Lag BaOmer is the 33rd day of the Omer (unit of grain measure) which is Iyar 18. It commemorates a break in the mourning period for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died some by plague and some in the rebellion against the Roman Empire in 120 CE.

The main customs are to play with kids' safe bow and arrow, and to light bonfires in the fields.

Cooking Measurement Equivalents

Ingredients: (makes 12 egg halves)
6 eggs
3 tablespoons of Mayonnaise (or light Mayonnaise)
1 teaspoons of Mustard
Pepper
Paprika

Preparation:

1. Boil the eggs and cook for 10 minutes until hard.
2. Cool the eggs and slice them in half.
3. Gently pull out the yolks into a bowl.
4. Mash the yolks and add mayonnaise and mustard for taste.
5. Fill each half of the egg with the filling that you prepared in the previous step.
6. Pepper and paprika can be sprinkled on the eggs as garnish or added to the filling.

Kids Corner:
You can let the kids fill the egg and decorate it with pepper, paprika, or parsley. The kids can also decorate the eggs to make them in the shape of faces with mustard, ketchup, or different thin strips of vegetables.

A great appetizer or side dish, antipasti in Italian means "before the meal". This dish is made of broiled or grilled vegetables.

Ingredients:
Assortments of vegetables: asparagus, zucchini, green/yellow/red peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, and eggplant.
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

1. Wash and slice the vegetables into long and even thin slices.
2. Spread olive oil on top of the vegetables and a sprinkle a little pepper and salt.
3. Put on a greased pan or on aluminum foil in a single layer to broil on high heat for 7 minutes or until it turns dark brown.
4. The colorful broiled vegetables go well served with rice.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
Ready-made crescent dough
Pre-cooked mini hot dogs
sesame seeds for topping

Preparation:

1. Roll out the dough on a greased pan or aluminum foil.
2. Place the hot dog in the middle of the triangle shaped dough and roll the dough around the hot dog.
3. Spread egg yolk on top and top with sesame seeds.
4. Bake for 11-13 minutes in the oven on 375 degrees F until golden brown.

Ingredients: (makes 30)
Filling:
1 cup of sugar
4 cups of milk
3 egg whites
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1.75 oz unsalted margarine
3/4 cup of instant vanilla pudding powder
Dough:
1 cup of milk
1 cup of water
3.5 oz unsalted margarine
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
7 eggs

Filling Preparation:

1. Cook 3 cups of milk and the sugar until they boil.
2. Mix in a bowl 1 cup of cold milk, the vanilla pudding, the egg whites and the vanilla extract.
3. Slowly add the mixture to the pot with the hot milk. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring until it is smooth.
4. Take off the stove and add the margarine while stirring it until smooth.

Preparation:

1. Cook while mixing, the milk, water, vanilla extract and eggs until the mixture starts to boil.
2. Take off the stove and add the flour and keep mixing. Add baking powder and eggs slowly while mixing.
3. On an oiled pan put balls of dough using two tablespoons.
4. Keep space between the balls to let them expend.
5. Bake on the top shelf of an oven on 380 degrees F for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
6. When the cream puffs cool, cut the top. Spoon the excess dough from the inside of each ball so you can make room for the cream filling. Fill with cream. Put the top of the puff back on.

Kids Corner:
Kids can decorate the cream puffs. They can put sticky topping by themselves or as "glue" for more dry toppings. They can top with honey, chocolate spread, peanut butter, marshmallow spread, whipped cream or jam. They can sprinkle other dry toppings: sprinkles, mini M&Ms, powdered sugar, cinnamon, powders chocolate, chocolate chips, shaved chocolate, shaved coconut, or nuts.

Materials:
Brown, yellow, red and orange construction paper
Large white or black construction paper
Glue
Scissors

Preparation:

1. Cut the colorful construction paper into small squares. The smaller the squares are, the better the final product will look.
2. Draw a picture of a bonfire as a guide on the larger construction paper. This will be covered later, so it doesn't have to be perfect.
3. If you're using black construction paper, use white chalk or a white colored pencil.
4. Glue the colorful squares on the paper on the drawing, using yellow, orange and red mosaic pieces to make the flames and brown for the logs.
5. You can add the sun using yellow mosaic pieces if you're using white paper, or put in a moon and stars if you're using black construction paper.

Materials:
Paper plate
Clear cellophane or a large plastic storage bag (gallon size)
Permanent markers: brown, yellow, orange and red
Glue
Scissors
Yarn
Decoration: buttons, feathers, pom-poms, beads, stickers, glitter, or crafts gems.

Preparation:

1. Cut a large round hole in the middle of the paper plate.
2. If you're using a storage bag, cut off the zipper/closing device and cut it down the sides so that you have a single rectangle of plastic instead of a bag.
3. Draw a bonfire on the cellophane or plastic with permanent markers.
4. Glue the plastic to the plate so that the drawing can be seen through the hole in the middle of the plate.
5. Decorate the edges of the plate with drawings or glue on buttons, feathers, pom-poms, beads, stickers, glitter, crafts gems, etc. Cut or poke a hole at the top of the plate and string a piece of yarn through so you can hang it.