Rehovot

"nestle" is an excellent word to pair with macaroni and cheese. What a great spring lunch that is!

The salads alone remind me of why I make most stuff from scratch at home. No peppermint Ritter bars, here, though... Darn.

Everything looks lovely, Ilona! Where did the name "Daniel Monster" come from? The coffee mugs filled with chocolate (chocolate spoons, maybe?) are a great marketing idea.

I'm inclined to say this is an American thing; I can't remember it ever happening to me in Europe. Or maybe I'm dining at the wrong places.

The online GourmetSleuth calculator ChefP mentions is the one I use at work to adapt cookbooks for the US/UK market. It's good and precise.

Here's one thread on Oahu, but it's a couple of years old.

Great photos of Ernie and breakfast, especially the first one, which reminds me of how I look with my first cup of coffee in the morning. Looking forward to your week!

Hey, another expat with a Ziploc bag fetish. Thanks for blogging! I wanted to add my admiration of the great colors and textures of last night's dinner--it looked lovely.

I just made banana-bread muffins, today, and there's baking soda in the recipe, along with 1/8 tsp. of vinegar (which hardly seems like enough to really do anything). Other recipes I noticed included buttermilk. (The more ingredients (coconut, chocolate chips, oats, nuts) in banana bread, the merrier, as far as I'm concerned.)

I haven't tried the berry vinegars (or blueberry soup, which is on my list to try) or the pearl sugar, but I can speak to the addictive nature of those ginger (and lemon and cappucino and almond) thins... Other things I like from their food section: --the giant bag of crispy onion bits, for when I feel truly lazy. Great tossed on couscous. --the Daim candy, in the absence of any Skor bars in town. --the pear cider.

I think I've actually posted this before on this thread, but I must reiterate: it's never a good idea to scratch your ear while holding a chef's knife.

The Shabbat meal was gorgeous. I'm still happily full from seeing all the photos of it! I love jachnoun... What are the red and green sauces that come with it? We used to buy ours from a roadside stand, and it was always wrapped in about 20 layers of paper and another 20 of foil. Mmmmmmmm. Jachnoun!

Ah, that pile of strawberries looks incredible! Did you buy anything at the shuk? Do you have a big weekend meal planned? Gorgeous photos... Thanks for blogging!

Wow, your SuperSol makes the one we used to go to look like a run-down 7-11! Ours had none of those gorgeous spices in bulk. I look forward to the shuk photos. What do your sons eat at the midnight meal? Is it a regular thing, or just on the weekends?

Some ideas: --soup and salad --soup and sandwich (roasted-tomato soup + grilled cheese/paninis = ) --bruschetta + toppings (hummus, cheese, roasted veg, marinated eggplant, etc.) --spring rolls --onion tarts (with ready-made puff pastry) --frittata of some sort or a Spanish omelet Good luck!

Yay! I had a hunch it was you, Lior! Please say we'll get to see some shots of your chocolates, this week. (Was the teaser photo with the goats taken near the Dead Sea?) I'm really looking forward to your blog. Kol tov!

Here's mine: 150 cm long. It's about a third the size of our previous kitchen, in Israel. The equally tiny kitchen table is to the right of the fridge, out of the photo.

Yeah...my husband will be in Paris on Valentine's Day so I'm having a party with some of my single girl friends. Hot, spicy foods. Nothing fancy. Nothing French. Lotsa martinis, I hope.

Previous threads which may be of some help: Best Restaurants in Israel Molecular Gastronomy Style in Israel Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beyond (references Mr. Rogov's helpful site) Swisskaese's Foodblog: The Israeli Table I used to like the old port of Tel Aviv for restaurants. B'T'avon! Enjoy!ן

I have to say, the cups look great! I don't have a souffle mold, either; now I think I'll just buy oven-safe cups, instead.

The flavors sound great! I'd also make sure your spices are very fresh. Grate the nutmeg, if possible, and use some high-powered cinnamon like Saigon.

I like these mini savory muffins, which I think I first read about on one of Chufi's foodblogs. Your kitchen just gets better and better, like Ali Baba's cave! Thanks for blogging and have a great party!

From my lazy trek, this afternoon, to the small supermarket across the square from our apartment in Prague 4. Prices are probably lower here than they are downtown but higher than in the suburbs.....so I guess they're average, for Prague--probably higher than the Czech average, in general. (This supermarket is part of a German-owned chain, but all the REALLY good stuff stays in Germany. ) 6 liters (2 1/3 gallons) of mineral water: $4.25 (Avert your eyes, eG-ers...) 2 packages of mixed frozen vegetables: $4.00 pork cutlets (2/3 lb.): $4.70 pork steaks (1/3 lb.): $2.86 organic baby potatoes (1 lb. @ $2.10/lb.): $0.84 clementines (4): $0.92 bag o' lemons (~6 lemons): $1.52 watercress (a big bag!): $1.70 flour (a 2 lb., 3 oz. bag): $0.67 2 little cartons of yogurt: $0.44 bread crumbs: $0.96 cookies (~20 in a pack): $0.73 eggs (10): $1.81 butter (1/2 lb.): $1.93 (risen from ~$1.41 over the last year) Total: $25.37/447.50 Czech crowns 1 USD = 17.64 Czech crowns. (The crown has risen at a record pace against the dollar, in the last year. Four years ago, 1 USD was worth 26 Czech crowns.) Produce is of better quality and cheaper in Western Europe than what you typically get in supermarkets, here, but there are locally dozens of small, independent, Vietnamese-run fruit-and-vegetable shops that have excellent-quality produce. (None within walking distance of where we live, though.)

I'm sure that most of the bride and groom's guests understand that the wedding will be a celebration of both cultures...and everyone will probably take it in stride. If there's still some concern, why not note it on the menu and/or make sure the notes to the restaurant/caterer/venue emphasize which way the bride and groom want the courses to proceed? Our wedding lunch/reception was half Czech and half American, drawing on traditions from both cultures. The little tulle bags of Jordan almonds as favors baffled the Czechs, and the rosemary boutonnieres intrigued the Americans. Anyone who asked about the unfamiliar bits got an explanation, seemed pleased, and then went off to eat, drink, and socialize (in some language) more.

That's a heck of a cliffhanger. Which restaurant are you going to?