Congregation Or Chadash would like to wish
you and your family a
happy and healthy Passover!

-Clergy, Staff & Board

 

Passover Greetings from Rabbi Louchheim

Tonight begins the holiday of Passover. I would like to share two thoughts with you which I hope you will bring to your celebrations:
 

1) I very much appreciate how you responded to the need of families in our community this season. Thank you so much for allowing us to surpass our goal by providing fifty-six individual jars of Gefilte Fish along with donations of over two hundred dollars to purchase more.  Along with all the other area congregations and through the distribution network of JFCS we were able to provide the ritual foods necessary for area families to properly celebrate Passover this evening.

 

2) Marcia and my entire family wish each and every one of you a very happy and healthy Passover. This holiday of freedom reminds us how fortunate we are to be able to make every dream come true. It took our ancestors forty years. May your journey to achieve your hearts' desires come to fruition much sooner. At the same time there are those among us who are suffering a great deal. As you enjoy the bounty at your Seders tonight, think of how you can help others with new beginnings and new hopes for the future. Our custom this evening is to open the door of hope at the end of the Seder. We pray for Elijah's appearance, for he is to tell us of the Messiah's arrival. Tonight we will open the door. We will peer into the darkness with great expectations; but let us not wait. Reform Judaism since its inception has been a messianic movement. We do not wait for others to bring redemption. It is our burden and our responsibility to make the impossible a reality.

 

Happy Passover.

Rabbi Thomas A. Louchheim


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MAY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY PASSOVER
PASSOVER INFORMATION


Passover Service
Tuesday, March 30th, 10:00 a.m. at the Or Chadash Chapel
(3939 N. Alvernon Way)

Second Seder
Tuesday, March 30th, 5:45 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center
(3800 E. River Road)

Yizkor Service
Monday, April 5th, 10:00 a.m. at the Or Chadash Chapel
(3939 N. Alvernon Way)

First Mondays with the Rabbi & Rebbetzin
Monday, April 5th, 12:00 noon
Or Chadash in Room 8
(3939 N. Alvernon Way)


 

 

 

Enjoy these Passover Recipes from Rabbi Louchheim.

 

Passover Blueberry Muffins

 

1/4 tsp. salt                               3 eggs

1/4 cup potato starch              1 pkg. frozen, thawed

1/2 cup cake meal                      & drained blueberries

1/2 cup oil                                cinnamon & sugar

1 scant cup sugar

 

Sift salt, potato starch and cake meal; set aside. Mix oil and sugar. Add eggs and beat well; fold in dry ingredients. Then fold in blueberries and pour into paper cups in muffin tins. Sprinkle cinnamon & sugar on top and bake at 325˚ for 40-50 minutes.

 

Maria Alvarez's Passover Biscuits
(Makes 4 large rolls)


8 Tbsp. water, plus more if needed
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 Tbsp. honey, warmed
4 eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups cake meal

Preheat the oven to 375°. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Beat the first five ingredients together in a small bowl. Place the cake meal in a large bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the cake meal all at once using a fork, beating as little as possible. If necessary, to get the dough to form a mass, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.
Divide the dough into four equal pieces. On a floured board (matzah meal or potato flour), press each piece into a 3/4 inch thick cake. Bake them on the prepared cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes or until they are a light brown color. Remove them to a rack.

 

 

Matzah Popovers

 

1 ½ cups water

½ cup vegetable shortening

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

11/2 cups matzah meal

7 large eggs

 

In a large saucepan boil water and shortening until shortening melts and add salt, sugar, and matzah meal all at once, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixtures pulls away from side of pan.  Remove pan from heat and cool slightly.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating with a wooden spoon until smooth after each addition, and let batter rest for 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 400˚ and lightly grease twelve- 1/3 cup muffin tins.

 

Grandma Pearlie's Passover Apple Kugel

 

4 matzos

tsp. grated lemon or orange peel

3/4 cup cinnamon mixed with sugar

golden raisin

2 green apples, peeled and sliced thin

1 tsp. vanilla

1 stick of butter or margarine (can use oil)

 

Wash matzah to make softer.  Mix eggs well.  Add sugar and cinnamon and stir.  Add butter, but don't worry about it being creamy.  Hunks of butter are ok too.  Add raisins and grated rind.  A little lemon juice is nice too.

 

Butter a rectangular two-inch deep pan.  Put in whole matzah and layer the egg mixture and slices of apples.  Then more egg. Then another matzah.  Continue adding a little of each - the egg, more cinnamon and sugar, more apple.  You can add slivers of unsalted almonds on top.  A dozen pitted prunes in good.  Sprinkle sugar on top.  Good to serve with meat.

 

Put in 400˚ oven.  After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350˚ but keep the kugel covered and cook for about 40 minutes.

 

Makes 8 servings, more or less.

 

Jane's Sephardic Charoset

 

6 figs

6 dates

2 large granny smith apples

½ cup whole almonds chopped

½ cup walnuts

1 tsp. crystallized ginger

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. lemon

5 Tbsp. sweet wine.

 

Mix together and serve.

 

 

Diego Diaz Nieto's Haroset Balls

 

2 apples, cored and finely chopped

6 Tbsp. chopped almonds

6 Tbsp. chopped dates

6 Tbsp. raisins

12 chestnuts, cooked and peeled

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. sugar

5 Tbsp. white vinegar

 

Place the diced apples (red-skinned is preferable for color), almonds, dates, raisins, and chestnuts into an unbreakable bowl.  With a potato masher or similar utensil, mash the ingredients together.

 

Add the cinnamon and 1 Tbsp. sugar mix well

 

Place the remaining sugar in a small bowl

 

With your fingers, form the haroset mixture into 1-inch balls.  Roll them in the sugar and place them on a plate

 

Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving

 

To serve, arrange the haroset balls on a platter or on individual plates.  Spoon the vinegar over them, allotting approximately 1 Tbsp. to three haroset balls.  Let them stand until most of the vinegar is absorbed.

 

NOTE:  Do not use electric grinder or processor for these balls.  They won't hold together.

 

VARIATIONS:  Use brown sugar or a combination of brown and white sugars in the preparation of the horoset.

 

Substitute 5 pitted prunes or figs for either the dates or the raisins.

 

 

Sephardic Haroseth

Makes About 2 1/2 cups.

 

1/2 cup dates, pitted

2 cups apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

In a medium saucepan, combine the dates, apples and dried apricots.  Add water to cover.  Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the mixture is tender enough to mash with a fork.  Place the mixture in a processor and process, turning on and off until the mixture is blended.  DO NOT PUREE.  Just before serving fold in the walnuts.

 

 

And the famous desserts...

 

Louchheim's Chocolate Matzah

 

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

Box of matzah

Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Heat butter and brown sugar to a boil.  Remove from heat.  It should not be too thick.  Spread out matzah on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Brush the sauce on the matzah.  Place in 450˚ oven for 4 minutes.

 

Remove from oven.  Sprinkle chips over matzah.  Put in oven for one minute.  Remove from oven and smooth over with spatula.

 

Refrigerate separating layers with wax paper.

 

 

Chocolate Almond Torte (Torta Caprese)

 

1 3/4 sticks (7/8 cup) unsalted butter

7 ounces (1-1/4 cups) blanched whole almonds

6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

 

Garnish: confectioner's sugar

Accompaniment: whipped cream

 

Preheat over to 350 degrees and butter a 10-inch cake pan.  Line bottom of pan with a round of wax paper and butter paper  

 

Melt butter and cool.  In a food processor finely grind together almonds and chocolate.  Separate eggs.

 

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat yolks with granulated sugar until very think and pale and beat in almond mixture and butter

 

In another bowl with cleaned beaters beat whites with a pinch salt until they just hold stiff peaks and whisk on fourth into almond mixture.  Fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly and spread batter evenly in pan

 

Bake torte in the middle of over 50 minutes, or until it begins to pull away from side of pan and a tester comes out with moist crumbs adhering.  Cool torte on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto another rack.  Discard wax paper and cool torte completely.  Invert torte onto a plate. Torte may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

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