If America is the proverbial “melting pot,” then Israel is a close second - at least when it comes to Jewish food and Mediterranean cuisines. In her book The Foods of Israel Today (Knopf), culinary goddess, Joan Nathan, explores the multiple culinary landscapes - European, Russian, Moroccan, Syrian, Italian and American to name a few - that converge and overlap across Israel’s homes, restaurants, and cafes.

Today, in celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), we’re raffling off a copy of The Foods of Israel Today so you can bring all the tastes of Israel into your home. To enter the raffle, tell us your favorite Israeli food experience - either an inspiring or interesting meal you ate in Israel, or delicious Israeli food you ate somewhere else… (deadline to enter: Sunday, May 11).

More and a recipe below the jump.

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Thanks to Michael Green of the eco-Israeli blog, Green Prophet for this guest post and his take on the debate over genetically modified foods in Israel.

A headline in the Israeli press last week went a little like this: “Scientists, activists debate if genetically modified foods are panacea or plague.”

Sounds great, but where exactly is the ‘debate’? The article in question reads more like a press release for the GM lobby: ”Distribution of new, genetically engineered crops can help solve world hunger, but the question is where they are used,” said Hebrew University professor Ayal Kimhi.  Absent from the 551-word article is the voice of GM-sceptics.

In fact, according to the trusted scientists, it is those who dare to question the merits of a risky and untested technology who are standing in the way of ‘progress’:

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In February and March I worked on an industrial pig farm in Israel, which was mentioned on Jcarrot back in February. In a way my time there was a bizarre, self-inflicted, extended identity crisis - but it was also a fascinating and challenging experience for me as both a kosher Jew and a believer in non-factory farmed meat.

I spent time on the “other” side and just recently wrote an article in The Forward, called “On Israel’s Only Jewish-Run Pig Farm, It’s the Swine That Bring Home the Bacon,” which expresses and reflects my own experiences on the farm, the many contradictions of this particular kibbutz, as well as the contradictions within myself.

You can read the full article here.

After months of the largest religious party’s membership waffling on participation in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s coaltion - on issues as divisive as partitioning Jerusalem and a ceasefire with Hamas - Olmert might find his coalition collapsing over an unexpected blindside: matzah.

As the Forward reports, a landmark ruling by the Israeli court system abrogated a law illegalizing the sale of leavened bread during Pesach (NY Times article from 2001 on the chametz police here). The ruling cited that restuarants and stores are private property and thus not violating any “public display” of bread.

But further, the judge ruled that “Hametz prohibitions as they are outlined in the Halacha,” are not relevant. The secular law only prevents the display of goods that look like bread, such as “bread, rolls and pitas.”

Needless to say, the ultra-Orthodox are pissed. Read more »

What would you say if someone offered you a box of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables delivered to your home every week? Ella Heeks is willing to wager you might be interested.

Heeks is the Managing Director of Abel & Cole, an Organic Delivery Service in England. Through Abel & Cole, customers order a weekly bounty of pesticide-free produce and schedule its delivery to fit into their busy lives. It’s convenience and ethical eating, waiting patiently on the porch.

While you can find Organic Delivery Services in most American cities, Brits have taken a particular liking to their weekly veg box - and also to ODS pioneer Abel & Cole. 30-year old Heeks spoke with The Jew & The Carrot about working with an idealistic company, soaking up farmer wisdom, and Able & Cole’s response to some customer’s requests that they boycott Israeli-grown produce. Read more »

Thanks to Michael of Green Prophet for this guest post. While the concept of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) is firmly established in the United States, it hasn’t really taken off in Israel. Still, the farmer-consumer relationship that a CSA offers is beginning to percolate in Israeli consciousness. Find out more below…

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Here are two interesting tidbits from the wild world of Jewish food - the first about sustainable agriculture in Israel, and the second about Manischewitz-inspired cuisine.  Dig in!

Putting their money where their mouth is
The Robert H. Smith Family Foundation recently pledged $15 million to Hebrew University to support their work around sustainable agriculture. The grant, which will go to the university’s Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences in Rehovot, is part of a $51 million “Feeding the Future through Sustainable Agriculture” campaign to put the school at the forefront of research into sustainable agriculture. (Hat tip to JTA)

Cooking up a storm - Manischewitz Style
The Jew & The Carrot Contributor, Alix, made us laugh with her tales of the “Simply Manischewitz Cook-Off,” regional semi finals. Now things are getting serious. Next Wednesday, 6 semi-finalists will compete in Manischewitz’s National Kosher Cook-Off in New York City. Whose (kosher) cuisine will reign supreme? Meet the finalists here.

 What is it about Jews and Chinese food?This oddly-passionate obsession has inspired scholarly dissertations,  cookbooks, multi-cultural festivals, and even affected international relations [this last link, btw, about Asian chefs in Israel going on an eggroll strike over the elimination of foreign worker permits, is worth a trip to Jewschool to read in its entirety]!

So when this article appeared recently in the NYTimes about the history of the fortune cookie, I immediately thought, “hmmm…what’s the Jewish connection?” The answer? The long Jewish tradition of bibliophagy (eating the written word). Find interesting examples of Jewish bibliophagy after the jump:

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Since the days of the Bible, Jewish tradition has had something to say about appropriate waste disposal:

“Further, there shall be an area for you outside the camp, where you may relieve yourself. With your gear you shall have a spike, and when you have squatted you shall dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.”– Deuteronomy 23:13-14

The latest in waste technology, however, is not in spikes and holes, but one of the oldest tricks in the book: compost. Consider this fact: flush toilets account for 40% of household water consumption in Israel. In other words, almost half of the water used in Israeli households goes to disposal and transport (through the sewage system) of peoples’ daily needs. A new company, operating according to a “Jewish-holistic, small is beautiful” philosophy, believes that this is unnecessary. In a country where a chronic water shortage causes rivers, lakes and nature preserves to dry up, brings about the collapse of ecosystems and exacerbates an already intractable political situation, they just might be onto something.  Read more at Treehugger.com:

Can the Composting Porto-Potty Solve Israel’s Water Woes?
By Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel
February, 02, 2008
Read full article

The Jew & The Carrot blogger, Jeff Yoskowitz, has been on hiatus from the blog for a little while - but he has a darn good excuse.  He is currently living on a kibbutz in Israel.  On the one hand, like many kibbutzim, internet access is spotty so posting frequently is a challenge.  But Jeff’s situation is a little different.  Jeff is currently researching the (painfully ironic) pork industry in Israel.  His kibbutz happens to house an industrial pork feed-lot, which means he’s spending most of his time hanging out with animals he’d never personally eat.

The little bit of time Jeff’s not researching pigs, he’s logging in his experience at his personal blog The Wet Sprocket.  And while we understand his need to prioritize his web time, his stories are just too interesting not to share.  To find out more about Jeff’s extraordinary daily experiences check out his blog, and read a few key (and quite graphic) excerpts below: 

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While planning tonight’s Tu Bishvat Seder at the Moishe House Boston: Kavod Jewish Social Justice House,  I’ve been scouring Jewish environmental resources and looking around for the most sustainable way to purchase fruits and nuts which are most certainly not locally grown in New England. A friend also planning the Seder has been looking around for seeds for the traditional American Tu Bishvat parsley planting. While I was certainly aware of the current Shmitta year in Israel, it has only recently come to our attention that this could create a potential question around whether or not to plant parsley at our Seder.

In lieu of the traditional tree-planting, the JNF has opted for other ways to celebrate the holiday in Israel, from a festival to hiking and bird-watching tours. In response to a question written in to the Jerusalem Post’s Ask the Rabbi column about whether a youth group could plant trees on the holiday, the answer was no. If the holiday traditionally marked the paying of taxes on fruit trees, how is the holiday different this year, since fruit trees are perennials and produce fruit without annual planting?

Clearly we are not in Israel, and thus unlikely bound by any restriction on planting. Yet, what does this mean for the way this holiday should be celebrated? And more indirectly, how does giving the land a rest relate to those of us who are not directly involved in agriculture in our daily lives? Should we change what we are eating on the holiday? On other days? How might we interpret this restriction more symbolically?

I got this in an email forward which I am quite sure is an e-hoax, but someone corroborate! My eloborations follow.

Ben & Jerry’s has announced that their Ice Cream is now available in Israel. In honor of this historic event they are producing a number of new flavors aimed specifically at the Israeli market:

Wailing Walnut - Mens & womens buckets sold separately.

Moishmellow - Let’s embrace those decidedly unmasculine, male Jewish stereotypes over a chick flik with ice cream, boys!

Mazel Toffee - Congratulations!! I always knew you’d marry someone sweet who would make you feel great.

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Just a little event notice:

Jewish Values and Environmental Responsibility: Israel’s Environmental Movement
With Dr. Eilon Schwartz, Executive Director of the
Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership in Israel.

Wednesday, January 23, 7:30pm at a private residence on the Upper West Side (RSVP for address).

The Heschel Center is one of Israel’s institutions helping create “agriculture which grows healthy food for all citizens while enhancing land and water quality.” Full info below the fold or RSVP here.

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Below is the full text of Friday night’s keynote at The Hazon Food Conference.  The keynote was given by Nati Passow, co-founder of The Jewish Farm School.  It’s a long post, but definitely worth the read - even if you have to print it out (on recycled paper of course!) and take it home.

(Nati’s on the right, next to Simcha Schwartz.  Photo by Sabrina Malach.)

Hazon Food Conference
December 6-9, 2007
Keynote Address: Nati Passow 

Thank you Nigel. Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach. It is a great honor to be here with you all tonight. Nigel suggested that I begin by sharing my story with you, my connection and relationship to food, which I think is a great way to begin this talk, because one of the things I like most about food is that sitting down to a meal is a great excuse to spend time with friends and listen to each other’s stories. So here is a little bit of mine.

Seven years ago I took a Sabbatical. I left university for the year and traveled in Israel. I studied in yeshiva, toured the country and then settled into an apartment in Jerusalem. After having little success finding a job, I decided to enjoy my sabbatical for what it was time to just be present. This was when I discovered good coffee, which for any honorable coffee drinker is a moment you never forget. An older friend of mine sat me down and said that if I was going to drink coffee everyday, I should make it good. Buy whole beans, grind them myself and brew something delicious.

The coffee was my gateway drug to the world of slow food.

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