The weather has finally cooled and the humidity has reached an acceptable level where we can walk around downtown Raleigh without breaking into a sweat!
It has been a busy time around town.
The North Carolina Museum of Art has a fun installation of giant bunnies called Interlude. They have had nights of various generes of music and beer and wine. http://ncartmuseum.org/exhibitions/view/13942
Also, it was time to vote. It only took two hours … not too bad!
With cooler weather it is also time to plant pansies and mums!
I chose to plant Sheffield daisies this year! I call them Korean Mums! They flower for a long season and usually come back the next year!
Update on Gus!
It has been several months since Gus stopped chemo for the adenocarcinoma in his lungs. The cancer has slowed him down but he seems well. We are just taking it day by day.
Filed under About Town, Festivals, General Gardening, Gus, Raleigh
I recently enrolled in a babkha and challah baking class at the Levin Jewish Community Center in Durham, North Carolina (https://shalomdch.org/explore-federation/about-us/who-we-are/jcc/).
It was much easier that I thought it would be. The baker had already mixed and proofed the dough so half the work was done. The dough is enriched with eggs, oil, and some sugar. We used the same dough for both breads.
The first step for challah is to divide the dough and make two long ribbons about 18 inches in length.
Than we made a two stranded braid: the detailed instructions can be found anywhere on the internet. There are many good recipes out there with detailed instructions. My ends did not want to stay tucked!
They were placed in a warm oven to proof or rise before baking.
Babkha is made with the same dough but it is rolled flat in a trapezoid shape. The shmear (cinnamon and butter filling) is spread over the dough and then the dough is rolled to make a log. This log is folded into an “S” shape and baked in a loaf pan after a streusel is sprinkled over the top.
The instructor, John Trimpli, sent us all home with dough and extra shmear and streusel.
The student’s babkha loaves cooling.
The Fiat was smelling so good on my half-an-hour drive home.
After a 15-hour day, I am looking forward to munching on the challah and braiding and baking on my own but it is late ….so tomorrow.
On a social note: The JCC had gender neutral single-use bathrooms.
More pictures to come as I try baking these at home.
Filed under cooking
Arthur in the Garden! 