Cafe Liz

No people, this isn’t a winter vegetable, at least not in Israel. Indeed, its vibrant yellow flesh sings of summer. And what better way to serve a summer vegetable than stuffed with fresh herbs? These little acorn squash — known as chestnut squash in Hebrew — are not among the usual offerings in Israel’s markets. I found them in the Carmel Market peeking out from the back rows of Carmela’s stand, among the spinach and celery. They’re smaller than their [...]

This dip won over a self-proclaimed hater of zaatar (my husband) and another self-proclaimed hater of herbs (a good friend). Zaatar is quite popular in this part of the Middle East, and is frequently sold as a dry spice mix, which also includes sesame and sumac (and sometimes salt). But this dip contains fresh zaatar, which is nothing like dry zaatar — it has more of an herbal taste, and somewhat resembles oregano. Here it serves as an interesting compliment [...]

It doesn’t get much easier than this. You roast an eggplant, mix it with mayo, and season with chopped herbs. Then you eat it. This is pretty much a Middle Eastern babaganush with a Western twist. The mayonnaise makes it creamier than usual, and the thyme adds an unusual flavor twist. The best way to roast an eggplant is straight on a gas burner (or on a charcoal grill). The cleanest way to roast an eggplant is wrapped in tinfoil [...]

I came to the market a little too late on a recent Friday. It was all of 4 P.M., but half the stands were closed. Discarded vegetables lined the path, as greengrocers dumped unwanted produce before the weekend. Piles of lettuce leaves that came to my waist. Boxes of mushy tomatoes, being picked over by foreign workers. Oh, and a small pile of fresh thyme and oregano. So I admit it: I picked them out of a box in the [...]

I’m not sure I cracked the secret of the secret tahini, but my not-so-secret version is good nonetheless. A few days ago, we were at a vegetarian restaurant called Mezze for the first time. The restaurant isn’t new; how it is that it took us so long to visit a vegetarian restaurant in Tel Aviv, I do not know. But nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves. Mezze prides itself in its tahini, which is normally not my favorite food. But the menu [...]

There’s nothing more debilitating to a food blogger than having no appetite. And frankly, in this oppressive summer heat, not only have I not wanted to cook, I haven’t even wanted to eat. I have a theory that when your body needs less energy to warm itself, you don’t need as many calories. I wonder if science backs me up. In fact, one of the few things I’ve been eating as of late are Israeli salads. Some people call them [...]

Here in the Levant we like to stuff things. It’s a habit picked up by all the places that used to be part of the Ottoman empire and its neighbors. Because rice is never so good as when it’s cooked packed inside a vegetable, and picks up its flavors and aroma during cooking. Since stuffing isn’t limited only to peppers, which are born hollow and ready to be stuffed, there are special tools to help with the job. Previously I [...]

As you may have noticed, I’ve been making a lot of ice cream and chilled drinks lately, and not too much of what I’d call “real food.” That’s because the last thing I want to do right now is stand over a hot stove (or worse, turn on the oven). The weather is so hot that I’m feeling rather well cooked as it is. Indeed, (wo)man cannot survive on ice cream and watermelon alone, but we’ll worry about that another [...]