduce until you get to the solid result. The advice I was given by my advisor is that this exercise is mostly about the process, and less about the product, although the product is important.
So my task for the next week? Make it relevant, and be ready to edit it.
The bottom line? This is so much fun! I could honestly have spent all day in the library doing this, but there are classes to get to.
Speaking of classes, back to homework.
Friday, November 5, 2010
In Joshua's Shoes: A Refresher
At first I was concerned that something had gone wrong with my post that I sent in to TCJewfolk. Usually they go up on Thursday, and when I checked before I went to bed, it still wasn't up. Since I had other things on my mind, I just went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, I had an email from one of the editors telling me that I had been held over a day and they are going to post it on Friday as a featured post!
The title doesn't give it away, but last week the Israeli Rabbinic Program held their ordination. It was incredible. They was just something amazing about the ceremony, the setting, everything. Please check it out at this link, In Joshua's Shoes: A Refresher. Their website is great and has blogs written by a variety of people around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Feel compelled to browse around TCJewfolk too.
I want to add a little nugget that I didn't mention in the post, there is this communal clapping thing that happens in Israel. It starts out as an "American" applause, sounding spontaneous. A few seconds into it, the clapping settles down into a rhythm and everyone claps on the same beat. It was strange to hear.
In Israel Seminar on Wednesday, someone asked one of our teachers about it. This Israeli phenomenon is a good thing. It is another way the the community shows that they are together. The communal response shows their appreciation. I'm not sure how I feel about it, it still felt strange.
Before I sign off I want to throw in one last shameless plug. One of my great friends from college (kind of an important person in my life) is writing for TCJewfolk too. Check out her author page here, or her blog, Tenaciously Yours.
Okay plugs are over, and so is this week! Shabbat Shalom!
The title doesn't give it away, but last week the Israeli Rabbinic Program held their ordination. It was incredible. They was just something amazing about the ceremony, the setting, everything. Please check it out at this link, In Joshua's Shoes: A Refresher. Their website is great and has blogs written by a variety of people around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Feel compelled to browse around TCJewfolk too.
I want to add a little nugget that I didn't mention in the post, there is this communal clapping thing that happens in Israel. It starts out as an "American" applause, sounding spontaneous. A few seconds into it, the clapping settles down into a rhythm and everyone claps on the same beat. It was strange to hear.
In Israel Seminar on Wednesday, someone asked one of our teachers about it. This Israeli phenomenon is a good thing. It is another way the the community shows that they are together. The communal response shows their appreciation. I'm not sure how I feel about it, it still felt strange.
Before I sign off I want to throw in one last shameless plug. One of my great friends from college (kind of an important person in my life) is writing for TCJewfolk too. Check out her author page here, or her blog, Tenaciously Yours.
Okay plugs are over, and so is this week! Shabbat Shalom!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Cafe Yehoshuah
Sorry, no picture this time. My camera is broken and I can't take any pictures for a while...
On Derekch Azza (Gaza Street), there is a restaurant that I have been walking past for the last few months. Cafe Yehoshuah. Every morning I walk past as they have some of their fresh fruits and vegetables being delivered and when I walk home at night, it is usually full of people. Finally, I stopped in for some dinner.
For dinner I had their gnocchi in a red cheese sauce, as recommended by Marina. Tasty! The cheese sauce was creamy with a little kick, just the way I like it. I don't know if I have ever had gnocchi before, but I liked it. Not too much else to say about the meal itself. It was everything I expected.
I was intrigued by the meal that two of my friends ate. They ordered a stereotypical Israeli Breakfast for dinner. It looked really good and I decided that I needed to go back, the next day.
For lunch after attending the Israeli Rabbinic Program Ordination Ceremony I grabbed lunch and split the "double" breakfast. Yum!
The brought us eggs, bread, tahini (cilantro and regular), Israeli Salad, apples, pears, tuna salad, chicken salad, a tomato puree, and muesli. I tasted some of the muesli that my friends had ordered last night and I have to say, that's a great breakfast food. It is similar to oatmeal, but it is served sitting at the bottom of a 1.5 oz glass mixed with honey, underneath yogurt. It worked really well with the turkish coffee as a way to finish off a great lunch.
That was something that surprised me. I hadn't intended to order Turkish coffee. All I wanted was just a cup of black coffee, but apparently the english word black is the same thing as Turkish. It was a really good cup of coffee, and I'm not complaining about it in any way, shape or form. Just now what I was expecting. It was also good to have some very fresh tasting orange juice to go along with it.
Basically, what I'm trying to get at, is that Cafe Yehoshuah is a place that you need to stop at if you can. Not only is the food good, but the atmosphere is really relaxed and is a nice restaurant/coffee shop/bar. I really liked the fact that when it is nice out, there are panels in their roof that they can pull back and let the sun come in. I spent a good deal of time watching the clouds pass.
Finally, they have internet. Free internet. I think I found a spot that I will go to do some homework.
On Derekch Azza (Gaza Street), there is a restaurant that I have been walking past for the last few months. Cafe Yehoshuah. Every morning I walk past as they have some of their fresh fruits and vegetables being delivered and when I walk home at night, it is usually full of people. Finally, I stopped in for some dinner.
For dinner I had their gnocchi in a red cheese sauce, as recommended by Marina. Tasty! The cheese sauce was creamy with a little kick, just the way I like it. I don't know if I have ever had gnocchi before, but I liked it. Not too much else to say about the meal itself. It was everything I expected.
I was intrigued by the meal that two of my friends ate. They ordered a stereotypical Israeli Breakfast for dinner. It looked really good and I decided that I needed to go back, the next day.
For lunch after attending the Israeli Rabbinic Program Ordination Ceremony I grabbed lunch and split the "double" breakfast. Yum!
The brought us eggs, bread, tahini (cilantro and regular), Israeli Salad, apples, pears, tuna salad, chicken salad, a tomato puree, and muesli. I tasted some of the muesli that my friends had ordered last night and I have to say, that's a great breakfast food. It is similar to oatmeal, but it is served sitting at the bottom of a 1.5 oz glass mixed with honey, underneath yogurt. It worked really well with the turkish coffee as a way to finish off a great lunch.
That was something that surprised me. I hadn't intended to order Turkish coffee. All I wanted was just a cup of black coffee, but apparently the english word black is the same thing as Turkish. It was a really good cup of coffee, and I'm not complaining about it in any way, shape or form. Just now what I was expecting. It was also good to have some very fresh tasting orange juice to go along with it.
Basically, what I'm trying to get at, is that Cafe Yehoshuah is a place that you need to stop at if you can. Not only is the food good, but the atmosphere is really relaxed and is a nice restaurant/coffee shop/bar. I really liked the fact that when it is nice out, there are panels in their roof that they can pull back and let the sun come in. I spent a good deal of time watching the clouds pass.
Finally, they have internet. Free internet. I think I found a spot that I will go to do some homework.
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