Tel Aviv and Jaffa

This crazy, fun, warm city built out of desert – filled with frenetic markets and halva, dried fruits, pickles and nuts, and the oldest history and most beautiful Ottoman era culture and architecture.  We had our first taste of shawarma here and .. did I mention the halva?  It’s everywhere, and that made me very very happy …

market full of yummy olives and options

halva or halvah or halwa – any way you slice it, I love it!

apparently Ben-Gurion use to like to do handstands on the beach, as does Zoe!

before and after photo showing that Jaffa truly stands on desert

I love these outdoor boxes that keep the menorah glowing for all to see

more halva!

spice towers at the market

these folks don’t mess around with their love of pomegranates

a cat snoozes at a Yemenite jeweler’s studio

 

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Provincetown

We made a little getaway during the beginning of Feb break. It was cold, but when bundled up .. the beaches in East Chatham and Welfleet area is the best place to be in the middle of winter! And even though many of the seasonal restaurants were closed, P Town always has great art everywhere. We ate at our favorite place The Canteen again (open year round!), and as always – the crispy spicy Brussels sprouts did not disappoint. Even Louie loves Cape Cod now!

(thank you Auntie Betty for hosting!)

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For Earth Day last week .. a trip to the Javits Center

Javits Center here in NYC hosted the Green Festival Expo last weekend. While Zoe and I went to a birthday party, Ezra got to try Kombucha, various flavors of gluten and dairy free ice cream and test out some pretty slick kitchen knives. I’m not really sure where the bubble full of money comes in on all this but Ezra definitely had a great time scrambling to collect as many dollars as he could over a wind machine!

yessss, has a fruity bouquet!

these bean filled chairs are soooo comfy

catch some cash!

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After Sunday school, in Flushing

Our synagogue is in the middle of what is now a large, thriving Chinatown. We love going to the New World Mall which has at least 3 floors of all the possible Asian foods you could possibly want. Just near our table we found Korean-Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes to choose from. Check out the choices here. I hope to make this a regular habit ..

by the TV segment on the screen over this counter, Anthony Bourdain has already been here

the dumplings are made right in front of us, and the ladies are entertained by our kids

Laoma Ma La Tan big bowls – shot from Meso Hungry

Chengdu happy meal shot from queens.brownstoner.com

we feel like we have been transported to another world with amazing food!

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Plimoth Plantation

Ah finally we got to go to a place that I remember so fondly as the ‘school field trip’ location of my youth! When I was young we regularly went here (and to Sturbridge Village) – so often that I felt as if I had both memorized. But a lot has changed since then. It was a hot day, and I’m happy my kids made it through without too much complaint.

We arrived on a day when they had a demonstration of cooking/baking in the 1680s – and they pointed out that since wheat and sugar were rarely plentiful, a cake or ‘butter pie’ like the one seen below was an extra special treat. I was fascinated to learn that part of the reason why people back in England kept rumoring Plimoth as a ‘paradise’ was largely due to the fact that the pilgrims could eat whatever they caught. According to the actors at the site – swan, deer, pheasants etc were game that – when captured back in England – was considered the King’s property and only he could eat it. Who knew? The thought that our country may’ve been started largely based on the culinary boredom of English eaters kind of makes me giggle…

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A pre-Valentine’s Day date

My husband and I like to celebrate a little earlier (or later) than Valentine’s Day, in order avoid all the chaos of the actual holiday (battling for reservations and dealing with over-decorated restaurants with mediocre ‘prix fix’ menus is not for us). This year we discovered Butcher Bar in Astoria – where even my mostly vege-pescatarian husband was tempted by great smoked meat. The Beef Candy sandwich was amazing – I’m already craving another.
Enjoy your weekend and happy Valentine’s Day!

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Our flight delayed..

There’s nothing worse than dying to see your kids all week, and then your flight to pick them up gets CANCELLED! The only thing good that came out of that evening was a quick trip to Saw Shack for dinner. This new Chinese restaurant in our ‘hood makes yummy, fresh Chinese food with vegan and vegetarian options too. We had the shrimp with mango and it was amazing .. no sauces smothering the mango. The tofu dish with broccoli was incredible as well. It’s pathetic that all I have to show here is a half eaten dish, but trust me it went down quickly and held us over for the next 6-8 hours of waiting in an airport, begging for a flight to get to our kids. The orange infused water is definitely something I want to try at home.

not fine dining here but the food is super fresh and tasty!

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Zoe’s International Party at school

With teachers from Colombia and India, Zoe was really struggling to pin down ONE ethnicity that may represent herself or our family. We are kind of a hodge-podge of ethnicities – but since Purim happened so recently, Zoe really wanted to make hamentashen and carry an Israeli flag around during her ‘Rainbow Song’ for International Day. She belted out her song and ate everything that the other kids brought in – bean cakes from China, Irish soda bread and empanadas to name just a few!

Jewish and proud!

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Back in town ..

We are happy to be back in NYC with its crazy shops (the key store in the West Village covered in keys), streets lined with Christmas trees for sale, holiday windows, good food (stopped at Saigon for Vietnamese fair) and a play at NYU featuring the Dinosaur Train crew!

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Brooklyn Pier 5 Smorgasburg – with the cousins

Remember we ran into Smorgasburg here and here? The Smorgasburg trend is spreading … and we are glad it is! We gorged on chicken and waffles (Uncle Anthony’s idea) – some fish and chips for the kids, steak sandwiches and shrimp spring rolls. Washed it all down with mango lemonade – yum! – and then on to more scooting. We are hoping that by showing them all this good food, they’ll crave some more and will come back again and visit.

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