Yom Huledet Sameach to Ayelet!

Today is Ayelet's 13 birthday (on the Jewish calendar - the secular b-day already passed, but was on erev chag, not so conducive to celebration) - happy birthday, shorty! We have decided to celebrate officially on Shabbat, so I have a little time to make something really special for her cake. I have been playing around some more with fondant to see how I can make something a little more spectacular, so I guess now will be the real test. I will try to post pictures as the project progresses.



The country is now in a multi-day emergency drill. At 11 today, a siren will go off and we are all supposed to head to our safe rooms. The kids in the elementary school have been told that they will stay in the miklat for an hour! That is a lot of squishy together time. But in the current situation, best to be prepared and aware. It is always a revelation to realize that we live in a place where the world political climate impacts so acutely on our day-to-day life.



Today is the day I start to prep this week's baking. Pretty certain that this week will feature thin mint sandwiches, ginger crinkles, chocolate crinkles (guess I was feeling crinkly!), raspberry truffle brownies, and cherry oatmeal crumble bars. I like to balance shapes, colors, and flavors, and also to keep in mind individual tastes - customers who don't like chocolate, those who don't like fruit, special requests (like a certain young guest who was very disappointed that there were no ginger crinkles last Shabbat, leading me to realize that it has been a while for that particular flavor), and avoiding repetition. I now have 70 flavors on the menu, which is likely to increase thanks to my penchant for experimentation. I would love to get suggestions from other people for new flavors, as I always think it is a good idea to hear from people with their own preferences rather than just relying on myself and my particular favorites.



Since this post looks kind of naked with a picture, I thought I would include one here, apropos of nothing, just for fun. These are the much discussed on the internet Cake Bite Truffles. I had seen them so often that I figured I just had to try them! They came out looking great, and my in-house critics (my kids) LOVED them, not that they are that hard to please, though I do respect their opinions. I have added them to the menu, but will probably not be making them for Shabbat platters until the weather cools off, as chocolate does not travel so beautifully under the hot Israeli sun. Will just have to keep them for my own guests in the meantime!

Until next time, stay sweet (that could be my send-off, or maybe something a lot cooler)!
Dvora