Rugelach at the Marzipan Bakery in The Shuk

Dear Into Israel Readers,

I’ve been looking forward to this post for sometime, and now that the time has arrived, I’m not so sure.  I will explain momentarily.  I love the food in Israel.  It is outrageously ta’im—tasty, and I usually eat at home.

I have never seen a fast-food, drive-through restaurant here.  Maybe, they are here somewhere; I just haven’t seen them.  Tiny pizza and felafel enterprises are numerous, and when I’m up near King George Street or down in the German Colony, I sometimes stop in for a felafel or shawarma.

Ultra Fresh Produce!

The produce is fresh, actually quite fresh.  When I went on the bus to Haifa, I was shocked at the banana fields, just rows and rows, and acres and acres of bananas.   These bananas taste like the way a banana is supposed to taste.

Ultimate Organic Bananas

Then there’s the hummus, especially the hummus from Abu Gosh.  I know I will never be able to eat the hummus from Central Market or Whole Foods ever again, both grocery stores I love.  And miss, oh, I miss them so very much!  But I don’t miss their hummus, no way, never again, not now!  There, the hummus tastes like some form of mashed potatoes hummus.  The one from Abu Gosh is smooth and creamy with oil and chickpeas floating on top.  It melts in your mouth, just melts, dear Into Israel readers.

They bring the right from the oven bread in on trays!

If I time it right at one of the multitude of bakeries in Jerusalem, the whole-wheat pita is hot from the oven, the steam still escaping from it.  Once I have my base of pita and hummus, I can stuff it with a variety of veggies.

Everyone in Jerusalem goes to The Shuk.  Maybe not every week, but they go.  I am convinced both Whole Foods and Central Market patterned their stores after Jerusalem’s Shuk.

The Shuk probably has on any given day the highest concentration of Jews from every background all squeezed in together more than any other place in the world!

It is a large, crowded, noisy market selling everything, as in everything Kosher.  It’s an outing for me to go to The Shuk, and when I just want to pick up a few things I walk over to a more traditional grocery store like the Super Deal down by the old train station.

The last time I was at Central Market, they didn't have Kippahs for sale!

I had wanted to do a Food post for quite awhile, and exactly the day I planned to begin this post, I received a Path of the Just post from Rabbi Feldman, and this post was all on how we really shouldn’t to be so concerned with food and eating.  I love food, I love eating, and I love watching cooking shows, so I reread the post several times in hopes that perhaps I could spin the words to my advantage, my love of food advantage.   I thought.  I pondered.  I deliberated with a cool dish of ice cream topped with walnuts and Israel’s delectable whipped cream.  Yes, this is truly the land of milk and honey.  The dairy products are so incredible.  The chocolate milk, the sour cream, the cheeses, the yogurt …

Halvah, a national obsession, one must have a super sweet tooth for this!

Yet what Rabbi Feldman is saying is that we shouldn’t be so consumed by food that it takes time and energy away from our spirituality, and I do relate to that as I was spending too much time concocting meals.  My kitchen didn’t come with an oven for Kashrut reasons, so I had bought a small convection oven that Aaron carried home for me when he was here, and I was enjoying baking ta’im dishes.

Steam your Artichokes and serve with 1 part Israeli Lemon infused Olive Oil, 1 part melted Butter, and Kosher Salt to taste!

Now I will strive to keep my food simple, and not be “seduced by its so-called pleasures,” as Rabbi Feldman states.  I will limit my Rugelach intake.  This will be difficult, as the Rugelach has been known to seduce me so much that Lauren has told me to step away from it!

Tov Appetit,

Barbara

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