Let’s just say that there is no shortage of amazing food in Israel. Here’s a sample of what I’ve been enjoying.

1. Shakshuka (Full House, 198 Ahuza St, Ra’anana, Israel). This dish is made with tomatoes, eggs, onions, red peppers and a special blend of spices. I asked around for the best Shakshuka in Ra’anana and this restaurant came highly recommended. See the green vegetable in the bowl? I thought it was a green pepper. WRONG. It was jalepeno. Lesson learned.

 2. Hummus. Sadly we just can’t get hummus like this in Toronto. This is the real deal. Again – it’s from Full House.

 3. Beer!! I discovered that a microbrewery does exist in Israel and it’s called Jem’s. The founder of this bar/restaurant had a dream and made it happen. Congratulations Jeremy!

  4. Root Salad. My cousin took me for a beautiful lunch in Herzilaya at a restaurant that overlooked the beach. We certainly did enjoy the atmosphere and the salald!!

6. Fatoush Salad: I ordered this salad from Bread Story, (86 Dizengoff, Tel Aviv). Again, many thanks to my cousin for the recommendation! Loved everything about this salad.

 7. Cheese:  Discovered an amazing gourmet food store in Ra’anana called Basher Fromagerie   (89 Ahuza). Naturally I gravitated towards the cheese that was not only colorful but flavorful too!

 

Can you tell that I’m having a great time in Israel? I only have a few days left before I continue my travels to Barcelona where I will continue my food adventures!! #happydance

On my first day in Israel, I went to a beautiful shopping centre. However I didn’t buy anything. But when my friend took me to Eden Natural Market in Ra’anana , I couldn’t stop buying stuff.

Here’s what I went crazy for:

DRIED POMELO

DRIED ORANGE:

DRIED STARFRUIT:

OLIVE OIL WITH ZATAR:

PAPER TOWELS (my mom brought back ONE roll last year and loved it. I was smart (or am I crazy? LOL) and bought FOUR rolls) 

SALAD TOPPINGS

 I bought other stuff too: dried bananas, dried apple with cinnamon, dried pineapples and more. It will freeze beautifully and I know I will enjoy using them in recipes or serving them to guests.

Wonder what goodies I’m going to find next week when I visit Mahane Yehuda in Jerusalem with @funjoel?

Background: I went to Tel Aviv University and lived in the dorms for four years. (1984-1988). I returned to visit in 1996 and in 2009. On my last visit I went to a restaurant in Jerusalem that left such an impression on me, that it was the first thing I did in Jerusalem on my current visit. I went directly on a bus from the Central Bus Station right to Caffit, which is located in the German Colony.

Actually that’s not exactly true, I ordered a beautiful cappuccino from Aroma Espresso, that was perfectly located at the Central Bus Station and THEN got on the bus that would take me to Caffit!!

I knew exactly what I was going to order when I got to the restaurant. Check out the ingredients in this Sweet Potato Salad. 

 

When the salad arrived, it looked and tasted exactly like it did in 2009. Our friendly waitress told us that this salad has been on the menu for the last 12 years! I hope it’s on the menu FOREVER!!

Sadly I didn’t order anything else cause I was too full to have anything else!! Infact, 8 hours later – I’m barely hungry even though TWO of us didn’t eat the entire  salad.

If you visit Jerusalem, please put this restaurant on your list. Pretty Please!!

Caffit, Emek Refaim 35, Jerusalem, 02-563-5284

Lately I’ve been in the mood to share more personal information about myself, and not just recipes or new food products that I love!!

Here’s another true story:

I’m a 47 year old woman who has been to three (that’s right : t-h-r-e-e-) concerts in her life.

1. I went to see the Bay City Rollers with my parents and my sister, in the late 1970’s.

2. I went to see Dire Straits in Israel in mid 1980’s with my good friend, Suzi.

3.  I went to see Rod Stewart with my mom in the late 1980’s

That’s it. Oh I saw Sonny and Cher  as well,  but that wasn’t really a concert and I was probably 8 yrs old so Im not including it.

Going to see a concert was on my bucket list in 2012 and was one of two items that I did not cross off my list.  Till now that is. ! Finally on Feb 16th, 2013, I went to see a concert. Are you doing a happy dance for me? I hope so!! I can now proudly say I’ve been to FOUR concerts in my life!!

I went to see the spectacular Bon Jovi at the ACC – thanks to a tweet from @meredithheron.   She had two extra tickets that I was all too happy to buy (in a nano second).

My friend and I loved the concert. Indeed he’s an amazing performer and a talented singer too. (ok he’s a qt as well – I’ll just throw that in).

I hope it’s not another two decades before I see another concert!!

PS what  concert do you think I should go see next?

 

My mom went to Israel recently for an epic two week trip to visit some relatives that live in Ra’anana.  Over the last few years, I have asked her to bring me FOOD ITEMS from her travels and not handbags, belts, scarves etc. I’m really a foodie and she understands!!

This is what she shlepped in her luggage. (Thanks Mom).

1. Curry Flavored Sesame Seeds and Garlic Flavored Sesame Seeds.

Too funny – I had the wasabi flavored sesame seeds in my freezer from my last trip to Israel!!. Im thrilled to see that this company has expanded their line. Last nite, I made the most delicious piece of terriyaki salmon and added the garlic flavored sesame seeds for added texture and flavor.

2. A Roll of Paper Towels (from Nikol)

We actually fought over this item as she said “I only brought back ONE and I want it”. I begged her to unroll it and give me a quarter of the roll – which she agreed to. Now I should explain that this is not just ANY paper towel. It looks like a paper towel but it’s not. Its a cross between a paper towel AND a jcloth. Once its wet – it acts like a jcloth. How brilliant.

I have friends who are visiting Israel as I type this blog entry, and I’m hoping they squeeze a few rolls into their luggage. At least it doesnt add a lot of weight, right?

3. World Of Nuts – Cholent Mix

I make cholent every Friday and one day hope to blog about my special vegetarian recipe!! I usually buy a few bags of mixed beans and add them to the crock pock. I guess this offers me the convenience of having all the beans in ONE bag. Will find out on Friday.

4. Asian Home Gourmet – Spice Paste for Thai Tom  Yum Soup

Again, I bought these packets on my last trip to Israel only to find out that you can buy them at No Frills or Kosher City. (oops)  Not sure yet if this particular soup is available but I will soon find out.

 

5. Pomegranate Sauce

Im going to have a lot of fun with this sauce and intend on using it in a salmon dish.

Receiving “food gifts” makes me really happy. However I know I’m not going to be happy when I run out!! Good to know that I have friends who regularly go to Israel!!

 

 

 

I can’t remember eating a lot of avocados when I was a kid, but when I was studying at Tel Aviv University, avocados were cheap and delicious so I ate them A LOT. I also noticed that moms were feeding it to their babies everywhere. Apparently, avocados are one of the most easily digestible vegetables out there. Not to mention, it was portable. Moms just walked around with an avacodo in their purse, opened  it up with a plastic knife and started feeding it to their babies with a spoon. No fuss/no muss.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) and because I finished the Sporting Life 10K today – I decided to make an avocado smoothie.

This is what you need: one avocado, 1 1/2 cups milk, 3 tablespoons cane sugar, a few ice cubes. ps. huge thanks to Manotas Organics and Fine Foods for the cane sugar! Instructions; Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend till smooth.

Apparently in the Philippines ,their version of guacamole is a sweet not a savoury. So I tried it.

All you need is: one avocado, 1/4 cup of condensed milk.

Instructions: mash avocado with the condensed milk.

However I have to be honest. It wasnt a hit in our house. We still like it – plain or with a little salt and pepper.

Our favorite recipe for avocado is simply to use it for Taco Nite – which we have once a week. Ola.

For more avocado recipes: visit www.missavacado.com or follow @missavacado on twitter.

I was so in love with my Pomegranate Tool that I decided to pick up the phone one day to call the owner of Shoham in Israel. FYI – Shoham is the brains behind this clever device.

We immediately hit it off. We talked about Loblaws, Costco, Mangoes, Pomegranates, his travels to Toronto, my last trip to Israel etc.

He knew that I had blogged about the Pomegranate Tool and offered to send me TEN more. I knew immediately that I would be using them for a contest.

The box arrived this week and I was thrilled. (little things make me happy, did you know that?).

I wanted to celebrate with a contest when  MOMWHORUNS turns 6 months old…but I simply can’t wait.

Here’s the contest rules:

-the contest will run from Sunday Feb 13th  and will close on Sunday Feb 27th at 5 p.m. At that time I will use random.org to help me select TWO lucky winners.

If you win, I will contact you via email and you will have 7 days to reply. If I don’t hear from you another winner will be selected. Fair?

-only residents of Ontario can participate in this contest. (sorry).

-how do you win?  leave a comment by answering the following question: do you ever make anything with a pomegranate or do you just eat the seeds?

How simple is that? It would be nice if you would subscribe to momwhoruns but I won’t make it mandatory. But it would be really really nice to have a few more subscribers. (hint hint).

Wishing everyone the best of luck.

p.s I will be giving out the remainding pomegranate tools at future events!!

I grew up in a family that loved apples. I grew up eating McIntosh, Granny Smith, Empire, Cortland and even Russet apples.

My love for apples continues…it’s a quick healthy snack and apples can be turned into healthy desserts too. (keep reading)

Recently I became aware that the McIntosh Apple is celebrating it’s 200th anniversary in style!!

The Ontario Apple Growers will be hosting the  Winter Apple Ball! This event  is going to take place on Monday Feb 21 from 11 – 2 at the Westin Harbour Castle in the Metropolitan Ballroom.

For further info click on the link. All the info about this fabulous event will be there.

In honour of the McIntosh Apples’ birthday, I decided to make baked apples for dessert tonite.

I think my family is kinda tired of yoghurt and blueberies with sprinkled granola.

Here’s how simple the recipe is:

INGREDIENTS:

Apples (I used McIntosh but I’m sure this would work with other varieties. Infact other varieties might work better)

butter or margarine (a few tablespoons)

cup brown sugar (a few tablespoons)

cinnamon

pecans and walnuts (optional)

(sorry I didn’t measure…I grew up in a kitchen that didn’t measure anything. My mom is awesome though).

RECIPE:

1. Core apples (simple..well kinda. LOL) I have a apple corer to assist with this step.

2. Mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon (nuts are optional)

3. Stuff the apples with the mixture.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes

VOILA…a dessert that barely took 5 minutes of preparation, required barely any ingredients and is YUMMY.

If you notice in the photos, there’s little bits of orange sticking out. A few years ago, I brought back from Israel, dried orange peel from an incredible store called Eden Teva. I’ve been storing it in my freezer and every once in a while I add it to a few dishes that I make for color and flavor.

Happy 200th Anniversary to the McIntosh Apple!!