Banana Nut Muffi ns

NOSH ON THIS

SHARING RECIPES

BANANA NUT MUFFINS

By Helen Hill, Hadassah Jacksonville

What do you do with over-ripe bananas? I always smash them, store them in baggies, and freeze them so I can have them on hand and bake up these yummy muffins any time. These banana-nut muffins are great to make ahead and especially this month, when company comes over or when you need a little something to take to some else's house, these easy-to-make muffins are perfect. I've made them for years and they're a great go-to recipe and a delicious go-to treat to always have available.

DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round pan and cover in parchment paper.

2.Mix the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.

3.In another large bowl, mix applesauce, eggs, honey, olive oil, almond extract and whisk.

4.Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.

5.Fold the diced apples, nuts and dates into the batter

6.Pour the batter into the round baking pan. Top with a few slices of apples to decorate the top.

7.Bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. 2 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal) 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp Celtic sea salt ½ tsp cinnamon ½ cup unsweetened applesauce 4 large eggs ½ cup honey ¼ cup olive oil 1 tsp almond extract 1½ diced apples (1 - 2 apples, leave a few apple slices for decoration) 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans ½ cup dates chopped

FAITH AND INSPIRATION

By Hazzan Jesse Holzer, Jacksonville Jewish Center

I had a bunk bed when I was growing up. The top bed and most of the bottom bunk were fi lled to the brim with stuff ed animals, my fi rst line of defense against the nighttime ghosts and monsters. Little did I know that there was a prayer that could have aff orded me a lot of extra legroom.

As part of the bedtime Sh’ma, the prayer “B’Sheim Hashem” mentions four angelic fi gures, watching over us in all directions: on my right, Michael ("Who is Like God?") on my left Gavriel ("God's Strength”), before me Uriel ("Light of God"), behind me Refael ("It is God Who heals”), and above me the presence of God.

Over time, I’ve sung this prayer for my own children and included it as standard liturgy for our frequent healing services. When we recite the prayer, we think of the angels on high, the angels of biblical origin, the angels of our tradition. We also think of the angels who are loved ones now here only in spirit, continuing to add light, strength, and healing when we need it most.

And yet sometimes we forget the angels who are here, physically, in our everyday lives. There are friends and community who are our rock. And there are those we meet for only a moment, but their small act- smiling when we are at our lowest of lows, giving of tzedakah, or even holding a door, remind us of our own capacity to be like the angels. As we are asked to be a ner, bringing light to this dark time of the year, may we know that we too, through even the smallest of sacred acts, are angels for one another.

May we fi nd strength, healing, sacredness and light in one another in the new year.

B'NAI MITZVAH

REMEMBER THE PAST AND EDUCATE FOR THE FUTURE

Mazel Tov to Hank Shapiro on becoming a Bar Mitzvah! Through his participation in Chain of Memory he demonstrates the importance of remembering the past as well as educating the future. Chain of Memory makes it possible for B’nai Mitzvah to remember one of the 1.5 million children who were murdered by the Nazis before being able to fulfi ll the mitzvah of learning Torah. The B’nai Tzedek Program, with the support of Mel and Debbie Gottlieb, helps young people learn about leadership, service, fi nancial literacy, and long-term investing to use their tzedekah for good. The Gift of Israel Program, designed in cooperation with the Levin family, was established to encourage teens to visit Israel by providing them with a $700 subsidy towards an accredited travel program.

Hank Shapiro for B'nai Tzedek, Chain of Memory, and Gift of Israel

On November 13, Hank Shapiro became a Bar Mitzvah at the Jacksonville Jewish Center. As part of the Center’s B’nai Mitzvah program, Hank chose 13 mitzvot that engaged the family in strengthening their Jewish home, synagogue, and community, including reciting Shabbat prayers on Friday night, giving tzedekah, and planting a tree in Israel. The most meaningful mitzvah to Hank was caring for his grandparents. He currently attends 7th grade at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School where his favorite subjects include physical education and language arts.

Hank has chosen to dedicate this special occasion to the memory of Yizhak Godin. Yizhak was born in 1927 to Shmuel and Reshka Godin. Yizhak was one of six siblings. The family lived in what would become the Warsaw ghetto. When the war began, three of Yizhak’s siblings fl ed to Moscow. Yizhak, his parents, and his youngest sibling, Henya, were sent to a concentration camp. All four died in the Holocaust around 1942-1943. Yizhak was a young teenager, and Henya was only eleven.