The Arizona post., 1962-03-16

0SDCCl llCS OCClI hCPL W q
m i n m u m, and maSqueS,
balls, eating, and drinking en-
. couraged. Still, we do remem-
Der the underlying reason for
our celebration, and show
our gratitude in gifts to char
ity and to our friends.
For such a festival food
customs are naturally plenti-
full, and vary in the different
countries of the world. In
Eastern Europe kreplach in
soup were always part of the
noon meal, exactly as they
were the day before Yom
Kippur and on Hoshano Rab-
bob. Symbolic of Queen Es-
theirs piety is the custom of
offerin G bowls of Nahit,
dried, cooked chick peas, as
tid-bits. These represent the
peas and beans which we are
told were the only foods she
considered kosher enough to
eat in the palace of Asha-
SueruS.
Purim ends with a feast
which we observe in the
form of a traditional holiday
dinner. Any beloved foods
may be served. This year,
since Purim comes late in
March, the vegetables of
spring, such as new pota-
toes, asparagus, and tender
young salad foods may ac-
company our roast fowl. The
Nahit could be served simply
cooked, but in the spirit of
the holiday we have made it
into a special tid-bit to be
served with the before-dinner
drink. The dessert of fruit is
accompanied by little parve
HamantaShen as well as
luscious confection of dates
called Feast of Esther Cakes.
These are most appropriate
since daintieS such as cookies
of this sort could we'll have
been used to beguile an orien-
tai monarch.
MENU FOR PURIM DINNER
Before the meal serve cock
tails or tomato juice with Savory
Nahit. At dinner serve:
Giblet fricaSSee
Roast stuffed capon
New Potatoes Fresh asparagus
Cranberry Sauce
Olives Sweet pickles
Salad of fresh Vegetables
in season
Compete of fresh or dried fruits
Feast of Easter cakes
HamantaShen
SAVORY NAHIT
1k cups cooked, drained
chick peas
Il cup salad oil
1 tablespoon finely minced
onion
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste.
Combine all ingredients and
spread in a shallow baking pan.
Bake uncovered at $50 degS. F.
for about 80 minutes, until the
chick peas are a light brown.
Stir once during the baking to
coat the peas evenly. Drain in
sieve, then on paper towels. Cool.
Serve as a tid-bit. These are also
good added to a salad of greens.
The flavor may be varied to
taste by adding other salad sea-
SOningS to the dressing before
baking.
FEAST OF EASTER CAKES
/ cup pitted dates
IN cups shelled pecans or
WalnutS
az cups shredded coconut
i cup firmly packed light
brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Put the dates, then the nuts,
through the food chopper, using
the medium blade. Add l " cups
of the coconut, the sugar, and
the eggs, and mix thoroughly to
a smooth paste. Shape generous
tablespoons of the mixture into
rolls about 3 inches long and
q inch thick. Roll these in the
remaining coconut. Place them
an inch apart on creased cookie
tins and bake about 10 minutes,
at $50 degs. F. until the coconut
is golden. Watch carefully dur
ing the last few minutes to pre-
vent the coconut from becoming
too dark Carefully place the
cookies on racks to cool. They
are very soft when they are hot
and break easily, but become
firmer as they cool. This makes
about 80 cakes.
HAMANTASHEN COOKIES
(PASFE)
Make either Prune or Poppy
Seed Filling, or half of each, be-
fore starting to mix the cookie
dough.