Rosh Ha Shanah-- the Home Stretch

I finished the day yesterday full of confidence that I had gotten the protein element of our meals nailed.  But as I was drifting off to sleep I remembered that one of our guests for the first night does not eat red meat. I cooked up the two enormous chickens in my freezer ( lavender, black pepper, parsley and lots of fresh lemon) and no longer feel like a bad hostess.

I also had to get the challah made. Traditionally we serve round/ crown shaped challot for the holidays.  my friend Lorraine had sent me a link a while back to a crown shaped challah that starts out like a lanyard.
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I had been doing some genealogical research earlier in the week. I had seen a wide array of Eastern European crowns on the websites of the towns my family came from.  So I played with the idea of crown shaped challot.
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Yes, some are more turban like than crown like, and some are more successful than others. But this is what we will be eating for the next several days.
And in the disjoined thoughts department….
Thanks to deceased relatives, I own not one but two carving sets. One is a mid century modern, the other rococo silver plate. The large forks seem to be best suited for eggplant turning
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And now in time lapse magic, an eggplant, perfectly turned by two stylistically unrelated carving forks that work well as a team despite their visual incongruence.
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The eggplant will soon become babaganoush.
My boys cut up the vegetables. I made the marinade. I like food that you don’t actually have to cook.
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And most of all, a year of  peace and blessing to all of us.SAM_0971

And if you want to hear a wonderful old fashioned version of Rosh haShanah services beautiful Shaharit

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