A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to TJ Maxx

Today I took a strange blind woman on a shopping trip.

Now, I hadn't met this woman at any previous time in my life. Even now, I don't know her last name. Her first name was Evelyn. As I stood perched on the corner of 6th and 21st, humming to myself, Evelyn hovered to my right. Walking stick in hand, moppy dark hair and all-black outfit, she apparently heard me humming loudly to myself (as I always do) and put her hand on my arm to get my attention. I looked over. She was middle-aged, Asian, and seemingly blind. Her eyes were closed tight.

Evelyn asked me if I could help her find TJ Maxx. I said, "Well actually, I'm on my way there right now, so we could go together if you like." And go together we did. We couldn't have spent more than half an hour together, and over that course of time she learned everything about me, and I nothing about her. She asked me about my school, my family, my plans for the future. She suggested I join a church choir as a networking tool.

At TJ Maxx, we boarded two escalators, walked through automatic doors, and located the "pants" section. There, she asked me to read to her several of the prices from the pants in her size. I did, and she determined that she didn't have that much money to spend on pants. She asked me if there were fitting rooms; there were. And we de-escalated back out of TJ Maxx. Evelyn said goodbye, turned around, and walked back uptown. I checked my bag for my wallet and phone. They remained intact.

And the moral of this story is: I need to get a check on my destructive humming habit.

I am Jewish Housewife, Hear Me Roar

Challah Baking.
It was something I'd never tried before.
Seemed daunting.
Well, didn't just seem.

Here's the recipe, passed on from a friend who makes the best challah on the planet:
(This recipe uses 2 1/2 lb of flour (about 10 cups), which makes at least 3 big challahs)










Acquire ingredients.




In a (small) bowl combine:
4 and 1/2 tspn dry yeast
1 Tblspn sugar
1/2 cup warm water

Set aside, let sit for about 10 minutes.

In a big bowl, combine:
2 eggs
1/2 Cup + 1 Tblspn oil
1 Tblspn salt
1/2 Cup + 1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 lb. flour
1 1/2 Cup warm water
Add yeast mixture.

When all mixed cover the bowl with towel and let rise 1-2 hours.





Braid it.

Topping options...
Sweet Crumbs:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
Mix. Slowly add oil until desired consistency is reached.

OR

Brush with egg whites, get yourself that shiny fresh-out-the-bakery finish.

Now put that beautiful stuff in the oven, yo.

Bake at 350 for at least 40 minutes, but the timing isn't an exact science so check it often and take it out when it's browned.

Nom. To the max.

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First issue: For some reason, after I divided the dough into two bowls, one bowl rose quite well while the either was taking much longer. The yeast had been divided perfectly. I was very confused. So I took the unhappy dough over to the microwave. I took a mug filled with water and heated it in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, so it was just about boiling. Then I put the dough into the microwave with the heated water and let it sit. As it turned out, this helped it rise a good deal more.

Second issue: How many crumbs are really necessary? 1 cup of flour +3/4 cup of sugar made twice as many as I needed. I'd cut that in half.

Third issue: Baking at high altitudes is sort of a crap shoot. Recipe said 40 minutes.