Celebrate Purim

So, I start off looking for the jar of poppy seeds. I look high, I look low, they don’t appear to be anywhere. Black mustard seeds are as close as I can get.

I have to go grocery shopping anyway, so I figure I’ll go to the QFC and buy some there. I go, and the bulk bin is empty. The goyische management of the QFC, what do they know. I ask a staff person, and find out that behind the bulk bins of herbs and spices are the large vacuum-pack bags that they replenish the bins with. The staff person and I rummage through about a dozen large bags of pepper corns, and then bags of things like sea salt, oregano, basil, and so forth. No poppy seeds.

I go to the baking supply section, and look among the fillings. I figure I can simply cheat. Alas, there is not a single can left. I hold a simple tiny jar of poppy seeds – it costs $8. It would take me 4 of these to make a single batch of hamantaschen. The floral manager, one of my buddies, suggests Whole Foods or, at the other end of the spectrum, Cash and Carry. I am not interested in driving to either location.

It ends up being an enormous grocery shopping expedition, the sort where I end up purchasing with nearly $250 worth of food, but no poppy seeds.

In the checkout line, while grousing to the checker about the poppy seed situation, I get an inspiration. It’s a well duh situation – because I live in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, in addition to the Indian and SE Asian deli-groceries in the neighborhood, there’s also an Eastern European one. I load the groceries into the back of the car, and make for the deli.

After roving the aisles, checking out more dried and pickled forms of fish than I had previously imagined, odd sausages, and various tins and jars with Cyrillic writing, I finally find a HUGE bag of poppy seeds, at least two cups worth, for about $5. Sold.

So, no hamantaschen made yet. But we’re getting closer to having the proper filling. 2 years ago

I thinking I’m going to make apricot and poppy seed. 2 years ago