Pam R

I don't know the Calgary market at all - though I would assume there are plenty of people out there willing to eat good food in good restaurants. What exactly constitutes Ukrainian fine-dining? The places in Winnipeg that offer Ukrainian food (and seem to be incredibly successful) are serving up what I would call homestyle foods. Lots of perogies, cabbage rolls, etc. Good food, but not high-end.

in certain hotels, if you call room service, ask nicely, and remember to tip well, somebody will arrive at your door with a bucket of ice

Michelle - todah rabah! I thoroughly enjoyed your blog - it was beautiful. Though I enjoyed your last blog - this one for some reason, really brought back all sorts of wonderful memories for me. (I've even started to think fondly of my time working on kibbutz Ein Tzurim.) I could taste the fruits and the goodies from the markets and the juice (watermelon ) and cheeses and everything else you've shared with us. I'm ready to plan my next visit. Bishana haba'ah. Thank you again.

That photo looks suspiciously familiar. The Negev is gorgeous- and I remember staying on a kibbutz in the Negev that was green and lovely (though I think they had factories, not farm) - but is there a lot of growing in the Negev? What kind of crops, if any?

What is red tehina? The honey looks gorgeous - I'd be stocking up on it for next month!

In her cookbook Sugar, Anna Olson has a recipe for a chocolate peanut-butter 'cup'. I only made it once - but recall that it had a chocolate crust that I baked in muffin tins, then filled with a peanut butter/whipped cream (and maybe cream cheese?) filling - and topped with a chocolate ganache. It was good. We called them Reiss's peanut butter cups. I should find that book.

I'm probably the only one having nightmares about Pesach already, eh? Coffee/tea and some baking is always good for arrival from synagogue. I always liked my baba's milky vegetable noodle soup for break-the-fast. Keep it light - yet substantial . (does that make sense?)

Shabbat Shalom Michelle. Thanks for all the pictures so far - I'm looking forward to seeing your dinner.

Geez Michelle - I don't see any signs for water anywhere . How tall was he? I love everything you've shown us so far. Everything. If I had the time and the money, I'd get on a plane tomorrow to join you. Everything is so different in the two countries we live in - I miss the juice stands and the bakery stands and the salads and pita! I took a look at the store's website you linked to (for the tasting). it looks great - I was even able to understand some of it (I really need nikudot ). Can't wait for more. Lila tov!

Welcome to eGullet Alex&Rufusmom! That's what we're here for - to learn and share. Good luck with the pastry!

I like 'em. As long as the cleaning isn't a problem, I say use them.

You chose carrot juice over lemonana?? I love the fruit sculptures! Can't wait to see some pictures of Jaffo - I have very fond memories of strolling around town, enjoying a fresh hot borekah - I think you should have a borekah tomorrow. Lila tov!

What a great idea! We carry a lot of Israeli products - whatever we can get. This could be a whole new foodie career for you. I'll be your first customer

Can you ship us some of that cheese? Please? My Israeli dairy supply has stopped - and even at the best of times I can't get that variety. Beautiful.

yep ... convection does speed most things up. Also, if you're making something like a creme brulee, the fans can cause problems if it's too strong. I'd stick to the conventional oven for those as well. (I'm sure I'll think of more items that work better in one over the other)

But it's good fried chicken!! (Actually, all I ever had in Israel was turkey - not chicken).

As I've posted before, my family rarely sits down to Shabbat dinner together - not because the desire isn't there - but because getting dinner together on Fridays is difficult. It's often our busiest and hectic day at work. This Friday a couple of things happened that put me into a very Shabbat-y mood. A young woman who once worked for me is getting married today. She'd been in the store off and on all week - buying supplies for entertaining her guests for Shabbat. On Friday morning, her young groom came in and asked if he could hide something in the store for her - he was sending her on a scavenger hunt and slipped a package for her to find into one of our freezers. Throughout the day friends of both bride and groom kept stopping in - one for meat for a cholent to feed 15 Yeshiva bochers. One came in for a Challah. Another came in for some deli and rolls for their hotel room. It was a fun day. After their wedding today they'll be making Aliya tomorrow - so it was also a time to say goodbye. At the same time, a high-school friend of mine, who has been coming into my store with her two sons at least twice a week since we opened also came in. She needed snacks for the flights that they will be taking tomorrow as they make Aliya. All of this good news, and sad goodbyes really put me in the mood for a Shabbat family dinner. With nothing prepared I did a quick look-around to see what I could pull together. So my menu from this past Shabbat included: A lovely Brioche Challah from Montreal Lamb chops - thawed quickly in water and marinated briefly with lots of good stuff Baby potatoes boiled and dressed with a little olive oil, kosher salt and lots of fresh dill Green beans and a simple salad Dessert - assorted baking - also from Montreal Shavua tov.

Michelle - what a wonderful surprise to see you blogging again today! I always learn so much from your posts - I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this week. I've only had lamb and turkey shwarma... but I literally have a flock (is it a flock?) of these guys in my backyard... if I could just find a shoichet.. Machane Yehuda is one of my favorite places in the world. It's where I learned how to bargain! Thank you for the piictures. Can you tell us a little more about sabich? What makes it different from regular pita? I was in Israel with my graduating class years ago. It seemed chicken/turkey schnitzel was served to us daily! Is it still very common everywhere? I didn't want it again for months when I got home - but now I use Pereg breadcrumb mixes to make it with the same ta'am (flavour) I remember. Looking forward to more... edited because I left the wrong picture in..

If you're using choux to make swans - don't use convection. The fan was so strong, the little swan necks blew all over the oven. On the other hand, always use convection for meringues - just weigh down the parchment with metal utensils along the edges. Otherwise, I find most things work well in either convection or 'regular'.

My goodness. That's some good looking food. I'll put it on my request list next time I'm visiting the cousins in NJ. Rachel - check with a kosher/Israeli store. You can buy frozen Malawach that you pan-fry at home. I don't know if it will be as good as the stuff in the restaurant, but it'll work if you're craving it over Shabbat!

Hey folks, Though this is an interesting conversation - I'd like to ask that we keep it focused on C - it's menu, service, etc. If somebody would like to start another topic about issues concerning restaurants in general in Vancouver, please do so. Thanks, Pam

To help you with uploading images from your computer, there's a detailed overview of ImageGullet here, and one of our members has a quick step-by-step here. Let's see the pics!

BTW - On Friday I received 'The Pizza Press" newsletter along with a few coupons in the mail from Diana's. Three coupons that can't be used together and all expire in a couple of weeks. We'll see if I get a chance to use any of them before they expire...

I think that sounds like a perfectly splendid plan. I can't wait to see some of your home-cooking and whatever you'll be able to show us of Moscow. Half of my family is from Russia - so while we do the Jewish foods, we also call pierogi vereneki and fill them with fruits in the summer. The ones you posted on the dinner thread look great! Is your borsch sweet? Sour? A little of both? I'm looking forward to your week.

My mind does not work in a scientific manner whatsoever. Trying to follow this theory, if I end up smoking my meat at too low a temperature, should there be a pink ring? The last time I smoked a brisket I didn't think I was getting the temp high enough. It was -35 C when I started it, and didn't warm up too much over the 12 or so hours it smoked. I kept liquid in the tray and I fed new charcoal in it all day long, trying to get the temp. up. In the end I had to wrap it in foil and toss it in the oven for a couple of hours. But it had a really intense pink ring. Is that contrary to what is supposed to happen?