Testicles, Fireworks, and Eilat more!

No, this post isn't sexual.

I'm a bit tired right now, after shabbos, so I'm going to try and condense as much information here as possible. I might expand later if people show interest.

We're back in Jerusalem again. We had a great time in Eilat. Special thanks to Michael's Aunt Helen for her amazing hospitality and warm reception.

We had picked up the car in Jerusalem. The drive was long. Surprisingly for me at least, there wasn't much on the way. We took the 90 and drove past the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi. After that, we made a slight pit stop in Arad, which had absolutely nothing interesting to speak of other than a toilet and a felafel place. We reached Eilat, after a 5 hour drive, around 6:30 at night and had some snacks at Helen's house.

Next day, I took the most amazing shower! It was so nice to have a nice shower because in our apt in Jerusalem, the shower has much to be desired, let's just put it nicely. It floods, is tiny, and runs out of hot water rather quickly. The shower at Helen's house in Eilat is a REAL shower! With a tub and hot water! After a light breakfast, we walked along the beach and scoped out a kinyan (a mall).

We had dinner at Achla, a restaurant that serves traditional Israeli faire; lots of salads and meats and the food is amazing. So amazing that we went back the next night, after doing much the same things we did the first day.

This was New Years Eve and I brought the camera to Achla. We also had Micahel's cousin, Ilan video tape the extravagant parts of the meal. You see, Achla serves several animal parts that are hard to find. I had two of them: Turkey testicles and Beef tonsils, served up skewered and grilled.

Here is the final video, edited for your viewing pleasure:



Photographs and more are up on the flickr set, of course.

We also visited the Egyptian border and later that evening saw fireworks from Egypt, Israel, and Jordan; live and in person!

Friday morning, we got up at 4:30am and loaded up the car and I drove us down. We got stuck behind a cow truck for a bit and the entire front of the rental car got "painted" with cow presents. That was fun! We gave the car back as is once we got back to Jerusalem. Needless to say, it smelled like cow. We quickly scrambled to the shuk and got some ground beef and other supplies. I rustled together some potatoes and made some meat burrekas. We also went to Michael's cousin Karen and Roberto once again for Friday night and we are deeply indebted to them for their warmth and hospitality.

That's about it for now.

Tomorrow, we head to Tel Aviv to visit Michael's Nana.

Eventful Events

I'm sitting on the couch right now. It's Monday night. I have laundry in the washer, I finally just did the last of the dishes from Shabbos, and Michael went out to the Shuk to get more tin foil. I feel at home.

Didn't take any pictures today. I'm sorry.

Today wasn't the most eventful of days, but it was nice. Still recuperating from the fast, most likely, we had a lazy day. We got out around lunch time and went and got some fresh juice and then two laffa shwarmas -- one with hummus, harif, chips, and pickles for Michael; the other with hummus, chips, and harif for myself. We settled down on some benches near Ben Yahuda St and wolfed those suckers down. We walked off our lunch for a bit and proceeded back to the shuk again to buy some supplies.

See, we are headed to Eilat tomorrow. Yes, all the way to Eilat. After some debate as to our transportation, we settled on renting a car. So, you read me right, I am going to drive us from Jerusalem down to Eilat and we will visit Michael's aunt Helen and enjoy New Years fireworks down there while we're at it. I'm actually rather excited about the car rental. Michael thinks I'm a bit loony (so what else is new?), but I was dreading the possibility of taking a bus or airplane. The problem with a bus ride is that motion-sick Joni would vomit on innocent passengers on a 4 1/2 hour bus ride. The problem with an airplane, although it would only be like a 30 minute flight, is the expense. It would be like over $250US/person. Plus, I really hate flying.

The cool thing about renting a car is; not only is it the cheapest option but it's also the most fun, in my opinion. Think about it. If you have a car, you make your own itinerary, you go at your own speed (faster than a stupid bus), and you generally have more control over the trip! So I'm excited. It's a road trip!

So after our lunch and a nice walk this afternoon, we purchased things to snack on -- always a must! Things like Bissili and sour worms and a kilo of rugalach (most importantly). You know, the essentials. We also got some smoked cheese and some mustard that I plan on making sandwiches with using the leftover Challah and avocado from Shabbat (hence why Michael is out getting tin foil right now).

When Michael gets back, we'll chart out our route on the map we got from a book store today. We also need to figure out what clothing articles et cetera we need to pack and then pack them. The car will be picked up by us down the street circa 10am and we'll be off.

Please note; while we will take the computer with us, if you do not hear from us for a couple of days, we are fine. We are not dead. We are safe. We simply are having too much fun to indulge you at that moment. That's right. Be jealous. Feel left out. Get angry that you're not that important. Don't worry. We will resume blogging once we feel like it again.

I will post photographs when I can, of course. I bid thee good morrow.

Faster

Today, being Asara B'tevet, I thought I'd write a bit of a food blog. You're welcome.

Before I do that, I'd also like to get everyone up to date. When we last spoke (as in: I typed, you read), it was erev Shabbat and I was planning on heading to the market for last minute things and then cooking before we headed out to Michael's cousin Keren's for Friday Night Meal. All went according to plan and we spent a lovely evening with Cousin Karen, her husband Roberto and their lovely three girls. A huge thanks to all of them for hosting us and showing us such amazing hospitality. We had a lovely time.

Shabbos morning, we went and davened at the kotel. It was still somewhat crowded not just with Jews but also non-Jews who were still here after their Christmas holiday. After we were done, we walked back home for an amazing Shabbos lunch! Which brings me to the food blog portion.

I took the following photos on Friday afternoon while I was cooking.

The menu was Steak and Kidney PIE!!! Of course, we also had wine, challah, salad, a whole red snapper, hummus, olives, and did I mention wine? It was all delicious! For anyone wanting the recipe for the pie, it can be found here. Please note that I did make a few changes to the recipe. I used chicken kidneys instead of veal. I was unable to find any livestock's kidneys in the shuk. Also, instead of the worcestershire sauce I used soy sauce and instead of half and half or milk I just used water for the egg wash. Instead of suet I just used regular extra virgin olive oil and instead of sherry I used a dessert wine.

So let's start with the arsenal of ingredients:


The aromatics ...


The alcohol


Some herbage


some fats and flavorings


kidneys! Yes, a whole bag of 'em!


Some puff pastrey


and ... Some stew meat, which I then cubed myself.

What many might not realize is that kidneys are gorgeous! They happen to be the most beautiful shade of dark red. And that's exactly the kind of color you want to see in them, or else they're not good.

Here's a photo of one on the cutting board to really get and idea of the depth these things have in color:


Needed is a saute pan and then load it on up with that olive oil!




I brought our own cooking instruments from home on account of the fact that I don't trust the kashrus of just about anywhere.


I sauteed up the meat and then began to dredge the kidneys in the flour. Quick note about flour in Israel; it isn't like in the US. You must always check the flour for any infestations and what not. As a general rule, I even check the flour in the US because I'm rather paranoid.

So into the flour the kidneys go and then into the saute pan after the meat has been removed.




After that, in go the mushrooms


I cut open one of the kidneys to see inside and it is really pretty, even when partially cooked!


Then all that stuff goes in together in one baking pan ...


Then cover with puff pastry ...


And bake!


It comes out looking like this:


The verdict: It was rather good. I do have to admit, I liked the stew beef better than the kidneys themselves. Kidney, at least from a chicken, has a flavor much like liver, except it has more structure in its texture and that can be rather unnerving. There is also a slightly bitter taste, which I would attribute most likely to urea. The upside is that they do not require kashering of the blood like liver does. I most likely will not make them again, however. I am still willing to try them from different beasts other than chicken. Like Lamb kidney or beef kidney. I'm not ready to rule the body part out universally, I just don't think chicken kidney is very good. Though, it was still edible. I might make a chopped kidney (like chopped liver) and see how that would work as far as from a chicken. I do recommend everyone try it and figure it out for themselves.

Here is also some photos of the fish that I stuffed with leftover parsley and onions and spices, with a dash of the soy sauce and olive oil.




There are more photos, of course, on the photoset. I hope you've enjoyed this.

Have an easy fast, everyone!