
Photo by Cynthia Hochswender
I’ve finally given up any hope of baking giant discs of handmade matzo, in the shmura style, at home — after more than a decade of giving it my best shot.
Matzo is very simple, with only three ingredients (flour, water, salt) — but the method of preparing it is so exacting and difficult, it’s almost like a challenge you’d see on a television cooking show.
We eat matzo to remind us of the flight of the Jews from Egypt: There was no time for the flour and water to do that magical thing they do when they’re combined, which is to become alive and ingest air bubbles and become leavened.
To make authentic handmade matzo, you have to exactly count the seconds that your flour is exposed to your water, so that no leavening can occur. It’s like a challenge you might see on a television cooking show (“The clock is ticking!”).
Then you have to perforate the dough, which is not impossible. What is impossible for most home cooks, however, is the baking. I finally learned this week that the reason my homemade matzo tastes nothing like an authentic delicious shmura matzo made by professionals is that I can’t crank my oven up to between 600 and 800 degrees.
I accept defeat. And in this year where Amazon has been able to get nearly everything I order to my doorstep in two or three days, I went ahead and ordered some shmura matzo (which is very hard to find outside of Brooklyn). I am not observant, so it won’t matter to me if I don’t get an unbroken crisp circle of shmura matzo, which is needed for the Passover seder. I’m ordering it simply because I like the way it tastes, and you can only get it once a year.
But enough about what we can’t cook. What can we make for the High Holidays, while observing the rule that we can’t eat leavened grain products?
I don’t know enough to instruct you on dietary dos and don’ts but one thing I know is that coconut macaroons are a Passover tradition. These are not to be confused with the light, delicate French macarons cookies, although they’re also wheat free and in theory qualify as a Passover treat. They’re fairly challenging to make, however.
But coconut macaroons are wonderfully simple, and can be made by anyone, even a child (with supervision for the part that involves an electric mixer).
The recipe that I used is from Ina Garten and is far from low-calorie, but if you’re going to eat a cookie, you might as well make it a good one. You can find the original of this online from Food Network.
Adapted from the Food Network recipe
Makes about 24 cookies
Whites from two large eggs, at room temperature (an excellent way to use fresh, local farm eggs)
1/4 teaspoon good table salt such as Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
14 ounces of moist, tender shredded coconut from the baking aisle, not the harder coconut flakes you’d buy to snack on
14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk (one can; be sure not to get evaporated milk by mistake)
1 teaspoon good-quality vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (it’s easier to drop your cook batter onto the paper if you trim it to fit the baking sheets; otherwise the edges blow into the air as you’re trying to work).
To whip up the egg whites, you’ll want your mixer bowl and beaters to be perfectly clean, with no grease or residual butter on them. The best way to super clean them is with a wipe of vinegar.
Your eggs should be at room temperature. Use large but not “jumbo” eggs, which tend to have a higher risk of salmonella (again, farm eggs are easy to find around here and give you beautiful whipped whites).
Add the salt to the whites.
The mistake most of us make when whipping egg whites is to treat them with kid gloves and to underbeat them. The longer you beat your whites, at high speed, the stronger they’ll become (up to a point, of course).
For this reason, if you can, you want to use a stand mixer not a hand mixer. If you beat them for about 20 minutes, you’ll get glossy whites that are smooth and creamy; when you turn the beater upside down, the whites should droop nicely into a little elf cap.
While the whites are beating and the oven is heating, combine in a very large bowl (I used my favorite extra wide ceramic salad bowl) the coconut, condensed milk and vanilla.
After your whites are nice and glossy and strong, gently add them to the coconut mixer and gently fold them together, using a sturdy spatula to reach under the mixture and fold it up and over, repeatedly, turning the bowl after each turn.
Then take two large spoons, or one big spoon and an ice cream scoop. My ice cream scoop doesn’t have an auto eject feature, it’s just a deep spoon, but it worked fine. The trick to making nice scoops, which I learned from Dave Cadwell from the former Cadwell’s Corner in Cornwall, is that you have to tamp down the ingredients in the one spoon before scooping them out with the other spoon. This gives you nice sturdy cookies.
Don’t delay unduly in getting your cookies onto the sheet and into the oven, or the liquids will start to separate and leave a milky residue around your cookies.
Each cookie should be about the size of a golf ball.
Bake them for about 25 minutes, until they’re lightly browned on top. Take them out and let them cool completely before you try to move them or they’ll break apart.
If you want to top them with chocolate sauce, wait until they’re cool. Put the warm or room temperature chocolate sauce in a bowl and dunk the top of the cookie into the sauce and turn it until you get as much coverage as you’d like.
Refrigerate them quickly so the chocolate “sets.”
You can store these in a plastic container at room temperature for a week or so.
KENT — Jo-Anne H. Meeker of Kent-Cornwall Road, passed away on May 24, 2025, at home. She was the loving wife of the late Robert E. Boyden and the late John G. Meeker.
Jo-Anne was born May 15, 1933, in Stamford, Connecticut, the daughter of the late Henry and Genevieve Hoyt of Lempster, New Hampshire. She graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1951. Jo-Anne worked as a secretary in several medical fields before retiring from the New Milford Hospital Pathology Department.
Jo-Anne is survived by her sister, Charlotte and her husband Charles Pike, her children, Robert Boyden and his wife Caron, grandson Cade, Christina Boyden, Nicholas Boyden and his wife Devin, grandchildren Birdie and Hoyt Boyden.
Graveside service was held May 31, at Flanders Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Kent Volunteer Fire Department 28 Maple St, Kent, CT in Jo-Anne’s honor.
The Kenny Funeral Home has taken care of arrangements.
TORRINGTON — Mrs. Faye H. (Harmon) Lawson, 88, of 116 Mill Lane, Torrington, died Monday, March 26, peacefully in her home. She was the wife of the late Peter G. Lawson. Mrs. Lawson was born on Jan. 15, 1937, a daughter of the late Leon and Evelyn (Bouton) Harmon.
Mrs. Lawson worked as a legal secretary and served on several boards and commissions in her community through the years. Faye spent her life living in the Northwest Corner enjoying the beauty and friendships she cultivated and treasured.She had a deep appreciation of creativity, curiosity, art, imagination and family. She was an avid gardener and took great joy and pride in the fruits of her labor.
She leaves as survivors her children; Lori A. Lawson of Torrington, James M. Lawson (wife Kathy) of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, and Abigail S. Lawson of Torrington; three grandsons, Graham, Taylor and Jordan Lawson; and her brothers Gordon E. Harmon (wife Marge) of Collinsville and Frederic “Rick” (wife Lisa) Harmon of Maitland, Florida. She is predeceased by her brother, Leon Harmon (wife Marion) of West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Burial will be at the convenience of the family. There will be no calling hours. Memorial donations may be sent toAnimalKind at PO Box 902, Hudson NY 12534-0902 or Connecticut State Police Academy Alumni Association at PO Box 1945, Meriden, CT06450-0899
To send the family online expressions of sympathy kindly visit www.thurstonrowefuneralhome.com
SHARON- — Anthony Costa, Jr., born on March 2, 1930, to Marian Cataldo Costa and Anthony Costa, Sr. in Fairfield, Connecticut, died surrounded by love on May 16, 2025. He was raised in Fairfield, attended the Fairfield public schools, and served as an altar boy at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.
Tony is survived by his loving wife, Dominica, his children; Janet (Thomas) O’Donnell, Jeffrey (Teresa) Costa, and Jonathan (Wendy) Costa, as well as seven grandchildren; Amy, Sean, Jonathan, Mary Kate, Carl, Jacob, and Hannah. He was formerly married to Shirley Wells, the mother of his children.
Tony attended New Haven State Teachers College, the first of his family to graduate from college.He went on to obtain a master’s degree in education at Fairfield University and began his extensive career in education, teaching at schools in Fairfield and Stratford. His teaching was interrupted by his service in the United States Army during the Korean conflict. Upon his return from Korea, he was named principal of the Sharon Center School in Sharon, Connecticut. In 1970, Tony became an Assistant Professor of Education at Fairfield University and subsequently became a full professor. He taught educational psychology, teacher preparation, and placed and supervised student teachers, influencing scores of future educators. After 47 years on the faculty, he retired in 2017 at the age of 87. During his time at Fairfield, Tony enjoyed many years as the university’s head golf coach, combining his love of the sport with his dedication to teaching. Not only did he instill a love of golf in those students on the golf team, but also in his family and friends.
In 1998, Tony married Dominica Schaller and cherished 38 years of joy and partnership with her. They traveled, attended the theatre, and nurtured invaluable friendships.
Tony was the epitome of grace and happiness. His smile, his warmth, and his compassion for and interest in people made all those whose lives he touched better for having known him.Tony was a gentleman, a loving husband to Dominica, a caring father to his children and grandchildren, a devoted friend, a golf enthusiast, a wearer of fedoras, and a man of substance. He will be truly missed.
A celebration of life will be held in Tony’s memory at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Fairfield, CT, on Saturday, June 21st, at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Tony’s memory to First Tee-CT (www.firstteeconnecticut.org), a youth development organization dedicated to positively impacting the lives of young people through the game of golf. All donations in Tony’s name will be earmarked for the Bridgeport, CT, chapter at Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course.
MILLERTON — Marguerite C. “Peg” Brusie, 91, a fifty-three resident of Millerton, formerly of Copake,died peacefully on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon. She was employed by Sharon Hospital as a unit coordinator, retiring after twenty-six years of service. In 2010, she organized a reunion for the Sharon Hospital retiree’s which became an annual event.
Born Dec. 10, 1933, in Copake, she was the second daughter of the late Chester and Georgiana (Holmes) Pulver. On March 10, 1954 in Millerton, she married the love of her life, Howard J. Brusie. Mr. Brusie predeceased her on April 27, 2010.
Peg was an avid reader and knitter. She liked crafts of all kinds as well. She also enjoyed making floral and holiday arrangements for her family and friends. Her greatest joy was spending time with her beloved family.
Peg is survived by her daughter-in-law, Nancy Wells Brusie of Millerton; two granddaughters, Melissa Dipper and her companion Robert Matthews of Ancramdale, New York, and Amanda Dipper Hurn of Millerton; three great grandchildren, Byron Hurn of Philmont, New York and Lucia and Savannah Hurn of Millerton; her niece, Melissa Clum of Ancramdale; her nephew, William Clum also of Ancramdale; two sisters-in-law, Carolyn Brusie of Copake Falls, New York and Karen Brusie of Hillsdale, New York and several nieces and nephews and many dear friends.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her son, Howard J. Brusie, Jr. of Millerton on May 4, 2016, her sister and brother-in-law, Jeanette and William R. Clum of Copake and Ancramdale; her brother, Kenneth Pulver of Millerton; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Barbara and Gerald Cooper of Glendale, Massachusetts; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Sheila and Louis Finger of Lincolndale, New York and two brothers-in-law, Gerald Brusie and Richard Brusie.
Graveside services and burial will take place on Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 10 a.m. at Copake Cemetery, 1669 County Route 7A, Copake, NY. Rev. Zora Ficarra- Cheatham will officiate.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Peg’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
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