Lawyer Raises Bread Bar in Kitchen

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Judith Khakshouy taught herself to make challah, a braided egg bread served on the Jewish Sabbath, while studying at Southwestern Law School. Time in the kitchen offered a break from her books and the chance to pray for the health of her ailing grandfather. The casual pastime became a passion as Khakshouy, 28, sought to replicate the smooth texture of factory-made challah. Then she came to see her homemade versions as better.

“Once you eat homemade challah regularly, you can’t go back to store bought,” she said.

She also discovered creative opportunities to experiment with ingredients such as jalapenos, cranberries, and caramelized onions. Saffron-infused garlic, pumpkin, cardamom, chocolate, and halvah made their way into her creations, too.

“People just send me suggestions and I’ll accept the challenge and stuff my challah with it,” she said. “You can’t buy these unique flavors in the store.”

In her challah-baking heyday, while waiting for bar exam results, Khakshouy made about 5 pounds of dough a week. After joining Steiner & Libo in Beverly Hills last month, her load is now 1 or 2 pounds, yielding between two and four loaves:.

Still, the challenge of inventing new versions keeps her churning out loaves every week.

“I don’t think I have a perfect recipe yet or a perfect method. I’m always trying to learn how to improve my game,” she said. “The most popular has been the jalapeno. It’s like this sweet bread, but all of a sudden the jalapenos become fiery in your mouth.”

Board at Work

When in Venice, do as the locals do.

For John Tabis, chief executive of online flower delivery startup the Bouqs, fitting in the beachside Venice community was easy. Like many of his neighbors, he had ridden a skateboard most of his life.

“I started riding skateboards in second or third grade when a new kid named Bobby moved into our little town in rural Pennsylvania,” said Tabis, 39. “He brought with him his Tony Hawk board, built ramps, and led the crew, essentially injecting skateboarding into town.”

Tabis has been riding ever since and even makes an effort to ride the milelong journey to work two to three times a week on top of his 46-inch walnut longboard.

“It’s suh-weet,” he said. “I love longboarding into the office in Venice. It’s nice to start and end my day on a longboard, outside, in the sun and ocean air.”

On a longboard you can move around the cramped spaces of Venice easily, he said.

“Streets, sidewalks, parks, you name it you can go (there). You don’t have to worry about locking up your bike. You can pop it up and walk into any store or bar,” said Tabis. “It feels like freedom.”

Staff reporters Daina Beth Solomon and Garrett Reim contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Jonathan Diamond. He can be reached at jdiamond@
labusinessjournal.com.

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