Shavuot Recipes and Crafts
Shavuot
Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that is celebrated on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). It falls next on Friday, May 29, 2009.
Shavuot is the Festival of Reaping of the first fruits of the harvest (Bikurim).
Kids parade with flowers in their hair, wearing white clothes and carrying decorated baskets full of fruits.
Dairy products such as milk and cheese are served at the traditional holiday meal.
Shavuot Recipes
Cheese Crepes (Blinches)
Crepe
Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
2 cups of water
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Preparation:
1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Oil a non-stick frying pan and put it on the stove on medium heat.
3. To make each crepe, pour a quarter cup of the mixture into a pan. Tilt the pan from side to side to spread the mix.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
5. Turn the crepe with a spatula when the edges of the mixture turn up and fry it lightly.
6. Put on a plate, fill it and roll it.
Cheese filling
Ingredients:
8 ounces (240 gr.) of smooth cream cheese
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Raisins
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients and put a full tablespoon in each crepe.
Mushrooms in Béchamel Sauce Filling
Ingredients:
7 ounces (200 gr.) sliced mushrooms
a small diced onion
3 tablespoons of margarine or butter
3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of salt
a pinch of white pepper
Preparation:
1. Melt the margarine on low heat.
2. Add salt, pepper and the flour slowly while mixing the margarine.
3. Add milk slowly while mixing until the mixture is smooth.
4. Cook on low heat for another 5 minutes while mixing until it becomes a thick sauce. This white sauce is called Béchamel sauce.
5. Fry the diced onion and the sliced mushrooms in a separate pan until golden brown.
6. Mix most of the Béchamel sauce with the fried mushrooms and fill the crepes.
7. Leave a little of the sauce to spread on the rolled crepe.
Kids Corner
For quick and fun crepe filling the kids can use jam, chocolate spread, Nutella, or even ice cream. They can also add their favorite toppings such as chocolate chips, raisins, and/or chopped walnuts. These can go inside or on top.
For not-so-sweet filling, the kids can spread cream cheese.
Cheese and Spinach Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb. (450 gr.) of chopped spinach
1 lb. (450 gr.) of Cottage cheese
1 cup of grated Monterey Jack or similar semi-hard cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (I make it with none)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons of plain breadcrumbs
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
2. Mix all the ingredients. Drain the spinach to remove excess water.
3. Grease a pan or a casserole dish.
4. Bake in the middle oven rack for an hour or until golden brown.
Triangle Cheese Cake (non-baked)
Ingredients:
7 ounces (200 gr.) of unsalted butter or margarine
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of smooth cream cheese
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
30 large plain cookie biscuits
Chocolate frosting
Preparation:
1. Melt the margarine on low heat in a saucepan.
2. Mix the sugar and the cream cheese in a bowl.
3. Slowly add the melted margarine to the sugar and cheese while mixing it.
4. Add Vanilla Extract.
5. Use 15 biscuits for the first layer. Lay them in 3 long rows of 5 biscuits on wax paper.
6. Spread a thin layer of the cheese mix on the biscuits.
7. Dip the other 15 biscuits in milk. Careful not to dip them too long or they will become soggy.
8. Place a layer of biscuits on top of the cheese.
9. Put the rest of the cheese on top of the middle layer of biscuits.
10. Pick up the paper to bring the outer rows over the middle row and make a triangle cake and hold the top edges of the paper with clips tightly so the cheese won't run.
11. Refrigerate for two hours until the cake is solid.
12. Open the paper and spread chocolate frosting on top.
Beteavon! (Hebrew for bon appétit!)
Hag Shavuot Sameach! - Happy Shavuot!
Shavuot Kids Crafts
Flower Paper Crown
Materials:
Colored construction paper
Scissors
Stapler
Scotch Tape
Glue
Preparation:
  1. Cut out a very long strip of construction paper 2 inches (about 5 centimeters) wide. It should wrap around the child's head, leaving a little extra room for stapling.
  2. Cut different shapes of flowers in different sizes and colors.
  3. Cut many green leaves.
  4. Staple a small flower on medium flower and then on a large flower.
  5. Surround with leaves.
  6. Staple each flower on the long strip that will fit on the head.
  7. Cover the staples on the inside of the crown with Scotch tape so they will not scratch the head or if you want to be extra careful, glue the flowers and the leaves.
  8. Careful when you place the flowers and leaves so they will not cover the kids' eyes or face. Place them so they are not going too far out of the bottom of the crown.
Paper Mache Pomegranate Sculpturing
Materials:
Flour
Salt
Water
Balloon
Strips of newspapers
School liquid glue
Preparation:
  1. Dip strips of newspaper in glue and put them on top of each other to make a basic shape of a round Pomegranate. If you want a ball shape you can inflate a balloon and glue the strips of paper to the balloon. You will need at least 3 layers of paper to hold the shape, but after 2 layers leave to dry.
  2. After the basic shape is ready you can add smaller shapes with little pieces of paper to make the "crown" of the Pomegranate. After about 2 days when the paper sculpture is dry, you can paint it with watercolors.
You can make any other fruit with the same basic instructions.
Paper Flowers / Science Experiment
Materials:
Large & small round coffee filters
Scissors
Plastic plate
Water based markers including black
Cup of water
Green Pipe Cleaners
Preparation:
  1. Draw a design around the middle of the coffee filters but at least half an inch (about 1.25 centimeters) from the middle and an inch (about 2.5 centimeters) from the edge or top. Draw with different designs and colors on each one. At least one should be drawn with a black marker.
  2. Poke a hole in the middle of the coffee filters.
  3. Use one of the coffee filters as a wick. Roll it tightly and insert in the middle of the coffee filter.
  4. Put the coffee filter with the wick in on top of the cup and the bottom will be in the water so that the water will sip up the colored coffee filter. Don't put too much water just enough to soak part of the wick. The water should change the colors of the markers and spread them around. It will take longer for the water to sip up a large coffee filter. The coffee filter with the black markers should soak the water and show different colors. The different colors that you see on the filter paper demonstrates that black is really a combination of colors.
  5. Set your paper some place safe to dry. Be careful because it is very thin and easy to tear.
  6. When dry, pinch the middle of the coffee filter and tie a pipe cleaner to the middle to make a flower.
  7. Add another green pipe cleaner at the side to make a leaf.
You can put a small colored coffee filter inside a larger one, and pinch both in the middle with a pipe cleaner to make a layered flower.
You can put the flowers in a vase.
Fruit Crate
Materials:
30 Popsicle sticks
Small fruits
Glue
Felt Tip Marker
Preparation:
  1. Arrange 5 Popsicle sticks parallel to each other, horizontally, with a little space between each one.
  2. Place 2 Popsicle sticks over the other sticks at a 90-degree angle, so they are vertical, and glue them so they are holding together all the other Popsicle sticks. This makes a grid and the bottom of the crate.
  3. Repeat stages 1+2 for the cover of the crate.
  4. Make 4 more grids that will be the sides of the crate. Each one will use 3 Popsicle sticks horizontally and 2 half-sticks to be glued vertically.
  5. Leave to dry completely.
  6. Glue the 4 sides together to the bottom.
  7. Place the top part of the crate without gluing it.
  8. Decorate the top part with the felt tip pen. You can write: "Made in Israel", "Fragile", etc.
Shavuot Word Pomegranate
Materials:
Red Felt Tip Markers
Drawing paper
Eraser
Pencil
White Construction Paper
Glue
Preparation:
  1. On a drawing paper, lightly sketch a big Pomegranate shape outline with a pencil.
  2. With red marker write in small letters sentences or words that are connected with Shavuot, such as: names of trees and flowers, Happy Shavuot, etc. You can repeat the words.
  3. Carefully erase the outline.
  4. Mount it on the construction paper.
Paper Family Tree
Materials:
Family photos
White, brown and Green construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Preparation:
  1. Obtain small portrait family pictures of your grandparents, parents and siblings. You can add your pets too.
  2. Cut green leaves and glue the pictured on them.
  3. Cut out a big brown tree. Have two thick and large branches on the bottom, two in the middle, smaller than the bottom ones, and the last two branches a bit smaller on the top. You will have 6 branches, three on the right and three on the left, larger in the bottom and smaller on the top.
  4. Glue one pair leaves with the of grandparents pictures on the bottom right branch, another pair of grandparents on the left bottom branch.
  5. Glue your parents on the middle branch.
  6. Glue yourself and your siblings on the top branch.
  7. You can glue your pets at the base of the tree or next to yourself.