Cafe Liz

Saturday brunch with oatmeal waffles, omelets and more

Today’s version of our weekly ritual included oatmeal-whole wheat waffles, a spinach-cheese omelet, a nice fresh mixed-green salad, a few of our homemade olives, and, of course, coffee from David’s Coffee at 49 Levinsky, my favorite coffee roaster. Continue reading Saturday brunch with oatmeal waffles, omelets and more…

Coconut pumpkin soup

This soup was a hit at our Thanksgiving dinner in Jerusalem. It’s a good way to prepare pumpkin left over from Halloween or Thanksgiving, but then again, it’s also a good excuse just to go out and buy pumpkin. Continue reading Coconut pumpkin soup…

Do-it-yourself olives

I started pickling olives quite by chance, when a friend at work brought in his surplus crop, and I found myself with half a kilo of bright green Syrian olives. The results were amazing. Sadly, I think this has turned me into an olive snob, because I can’t eat the soggy things that show up alongside cafe sandwiches anymore. Continue reading Do-it-yourself olives…

Sweet and sour tempeh

OK, I admit that I consider any recipe that involves ketchup to be cheating, but the results here are so good, that you could say the ends justify the means. This recipe for sweet and sour tempeh takes its sauce from a recipe I learned in Thailand (yes, it turns out that Thai cooks use ketchup), while tempeh is a fermented soybean product from Indonesia with a rich, almost meaty (or mushroomy) taste. It’s a nice alternative to tofu, and it’s also quite filling. I purchased mine frozen, at East West in the Carmel market, but the ambitious can make their own by following the instructions here. Continue reading Sweet and sour tempeh…

Green beans in soy sauce and sesame

Here’s another simple dish — pan-fried green beans with soy sauce and sesame seeds. I used super-fresh green beans we’d bought earlier that day at the market, and seared them on high heat so they’d be slightly blistered on the outside but still crispy and bright green (when they’re so fresh, you don’t want to overcook them). Continue reading Green beans in soy sauce and sesame…

Green curry

This is my favorite kind of Thai curry. Luckily, it’s not too complicated — most of the taste comes from the basil-rich green curry paste. You can think of it as a kind of Thai pesto — in Thailand they pound the spices together by hand, but here you can just buy the curry paste ready-made, in a jar.

And since I’m no longer in Thailand, I had to adapt the dish to the vegetables available locally (bottom right photo). Continue reading Green curry…

Garlicky potato salad

This recipe is inspired by the ali oli potato tapas they serve in Spain. I made this potato salad to bring to a party, and the real reason I chose this dish is that it’s completely homemade (and looks it), but takes only 10-15 minutes to make.

I used about 1 kilo of potatoes (unpeeled), 1/2 cup mayonnaise (would have used more, but I ran out), 3 fat garlic cloves, a splash of white wine vinegar (say, a teaspoon or two), a big handful of parsley and salt to taste. Dice the potatoes into little cubes, about 1 centimeter each, and cook them — either by boiling them in a pot or in a glass bowl in the microwave. Drain away the water once the potatoes are just soft, and let them cool.

In the meantime, make the garlic sauce by blending the garlic, mayonnaise, vinegar and salt together, and finely dice the parsley. Once the potatoes have cooled somewhat, mix in the garlic sauce, and then the chopped parsley. The potatoes should have a creamy coating and be covered with flecks of parsley.

B’teavon!

Sushi

Tonight I made sushi. More California than Japan, I filled half the rolls with cucumber, avocado, and two kinds of chives. The other half were filled with cucumber, chives and torn oyster mushrooms doused with mirin and soy sauce, and this combination turned out to be quite good. In fact, the marinated mushrooms provided enough flavor that these rolls didn’t have to be dipped in soy sauce afterward — just like in Japan!