Breaking Into Bread

As a person who loves good food and entertaining friends and family, there's nothing that makes the meal as spectacular as fresh baked bread.  Homemade bread often has the reputation of being out of reach for the novice baker, but its actually quite easy, and straightforward once you get the hang of it.  

I find that breaking up the steps is key to making sure it's not an overwhelming process and makes a great activity for doing with young kids. 

A super plus is that one batch of bread can last for quite a while if frozen properly so it's something that's easy to pull out to spice up a meal and doesn't have to be baked super often, I'm all about the efficiency short cuts!

The bread I make most often is a Challah bread that is traditionally eaten for the shabbat meals.  It is soft an filling with the perfect touch of sweetness to please even the most picky customer.

There's no need for a bread machine or fancy oversized mixer, I find that the best challah I make is done by hand in my trusty large plastic bowl.

Check out the recipe after the jump:

Vacation State of Mind

I’ve just returned from a fantastic vacation in Israel visiting family for the holiday of Sukkot.  While holidays surrounded by family and friends are always festive, there is something particularly enchanting about visiting Israel at this time of year.  The entire country is on holiday, celebrations fill the streets and the autumn sun highlights the glistening golden landscape.  


As I recover from the haze of jetlag, I wanted to share some of my favorite vacation images to capture the perfection of holiday.

As a familiar visitor to Israel and not a first time tourist, I was able to take in the beauty, extraordinary scenery and way too much gourmet food to be healthy for my waistline.  I hope it's not too long before I can return...

Can You Hear Me Now?

I often compare my daily schedule to a jigsaw puzzle that slowly increases in complexity.  Work, carpools, gym, dinner, the tasks are ever expanding.  I dream about having a personal assistant, but am not really sure it'd make much of a difference.  I've been reading some recent reviews of Apple's new iPhone 4s and it seems that even phones these days need their own assistants, what have we come to?

According to the New York Times Technology blog, Will Siri Bring Back the iPhone’s Wow Factor?

Siri acts as a virtual personal assistant that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and natural language processing to perform tasks like scheduling appointments and helping users figure out whether or not they need an umbrella.

Despite the whimsical moniker, Siri which evokes images of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' toddler organizing my life, I'm tempted.  I love testing hot off the presses tech and having the newest gadgets.  I was lucky enough to have the iphone 4 the day of its' release and got stopped frequently while on vacation by passersby who wanted to see it up close.  I'll admit to considering the phone upgrade, but somehow I think Siri might complicate things.  


I know how frustrating it can be to talk to my car's bluetooth and how easily distracted it is by the sound of my kids' banter from the back seat.  Even funnier are my voice over IP voicemails transcribed into e-mails, those are comic quality. As evidenced...

This is toppy. So I'm in New Jersey. I hear that there is Wayne Los Angeles today and it's beautiful kite. Can you get busy you never gonna jump but I hope everyone is well and I do not have to be able to sell them something to eat

Huh??? I'd be impressed if the voice recognition technology on Siri really does work, am not sure it can make dinner for me tonight though.  Stay tuned...