DIY: Mud pies
An imaginative way to “grow” parsley for your Passover seder
Tomorrow begins the Hebrew month of Nisan, which comes from Hebrew word Nitzan or flower bud. In Israel, Nisan is the quintessential spring month. Heavy rains moisten the earth, followed by warm sunshine. The earth is fertile and there is a heightened sense of new life as plants and flowers grow from the ground.
It’s no wonder that the holiday of Passover comes during spring. It’s celebrated when trees are blossoming and the land is bright and green. Even the Karpas (greens - like parsley) on our seder plate are a nod to the season, representing a connection to spring and the renewal of life.
Something important to the season, that often gets overlooked when we talk about spring, is soil and mud. We kind of love mud in our family! My younger daughter’s favorite read-out-loud storybook is about mud, Piggy in the Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz. In this book, mud is described as “mooshy-squooshy, squishy-squashy and oofy-poofy.” With descriptions like these, who couldn’t love mud? Also, without it, we couldn’t grow plants - or grow the parsley we need for our Passover seder!
If you are able to, go outside with your child to explore mud! Take a little cup and have your child fill it up with dirt. Talk about how plants and flowers grow in the mud. Let your child pour a little water in the cup, and stir with a spoon. See how the mud feels, maybe it feels squishy-squashy (or offy-poofy)!
Another fun way and imaginative way to celebrate spring mud is by making an edible mud pie and “planting” parsley on top for your Passover seder. Growing your own parsley is the Jewish value L’ovda U’lshomra (to work and keep the land).
To make one mud pie, you will need:
A small waffle bowel (cookie crumbles will work too)!
Chocolate pudding (chocolate ice cream would be yummy too!)
Grass (green sprinkles)
Worms (gummy worms or Chow Mein noodles - they are Kosher)
A sprig of parsley
To make your own:
Take the waffel bowl and place it in a bigger bowl. If you don’t have a waffel bowl, your child can also crumble up some cookies and put it on the bottom of the bowl. This is the “pie” shell.
Take the pudding and scoop it into the pie shell. Chocolate ice cream works just as well too!
Top your pudding (or ice cream) with grass (green sprinkles if you have some) and worms (gummies or chow mein noodles).
“Plant” some parsley on top. If you don’t have parsley, your child can draw it on paper. Then cut it out of the paper and place on top!
Mud pies are delicious to eat to celebrate spring - and guess what, you can even say a blessing, if you’d like, before eating a mud pie!
Ba-Ruch A-tah A-do-noi, Elo-hai-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam, Bo-Rai Mi-nai Me-zo-not.
Exploring mud and making mud pies are sure to bring some smiles! Let us know if you made a mud pie, and for more ways to celebrate the spring, visit our Passover Round-up to learn how to bake your own matzah, make a matzah necklace, Baby Moses mini diorama, make an afikomen bag and more!
Happy spring!
~Jennifer
Grandparents love making mud pies too!
To learn how to make a matzah necklace here!
