AppleTree
A Simply Spectacular Sukkot
Family holiday fun — with no bottle caps or sandblasters.
great celebration in Taiwan, with
dancing, sword fighting and air
shows.
Why not try an authentic dish
from Taiwan in your sukkah?
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
AppleTree Editor
Jr
ust ask Grandpa and he'll
assure you: Back when he
was young, kids would be
busy for a whole day with
nothing more than a bottle cap.
Why, they could build an entire play
village with just that bottle cap and
a bit of dirt!
Well, maybe.
Contrast that with many maga-
zines and books today that purport
to provide "family project" ideas. All
you need is your own color photo-
copier, 600 popsicle sticks of differ-
ent colors, beeswax, a sandblaster
and 50 yards of fabric onto which
you have sewn various appliques,
lace and ribbon — in short, just the
sort of thing every family has sitting
around the house.
Well, maybe.
Looking for some fun, fairly easy
family projects (be warned: these do
involve more than a bottle cap and a
bit of dirt) for Sukkot? At last,
they're here.
#1) Have Your Sukkah And Eat It,
Too: This year, Oct. 10 marks both
the start of Sukkot and Cookie
Monster's Birthday. In honor of that
famous cookie fan, here's a beautiful
and easy "paint" for cookies.
Use your favorite sugar-cookie
recipe and shape into rectangles —
that's the sukkah. Now here's the
recipe for the edible paint:
2 T. pudding mix (preferably vanilla,
but any kind will work)
1 t. powdered sugar
several drops food coloring
water
Mix the first three ingredents,
slowly adding water to make proper
consistency (you can add more water
if the mixture gets too gloppy).
Use fresh brushes to paint designs
on the dough, then bake cookies as
usual. Now eat your sukkah!
(Note: special thanks to Diane
Schaeffer of Jerusalem, who came up
with this cookie "paint," which pro-
duces a beautiful and tasty topping).
0 IN
10/10
2003
40
#2) Do You Remember?: As your
children sit in the sukkah, ask them
TAIWAN SHREDDED BEEF
WITH ONIONS
1 1/2 lb. steak, about 1/8" thick,
cut into match-like pieces
4 T. soy sauce
3/4 cup oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 t. salt
Toss steak pieces with cornstarch
and 2 T. soy sauce.
Heat 4 T. oil in a skillet. Add
onions and salt, then saute for about
3 minutes. Remove onions to anoth-
er dish.
Heat remaining oil, then saute
meat until lightly browned. Add
onions, soy sauce and pepper and
cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more
minute. Serve over rice.
to look around and try to remember
as much as possible. Then have them
close their eyes and list everything
they saw.
#3) Something Corny. In addition to
being the month in which, this year,
we observe Sukkot, October is
National Popcorn Month. What a
delicious opportunity.
Challenge children to come up
with innovative popcorn toppings,
or have your friends over for a
Sukkot snack and have a taste test to
see the favorite. Some ideas:
• cinnamon and sugar
• sugar and salt
• chocolate bits
• hot fudge (try warming this briefly
in the microwave, then pouring over
popped corn)
• garlic salt
• parmesan cheese
#4) 10 10 Taiwan: And speaking of
holidays, Oct. 10 also is Taiwan
National Day, also known as Double
Tenth Day (since it's the 10th day of
the 10th month). This is a day of
-
-
Another idea? Learn more about the
Jewish community of Taiwan (about
30 Jewish families reside there). The
country is home to a Jewish commu-
nity center, synagogue and Sunday
school. You can learn more by visiting
wwvv.haruth.com/JewsTaiwan.html
This Web site also features a photo
of the synagogue and tells you how
to contact members of the Jewish
community there if you would like
to visit.
#5) Picture This Here's a fun holi-
day card to send to friends and fami-
ly. Have your children make a huge
sign, on poster board or butcher
paper, that says: "Happy Sukkot,
2003!" Then take their photo as they
hold their sign.
#6) Oh, You'll Bee So Happy:
Imagine little "flying" creatures
you'll actually be happy to have in
your sukkah.
Provide children with cookies or
tea biscuits, bits of licorice or pret-
zels, and Wilton Decorating Icing
(found at craft stores and some gro-
cery stores; it is OU certified
kosher). The edible icing, available
in various colors, works
as a kind of glue. Your
children can use the
cookies, pretzels, etc.,
and icing to
make
bees and wasps.
Then eat them for
dessert.
#7) Magazine
Sukkah: Everybody
has old magazines lying around the
house. Have children go through
and cut out pictures of items to
make their dream sukkah. Likely
they will find pictures of tables,
rugs, lamps and dishes. Challenge
them also to find a large block of
color, then cut that into something
for the sukkah.
You now have two options. First,
children can glue all their cutouts
onto a blank piece of paper and
make a great card. (If you've got
extra photos of your family, you can
cut these out and put them in the
sukkah).
Another idea is to place all the
cutout items in an envelope.
Children can use them again and
again to decorate and redecorate
their dream sukkah by placing the
"furniture" and other pictures on a
piece of blank paper.
#8) I Ask You ... Prepare a list of
interesting questions that might
intrigue your children. Skip the silly
stuff ("A space alien has just landed
on-your front lawn. What do you
do?") and the questions you've
already seen everywhere ("What was
the best vacation you ever had?"),
concentrating instead on questions
that will really give you insight into
your child's thinking.
For example, depending on the
son's or daughter's age, you might
ask:
• Do you think you should be
allowed to listen to CDs that carry a
parental warning?
• At what age do you think you
should be allowed to view films
rated "R"?
• What is the best thing to do if you
have a nightmare?
• What do you wish your parents