Sufganiot Gallery and Ode to a Great Mocha

My family took our first ever family vacation last week. We rented an apartment in Jerusalem for five days and four nights. ( I would highly recommend At Home in Israel for apartment rentals.) After the restaurant we had planned to go to turned into a sushi bar, we wandered into Shosh Cafe.

The restaurant and menu looks like your average Israeli dairy restaurant/cafe. However, the ingredients, flavor, and presentation had that extra something you don't get from a chain. All the food was delicious, but what really stood out was the REAL mocha. I think cafe mocha should be a cross between good cappuccino/cafe latte and good hot chocolate, but it is usually only one or neither. It should be based on good espresso and good chocolate. I've had many good "cappuccinos" and many great "shoko-ham"s (hot chocolate), but never the two shall meet... until today. Now I've only been to Shosh Cafe once, so I can't promise it wasn't a fluke. Maybe the barista was just in a good mood and tossed some extra chocolate in my drink, but this was good espresso with steamed milk and real chocolate. The milk was hot enough to melt the chocolate and the proportions were perfect. Maybe Jerusalem just has higher standard for their hot drinks.

The first day of Hanuka I took my kids and a friend to the "big mall" and the "big park." I was overwhelmed with the variety of sufganiot, filled donuts, on sale. All the pictures are from English Cake, a bakery chain with a store in the mall.

Argentine Family Traditions

Zeide and me drinking Mate on the back porch

Today would have been my grandfather's 81st birthday. He passed away October 19, 2011, a few days before my son was born. Pablo Hackman, my Zeide (we called him by the Yiddish word for grandfather), was born in Poland and moved to Argentina as a baby. There he married my grandmother "Lala" and they had two kids before moving the family to New York. I wanted to celebrate his birthday by reminiscing about a typical family gathering.

Our food and get-togethers were very much influenced by Argentine culture. And Argentine culture is influenced by Italian culture. We ate lots of pasta, and said "ciao," and probably did lots of other things I don't realize are more Italian that South American. I grew up in Florida, living near my grandparents and my Aunt Monica's family. We got together often to enjoy asado Argentine barbecue.

We would all meet at Lala and Zeide's house in the afternoon. We might sit outside by the pool, or inside with a soccer game on the TV. At some point, maybe in the afternoon, my grandparents would prepare mate (mah-TAY) for us to share. (I was going to make this whole post about yerba mate, but that will wait for another day.)

7 Ways to Make Coffee at Home

Photo by Lotzman Katzman

Caffeine is a drug that often gets a bad wrap.  Hey, I give coffee a bad wrap!  But today I'd like to celebrate the benefits of coffee.

First, some fun facts I've heard recently:

I've been hiding the following gem of information from my caffeine addicted, instant coffee loving hubby. According to "Nutrition Diva", Monica Reinagel, M.S.,L.D./N...

It turns out that caffeine has a lot of positive health benefits and, despite what you may have heard, relatively few drawbacks.  People who drink coffee every day, for example, have a significantly lower risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s, colon cancer, gallstones, and Alzheimer’s disease. Now, that may not all be due to caffeine. Coffee contains a lot of volatile compounds and antioxidants that may have beneficial effects by themselves, or in combination with caffeine. Read or listen to the full article "Is Caffeine Bad for You? March 3, 2009"

In the November 26 episode of KCRW's Good Food (29 minutes in), Evan Kleiman interviews author Kevin Sinnott about the terms and implications of fair trade, direct trade, shade grown and organic coffees. Most of us have heard of "fair trade," but did you know "direct trade" benefits the farmers more? Did you know that coffee from many countries is organic for all practical purposes, but the farmers don't pay for certification?  Listen to the episode or check out the Kevin Sinnott's book to learn more.

Mike of Daily Shot of Coffee shares lovely pictures of coffee making devices and how they work in "10 Ways to Make Coffee."  The article "The 7 Ways to Brew Coffee" lists different grinds recommended for different methods - course to Extra fine.

In a celebration of coffee, I'd like to present a compilation of video tutorials of different coffee making techniques.  How do you like your coffee?

Easy Brew Green Tea

I want to show you how to make quality tea without any fancy equipment.  No teapot required.



URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAxPqYIOnWs

Chai Tea - Guest Post

Please welcome Rivki Locker of Kosher Cooking for Ordinary People and Healthy Eating for Ordinary People.  Rivki describes herself as "just an ordinary Jewish mother who tries to cook and eat healthy, and who wants to help other people" like herself.  Rikvi is a hard working mom with four children. She says she never seems to have time for any extras, but somehow finds time to cook and photograph food for her blog.  You can follow Rivki on Twitter @ordinaryblogger.

  Chai Tea

It's rare in the life of a full time working mother of four.  But it happens every once in a while. The older kids head off to school or to friends, the baby goes in for a nap, and I find myself with a half hour of quiet time on my hands. Time to read the paper. Time to take out my crocheting. Time to call a friend. Time just for me.

It’s at times like this, so few and far between, that I reach into the spice cabinet for the cardamom, fennel seeds and star anise. Because there’s nothing like a cup of fresh homemade chai tea to complete the feeling of relaxation and luxury.

Here’s my chai tea recipe. I’ve perfected the technique over the years, borrowing from lots of different recipes I’ve seen. It’s my own unique blend, and I think it’s just perfect.

Coffee and Tea

Tea and coffee both have health benefits and are a lovely, relaxing beverage on a cool day.  The trick is to learn to enjoy these beverages unsweetened.

Teas flavored with fruit, vanilla, hazelnut, and flavors reminiscent of dessert often don't taste right without any sweetener.  Drinking tea with agave nectar in place of dessert, might be  good choice, but don't make it a habit.  Try different tea varieties until you find one you enjoy drinking unsweetened.  If you like fruity herbal tea with honey or sugar, consider trying green tea or mint tea, unsweetened.  Jasmine, Oolong, and Earl Grey are other varieties I find are exciting enough without sugar.   Kahahri Red Tea has many of the antioxidant benefits of green or black tea without the caffeine.  It is now much easier to find and comes in a variety of interesting flavors.