Our teen cooking class made a traditional Hanukkah meal. We made matzo ball soup, potato latkes and chocolate rugelah. Everything was absolutely delicious especially the rugelah, thought I would share the recipe. Ingredients: For the cream cheese dough: 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, cold and cubed 1 cup of butter, cold and cubed 2 1/2 cups flour, plus additional for rolling out the dough 1/2 teaspoon salt For the chocolate filling: 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces or shavings 4 Tablespoons butter, melted Directions: Make the dough by combining the cream cheese, butter, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the ingredients together until the fat becomes evenly dispersed within the flour (the dough will be crumbly but still stick together). Shape the dough into a ball, place it into a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for one hour or up to one day. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside. …

Look, there are definitely far more scarier situations, mine on a scale, would rank quite low but even the low things can help you see life differently and give you a better chance of surviving the real big ones. This is not a post about trying to get an empathetic response from anyone, this is a post about what life has taught me in the past 4 days. This is about learning to be grateful for what we truly have and not about pining after what we don’t. Life shouldn’t be about comparing ourselves to others, it should be about patting each other on the back, somehow we seem to sometimes fall short here. This past week my husband got very sick, sick enough that he was hospitalized for 4 days and for the first two days there were no answers. All the tests came back normal and nothing could explain his 40C fever, which would not go away, despite all the meds in the world. For two days, I lived in fear. When the answers …

  So, let’s pretend it’s Saturday night and you’ve just remembered you’re having your in-laws over for brunch tomorrow and you’re still putting the kids to bed, the laundry isn’t done and well the list goes on. Do not panic! We’ve got the easiest, perfect little recipe for you, plus your guests can participate in making their own! Saves you the hassle of prepping and cooking!  Ingredients 6 eggs (or appropriate number for size of party) Handful of basil 3 green onions 6 slices of prosciutto  6 tbsp of cream 6 tbsp of Parmesan cheese  Handful of cherry tomatoes – sliced  6 ramekins  Directions  Preheat oven to 350C. Line each ramekin with a slice of prosciutto. Crack the egg into the ramekin and then pour in the cream – do not mix. Add some green onions, 1 tbsp of Parmesan cheese, a couple tomatoes and a bit of basil. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

 Try and say it in one go! Quite a mouthful, but wait till you get an actual mouthful of the bread! Another successful gluten and refined sugar free recipe.  1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1/2 cup coconut flour  1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp nutmeg ½ cup butternut squash puree ¾ cups maple syrup 1 tbsp vanilla ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted 2 eggs 2 tbsp walnut pieces Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. In a separate large bowl combine butternut, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla and maple syrup. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and pour batter into a greased loaf pan. I sprinkled some extra walnut pieces and cinnamon on the top of the bread. Bake for about 30-40mins depending on your oven. Serve warm with butter, mmmmmm.