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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

The Judas Tree of Israel

A Purple Judas tree A month or so after the almond blossoms are gone, the beautiful flowers of the Judas tree show up in loud purple glory in Israel.

Sending a Child to the Army

Copy right: Goldberg  Some Israeli soldiers - just look how young they are. This week I helped friends of mine give a send-off party for their 18-year old son. He wasn't going to university or work in another city. No, he was off to join the Israeli army.

The wild mustard flowers of Israel

The wild mustard is growing yellow and everywhere in Israel at the moment. But not the kind of mustard that you eat with ketchup on your hotdog! Wild mustard as in wild mustard plants! :) I am talking about  Sinapsis Arvensis , a tiny yellow flower that grows in masses in fields, along road sides and abandoned building sites. Up close the wild mustard flower does not look like much - a bit on the puny side actually. But just come across a field filled with mustard flowers and you will be enchanted - just as I am every spring.

Are Israelis Rude?

Photo by  Ken Bosma   Israelis are often described as prickly pears - thorny  on the outside but sweet on the inside! It is the first day in an ulpan (Hebrew class) in Israel and one of the new immigrants raises his hand and ask: "Excuse me teacher, but can you please tell me how to say 'Please', 'Thank you' and 'I apologize' in Hebrew." The Israeli teacher (clearly baffled) looks at him for a while and then asks, "Why?" One does not hear the 'magic words' too often here in Israel. And yes, Israelis can also be quite rude. Let me count  the ways: They elbow you out of loosely-formed "queues" They steal parking spaces right in front of you If When they get mad they yell and/or swear loudly Their dogs do its 'business' in front of your house and nobody picks it up They love to interrogate you about your salary, religion or why you aren't married. And if you are married they ask why you do not have children. Or

Purim in Israel

©Flavio  Is it the kids who like to be dressed up for Purim or the mommies who like to dress up their kids? One can still buy "oznei haman" in the supermarkets in Israel and so I thought that: 'Well, Purim may be over by now but one cannot have a blog about Israel without talking about Purim! "Oznei haman" (Haman's ears) by the way are special triangular shaped cookies that is eaten during Purim.

Snow in Israel

An orchard covered in snow Yeah, snow in Israel. I know that sound totally oxy-moronic. People are supposed to be like flash-fried here whenever they stand outside for too long, not frozen into ice lollies!

The End of the Winter

Almond blossoms are the first sign that the winter is near its end. In the United States the groundhog is used to predict the end of the winter. I may have it wrong but apparently if the groundhog comes out of his burrow and can see his shadow then winter will lasts for another six weeks. In Israel the almond trees tell us that winter is drawing to an end. They are the first trees to blossom and brighten up the landscape with unexpected dots of pink and white. It is almost as if the landscape are draped randomly with large swathes of lace.

A Very Wet Winter by Marina Shemesh

A soaked rose When you think of the land of Israel, images such as camels, deserts and thirsty palm trees pop into your mind. This country is, after all in the middle of the Middle East.  And the Middle East is known as hot (weathered!) area.

Happy Birthday Mister Tree - by Marina Shemesh

An olive tree with Haifa harbor in the background and my youngest playing around with her red balloon . Yesterday, we celebrated the birthdays of all the trees in Israel.

Living in “In spite of it all” street by Marina Shemesh

My street name is called Af Al Pi Chen - a bit strange sounding, I agree. Especially when you say it out loud. What is even more strange, is that Af Al Pi Chen is Hebrew for “In spite of it all”. Sometimes it is translated as "nevertheless", "nonetheless" or "notwithstanding".

Popular posts from this blog

The wild mustard flowers of Israel

The wild mustard is growing yellow and everywhere in Israel at the moment. But not the kind of mustard that you eat with ketchup on your hotdog! Wild mustard as in wild mustard plants! :) I am talking about  Sinapsis Arvensis , a tiny yellow flower that grows in masses in fields, along road sides and abandoned building sites. Up close the wild mustard flower does not look like much - a bit on the puny side actually. But just come across a field filled with mustard flowers and you will be enchanted - just as I am every spring.

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

Sarah Aaronsohn - the 100 year-old heroine of Zichron Yaakov

Wikipedia Public domain Well, actually she has been around for more than a 100 years now. Sarah was born on the fifth of January 1890 and in 1917 died from the gunshot wounds of an attempted suicide. Our common home town, Zichron Yaakov, recently held the 100-year old anniversary of her death. In the suicide note she wrote: “I no longer have the strength to suffer, and it would be better for me to kill myself than to be tortured under their bloodied hands.”