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Israeli street food – the magnificent and humble boureka

The square shape of the bourekas tells us that they are filled with a potato filling One does not have to spend a long time in Israel to get your first introduction to a boureka. These savory stuffed pastries are everywhere You'll find them for breakfast in hotel dining halls, in countless bakeries and coffee shops, on picnics and even at restaurants that only serve bourekas. They are often eaten in Israeli homes as part of a 'light' or diary meal in the evenings. (Most households in Israel usually serve the large cooked meal at lunchtime.) More often than not, bourekas are also an integral part of the wonderful Friday or Shabbat brunch table. To be really honest however, you basically eat a boureka whenever you encounter one. They are that irresistible. If you stop to grab a quick coffee at a coffee shop, the comforting smell of the bourekas will convince you to upgrade to a 'café ve'ma afe' (coffee + pastry). Wandering through street markets, the sight of fres

Orange Cake












Copyright  http://www.flickr.com/photos/copleys/

I  used to work as a kindergarten teacher in Israel as a new immigrant. Just like any kindergarten over the world we would work around some kind of subject. Sometimes we talk about the Jewish holidays but also have subjects like the seasons of the year, colors or the family.

One of the major subjects of winter is...maybe you have guessed it? Israel, Jaffa...those fruit you eat in the winter? That's right...ORANGES!

During the winter we celebrate oranges, anything to do with oranges and many other citrus fruit too. (Pensioners for example are addicted to grape fruit juice, here. Don't ask me why!?). And every second person in Israel is either peeling himself an orange, drinking orange juice or eating orange cake during the orange season.

And of course the young'uns need to be brainwashed properly, so we talk A LOT about oranges in the kindergarten. To show their parents that we have done a good job, we send their darlings home with a piece of orange cake AND a recipe. Just in case they grew up in a foreign country, or had an inattentive kindergarten teacher and missed out on all of the orange teachings!

The smell of this wonderful orange cake is intoxicating and it tastes fantastic too. Growing up in South-Africa, I of course missed out on the whole orange-education but I got re-educated real quick and am now a total orange cake fanatic. Here is the recipe,but be warned: the smell is intoxicating and you just may insist on making this cake a lot!

Orange Cake

Four eggs, separated
Three quarter cup of orange juice
A teaspoon full of orange peel zest
Half a cup of oil
One teaspoon vanilla essence
Two cups of self raising flour
Half a cup of sugar

1. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until white and fluffy.

2. Mix the egg yellow with the sugar until the mixture is light colored.

3. Add the vanilla, oil and zest and mix well again.

4. Add the flour to the yellow egg mixture and then the orange juice. Mix very well again.

5. Gently fold the egg whites in.

6. Bake in an oiled cake pan at 150 degrees Celsius (305 Fahrenheit) for about 45 minutes or until the cake is done.

7. Stick a tooth pick in the cake to see if it is ready. Leave it another ten minutes in the oven if the tooth pick comes out with dough sticking to it.

This cake is delicious warm from the oven. Not too hot though! Do not burn your tongues. The wonderful smell and taste of baked orange juice and zest will ensure that your family members will polish off this cake in a few minutes.

For people who like their cake a bit sweeter, I recommend that you drizzle icing sugar mixed with a little bit of water over the cake while it is still warm. Now go and make the cake and enjoy!

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