When I was a teen, my best friend was Jewish. She and I were together most of the time. On Fridays, her Mom (Mama Rein), would send us to Diamond Bakery to purchase a straight out of the oven loaf of Challah (a festive, braided egg bread for the Sabbath). While there, we would grab a couple of cheese bagels for ourselves.

To this day, I buy a loaf of Challah on Friday mornings, hot out of the oven. It provides a wonderful festive quality to our weekend meals. It also brings back memories of sabbath dinners at the Rein's home for me.