When I first began making Challah for Shabbat on Friday nights I would have to start thinking about it on Thursday so that I wouldn’t forget. Now it is second nature and as soon as I wake up on Friday I make the dough. I began making the Challah because I wanted to create a family tradition. We don’t belong to a synagogue and it was important for me to set aside the time to recognize what I feel is our most important holiday, Shabbat. Friday night is a time for us to regroup as a family, have a meal together and discuss the weekend, which are often as busy as our weekdays. It is a pause, a breather, a time to reconnect with each other and our faith. The lighting of the Shabbat candles, the prayer over the wine and the bread remind us that we are a part... Read the Rest →
When I first began making Challah for Shabbat on Friday nights I would have to start thinking about it on Thursday so that I wouldn’t forget. Now it is second nature and as soon as I wake up on Friday I make the dough. I began making the Challah because I wanted to create a family tradition. We don’t belong to a synagogue and it was important for me to set aside the time to recognize what I feel is our most important holiday, Shabbat. Friday night is a time for us to regroup as a family, have a meal together and discuss the weekend, which are often as busy as our weekdays. It is a pause, a breather, a time to reconnect with each other and our faith. The lighting of the Shabbat candles, the prayer over the wine and the bread remind us that we are a part... Read the Rest →
Bouvet Island is our next destination in our tastily touring series. Bouvet Island is an uninhabited, Antarctic islet. It is one of the world’s most isolated islands and lies almost 1500 miles south west of the Cape of Good Hope (Southern Africa) and about 1000 miles north or Antarctica. The center of Bouvet Island is an ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano. Because of its volcanic origin the island is rocky with cliffs surrounding the coast. Ice covered and rocky make landing on Bouvet Island challenging. Bouvet Island is a dependent territory of Norway and is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty, which is basically an agreement first established in 1961. The treaty has been signed by 49 nations that agree to keep Antarctica as a scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent. The French navigator Jean-Baptist-Charles Bouvet de Lozier discovered the island in 1739. Expeditions by the Germans... Read the Rest →
Bouvet Island is our next destination in our tastily touring series. Bouvet Island is an uninhabited, Antarctic islet. It is one of the world’s most isolated islands and lies almost 1500 miles south west of the Cape of Good Hope (Southern Africa) and about 1000 miles north or Antarctica. The center of Bouvet Island is an ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano. Because of its volcanic origin the island is rocky with cliffs surrounding the coast. Ice covered and rocky make landing on Bouvet Island challenging. Bouvet Island is a dependent territory of Norway and is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty, which is basically an agreement first established in 1961. The treaty has been signed by 49 nations that agree to keep Antarctica as a scientific preserve, banning military activity on the continent. The French navigator Jean-Baptist-Charles Bouvet de Lozier discovered the island in 1739. Expeditions by the Germans... Read the Rest →
According to the cookbook The Philosopher’s Kitchen, the Etruscans, who settled the west coast of Italy in the 8th century BCE, made thick dough from ground grains that was baked under hot cooking ashes and then tipped with oils and herbs. The Romans called this bread panus focus. We know this bread as foccacia. It is one of the simplest breads to bake and its versatility has made it extremely popular in the past 10 years. Many regions of Italy have their own variety of flavorings that are add to their focaccia. Various versions of focaccia can also be found in other parts of the world. For example, in Burgundy, they call this bread foisse or fouaisse. In other areas of France it is known as fougasse. In Italy, for many centuries it has had an association with Christmas Eve and Epiphany. It is no wonder that this simple, versatile,... Read the Rest →
According to the cookbook The Philosopher’s Kitchen, the Etruscans, who settled the west coast of Italy in the 8th century BCE, made thick dough from ground grains that was baked under hot cooking ashes and then tipped with oils and herbs. The Romans called this bread panus focus. We know this bread as foccacia. It is one of the simplest breads to bake and its versatility has made it extremely popular in the past 10 years. Many regions of Italy have their own variety of flavorings that are add to their focaccia. Various versions of focaccia can also be found in other parts of the world. For example, in Burgundy, they call this bread foisse or fouaisse. In other areas of France it is known as fougasse. In Italy, for many centuries it has had an association with Christmas Eve and Epiphany. It is no wonder that this simple, versatile,... Read the Rest →