Cooking Adventures Abroad...

I have found that living in Israel has really made me branch out of my culinary- comfort zone and try new ingredients, and new combinations, it's quite exciting actually :)

I had mentioned the heavenly Shrimp that I had finally found in the market a few weeks ago - well, I decided it was time to purchase it again. Now, here it is fairly pricey and I didn'

t want to waste too much money on the Shrimp, So I decided to take the discounted road, by purchasing the Shrimp with the skins, legs and veins still in. Now, ladies and gentlemen - crawly things creep me out, but

when it comes to food the process, for me anyway, is the fun part so I can overlook the grossness of peeling shrimp because I know the end result is delicious and rewarding. However! I will probably never buy this shrimp like that again, because the work was long, taxing, and Gross!!! The deveining is the part that really gets me, I don't want to have to remove the excrement of anything that I eat...really...I mean..gross.

Anyway! After all that I mixed it with some peas, red wine, zucchini, and whatever else had to

be used up in the fridge, it was really a "garbage bowl" dinner, since there was no

recipe or any real inspiration other than the Shrimp and I just took it as an opportunity to use stuff up, Looks pretty good no? It was Deeeelish. The next adventure I took myself on, was a very different one - One that didn't

really include any effort on my part, just my brothers. He is a farmer in the North of Israel, and when I went to stay with his family this weekend, he had brought home Fresh Fresh Fresh! Carrots, Onions, Parsley, Garlic - and they were just amazing!! They were a different colour than the normal stuff you see in stores. The garlic was so so tender that you could throw them in

the pot with the skins on, and they would just melt a

way!! I had to step back and think to myself how lucky I am to be here, and how unique some of the experiences are that I am having here. I mean, how many times can I make a quick mid-week soup with fresh ingredients that my own brother brought home from the fields just hours ago? Not many!

Yesterday, I wanted to attempt to make something that I could take to Boyfriend's house for the Passover Seder that I am joining. I know that they keep Kosher, and there is a special Kosher for Passover, so I knew that what I could make was very limited. However, I thought of something Simple, Kosher and delicious! Kind of like Peanut Brittle I guess, but inst

ead? Dark Chocolate covered Matzo Brittle! :) Everyone said it was really delicious and it looked so pretty!

Also, I guess our Apartment was in the mood to make stuff - Elsa decided to take

some of the leftover plain sugar cookie dough that I had made a few weeks ago and just thrown in the freezer. Well, she took an over ripe banana that I had also saved in the freezer earlier for a time just like this, and mixed it into the cookie dough. Now, they didn't look very great in the sense that they didn't hold any real shape - However! They were SO delicious!! I cannot imagine ever eating a sugar cookie again without banana in it!! They were kind of pancakey because of the softness of the banana but that just made it so much better. I was very proud of her experimentation and so glad that they turned out so well!! It opens a whole new world of possibilities for me. Chocolate chip - Chocolate dipped Banana Sugar cookies? hmm....

Happy Passover Everyone!

The Wonder that is Vegetables!

So the past few weeks, regular, run of the mill salads have bored me almost to tears! (Literally, food is so important to me, that when there is nothing good to eat? Well let's just say I'm upset)

So, I have been thinking, what can I do with vegetables, rice, etc. but make it exciting and different than normal

So! A couple of nights ago, I decided to try a meal that is popular in my family, Stuffed Peppers. Now, this meal usually consists of a LOT

of oil, which I try to avoid since I value my arteries and heart, and a heavy Tomato sauce which I

would be allergic to. So if I wanted to create me own idea I had to start off by knowing that I didn't want tons of oil and NO tomatoes. Here we go!

It was sinfully easy and delicious, not to mention worthy of a magazine if I say so myself :)

Lee's (Healthier) Stuffed Yellow Bell Pepper:

1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper

Brown Rice - Cook per packa

ge instructions

1/2 Butternut Squash

4 Large Cloves of Garlic

1 Large Onion

Dried -Basil, Paprika(sweet)Chili Flakes, salt and pepper (or whatever spices you like)

Cook the rice according to package directions; in the meantime, stir-fry all the vegetables that are going to go into the rice.

Once the rice is cooked, add it to the pan with the cooked veggies

Place the yellow pepper on a oven pan, greased lightly with Olive Oil; you can choose to cut the top of the pepper and stuff it that way, but

I cut it length wise because I am using a tiny toaster oven and it wouldn't fit otherwise! :)

Fill the pepper with as much filling as possible, et Voila!

Put the pepper in the oven at about 150 degrees celsius until the pepper is soft and the contents is hot - the time it takes to cook the pepper can be to your taste also, depending on how soft you want your pepper!

It was so delicious, not saucy mind you - but that didn't bother me; and a comfort food that you can

Definitely feel good about eating.

Today, it's SO hot in Tel Aviv this week, like about 30 degrees everyday! Crazy, its only March! Oy. Anyhow, this weather makes me crave delicious salads that are fresh and refreshing. Due to my feelings of monotony in terms of the salads I've been making lately however, I decided to mix it up, and did I ever!!

Asparagus, Olive, Yellow Tomato Salad:

A Handful of Baby Asparagus Stalks

Handful of Yellow Cherry tomatoes - feel free to add red instead, if you prefer them or can't find the yellow ones, the yellow ones are the only tomatoes I'm not allergic too, strange I know

Half a small white Onion

Three Large Green olives

Three Large greek/kalamata Olives

Half a Pear

Fresh, torn Arugula leaves

Fresh, torn Basil leaves

Olive oil

Fresh Lemon Juice

S & P to taste

-I started by blanching (cooking very quickly in hot water) the Asparagus just to soften them up a bit, and brighten their Beauti

ful green colour

- I cut all the other ingredients up, added the warm asparagus

- I just squeezed the lemon right onto the salad and added the oil and salt and pepper directly on - if you are a Salad Dressing Buff, feel free to class up the dressing; the lemon juice really works to compliment the soft, sweetness of the asparagus and the tomatoes, I wouldn't use a heavy vinegar like Balsamic - an Apple cider vinegar might be nice! :)

- I placed the pear slices on top, and for some extra protein added two slices of smoked Salmon, Yum!!

And there we go! Two new ways of making veggies fun, healthy and GORGEOUS!

Oh and helpful hint? Don't throw away the water your cooked the Asparagus in! I know it looks kind of gross, and you might be inclined to, but something that I learned from my grandmother, is to save this water and use it as a base for a delicious, healthy asparagus soup later in the day!!

Enjoy!