Wherever I travel, I always include a stop in the local grocery store. Wandering up and down the aisles and inspecting the variety of kosher products not necessarily available at home, is as enlightening as it is exciting. (I’m a cheap date). Last week while visiting Detroit, Saturday evening’s entertainment was a trip to Trader Joe’s, America’s favorite grocery store. Trader Joe’s is a foodie paradise. But it’s also a…
I anxiously scanned the Weather Network hourly weather report for the fifth time. No change. The forecast was for icy rain followed by up to twenty cm of snow. The pending arrival of yet another winter storm that would leave mounds of impassable snow in its wake was disconcerting. But the realization that our planned visit to Detroit to spend time with the family would have to be postponed, left…
This morning I awoke to the sad news that baking celebrity, the Pillsbury Doughboy, died as a result of a severe yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was seventy-one. According to funeral attendees Cap’n Crunch and Betty Crocker, “Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Despite being a little flaky at times, he was…
Standing at attention, eyes front, my elementary school days began with a resounding rendition of G’d save the Queen, the British national anthem. Canada is a commonwealth country and the Queen is its constitutional monarch. On the 6th of February this year, Her Majesty The Queen became the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee, marking seventy years of service. The Queen has reigned longer than anyone in modern…
It seems quite miraculous to me that at the coldest, darkest point of the winter, the supermarkets magically fill with gem-like clementines, ruby-fleshed blood oranges, tangy, pink Cara oranges and more-sweet-than-tart Meyer lemons. Most citrus fruits ripen to their sweetest and juiciest during the North American winter and happily we can enjoy a taste of sunshine at a relatively low price from locales as far flung as Spain and Morocco…
Early Monday morning I swung open the front door and gazed out at a gusting winter blizzard. By 9:00 a.m. school children who were eagerly anticipating their first day back at school after an extended winter break thanks to Omicron, headed out with their toboggans for a day of sledding instead. Over five hundred TTC buses were stranded in thick snow piles and transport trucks were snowed in on the…
The debut of the Batman television series in January 1966 was ground breaking on many levels. The show starred two crime-fighting heroes, Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dick Grayson/Robin, who defended Gotham City from a variety of arch villains. Broadcast on two consecutive nights, it was the highlight of my week for more than one reason. After watching the latest episode at a classmate’s house, as the closing credits filled the screen,…
One late Friday afternoon, visiting with my daughter and her family, I looked on in speechless wonder as my eight year-old granddaughter and her friend hovered in front of the pan of freshly roasted green beans and picked them off, munching on them happily, as if they were candy. As each member of the clan passed through the kitchen, they made strategic detours in front of the baking sheet and…
According to the New York Times, more than 750 flights with at least one stop in the United States were canceled this past holiday weekend as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus sidelined crews during one of the year’s busiest times for travel. In New Jersey, lines at Covid testing centers are hours long putting a further crimp in the plans of travelers (sigh). It’s time for a getaway to…
I scanned the kosher Chinese food menu that appeared in my inbox. Sweet and sour flavor combinations with just-cooked stir fried vegetables added to the mix were all very tempting but when I saw the listed price for Asian fried rice, I pressed delete. Chinese fried rice is the ultimate comfort food. A bowl of steaming white rice cooked to just the right consistency, filled with bits of meat and…