Back from Israel....and back to school

Goodbye for now summer

This summer both Hagit and I went back to Israel for a few weeks to spend much needed time with
family and friends.

Here are some of  Hagit's thoughts on her visit. (I'll give you my thoughts next post.)

I had a lot of Israeli food at my relatives' houses and also at plenty of restaurants and cafes.  What I really liked was the excellent variety of good salads, fresh fruit and vegetables....not to mention the amazing coffee.

I like to shop at the open market for fresh spices.  The best place in Tel Aviv is Shuk Ha Carmel.  They also have wonderful beef kebabs, falafel and shawarma.  Israelies love to eat and they have tons of good choices.

Any time of day you can go to a cafe, sit outside and drink a wonderful espresso coffee.  A good salad and delicious bread is always available too.  Most cafes serve amazing breakfast foods such as an omelet filled with parsley and a variety of good cheeses with a side of salad and fresh coffee...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

My kids got used to eating an Israeli salad almost everyday of the week while I got used to eating plenty of spectacular hummus at my favorite hummus place.  It's a little place called Sohila in a town called Akko.  They serve the hummus warm with french fries and a side of Israeli salad...it's the most delightful lunch or light dinner....and I can't forget the freshly baked pita bread with the Mediterranean style olives.

Visiting my family and going from one home to another opened my eyes and my taste buds to some really awesome foods.

Here is just one amazing salad, it's a twist on the original Israeli salad.  The mango gives this salad a fresh and light feel....I hope you love it as much as I do.

Mango Salad
2 cucumbers diced small
2 tomatoes diced small
1 small onion diced small
1  bunch of cilantro chopped fine
1 mango diced small (one large or two small)

Dressing
Juice from 1 fresh lemon
1/2 teaspoon of salt or to taste
1 spoonful of extra virgin olive oil

(Add the salt and lemon last, just before you are serving)

Toss all the ingredients together and serve.
Serves 2-4

Enjoy,
Hagit and Dafna