Last week I was given 5 boxes packed with an huge variety of produce from Melissa’s Produce and four days later another big box arrived from Talley Farms. Now that I am a “micro-influencer” on Instagram, I am offered products…
The Spanish anise and sesame cookies, tortas (cakes) de aceite y anís are very similar to reifat, the Moroccan anise biscuits I grew up on. The flavor is almost the same but the texture and shape are different. My ancestors…
Vegan-boy wants chana masala. Teenage-boy prefers something with Korma sauce. Helicopter-dad doesn’t care. He’ll eat anything. Although he prefers to avoid chickpeas. They make him gussy. Neurotic-mom is up for Indian but not korma. It’s too sweet for her. To…
Vegan boy complains that there’s nothing sweet in the house. He threatens to go to CVS to buy candy. Neurotic mom says “Wait! Don’t go, I’ll make something”. Quickly she melts a bar of Trader’s Joe’s 72% dark chocolate and…
Summer you’re hot, toasty, sweaty, smelly, draining yet I miss you in the winter, welcome you with open arms in the spring, then bitch about you when autumn is around the corner. Here is something to make summer cooler and refreshing.
Although I grew up in Israel and was familiar with tahini, I never forgot the first time I ate tahini as a dip and not as the sauce that moistens your falafel in pita (and makes it easier to swallow).…
When I was a kid, my mother cooked eggplants on a weekly basis. Everyone in my family loved them – especially eggplant dips and fried eggplants – but me. I thought baba ganoush was disgusting. Until I was in 11th…
I always associate the word Turkish with food, good food – even when someone brings up Turkish prisons, Turkish Coffee or the Bride from Istanbul. Unfortunately, I’ve never been to Turkey yet but it’s on the top of my list.…
We, my immediate and extended family and I, live on side dishes. Instead of making a main dish with a side dish, we make two or three vegetables dishes with a condiment on the side or a bunch of mezzes…
Carrot isn’t the most exciting vegetable, right? But when you steam it lightly, to soften it just slightly, then mix it with homemade harissa (or store bought) and lemon juice it becomes the sultan of the garden. So make a…
I don’t like leftovers. I don’t like to eat them nor put them in a container, knowing that I would end up throwing the food away and wasting more by washing the container. My husband loves leftovers though he rarely…
When you have some 1 or more fresh or wrinkly jalapeños that you’re not sure what to do with, make this yemenite chimichurri. It would last for a month and you can use it during the week on avocado or…
The aroma of burnt peppers always reminds me of home, my mother’s house in the Negev, the desert of Israel. Every Friday noon my mother burns, directly on the flames, green hot peppers for Matbucha, spicy cooked tomato salad and…
My boys asked if I can make normal pancakes for a change. Normal as with gluten and eggs. This is my most normal pancake recipe. With a small twist but as fluffy and light as classic pancakes. No one complained.…
There are so many versions of potato salads. I love them all. One of my favorite is the potato and herb salad and this one. It’s humble, easy to make and delicious. The caramelized onions gives it extra sweetness and…
A non-israeli friend of friends made this dish for Fourth of July, while we were visiting them in Montana. She told me that if she had known that we were Israeli, she would have made something else. I am glad…
I usually make this when I have leftovers of basmati rice. If you don’t have rice leftovers, it takes 12 minutes to cook basmati (but make sure you wash it thoroughly). You can make it with one type or bunch…
I made this dish for lunch with friends and served it with hummus, tahini and burnt peppers and everybody loved it, except for my son, Leo, who doesn’t know yet how much he loves eggplants. Alex, my younger son, who…
Does the world need another pancake recipe? Do you need another black t-shirt? This is actually not another pancake recipe, it’s the most cakey pancake I ever made. I make pancakes on a weekly yet I rarely make the same…
When I am craving a good falafel pita but not in the mood of frying, I bake cooked (or canned) chickpeas with tons of cilantro and parsley and onion – same ingredients you make falafel patties with. We stuff them…