My shabbat menu

[Yerushalmi]

Those of you who are familiar with Judaism know that you have to cook a lot of food in preparing for shabbat. I try to make my shabbat meals special in that I always make at least one brand new thing that I've never made before, but also in that I make really complicated dishes in general.

I should specify that I don't actually know how to cook. At all. What I do know how to do is be a cooking robot: pick a recipe, follow the instructions exactly, and it comes out great.

I also tend to do the same thing in cooking as I do in playing the Final Fantasy games: pick the next dish in the book, in order.

So this week I am making:
Chicken Tajine (whatever that means) with peas, olives, and pickled lemons
This is part of my ongoing series of I-just-bought-a-really-awesome-new-cauldron-like-pot-for-main-courses-so-I'm-remaking-each-of-them-in-turn
Rice with pineapple
and raisins and onion and garlic and chili and soy sauce and peas and red pepper
Mafrum (whatever that means) - potatoes stuffed Tripoli-style
This week's new dish, which is apparently potatoes stuffed with meat and parsley and bread crumbs and coriander and all sorts of random spices, on a bed of vegetables (onions, carrots, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, and...more peas).

So apparently this week I'm making lots of peas. Good thing I bought more.

[Formalhaut]

Despite doing religious studies for my GCSEs, AND getting a A in it, I have no idea what Shabbat is. I am more than willing to learn about it though!

So what is chicken Tajine then? It actually sounds like something I'd try! Oh, and you're wondering what Tajine means, and according to the ever reliable Wikipedia, it's named from the earthenware pot from which it is cooked (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajine). Go figure. It looks like a stew or something. I don't know, Shabbat dishes are hardly my specialty. :p

[Pike]

Despite doing religious studies for my GCSEs, AND getting a A in it, I have no idea what Shabbat is. I am more than willing to learn about it though!

It's their version of Sunday.

[Yerushalmi]

It's their version of Sunday.

Yes and no. Shabbat is our weekly day of rest, but unlike for most modern-day Christian denominations it comes with a lot more attached. In particular restrictions: No use of electricity except what we leave on from before it starts, (which means no computers, no cars, no phones, no TV). Other restrictions include no lighting fires, no cooking, no leaving the city in which we are located beyond a certain distance, and no carrying things into and out of buildings unless something called an eruv is constructed. Most non-Jewish (and many Jewish) sources will extremely inaccurately describe all of the above as "no doing work".

We drink wine and eat challah before each meal, and just generally stay home and spend time with the family. In addition, there's the general attitude of resting. We can warm up food that's already cooked using a hot plate, which is where the food I made sat.

So the verdict?

The chicken tajine came out fantastic - far better than the last time I made it (when the water didn't evaporate fully) because I actually had the right kind of pot, so it was absolutely worth it. The rice also came out fantastic - it always does. And the mafrum was terrible. Far too much work for something that looked like it wasn't really going to be worth it, and I didn't cook it enough afterwards (not enough time before shabbat started) so it tasted terrible. I'm going to put it on the fire tonight and see if it turns out good, but either way I'm not making it again.

[Night Fury]

I love Challah bread Yeru. I used to bake it a lot, it's amazing!

[Jinx]

Traditioooooooooooooooooooooooooon, Tradition!

[Yerushalmi]

So I started recooking the Mafrum last night to evaporate the excess water and fully cook it. And the house started filling up with the most terrible smell.

Oooookay. That's getting put outside for the cats to eat.

Red flag on that recipe.




I love Challah bread Yeru. I used to bake it a lot, it's amazing!

You have no idea how many people on the Internet say that! It never ceases to amaze me how popular challah is among people who have no connection to Judaism.