Hostess Gift #1: Glendale Organic Grape Juice & Taza Chocolate

We get invited to friends' homes frequently for Shabbat lunch on Saturday afternoon after synagogue.  There is always good food, many children, and yummy challah involved.  The traditional gift to bring is a bottle of wine or other readily edible food for that meal, but I put together something a little more original.

Glendale Farm Grape Juice from the Finger Lakes, NY with waiter-style table crumber.  Buy NOW as by Passover 2012 it will no longer be under the O-U

Organic Glendale Farm Grape juice, 2010 vintage.

Waiter-style table crumber

Tag made from PEZ candy cardboard package.

Bringing to our hosts for shabbat lunch.

Table crumber is essential for the challah crumbs!  Easily found in Judaica stores and Kosher food markets.  Or, just ask your waiter at Maialino if he has an extra to spare.

With children, grape juice is a necessity for the kiddush (blessing over the wine).  It is a 100% acceptable substitute.  It's even legit for adults to use it.

Enter the upscale organic Kosher grape juice.  Mix half with seltzer for a "juicy beverage," or, what many folks might know better as a spritzer.  Call it homemade soda, it's all the same goodness.  We have been buying this for years at Fairway in New York City.  It is available via special order through Whole Foods on the East Coast.  You need to order a case, and only this size bottle, 22 ounce, is available.  [If you are familiar, they used to be in a bottle that looked like the Santa Cruz juices bottle (not kosher),  but those days are currently over].

I spoke with the proprietor of Glendale Farm recently. He explained that the juice is now in a bottle that looks like his competitor Kedem (which, in my opinion taste-wise doesn't stand any comparison) because the Orthodox Union gave him no other option.  This is getting political and not my bag...

He was not bought out by Kedem.

He is hoping to get certification for his 2012 vintage with the OK Laboratories.

I plan to bring one bottle from my stash coupled with a nice bar of Parve Taza chocolate (also available at Whole Foods).

Taza chocolate is Parve, organic, made locally in Somerville, MA, under the OU

Go here to see more Taza Chocolate

Go here to see more Glendale Farms  (he is a small company, very under-the-radar, but highest quality).

Flowers for our Shabbat Table...DIY style!

A Shabbat custom is to have flowers on your table.  It is a nice one.  We don't do it a lot for various reasons, but I love having flowers.  Our shabbes guests brought us tulips on Friday afternoon.

Here is my arrangement:

The Schweppes Bitter lemon came from my trip to Berlin.  The Gold's Horseradish is a way of turning zayde's favorite condiment into something hip, and the San Pellegrino is one of my favorite "fancy" sodas that is more readily available here in the states.  All are glass bottles.

We got a 2nd bunch of tulips.  My mom gave us this cool disposable Made in Israel vase that comes folded up, called the Vazu.

It is throwaway, which isn't my inclination, but it was pretty handy!


Shabbat shalom!