Food Matters

I have been living in Israel for over a month now, and one of the interesting things about living in any foreign country is the food situation. I can easily spend an hour at the store just picking up a handful of items because the labels are in Hebrew, not English (and when they are in English, they are imported and therefore cost twice as much). And to make matters more difficult, our kitchen consists of a sink, a stove top, two counter tops and a refrigerator. No oven, no microwave. My diet consists mainly of pita, hummus, yogurt, apples, crackers, Israeli-brand nutella, sandwiches from the Rothberg cafe, falafel and the occasional pastry. I recently discovered the wonders of adding carrots to my pita and hummus, and this past week I picked up a real luxury: peanut butter. Another thing I really enjoy but probably shouldn't admit ischallah, which is a special type of bread that is used during Shabbat for kiddush (from which Christian Eucharist is derived). Bakeries only sell challah on Fridays, so I'm guessing it is not intended for regular consumption throughout the week, but the past couple of weeks I have bought a challah on Friday, for myself and not for Shabbat dinner. (I also have not been to aShabbat dinner the past couple of weeks, so I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy challahthere.)

Another interesting thing about Israeli cuisine, when one is not preparing one's own food: most food establishments are kosher and therefore are either "meat" or "milk." This is derived from a rather obscure verse about not boiling a kid in its mother's milk (Exodus 23:19). As a result, places either serve dairy products or meat products; both can serve fruit, vegetables, fish, etc (foods that are considered parve, neither "meat" not "milk"). Most cafes and cafeterias on campus are "milk," which is why the sandwiches I eat are tuna or egg and cheese. Meat, in general, is more expensive here because it is kosher. (Actually, I have found that food in general is more expensive here than in Ohio, although the falafel stand is quite cheap [$3-$4] and the sandwiches on campus are generally as cheap or cheaper than making my own.)

Since I am apparently dedicating this entry to the subject of food, I will add that I have acquired a taste for "Camomile & Honey" tea this past week. (I put it in quotes because that is how it is spelled on the package, instead of chamomile) Due to the rather abrupt drop in temperature (almost 20 degrees practically over night), my body revolted and I spent several days dealing with lightheadedness (the joys of living with vasal vagal). I have never liked chamomile tea, but I know it is good if you aren't feeling well (and it was one of the few teas that the school cafe sells that I recognized) so I ended up buying a few cups of it (and then going to the store to buy a few boxes of it, to save money) and after a dozen or so cups of it, I think I might actually like it. Or at least I no longer have to add two packets of sugar and two packets of sweetener to it in order to drink it.

And with that, I shall return to my studying. Shabbat shalom!