Conversations and Cooking

This last weekend my wonderful friend, Mia and I ventured to Fargo for a cooking workshop hosted by Wolftree. The food and drink were delicious and fun to make, but the conversations and people were the best part. There were people from all different professions and of various ages talking and laughing over home made bread and mulled wine. The conversations transitioned from courteous small talk to indepth disussions about photography, art, writing, religion, and everyday life.

During these conversations we made some pretty epic food. My favorite part was the bread. I am a big bread person. Homemade, hot out of the oven bread is the best for those chilly fall or winter days. We made some INCREDIBLE challah bread and muhammara dip to go along with it. Our muhammara was a yummy combination of spicy and sweet, and made out of these awesome fire roasted peppers. 

Challah, pronounced hal-lah, is fun to say, delicious, and can be customized to any meal or tastes.  At the workshop I made my mini-loaf with poppy seeds.  It was perfect for dipping in the muhammara and squash soup.   Others added different spices and seasonings such as orange zest, raisins, or sesame seeds.

We were given some extra dough to take home with us, so Mia, Judy(Mia's mom for those of you who dont know), and I spent Sunday morning making challah flavored with cinnamon.  This was one of our better ideas and hopefully will be repeated often. After showing Judy how to make the beautiful and tasty loaves, we all sat down for a late breakfast filled with silly jokes and funny stories.  

Most of my best memories involve food.  Meals, cooking, and baking seem to bring out the conversationalist and jokester in all of us.  So this holiday season take your time and enjoy the preparation as well as the meal. Take a second slice of pie and tell an extra joke because life happens in the little moments we often forget are so important.