Finally A Regular Day

Thursday, May 15, 2013

Today was the first “normal day”.  It wasn’t the day I arrived; it wasn't the day before a holiday or the actual day of a holiday.  It was very nice to observe Shavuot for just one day rather than two as we do everywhere other than in Israel.  Businesses were open again, busses were running and I 'm feeling less intimidated with my lack of Hebrew speaking and understanding.  I now have an English to Hebrew dictionary which I used to find out how much the bus costs, and I asked for green onions and little eggplant at the souk - all in Hebrew!   I'm also figuring out how to use this blog site with all of the instructions and labels in Hebrew.  Thank you to Carolyn for sending me the link to Google Translate. As you can see, I'm again writing from left to right.

I’ve started to organize and look forward to my adventures and will be visiting the Seltzer goat farm on Sunday to see the farm and learn what I can actually do there.  More to come on that.

On Tuesday I had purchased a few things at the grocery across the park so I was able to make a decent breakfast – a pseudo shakshuka with fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic.   Since there wasn’t enough liquid with just the tomatoes and there was no juice or sauce, I just put the eggs inside a circle of the vegetables rather than cooking them in the vegetables themselves.   It was pretty good but I missed the heat of chili peppers.

Machane Yehuda is the well known market place in Jerusalem, otherwise known as the “Souk” (pronounced “shuck”).    Machane Yehuda is  similar to the Pike Place Market in Seattle but easily 10 times the size and of course with many different products. (I don't think I'm exaggerating, am I?)  You can buy everything from fresh produce, fish, meat and poultry, spices, nuts, breads and pastries, and fresh tahini of different flavors. (Who has heard of pesto or chili flavored tehini?)   There are also vendors selling housewares, clothing, and flowers and restaurants offering many different options for breakfast, lunch or dinner.   

Machane Yehuda's history began in the late 19th century when merchants brought their products to a large lot that was located in a central area in Jerusalem.  Over time the number and variety of merchants increased and walls were built around the lot, providing shelter for the growing number of stalls. 

During the years of the British Mandate  (1917-1948) Machane Yehuda became an increasingly popular place for residents to shop and was proving to be important financially as well. Ronald Stores, the first governor of Jerusalem, contracted an architect, Robert Ashby, to further develop the exterior design and the infrastructure of the marketplace.  There were finally sewage systems, running water and lighting.  

Although a formal design had been created, Machane Yehuda continues to have a very informal appearance both, internally and externally.  There are still a combination of Jewish and Arab merchants, selling foods and other items from their own individual cultures.  And as it has been for many years, the Souk is a place for everyone - residents and tourists of all nationalities and cultures.

With today being Thursday, the Souk was packed with people getting ready for Shabbat.

A first look at the fresh foods at The Souk - Machane Yehuda.

Sea bass - Soon to be my dinner

Eggplant

Tehini - plain and chili flavored

Ground Spices

Olives

Halavah

Coming from Seattle we’re aware of, and most of us are pleased with, the elimination of plastic bags from our stores because of the negative affect they have on the environment.  At Machane Yehuda, and in every other store throughout Israel, plastic bags are used for even the smallest item at every stall.  I tried to avoid taking the bags, but most of the vendors insisted.  I’ve already started a substantial collection of plastic bags in the apartment.

I decided it was time to start cooking. I had gone to the souk with several recipes in mind and tried to purchase only items for those recipes.  But I couldn’t resist the sun dried cherry tomatoes and the feta cheese, which I didn’t really need, at least today.

Tonight’s dinner included Chreime, a spicy Tunisian fish from Israeli chef Lior Lev Sercarz and Israeli Chopped Salad, compliments of Janna Gur, author of The Book of New Israeli Food,.  Coincidentally, both of these recipes were included in the May, 2013 issue of Saveur  in an article called “The Promised Land” by Gabriella Gershenson.  The fish is very similar to the delicious Yeminite fish that my daughter Cynthia makes for Shabbat dinner (and that I love).

Chreime (Tunisian Fish Stew)

6 fish fillets, about 4 oz each (I used striped bass)

3 T fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ C olive oil

10 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

3 small red Thai chilies, stemmed and roughly chopped

6 oz tomato paste

2 C minced cilantro

Combine the fish, juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside.  Heat oil in a 12” skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and chilies, cook, stirring, until soft, for 2 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, cook, stirring, until slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes.  Add cilantro and 1 ¼ C water. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 6 minutes.  Add the fish and juice, skin side up, cover and cook until the fish is done, the time depending on its thickness.

Israeli Chopped Salad

¼ C minced cilantro

¼ C minced mint

¼ C minced parsley

2 tsp ground sumac

1 tsp cinnamon

½ C olive oil (I used about ¼ C)

6 scallions, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic

4 medium ripe tomatoes, seeded and minced

3 medium cucumbers, seeded and minced

2 Serrano chilies, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 large white onion, minced.

Juice and zest of 3 lemons

Kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

First Day

Is this post left or right justified?  Why am I asking this question?  Because when I opened up the blogger I found that the instructions are all in Hebrew. I hope you're reading this in English.   My writing is moving from right to left rather than from left to right. The punctuation marks appear on my screen to be in the wrong places.  I've got to figure out how to get Blogspot to give me directions in English!!  I hope you have luck reading this post.

 I'm here in Israel, in a lovely apartment across the street from the beautiful San Simon park.  First thing - put some food in the refrigerator and in the cupboards! It's been a long 36 hours. 

.I’ve been officially brought to my knees!

Yesterday, with great confidence, I walked across the park and went into the grocery store.  Where were the carts? Outside!  But they were locked up and, like in the airport, you have to put in a coin.  10 shekelim, which is returned when you return the cart. I didn’t have a 10 shekel coin.

 I don't think I recognized the names of any of the foods except lechem and dag. (milk and fish) and those were pretty obvious. But there were things on the shelves and even in the produce section I didn't recognize. I couldn't tell the butter from the cream cheese, what flavor the yogurt was, and I never did figure out what was in the freezer that looked like frozen olives (maybe it was frozen olives!)  It was at that point that I started thinking that I should have continued the Hebrew lessons, or at least listened more to the tapes.  My next purchase will be a Hebrew-English dictionary.

My friend Lynn forwarded me an email from Shlomo Katz (as in niggun fame) that she had received saying he was doing a special class on Shavuot at his home.  Through a coincidental connection I was able to get a ride to this class.  At the time Shlomo and his family lived in one of the settlements (or communities as they prefer to refer to them) called Neve Daniel, which is in the Gush region near Efrat and Beit Shemesh.  It turned out that the person who gave me a ride had made aliyah 2 years ago from New Jersey, where he was the executive director of the little synagogue where I had Rosh Hashonah two years ago with Andrea – Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE) on 86^th Street.  And now he’s the development staff for Stand With Us in Jerusalem, an organization we are all familiar with and support in Seattle.

The class was amazing.  There were several niggunim before the learning, two that I knew from Lynn. A group of 40 people of all ages sat together quietly listening to Shlomo’s Shavuot message – to ask Hashem to reveal to you who you are and what life is all about in the deepest way.

Isn’t that why I’m here in Israel?

Counting Down

Israel is a place of many cultures - Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Yemenite, Persian, Lebanese, North African, Bedouin, Iraqi, Moroccan, Druze, Bukharian, Circassian and more.  Food has a special way of breaking down barriers among cultures and creating bonds among those with many other differences.

I was really turned on to the idea of cooking in Israel when friends brought me Janna Gur's book The Book of New Israeli Food.  The recipes and gorgeous photos in this book prompted me to rekindle my dream of spending a significant time in Israel. Another friend suggested that I combine my loves of cooking and photography with this trip.  So here we are...

I read a book by Abbie Rosner, a former American now living in the Galilee.  Breaking Bread in the Galilee describes her personal journey discovering the historic foods of the Bible and the way food connects people of all cultures.

Another recent purchase - Joan Nathan's The Foods of Israel Today, brings together the stories of her travels throughout Israel, the people she met and their many culinary traditions.

As I've spent the last year preparing for this trip my desires and curiosities around exploring Israel have exploded.  There is so much to discover - both in the country and in myself; I intend to take advantage of the time learning.  I've been to Israel twice before but as a tourist. Running from place to place - really riding a bus from place to place.  The first time was chaperoning my daughter Andrea's 8th grade class trip in 2000.  The second time was in 2007, traveling with friends and visiting the same daughter who was at Hebrew University for her junior college year.  Both trips were wonderful.

This time, rather than trying to see and do as much as possible each day, I will have a chance to use all of my senses to take in the sites, the sounds, the aromas, the textures and the tastes that surround me.  And, as in a melting pot, I intend to blend them together with a splash of reflection and relaxation, let them simmer very slowly, then see what results.  

Welcome to my journey.