Hoping for a Peaceful Shabbat

 With additional work, todd's tallit actually is looking much more like a tallit and less like a random pile of wrinkled linen.

There are only two sets of stripes left to sew on.

Clearly, there are many other tasks that still need to be done before this is completed but I can see the end product in my mind's eye. Like many of the pieces I work on before I start on the journey I pretty much know where the final destination is. I don't always know the road that will take me there.

I was able to sew today because Shabbat starts relatively late.

Our chicken tonight is inspired by the flavors of the incredible food I ate at a Uighur fast food place just south of Columbus Circle. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed so you can't eat the amazing pilaf topped with a salmon kabob and a slice of roasted corn (and neither can I).

The chicken thighs are cooked on a layer of sliced onions, mandarin oranges, and pear and coated with spices including hawaij, turmeric, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and black pepper.

If it tastes anything as delicious as the house smelled while it was cooking we have a good meal ahead of us.

Our vegetable matter is

zucchini, tiny tomatoes, and tiny peppers roasted with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, black pepper, dill and lemon peel. I snitched one slice of zucchini from the pan. it took a great deal of self-control to not consume the entire contents of the pan. I plan to serve the cooked vegetables over romaine lettuce.

We also have a pan of quinoa in the oven. It looks ugly so I didn't photograph it. It will taste good though ( cooked in last week's chicken juice.

It's been a hard week. perhaps a little bit of music will be of comfort. The first is called "Lullaby in the Shelter" and was written in 1967 and is sung by Yaffa Yarkoni.