Will try to post from my brother's place if and when I get the time to. I am also trying to see if I can get to YP for Sunday morning practice with the London ashtangis (Sorry Susan! Sorry Mel! Won't get to see you guys in the shala but maybe my next trip, some time next month?) :)
Anyways, hope you have a good Easter break, and here's what the Dutch have over Easter. We got an office mail saying Easter goodies were in the kitchen yesterday. So... of course I was expecting: HOT CROSS BUNS!!! I love the stuff and miss it (why don't they just sell it all year round?)
Instead, this is what I found:
I was like... er... what the heck is THIS?!
It's almond bread. See where I've made the hole? There's almond paste in the centre of the bread, and you take it and spread it all over the bread, which is what I'd already done in the picture. Nobody knew what the meaning or significance was... "It's just what we eat at Easter! ...also, this is the same thing as Christmas bread!"
Er... OK... Christmas bread?! I know Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies (Yum!), but Christmas bread is something new to me.
Then the other cracker-looking thing (tastes just like Carr's table water biscuits, except they are 3 times the size)... everyone I asked said "I dunno why we eat that either. It's like a Jewish biscuit".
Er... OK... Jewish biscuits? During EASTER?! Unless you're Jews for Jesus, this is something new to me too!
It was quite funny that none of the locals seemed to know the significance either. It just is. (London hot cross buns, I'm coming straight for you!)
Passover - no leaven bread eaten.
ReplyDeleteWell, Jesus celebrated passover before he got betrayed by Judas or something?
Skippetty you can get Hot X buns all year here, its just that between the end of Easter and Christmas they are missing the "X".
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to doing practice with you on Sunday, its 9.30.
PS thanks for changing the colour scheme, that black on red was doing my eyes in :-)
ReplyDeleteuhhh, that "biscuit" would be matzoh, which is unleavened bread eaten for Passover (celebrated this week) to commemorate the speed with which the Jews had to leave Egypt. It's the story of the Exodus in the old testament.
ReplyDeleteyour token (if not observant) Jew,
Fran
it's amazing, so amazing.
ReplyDeletealmost reminds me of banana bread.
happy easter
I'm loving the Dutch education!, enjoy London :-)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Thanks AC & Fran... I grew up in a Methodist household, and there wasn't any food restrictions/ leavened/ unleavened bread situation at Passover. But... that still makes me confused coz... what does Passover have to do with Easter (ie: Jesus dying/ resurrecting. Which is New Testament which the traditional Jewish religion doesn't believe in. Right?) What's actually funnier is they eat BOTH almond bread (leavened) and matzoh (unleavened). Maybe it's part of the whole Dutch thing of "come one, come all", love-and-include-everyone vibe. :)
ReplyDeleteGlobie - hopefully the Tube's running OK, then I'll see you guys tomorrow. It's madness they close lines for servicing over weekends, and HOLIDAY WEEKENDS at that. No wonder you're annoyed with the London Underground.
Michael - Banana bread has always felt more like a cake to me than a bread. This almond bread is most definitely a nutty bread with almond paste. :)
Claudia - it's pretty cute, no? (the Dutch also celebrate St. Nikolas Day on Dec. 5th, and not Christmas Day on Dec. 25th. Like... HUH?!? ...but that's another story for another time).
Haha... you make the bread thing funny :-) Sorry about our Tube, it drives us all insane too, believe me. I finally put myself out of my misery and moved to a place where I basically don't need to use it! The olympics... can you imagine...!! Londoners will flee the city, it's the only solution..
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad to hear you'll be back next month, cos I was super bummed out to miss you!
Don't worry Susan, you'll find out soon enough when I'll be there! Some time in May... I'm still locking down schedules. :) Hope you had a good time in Canada!
ReplyDelete