As many of you know, I LOVE to bake. And I am sure my fellow bakers will agree a huge part of the fun in baking is to share the goodies. I love to bake for birthdays, for celebrations, and even for rainy days. To be honest, I rarely eat much of what I bake, I bake for the joy of feeding others. This experience of baking for others, along with many of my best recipes I learned from my dear mother, and whether I call her for advice while baking (very common occurrence) or not, she is always there baking with me in spirit. Last night with my dear friend Chloe I baked for Purim, a Jewish Festival we are celebrating tonight at C3/CCC. As we molded our little cookies into the shape of Haman's hat we talked, we laughed, and we shared in the experience of life. After Chloe went to bed and I finished up the last batch, meticulously repeating the same movement, flowing in the rhythm of hamantashen, I was aware how jealous I was of Jews. I wish my spiritual tradition involved food the way theirs does. My first reaction (half seriously) was I should become Jewish! This is SO great! Then I thought there must be an easier way to experience what I am after.
The act of food preparation, the act of eating, of sharing food, of nourishment and the experience of pleasure, so central to the human experience. The way I approach religion and my spiritual practice is to go deeper into the experience of being alive. It is beautifully described by this quote from Henry Miller,
"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely, aware."
Others are drawn to spiritual practices of doing. An active way of experiencing the world beyond ourselves. Acts of kindness, working for social justice, serving those less fortunate, are wonderful ways to broaden our perspective and take in more of life. There are so many beautiful acts of doing.
The Spiritual Practice of Baking is a way I enjoy experiencing the practice of doing and being. I can be lost in the moment and aware of nothing beyond the dough, the flour, the present to what I am doing. And baking can also take me to a place of selfless joy. Where the act of creating for another brings me right up to bliss. On the flip side, not realizing you have to refrigerate the dough for an hour, forgetting an ingredient, making a mess, spilling something... ample opportunities to come face to face with your humanity!
My life (spiritual) practices include:
yoga
writing
meditation
blogging
therapy and self-help books :)
baking!
What do your practices include?
Purim and Hamantashen resources:
If you are looking to learn more about Purim, this info sheet created by Rabbi Rami Shapiro should help.
If you are looking for info on the story of Purim, and some great Hamantashen advice and tips, check out the Cupcake Project website.
And if you want to try my Hamantashen recipe (seemed great to me!) I'll list it below or you can find it here.
Please note, you have to refrigerate the dough for at least an hour so plan accordingly!
Hamantashen Recipe
7 ounces (200 grams) butter
8 ounces (250 grams) cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
chocolate spread, strawberry jam or apricot butter for filling
egg, beaten
sugar for garnish
Preparation:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add flour and mix lightly. Refrigerate dough for an hour or more.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/8 inch (1/3 centimeter) thickness.
4. Cut the dough into circles using the top of a drinking glass. Flour the rim of the glass if it is sticking to the dough.
5. Place each cut-out circle on the baking sheet.
6. Place 1 - 1 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each circle of dough.
7. Pull up sides and pinch three corners together to form a triangular cookie with filling showing. If needed, use a drop of water to make sure the corners are pinched close tight and won't open in the oven.
9. Americans like to brush each pastry with beaten egg and sugar before baking. Israelis like to sprinkle them with confectioners sugar after they are baked. Choose whichever sweetening method works best for you.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
Namaste!
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