Sometimes I cook to raise money, but mostly I cook because I can’t imagine spending my time doing anything else. And while my partner is sadly still living 1,300 miles away in New Mexico, the need to cook often goes unfulfilled because sitting down to an entire pan of cinnamon rolls by myself seems, well, a little anticlimactic. Those of you who know me know that I’m much less interested in eating the food I make than I am in receiving constant affirmation and gratitude from those I feed. What? Is there another way to get those things without shoving food into people’s mouths? Liar.
So when I woke up last Saturday wanting only to spend my morning in the kitchen, I knew I needed hungry reinforcements. Thank god for Shabbrunch. What is Shabbrunch, you ask? Well… allow me:
So when I woke up last Saturday wanting only to spend my morning in the kitchen, I knew I needed hungry reinforcements. Thank god for Shabbrunch. What is Shabbrunch, you ask? Well… allow me:
So, Jews celebrate Shabbat, right? A 25 hour period from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown where we are literally commanded not to do work, not to make anything, not to break anything. So what do we do? Well, it’s all highly personal, but I like to go to services, eat tons of food, sleep in,
read books, and just be in the moment without too many distractions. Pretty sweet, right?
Some people definitely do not cook during Shabbat because of religious prohibitions on using electricity and “making fire” and working in general. I definitely DO cook on Shabbat though, because cooking for me is a way to re-connect, which is what Shabbat is for in the first place. For me, cooking is the farthest thing away from the regular work week because I actually don’t do it very much at all Sunday-Thursday, and when I do, it’s really not very inspired. Plus, Shabbat food is necessarily special and different than the food I eat during the work week, making it even more fun to prepare.
read books, and just be in the moment without too many distractions. Pretty sweet, right?
Some people definitely do not cook during Shabbat because of religious prohibitions on using electricity and “making fire” and working in general. I definitely DO cook on Shabbat though, because cooking for me is a way to re-connect, which is what Shabbat is for in the first place. For me, cooking is the farthest thing away from the regular work week because I actually don’t do it very much at all Sunday-Thursday, and when I do, it’s really not very inspired. Plus, Shabbat food is necessarily special and different than the food I eat during the work week, making it even more fun to prepare.
So for many of my Jewish friends, there is literally NOTHING else to do on Saturday mornings besides waking up laughably late, stumbling into someone’s kitchen, and spending the entire morning into the afternoon just hanging out, eating delicious food, and ultimately falling asleep again on the couch. Or at the table. Or in a park while they bake in the sun. This, my friends, is Shabbrunch. Intentionally lazy, mindfully social, and consciously restorative. And carby. Definitely carby. Last Saturday’s Shabbrunch was fantastic. Here is what I served:
Everything Spring Baked Eggs (check out the recipe here)
Onion, garlic, and poppy seed-stuffed bread (recipe to come)
Fresh fruit salad
Fresh feta cheese and olives
Brown sugar and almond cake in the shape of a ridiculously ornate Jewish star (pictured below, recipe to come)
Mimosas
Everything Spring Baked Eggs (check out the recipe here)
Onion, garlic, and poppy seed-stuffed bread (recipe to come)
Fresh fruit salad
Fresh feta cheese and olives
Brown sugar and almond cake in the shape of a ridiculously ornate Jewish star (pictured below, recipe to come)
Mimosas
So basically, what I'm trying to say is Shabbrunch is awesome for many reasons. And you don't have to be Jewish to institute it in your own home. Turn off your damn phone for a few hours, get your friends around a table, and luxuriate in each other's company and some really, really good food. Your Monday will thank you.
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