COMPILED BY ELIZABETH APPLEBAUfkj

Oh, Honey, You're So Sweet

T

he National Honey
Board recently an-
nounced the winners of
its 1993 recipe contest, held
in conjunction with
Hadassah magazine
each September
(which also is nation-
al honey month).
All 316 recipe entries
came from Hadassah chapter
cookbooks and used honey as
the principal sweetener. More
than 60 chapters entered
recipes.
First place went to Poppy
Seed Hamantashen, submit-
ted by Mid-Missouri
Deborah Hadassah
chapter's Re-
becca Smith
from
the
chapter cook-
book, Favorite
Recipes from
Hadassah. She won a $2,000
donation to Hadassah in the
Mid-Missouri Deborah chap-
ter's name.
The Northern Virginia
Hadassah chapter claimed
second place for baklava, sub-
mitted by Susan White from
the chapter cookbook, From
Soup to Nosh.
The winning recipes:
Poppy Seed Haman-
tashen
5-6 cups flour, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
5 eggs, divided
1 cup honey
poppy seed filling
Mix together 5
rs` cups flour, salt
and baking
powder. Make
a well in the
center and add
shortening, 4 eggs
and honey. Work to-
gether until dough is formed,

)

adding flour as
needed. Roll out
thinly and cut
into 4-inch circles. Place 1
Tbs. filling on each; fold up
three sides and press to-
gether into triangles, leav-
ing tops somewhat open.
Beat remaining egg and
brush over dough. Bake at
350 degrees for 20 minutes or
until browned. Makes about 3
dozen.
Poppy seed
filling: Grind 2 1.
cups poppy
seeds; combine
with 1 cup milk
and 3/4 cup hon-
ey. Cook over low heat
until thickened. Add 1 Tsp.
lemon peel and 112 cup
raisins. Cool.
Cynthia's Baklava
2 pkgs. (17 1/2 oz. each)
frozen puff pastry sheets,
thawed
3 cups finely chopped wal-
nuts or pecans, divided
1 cup honey, divided
whipped cream (optional)
Grease with shortening
8x8x2-inch pan. Trim 1 puff
pastry sheet to 8
1 1 2 -inch
square and
adjust to fit
pan. Top with
1 cup nuts and
114 cup honey.
Repeat layers 2 times with puff
pastry, nuts and honey. Top
with pastry sheet. Score top
into diamonds or
squares. Bake at
,z4
425 degrees
for 20 to 25
minutes.
Cool 10 min-
utes, then
brush top with honey.
Serve with whipped cream, if
desired. Makes 16 servings.

The Why Behind Those
Binzny Yellow Jackets

J

Stuart Eisenstat: Kosher envoy.

Kosher Kitchen
Is A First

W

ashington — Some-
thing kosher is cook-
ing in Brussels.
As Stuart Eisenstat takes
over in that city as U.S. envoy
to the European Community,
his kitchen will become the
first in American diplomatic
history to be kosher.
The former director of do-
mestic policy for President
Jimmy Carter, Mr. Eisenstat
will pay out of his pocket for
the expenses, according to a
report in the Washington
Jewish Week.
Mr. Eisenstat now serves
as honorary vice president of
the American Jewish Com-
mittee.

Free Pamphlet
On Conversion

T

he Suffolk, N.Y., Jew-
ish Communal Plan-
ning Council recently
published a brochure, "How
To Discuss Conversion to Ju-
daism," which includes guide-
lines for discussion, specific
steps to take in talking about
conversion and a list of books
on the subject.
The brochure was pre-
pared by Dr. Lawrence Ep-
stein, author of a forthcoming
guidebook on conversion.
For a free copy of the
brochure, write the Suffolk
Jewish Communal Planning
Council at 74 Hauppauge
Rd., Room 53, Commack, NY
11725, or call (516) 462-5826.

ust when you thought it
was safe to go out into
your sukkah...
Each year, thousands of
Jewish fam
lies through
-out the
country find
their holiday
table filled
with unin-
vited guests:
yellow jacket
bees.
You've
seen the fan-
cy traps.
You've heard
the home-
spun cures
for getting
rid of them.
But the
question re-
mains: WHY
are they
there?
At last,
here are the facts:
In late summer, a single
yellow jacket female estab-
lishes her nest and begins
laying eggs. From her one
home, usually underground
or in building walls, will come
an entire, massive — usual-
ly in the thousands — fami-
ly. The job of the first borns

is securing food and guarding
the nest. As they go about
their work, the queen does
nothing but reproduce.
Yellow
jackets are
said to love
the smell of
meat, though
their main
course is
generally
small in-
sects. During
the late sum-
mer, they
can still find
plenty of fare
to feed the
continually
growing fam-
ily. But by
fall, those
small, tasty
bugs are
scarce. Hun-
gry yellow
jackets must
turn to meals in the sukkah,
and other outdoor dining like
picnics, in search of more food
to feed the young.
They're a nuisance, all
right, but most yellow jack-
ets are not combative. Leave
them — and their nest —
alone, and they probably
won't bother you.

Good News For Tired Parents

S

ome have tried taking
their sweet babes in the
car and driving for sev-
eral hours.
Others balance their bun-
dles of joy on their stomachs
and sing and offer cairn words
of support.
Whatever the cause (doc-
tors are still
mystified),
the fact re-
mains that
for hundreds
of years, colic
has deprived
its fair share
of parents of
a decent night's sleep.
Exhausted parents, wake
up to this bit of good news:
A new study by the depart-
ment of pediatric gastroen-
terology at the Soroka
Medical Center in Beersheva
suggests that herbal teas may
solve the problem.

Researchers at the hospital
tested colicky babies with
herbal tea and a placebo.
They found that 56 percent
who had a daily dose of herbal
tea improved, versus 26 per-
cent of those receiving the
placebo.
But parents SHOULD
NOT run out
to buy just
any herbal
tea to soothe
their colicky
babies. Many
herbal teas
have been
found to be
harmful in infants. The Soro-
ka. study utilized a formula
specially prepared using five
herbs (like licorice) proven
safe for infants.
Those wishing to try an
herbal tea for colic should first
consult their physicians.