Books on customs, symbols and holiday dishes enrich the holiday experience, helping to develop anticipation and curiosity before it arrives. This book should also be read together with your toddlers during the holiday, and even when it is over – so that, together, you can think back on the beautiful moments, melodies, colors, flavors and scents.
Lea Naor was born in Herzliya in 1935.
Every time you read this book, try looking for new interesting details in its illustrations – Where’s the parrot? What is it doing in each of the illustrations? What are the father and children doing? Which items and ingredients are on the table? And which objects do you recognize in the kitchen? Perhaps you can also find them in your own home and kitchen.
While making latkes, or any other of your favorite foods, you can take pictures of the preparation process. These pictures can later be incorporated into a small photo album that will help you repeat the correct steps, as well as the names of actions and ingredients.
A recipe for latkes
Ingredients:
5 potatoes
1 large onion
2 eggs
Half a cup of flour
Half a teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
Frying oil
Method:
1. Peel and grate the onion and potatoes. Squeeze out all the fluids, and place in a bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients – the eggs, flour, sugar and salt (as well as other condiments, if you so wish) – to the bowl, and mix them well.
3. Fry the latkes carefully in hot oil (one to one and a half tablespoons for each latke) until golden on both sides.
“Just me!” – Toddlers like to feel all grown-up and independent, as if they too are adults. While reading a book together, you can enjoy sharing with your toddler and strenghtening their sense of capacity: They can hold the book, point, say words they recognize, and even read the book to you or to one of their toys.
The pictures in this book help you see the challah-making process, and understand the various stages. You too can make a dish together and photograph the process of its preparation. That way, you can be reminded of preparing it, look at the pictures together, and take pride in the delicious result.
Challa recipe
Dough:
1kg of flour
½ a cup of sugar
2 spoons of yeast
2 cups of lukewarm water
½ a cup of oil
2 eggs (optional, you can also make it without eggs)
1 spoon of salt
An egg for brushing or some oil
Method:
Mix the flour, sugar and yeast in a large bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients and knead well for about 10 minutes until the dough becomes elastic and soft.
Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic bag and leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in volume.
Use the dough to make challahs. You can make them large or small. You can brush the challahs with egg or oil.
Bake in an oven set to medium heat for half an hour, until the challah turns golden. Enjoy!
You can look at the pictures together and discuss the details in them. You may want to ask questions such as: Where is the girl? What are the children doing? Where is the broom? Where is the challah? You can return to an image you have already looked at from time to time, and who knows – perhaps you will discover some additional details?
![כריכת הספר What? What? A Potato! [Mah? Mah? Tapuah Adamah!]](https://www.pjisrael.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/מה-מה-תפוח-אדמה-כריכה-על-ריבוע-לאתר.jpg)
What? What? A Potato! [Mah? Mah? Tapuah Adamah!] 
It’s Challah Time! 
The seven species 
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
שֵׁמַע
בִּשּׁוּל
יְצִירָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
סִרְטוֹנִים
