Food for Thought

Dear All,

The sun is out and the weather is absolutely perfect! Yesterday, we had a Purim performance for all the kibbutz kids and then I lapped up as much sun as I could (I lathered on the sunscreen). I lay in the park on a blanket for a while and then retired to my room where I made a huge batch of oznay haman (or hamentaschen) for our Shabbat dinner. Dinner was also held outside for the first time and there was fresh challah and loads of fresh veggies. It was a good end to a good week!

At dinner last night I was talking to some friends about how I usually write a blog post every Sunday. They suggested that this week, instead of writing a detailed account of my week, I should write down all the recipes I’ve used thus far. I thought that was an interesting idea, so I am going to go ahead and share a few:

Humus:

1 cup dried chickpeas

1 cup tahini

1 lemon (juiced)

2 cloves garlic

Cumin, coriander, salt and pepper to taste

Soak the chickpeas over night. Cook them for about an hour and a half until they are soft and then let them cool in the refrigerator for an hour. When the chickpeas have cooled, put all the ingredients together in a bowl and blend them together. The end! Short and sweet! Enjoy the humus within a few days.

Shakshukah:

½ onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 pepper chopped

1 can of roasted/diced tomatoes (or fresh roasted and diced tomatoes)

Cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs

Put the peppers in a pan and sauté in olive oil. When the peppers begin to soften, add the onions and garlic as well as salt and pepper. When onions start to turn golden, add the tomatoes, cumin, coriander and paprika and let simmer for a wee bit. When things get all bubbly in the pan, take a spoon and clear a little hole in the center of the sauce. Crack two eggs in the center and cover the pan with a lid until the eggs are cooked. When the eggs are cooked, take the pan off the stove and enjoy immediately (in the pan) with a piece of pita.

Yogurt with Eggplant:

2 scallions

1 medium-sized eggplant (about 3/4 pound)

2 cups plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed to a pulp

3 T. minced fresh mint

3/4 t. salt

Olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Cut scallions into thin pieces. Put in a bowl of ice water and refrigerate for an hour. Cut the eggplant in thick slices and coat them in the olive oil (you may need more, I find) and cook on the stove until limp. When finished, peel the skin away from the flesh and mince the flesh. In a bowl, combine the eggplant flesh and the rest of the ingredients (including the scallions, which you should drain and dry). Mix well and (in my humble opinion) let everything sit in the fridge for a little bit before serving so all the flavors blend together. Serve on top of your lamb or on a pita or whatever. This dish is delish!

That’s all the recipes I am going to write out for now. Perhaps next time, I will go add Oznay Haman and Challah and a few more! We’ll see!

Before parting, I just wanted to say that I am still doing well. For a few days there, I felt like a chicken with its head cut off. There was a lot of choreography I didn’t know very well; I didn’t know how I was doing in class; I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in Israel and if I was, how I was going to go about doing that etc, etc.  To remedy all of this, however, I have taken to videotaping repertoire and myself and have started talking to people about dance in Israel among other things. To top it all off, I have started taking pilates lessons on reformer machines. I have had three classes and can already feel the change in my dancing. Yes! Sooo now I feel a bit calmer. Here, by the way, is a clip of my most recent little adventure in the studio – sorry for the 20 second intro of me doing nothing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jUtAd047hI

Okay all, until next week! Sending love, Marissa