shain

I keep all my recpies as local web pages on my computer, so that I can open them on my phone from anywhere. Makes it really easy to search and make changes in them. The ever growing list of concepts and recipe ideas yet to be made, I save in Evernote. Here's a sample page: (sorry, everything is in Hebrew...)

@Anna N If you're in the mood for more savory French toast, consider this recipe from SE for one coated in Paris an, it's quite good. I actually do like sweet French toast, but I rarely soak it with sweet toppings. I usually just include a little sugar in the custard, some nutmeg and cinnamon, and enough salt. If I do add something sweet it's mostly some preserves.

Lasagna with homemade pasta, slow cooked vegetarian bolognaise style sauce (based on mushroom, with tomatoes, sofrito etc.), ricotta, bechamel, grana padano cheese, a few herbs.

Pasta e fagioli. Borlotti beans, with onion, celery, carrot, rosemary, sage, garlic. The vegetables and half of the beans are blended smooth and creamy, the remaining beans left whole and soft. Ditalini pasta, a little parmesan, plenty of pepper, and a drizzle of strong olive oil from the tree in our garden.

There are many common combinations that I don't personally understand... Cream cheese with dill or garlic, halva with chocolate, and yes, potatoes and applesauce. Everyone has those flavors that doesn't work for him. It doesn't make them bad, it's a matter of personal taste. I wouldn't bother mentioning that I dislike the combo if I hadn't thought it to be a controversial opinion.

It can't be Hanukkah without latkes. I like them lightly simply salted and sprinkled with brown sugar, but I also serve sour cream for those want it. Apple sauce is not popular in my house, and personally I also fail to understand the combination. It's hard to take pictures while frying, did my best...

I don't know which varieties are recommended. I don't have many options around here, only 'Pinus halepensis' (AKA Jerusalem pine), so I'll hop it works.

I just stumbled on pine cone jam while traveling across Wikipedia. I used pine needles in the past, but never considered the cones to be of use... Did any of you had it before? Who does it tastes like? Here is some recipe that I've found.

Slightly bastardized kibbeh bil sanieh. I made one filled with ground meat, and another with mushrooms - pan fried until brown. Both have some chickpeas and lentils added to the filling, as well as some eggplant flesh for extra juiciness. It is flavored with bahart (allspice, cinnamon, cumin, pepper), sumac, parsley and chili. The crust is made of bulgur and semolina, with some yogurt, eggs, olive oil and more of the spices. Served with plenty of lemony tahini sauce, chopped salad with olive oil and lemon and pickles. Sorry for the lack of a picture of the unsliced dish.

A new beer from a local brewery. This is described as a "milk and honey" beer - the milk being lactose and honey is honey. I expected a golden-colored beer, but it poured dark and headless. It tasted quite sweet, like a belgian triple, but with smoky-burnt notes from the dark malt. I couldn't tell the honey in it. It was OK but boring.

@Chris Hennes indid so. Got those planted in a few spots, only this group (there about 6 more plants around those two) are flowering now. They usually only grow leaves. Did a quick Google search (should have done so years ago...) seems that clumping due to bulb division and lack of nutrients might be the cause. Seems easy enough to fix.

This sandwich talk reminded me of an old favorite - peanut butter and cornflakes sandwich (though it's best made open faced). I was never into crunchy peanut butter, but the flakes has a pleasant crispness against the soft bread. It will probably work with banana, but I'm not sure about bacon... I haven't had cornflakes in a while, I'll try to remember and buy some soon. And then I might also retry the sandwich.

Those haven't flowered in about 5 years. The original bulbs are more than 25 years old.

Stir fried tofu, zucchini, bell peppers, chili, cabbage, scallions + stir fried eggs. Sweet and sour sauce (based on orange juice and zest, soy sauce, ginger and garlic) - only mildly sweet. Served over rice.

A toast with avocado and pepper. A toast with gorgonzola piccante and honey.

Potato starch does retrogradate as it cools, and indeed expels water in the process. Just like with bread it happens more quickly at lower temperatures. Reheating helps only a little, and tends to produce leathery texture.

@Anna N Thank you! I guess middle eastern cuisine yields itself pretty well to vegetarian cooking. But a vegetarian has to notice he's getting some protein, so it's a good thing I'm a bean-head

Two recent lunches: Green cowpeas, slow cooked with tomatoes, onion and garlic. Flavored with chili, cumin. Served over bulgur wheat and topped with tahini sauce, chopped onion and pickles. Rice pilaf with onion, fennel, parsley, dill, anise seeds, coriander, raisins, peas.

BrewDog Albino Squid Assassin. Very hoppy, not very bitter but quite phenolic. Very malty. Flavors of honey, caramel, grapefruit. Nice.

@KennethT Yes, all the information I found is not helping me be more optimistic about it... I haven't stumbled on any recommendation for action to take. So I'm left with doing further observation and hoping for it to get better...

I am a moshavnik, and I guess that my POV might be biased. However, I still do believe that most places closes before 5, even in the city. I took a short look in the opening hours of a few places as reported in Google, some close at about 3, some at 5, quite a few as late as 8 or 9. I guess it depends on the location and target crows, even in the city, some places attract the worker crowd, and therefore more likely to close earlier. On average, most other types of restaurants do stay up until later, even those selling other hefty food items, such as shawarma. By the way, do you have a favorite place from back then (or are you not a hummus aficionado)? I don't visit Jerusalem often, but I really like Acramawi in the city.

@Shel_B I said that it should be eaten before noon. I'd say I consider 6 PM to be the start of the evening. It was obviously said with humor, but hummus is commonly eaten earlier in the day in Israel. It is considered a "heavy", and as such more suitable to be eaten at lunchtime. I'd add and say that the absolute most of hummus restaurants close before 5 PM. In general, many (probably most) people in Israel have their dinner (as in main meal) at lunchtime, usually somewhere between noon and 3PM. Those who keep kosher, as well as most workplaces, make this a meat based meal. In the evening, supper consists of lighter fare, often based on dairy and eggs. This is not true for holidays and Shabbat dinner (at Friday evening) where dinner is served in the evening, and lunch is often lighter.

@Kenneth I was considering overwatering as a possible cause, but it seems unlikely, since the problem started mid summer, and even with irrigation, the tree got much less water than it does every year when it rains. I sprayed against rust mites, since they damaged the fruits last year. And it seems to work, because I don't see a sign of them this season. It is probably not the cause, since I have whole branches drying. Also some cracking bark, probably related.

Had a "citrus exchange" yesterday, visited a couple of neighbors and gave away some of our mandarins, oranges and lemons (and avocados). In return I got some good Oroblancos (yum), pomelos (double yum), and a few juicing oranges. Also got some red grapefruits (pretty, but no yum ). Still have loads of oranges and clementines . The lemon tree is not doing well, it got some major branches dying... Still trying to figure out what's wrong with it.

I bought hummus today, from our favorite place. Thick and warm, with plenty of cumin. Hot, slow cooked fava beans and tender chickpeas in olive oil. Lemony tahini sauce. Pickled olives and green schug. Warm pita breads. Second image is my plate. A second serving was, as always, called for. Although it counts as dinner, hummus obviously should be eaten before noon, and definitely not in the evening