Cafe Liz

Kumquat pancakes

I don’t usually eat kumquats, but they look so cute that I’m occasionally tempted into buying some at the market (this happens quite frequently, and with quite a variety of different foods). Kumquats are known as “Chinese oranges” (תפוז סיני) in Hebrew, and I have to say I find this much more logical than the English name, as it actually tells you something about what it denotes. For instance, based on the English name, you would never know that kumquats are small, tangy citrus fruit, with a mild, zesty peel and a small amount of tart flesh inside. They happen to be in season right now, along with a huge variety of other citrus fruits, including the “Chinese lemon” (what on earth could that be called in English?) and my favorite, blood oranges.

By the way, the best place to get citrus right now is one of the stands in the Gaza market section of the Carmel market (parallel to the main strip). One of the guys there has a huge selection of different kinds of grapefruits, oranges, clementines, lemons and pomelos. He once labeled pomelit as “bamlat” (במלט — I kid you not — when spelled properly, it’s פומלית), which is really funny if you know some Arabic and Hebrew and appreciate linguistic humor. Anyway.

In any case, I’ve had the kumquats sitting in my fridge for a while now. I guess I bought bad kumquats, because many of them went bad in the time it took me to figure out what I wanted to do with them. In any case, I knew I wanted to throw the survivors into some kind of sweet food, since kumquats would go well anywhere you would think to use citrus zest — it’s merely a milder flavor than orange or lemon. Our pancake brunch presented itself as an excellent opportunity. Continue reading Kumquat pancakes…

Julienned vegetable salad with wakame seaweed

This dish, with the cucumbers, carrots and wakame, resembles something I once had at a Japanese restaurant, but the green papaya is my own addition. I happened to have one sitting around, since I’ve been aspiring to make a spicy Thai papaya salad pretty much since we returned from Thailand. The papaya doesn’t add much in the way of flavor, but it does have a crunchier, firmer texture than the other vegetables. For some reason, I really enjoy the texture of these vegetables sliced into ribbons — it’s more fun to eat that way. Continue reading Julienned vegetable salad with wakame seaweed…

Confetti pasta with nuts, raisins and parsley

This oil-based pasta sauce is sweet and salty from the raisins and olive tapenade, and contains everything from onions and garlic to nuts and a big handful of parsley. I think I once had something similar at a fancy restaurant. Plus, it’s an easy dish to make for potluck dinners. Continue reading Confetti pasta with nuts, raisins and parsley…

Bean spinach soup with a tomato base

I wasn’t going to post another soup, since they all kind of look the same, but this one came out really well. The cinnamon adds a nice touch, and all that spinach adds good flavor. In any case, I think it’s great to show what you can do without soup mix or premade broth — it’d be nice if certain restaurants were to catch on that you really don’t need these things in proper cooking. Continue reading Bean spinach soup with a tomato base…

Cauliflower stir-fry with miso chili sauce

Here’s a nice combination of stir-fried cauliflower (mine happened to be purple) with an Asian-inspired sauce. The miso adds a little more depth to this dish than just plain soy sauce. Continue reading Cauliflower stir-fry with miso chili sauce…

Crunchy tofu stir-fry in soy-maple sauce

I like it when my tofu has a crunch. In this dish, I fried the tofu separately first, so that the outsides would be crispy while the insides stayed soft. The maple sugar, which I picked up in the U.S., added a nice roundness to the mixture of wine and soy sauce. Continue reading Crunchy tofu stir-fry in soy-maple sauce…

Strawberry spice ice cream

We didn’t do very much for Valentine’s day this year, since both Eitan and I were studying for our respective tests, but I did manage to whip up a bunch of brilliantly pink strawberry spice ice cream, which seems to suit the spirit. Continue reading Strawberry spice ice cream…

Spinach shakshuka brunch

Our kitchen floor is covered with bags of vegetables — I hadn’t been to the Carmel Market in weeks, due to our trip to the U.S., and the attempt to empty the fridge that preceded it, so when we went this Friday, I got a little overexcited. The advantage to this is that everything is in plain sight, which means I’m more likely to use all the fresh vegetables. So this Saturday, we wound up with a spinach shakshuka for brunch. Continue reading Spinach shakshuka brunch…

Cranberry wine granita

Strangely enough, I guess you could consider cranberry an exotic fruit around here — the climate is way too warm to grow cranberry bushes. This means I made this granita out of cranberry juice, which is readily available. Continue reading Cranberry wine granita…

Chocolate coconut sorbet

We’re still experimenting with our new ice cream maker, and here’s one combination we tried: Chocolate coconut sorbet. This light, vegan sorbet has a strong dark chocolate flavor with hints of cinnamon and coconut. Continue reading Chocolate coconut sorbet…