Israeli Hummus

Israeli Hummus with Tahini

I am attaching the link to the most delicious hummus I have ever eaten!  This recipe is courteous of Orly, my wonderful host and culinary instructor in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Her website is "CookinIsrael".  Click on the following link to find her recipe and make your own delicious hummus!  http://www.cookinisrael.com/cooking_vacations_hummus.html

You will also find other wonderful recipes from Orly including green hummus.  She is very active on facebook, posting pictures almost daily! Like her on facebook  and be apart of her culinary experiences.  Better yet book a trip to Israel for weeklong culinary classes with Orly!

Hummus from the Carmel Market

The photograph at the above is hummus that we enjoyed, as a class,  at the market Thursday morning.  The hummus is smoothed to the periphial of the plate and the center is then topped with a tomato mixture, fried egg and fresh herbs.

Another equally delicious dish is the Fava Bean Dip.  The only place I enjoyed this dish or even saw it on the menu was in the market.  It starts with Fava Beans which is then topped with tahini, fresh parsley and chili powder.

The last two photographs above show a shopkeeper making pita.  It was a tiny little discreet place. No shop sign or window to gaze through.  Orly led us through the maze of corridors and we simply followed our noses!  To watch him cook the pita under the electric covers was so interesting. Really unlike anything I have seen before.

And now my friends, I am properly famished so I believe I will go make some hummus!!

And Away We Go!

Life Unexpected! Sometimes we think life tosses a big ole wrench into things and you wake up one day wondering, "what in the world is going on here?"  The important part of this picture is that you do wake up.  You wake up and you get up, put on your big girl panties and think okay ... this is different but I can do this.  This is new, maybe a bit uncomfortable but is my cup half empty or half full. Ponder this for a minute... Think back to when you were 8 years old. Was your cup half empty or half full? Studies show that you are born with a level of happiness that you typically only deviate from plus or minus a bit...always coming back to the original, happy version of yourself.  And I realize that my cup was always half full!  Yeah and I have never lost my childish enthusiam so the catapillar becomes a butterfly and flutters off into the sunset!...Well kinda. She needs to learn to fly again and so away we go!

This is me in the market in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Yes, Tel Aviv.  Yes, the week the missiles were launched from Gaza.  Have I ever been in an active war zone? No, but now I can cross that off my list!  What was I doing in Israel you might ask?  Well basking in the sun on the beautiful beaches, looking for amazing shells and seaglass.  Taking long walks to Jaffa Port.  Visiting Jerusalem.  Taking a cooking class with Orly, a local woman who opens her home and her heart to travelers who love all things culinary!  Eating the most amazing hummus and I do mean it was some kinda good! Served with warm pita right out of the oven.  Soul food baby...just good for the soul. Falafel...ate my first falafel. Ate it, ate it again and again and again.  Could not get enough of it.  Superb!  Falafel is deep fried ground chickpeas or fava beans (hee hee remember the movie Silence of the Lambs! "I ate his liver with a side of Fava Beans") or both usually containing some herbs.  The food in Israel is fantastic. Fresh, fresh, fresh!  I wanted to buy one of everything in the market and bring it home! Dishes are simple using just a handful of ingredients.  And the olive oils are amazing! It is so cool how the restaurants that are truly kosher have two different kitchens to keep certain foods separate. I have a true appreciation of the Israeli culture.  More to come...