Lentil soup
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Israeliness
So Daniel, my husband, has been hankering to get the recipe for a particular lentil soup at one of our favorite shipudiya joints, Bibi — named for the owner, not the prime minister — in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem.
The soup in question is a yellow lentil soup, laden with turmeric and what has been an unknown spice to us. But instead of just asking Bibi, the friendly owner, I’ve just kept trying different lentil soup recipes, trying to attain the right flavor that we’ve been seeking.
Last night, finally, after many evenings of skewers and chips (the Hebrew term for French fries) — kabob and chicken livers for me, grilled pargit (chicken) for Daniel — we finally asked Bibi for that secret ingredient. He gave it up, hawaij, which is a spice mixture, like the kind that you find in many cuisines, and even took Daniel into the kitchen to show him the pot simmering on the fire. Here it is, Israelity readers, we’re sharing it with all of you:
Yellow Lentil Soup (but no measurements, sorry)
Red/orange lentils
Onions
Garlic
Turmeric
Hawaij
Salt and pepperCook the lentils until soft; saute onions and garlic, add lentils, and add turmeric, hawaij, salt and pepper.
Add water, and you’re done.
A Thanksgiving surprise
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays
You wouldn’t know it by any outside trappings, but for many Israelis of American descent – and for US travellers and tourists finding themselves here today – it’s still Thanksgiving.
Over the years I’ve been here, it’s become more commonplace for Thanksgiving get togethers to take place – mainly to eat the holiday delicacies that we all grew up with, the turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies, etc..
When we first started our Israeli Thanksgiving traditional meal more than 20 years ago, it was a hit or miss gamble whether you can even find a turkey. The butchers at the supermarket meat counters were stumped when we asked for a ‘whole turkey’ as if it was impossible to find – which it apparently was, even though turkey is one of the most commonly eaten food products in the country.
It’s become easier to order a turkey, but you never know what you’re going to get. This year, we had to cancel our traditional meal with a few families because of parent-teacher meetings and work obligations. But because this is our daughter’s final Shabbat at home before joining the army for three years and because our older daughter and her boyfriend is coming for the weekend for a farewell party, we decided to get a turkey for Shabbat.
My wife went in to order it on Monday, and the meat counter guy said he wasn’t sure it was possible, and to come back on Tuesday. On Tuesday he said he could order the bird, and my wife told him not to make it too big. He said it was impossible to tell what would arrive and we would have to just take what came.
I’m going to pick up the big guy in a few minutes – can’t wait to see what it looks like. In the meantime, we’ll join our fellow Americans in Israel in giving thanks – for our families, our health, and our two countries we call home.
Nostalgia Sunday – Turkey Feeder
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Life, Nostalgia Sunday
You would think that Thanksgiving would be a more popular holiday here, given the size of the poultry-breeding industry and the large quantities of turkey meat Israelis consume. Yes, Israel has the highest per capita consumption of turkey in the world at 28.8 pounds annually.
But no, Thanksgiving remains an obscure oddity to Israelis, one quirk among the many exhibited by the “Ameri-kooky” population here. No matter. On one day a year, we celebrate the United States and all the good things it has done and continues to do. We also, as do our Stateside counterparts, stuff ourselves silly with… well, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and, of course, a big roasted bird.
Many of us who worked on kibbutzim as volunteers in the 60s, 70s and 80s, had the dubious pleasure of dealing with turkeys who are, bluntly put, the stupidest of birds. Yes, it’s true, they will look up in a rainstorm and drown themselves. They do peck one another to death. And one of the worst jobs one could get was an all night shift to vaccinate them – the only saving grace was that you were allowed to sleep late the next morning.
And yet, amidst all the stink and squalor of the turkey house, one element stood out, a modern design so strong it could not be ignored. These were the water dispensers manufactured by the Plasson company. Every few meters or so there hung a bowler hat-shaped “bell waterer” made of red plastic that was well-nigh indestructible — try though we might. They were a symbol of Israel’s agri-technological prowess — Plasson has set the worldwide industry standard for 30 years now — and those rosy sawed-off globes glowing under the bright turkey house lights at midnight were a somehow beautiful sight.
The personal eating habits of Israelis
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, Food, General, health, Israeliness, Life
‘What is there to eat?” is a common refrain in our household. And it seems to get harder and harder to find new, innovative dishes to make, as we continue to rely on old standbys. It looks like we’re not alone, as a recent study reveals.
According to statistics compiled for the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce,
Israelis are quite unadventurous in their eating habits. Milk is the most sold product in Israel with sales totaling about $303,214 million in 2009, which marks a 1.7% drop compared to last year. The study was based on 1,500 points of sale examined between the months of January and October, compared to the same period last year.
Coca Cola was the top soft drink in Israeli shelves, with sales totaling $118.4 million – a 2.1% drop compared to last year. According to the Ynet report on the study, bottled water recorded a sharper decline – 6.1%, mainly due to the pollution in the sources of water, which hurt two of the economy’s leading companies.
Dairy products and chicken top the list of what Israelis like to eat. Yogurt products were the biggest sellers, with $251 million being spent. But the biggest jump was in cottage cheese, in which a 10.1% rise was reported. Israelis also spent $231 million on chicken, a
2.6% rise compared to last year.
Other popular products were packaged spreads, like humous – $159.5 million, eggs – $135 million), soft white cheese – $118 million, and hard yellow cheese, which recorded an 8.4% rise in sales. Canned tuna also was more popular, with a 6.1% increase.
But if it seems like we eat relatively healthy, Israelis are certainly not forgetting their ‘sweet’ and ‘salty’ tooth. Salty snacks, like Bamba, which one man last week even broke into a convenience store to steal, set Israelis back $165.5 million) – down 1.6% compared to last year. Sweet snacks however saw a 3.4% rise.
So, I guess my household is within the realm of the average Israeli food consumer – lots of eggs, cheeses and chicken – and a fair share of Bamba. So why do I still keep hearing that refrain, ‘what is there to eat?”
Beaujolais Nouveau
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness
If it’s the third Thursday in November, that means it’s a) the Thursday before Thanksgiving and more importantly, b) the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau, the first wine of the harvest. Drunk when the wine is still young and fresh, the million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau that are shipped from France worldwide each November has become a wine world ritual, and one that is also, of course, celebrated in Israel.
For me, it marks my friend Andrew’s annual party, which he revolves around Beaujolais Nouveau, hounding his local wine stores to be sure that he’ll have enough cases to keep his friends happy. It’s sort of like my annual Thanksgiving bash, for which I order my turkey within plenty of time to thaw it and roast it for my turkey eaters. In another sense, it’s our way of keeping track and abreast of the world out there, and not getting too lost in the ways of our adopted country.
So here’s to young red wine drinking this evening — or tomorrow and through the weekend — and we’ll talk about Thanksgiving next week.
(And a little more explaining about Beaujolais Nouveau:)
AT ONE MINUTE PAST MIDNIGHT on the third Thursday of each November, from little villages and towns like Romanèche-Thorins, over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey through a sleeping France to Paris for immediate shipment to all parts of the world. Banners proclaim the good news: Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! “The New Beaujolais has arrived!” One of the most frivolous and animated rituals in the wine world has begun.
By the time it is over, over 65 million bottles, nearly half of the region’s total annual production, will be distributed and drunk around the world. It has become a worldwide race to be the first to serve to this new wine of the harvest. In doing so, it has been carried by motorcycle, balloon, truck, helicopter, Concorde jet, elephant, runners and rickshaws to get it to its final destination. It is amazing to realize that just weeks before this wine was a cluster of grapes in a growers vineyard. But by an expeditious harvest, a rapid fermentation, and a speedy bottling, all is ready at the midnight hour.
Beaujolais Nouveau began as a local phenomenon in the local bars, cafes, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons. Each fall the new Beaujolais would arrive with much fanfare. In pitchers filled from the growers barrels, wine was drunk by an eager population. It was wine made fast to drink while the better Beaujolais was taking a more leisurely course. Eventually, the government stepped into regulate the sale of all this quickly transported, free-flowing wine.
In 1938 regulations and restrictions were put in place to restrict the where, when, and how of all this carrying on. After the war years, in 1951, these regulations were revoked by the region’s governing body—the Union Interprofessional des Vins de Beaujolais (UIVB)—and the Beaujolais Nouveau was officially recognized. The official release date was set for November 15th. Beaujolais Nouveau was officially born. By this time, what was just a local tradition had gained so much popularity that the news of it reached Paris. The race was born. It wasn’t long thereafter that the word spilled out of France and around the world. In 1985, the date was again changed, this time to the third Thursday of November tying it to a weekend and making the celebration complete. But wherever the new Beaujolais went, importers had to agree not to sell it before midnight on the third Thursday of November.
Apart from the fanfare, what makes Beaujolais Nouveau so popular? And especially in the U.S. where consumption of red wine is less than 30%? Simply put, Beaujolais Nouveau is as about as close to white wine as a red wine can get. Due to the way it is made—the must is pressed early after only three days—the phenolic compounds, in particular the astringent tannins, normally found in red wines, isn’t there, leaving an easy to drink, fruity wine. This, coupled with the fact that it tastes best when chilled, makes for a festive wine to be gulped rather than sipped, enjoyed in high spirits rather than critiqued. As a side note, it makes a great transitional wine for anyone wanting to move from white to red wines.
Finally, the race from grape to glass may be silly, but half the fun is knowing that on the same night, in homes, cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and bistros around the world, the same celebration is taking place. It hasn’t the pedigree to be a classic wine, but it is always good. Any other opinion you may regard as boorish and uninformed.
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