Arriving in the depths of winter, the festival of Tu B’Shevat is always a welcome reprieve from the season’s chill and darkness.
Celebrated annually on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, the holiday — which falls this year on Wednesday evening, Jan. 24 — is known as the “Jewish new year of the trees.” It is a time when Jews reflect on their relationship with nature and offer thanks for the bounties of the earth.
On Tuesday night, Jan. 16, the Mitzvah Moms VolunTeam, a group of Baltimore-based women affiliated with The Associated’s Jewish Volunteer Network, held a Tu B’Shevat seder at The Wine Collective in Hampden.
Mitzvah Moms leader Marissa Kahn coordinated the event with The Wine Collective’s head chef, Jakob Dvorken, and tasting room manager, Kathryn Lerner.
The event was a fundraiser for Civic Works, a nonprofit that works to strengthen Baltimore’s communities through education, skills development and community service.
“It has been more than 100 days since [the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel], and I believe the call to carry on Jewish traditions is more resonant than ever,” said Kahn. “We are looking for opportunities to be in the community and bring light into this dark period. Planning a Tu B’Shevat seder and raising money for Civic Works’ Real Food Farms was a way for us to honor this increased commitment to Jewish traditions and mitzvot.”
Kahn praised Dvorken for going “above and beyond with his kindness and creativity to curate a special food and wine tasting menu for our seder. He even created a muffin that reflects the seven species of Israel. It means so much now more than ever to be welcomed with open arms to celebrate a Jewish holiday.”
Said Dvorken: “It was my pleasure to work with Marissa and the Mitzvah Moms team. This holiday is of utmost significance, celebrating the environment and sustainability. We stayed true to that focus, while being creative in our approach.
“At The Wine Collective, we support sustainability by acting locally by supporting local farmers in the creation of our wine and food,” he said. “This enables us to bring our customers a Maryland-based yet eclectic world-class winemaking and hand-crafted culinary experience.”
Why not try making Dvorken’s Seven Species muffins in your own kitchen?
Seven Species Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup dried figs
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup light olive oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (3/4 cup all purpose + 3/4 cup whole wheat flour will work too)
- 1/2 cup barley flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Nonstick cooking spray or paper muffin tin liners
Instructions
- If your raisins are particularly dry, cover them with water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat and let the raisins sit in the water to plump for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If your figs have tough stems on them, remove them and discard.
- Roughly chop dates and figs. Set aside.
- Use a blender or food processor to blend together the following ingredients until very smooth: dates, figs, almond milk, applesauce, cinnamon and allspice.
- It may take a couple of minutes to blend all ingredients to a smooth consistency, depending on the power of your blender. The end result should be similar to the texture of apple butter or smooth fruit preserves. Set mixture aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, light olive oil, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, barley flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gently mix the pomegranate seeds into the dry mixture, making sure the seeds are well coated with flour.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the fruit mixture from the blender into the well.
- Add the egg mixture to the well.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the dry ingredients are just moistened and a lumpy batter forms. Do not overmix – if you do your muffins will turn out heavy and dense.
- Fold raisins and chopped walnuts into the muffin batter with a light-handed stir.
- Prep your muffin pan by spraying a small amount of nonstick cooking spray into the bottom of each muffin tin (not the sides), or use paper muffin cup liners. Divide batter equally into muffin cups, filling each cup to the top and mounding the surface slightly. I've found that it's easiest to do this using an ice cream scoop.
- If you’d like to top the muffins, mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl using a fork. Sprinkle about a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon sugar mixture evenly across the surface of each muffin.
- Place muffins in the oven and immediately turn heat down to 375 degrees F. That extra heat blast at the beginning of the baking cycle will help to activate the baking powder and baking soda. Bake for 25-27 minutes until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and cooling on a rack. Do not let the muffins cool completely in the tin, they are quite moist and may stick to the tin if you leave them there too long. Serve warm.
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