The Handicrafter

Kwanza celebrates African American culture. Kids can join in the holiday fun through games and crafts.   Here are some ideas you can incorporate into your seven-day Kwanza celebration.

*  Purchase Kwanza jig-saw puzzles and have the kids put their colourful pieces together.  There are a number of interactive online games the kids can play as well.

*  One of  a multitude of online Kwanza games  is to print out a sheet of Kinara candles and then place them in their correct order.

*  Purchase the Nguzo Saba board game, which is not only educational since it is designed as the map of Africa, but it utilizes pictures to symbolize the 7 Kwanza Principles as well.

*  A good craft idea is to make a basket using red, green and black ribbons. Placing fruit inside and use as a centerpiece for the table.  Weave the ribbons through the basket to symbolize the three colors of Kwanza.

*  Make necklaces out of red, green and black beads using a satin cord.  You can find these beads in any craft store.

*  Make a homemade Kwanza mat using black construction paper with red and green ribbon.  Cut the construction paper into strips and intertwine the two coloured ribbons alternately.

*  Why not teach the kids Swahili? Choose specific words and have them repeat them.  One of the most familiar words in Swahili is Jambo, which means hello.  There are also interactive word puzzles online similar to Jumble, in which kids are given a list of words and the object is to find them in a word maze. You could also create wordfinds using the Swahili words.

*  Help the  kids is  start a Kwanza scrapbook wherein they can record what they have learned each year about Kwanza.  Perhaps they can write their thoughts about their heritage, stories they may have been told and observations on books they may have read.  They can decorate the front of the scrapbook with the 7 Symbols of Kwanza. 

Kwanza crafts and games are an ideal way to pass down from generation to generation the values that are indicative of Kwanza as it relates to family and community. These crafts and games can make their cultural heritage come alive and create  lasting and happy memories for them to pass on to their children.

Here are 5 recipes for Hanukkah

Among the many foods prepared in celebration of Hanukkah, many of the foods are fried to commemorate the miracle of the oil.  Two of the most popular Hanukkah foods which are among my favourites are latkes and jelly donuts, both of which are fried in oil.

1.  Hanukkah Potato Pancakes

*  4 medium potatoes
*  1 medium onion
*  2 eggs
*  3/4 cup matzah meal
*  salt and black pepper
*  vegetable oil

Place the 4 potatoes and onion into a food processor and coarsely grate both.  Add the grated potatoes and onion to a strainer to remove excess water.  Take a large bowl and add the eggs and mix. Take the matzah meal and add to the mixture until a batter is formed.  Add a pinch of salt and black pepper.  Heat a griddle pan and add vegetable oil.  Now prepare the pancakes by using about two tablespoons of the batter to form the pancake.  Place the pancakes onto the griddle.  Use a spatula to press down on the pancakes until they turn a golden brown.  Then flip over until the other side is brown as well.  Place on paper towels and then serve.

2.  Hanukkah Cheese Wafers

*  8 ounces (about 2 cups packed) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
*  1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
*  1 cup all-purpose unbleached white flour
*  1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
*  2 teaspoons onion powder
*  1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add all the above ingredients into a food processor and mix until a dough forms.  Take out the dough and make two halves.  Shape each half into the shape of a log a foot long and an inch thick.  Place the each log onto the end of a piece of saran wrap. Then begin to wrap the log by rolling it away from you.  Place in the refrigerator overnight.  When you are ready to bake, line cookie sheets with parchment paper, preheat over to 375 degrees, take out the dough and cut thin slices and place on cookie sheet.  Bake until golden brown.  Place on rack to cool; then serve.

3.  Beef Brisket

*  3 lbs. beef brisket
*  3 tablespoons oil
*  1/4 cup chopped onions
*  2 cups boiling water
*  Salt and pepper to taste
*  Chopped parsely

Tie the brisket into a compact shape.  Take a deep kettle and add oil.  Add the chopped onions.  Place the brisket over the onions.  After an hour, add 2 cups of boiling water.  Cover the kettle and let the beef simmer for 2-1/2 hours or until tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  After the brisket is cooked, place on platter and sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Beef brisket can be served with boiled potatoes.

4.  Hanukkah Matzah Stuffing

*  2 matzahs
*  1/2 cup hot chicken broth
*  2 Tablespoons oil
*  1 large onion, chopped
*  Salt and pepper
*  1/2 teaspoon cumin
*  1/4 teaspoon turmeric
*  1 beaten egg

Take a large bowl and crumble the matzahs into the bowl along with the chicken broth.  Heat a skillet and add oil as well as the remaining ingredients.  Saute until onions are translucent.  Remove this mixture from the skillet and add to the bowl.  Add the egg and stir.  Put mixture into a baking dish and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

5.  Hanukkah Jelly Donuts

*  1 cup warm milk
*  1/3 cup water
*  1 egg, beaten
*  3 tablespoons margarine, melted
*  3/4 cup white sugar
*  4 1/2 cups bread flour
*  1 teaspoon salt
*  1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
*  1 tablespoon active dry yeast
*  3/4 cup any flavor fruit jam
*  2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Add the milk, water, beaten egg, melted butter, sugar, bread flour, salt, nutmeg and yeast into a food processor.  As soon as the dough is formed, take it out and place it on a marble surface.  Take a rolling pin and roll the dough out to about a quarter of an inch in thickness. Take a cookie cutter, and cut the dough into rounds. You will need two rounds per donut.  Add 1/2 teaspoon of jelly into the center of each round.  Take cold water and lightly wet the edges of the rounds.  Now place the top half of the round onto the bottom half.  Press the top half of the round to the bottom half.  Ensure the donuts are sealed tight.    Place the donuts on a cookie sheet and cover them with a towel until they rise.  Take out your deep fryer and pour the oil into it.  The temperature of the oil must reach 375 degrees.  Add 3 or four donuts into the deep fryer.  As they become golden brown, turn them over to brown the other side. Once both sides are golden brown, take them out of the fryer and place on a rack to drain and cool.
 

        Somehow that just doesn’t sound right. For the last week or so we’ve been bombarded with snowfall after snowfall. We’ve had some really high winds and some pretty cold temperatures for our area. So pretty much then we were expecting maybe, just maybe mind you, to have a white christmas this year.Let’s backtrack to last Sunday. This photo shows the view from my balcony. You can hardly see the parking lot. Yes that is as bright as it got.Oh the weather outside is frightful! And when the wind blows in my direction the inside is pretty frightful too! I live in an older apartment building and the windows rattle so hard sometimes I think I will end up in OZ.  

Don’t get me wrong. I love winter. I loved it more when I was younger. I love it better when I don’t have to go out and slip and slither my way around in it. 

We’ve been spoiled in our little lowland bit of southeastern Ontario in the last few years. Last year I even managed to go without boots most of the time.  

Monday was even worse in its way. The snow was still falling. The sidewalks were abominable. The streets were barely plowed but passable.  

I had to go out. The radio, the weather station, the traffic advisory people all said, “Don’t go out!” I had to go out. I had a medical appointment. It was near impossible to get my walker through the drifts of snow along the sidewalks. And cold. It was so cold I even had a couple of spots of frostbite on my feet. 

Tuesday the snow was still falling. The temperature was warming up though. We actually saw the sun for a bit. But still there was a whole lot of snow out there. There was no escaping it unless you had tickets for a flight bound for sunnier and warmer places. So you’ll have to forgive me if I started to dream of an old-fashioned white Christmas this year.  

Today is Wednesday, Christmas eve. Has it stopped snowing? Yes.  What is it doing out there? It’s icing. We’re having ice pellets. Ice pellets on top of all that nice fluffy snow. The temperature has risen to just above the freezing mark. So maybe we should with appologies to Irving Berlin change the song to “I’m dreaming about an ice Christmas…” 

And then again, the weather channel is predicting rain for tomorrow. Tomorrow is … ta dah …Christmas! Guess maybe we’ll just have to get by with an old new-fashioned green Christmas. 

Whatever the case, may you and yours enjoy all the blessings of this yuletide season and have a very happy new year.

  I am a member of the Etsy Bloggers Team, a group of Etsy shop owners who love to blog. As part of this group I write a monthly Blog Carnival post. The topic I selected for December was Christmas Traditions. In that blog I chose to write about a fond memory of Christmas past. (see http://impawsibletoresist.blogspot.com/2008/12/outside-snow-fell-in-great-clumps-of.html)

This morning I read with interest the Christmas eve or Christmas Day Food and Dinner posting on Daily Dish Recipes (http://cookwithme.today.com/2008/12/23/christmas-eve-or-christmas-day-food-and-dinner/). Readers were invited to write about their Christmas traditions and food choices. This is my response.

Some years ago we decided to take some of the tension out of the night before Christmas by each opening up 1 present. We would have a simple family feast and then off to bed for my daughter. My mother, the cats and I would remain up finishing gifts, wrapping and assembling as needed. Our feast would be something quick and easy and would be set up buffet style. It usually included sausage rolls, cold meats, little sandwiches, and other finger foods.

Dessert would be shortbread cookies, slices of fruitcake and mince tarts. Again easy to set up and easy to put away and store the leftovers was key here. As crafters we always had projects that still needed to be completed in time for giving so we needed all the seconds we could scrounge.

Christmas morning was always chaos. The stockings were examined first. The remaining presents would be opened next.

Breakfast was one of the few remaining times when we would all sit down to a good old fashioned breakfast. There would be pancakes and bacon, eggs any style, toast and coffee. The plates would be decorated with orange slices. Grapefruit was the first course.

Christmas Day dinner was always the traditional roasted turkey, stuffing, potatoes, turnips, cranberry sauce, salads. Dessert would be fruitcake or christmas pudding, apple, pumpkin, raisin or mincemeat pies.

In between these two giant repasts we would munch away on the contents of our stockings - nuts, fruit and candy. No one counted calories on Christmas Day!

Traditionally we would all gather around to watch the Queen’s address on TV. Then we might put on a movie or watch any specials that we might find airing on the television. Napping was an acceptable indulgence. We crafters would keep on finishing up that one last project.