Food for Thought

My personality on trips can be a lot like the cartoon character pictured racing full speed ahead, dragging by hand the person behind him–whose feet aren’t even touching the ground! There is so much to see and do….let’s go! I don’t want to miss a thing! Thankfully our wise guides, Ruby and Neal, make sure that we take time for the essentials-a cool drink or iced coffee to cool off from the heat of the day, and a leisurely lunch or dinner.

Food is something that characterizes a place as much as its people and places of interest. It becomes a part of a place’s identity. Several foods have caught our attention since arriving in Israel. Israeli salad is a common salad served at restaurants by itself or as a side with entrees. It is a salad of diced miniature cucumbers, which are very sweet, tomatoes and onions tossed with mint, parsley and a vinaigrette dressing. A heads up, Hannah, Bennett and Laura, this is both a healthy and delicious salad so get ready for seeing a lot of it once we get home! The dried dates and olives here are huge! I never cared for dates but have loved the ones here. Restaurants often serve fresh dates as an after dinner complimentary treats.

If I had to pick a food that best describes an Israeli staple, it would be pita bread. It is nothing like any pita bread I’ve ever had. It is very soft and delicious. Pita bread is the complimentary bread served at restaurants like we would be served rolls or bread in the states. Pita bread is also what is used to make falafels. This is a common curbside food found everywhere in Jerusalem. It is as common here as hamburgers and hot dogs would be in the states. Falafels are pita bread stuffed with hummus, vegetables of your choice and falafels, a hush puppy-like food made of coarsely ground chick peas and spices.

Since Ruby and Neal believe that the dining experience is as important as the food itself, we have eaten in some of the most picturesque restaurants. Some of our favorites are: The Fish Restaurant on the Sea of Galilee, Dag Al Hadan on the river Dan

and Port Café on the Mediterranean Sea. It’s going to be hard adjusting back to reality when we get home- Go Lean Crunch, PBJs and sloppy joes….but we’ll try