Nto:'12' An Easy, Fun Hamantashen Recipe
■Iko c#4
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By LESLYE MICHLIN BORDEN

Hamantashen, triangle-shaped
fruit-filled cookies, are traditionally
served for Purim. They fulfill the
holiday's admonition to mock
Haman, the villain who wanted to
murder all the Jews in the town of
Shushan, in ancient Persia, since
they are shaped like his three-
cornered hat.

AMERICAN HAMANTASHEN
COOKIE DOUGH

3 eggs (or 3/4 cup no-fat egg
substitute)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
4 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
grated rind of one orange

In a large mixing bowl, beat the
eggs (or egg substitute), adding the
sugar as you beat. Continue beating,
adding the oil and orange juice. In
another bowl, combine the dry
ingredients, mixing well. Add these to
the beaten egg mixture. The dough
will be a little sticky, but don't add too
much flour in rolling or the cookies
will come out hard.
Shape and bake as directed
above, except use a scant teaspoon
of filling for each instead of a half-
tablespoon.
Enough dough for about 100
cookies.

HAMANTASHEN FILLINGS:
POPPY SEED FILLING
(MOHN)

2 cups poppy seeds
1 cup orange juice or water
1 /2cup honey
1 /4 cup sugar
dash salt
1 /4 cup sliced almonds
1 /2 cup raisin
1 tablespoon grated orange or
lemon rind

Combine poppy seeds, orange
juice (or water), honey, sugar, and
salt in a saucepan. Cover and cook
over moderate until thick, stirring
occasionally to prevent scorching.
When the mixture is thick, remove
from heat. Place the cooked mixture
and remaining ingredients in bowl of

food processor. Process until
smooth.
Makes 2 cups of filling, enough for
about 60 cookies.

PRUNE FILLING (LEKVAR)

1 1 /2 pounds pitted prunes
1 whole orange, sliced
water to cover
1 /2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 /2 cup almonds
Place prunes and orange slices in
a medium saucepan. Cover with
water. Bring to a boil and cook
covered until the prunes are soft and
the water has been absorbed.
Remove from heat and cool.
Place sugar, cinnamon, and
almonds in bowl of food processor

and process long enough to chop the
nuts coarsely. Add the cooled prune
mixture. Continue processing until
smooth.
Makes about 5 cups, enough to fill
about 100 cookies.

Leslye Michlin Borden is a former
Detroiter residing in California who
specializes in healthful kosher
cooking.

A Purim Story About Glory

By ERIC B. WISNIA

Here is a Purim rap that we are sure
you will all enjoy. Use the beat from
your favorite rap and make sure that
you stress the right part of the word.

bow,
So Haman decided to have a cow.
Haman thought he'd exterminate our
race,
But we made the Joker fall on his
face.

Mordecai put the record back in the
groove.
Happy Purim — bust a move ... bust
a move.

Now here's my story.
It's about our glory.
And I guarantee, that it will not be
boring.

We'll read the megillah;
It's a real thrilla;
On each and every page, you know
it's a china!
So Let's get to it; we've not time to
lose.
Hey, it's Purim, bust a move ... bust a
move.

Oh, Esther was a timid little maid!
But when it came to it, her people
she did save,
It just goes to show we all can be
brave.
She sent that Haman to an early
grave.

Haman came in,
Jews he was blamin'
It was power that he was a'cravin.

Mordecai the Jew, now he wouldn't

Building A Synagogue Se'udah Experience

By SHARON LEVINE

I had always wanted to be part of
a synagogue Purim se'udah. When
Paul, our daughters, Jennifer,
Elisheva and Shoshana, and I
became co-chairs with the Pliskow
family of the synagogue's JEFF
committee, we were able to
implement this wonderful idea.
The se'udah first took place in a
smallish room.
Much to our pleasant surprise,
things pulled together in ways no

one would have expected. We
discovered that chef Fred
Goldenberg made a killer chili for
our Coney dogs. What a blast. We
discovered Dr. Joe Lewis not only
could write, but direct and produce
incredible plays, beginning with our
first original musical, Shushan Sit
Down.
This was followed by The
Shushan Boys, Mordechai
Mendoza, Haman's Magic Powder
and The Joy of Sects. What also
surprised us was trying to squeeze

149 people into this small space.
Since 1989, this event has grown
to more than 300 participants. The
menu is the same, the room
changed to the social and reception
halls, and the number of volunteers
grew annually. Our children grew
older as each musical came and
went. Our families have some very
special memories.

Sharon Levine is executive director
of Keshet and a member of JEFF
steering committee.