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January 2010

Hatikva market — the other side of Tel Aviv

I don't usually feel like a stranger in my own city. I observe minute changes in the scenery as they occur, and I probably could get around with my eyes closed, that is, if I weren't afraid of walking into a tree or getting hit by a car. Yet there …

Grape leaves stuffed with mozzarella and sheep cheese

Why restrict your grape leaf stuffing to rice alone? Rice or other grains are traditionally the base for many a stuffed grape leaf, perhaps because they swell up during cooking to make the leaf dumpling round, fat and firm. But that’s no reason not to expand into more unusual territory. …

Pasta sauce with mallow and sheep cheese

It doesn't sound like the most unusual dish -- tomato sauce with greens and cheese, pretty standard, right? Well, it is and it isn't. My greens happened to be mallow and wild beet, and my cheese was a traditional Arab sheep cheese known as "jibneh," which, quite creatively, means "cheese" …

Ravioli with Jerusalem artichoke and roasted garlic

It’s not really an artichoke, but we call it that anyway — Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke, is a root vegetable that happens to have an artichoke-like taste. It doesn’t have any real connection to Jerusalem, either, for that matter; it’s actually native to the United States. Despite its deceptively being …

A culinary spin through Wadi Nisnas

Wadi Nisnas is more than a small Christian Arab neighborhood in the northern coastal city of Haifa -- it's a place full of culinary wonders. When I lived in Haifa seven years ago, I would make regular pilgrimages to Conditory Oriental for knafeh, a pastry of oozy goat cheese topped …

Israeli blogger meet-up

Last week, I had the fortune to meet another two dozen English-language bloggers in Israel. Here’s my belated wrap-up. The event, hosted by fellow food blogger Sarah Melamed of Foodbridge, was the second by this group, and was organized by Miriam Kresh of Israeli Kitchen (another food blog!) and Hannah …

Do-it-yourself coffee roasting

Forever on a quest to make extra work for myself, I’ve taken to roasting my own coffee. Why? Well, there are a few reasons. First off, it’s fascinating to take the raw material — green coffee beans — and in less than 10 minutes, turn it into what we’re used …