Eat Bread... Bake Bread

Eat Bread seems like a fairly simple task. I'm going to guess that most of us eat some challah at every Shabbat meal we staff. I thought it might be nice, although potentially time consuming, to go a bit further than just Eating bread.  I don't know about you...but for me, it's difficult finding the time and motivation to use my kitchen for anything more elaborate than frozen waffles for breakfast or a glass of wine at the end of the day. So for this week's task, let's bake our own challah, to enjoy on our own time...at a shabbat meal with friends, as french toast for brunch, with cream cheese as a snack, as a grilled cheese sandwich (with tomato soup?) on a fall afternoon...or however else you like your challah. Growing up, my mom, sister and I would make challah together each week. We have this great recipe, handed down to my mom from her grandmother.  I'm sharing it with you - and I have to say - it makes a pretty delicious challah! If baking isn't your thing - I encourage you to give it a try anyway. Or you can go to the store and pick up some frozen dough or frozen challah. Either way, let's not only bake our bread, but eat it, too!

Happy Baking,
Arielle

Grandma Rose’s Challah
Bread:
2 c warm water
2 packages (4 ½ t) dry fast-acting yeast
½ c sugar
2 eggs
½ c canola or vegetable oil (plus more for proofing)
½ t salt
8 c flour
½ c golden raisins (optional)

Honey Glaze:
1 egg
2 T honey
Notes: All-purpose flour is fine, or you can use a ½
and ½ mix of all-purpose and bread flours or
bread flour and whole wheat white flour. This can
also be used to make challah rolls or other shapes.

Add yeast to warm water, stirring gently to combine. Allow yeast to dissolve for a minute or two. Add sugar and stir gently, allowing yeast to bloom for another minute or so. Add salt, eggs, and oil and stir to combine. Add flour gradually, mixing with wooden spoon or dough hooks on electric stand mixer.When flour is combined and dough is barely sticky, remove from mixing bowl and knead just a few times, adding raisins if desired.Shape dough into large ball. Pour a few tablespoons of oil into large glass bowl.Place dough in oiled bowl and roll around just to coat with oil. Cover bowl with damp towel and/or plastic wrap (just covered, not sealed) and proof in warm oven (on lowest setting) for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Remove dough from bowl to floured surface. Separate into four parts, then separate each of part into three segments. Roll each segment gently to elongate. Pinch three segments together at top and braid, pinching together and tucking under the end. Place braided loaves on baking sheets (2 per sheet). Allow loaves to stand approximately 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. After loaves are done rising, combine glaze ingredients in small bowl and paint over all parts of loaves using pastry or basting brush. Bake each set of loaves for 20 minutes.

(This recipe makes 4 loaves - after they cool, you can freeze them,
wrapped in waxed paper/tin foil and placed in a ziploc bag - they last
a long time! To use after freezing, defrost them for about 10 minutes,
take off the tin foil and stick in the microwave for a minute)

Task 4-Find Silence

Hello Group Aleph,
I want to preface this weeks "Task" with withing all of you a L'shana Tova! I hope this year brings each of you love, happiness, and good fortune. I am thrilled to be writing this weeks task, as it so clearly relates to Rosh Hashanah and what I feel is the most wonderful part about the holidays. So often we lose touch with family, friends and all the people we claim are so important to us, but during the holidays we all find a way to come together to share in our own individual holiday experience. To me that is what I find most exciting about the holidays, is knowing that I will be breaking bread with family that otherwise I am unable to see on a regular basis. There are however so many other people that we lose touch with.
Think back to your childhood, a time when you would go outside and know all of the children on your street, you parents knew all the parents of your friends, and when you were bored you just walked next door to ring the doorbell. Consider now that we have a Shabbat experiment to instruct us to avoid technology (because we rely on it to much), to get outside (because we spend to much time indoors and forget the beauty of the outdoors) and so many other things we will do over the next 7 weeks. Even in our jobs we have become used to using our technology to contact people, including people like our neighbors or even the person in the next office.
This Shabbat I challenge you to find silence, the silence you have let happen between you and another person and to break it! This weekend take the time to knock on your neighbors door, or to call and spend time with a person you have not spoken with in a long time. Call them, take the time to actually call them and see how they are doing, and make a plan to see them this weekend. Start this new year with an act of kindness, and when you see this person do something nice for them. Go to your neighbors house, knock on the door and hand them a bottle of wine to wish them a happy new year (it doesn't matter if they are Jewish), just do something that will break the silence that has formed between you and someone else.
Please when you have done this go online and write just a few words about what their facial expression said to you. Were they shocked, appreciative, or just freaked out. Take the time to write about the feeling you get from reconnecting and doing something nice for another person.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy New Year!
-Benjamin Fogel

Avoid technology or try a new way to get things done?

Have you ever felt complete terror and excitement at the same time? For some people, and it could very well be that this is the case for most people, fear is something that we are never able to overcome. Being fearless is not what is important, it is that we push ourselves through the fear to achieve our goals.
This week I took the chance to avoid technology, and supplement it with something different. Our "task" of the week was to "Avoid Technology", to pick one thing that we use and to avoid it. Well i did that, but took it one step further and added something to replace my technology. Today i gave up my car, and replaced it with a motorcycle. Now I do understand the point was to avoid technology completely, but i took it a little differently.
Today for the first time in my life, I learned how to ride a motorcycle and let me tell you it was amazing! At first I struggled to even begin moving, but by the time I was ready to come back home (hours later) I was riding down the highway with nothing but the wind rushing around my body. Trust me when I say, nothing in my life has been that exhilarating or terrifying in the same moment. Yes it is like a rollercoaster, but with the actual fear of mortality added to the experience.
This week I had the chance to do many things, all of which added to my Shabbat experience. I did avoid my technology, I tried something new, and I overcame my fear. I am not telling everyone to go out and ride a motorcycle, because they are extremely dangerous, I am only saying to try something that you have always wanted to do but were just to scared to try. I promise it will be rewarding!

Tree by the pool on the lake

So this Shabbat my hike was not very long, but my thinking spot was perfect. I sat by the pool, under a tree, and by a lake to reflect about my week. I found it relaxing to sit there, with nothing but my thoughts and the sun to keep me company. I thought about all the tasks I had successfully finished and right about the time I got to thinking about the things I wasn't able to get to, my friend showed up, took this picture and I moved on with my day. So the timing was impeccable and I didn't think about anything I was unable to do. I did have to hear about how I was sitting alone staring at nothing for an hour. My "friends" now are asking when they can meet the person I was sitting with, because they just didn't get this weeks Shabbat experiment, luckily all of you do! Hope you have a good week.

down the shore

My best friend is visiting stateside, from Israel, for the week. It was so exciting to share the Shabbat Experiment with her. All day Saturday we spent outside, except for the few hours it took us in the morning to motivate off the couch… First, we went to the beach, or as I normally say, down the shore. Growing up, my family spent a few weeks down the shore every summer. So to me, on a perfect summer day, with the perfect summer breeze, there’s nothing quite like the feel of the sand between my toes, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, the taste of salt-water taffy, the briny smell of the ocean…the call of manic seagulls vying for people’s french fries… I love the Jersey shore. After a few hours of sand and sun, we headed back ‘inland’ for the rest of our outdoor adventure. The rest of the afternoon, we spent wandering around Rutgers Gardens. I did see a butterfly, which was quite small, and although I’ve seen a butterfly or two in my time, I doubt I’ve ever seen this particular one before. I was looking long and hard for a tree that spoke to me. And while I found a few trees that were interesting to look at, as soon as I saw this bit of green, I couldn’t wait to get close. These giant lawn chairs are definitely going to be my new thinking spot, when I’m up in New Brunswick. It’s just enough to make you realize how small you are in the world.

Task 2 - Group Aleph

Isn't it wonderful that the principle, 'Get Outside,' is the second week of our experiment while there's still sunshine and warm weather?

Ithaca has already begun to get cold at night and I've had to bring some of my plants inside. This week I'd like to ask each of you to do a few things to enjoy the tail-end of summer and relax a little on Shabbat. Please head out on a hike - either alone or with friends - somewhere green. Once you're there seek out two things: something you've never seen before (this could be as small as a butterfly or as big as the place where you're hiking), and a tree that speaks to you. When you find the thing you've never seen before, take a moment to appreciate it's beauty (or ugliness, as the case may be). When you find a tree that speaks to you, take a few minutes to sit and meditate on the past week and what about that particular tree you connect with. If you're able, take a picture of the tree to share with us. Who knows? Maybe the tree will be a place you return throughout the year as your thinking spot.

Just a Taste

This week I invited three of my friends in the Ithaca area to participate in Shabbat festivities. My three friends and I headed to a new bar in town - Corks and More - situated right on the lake. The four of us loaded up pre-paid cards that would allow us to try every wine in the house.

At Corks and More you wander the bar and choose any wine you like from the wall - then the vending machine/ wine tap pours for you. You can try a taste, a half glass, or a full glass. The bar is filled with small clusters of comfortable couches where we sat with our wine and schmoozed a little. It was a great time to catch up and get excited for the year ahead.

We spent $10 or so dollars each and about 3 hours enjoying one another's company. Thanks for the great assignment!

Wine tasting...

As a person who rarely drinks wine this was an interesting one for me. I am one of those people who can't even really smell red wine but I enjoy a glass of cold white wine every once in a while so I went that route. Decided to buy two bottles of white riesling: one from Israel and one from Australia. The Israeli wine was medium priced and the Australian wine was the cheapest I could find.

Anyways, I decided this would be something fun to do with my sisters so before dinner out with the mom Saturday night, we met up at their place for a dog playdate and wine tasting. What we did was each took turns trying the wines and deciding which one we liked best. It was interesting because I thought the cheap Australian wine was really gross but liked the Israeli a lot and my sisters were the complete opposite. They were happy to find that out cause then they realized "they enjoy cheap wine and could save some money that way".

Overall, it was a fun time and nice to share with my sisters. Plus, its always fun when your mom picks you up to go to dinner and her kids are all mildly drunk and incapable of being serious.

Tapena...

I bought this really amazing wine - $11 on sale! I spent the evening with family and old friends, enjoying some great pizza and this equally great wine, a verdejo. Tapeña's name is a perfect fit for a Shabbat experience, as it's a compound word- tapas (small plates) and peña (group of close friends). While I spent actual Shabbat driving around, running errands, Saturday night was my time to relax with a few glasses of really cold Verdejo. Definitely a wine I would recommend!

I know we're all really stoked about this experiment experience - I shared it with Jewlicious & hope that other people are inspired by our Shabbat adventures.

Drink Wine

So today i passed on my expensive bottle of wine and day of drinking my favorite beers by the pool and substituted it with two bottles of very inexpensive but still enjoyable bottles of wine. This particular "drink wine" topic could not have come at a better time. This morning, due to the extra work that needed to be accomplished for the beginning of the semester, i found myself at work. Yes i know it is Sunday, but i had that much that needed to get done. However i made sure that by the afternoon I spent the rest of the day at the pool with friends eager to hear about the "Shabbat Experiment". I found not only that i enjoyed the bottles of wine, but also i enjoyed explaining to my friends why we were drinking something we would normally pass on. While this is not something i always do, and may not continue to drink the bottle of Barefoot Pino Grigio that was only $6 (1 dollar cheaper than the article said it was), i do enjoy the opportunity to not only learn, but to teach others about shabbat and also the importance of work life balance. I hope that everyone else from group aleph had as an enjoyable day as myself.

Drink Wine: The Wine Trials

I'm always on the search for a new type of delicious wine! For this week, "Drink Wine," the first thing that came to mind was a presentation I saw about the book The Wine Trials. The author, Robin Goldstein (a Jewish guy which makes it that much more applicable), conducted a wine experiment- a blind taste test which compared the fancy expensive wines to inexpensive ones (under $15). The results showed that most people preferred the affordable wines more then the super fancy ones! http://www.thewinetrials.com/

So I thought we could base our Shabbat Wine experience on the concept of the Wine Trials, this Shabbat/weekend we could all do our own taste test of delicious, but affordable, wine! Feel free to pick out a bottle on your own or look for one of his suggestions, and if you like it, let us know!

This week, I hope you have time to enjoy delicious wine, maybe with a friend or two, and share some good memories. This experiment shows us that price doesn't necessarily equal quality and that something can be so much more wonderful when we don't judge it by it's label... even when it comes to wine.

Group Aleph

Neil Cantor
Doug Marks
Jason Leivenberg
Benjamin Fogel
Arielle Greenwald
Orly Halpern
Sheila Katz
Joe Davis
Shira Rothman
Briana Schwarz
Elana Wall
Julie Blum