Culinary Experiment

Saturday, I had my first experience making a traditional Jewish braided bread, “Challah.” My first loaf looked slightly absurd, but the second did not leave quite so much to be desired. It is a light, soft bread, and contains honey, lending a hint of sweetness to the flavor.

For weeks, or so it seemed, I had been poring over a Greek cookbook, and looking with great longing at a certain colorful soup. It looked flavorful and delightful, and the presence of some little seasoned meatballs appeared positively delectable. To my surprise, it also called for lemon slices, but as I am always interested in new ideas, I was quite willing to suppose that a moderate amount of citrus flavor could add quite a bit of character to this particular soup. It was supposed to be made with lamb, but not having any, I determined to substitute beef. I mentioned this soup repeatedly, and last Saturday, I found the chance to attempt the making of it. I had high hopes for it, and carefully selected the required ingredients, but met with failure. In the end, it contained, most unfortunately, an almost overpowering lemon flavor. With some added beef broth, the intensity of this citrus-ness lessened considerably, but it still wasn’t the winner I’d aspired toward.