Cool, fresh drinking water. Westerners turn the faucet on and take it for granted that good water will flow out, but in many countries fresh water is a treasure, gained by hard work. In rural villages all over the globe, people – usually women and children – fill buckets and jerry cans from a communal […]
Tonight, Sunday the 9th of September, marks the first day of the Jewish New Year 2018, Rosh HaShanah 5779. The holiday extends until Tuesday September 11th at nightfall. There are four holiday meals to prepare – five, if you include late afternoon of the second day, and that’s not to mention formal or informal breakfasts […]
You need to fix a meal, but it’s too hot to spend time in the kitchen. Let fresh tomatoes come to the rescue. Caprese salad, an Italian mix of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, is the appetizer you can put together in minutes – the snack to serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices – the […]
The world has been feeling the effects of global warming on food crops for a couple of decades already. Wheat and corn harvests are diminishing all over the planet, due to extreme weather changes and pests that thrive in heat. Laurie Balbo showed us some grim predictions about the future of our daily drug of […]
Fancy some fresh bread, right out of the fire pit? It was fresh…14,400 years ago. Until recently, it was thought that the earliest bread, discovered in the 9,500-year-old settlement of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, was the product of Neolithic grain farming. But charred crumbs discovered in northeast Jordan reveal that Paleolithic hunter-gatherers in this region ate bread […]
The summer glut of tomatoes is here. Take advantage and roast some to bake into a summery quiche. This is a deluxe quiche, one that requires time and a mindset that enjoys leisurely cooking. Roasting the tomatoes and peppers brings out their natural tart/sweetness, while spinach and caramelized onions contribute an earthy note. The quiche […]
Hot weather seems to call for cold dinners like our chilled, herbed tomato soup. But don’t wait for cooler weather to fix this savory cannellini (white kidney) bean soup. It’s packed with energizing vegetables and protein; filling, but light enough to need rounding out with salad and good bread for a satisfying dinner. If you […]
You don’t have to love your boss who came to dinner, nor your kid’s friends who likely will gulp down the food and rush off. You don’t even have to cook for anyone else. The simple act of cooking enriches your soul. Cooking empowers you. Let’s say you want to cook our easy baked […]
It’s July, a good month to forage. See any dandelions out there? If those bright yellow heads are popping up in a field or nearby lawn, you have the raw materials for a good home brew at hand. I once lived in Safed, a hilltop town with snowy winters; just the right climate for dandelions. From May, […]
Sometimes, when I’m scouting out the produce at the shuk, I can’t resist bringing home a big, leafy bunch of fresh Swiss chard. I imagine all kinds of wonderful dishes to make with it, but usually I give in to laziness and just sauté the white stalks in olive oil with onions and garlic, adding […]
If you love almond butter and hate paying its high price at the store, make your own! It’s easy, and takes less than half an hour. What you need are raw almonds, salt, a clean, dry jar and either a food processor or a heavy-duty blender. Then you can indulge in almond butter smeared on […]
Our previous post about this under-reported eco-disaster made some ripples in the media, but it’s a mistake to assume that the flames have already died out. Three months of daily attacks have caused staggering environmental damage to Israel’s southern communities and nature reserves. Every day brings fresh news of fires and damage. It started with […]
How often have you brought a watermelon home and cut it open to find it watery and bland? Disappointing, right? But read on to discover the signs of a sweet, juicy melon. Next time, you’ll spot the best one in the lot. First, pick it up and feel its weight. If it’s heavy for its […]
Do those look like condoms? But they are. Gazan protesters are pumping helium requisitioned from hospitals to send condom-balloons as far as possible into Israeli areas. The condom-balloons have explosives attached to their tails. Some can be ignited by remote control. Helium condoms have made their way to Israeli homes. On Sunday, a family in […]
Molotov cocktails and chemical bombs tied to kites and helium-filled balloons have been launched from inside Gaza for the past 78 days. The fire bombs ignite when they land on the Israeli side of the border. Low-tech tactics, but they work. As of this writing, 412 fires have blazed in Israeli farm fields and conservation […]
Nothing is more evocative of summer evenings than the odor of grilled food wafting around the yard. Even if you don’t have a yard, but only an apartment balcony. Chicken is much easier on the environment than other meats, so I recommend these quickly-cooked, spicy/sweet chicken wings for an unfussy barbecued meal. As a young […]
In Cuba, guarapo is simply freshly-pressed sugar cane juice, and is drunk on the spot, without waiting for it to ferment. But in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Mexico, they homebrew guarapo from pineapples or oranges, and the fragrant fluid sits on the kitchen counter top to ferment until it’s bubbly. I learned to make guarapo de […]
The delicate, elegant ladybug makes an innocent playmate for a child – as long as it consents to wander around a little open palm. Too soon, it will open its spotted wings and take off again. It has places to go and aphids to eat. For while the ladybug looks so charming, it actually has […]
We’re still hungry for soup – chilled soup. Our vichyssoise recipe is delicious, but now we’re on track of something not only cool, but also colorful, and bustin’ out with Vitamin C to help us withstand the summer heat. Tomatoes fit the bill perfectly. And this tomato soup recipe could hardly be easier to make. […]
What will future archaeologists discover about how you lived when they go through your garbage? Studying societies by investigating what people threw out was established as an academic discipline back in 1973, at the University of Arizona. They named it Garbology. So what will your garbage say about you, in a generation or two? Hopefully, […]
Just because summer is already full on, it doesn’t mean you have to stop eating soup. If you’re craving a soothing, savory dinner in a bowl but don’t want to raise a sweat eating it, vichyssoise is just the ticket. The recipe is based on a traditional French leek and potato soup, and was first […]
Sabras – prickly pears – opuntia ficus-indica. The reddish-purple sabra fruit is ripening in empty lots and gardens all over Israel and the Levant. But you have to know how to pick them. As one who ignored the warning cries of experienced foragers and grasped a ripe sabra with my bare hand, I know. The […]
Soy has been touted as a source of perfect protein for decades. It was believed that soy prevents breast cancer and heart disease. Women built soy into their diets as a nutritional shield against breast cancer. Soy-based baby formula was hailed as a convenient and healthy alternative to mother’s milk. In 1999, the FDA authorized […]
Cauliflower is enjoying a big trend among dieters and health-conscious eaters. That’s because the vegetable has almost no calories and almost no starch. And it has so many phytochemicals – biologically active plant compounds – that listing them all here would make you think you’re reading a leaflet from a multi-vitamin box. Cauliflower is such […]
Eggplant is the poor man’s meat in the Middle East, but when you serve it stuffed with good local cheese and sweet cherry tomatoes, it’s a luxury. We also do a variation on eggplant Parmesan, here. This recipe is different in that the eggplants are simmered whole in water before filling and baking, rather than […]
