creative jewish mom

Fun Multi-Colored Pom Pom Craft

Pom poms are one of those things that are so very perfect in so many ways, especially come winter. Use them as gift toppers, make pom pom bouquets, hang them as a part of a mobile, make napkin rings, you name it! And of course a colorful pom pom on top of a solid colored crocheted hat can be truly adorable.

My kids love to make pom poms, and when we started to make these multi-colored ones, we all got so very excited, think of all the possibilities! I have a few pom pom makers, a little crafting tool that I highly recommend, since it makes pom pom making so very simple to do. These multi-colored ones are simply made by winding different colors of yarn around the pom pom maker. It's quite fun to experiment and see how wrapping different colors in stripes or in layers comes out!

While my eight year old cut the strings off of his pom pom, as he wanted to use it as a ball, we've left the others intact until we figure out what exactly we'll use them for! I have a feeling there's going to be lots of pom pom making in our home this winter, so stay tuned, in the mean time, check out the crafts we've done in the past with pom poms, fun pom pom bouquets, and a sweet pom pom mobile, and a birthday pom pom bouquet.

Forcing Amaryllis Bulbs Update.....

As you may or may not remember, six weeks ago I shared with you a post called forcing amaryllis bulbs for stunning winter blooms indoors. And now my friends, I'm happy to show you that all four bulbs have grown leaves, some longer than others, which means that any day now the stalk of the flower should start to emerge, so exciting!

Amaryllis are so very easy to force, with no need for a cooling period. Just put them in soil, keep soil barely moist, and wait! Plus, one can and should continue to water the plants after the blooms have died, and then remove the bulbs from the soil come October, and start the process all over again.

Hmmm, there's still time to force some Amaryllis bulbs, I'm really tempted to go buy some more, what about you?

Quick Crocheted Gift Basket For Small Presents Or Treats

This past Chanukah I made chunky crocheted baskets instead of the drawstring gift pouches that I usually make to hold chocolate coins and dreidels on the first night of Chanukah. And now, since Chanukah is long gone, I'm starting to see how useful little baskets like these can be year round! Plus they're a breeze to whip up, and look so very cute holding a piece of fruit, a small nicely wrapped gift or a combination of little prizes and treats. One could even hang a little basket like this from a neighbor's door knob, to surprise them with some cookies, wouldn't that be fun?

Tu B'Shevat, the new year for the trees is the next Jewish holiday, so right about now, I'm thinking of how to use these little baskets with fruit, and my decoupaged apples seem to be doing the job!

Oh, and did I mention that these little baskets are perfect for using up some odds and ends? I crocheted the bottom and first two side of basket rows using creme worsted weight yarn together with silver crocheting thread, and the rest was the same worsted weight yarn together with a stand of aqua baby weight yarn. I love the look of combining the several strands of yarn, and while the photos don't do it justice, the hint of metallic silver is lovely.

You'll Need:

• chunky yarn, or a combination of yarns of different weights
• size 6.5mm hook, or whatever works with your yarn

Quick Crocheted Gift Basket With Handle Pattern:

Healthier Potato Kugel With Vegetables

Ready to use your creativity in the kitchen to help your family eat more healthfully? Lets start with potato kugel, something I've started making on Fridays, instead of my Moroccan chickpeas, as part of a lunch that generally includes a sampling of shabbat salads, or a plate of fresh vegetables.

Potato kugel is a staple in many ashkenazic Jewish homes, often prepared in large quantities to serve as a snack Friday afternoon, and then later served on Shabbat either with the meal on Friday night, or with the cholent on Saturday, or both! Potato kugel is one of those comfort foods that many people grow up with and can't get enough of, and while filling and great piping hot, it isn't exactly the healthiest thing on earth on account of lots of white potatoes, oil and white bread crumbs or matzo meal. But guess what, potato kugel can still be quite delicious, and in my opinion even more delicious when a medley of vegetables are used, the quantity of oil is cut down, and one uses quick cooking oatmeal instead of bread crumbs!

And in fact, dear readers, I do believe that kugel is a great place to hide introduce a number of vegetables that kids might not ordinarily eat, but are certainly part of a healthy diet. My plan is to slowly increase the percentage of other vegetables over time, such that I arrive at a potato kugel that is really mostly other vegetables with just a 1/3 or 1/4 of actual potatoes. And that certainly can be done if one uses vegetables that look like potato once peeled and grated, such as zucchini, turnip, and kohlrabi. In the mean time, my kids do expect to see specks of orange in kugel, and think nothing of it, so as of this week, the plan is still working as the kugel was delicious, and devoured!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large potatoes, peeled
• 2 large zucchini, peeled if there may be an aversion to it, shhhh!
• 2 large carrots
• 1 large onion
• 7 eggs
• 1/2 cup (or less) olive oil
• 2/3 cup quick cooking oatmeal
• 1 tblsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• sesame seeds to sprinkle on top

Serves: 4-6 as a main dish and 8-10 as a side dish.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180C (350F), grate all the vegetables, add eggs, oatmeal, oil, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Pour into a 11"x13" baking dish, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for roughly one hour or until very brown on top. Some prefer their kugel a little on the runny side inside, which is really the more traditionalt texture, though if you prefer a firmer inside, you may need to cover the kugel with foil and bake longer.

That's it, have fun experimenting, and enjoy this kugel piping hot right out of the oven for a fabulous winter snack!

Another Crocheted Ear Flap Baby Hat, But This Time With A Pom Pom!

When the ground is covered in snow, and things in your town have not returned to normal after a huge storm, what better idea than to sit in a cozy spot and whip up a crocheted baby hat with ear flaps and a pom pom?

A Homemade Craft Kit Gift, A Brilliant Idea From A Reader!

I do love it when reader's take my ideas one step further, and so I was especially happy when Julia from roots of simplicity wrote to tell me that she had used my geometric string craft stars tutorial to make a kit that she'll give as a gift to a crafty youngster!

And she even printed out my instructions and wrapped them around the tube, perfect! Do check out my geometric string craft stars tutorial, it's a favorite of mine, and think about assembling some craft kits to give as gifts to those in need of a little crafting!

Snowy Days In Northern Israel......

The large snow storm that started last Thursday night, and lasted until Shabbat afternoon left our mountain top town covered in a very thick blanket of snow that was (and still is) breathtakingly beautiful and very uncharacteristic for us. We fortunately had heat and an amazing front row view as the snow fell, while others were less fortunate suffering damage from fallen trees and some were without electricity.

Crocheted Ear Flap Hat For Baby

In my recent quest to use up all that yarn hanging around I have been crocheting projects on a whim, and today it involved a fabulous crocheted ear flap hat for a newborn that is just so very cute, and took roughly an hour to make! And the pattern actually calls for a pom pom on the top as well at the ends of the ties, which would make it super cute in a larger size, though for a newborn those things could get in the way.

Granny Squares Are Great For Using Up Bits Of Stash!

Granny squares are just the thing to use up odds and ends or, in my case some skeins that my mother saved since a brief foray into knitting in the 70's. Yes, really some wool that is forty or so years old, and is certainly not getting any better hanging around! My new mission is to use up all those single skeins and other bits of yarn simply sitting around doing nothing. That's called combining a winter crochet obsession with the need to organize a bit, well, more than a bit, but that will have to wait!

So these squares, along with quite a few more, enabled me to use up the last of two skeins from my mother's stash, together with some creme wool that a neighbor gave me from her closet!

I do love the red/brown/creme combination, so very wintery, and am so anxious to finish this little project, though the beautiful snow filled views await, as well as a walk to the forrest to take in the beauty of it all.....the largest storm since 1950, be back soon!

Snowed In....Really and Truly!

Always good to have a crocheted ear warmer on hand, isn't it? You can find the pattern to the one my daughter (wearing a nightgown) is modeling, here.

Here we are literally stuck in the snow, but fortunately in the comfort of our warm homes, so all is well. An unprecedented amount of snow has fallen, and continues here in Northern Israel, as well as in Jerusalem, and that means that everything is shut down. Here in the middle east snow doesn't come often enough to actually prepare for it, except of course on our tallest mountain Mount Hermon, where there is a small ski resort, yes really in Israel!

And as for my container garden, hmmmmm, this sago palm has seen storms like this before, so I'll just hope for the best, though certainly some of my plants may not make it. I have moved all the pots that were small enough to move inside, except for my recent cyclamen purchase, who are fine under an overhang and love a little cold weather. I was honestly worried that bringing them into the warm house might do more damage!

Oh, and by the way there are no snow plows here, nor snow tires, so the streets are empty, and we are now preparing for a very snowy shabbat! Gotta run still a bit of cooking to do!