The Year of the Peanut

Hello!  Yes, I know, it’s been a while.  Stuff has happened.  Lots of stuff has happened.  I sold a house and bought a house.  And then I moved to that house, which took up every moment of spare energy available.  We had a wonderful trip to Budapest (thank you Sassy and Sabraman) and also a nice vacation at the Grand Canyon (very impressive hole in the ground), Las Vegas and New York.  I left one job, got another job.  Loved that job!  However, that job kept me busy, too busy to blog, but not too busy to cook.  And then I was replaced, by a computer program.  How embarrassing!  So now I’ve become the hunter (of employment) instead of the gatherer (of salary).  But since my last blog entry there’s been something (or rather, someone) else that has made me smile.  You see, I’ve fallen in love…

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Once upon a time there was a young princess, Sassy.  One day, on the bus to Eilat, she met a fiery young man who turned out to be a superhero.  After a wonderful courtship he proposed on a mountaintop in the Galil.  They were married on a cold March evening near Jerusalem, and settled on a moshav near the airport, so near, in fact, that sometimes a landing plane would snag their laundry line.  But they didn’t care, because they had perfected the secret to living happily ever after.  Do you want to know what it is?

Vote for Yaara’s Lasagne!

Ya’ara’s Mushroom and Pea Lasagne

Hey, remember my friend Yaara?  She’s launched Rasta Pasta, her own cottage industry (literally) and has entered a recipe contest. If what you see in the picture is something you’d like to try, read on and get the recipe.

Come on, people, help a friend help a friend out!

Chatting with Miriyummy: Jean Roth

Meet Jean Roth.

One of my oldest friends once told me that I could be Martha Stewart.  But aside from the cooking (and a little bit of knitting and crocheting), I’m totally useless at crafts.  I’ve never met Jean in person, and to tell you the truth, I can’t even remember where I met her on the Net, but it’s a good thing I did, because Jean is so good at crafts, she even sells them online, and for real money!

Man Plans God Laughs

How many ways can you spell chicken?

If it can go wrong, it will.

Take the picture above, for example.  I was out with a bunch of hungry bloggers one evening and this was on the menu at the restaurant.  Since my friend Toby has a blog featuring jewels such as this one, I snapped a pic on my phone and sent it to her.  Now that I needed the picture for my own blog post, I couldn’t find it.  Luckily, I just hopped over to Toby’s blog and snatched it back.

I wish all of my life could be this easy.  But “man plans, God laughs” seems to be the theme song of my life.  Take last Friday night for example…

Meat, Greet and Good Friends — Israel’s Independence Day 2012

Illuminated Israeli flag at Azrieli Center on Independence day, Tel Aviv, Israel
© Hanan Isachar / SuperStock

Tonight is the beginning of Israel’s 64th birthday celebrations.  All over the country people gather together in public parks to listen to music, dance a little, watch the fireworks and basically party.  And tomorrow?  Tomorrow the whole country heads outdoors for the national sport of Israel, barbecuing, or in other words, the art of mangal.

We get together with our friends in Ra’anana every year, and it can become a bit rowdy…

Standing Together — Yom Hazikaron 2012

Hila Betzaleli poses at the Mount Herzl parade grounds, two hours before the tragedy in which she lost her life (photo credit: Channel 2 News)

Chatting with Miriyummy: Rivki Silver

Meet Rivki Silver.  She once interviewed me, and now I get to interview her.

A Phoenix From The Ashes

Sassy on her school trip to Auschwitz

I am a classic second generation Holocaust survivor.

My third generation kids are unabashedly Jewish and unabashedly Israeli and I so wish my parents were around to see how I have raised my phoenixes out of the fires and ashes of the camps.

Don’t Pass Over These Recipes — the 2012 Edition

Oh no, it’s that time of year again!  My 2011 edition proved to be helpful to many of you, so break out the bleach and hide those breadcrumbs, Passover is coming and it’s unstoppable!  Here are some helpful ways to get through the holiday when you once again can reunited with your panko and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream: