According to plan*

Hi again.

Last time I was telling about how me and Berlin were finally getting along, I started feeling at home, having very dear friends, became a regular in two bars, found my own flat and started a new job.

Since then, it just became even more clear that things are falling into place, and I could really see myself living there for a long while.
So obviously, something had to change.

I got a phone call from Israel, from the production of Master chef, calling me to audition for the next season, and so, I had to leave everything once again.

I'm not sure what if I'm free to tell much about it after signing a contract that basically says that I'm now owned by the production company, but I will say that I'm still in the sorting stage, so my destiny is not clear. If I make it I might have to stay in Israel for 4 months, that is if I make it all the way to the final, if i don't I'll just fly back to Berlin and see what's still standing from my newly formed life.

I have to say that unlike the previous times, I wasn't too stressed about leaving this time, cause I felt that for the first time I actually built something real and steady there, so I figured it will wait there for me until my return. I could be wrong though...

I'm trying to think if I'm scared of anything at the moment, and even though I think maybe I should be scared or at least worried, I'm actually pretty calm about the whole thing. I was very ambivalent about staying in Israel for so long, going back to living with my mom, In a room that was never mine, in a city that I can't really afford to live in, even for a short while, and without my good friends (I really miss my Berlin friends, and it seems as though my closest Israeli friends are either away or too busy for me). The other thing is that I don't know if I'm here for another week or another 3 months, so I don't know whether I should try and build something or just continue my permanent vacation.

I guess I just have to wait and see.


Fresh corn polenta:

(with chicken and mushrooms)

This is another one of my 'practicing for Master chef' dishes. I made it a few times already, in a few different versions (I hope the production is not reading this and that I could make it on the show as well), this one works as a main course, but you could do it without the chicken and it will be a great starter.


Ingredients:

(serves about 5)

10 corncobs
50g butter
1/2 cup of milk
30g Hard salty cheese (Parmesan is great, but I actually made it with mozzarella once and it was just as good).
Salt.

Method:

- Peel and wash the corn.
- Using a sharp knife, pierce the corn through the middle of all the seeds, working along the lines. (For maximum control use just the bottom part of the knife and hold the corn firmly in your other hand, turning it away from you as you go, it's faster and easier than it sounds).
- Using the dull edge of the knife, scrape the flesh out of the seeds into a medium pot, be careful, it tends to spray. Make sure you're applying enough force to bring out the flesh, but not too much, you don't want any of the shells, just the inside.
- Over a medium heat, cook the corn and butter, stirring to prevent the bottom from burning.
- after 3 minutes or so, add the milk, cook for about 10 minutes, until the corn is cooked and the polenta is slightly thick. Now this is a fresh corn polenta so the texture is more like mashed potatoes rather than a 'normal' polenta or mamaliga.
- Add Parmesan and salt to taste.

So in total this takes about 20 minutes, I would make it at the very last minute, cause its really nice warm and fresh.


For the chicken:

- Chicken legs and thighs, one of each per person.
- 500g button mushrooms.
- 1/4 cup soy sauce.
- 2tbs honey/silan (start with less, keep adding and tasting until the saltiness of the soy is balanced).
- 1 tbs rice vinegar.
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin.
- about 5cm fresh ginger root, cut into matchsticks.
- Spring onion.
- Coarse salt.
- Fresh red chili, or dry chili.
- Neutral oil.

Method:

- In a large deep pan, heat a little oil, and sear the chicken from all sides, then remove from the pan.
- Add dry chili (if you're using fresh keep it for later), then garlic and ginger and saute for a few minutes, until the garlic is soft. You may need to add some boiling water, to keep the garlic from burning as the pan is very hot.
- In a bowl mix soy, vinegar and honey, taste to so make sure its not too sweet or salty.
- Add the chicken to the bowl, coat from all sides, put it in the pan and pour the sauce in as well.
- Cover with boiling water, cover the pot, bring to another boil, and then reduce heat and cook for at least an hour, until the chicken is very tender.

Serving:

- Fish out the chicken and mushrooms. And continue reducing the sauce over a high heat, pan uncovered.
- Pour the polenta onto a large and semi deep serving plate. Place chicken and mushrooms on top, and pour the reduced sauce. Sprinkle with spring onions, fresh red chili and coarse salt.


* In Hebrew the title has a double meaning, ask your closest Hebrew speaking friend.
** For a non chicken version, just saute the garlic and ginger with a little butter and oil, add the mushrooms, soy and honey (you will need less of both) and cook until the mushrooms are ready.

New roots

For the first time since I started this blog, I was actually too busy to post something. Well, I don't know if 'too' busy, but I was actually doing something in the last 5 weeks.

I'm now living in my new flat. The first flat that I actually signed a contract for. And I love it.

I have a job, a proper one along with my independent food rounds, that I still do, and still try to avoid doing every weekend.

I cooked a 6 course meal for 50 people, alone, in about 5 hours, and was pretty pleased with that.

I made a movie (!), which reminded me why I kept claiming I was mostly a filmmaker at heart, even though I did more or less nothing about it. I really do love it. I'm not sure if the film is great, and I did to hastily and took way too many responsibilities (never again directing and shooting) but still there's maybe only one thing I enjoy more than being on a set, let alone my set. (In this case it was also my apartment, and even now 2 weeks later, it's not completely back to normal)

So you could say I'm pretty pleased; I missed sleep deprivation, I remember back in high school I had to stay awake for over 3 days straight while working on films, and I was sure those days are gone and that I'm old and disabled now. But having to wake up at 7am to go to work after shooting the whole day before (finishing at 4am) showed me that I still have it (although I do have a strange tick under my left eye in the past few days... Wonder what that means).

All this brings me to that one thing I like even more than being on a set, well, yup, it's food.
One of those things that kept me busy was Master Chef, both the Israeli and American versions. Now I know what you're thinking, oh, and he said he was too busy, well, I think it was an invaluable experience, and along with studying all the 'How to cook like Heston' episodes, will eventually make me a better cook. It did already inspire me to sign in for the Israeli version and more importantly showed me once again how little I know and how much more there is to be learnt and experienced. And so I started master cheffing myself at home. So I went to the market and came back with a few ingredients I've never used before, and started experimenting. So now I have a new best friend, turnip, which along with sardines and freekeh starred in a few meals I made this week. From which I bring you today's recipe.

Freekeh risotto with fennel and spinach


2 cups freekeh.
2 fennel.
3 garlic cloves.
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds.
1 dry chili.
300g spinach or Swiss chard.
zest of one lemon.
a pot full of fish stock (I made mine by boiling and straining the carcasses of the sardines I used the day before)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
and more*

Preparation

Like any risotto you need a large and deep pan, heat the oil,chili and fennel seeds, add fennel and garlic and saute until slightly softening.

Add the freekeh and about half a tbs of salt (you could also use carnaroli or arborio rice of course, but freekeh really does have a very unique taste), and continue stirring, toasting the freekeh for a few minutes. Meantime bring your stock to a boil.

Start adding the stock, at first about 4 ladle fulls, and then just one at a time, constantly stirring and adding more, just before the freekeh drinks all the stock. You should either stir in the same direction or make 8's to ensure a good risotto.

Now this one is not a typical risotto, and will be a little less creamy since the freekeh is less starchy than risotto rice, and I didn't add any butter (I will next time, freekeh goes very well with butter, just wasn't sure about the fish...).

Keep stirring and adding stock, this will probably take around 45 minutes, so you might want to have another person for alternating stirring shifts. You'll have to taste and see when the freekeh is cooked enough for you, just remember that it's a bit crunchier than rice, and I like it this way.

About 30 minutes in, start adding the spinach in small batches. I leave one last batch to add only after removing from the stove, letting the residual heat cook it, and keeping a bright green color. After removing from heat, add the lemon zest, and season to taste.

Serve with lemon to squeeze on top.


*and more means that since I made it only once, I tried a few things that I'm not sure if were very necessary, all I can say is that it tasted pretty amazing. I added 2 sprigs of lavender and about 1/4 tsp of wasabi paste. I can't say I felt any of them for sure, but it might have been just the thing to complete a full complex flavor. Next time I'll add a bit more just to see what happens.

Enjoy.


Oh, and I made cheese:

More of the same (?)

I kept postponing writing this post cause I was tired of repeating myself. I was going to name it 'a change of a change', however, that's not really the case.

In the past few months (and in many ways much longer than that) my two main goals were to find my own flat, and to start my new job. I'm very close to achieving the flat thing, I've found one, that I think is great, more or less affordable, and most importantly accepted my application (not the easiest thing in Berlin). My fingers are still crossed, because nothing's final yet (and ever since I broke that mirror last week things seem to be going downhill) but if things go according to plan, I might be writing my next post (next week?) from my new place.

The job part is a bit less promising. I got this restaurant job a little before Christmas, and, well, it still haven't started. The restaurant's opening keeps getting delayed, which I guess is quite common in this business, however I'm afraid its more than that. We were supposed to start working on the menu this week, and when I got there I saw that all the lights are being re-installed. That wouldn't really matter unless the owner/co-cook kept me hanging there for two hours, telling me he'll check if we might be able to cook somewhere else, then disappearing for numerous meeting. Meanwhile I was trying to befriend the head chef, but a combination of extreme nervousness on my part and a 'who is this mosquito-like person in front of me' attitude on his, made me feel like shit. I went home, and pretty much decided to give up on this adventure. A decision that was followed by flashbacks of my father threatening me I will forever be a quitter after leaving the military, and in general brought much despair and confusion.

Yesterday I spilled coffee on Ewa's computer, which might mean we'll have to spend the first month in the new flat without any furniture (and possibly food), since Mac's are insanely expensive. But I think it's all for the best, I was hoping the new flat will mark a new start, a clean sleight, in which I put an end to my laziness and procrastination, having to make a lot of money quickly might be just the incentive I need.

On the bright side, my efforts in becoming a media-whore are paying off; Some film students made a short documentary about me (and how I cook and sell my food in the neighborhood's bars), and a new Facebook page I started (My shopping list - only in Hebrew, sorry) Got me an interview in a Tel Avivian magazine.


As for this post's recipe, ever since I started this blog, I was planning on posting a veggie patties recipe. It's one of my favorite things, and has virtually endless possibilities. Sadly, its hardly the most photogenic food. This week however I made a new patty that, photogenic or not, was so good I just have to share it. Here it goes...

Fennel and zucchini patties


Ingredients:

- 1 Fennel, quartered, and sliced very thin.
- 3 Zucchini, grated.
- spring onion, chopped.
- 1 egg*
- Dried chili, crushed.
- 1 Garlic clove, crushed.
- 2-3 tbs breadcrumbs.
- Few mint leaves (optional)
- Salt and pepper.
- Oil (For frying, I still prefer olive oil, but any neutral oil will also do)

Preparation:

- Heat very little oil in a small pan, add the chili, followed by the fennel and spring onion. After a few minutes, lower heat and cover, cook until the fennel is softened, stirring every few minutes. Chill.
- Mix the zucchini and fennel, put in a strainer over a bowl/sink, place a plate and a heavy object on top and drain for at least 30 minutes (in the fridge overnight is optimal).
- Make sure the mix is drained (pick a handful and squeeze it, if its dry its good), then add egg and season. Add breadcrumbs until you can easily form a stable patty.
- Heat a little oil in a big pan (you don't a lot of oil, just enough to coat the pan, and it has to be hot), and fry the patties, about 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with yogurt mixed with a little curry powder and mint, or tahini with lemon juice and parsley.

* For vegan version, replace egg with 1tbs of chickpea flour, mixed with 1tbs of white flour and 1tbs of olive oil.

Happy birthday

The blog is one year old today (that is if I finish writing this post on time).
I marked it on my Google Calender about a month ago, to make sure I would post something today.
I can't say I have anything new or very interesting to say, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

I just came back from a two week visit in Israel. I've been trying to find deep and profound things to say about this visit, which was in many ways interesting and different, I was there with my girlfriend, Ewa, so I functioned as something between a tourist and a tour guide. It was nice, and probably more exciting than just visiting friends and family, but at the same time it kinda downed on me that it's undoubtedly no longer my home. I guess it's a positive thing, and hopefully means that Berlin, where I am now and where I intend to stay in the near future, is my home.

Visiting Israel did give me chance to reunite with some of my favorite products (and pay insane amounts of money for them - staying in Israel for 17 days cost like 2 months here in Berlin), and, equally important with my pasta machine. This gave me the opportunity to finally make a dish I've been fantasizing about for over half a year. When I was touring and cooking in Italy I spent about a week making fresh pasta, and between ravioli, tagliatelle, fettuccine and more, I made one beautiful pasta called Caramelle , which is basically bonbon shaped pasta. Back there we filled it with ricotta and walnuts.
But I was determined on making it for dessert. I didn't really know what flavors I wanted until the very last minute, but I was very happy with the result*.



Passion fruit Caramelle with strawberry sauce.


For dough:

300g pasta flour.
3 eggs.
1 tsp cinnamon.


For filling:

200g mascarpone.
6 passion fruits.
powdered sugar to taste.
vanilla extract/ vanilla sugar.


For sauce:

500g strawberries.
powdered sugar to taste.


For serving:

Mint.
5 passion fruits.

Preparation:

Dough:

Sieve flour and cinnamon together.
Make a little hill of the flour, create a small well in the middle, and break in the eggs.
Using a fork, gently mix the eggs and the flour, starting just with the center. When incorporated, use your hands to knead it into a unified dough. Roll into a sausage, cover, and let cool for 30 minutes.
Working with a third at a time, work in the pasta machine until as thin as possible.

For caramelle, make ravioli, and then fold both ends one to one side, and then another time to the other side.

Filling:

Mix mascarpone, vanilla and sugar. Add the passion fruit, sieving it through a fine mesh (use a fork to get all the flesh from around the seeds). Let cool for at least an hour.

Sauce:

Using a hand mixer, butcher the strawberries until they become sauce :)
Add powdered sugar to taste.


Cook the caramelle in a lot of boiling water (with 1tbs of salt), cook in batches so they won't stick, and won't cool down the water. It's ready 10 seconds after floating.

Serving:

Spread strawberry sauce on a plate, place 3 caramelle, empty half a passion fruit on top, add mint.


*I must admit that I'm still not an expert in making pasta, and even though flavor-wise this dish was great, my caramelle were a bit too tough around the edges, where the 'twist' is. Next time I'm going to make it with ravioli instead, sacrificing some of the wow factor...

Independence

So somehow another month passed since my last post, and I guess not much has changed, apart from the way I feel, which is also important I guess.

This is where things stand: I´m back in Berlin (after spending two weeks in Greece), more or less homeless again (ping-ponging between my sister´s now empty flat and my girlfriend´s room), constantly looking for a flat, first wanted to move with two friends, then realized its virtually impossible since none of us have a real job with real paychecks (nor a fake one for that matter), then started looking for a flat-share and discovered that I´m less sociable than I remembered, and currently looking for a fat just for myself, which supposedly I could afford, once my promised cooking job finally starts (was supposed to happen next week, now seems to be sometime next month), however once again, being able to pay the rent is not the problem, proving that you are debt free, all your previous landlords love you and showing your last three paychecks is, so keep your fingers crossed.

This all means I still have all the free time in the world. Which is not great in a world with Facebook and owl videos.
In case its not already clear, I´m not good at making good use of my time, but I´m trying my best.
The one great new thing that happened, is that I made my first chocolate tart (I called it snickers tart actually cause it also had peanuts and caramel), it was meant to be a gift for Ewa and her friends who were selling vintage clothes in this fashion fare here in Berlin, but after the hungry bargain hunters saw it they demanded to buy a piece.

This inspired me to start selling my food, so I baked a couple of cakes, improvised a few savoury snacks, and went to a friend´s bar to give it a try. At first I had flashbacks from back in high-school, being too shy to be able to speak, but after a few very hesitant rounds with my tray of food, I sorta got the hang of it and ended up selling everything. So in the following 4 days I did it a couple more times, improving each time (I think), and although it´s not going to make me rich, I´m kinda proud of myself, and I´m actually making more or less enough to keep afloat.


For today´s recipe, I think it only makes sense to post one of my ´products´, this is a new discovery for me, a great way to make low fat cakes (which also cuts the expenses), so here it is...


Banana cake (why does everybody call it banana bread?)


2 cups white flour.
1 tsp baking powder.
1/2 tsp baking soda.
3/4 cup sugar.
1 tsp cinnamon.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
4 ripe bananas, mashed.
2 eggs.
200 ml low fat yogurt (I used 1,5% once and 0,1% the other time, both seemed to work fine).


Preparation:

- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Whisk eggs and sugar together.
- Add the bananas, spices and yogurt, whisk until incorporated.
- Mix flour and powders, then add to rest of mix. Stir only until incorporated, as little as possible, otherwise it´ll come out tough and, indeed, ´bready´.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until dry inside.

*I added hazelnuts, I think next time I´ll also put chocolate chips...

P.S.

As you may have noticed, I gave my blog a little ´facial´, I´m very easily influenced, and just too many people said its ugly... I´m still getting used to it (not that I´m too attached to the old look, just still need to perfect some things...), hopefully I will have a new beautiful kitchen soon so I could also take nice pictures (both kitchens I have now are super dark and depressing).

About aging, filmmaking and owls.

I've recently turned 22. And funnily enough, I feel old.
At least older, I no longer know that I'm the youngest person around, I no longer feel like what I've done is impressive for my age. A few years ago, I started putting thing on this scale; on one hand there's romance, and on the other, cynicism.

As you grow old, you move further away from that initial excitment you had, exctiment of very simple physical things as they occur for the first time, kissing, fighting, running away, cheating, breaking up. After all these happen for the second and third time, you no longer feel this excitment, you move far away from romance, towards cynicism. Cynicism is dangerous.
I was very proud of my ability to tell myself that everything passes, whenever I was sad, or depressed or bored, I always knew change is gonna come. However I started losing control over this ability, instaed of just using when I'm down, I started reminding myself that also when things were good, when I felt that I'm doing something good, like creating, or loving someone, I started telling myself that I've felt this way before, and that it's now gone, and in most cases I look back and ridicule these moments of 'temporary blindness'. But it's a proccess I'm trying to fight, this extreme cynicism leads to destruction; there's nothing constructive in being embarrased of yourself, of your past, in constantly questioning what you think or feel.These loops exist of course, but it's crucial to actually live them, to be turned upside down every now and then, instead of zooming out and seeing the upcoming plane.

As I said, I know this zooming out technic very well. Back in high school I would split myself into a few diffrenet 'Uris'; the one that's actually present in the situation, another one looking at him and judging him constantly, and another one beating them both up for being in this unbearable situation. I was actually proud of that, again it made me feel like I have much more control over myself,I didn't get angry at people how've done me wrong, because I managed to be 'bigger' than that. I wasn't insulted as easily, I wasn't doing many things I might later regret, since I was constantly overthinking and criticizing. Back than it wasn't cynicism, it was fear, but again, I created a buffer between me and reality. I remember a family vacation, at first I refused to hold the camera, embarrassed to look like a tourist, but at one point I just started taking pictures all the time, once you're behind a camera you physically make a barrear between you and others, I remember we were having dinner with a few people, and I was constantly taking pictures, my sister then took me aside and yelled at me for being annoying and impolite. The thought that I could actually detach myself from my surroundings like that, creating my own scene, breaking it into fragments, fragments I later have with me, suspending the moment so I can study it, was amazing to me. This was how I started making films, whenever I felt like something was alive, like a real moment is happening, I started transcribing it, as it was happening, me and whoever's around me as the characters. I used filmmaking to study my own life, to study life, every film is a summary of a period in my life, and by making that film I overcame the hardships of that period, instead of being submitted to them I directed them, rewrote them, edited them, owned them.

Somewhere along the way I lost motivation. It feels like there are more parts separating between the initial impression, the moment in life I see as crucial to understanding myself, as I am now, too many voices joined this equation. I can no longer just spit out the first thing that comes to my mind and make it happen, its not good enough. When you want you're life to be the subject of your work you have to live them, however you have to make time to work. Creating this balance is the biggest challenge, and for way too long it has lead me (and many of my friends) to doing neither; After many attempts to 'live', to be adventurous, spontaneous, thinking it would inspire me, and in between many long months of being completely unemployed, time I could have used to channel all that inspiration to the right place, I think time is not what I'm missing.

I'm having difficulty finishing this essay, I want to say what it is I need, but its too early to tell, I keep waiting for something to happen, something definite, something that would make an impression, maybe stop the loop, break it. I got a job, cooking in a new restaurant that's opening in Berlin, I didn't believe I could get this job, it reminded me that when I'm passionate about something I make it happen, I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens next.

Ups and downs

Touring is very confusing. One bad show can make the previous 20 look just as bad, and cause some serious insecurity and frustration.
I came to realize that I lack some sort of continuity, my up-until-recently very adament belief that this nomadic lifestyle is the thing for me, started to crack.
I grew tired of not being able to start anything that requiers actual thorough work and persistence, and as this tour is coming to an end, I'm thinking more and more about settling, and after a very long time justify the "filmmaker" part of my short biography.
I can't say anything for sure at the moment, since I'm still on tour, and I may just be in the bottom of this constant mood loop, however the excitment that follows these thoughts about change makes me think this is real.

And now, back to food:


Siniyah

Ingredients

500g beef/lamb.
4 onions.
2 tomatoes, sliced.*
3 eggplants.*
2 eggs.*
parsley, chopped.
3 garlic cloves, crushed.
A few leaves of mint, chopped.
3 cardamom seeds.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon.
1/2 tsp. cumin.
sumac.
1/2 tbs. sweet paprika.
dry chili.
3/4 cup tahini.
1 lemon.
Oil.

Preparation:

- Halve the eggplants horizontaly, then cut into thin slices.
- Whisk the eggs, dip in the eggplants, and fry on both sides until brown and soft. Set aside.
- Chop two of the onions finely. In a pan, heat oil, chili and cardamom. Add in the onions.
- Add paprika, and sautee until very soft, adding a little hot water every 30 seconds or so, to prevent the onions from burning.
- In a large bowl, mix the meat, mint, garlic, fried onions and most of the parsely.
- Form small balls, and fry (best to use the same pan as the onions) until brown on both sides (its okay if its not fully cooked inside).

- Prepare the tahini: mix the tahini and lemon juice, add water, very little at a time, until fully incorptrated and quite thin.
- Preheat oven to 200c.
- Cut the other two onions into half rings, and sautee until very brown.
- Arrange in layers: First the fried eggplant, then tomato, then meatballs, then the fried onions and eventually the tahini.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, sprinkle parsley and sumac, and serve.**

* The classic basic Siniyah is just meat and tahini, the eggplants and tomato make it richer and better, but are not necessary.
**You can do all stages in advance and bake right before you eat.

Eggplants.

I think the first post on this blog was about tomatoes. Eggplants deserve just as much respect. I'm proud to say that in the past 2 years I have converted at least 6 eggplant-haters. Eggplants starred in my first two short films (seriously). And lately I've been looking for new things to do with them. The starting point is the same: 'Burnt' eggplant, meaning an eggplant which I roasted (in the oven or on open flame) until it's completely soft inside and has a great charcoal-y taste.

These are my three latest takes, I was very pleased with all of them.


*Baba Ganoush (Eggplant with tahini)

Ingredients:

3 eggplants. (You should always pick the lightest, shiniest, undamaged eggplants).
1/2 cup tahini.
Juice from one lemon.
3 cloves of garlic, crushed.
Handful of parsley.
Pinch of cumin.
Honey/pomegranate seeds.
Cold water.

Preparation:

- Roast the eggplants. The easiest and cleanest way is in the oven; preheat the oven to 220C, then roast the eggplants for about 40 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes or so.
- Prepare the tahini; pour the tahini into a bowl, squeeze in half a lemon (start with half, if needed add more later), and mix with a fork. start adding water, very little at a time, until you get the right texture, should be fluid but not too thin. Add the crushed garlic and cumin.
- Scoop out the flesh of the eggplants into a bowl, pour in the tahini.
- Mix using a fork or preferably a hand mixer (will result in a more appealing texture).
- Drizzle honey, or sprinkle pomegranate seeds and parsley, and serve.

*With feta and pomegranate


Ingredients:

3 eggplants.
spring onions, chopped.
lemon juice.
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
feta cheese.
pomegranate seeds (there's a whiter kind of pomegranate which is sweeter, it'll work better here, but either is good)
salt.

Preparation:

- Roast and scoop the eggplants (same as before).
- Mash the flesh using a fork, squeeze a little lemon juice, and mix in the garlic.
- Grate the feta, sprinkle pomegranate seeds and onions.

*With maple and soy:


Ingredients:

2 eggplants.
spring onions.
3 tbs soy sauce.
2 tbs maple syrup.
1 small cucumber or 1/3 big one.
1 dry chili/ fresh red chili.
1 garlic clove, chopped.
Canola/sunflower oil.

Preparation:

- Roast and scoop eggplant.
- Mash using a fork.
- Heat a little oil in a small pan, put in chili and garlic. Before the garlic burns (seconds later) add in soy and maple, reduce for about 3 minutes (doesn't need to be thick).
- Chop onions, cut cucumber into thin sticks.

On the road again

So, I've been lazy again, and although I cooked quite a lot in the last month, I didn't find the time (between cooking and doing nothing) to post anything.

But, it's all for the best; I'm already a week into the tour, (in Basel at the moment) which means I probably won't get to cook before December 10th, when we're finally finished. So thanks to procrastination, I now have a lot of new recipes to post during these 6 weeks.

Since I'm still lazy, I'll start with the simplest, shortest one.


New favorite salad (I believe it's number 3):


Ingredients:

1 pomegranate.
1 Iceberg lettuce, chopped.
2 green bell peppers, diced.
2 scallions, chopped.
Juice from 1/2 a lemon.
Feta cheese.
Olive oil.
Sumac (not necessary).

Mix everything together. Serve immediately.

Alone in Neukolln

Yes, I'm still here.

Well, 'here' is constantly changing, but I'm still cooking, and now that I got a new camera I can even document it.

A lot has happened since I've written last, too much for one post I think (and of course I don't want to waste all my stories in one time), in short, I left Italy after three months of farming, in a somewhat sour note, I realized I've learned a lot more without really noticing it, aspent a month in Israel, and am now back in Berlin. As usual, I had many worries before getting here, moving around all the time is taking its toll, Israel was nice but not at all simple, I realized, for the 5th time, that I can't be on permanent vacation, and although I only have a month in each place (or less) I should do something with myself (I said that already, I know, but this time there's a happy ending).

So my last action in Israel was to get Ritalin. I'm usually against chemicals, and never take pills, but I decided i have to try something, and yesterday, I sat for 7 hours straight, and finished writing the script I've been 'working' on for the last 4 years. I'm just about to read it, and see if it's any good, but before that, I want to share my latest creation.

This is a bizarre salad, that after thinking a lot about it I realized the only thing in common is that it consists of the three most annoying fruit and vegetables to deal with (apart from artichoke). It has three ingredients, nothing more, no sauce, no salt no nothing, I think its probably the opposite of slow food, considering its ingredients come from three completely different parts of the world, and in different seasons, but nevermind that, make it, you'll love it. I promise.

1 pineapple, diced small.
Seeds from one pomegranate.
2-3 Fennel, quartered and sliced into paper thin boomerangs.

That's is.