The Jody Blum Culinary Institute

August 20, 2010 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Food 

Jody in the kitchen of her Culinary Institute

Growing up, my mother refused to let my brother and me into the kitchen. While this created a carefree cooking-neutral childhood, it hasn’t served me so well as an adult.

Whenever my wife Jody goes away – whether for an evening activity or an overseas trip – I slip into panic mode. Tackling menus terrifies me. Sure, I can follow a recipe, but it takes me at least three times as long as Jody, and I usually burn something or render it otherwise indescribably unusual.

When the issue raised its hungry head again last week after Jody was spontaneously called away at dinnertime, I realized that – after 22 years of marriage – it was time for a change. So I enrolled in Culinary School…run by none other than chef Jody.

As Jody and I began to think about the best way for me to learn to cook, we realized that I was missing even the basics. For example: how to prepare rice.

It sounds simple enough, but there are a lot of steps to ensure the rice is neither soggy nor overly crisp.

So at the Jody Blum Culinary Institute, there will be no assumptions. We’ll start with the basics – like boiling – and move on to more exotic topics such as sauces and sautéing.

We decided to open up the lessons to the rest of the family. To our astonishment, Merav – our 16-year-old cooking whiz – said she wanted to be a student too. She didn’t know how to cook rice properly either. Her big brother joined in too.

Now, some people might just throw some Uncle Ben’s into a pot. Jody’s technique takes a few extra steps – but it’s worth it.

Jody uses only brown rice unless she’s following a recipe that specifically calls for white.

First, you have to measure out the rice. How many people do you want to serve? One cup is enough for our family. Two cups or more are required when you’re hosting for Shabbat. It may seem obvious to the more experienced, but it’s far from intuitive to the kitchen clueless.

The next step is to lightly fry the rice. One tablespoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of salt for every cup of rice. Heat on a low flame and stir while preparing the water – 2 cups for every cup of rice. If you’re like me and you can’t multitask, remember to measure out the water in advance. Seriously.

Then you cover the rice and set the timer. 30 minutes should do it…unless it’s not enough. How do you know? Well, first of all make sure you use a pot with a glass top. That way, you can tilt the pot to see if there’s any liquid left without needing to lift off the top, which ruins the whole process. Smart cookie, that Jody.

It took a lot of hand holding but eventually the rice came out perfect. No one at lunch complained about an inadvertent “barbecue” flavor. It was just rice but I was beaming with pride.

I’ll be chronicling my ongoing adventures in cooking. If you’re culinarily challenged like me, I invite you to follow along. Who knows, someday I might even conquer a quiche!

Tags: , , ,

Foto Friday – A little Italy in TLV

August 19, 2010 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Art, Food, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Picture of the Week, Pop Culture, Profiles, Travel 

There is a lopsided love affair between Israelis and all things Italian. Italians think of Israel as the Holy Land. Israelis think Italy is what Israel could be were it not for the matzav — the word used to describe the roiling, boiling political-diplomatic-religio-ethno-social situation that is our constant reality. Without the matzav, your average Israeli believes, we too could focus on a life filled with beautiful objects, high-quality design, and of course, great food and wine.

Your average Israeli is, as usual, deluding and flattering himself all at once. If anything, Italy’s history is proof that a well-developed sense of aesthetics is possible to sustain, even in times of great conflict. And there’s no reason to think that, even if peace broke out tomorrow, your average Israeli would suddenly put those ass-crack jeans away and don an linen Armani suit in its stead.

Plus, despite the matzav, Israel has fine-tuned its palate over the past 20 years, with award-winning wines, gourmet coffees, excellent cheeses (especially the goat variety), and restaurants that rank four and five stars in leading international guides.

For five years now, restaurant RoniMotti has been serving up freshly made pasta and other Italian delights to the yuppie crowd working feverishly ’round the clock at Tel Aviv’s Ramat Hahayal high-tech park. Owners Roni Belfer and Motti Sofer recenty celebrated the anniversary with a series of photos celebrating their dedicated staff. The pictures are nice way to give a big public “Thank you” to their workers…

as well as pay homage to the persons, places and things that inspire them, like the mother who taught Motti how to cook…

the fresh food ingredients that are Roni’s passion…

and of course, la bella Italia itself…

…as they carve out their own little slice of Italian heaven in North Tel Aviv.

RoniMotti also recently launched an online magazine, Villagio, profiling everything from the Slow Food movement to Frank Sinatra. Hey, if it’s Italian, we Israelis love it! Salute e buon appetito!

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Shearing your way through the Carmel

August 19, 2010 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Travel 

Taking a rest during rock climbing

Here’s a tip if you’re considering hiking Nahal Galim in the Carmel Mountains just south of Haifa: bring a pair of shears.

That’s because much of the trail, which is for the most part quite lovely, also includes several long stretches that wind through narrow paths lined with painfully sharp thorn bushes and thick undergrowth.

Don’t let this stop you, though. Nahal Galim (“nahal” is a “canyon” in Hebrew) has everything you’d want in a “loop trail” – that is, a route that ends up in the general area in which it starts (which was our criteria since we have only one car).

There’s a beautiful canyon with lots of shade (an important consideration in Israel’s hot humid summers); several lovely picnic spots; some magnificent views of the Mediterranean Sea poking through the mountains; and even a small spring and several caves. The trail also has enough ups and downs to feel like you’ve really challenged yourself (it’s ranked on the fantastic tiuli.com site as “intermediate” – I wonder what their “difficult” consists of?)

The trail is well marked – it’s basically green to the bottom of the canyon, a relatively flat blue path along the nahal’s bed, and black back up the hill. Our 12-year-old son Aviv has given a more comprehensive description on the blog he’s keeping about the 12 tiyulim he’s hiking in the run-up to his bar mitzvah next year.

Much of the hiking in Israel, I’ve found, consists of walking and climbing over slabs of disjointed rocks, much more so than a stable needle-cushioned path in, say, a redwood forest in Northern California. Not a problem: Aviv loves rock climbing and Nahal Galim has plenty to spare. After 5 hours, though, it starts to get old and his parents’ middle-aged knees were crying for a smooth patch of pavement.

While we’re not averse to a healthy climb up a mountainside, the ever-present prickles marred our enjoyment of the path (which at times seemed to slip out of sight, although the trail markers remained consistent throughout).

The hike will take 4-5 hours depending on how fast you walk and how many breaks you take (we stop every few minutes for sandwiches and Oreos). To get there, drive up Road 672 in the direction of Haifa University and park in the lot for “Little Switzerland,” then walk downhill towards the “Hai Bar” but turn left before the gate.

And don’t forget your weed-whacker.

Tags: , ,

L’eggo my pizza

August 18, 2010 by · 3 Comments
Filed under: Food, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness 

On the food front, had an unusual slice of pizza the other night. I’m not always all for the Israeli take on foods from other ethnicities, such as corn on pizza or cream cheese and bagels loaded with vegetables. But this was both unusual, tasty and highly filling, with slices of hard boiled egg laid on the pizza and, at the pizza counterperson’s suggestion, I sprinkled some hot sauce on it, a la shakshuka, as a friend pointed out.

It was great, and yes, hinted at the egg-tomato-and-red pepper-sauce flavors in a hot pan of shakshuka. Given that hard-boiled eggs are a staple in the Israeli diet, added to everything from tuna sandwiches to bourekas, it’s not all that surprising to see it added to a pizza. But as someone who rarely gets filled up from one slice, I appreciated the protein gesture. Turns out, egg on pizza is not an Israeli invention. According to the Life in Italy website, the regional Capricciosa pizza includes a topping of mushrooms, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, olives and half a boiled egg. The Zoe food blog turned out a recipe for pesto and egg pizza, while a French pizza combines hard boiled egg and brie. Yum.

I’m going to try my hand at Zoe’s version:

Hard Boiled Eggs & Pesto Pizza
1 store bought pizza crust, or make your own dough. (I bought whole wheat and I couldn’t even tell the difference)
Marinara sauce, enough to cover entire pizza surface
3-4 hard boiled eggs, a great tutorial can be found here
A couple of tablespoons of pesto
About 2 cups shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Slice already cooled hard boiled eggs into thin slices, keeping the yolk and egg white intact in each slice. Set aside.
3. Spread marinara evenly onto pizza dough.
4. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese. Next, dollop some pesto wherever you want it. Top with egg slices and pop into oven for 8- 10 minutes.

Tags: , ,

Israel in the buff

August 18, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, coexistence, Environment, General, History and Culture, Life, Pop Culture, Travel 

The rumors were already rampant in April that world famous US photographer Spencer Tunick was thinking of coming to Israel to stage on of his notorious mass nude photo shoots in Tel Aviv.

Well, apparently whether for budgetary issues or due to already mounting opposition from conservative and religious factions in the country, Tunick has decided to switch venues. And local media reported this week that he’s now planning to come and shoot thousands of naked Israelis in the Dead Sea.

Since 1994, Tunick has been shooting masses of nude people on the backdrop of unique sites and landscapes. Countries are lining up to invite him to shoot in their territory. Tunick apparently is using the opportunity to photograph at the Dead Sea to raise awareness to the fact that the site is under a major threat and is rapidly drying up.

Tunick’s father and grandmother both live in Netanya, and according to Ynet, he has visited Israel a number of times. His original plan to place the shoot at the Tel Aviv Port was apparently going to cost $700,000.

In April, he visited the country to scout for an alternative location, choosing the Dead Sea due to its natural connection between the human body with its healing powers and its natural environment,

According to Ynet, various groups of artists and environmentalists are working to raise the necessary sum to bring Tunick to Israel – a total of $250,000 – for the shoot which would take place in the spring.

Fellow Israelis, begin to disrobe!

Tags: , ,

Page 4 of 9« First...23456...Last »

 

© 2012 ISRAELITY | Site by illuminea | Sitemap