Do You Eat "Artichoke?" Here's a "How To" Guide

The artichoke is a vegetable that looks like a flower or the top of asparagus. 

It's one of those foods I had never even heard of, and certainly didn't eat, until we had been in Israel for awhile. Our family loves them and looks forward to having one as a first course at our Shabbat Lunch.

Each artichoke is a portion.

Before cooking, soak the artichokes in salt water to make sure they are clean of bugs. And rinse very well. Then put them in a large pot with lots of water and cook until the "petals" come off easily. We eat artichokes cold or room temperature.

There's a special technique to eating artichokes. Most people like to eat them with dips of some sort, whether techina, olive oil, mayonnaise, freshly squeezed lemon or anything similar you like.

• Pull off a "petal," check that it's clean, and even wipe on a napkin. 
• Dip the fleshy end, which had been attached to the plant, into your "dip," and pull off the flesh and dip with your teeth. It's easier than it sounds.
• After eating most of the petals, you will get to a sort of "bowl," which is known as the "heart." 
• Pull out the hairy stuff filling it. 
• Add some "dip," and enjoy!
• Artichoke hearts can be found in many freezer sections and is considered a delicacy. People stuff them with chopped meat or rice and then cook.

Enjoy, they are worth the challenge.

How to eat Artichokes!

Painting on Silk, Another New Hobby!

Being old is such great fun. I've been getting to learn new things in the Shiloh 60+ club, like crafts I've only dreamt of or not even realized they could be done by mere mortals like myself. Yesterday, for the very first time in my life I painted on silk and I'm in love with that art medium!

As usual, I had no idea what I was doing. There was also an option to take a printed piece of silk and fill it in with the colors of your choice. A couple of the women were working on those and producing extremely professional looking pieces to either be hung on the wall or finished off as Challah Covers.

The rest of us were more interested in discovering the surprising dynamics of the medium and the various abstract effects we could generate by giving the silk, paint and salt a chance to do their magic. We were also happy with the unexpected lines produced by the "crinkled" plastic underneath the silk.

I plan on wearing the long silk piece, Gd willing. And next time we do this craft, I want to write "שבת שלום" or "המוציא לחם" on the square one to use on Shabbat or Jewish Holidays. The challenge will be finishing them off, the hemming, and lining for the Challah Cover.

I dream of doing this as a "retirement business" and selling unique, one of a kind Silk Challah Covers and pillow cases. Of course it depends on how complicated all of the rest of the production really is. I understand that after they dry they must be "steam-set" or something like that, and then there are the hemming and lining for decorative pillow cases, Challah Covers or wall hangings. I doubt if there's all that much a market nowadays for scarves to wear.  Of course, dreaming and doing are two different things...

Rain! Winter's Back

Shabbat was such a spring-like day. On Friday when I took a walk I even spied an almond tree in bloom. The middle of the Jewish Month of Shvat, now, is when almond trees are supposed to flower, so we just made it.

These are actually two photos combined. See my Instagram page, shilohbatya

We'd been enjoying the break from winter weather and knew to expect winter's return this week. According to the forecast for Shiloh, the entire week will be rainy. 

It's winter, 

and we need rain, 

so can't complain.

But can still kvetch...

yes?

Just before the rain fell this morning

There was enough light from the dawn to make the returning raindrops look like diamonds on leaves and the chair.

Our merpeset, terrace, gets the extremes from all weather, since it's on the southern side of the house. The twenty 20 meters of clotheslines are fantastic for quickly and easily drying multiple loads of wash. When it snows, this is the side of the house that gets the most, though it is also the first to melt.

I have so many things planned for this week, which I hope to accomplish while sneaking past the raindrops. I may arm/protect myself by wearing my father's heavy Land's End winter coat, which we left here when moving him to Arizona.

Looking outside, through south-facing windows, it looks absolutely stormy.

shot with a flash

shot without the flash, plus a drop of "tint" editing

It's the Jewish Month of Shvat when the last of the heavy rains are supposed to fall in the Holy Land. May it be for a blessing, Gd willing.

Picnic Lunch, Eating Creatively

One day last week I went to Jerusalem without packing a lunch nor wanting to eat/buy restaurant food.  I did take a cucumber and mushroom all washed and ready to be eaten with some cottage cheese. Now, I've done the cottage cheese meal before. Every supermarket or even small grocery store offers a "free spoon" if you ask, and that was my plan.

Somehow, I, davka, ended up in a supermarket that had run out of these free spoons. By the time I had discovered that, I had already paid for my cheese and figured I'd somehow manage, which I did.




As you can see, I used the veggies to scoop out the cheese and had a lovely meal in the little park by Safra Square, the Jerusalem Municipality.  I enjoyed watching the trains go by and admired the late winter greenery. It was a nice change of pace for me, and the weather was perfect. It felt like spring, though the trees were still bare. The weather forecast for this week is a return of winter, so I'm glad I had that opportunity to picnic creatively.

Lovely Lunch at RIMON

Jerusalem's restaurant scene has changed so much over the decades. I think there's only one restaurant that has been there for as long as I can remember. That's RIMON. OK, it has changed a lot, going meat, dairy and now both side by side. It has had its ups and downs for sure, and I have no idea if the family of the original owners are still connected to it.

But one thing for sure, it does try hard to stay full and viable. They have a great "business lunch" offered all afternoon. They list a variety of prices and choices for NS49-, NS59- and NS69. Yes, I always go for the cheapest, which is as much as I like to pay for a lunch. A friend is visiting from the states, and we chose RIMON Cafe for our lunch date.

I ordered the Broccoli Quiche, which you can see above. It had a whole-wheat crust and a nice side salad, plus egg and creamy cheese. I ate every single drop. My friend ordered a custom omelet and also "cleaned the plate."

We were satisfied with the service. She got lots of ice in the table water, and I got my requested slices of lemon. As the sun began to set, they turned on more of the heaters.

The WCs are upstairs, so unless there are special handicapped ones downstairs, the restaurant isn't fully handicapped accessible.

They don't seem to have their site in English:
לונץ 4, ירושלים
4 Luntz Street

טל. 1599-50-10-30 / 02-6243712 Tel.
טל. להזמנות קבוצות 054-3077918 Reservations for Groups
פקס: 02-6252199 Fax

שעות פעילות: Hours:
ימים א-ה : 08:00-23:00 Sun-Thurs
יום ו' : 08:00 עד שעה לפני כניסת שבת Friday until an hour before Shabbat begins
מוצא"ש : חצי שעה לאחר צאת השבת Opens a half an hour after Shabbat ends on Saturday night

Complementary Colors and Other Pics

As you know, I'm in three photography groups or programs or apps or however you want to categorize them:

• 52Frames, which I've been a member of for well over three years
• 365Project, click here, shilohmom, for my page
• Instagram, click here, shilohbatya, for my page

Each of these photography groups is different. 

• 52Frames, as you may be able to guess from its name, is a weekly photo challenge. They/It sets a specific weekly theme, photographic technique, and each member sends in one picture which is added to its album, which can be seen on facebook or the site.
• 365Project permits one photo a day, any you want.
• Instagram encourages not only encourages unlimited pictures each day, but also allows "movies."

On 52Frames we had to photograph Complementary Colors for this week, which was really easy, but I did want a photo that wouldn't look like anyone else's. It had to stand out being different. That's why I chose this one.

"Purple and Yellow"
I took some great fruit/vegetable photos, but those purple beads got to me. The last time my youngest granddaughters were over, the two year old played with them... So I put them on top of my "sugar jar," and love the look of those complementary colors.

But since I also love a couple of others, I just have to show them to you. Maybe one of these two would have gotten more attention; I've never been good at guessing these things. It's just that each year when we have this thing, there are lots of photographs of fruits and vegetables. I'd love your comments/opinion.

Train Approaching
Jerusalem Lightrail

Candystripe Rose
Usually the roses on this bush
 are white or the palest pink.
I've never seen one looking like this

Sometimes it's hard to judge which photo to chose for 365Project. There is an option to delete and then upload another one during the day, but I really prefer not to. These are a couple of my recent photographs.

Instagram is sort of like a visual/pictorial facebook or twitter. There are days when I'm not home and I make it a photographic diary showing where I've been and what I've done, all shot and submitted with my smartphone. The advantage of being able to post both still and moving pictures can make it very interesting and enjoyable, but the account is only by smartphones, even though you can see pictures on the computer. I just wasted a lot of precious time trying to find links for two connected pictures, which I'll give you from other media sources. Yes, I gave up.

What do you think of these? They are both on my Instagram page.

As you can see, there's lots going on for us amateur photographers. 

A Different Dinner

I'm one of those people who when home or my usual work routine likes to eat pretty much the same foods for various meals.

• breakfast is some sort of two-egg omelette with an onion plus, as I've blogged.
• lunch (or dinner) and frequently taken with me to work or other places are cooked vegetables with sesame paste as the protein. 
• dinner (or lunch) is cooked chicken (or beef) leftover from Shabbat cooked up with more low carb vegetables.

Today I didn't eat my regular meals. I had a late lunch out , a Broccoli Quiche and Salad, (bli neder will blog about it in the future) with a friend. And when I got home it was dinner time, and I just wasn't in the mood for chicken. 

So, I took a piece of frozen salmon, set it up on a paper-lined baking dish with a big piece of cabbage and an onion.  I dribbled some vegetable oil on top and baked it until it was ready. Sorry, no, I can't tell you how long for two reasons:

1. I didn't pay attention.
2. My oven is horrendously slow, small and slow. Yes, that's one of the reasons I need a new kitchen.

When it was ready, I served it with a bright red tomato. I didn't even season it. Everything tasted perfectly delicious.

Yes, there are days when you really need to break out of the routine.

A New Computerized Bus Sign

Israel, like many modern countries has screens by the bus stops which indicate when the various buses should be arriving. Granted that they aren't always accurate, but they are sure better than just guessing.

Not long ago, I had complained that the bus stop I use frequently to catch a bus in the direction of Shiloh didn't have one of these. It's the stop on Sderot Eshkol by Ammunition Hill. Over the past few months, I had seen signs of potential construction, but since it just wasn't happening I almost gave up.

Davka, today when I got to the bus stop, I saw that it was up and installed.

Wonderful! Thank Gd!

Another Reader!

Our 1st Grader granddaughter has joined us as a reader.

Yes, it's nice to know that she's on the right track.

Time for a New Kitchen

Our kitchen, like our house, is over thirty years old.

It's a mess. I didn't clean it up for the photo at all.

The tiles on top make this a
giant hotplate, and by having a
bench along the right side, the
entire family could sit around
this "table."

Things are falling apart, and some of the crucial planning is totally out of date, like the size of the niche for the stove/oven. When we got our latest refrigerator, our son had to raise the closet over it, since the new one is taller, and a bit slimmer than the old one. Luckily the cabinets were constructed in sections, and he's very talented, so he did it himself. I'm really lucky that he was living with us at the time or we would have had to spend on a carpenter/handyman.

I remember the design time for this kitchen as my not being terribly involved or "fussy" about details, but when I mentioned it to my daughter, she told me that she remembers my very innovative demands and requirements for the kitchen and rest of the house. That has given me a bit more confidence.

 It's taking me ages to get my act together and actually fully plan what I want. In order to help me, my friends took me on a "field trip" to a "kitchen store" to show me what's new. I have seen some of it in people's homes, but not all.

My mind has been buzzing with ideas and images of how it should look and even solutions to possible problems. One of my really crazy ideas is to produce some of the "tiles" as family-designed mosaics. Yes, that's how much I enjoy my "new hobby." I'm sure that the rest of the family would, too.

Kitchen construction has changed enormously since our kitchen was done. And since ours is open to the dining area, which is at the end of the living-room, some styles aren't all that appropriate. Luckily, things have changed a lot in the past thirty-something years.

No, that's not me.

I still feel like I haven't a clue how to go about it all. Besides the basic design, which I feel is getting closer, I need to find the right workmen, carpenter, plumber and someone to close off the doorway we haven't been able to use for about a decade.

One of my sons actually works for a company that does these things, but they won't go as far as Shiloh, sigh...

Pishers' Guide to Jerusalem #13, Hadar Mall: What Public Toilets Should Be

This is a continuation in my ongoing series about public toilets in Jerusalem. See #12, #11, #10, #9,  #8, #7,  #6,  #5, Saved by The First Station aka #4a, #4, #3, #2 and #1

The Hadar Mall is in the Talpiyot neighborhood of Jerusalem, not far from Emek Refaim. You can find almost anything you want in the Hadar Mall, such as my favorite meat restaurant, Gingi's, all sorts of clothing and household shops, OK the same chains you find all over, Osher Ad, which is a very popular discount supermarket and of course a variety of food places. 

There seems to be a large public toilet set-up on each floor near the elevators. Look up for the icon to guide you. Sorry no photo.  I was there early evening, and everything was clean and in order. The toilet has a sensor flush which is good; the less you have to touch the better. As you can see there's a bag in the small "garbage" and a full roll of toilet paper. I've never found it smelly, as if forgotten to be cleaned. There are also the electric sensor hand-dryers.

And as you can see, there are lots of sinks and mirrors. Maybe they should add more soap dispensers, but otherwise no complaints. As you can see, it's also very roomy. This is the main floor near the large food court.

It's nice to be able to write something nice. Use in good health!

Stout Beer, Big is Not Always Best

Doug serving the tasters

My friendly beer mavin, Doug Greener, has finally released the results of our Stout Beer Tasting, and I was certainly surprised when we discovered the names of the craft beermakers. I'm not a real expert, not even close, but I do like beer. I actually like it better than most wines, but we don't serve beer, since my husband doesn't drink it. Also, here in Israel beer is pretty expensive, yes, even compared to the lower priced (which I buy in Rami Levy which has good prices) kosher wine.

That's me, photo by Mike Horton

Tasters putting their taste in words

Those stouts are sure fizzy

Rather flatter in height

One of the things we were told to pay attention to was the height of the beers' head and compare the various ones. Of course, for us judges, they are simply numbered, and we had no idea which companies' we were drinking.

Doug is in touch with various Israeli craft beermakers and always has something new for us. Also, although some of us judges are regulars, there's always someone new.  We all try to help Doug and his wife Trude as much as possible.

Mike Horton doing two jobs at once, judging and photographing.

I have no doubt that you're curious about which Israeli stout beers we liked the most and which we didn't like at all. That is the point of this post. I wouldn't want you to waste your money when you buy Israeli beer, which is not cheap at all.

As I alluded to in the title of this post, davka, the biggest companies came out with the worst stout beers. And this time, the panel was all in agreement as to the two best and two worst of the six. That surprised me even more than our results.  So, it's not a matter of any basic disagreement among us. All of us tasters agreed on those very basic rankings. It hadn't happened in the previous tastings I had participated in when the same beer could be in the top or bottom two according to different judges. 

Now for the drum roll....

• Sixth and last place, Jem's Stout- I found it much too carbonated tasting artificial
• with Dancing Camel's Stout a close Fifth- not much flavor
• Second Place was Malka's which had a nice pleasant taste
• and First Place was Lela Mild Stout which had a wonderful aroma and taste.

So, if you're wondering what to bring me, now you know! Thanks to Doug for another wonderful experience and tasty, refreshing evening.

Photo by Mike Horton