I bake challah every Friday for Shabbat using any of these challah recipes. I enjoy doing it, and my family has gotten used to the smell and taste of fresh, homemade challot. If you have a mixer, then it really only takes 5 minutes to prepare the dough. And you can leave the rolling and braiding to your kids. The kids can also learn a bit about their Jewish legacy via challah baking if you include the blessing for separating the challah.

An annual new year for trees was established by Talmudic rabbis so that Jews could calculate the age of trees and know when they could be harvested. This tree birthday is called Tu (15th day) B'Shvat (in the Hebrew month of Shvat). This year Tu B'Shvat begins at sunset February 7, 2012 and ends at nightfall February 8, 2012.

Jews today celebrate the festival of Tu B'Shvat in a variety of ways, such as learning about the environment, planting trees in Israel, and serving dishes containing fruit and grains mentioned in the Bible either for a regular meal or for a Tu B'Shvat Seder ceremony. You can celebrate Tu B'Shvat this year with these kosher Tu B'Shvat recipes.

And this Tu B'Shvat menu is designed to include the seven species (shivat haminim): wheat, barley, grapes, fig, pomegranate, olive and date.

Vegetarian Chopped Liver is very frequently served as a Sabbath appetizer in Ashkenazi homes. There are many versions of pareve chopped liver, but this one made of onions, peas, beans, nuts and hard-boiled eggs is one of the most popular. Vegetarian chopped liver is lighter and healthier than real chopped chicken livers, but the taste is quite similar.

_{Photo © 2007 Giora Shimoni, licensed to About.com, Inc}

Sometimes, for a special occasion, it is worthwhile to invest in a dish. This Moussaka, from Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Entertains cookbook, is one of those dishes. The recipe requires a few more ingredients and a bit more effort, but your guests will remember dining with you in your home.