Summer Shabbat!

Shabbat is almost here again!

We are trying out making early Shabbat here this week. We figure that an extra hour of rest can't hurt, and in the winter we manage to have everything ready for Shabbat WAY earlier than is required for early Shabbat in the summer! It's gotta be manageable, right?

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like our days and weeks are so full and the things we need to do just never end, so an extra hour of worry-free Shabbat time sounds AMAZING. Also, there's the added bonus of not being able to check the news on Shabbat, so we can believe we are really living on our little secluded island of serenity for all of Shabbat (hopefully)...

Speaking of little islands, I have this little pull out cart in my kitchen. It stays tucked away most of the time, acting as storage for potatoes and onions. 


But on Fridays, it morphs into a mini kitchen island: it's a little tiny bit of magic. You just pull the cart out of its storage spot under the edge of the counter (it's on wheels), and set up the top surface by lifting the piece of wood that folds down, and slide the piece of wood underneath it into place to hold it secure so it is a small piece of counter.

(Um, please don't judge me that the contact paper I covered it with before Pesach is still on it!)

It is awesome, and gives me a little more space to set up some helping hands with a cooking or prepping job! Since I don't have space right now for a kitchen island, I feel like I really have the next-best thing! (And maybe it is, in fact, the best of all worlds!)

So this island is my savior on days when my counters become so cluttered I wouldn't dare share a picture of them here (ahem, that is most days, honestly)! I know that there is always a small surface, free of clutter, to use for cooking.

I do clean my counters at the end of cooking on Friday, I'm just not good at cleaning as I go along. I'm sure some of you out there can relate!

Anyhow, so this cart allows me to do things like make challah and cakes along with other things on my Shabbat menu!

So here's what I'm making this week, using mostly foods that were already in my pantry and freezer:

Spelt and Oat Bran Challot
Vegetable Soup
Black Bean Cholent
Date Honey-Ginger Chicken
Spicy Turkey Breast (there's been this turkey breast in my freezer for a while - I figured it's high time we used it!)
Brown Rice
Broccoli Kugel
Potato Kugel
Salads

And we have watermelon and cherries for dessert! Lovin' the summer fruits all around! (Did you notice that watermelon making a cameo appearance earlier?)

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!