And of course, there are days like we had shortly after the New Year when we found an assortment of Chanukah decorations, candles, napkins, paper goods, nifty latkes servers, dreidels, cookie cutters, and felt menorah finger puppets on clearance at Raley's (Soscol Ave., Napa, CA) priced 75% off the original price.
We snagged all of the felt menorah finger puppets (they are adorable and look like they'll be a lot of fun) for the youth education program at Congregation Beth Shalom. Despite taking a little bit of just about everything, there was still a substantial display with a fair amount of stuff left after I loaded our basket with goodies.
This blog is Steve's brainchild, born mostly out of our frustration at not being able to find kosher and ethnic foods locally. We've struggled to track down Judaica, challah, and assorted other things necessary to enjoy favorite foods and celebrate the Jewish traditions. Steve has yet to find horseradish with just the right "bite" - not too mild, not too hot. I am on a hunt for yahrzeit candles. We both would like to find a local source for potato knishes. And I've got to find a better solution for getting a lamb shank bone for our Seder plate. We were forced to purchase a package of four bones (and all much larger than I would have liked anyway) in order to have one. I miss our East Coast neighborhood supermarket; shank bones were packaged individually and handed out with a smile on request.
In addition to serving as a concise directory of where to find everything and anything needed to celebrate Jewish holidays, cook traditional Jewish foods, and live a Jewish life, we'll be including posts on a wide variety of topics related in some way to Jewish life in the Valley: bios of some of our outstanding Jewish neighbors and leaders, traditional and family holiday menus and recipes, book and movie reviews, the holiday traditions of families in our congregation, and holiday crafts to make your celebration even more personal. And we'll let you know about upcoming events that celebrate our heritage.
Please email or call us if you have any information about where to find kosher food, your favorite Jewish delis, and local sources for Judaica, We'll add it to the "Where to Find It" page. Know of an upcoming performance of "Fiddler" within an hour's commute? Be sure to let us know. Please share a recipe, holiday tradition, or suggest a topic for a few post. Our complete contact information is in the CBS member directory or email me at kathyannd@aol.com.
