Even though I was raised Jewish and went to Jewish school for 10 years nothing has prepared for motherhood in Israel during the holidays. Let me explain.

Every holiday, including birthdays, have their own special set of rules of things that parents need to send their kids to school with. It starts early- when my son was 2, his teacher sent me a list of things I needed to bring for his school birthday party. (That was also the time I got a call home from the teacher on the day of the birthday asking me where was the cake- I apparently missed that part on the long list of things to bring!).

Now for Purim (the equivalent of Halloween), we the parents, have to make a “mishloach manot”, basically a bag of candy and sweets for our kids. At least now I know that I really need to read over the list to make sure I have everything- but the thing I’m still not clear on is how to decorate the bag. Some parents make it a big deal, and some just send it in a simple bag. Since I don’t have any previous experience with this- I still haven’t figured out how effort I’m supposed to put into these holiday giveaways.

So when the editor of Gourmet Magazine in Israel called me and said she wanted to do an article for Purim with a different vibe, I was all for it. This is something I can do. So I let my imagination run wild with visuals and Eats-House of Food was in charge of the recipes.

This is how I would want my “Mishloach Manot” to look:

Sea Salt Truffles

Ingredients for about 40 truffles:

150 ml. heavy cream

400 grams/ 14 oz. dark chocolate (70% cacao)

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon sea salt

Cocoa powder for coating

Preparation:

1. Heat the heavy cream in a pan over medium heat until it reduces to 2 tablespoons.
2. Melt the chocolate using a water bath, and then pour the hot cream into the melted chocolate. Mix until combined. Add the butter until the mixture is smooth. Add ½ tablespoon of sea salt and mix to combine.
3. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Remove from the fridge and add the remaining ½ tablespoon of salt and mix until combined. Cover again and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Remove from fridge and use your hands or a very small scooper to make small balls out of the mixture. Roll each ball in the cocoa powder and then store in the refrigerator.
5. Remove from the fridge before serving.
Orange Zucchini Bread

Ingredients for 2 loaf pans:

2 cups spelt flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

½ cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil

1 ½ cups sugar

5 tablespoons orange marmalade

2 medium zucchinis, finely grated

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Butter or line the loaf pans with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and orange marmalade. Add the zucchini and salt and mix until all ingredients are combined.
4. Fold the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture and mix until the batter is smooth. Add the pecans and mix until incorporated.
5. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pans and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
For the rest of the recipes you can find the full article here. (In Hebrew).
A big thanks to Sharon Brunsher for the props.

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