Purim is a great time to share vegetarian treats with your family and friends. According to tradition, Queen Esther lived on fruits, grains, beans, seeds and nuts, essentially making her a strict vegetarian. Her heroism saved the Jews from Haman's wicked plan and for this we celebrate Purim.

Traditionally, a package containing at least two different foods or beverages is to be given during the daylight hours of Purim. This emphasizes the importance of friendship and community. As the holiday approaches, I have been preparing the following yummy treats to share with friends and family. Both the poppy seed candy and the chocolate covered nuts make great mishloach manot, the gift of food send to friends during Purim.

Poppy seed candy

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. poppy seeds
• 2 cups honey
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 cups nuts
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ teaspoon powdered ginger

Grind the poppy seeds. You can have this done in the store, or use a food processor.

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The festival of Purim is meant to be a joyous celebration of life, friends, and food. As a Christian, my interest in the Jewish holidays started as a way to teach my children the Old Testament and history of the Jewish people.

Learning through annual celebrations has been a great way to review. While at first, the fun traditions surrounding Purim were little more than another great excuse to dress up, make noise, read a story, and eat treats. Now, the kids know and understand more of the meaning behind the festivities. With that said, Purim is still a lot of fun to observe.

Read the Megillah

Purim is held to celebrate the events described in the book of Esther. One of my favorite stories, the book of Esther commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman's plot "to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day."

Over the years we have read the story direct from the Old Testamen

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Forget taking a trip to a florist for a fabulous arrangement. You only need to go as far as your local grocery store. Simply walk down the produce aisle, fill your basket with vegetables, fruits and flowers, and you have the makings of a stunning centerpiece. Then follow our step-by-step instructions for creating unique, eye-catching floral designs.

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We cooked up a tasty spring menu for eight happy people-and included the tips and game plan to pull it all together in 60 minutes. By Ann Taylor Pittman

Before you decide that preparing an elegant three-course dinner, plus signature cocktail, from start to finish in 60 minutes is too good to be true, consider this: Many home cooks make an entire meal in that amount of time most weeknights, deftly and intuitively moving from side dish to entrée and back again, from oven to stovetop to salad spinner. I simply decided to extend those skills to the challenge of the classic dinner for eight.

This isn't to say that a lot of fiddling and retesting didn't go into this menu. It did. We tested the whole game plan three times, tweaking recipes and choreographing to make sure it all came in at less than an hour. I rearranged the order of tasks; I gussied up a few smart convenience products (bagged salad greens, precut potatoes, frozen lemonade); and I introduced bold flavors from pickle

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Celebrating the deliverance of the Jewish people from the evil Haman, Purim is the perfect Jewish holiday to whip up these tasty treats! Inspired by Haman's three-cornered hat, we rounded up our favorite triangle-shaped recipes to celebrate the holiday:

1. Hamantaschen
These traditional Jewish cookies were named after (and shaped after!) the evil character Haman and his three-cornered hat. Purim celebrates his demise - and the saving of the Jewish people!

Ingredients:

For the dough
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
8 tablespoons butter, shortening, or margarine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
1/2 - 1 cup ice water

For the filling
1 1/2 cups pitted prunes
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons lemon zest
pinch salt

Related: Pump up the Purim! 10 recipes for your Se'udah

Directions:

For the dough
In the bowl of your food processor, combine the flour, suga

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