Spreading Culture
As I had previously mentioned, I cooked a Seder dinner for some friends last night. I had bought all of the veg and accoutrement for the meal on Thursday night as the markets were to be closed on Friday. My friends had ordered a brisket, allegedly 3 kilos (over 6 pounds!), and after picking me up just after 11:00 we headed to the store to pick it up. Turned out the grocery they had ordered it from was closed (there had been some miscommunication somewhere along the way) and so started an epic search for the two missing components for the Seder - horseradish and brisket.
After some brainstorming it was decided to head to one of the Asian neighbourhoods, Marrickville in search of an open store. As luck would have it we immediately found a butcher shop and bought a 1.7 kilo brisket (3.75 pounds). Things have a funny way of working out as the other one would have been way too big for the size group we had! The horseradish proved to be the problem ingredient, and it took 7 or 8 stores along the street before we found it (hidden in a Middle Eastern deli).
With our goods we headed back to their place and I began dinner. I made charoset, carrot souffle, apple farfel (all vegan - omitting eggs and butter - my friends' various dietary restrictions make cooking a bit more challenging, although that much more fun). After I baked the two side dishes (including a single serving of gluten-free farfel) and boiled the eggs I set in on the brisket. Around 6:30 once everyone had arrived (including Tiffany) we did a very abbreviated Seder with all the fixings (sans shank bone). After that I put in a heap of veg to roast as the brisket finished up.
It ended up being a long day of cooking, but I had a great time, and I think everyone enjoyed the meal (or some components of it) as well as the short introduction to Judaism.
Today I have spent relaxing at home - at some point I should pack as Tiffany and I leave for New Zealand for tomorrow. I should be able to get one more post in before the trip, but if not be forewarned - I don't know how the internet access will be in New Zealand, so there might be some radio silence for some time. Have no fear, I will keep notes on my trip and post accordingly when I get back to Sydney!
After some brainstorming it was decided to head to one of the Asian neighbourhoods, Marrickville in search of an open store. As luck would have it we immediately found a butcher shop and bought a 1.7 kilo brisket (3.75 pounds). Things have a funny way of working out as the other one would have been way too big for the size group we had! The horseradish proved to be the problem ingredient, and it took 7 or 8 stores along the street before we found it (hidden in a Middle Eastern deli).
With our goods we headed back to their place and I began dinner. I made charoset, carrot souffle, apple farfel (all vegan - omitting eggs and butter - my friends' various dietary restrictions make cooking a bit more challenging, although that much more fun). After I baked the two side dishes (including a single serving of gluten-free farfel) and boiled the eggs I set in on the brisket. Around 6:30 once everyone had arrived (including Tiffany) we did a very abbreviated Seder with all the fixings (sans shank bone). After that I put in a heap of veg to roast as the brisket finished up.
It ended up being a long day of cooking, but I had a great time, and I think everyone enjoyed the meal (or some components of it) as well as the short introduction to Judaism.
Today I have spent relaxing at home - at some point I should pack as Tiffany and I leave for New Zealand for tomorrow. I should be able to get one more post in before the trip, but if not be forewarned - I don't know how the internet access will be in New Zealand, so there might be some radio silence for some time. Have no fear, I will keep notes on my trip and post accordingly when I get back to Sydney!
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