Where are all the Queen Esthers and Mordecais? For almost my entire life every Jewish little girl wanted to be queen Esther on Purim. Here was the once-a-year chance to be the heroine queen who saved her people from annihilation! And also, of course to wear flowy chiffon scarves and skirts and maybe a tiara and a few bracelets and your mother’s best fake-rhinestone necklace.

And the boys always wanted to be Mordecai, who refused to bow to Haman and thus provoked that man’s rage into a fury.

Today a lot of the kids will dress up as ladybugs or Spiderman. Or princesses — hey, don’t they realize that a QUEEN has a higher rank and more jewelry than a princess??

And a lot of other Hallowe’en leftover stuff.

I guess it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s fun. Still, this year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of Hadassah, the worldwide Jewish women’s volunteer organization. Hadassah is named for Queen Esther. So it seems fitting that there should be more Queen Esthers out there celebrating. 

Anyway, our local Hadassah hosts an Afternoon Tea every other Tuesday for cancer patients and their caretakers at Stamford Hospital. I am one of their bakers. I often make quickbreads because they are moist, sweet and easy to eat. Like this Chocolate Bread, which is rich and dark and luscious. It’s a good choice for a Tea, afternoon snack or dessert. To celebrate Purim, Hadassah, Queen Esther or any time at all!

Chocolate Bread

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup shortening

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup chopped pecans, macadamia nuts, cashews or walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Melt the chocolate and set it aside to cool. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium, cream the sugar and shortening until well mixed. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat the ingredients until they are well blended and smooth. Add the flour mixture in portions, alternating with the buttermilk. Blend the ingredients thoroughly. Blend in the melted cooled chocolate. Fold in the nuts, if used. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Makes one bread

Lighten up that Hanukkah celebration. Yeah, yeah, I’ve been going on and on about fried food. There’s nothing like it with its crunchy wonderfulness.

But last night our local Hadassah had its annual Hanukkah-time potluck dinner, especially to thank all the women who bake every two weeks for the Hadassah-sponsored teas at Stamford Hospital’s cancer center (which I have to say are wildly welcome and a raging success!).

I didn’t want to bring fried. It doesn’t travel well. Fried gets soggy when you tote it anywhere (although someone brought 3 different kinds of latkes and they crisped up nicely). 

And I figured everyone there had already had their fill of the stuff.

So I cooked this really easy, pretty, colorful, light-but-filling Salmon-Couscous Salad. Everyone loved it. Use it year ‘round. Whenever. 

Salmon Couscous Salad with Blue Cheese and Dried Cranberries

1 pound fresh salmon

olive oil or vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups Israeli couscous

1 cup thawed frozen peas

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

4 medium scallions, chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons orange juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat a broiler, grill pan or outdoor grill. Brush the salmon with a film of olive oil or vegetable oil. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through. Remove the fish to a cutting board, let cool and cut into small chunks. Cook the couscous until al dente, drain and place in a bowl. Add the fish, peas, cheese, scallions, cranberries, orange peel, dill and mint. Toss ingredients to distribute them evenly. Pour in the vegetable oil, lemon juice and orange juice and toss ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. Makes 4 servings

I’ve been in a blueberry mood lately. It’s a summer thing and not just because blueberries are the juiciest, sweetest and tastiest in the summer but also because they remind me of some good old things in the good old days.

Like my parents’ blueberry bush. My Dad planted that bush and every day, year after year, from about May through August, when my Dad came home from work he would go out to the garden and watch the berries grow from tiny green pebbles to goldenish-greenish little nuggets to rich, navy blue rounds that looked as if they were about to burst open. It made him so happy to see those berries thrive, as if he were watching his children.

It was only the one bush though so there weren’t that many berries. When our harvest came in we would eat them within the hour, usually with sour cream and a sprinkle of sugar.

Oh yum, I could eat a bowl of that now.

Even the best store or market bought berries don’t have that just picked taste of the ones from a bush in your own garden. But I don’t have a blueberry bush, so summer market blueberries are the best I can do. I eat them now with yogurt (non-fat Greek style) because sour cream has too much fat.

And no sugar. Because, well, you know.

How the mighty have fallen.

I usually buy boxes and boxes of berries when the price is right, and I make a pie or three to freeze. 

But the price isn’t pie-buying yet. I only bought 2 boxes this week. I made some soup with some (see my post for the recipe) and this tea bread, which I made for the Tea for cancer patients and their caregivers that our local Hadassah holds every two weeks. 

It is fabulously moist and has a distinct but gentle flavor of orange. It makes a terrific snack with tea or coffee.

Orange Blueberry Tea Bread

5 tablespoons butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan (or 8-1/2”x4-1/2”x2-1/2”) and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer set at medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes or until well combined. Add the eggs and orange peel and beat them in thoroughly. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk and orange juice and beat ingredients to blend them thoroughly. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on the size of the pan) or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Makes one bread

Lemon Cake and Taxes

246 years ago today George III (he was our king at the time) approved the infamous Stamp Act, the first direct tax levied against the colonists.

It caused quite a ruckus.

Instead of dutifully paying, everyone rebelled and shouted “taxation without representation” (as opposed to representation, which we have now in this country because WE VOTE for our representatives) and eventually this led to the Boston Tea Party (because of another tax and devious machinations about the importation of tea).

People say that all these disturbances made us into a coffee drinking country, rather than a tea drinking one. Still, there’s something soothing about tea and something warm and comforting, not to mention delicious, about a real “Afternoon Tea” with freshly brewed tea and scones, cakes, tea sandwiches and cookies.

Every two weeks our local Hadassah holds an Afternoon Tea for cancer patients and caregivers at Stamford Hospital. China tea sets and cups. Lots of goodies to eat.

This is a gift for everyone. Those who are ill and need a bright spot in their day. Caregivers who take pleasure in the pleasure of their loved ones. The bakers who willingly mix up a cake or batch of cookies to make someone else feel good, at least temporarily.

We were told that while the patients are grateful for anything we bake, that because of their illness or as the result of chemo and other medications, they prefer creamy and also lemony desserts, because these have the most flavor.

Here’s my latest offering. I’ve been experimenting with Lemon Buttermilk Cake for a while now and finally got it right. 

Lemon Buttermilk Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 pound butter

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup grated fresh lemon peel

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Glaze:

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Grease a 10-cup bundt pan, then sprinkle the insides with flour or plain dry bread crumbs. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium, cream the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat after each addition and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon peel and lemon juice and stir into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about one hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven. Mix the glaze ingredients and brush some onto the surface of the cake (it will become the bottom) while it is cooling in the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack. Brush the remaining glaze over all the remaining surface area of the cake. Let cool and serve. Makes 12-16 servings