More Awards and a Dinner

I really and truly appreciate all the honors, Beautiful People, and I sincerely have no idea what I am doing to deserve them! A while ago, adorable Lizzy from https://curlygirlabroad.wordpress.com nominated me first for one award, and then another one. I thank you so much, dear Lizzy! You are so totally cool!

The first one is a Real Neat Blog Award. The rules are:

1. Put the award logo on your blog.
2. Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
3. Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blogs.
4. Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
5. Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog etc.)

Here are the questions and my answers:

1. Where do most visits to your blog come from?  U.S., by far. Thank you, fellow Americans!
2. What is your favourite sport?  To do – swimming, to watch – figure skating.
3. What has been a special moment for you so far in 2016? In the midst of all the blogging awards and just a few days before the holidays, I have been honored with a “real,” i.e. tangible award.

 

The photo is dreadful ( I do look better than this!), but you can see a Shofar (ritual ram’s horn blown on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) covered in silverwork that depicts Jerusalem. I was honored as an Educator of the Year by a private teacher college called The Teaching University of Americas, where I have been teaching for 15 years, since its inception. This really means a lot to me, perhaps even more than teaching at big colleges and universities at the same time.

4. What is your favourite quote? “Freedom is only a chance to be better” by Albert Camus.

5.  What was your favourite class when still at school? Hard to say, as I had a few favorites: literature, languages, history, psychology, philosophy… You can see where my interests lie.

6.  Anything you had wished to have learned earlier? Yes! I’ve always wanted to ride a horse and finally learned when I was already in my late fifties. I could’ve had many more years of fun!

7.  What musical instrument have you tried to play?  My major in college was piano. Later, I also learned to play guitar (very vaguely, just to accompany myself when singing).

Next, it is my great pleasure to nominate the following wonderful bloggers:

1. https://snapshotsincursive.com by Gail
2. https://sparklingpoems.wordpress.com/
3. https://zhwadevivre.wordpress.com/ by Arohii
4. https://leggypeggy.com/ by Peggy
5. https://enjoytheadventure.co.uk/about/ by Jess
6. https://lilyandardbeg.wordpress.com/ by Alex

You are not in any way obligated to accept, and I fully understand that not everyone has the time and inclination to participate in these self-and-others-promoting exercises.  Therefore, I will truly appreciate if you accept the nomination, as I sincerely think you deserve it, but I won’t get offended if you don’t.  Nominating each one of you is my way of giving credit to some exceptional bloggers and perhaps attracting attention to your work.

Believe it or not, this is a Sunshine Blogger Award #4. I guess it means something if I keep getting nominated for it again and again! Thank you, dear Lizzy-curly girl! You rock!

This award is given by a blogger to other bloggers who are an inspiration in the blogging domain. If the award nominees accept the award, they have to answer 11 questions before nominating other bloggers and designing questions for their nominees.

THE RULES:

• Thank the person that nominated you.
• Answer the questions from your nominator.
• Nominate fellow bloggers you follow.
• Give them 10 questions to answer.

QUESTIONS:

1. Do you consider yourself fashionable? I think so.
2. Do you like/need routine? I am sure everybody needs routines, whether we like it or not, even people who resent them. Routines free up our energy and creativity for more important things.  One should be flexible, though, to be able to adjust to changes in routines,  either temporary or permanent.
3. What kind of blogs do you like to read the most? Good ones.
4. Do you have any siblings? One younger brother.
5. What motivates you? Life! It’s the most exciting thing in the world!
6. Do you have some philosophic moments? What do you mostly think about when you have them? I consider myself an existentialist. To me, existence always precedes essence; otherwise Hegel would be perfectly satiated with the idea of the fish, while Kierkegaard is eating the actual fish. We are all strangers in this world, stated Camus, but he also posed a great paradox: on the one hand, he said, “I know of only one duty, and that is to love,” but at the same time, he advised, “To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.” I am still trying to reconcile these two thoughts.
7. What is or would be your dream job? I am an educator, and I love it.
8. Is it different from when you were younger? Obviously, everything is different from when I was younger, as I was younger in a country where everything was as different from normal human life as only people who have lived under oppressive political regimes can imagine. However, since I have decided long time ago that I would always be eighteen years old, that’s what I am, and no more talk about “younger”!
9. Besides your blog, where do you spent most time online? Nowhere. I don’t.
10. Do you like camping? I love camping and have done a lot of it years ago, but my husband’s idea of camping is pitching a tent in the middle of an air-conditioned living room.  I am so grateful that we share our love for sailing as it gets me outdoors, at least.

I would love to nominate the following great bloggers:

1. https://ruchisvegkitchen.wordpress.com by Ruchi
2. https://sindhukitchenblog.wordpress.com/ by Sindhu
3. https://contentedbelly.com/ by Alexandra
4. https://americaoncoffee.wordpress.com/
5. https://elliebleu.com/ by Ellie
6. https://gfhomebakery.com/ by Rita Ann
7. https://japanese-food.org/ by Aki
8. https://ritzflavours.wordpress.com/ by Rhythm
9. https://healthyindiankitchen.wordpress.com/ by Mona
10.  https://keralas.live/ by Sumith

I would be delighted if you accept, but please see the disclosure statement above.

My questions:

1. Ice cream or chocolate?
2. Pastel colors or dramatic contrasts?
3. Instrumental music or vocals
4. What kind of books do you like?
5. What kind of movies do you watch?
6. What do you do for fun?
7. Where would you like to travel?
8. What is your preferred way of traveling?
9. Your comfort food?
10. The person who influenced you the most in your life?

That’s it, Beautiful People, done with awards, let’s start cooking already! In a few days from now, we have yet another holiday, Sukkos (Sukkot). It is celebrated by building temporary booths, or huts, outside, open to elements, and dwelling, or at least eating in them for eight days. One of the major traditions of Sukkos is having guests – if possible, for every meal. Since some of our friends are vegetarian and/or vegan, I came up with this main dish that is quick, easy, and festive, as befits the holiday.

MEATLESS MEATLOAF CUPS

I found this vegan gluten free meatless meatloaf that comes with gravy, but you can use any similar product sold in your area. I also have a supply of vegan gluten free spring roll wrappers that I use for all kinds of experiments. I am sure these are readily available anywhere.

I sprayed a muffin tin with oil and arranged a wrapper in each slot, forming cups. Spring roll wrappers are pretty soft, so the trick is to make sure the ends don’t curve or fold inside; otherwise you won’t be able to fill the cups.

Bake them at 350 F for about 7 – 8 minutes, or until golden and pretty. Meanwhile, get your fake meatloaf, or fake hamburger, or fake whatever, hot and ready.

Cut these guys into bite size pieces – I don’t know how large your bite is! – fill each cup with two or three “bites” and arrange on a pretty platter. Make sure everything is hot as you will assemble it right before serving. You want the cups crunchy, not soggy!

I would serve them on a bed of a warm salad that provides lively contrasting colors, such as my Greens Combo Salad or Perfect Kale Salad.  The last thing you do is pour hot gravy over the bites, and serve an elegant, colorful, festive vegan main dish.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package Meatless Meatloaf or any similar product that comes with gravy or sauce
• 12 spring roll wrappers

PROCEDURE

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 12-slot muffin tin with oil.
• Arrange each wrapper in a slot, forming cups.
• Bake for 7 – 8 minutes until golden.
• Heat Meatless Meatloaf, cut into bite-size pieces, place 2-3 pieces into each cup.
• Note: cups filled with Meatless Meatloaf or similar product can be briefly reheated in the oven, uncovered, but not in the microwave.
• Heat gravy or sauce, pour over bites, serve immediately.

Enjoy!