Comments on: Joan Nathan’s The Foods of Israel Today (Win a Copy) http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:20:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Susan G http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6767 Susan G Fri, 16 May 2008 01:57:19 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6767 While 5/ll has passed, I can't miss this chance to dig into the memories you've all brought back. My first visit was in 1975. Lemons big as oranges, picked from a tree at my sister's neighbor. Cucumbers with a flavor never duplicated. In an open air market in Tel Aviv, falafal topped with fried eggplant. Breads bought daily, full of character. Small food stores, neither paper or plastic. Jaffa oranges, intensely tasty, nothing like the disappointing imports. Spice markets and Turkish coffee from the Old City markets in Jerusalem. On several visits in the 90's, wonderful food (even Iraqi bread fresh from clay ovens) -- but never so intense an experience as the first trip. While 5/ll has passed, I can’t miss this chance to dig into the memories you’ve all brought back. My first visit was in 1975. Lemons big as oranges, picked from a tree at my sister’s neighbor. Cucumbers with a flavor never duplicated. In an open air market in Tel Aviv, falafal topped with fried eggplant. Breads bought daily, full of character. Small food stores, neither paper or plastic. Jaffa oranges, intensely tasty, nothing like the disappointing imports. Spice markets and Turkish coffee from the Old City markets in Jerusalem. On several visits in the 90′s, wonderful food (even Iraqi bread fresh from clay ovens) — but never so intense an experience as the first trip.

]]> By: Leah Koenig http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6691 Leah Koenig Tue, 13 May 2008 13:05:09 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6691 Congratulations #25 - Debra, you were randomly selected ( to receive Joan Nathan's The Foods of Israel Today. http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/random.htm Thanks everyone for writing in with your comments about Israeli food - they were great! And keep your eyes open for more chances to win great books and cookbooks! Leah Congratulations #25 – Debra, you were randomly selected ( to receive Joan Nathan’s The Foods of Israel Today.

http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/random.htm

Thanks everyone for writing in with your comments about Israeli food – they were great! And keep your eyes open for more chances to win great books and cookbooks!

Leah

]]> By: Jeff Yoskowitz http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6611 Jeff Yoskowitz Sun, 11 May 2008 16:38:43 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6611 Just today I was invited to a friend's home to eat her mother's traditional Yemenite chicken soup. I went over to her home and there was this delicious looking thick soup, with cilantro and sweet potato and two chicken legs on the stove. But there was only one bowl. "You're eating alone," she told me. "I know how much you love Yemenite soup and my mother sent it home with me for my friends." She hates the stuff for precisely the same reasons I love it: the chicken is so tender that it melts like butter in your mouth, it is so flavorful and hearty, and it smells pungent. My experience eating this soup as she watched me was not unique in Israel. So many Mizrahim I know do not like their traditional foods while I, a full blood Polish-Ashkenazi Jew, eat them with a guilty desire to be a part of their tradition. My cousin makes me fish in the Iraqi style and watches me eat it. Another cousin makes Jachnun which he doesn't like (and I shouldn't eat due to gluten sensitivity) and forces me to eat it, which I do, loving every minute of it and at the same time knowing that my stomach is regretting it. Clearly eating Mizrahi Israeli foods has been wrought with cultural tensions and confusions, a complicated gastronomic experience that adds a depth to every meal. Just today I was invited to a friend’s home to eat her mother’s traditional Yemenite chicken soup. I went over to her home and there was this delicious looking thick soup, with cilantro and sweet potato and two chicken legs on the stove. But there was only one bowl. “You’re eating alone,” she told me. “I know how much you love Yemenite soup and my mother sent it home with me for my friends.” She hates the stuff for precisely the same reasons I love it: the chicken is so tender that it melts like butter in your mouth, it is so flavorful and hearty, and it smells pungent.

My experience eating this soup as she watched me was not unique in Israel. So many Mizrahim I know do not like their traditional foods while I, a full blood Polish-Ashkenazi Jew, eat them with a guilty desire to be a part of their tradition. My cousin makes me fish in the Iraqi style and watches me eat it. Another cousin makes Jachnun which he doesn’t like (and I shouldn’t eat due to gluten sensitivity) and forces me to eat it, which I do, loving every minute of it and at the same time knowing that my stomach is regretting it. Clearly eating Mizrahi Israeli foods has been wrought with cultural tensions and confusions, a complicated gastronomic experience that adds a depth to every meal.

]]> By: judi http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6602 judi Sun, 11 May 2008 13:59:09 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6602 My life has changed since I learned to make shakshuka. Now, there's nothing I would rather eat. My life has changed since I learned to make shakshuka. Now, there’s nothing I would rather eat.

]]> By: Debra http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6567 Debra Sat, 10 May 2008 06:29:43 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6567 I love the food in Israel! My favorites from a recent trip were sabich (I love it even more than falafel, which is saying a lot) and some amazing rugelach from a hole in the wall bakery in Mea Shearim. I love the food in Israel! My favorites from a recent trip were sabich (I love it even more than falafel, which is saying a lot) and some amazing rugelach from a hole in the wall bakery in Mea Shearim.

]]> By: Joel Abrams http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6555 Joel Abrams Sat, 10 May 2008 01:09:10 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6555 From a trip several years ago, I remember the range of food: the streetside felafel, of course, but also a fancy seafood restaurant in Tel Aviv, the mall food court, the cafeteria at a Kibbutz guest house near Tiberias, and cafes in Jerusalem. From a trip several years ago, I remember the range of food: the streetside felafel, of course, but also a fancy seafood restaurant in Tel Aviv, the mall food court, the cafeteria at a Kibbutz guest house near Tiberias, and cafes in Jerusalem.

]]> By: phyllis http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6488 phyllis Fri, 09 May 2008 02:34:18 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6488 ah....nothing beats a felafel eaten in Mahane Yehuda market. or wait, maybe it's the hot and fresh pita matched with the hummus bought nearby....or is it the marzipan rugelach bought hot on a friday afternoon and eaten out of the box? maybe it is the fondue i ate during pesach at a restaurant up in the north somewhere...or a big ol' ice-cream-waffle-something-delicious dessert at yotvata on the beach in tel aviv...i definitely eat my way through israel:-) ah….nothing beats a felafel eaten in Mahane Yehuda market. or wait, maybe it’s the hot and fresh pita matched with the hummus bought nearby….or is it the marzipan rugelach bought hot on a friday afternoon and eaten out of the box? maybe it is the fondue i ate during pesach at a restaurant up in the north somewhere…or a big ol’ ice-cream-waffle-something-delicious dessert at yotvata on the beach in tel aviv…i definitely eat my way through israel:-)

]]> By: Rabbi Shmuel http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6482 Rabbi Shmuel Fri, 09 May 2008 00:48:38 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6482 a plate of grilled chicken hearts at Sami in Yerushalayim or a fresh squeezed xlarge OJ in Geula - aaaah a plate of grilled chicken hearts at Sami in Yerushalayim or a fresh squeezed xlarge OJ in Geula – aaaah

]]> By: Mich http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6480 Mich Fri, 09 May 2008 00:44:30 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6480 On a bright and sunny Friday in Jerusalem, sitting with a former classmate at Pinati restaurant at the end of the lunch rush, enjoying hummus basar. Even <a href="http://maspikteruzim.wordpress.com/2007/09/02/hummus-basar/" rel="nofollow">to took a picture</a> before I dug in. On a bright and sunny Friday in Jerusalem, sitting with a former classmate at Pinati restaurant at the end of the lunch rush, enjoying hummus basar.
Even to took a picture before I dug in.

]]> By: Edith Stevenson http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/comment-page-1#comment-6479 Edith Stevenson Fri, 09 May 2008 00:37:56 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/joan-nathans-the-foods-of-israel-today-win-a-copy/#comment-6479 When I was 17, I went on a youth group trip for 7 weeks in Israel, preceded by a mini-ulpan to learn the basic Hebrew phrases we would need to communicate. For some reason, all I remembered by trip number 2, 24 years later with a husband and two pre-teens in tow, was "Ani rotza glida b'vakesha." So upon our arrival in Jerusalem, we saw the first of many roadside ice cream stands, the kids urged me to try my "extensive" Hebrew speaking......... but of course was totally embarrassed when the reply was something like (in Hebrew) "what flavour do you want?" and I couldn't understand a word! The vendor enjoyed my lame attempt to speak the language, and let us carry on the rest of the transaction in English. And yes, the ice cream was delicious! When I was 17, I went on a youth group trip for 7 weeks in Israel, preceded by a mini-ulpan to learn the basic Hebrew phrases we would need to communicate. For some reason, all I remembered by trip number 2, 24 years later with a husband and two pre-teens in tow, was “Ani rotza glida b’vakesha.” So upon our arrival in Jerusalem, we saw the first of many roadside ice cream stands, the kids urged me to try my “extensive” Hebrew speaking……… but of course was totally embarrassed when the reply was something like (in Hebrew) “what flavour do you want?” and I couldn’t understand a word! The vendor enjoyed my lame attempt to speak the language, and let us carry on the rest of the transaction in English. And yes, the ice cream was delicious!

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