Jerusalem Food

Lately I have been missing some of the foods we ate in Israel. Today we told some friends about the good food we enjoyed over there. Unless our errands required us to travel several miles away, we walked almost everywhere we went. So, between the good food and the lifestyle exercise, we felt great and had a lot of energy.

Freshly baked bread without preservatives that had to be eaten within a few days or it would go bad. In-season fruit from the Jordan Valley or Carmel region. Dates for a fraction of the price we pay here in the States. Hummus so good that it makes the stuff we buy here unpalatable, not to mention the cost: less than $3.00 for a large container.

It took a while, but eventually we figured out what kind of meals we could prepare in our miniscule kitchen that was meagerly equipped with a toaster oven, stovetop, dorm-sized refrigerator, and limited utensils. Most mornings I made Israeli salad: Cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers tossed with olive oil, lemon, and a little salt and pepper. It is refreshing, filling, and healthy. For dinners we often ate tilapia with a hot-sweet pepper topping. We spread pesto and sundried tomatoes on lightly toasted, thin bread. It was delicious.

We were on a tight budget so our meals out were usually taken at Moshiko (a falafel stand on Ben Yehuda Street) or Focaccia (a local restaurant where Joel, the pizza/foccacia guy, always loaded our order with extra garlic, goat cheese and other goodies...for free). Cheese-filled burekas - pastries from the local bakery - were our treat of choice.

The food was definitely one of the side benefits of working in Israel. Not everyone would like the kind of the food available there. People who are used to steak, cheeseburgers, fast food, and chain restaurants would find their options limited if they lived in Jerusalem. And most people raise their eyebrows when I mention making salad for breakfast! But for us, the food was a nice perk that helped ease the stress that results from living and working in a foreign country.