Chag Purim!

I hosted a small Purim get-together last night, but there were a few mishaps along the way! I tried making Hain Superfruit (think vegan Jello) and vegan hamantaschen. The no-expiration-date Hain Superfruit seemed unusually hard a few years after purchase, so I threw it out. As for the hamantaschen, my smoke detector went off shortly after I turned on the oven, so I decided not to use the oven until I clean it thoroughly. I haven't used the oven since moving in to a new apartment a few weeks ago, and it appears that grease from all the meat made by the former tenant set off the smoke detector. Oh, meat, you remind me of Haman: You tried to ruin everything for the Jews on Purim! I shall take my noisemaker and wave it around whenever I hear thine name!

But overall, the night was fun. A friend and I went to the family service at my shul instead of the "adult" one, and I don't see any reason to go back to the other! My Loch Ness Monster costume was a big hit. The young boy in a duck costume in front of me seemed to greatly enjoy it; I couldn't help but feel gratified after all my tireless efforts in behalf of ducks. Afterward, a few friends came over to watch For Your Consideration (the Home for Purim movie). If only we had hamantaschen!

To read a wonderful article about how kosher pork (i.e., vegan mock-pork products) are perfect for Purim, click here.