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An Unexpected Shabbat at home

 We had plans, and they got cancelled.

That means that I had to bake challah.


I was thinking as I began putting together the challah dough how so much of the early stages of baking challah looks less than appealing.


It's pretty similar to my sewing while it is in progress. At some stages, it is just an ugly mess. as my British pals would say, "It looks  a dogs dinner".



But with enough time and labor,



it takes shape and eventually


you end up with something beautiful.



Our boys are joining us tonight.  We will be eating chicken wings made with





Pomegranate molasses, mustard and liquid smoke.



It's the perfect mix of tart, sweet acidic and smoky.

Yesterday I purchased three bottles of the pomegranate molasses at Barzini's a local packed to the gills gourmet grocery store. The store carried food and condiments from all over the world. Of course I loved it.

And sadly, unlike the news in the local news blog that I liked to, that said that the store wasn't closing--it is closing.  






Everything was 40% off.

This is most of what I brought home.


When I went to check out, the owners kept asking me if I was Persian. They thought that I looked Persian, but once they saw that I bought three bottles of pomegranate molasses and three big bags of Iranian herb mix  and a package of barberries they were convinced that I MUST be  Persian.  Finally, they were convinced that my family came from eastern Europe but they liked that I liked Persian ingredients.

I am roasting some potato wedges in the oven as I type. They are coated with....

let me see if I remember, smoked paprika, black pepper, cayenne and dill. Olive oil and lemon juice finish the potatoes off.

I still have to figure out the vegetable portion of our meal and a small dessert.



I hope that all of you have


a Shabbat Shalom.






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