It took me years to realize that my husband liked Jerusalem kugel. Once I did, I turned it into his birthday cake. This might be because I only recently discovered the dish myself. Wandering through Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market sometime last year, I encountered — let’s be honest — unappealing …
This is a different kind of sambusak. One I’d never seen before. Sambusak is one of those ubiquitous snack foods around here, somewhere next to burekas. While these deep-fried or baked pockets of dough have a strong association here with Iraqi Jews, many of whom consider them an integral part …
Lentil soup may have been one of the first things I learned to cook. No, this wasn’t even that long ago — I haven’t been cooking my entire life. It was back in college, when I didn’t really know what I was doing in the kitchen and I definitely needed …
As Rosh Hashana approaches, the many symbols of the holiday are again appearing in the markets. There are plump pomegranates bursting with seeds, and juicy green and purple figs, one of the biblical seven species. OK, figs have actually been in season for a while now, but as the holiday …
The night before I was scheduled to visit her in Nazareth, my friend Jida called me. “I have bad news,” she said. “Tomorrow is Eid. Everything is going to be closed.” She added, “I know how much you like the market.” Well, I do like Nazareth’s market, but I was …
I’ve been on somewhat of an arak kick lately. See, I don’t really like arak — I can’t drink it straight, and I despise licorice. But it turns out that I quite like this anise-flavored liquor as a seasoning. Kind of like vanilla extract. I don’t think I’d like to …
We have a watermelon problem. You see, we went a little watermelon crazy at the farmer’s market. Watermelon is one of those things I can’t really buy on my own — it’s too heavy. But here I was with my husband at the Tel Aviv port, and here was a …
This is what we call cucumber season. It’s that sultry time of year when everyone is on vacation and the only thing that’s happening is cucumbers are ripening on the vine. This year we’re having an unusually exciting cucumber season, with the largest social protests in decades, but at least …
This is a stuffed vegetable for the summer, cool and refreshing. The season’s best produce meld into a light green salad of melon, mint and wheat bulgur, while the baked squash shells add another layer of flavor and turn the salad into finger food.
Rosewater adds a fresh, fragrant hint to this salad, and it turns out to be a lovely complement for roasted squash, too. Who would have known? The Moroccans, apparently. Chef Kamal Albaz at Al Maghreb makes a lovely salad of thin slivers of cucumber seasoned with rosewater. The menu simply …
