Ice breakers should be a part of every social activity. We hit the 30th floor of a lakeside apartment for another young couples club Havdalah event this weekend. Conversation was surprisingly easy this time around, thanks to the small talk jackpot of an unobstructed view of the downtown loop and eastern pier.Right when chitchat fodder was running out, we set down our wineglasses, lit a candle and sang a ditty consisting entirely of “lai-lai” repeated over and over again. I know I orchestrated the whole thing, but it’s still funny to have 20 normal people break out into song in the middle of a party.
Afterwards, we “ice broke” by asking where each person would go if they could run away somewhere. Most of the couples agreed on one sunny locale: Greece, the Caribbean. The Rabbi said he would go wherever his wife wanted to go. I’ve been revisiting my Laura Ingalls Wilder obsession recently and said I wanted to run away to a farm. Alex looked horrified and said he wanted to go to Las Vegas. Sweet marital symbiosis.
Mahatma “A Contest of Good Taste”
The Rules: Submit your original recipe via U.S. Postal Service using whole grain brown rice, Thai Jasmine rice, or Indian Basmati rice as an ingredient. One entry per mailing address per recipe category. For the purposes of this contest, there are two categories: 1) Healthy [refer to our Well-Balanced Eating comments on this website for considerations of a "healthy" recipe] - using whole grain brown rice, and 2) Exotic - using either Thai Jasmine or Indian Basmati Rice.
Judging Criteria: Winning recipes will be judged by a panel of judges based on: taste, appeal/appearance, originality/creativity of finished recipe.
The Prize: First Place winners will receive a Gourmet Food Basket including an electric rice cooker, gift certificate, appetizer servingware, and cookbooks (Approximate Retail Value: $300). Ten (10) Runners-up will receive the 'World of Rice' Cookbook, gift certificate, and Mahatma Rice product coupons.
The Entry: Cardamom/Hazelnut dessert made with cooked basmati rice (it’s not as weird as it sounds, the cooked rice is used in place of flour)
