Getting Creative For Shabbat Dinner

 Tonight I'm having my family over for Friday night dinner or as we know it as Shabbat.  I had a lot of free time on my hands since we just had an ice storm and there is no way I'm going outside until the ice melts.  I really am scared of falling down.

I saw this very cool recipe video on You Tube and decided to give it a try.  As you can see it worked out very well.  They are apple puff pastry roses.  The video really over simplified the process to make it look a lot easier than it was.  This recipe had a learning curve.  Some of the roses came out a lot nicer than others. 

 One thing the video doesn't tell you that these roses will stick badly to paper muffin cups.  Don't use them unless you enjoy picking paper off your pastry.  Also I would suggest a vegetable spray and a little flour inside the muffin tray as they stick to that too.

Here is my challah.  YUM!!!  Shabbat Shalom everyone!

Walking Around At The Pacific Mall & Dinner At The Graceful Vegetarian

This afternoon Neal and I visited The Pacific Mall in the town of Markham, Ontario.  If you want to experience the Asian culture without having to hop on a plan you should visit this mall and the surrounding little shops.  It's located at Steele Ave. and Kennedy Road.  You should know that parking is at a premium on the weekends and on holidays.  Pack your patience if you are driving there.  They often hold special events on the various stages in and around the mall.


For dinner we went to one of the best Chinese restaurants I have even eaten at.  It's called the Graceful Vegetarian.  The people who work there are really kind and helpful.  If you don't know what something is or if you want to make a change to something on the menu they are happy to help you out.

This time around we had spring rolls, mushroom soup, lemon mock chicken and crispy noodles with vegetables.  Everything was outstanding!  Neal even tried to eat with his chopsticks.  We both highly recommend this restaurant, even if you aren't vegetarian.