A matter of perspective

April 11, 2010 - 2:17 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life 

The Mamilla Mall - another source of bribery?

Driving to an interview this morning, the news talk shows on the radio were full of the latest blips in the frenetic news cycle, as my friend Amir calls it, here in Israel.

Investigative reporter Yoav Yitzhak was claiming that the Holyland property bribery scandal was only one of many that are being dug up; the huge Mamilla Mall Project outside the Old City was also a case of moneyman Alfred Akirov greasing the Ehud Olmert wheel.

The Anat Kamm affair was, of course, still at the front of the line, with security officials and Ha’aretz calling each other names, Kamm’s mom saying she’s a good girl, and Ha’aretz journalist Uri Blau hunkering down in London and refusing to give up the stolen documents he allegedly holds that were allegedly given to him by Kamm. This one’s not going to go away.

And, just as the country prepares for Holocaust Remembrance Day tonight, the Polish presidential plane goes down, throwing Israelis into a connundrum of feeling bad, but not too bad as they remember the terrible things Poles did to Jews in the Holocaust.

I was more than happy to arrive at my destination and shut off the radio. And my interview brought me back to a sense of normalcy. It was with an elderly gentleman who, as a 24-year-old moved to Palestine from New York in 1946 and quickly found himself in the Hagana.

Following a number of adventures, including being in The Jerusalem Post building when it was bombed in 1948, and witnessing the declaration of the state and the war that followed, he returned to the US in the early 1950s, became a rabbi and enjoyed a full life.

Now, only a couple years ago, he made aliya and lives in Jerusalem. Hearing him talk about his dealings with David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir was an example of Israeli history in action. And his observations on the present state of Israeli affairs, contrasting the ascetic behavior of Menachem Begin with that of Olmert, was eye-opening. But his final thought – he’s still optimistic about the future of the Jewish state – left me feeling a bit better as I left his home. When I got back to the car, I left the radio off.

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Ptitim

September 24, 2009 - 8:25 PM by · 5 Comments
Filed under: Food, History and Culture, Israeliness 

Heart-shaped ptitim by Osem

Heart-shaped ptitim by Osem

I’m having a love affair with ptitim. I’m calling it orzo, actually, the Italian name for this rice-shaped pasta, but given that I live in Israel, no one’s letting me get away with that term. You see, orzo, or ptitim, is a staple of the Israeli school lunch menu, the steady side dish to the chicken schnitzel, served with a generous dollop of ketchup. So even when I serve it up with roasted peppers and zucchini and a grating of parmesan, the kids — and, usually, the adults — say, “Oh, ptitim…” But then they eat it up.

According to Janna Gur in ‘The Book of New Israeli Food,’ this Israeli toasted pasta now comes in many shapes, including stars, loops and hearts, but originally was shaped like grains of rice. It first came on the market in the fifties and was dubbed ‘Ben-Gurion rice’ after Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. It seems that Ben-Gurion was the one to come up with the idea to manufacture a substitute for rice, which was in major demand but short supply during those years of rationing. Another version of that same story is that immigrants from the East dubbed the rice-shaped pasta after Ben-Gurion because they were unhappy with their rice rationing.

A handful of orzo

A handful of orzo

In any case, ptitim are now known as Israeli couscous — not Israeli orzo — and this lunchroom fave has since been rediscovered as a versatile carb that can be boiled like pasta or first fried with onions and then cooked in boiling water or stock.

Here’s how I’m cooking them:
1. Roast a few of your favorite vegetables; I like a combo of colorful peppers and zucchini. For me, roasting involves slicing up said veggies into strips, tossing them with a few tablespoons of olive oil and kosher salt, and baking at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
2. In the meantime, cook your ptitim/orzo as you would pasta.
3. Toss your cooked ptitim and veggies together; grate some parmesan on top for some extra flavor.

And here’s a similar orzo recipe from writer Barbara Kingsolver, who has to come up with many ways to use up her bumper crop of zucchini, as written in ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:’

Disappearing Zucchini Orzo
3/4 lb. pkg orzo pasta
1 chopped onion, garlic to taste
3 large zucchini
olive oil for saute
thyme
oregano
1/4 cup grated parmesan or any hard yellow cheese

Bring 6 cups of water or chicken stock to a boil and add pasta. Cook 8 to 12 minutes. Drain. Use a cheese grater to shred zucchini, saute briefly with chopped onion and garlic until lightly golden. Add spices to zucchini mixture, stir thoroughly, and then remove mixture from heat. Combine with cheese and cooked orzo, salt to taste, serve cool or at room temperature.

B’teavon. Enjoy your orzo.

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GA Wrap-Up: Day 1

November 18, 2008 - 1:59 AM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

As written about here, the GA’s in town and so are thousands of Jewish leaders from the US, Israel, and around the world.  So what goes on at this mega-conference anyway?

Here’s one wrap-up:

Edgar Bronfman tells us that at age 36, David Ben-Gurion was the head of the Labor Party. Herzl was 36 when he came to Palestine. Anybody else feel like an underachiever? Suddenly, winning at Sudoku doesn’t feel quite as important anymore. I officially have two years to do something. He says let’s not talk about intermarriage as an enemy but as a reality. He continues, saying that the biggest threats to the Jewish community are ignorance and apathy, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” I have one thing to say to that. WHATEVER.

Edgar Bronfman gets his speech on. E-Bron, if you’re reading this…umm, can I go out with your granddaughter? Grandson? Cleaning lady? I’m not picky.

For a full wrap-up, check out more at What War Zone???

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