It is a glorious morning in my garden. And it follows a glorious day.
Yesterday in honor of Thanksgivukkah, I cooked the first whole turkey I have cooked in seven years. And this was a whopper! An estimated 20 pounds, basting this big guy every hour gave me a better workout than my weights. It's an awfully good thing I have gotten into shape as of late. My visit to the butcher to pick up my 20 pound friend proved to be a true "Only in Israel" experience.
Our family, like many families here, cherished the family time that the Thanksgiving holiday promised in America, but was abandoned upon our move to Israel, in our efforts to "Israelize" our children into our newly acquired society. When we spoke a few weeks ago about the rare occurence of Thanksgiving falling on Chanukah as it would this year, my daughter exclaimed, "Then why don't we celebrate both??!!" The thought of reliving precious Thanksgiving memories warmed my heart, and a call to our local butcher ensued.
I should tell you that whole turkeys are hard to come by here. You just don't find them in the fresh or frozen meat section. Perhaps it is for lack of space in our tiny country. How many large birds can you possibly fit into this place?? Perhaps in the absence of a yearly holiday promoting the massive fowl, there is little recognition of this tasty bird. Whatever the reason, we made sure to special order our turkey a week in advance. The humorous part of the purchase came in the checkout line. The adorable Ethiopian girl, my favorite cashier at the market, gazed at my bird with questioning eyes. "Mah zeh??", she asked me. In English, with a few words thrown in, I believe her question would have sounded something more like, "What in G-d's name is that enormous thing that looks like a chicken on steroids????" My answer that it is a turkey didn't really seem to resonate with her, as the turkey that people frequently purchase here rarely includes every single one of its body parts under one wrapping. Besides that, I'm not entirely sure if Ethiopian fare includes whole turkeys either. Regardless, I was glad that I was able to offer an unusual sight to the lovely young woman during the course of an ordinary work day.
So much for the Thanksgiving in Israel chapter. Chanukah in Israel is a whole different matter.
In America, Chanukah was about lighting candles with friends and family, parties, latkes or potato pancakes, driving around looking at other people's candles displayed in the windows, presents, and delicious sufganiyot, or donuts, that are traditional treats during this holiday. It is a celebration of miracles, particularly that of oil that should have only been enough to light the Holy Temple for one day, yet miraculously lasted eight full days. Therefore, we light branched candelabras called menorahs, or chanukiahs, for eight nights in commemoration of this miracle. Now, don't get me wrong, we still keep in mind the true meaning of the holiday. It's just that, well, it's hard to discuss the true meaning of the holiday when your mouth is full of donuts. And not just any donuts.
In Israel, Chanukah time is when donuts go gourmet. Seriously. The country's best are featured in the weekend paper and all diets are called off until after the eight days. No kidding, mine included. So on Thursday my husband set out on a mission to find the best donuts in the country. The fact that many of the best bakeries are chains made it easier. He and the kids drove to Modiin where shopping abounds. They made four stops in three stores and spent over 300 shekels on donuts. Really. 300 shekels. Translated into dollars, that's around 80 bucks. Granted, that included the 50 to feed the families at his office party.
Last year I was fortunate. My doctor had given me a piece of dieting advice. Eat anything green, he told me, and lots of it. See the two donuts third row down and to the right? Those are pistachio donuts. And they are green. Definitely green. So last year I decided to follow the doctor's orders. It went so well, I'm doing it this year also.
Our Thanksgivukkah dinner turned out to be one of the most delicious that we could remember. Better yet, Skyping our family filled our hearts with love. We were due for a refill. This morning's donut and coffee outside on the patio, watching the kids bounce together on our new trampoline only filled my heart up more. Playing a new game with my little guy put me into total "chillax" mode. I sit here typing outside in the cool breeze, wondering when the simple pleasures became so pleasurable. My desire to be back in my big American house, cooking in my enormous kitchen, has waned. I only wish to bask in the glory of what I have been given, while praying that G-d will allow me to enjoy the gifts that He has been so generous in bestowing on us.
I wish you all a beautiful holiday season :)
<3
Yesterday in honor of Thanksgivukkah, I cooked the first whole turkey I have cooked in seven years. And this was a whopper! An estimated 20 pounds, basting this big guy every hour gave me a better workout than my weights. It's an awfully good thing I have gotten into shape as of late. My visit to the butcher to pick up my 20 pound friend proved to be a true "Only in Israel" experience.
Our family, like many families here, cherished the family time that the Thanksgiving holiday promised in America, but was abandoned upon our move to Israel, in our efforts to "Israelize" our children into our newly acquired society. When we spoke a few weeks ago about the rare occurence of Thanksgiving falling on Chanukah as it would this year, my daughter exclaimed, "Then why don't we celebrate both??!!" The thought of reliving precious Thanksgiving memories warmed my heart, and a call to our local butcher ensued.
I should tell you that whole turkeys are hard to come by here. You just don't find them in the fresh or frozen meat section. Perhaps it is for lack of space in our tiny country. How many large birds can you possibly fit into this place?? Perhaps in the absence of a yearly holiday promoting the massive fowl, there is little recognition of this tasty bird. Whatever the reason, we made sure to special order our turkey a week in advance. The humorous part of the purchase came in the checkout line. The adorable Ethiopian girl, my favorite cashier at the market, gazed at my bird with questioning eyes. "Mah zeh??", she asked me. In English, with a few words thrown in, I believe her question would have sounded something more like, "What in G-d's name is that enormous thing that looks like a chicken on steroids????" My answer that it is a turkey didn't really seem to resonate with her, as the turkey that people frequently purchase here rarely includes every single one of its body parts under one wrapping. Besides that, I'm not entirely sure if Ethiopian fare includes whole turkeys either. Regardless, I was glad that I was able to offer an unusual sight to the lovely young woman during the course of an ordinary work day.
So much for the Thanksgiving in Israel chapter. Chanukah in Israel is a whole different matter.
In America, Chanukah was about lighting candles with friends and family, parties, latkes or potato pancakes, driving around looking at other people's candles displayed in the windows, presents, and delicious sufganiyot, or donuts, that are traditional treats during this holiday. It is a celebration of miracles, particularly that of oil that should have only been enough to light the Holy Temple for one day, yet miraculously lasted eight full days. Therefore, we light branched candelabras called menorahs, or chanukiahs, for eight nights in commemoration of this miracle. Now, don't get me wrong, we still keep in mind the true meaning of the holiday. It's just that, well, it's hard to discuss the true meaning of the holiday when your mouth is full of donuts. And not just any donuts.
In Israel, Chanukah time is when donuts go gourmet. Seriously. The country's best are featured in the weekend paper and all diets are called off until after the eight days. No kidding, mine included. So on Thursday my husband set out on a mission to find the best donuts in the country. The fact that many of the best bakeries are chains made it easier. He and the kids drove to Modiin where shopping abounds. They made four stops in three stores and spent over 300 shekels on donuts. Really. 300 shekels. Translated into dollars, that's around 80 bucks. Granted, that included the 50 to feed the families at his office party.
Last year I was fortunate. My doctor had given me a piece of dieting advice. Eat anything green, he told me, and lots of it. See the two donuts third row down and to the right? Those are pistachio donuts. And they are green. Definitely green. So last year I decided to follow the doctor's orders. It went so well, I'm doing it this year also.
Our Thanksgivukkah dinner turned out to be one of the most delicious that we could remember. Better yet, Skyping our family filled our hearts with love. We were due for a refill. This morning's donut and coffee outside on the patio, watching the kids bounce together on our new trampoline only filled my heart up more. Playing a new game with my little guy put me into total "chillax" mode. I sit here typing outside in the cool breeze, wondering when the simple pleasures became so pleasurable. My desire to be back in my big American house, cooking in my enormous kitchen, has waned. I only wish to bask in the glory of what I have been given, while praying that G-d will allow me to enjoy the gifts that He has been so generous in bestowing on us.
I wish you all a beautiful holiday season :)
<3
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