http://thekatamonkitchen.blogspot.co.il/

The Katamon Kitchen, Katamon, Jerusalem (2026)

13/05/2024

Year after year these words still ring true. The only change from what I wrote from 8 years ago is that the number of fallen has risen to 25,040.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲
A day before we celebrate the birth of our State of Israel we remember the 23,447 brave men and women who have given their lives for our country.
It’s a bit strange to share a picture of my cup of coffee when speaking about this solemn day, but this regular cup of joe has changed me.
I made Aliyah 3 and a half years ago, fulfilling my dream to come home.
There are some days that are difficult, like when dealing with bureaucratic issues, but today was not one of those days.
I walked into the coffee shop a few hours before the start of Yom Hazikaron and you were able to feel the intense mixed emotions of the coming days in the air.
The moment that really struck me is when the barista asked for my name. When I said it’s Ahuva he didn’t ask me to repeat it or how to spell it as they do in NY. (My name means beloved and I am named for my great-grandmother who was born in Jerusalem.)
I was handed my cup and the small square of chocolate that comes with each drink, but this week those chocolates are a bit different. Instead of being wrapped in its regular label each square is wrapped in an Israeli flag.
These few minutes in a coffee shop provided me with the strongest feeling of really being in the place that I belong than I have ever experienced in the past three years.
This evening I went to a ceremony commemorating lone soldiers who have fallen in battle. Men and women who came here on their own and served in the IDF not out of the obligation of draft, but out of a deep love of the homeland of the Jewish people.
After the ceremony I went to Jerusalem’s town square and sang with over 1,000 people the following words that are still ringing in my ears אין לי ארץ אחרת...כאן הוא ביתי I have no other country...here is my home.
Remember the 23,447 who have died for the State of Israel and to quote Alon Bakal z”l who was murdered in a terror attack “let it be that by next Yom Hazikaron, not one name is added to the list of heroes that is already too long.
Continued in comments

28/04/2024

Every year for Pesach I get to make my Bubby’s sponge cake in her tube pan that is over 60 years old and we use her hand written recipe. Her 30th yartziet was, י״ג ניסן (erev erev Pesach). She passed away when I was four years old so I do not really have any memories of her. But I do have my siblings, parents, and cousins to tell me stories about her and I have her recipes to connect with her. Today, כ׳ ניסן is my Zaidie’s 20th yartzeit. I was very very close to my Zaidie, I always thought I had a special connection with him as I am his youngest grandchild and I am the first to be named for his mother. My Zaidie and I would make charoset together. He would cut the apple right in his hand not on a board and place the quartered apples in a solid wood bowl. We always had to ask my mother for another apple or two because my Zaidie and I would eat most of the apple before it made it into the bowl. We would hold the chopper (which belonged to my Bubby) together, breaking up the nuts and apples and mixing it with the wine and spices. I remember that we would keep tasting it until we got the flavor just right and then sneak a few more bites in before we put it away for the Seder. The sponge cake and the charoset are not about the actual dish, it is about what they represent; my connection to my grandparents, my way to remember them and honor their memory.
Continued in comments ⬇️

15/09/2023

Wishing you all a beautiful 5784 filled with health, bracha, simcha, clarity, peace, and of course lots delicious food!!
Like the many seeds of a pomegranate may we be blessed with all of these wonderful things in abundance!
I hope all of your tfillot be answered l’tova and may you be able to see them as tova.
Shana Tova and Ktiva v’chatima Tova! .
#שנהטובה

25/04/2023

Year after year these words still ring true. The only change from what I wrote from 7 years ago is that the number of fallen has risen to 24,213.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲
A day before we celebrate the birth of our State of Israel we remember the 23,447 brave men and women who have given their lives for our country.
It's a bit strange to share a picture of my cup of coffee when speaking about this solemn day, but this regular cup of joe has changed me.
I made Aliyah 3 and a half years ago, fulfilling my dream to come home.
There are some days that are difficult, like when dealing with bureaucratic issues, but today was not one of those days.
I walked into the coffee shop a few hours before the start of Yom Hazikaron and you were able to feel the intense mixed emotions of the coming days in the air.
The moment that really struck me is when the barista asked for my name. When I said it's Ahuva he didn't ask me to repeat it or how to spell it as they do in NY. (My name means beloved and I am named for my great-grandmother who was born in Jerusalem.)
I was handed my cup and the small square of chocolate that comes with each drink, but this week those chocolates are a bit different. Instead of being wrapped in its regular label each square is wrapped in an Israeli flag.
These few minutes in a coffee shop provided me with the strongest feeling of really being in the place that I belong than I have ever experienced in the past three years.
This evening I went to a ceremony commemorating lone soldiers who have fallen in battle. Men and women who came here on their own and served in the IDF not out of the obligation of draft, but out of a deep love of the homeland of the Jewish people.
After the ceremony I went to Jerusalem's town square and sang with over 1,000 people the following words that are still ringing in my ears אין לי ארץ אחרת...כאן הוא ביתי I have no other country...here is my home.
Remember the 23,447 who have died for the State of Israel and to quote Alon Bakal z"l who was murdered in a terror attack "let it be that by next Yom Hazikaron, not one name is added to the list of heroes that is already too long.
Continued in comments

10/04/2023

Pesach is a very special time. It is a time rich with tradition. It is a time filled with delicious food. It is a time to literally clean our homes and spiritually clean our souls. Most importantly it is a time to spend with family.

Every year I get to make my Bubby’s sponge cake in her tube pan that is over 60 years old and we use her hand written recipe. Her 29th yartziet was, י״ג ניסן (erev erev Pesach). She passed away when I was four years old so I do not really have any memories of her. But I do have my siblings, parents, and cousins to tell me stories about her and I have her recipes to connect with her. Tonight, כ׳ ניסן is my Zaidie’s 19th yartzeit. I was very close to my Zaidie, I always thought I had a special connection with him as I am his youngest grandchild. Every Pesach my Zaidie and I would make charoset together. He would cut the apple right in his hand not on a board and place the quarter apples in a solid wood bowl. We always had to ask my mother for another apple or two because my Zaidie and I would eat most of the apple before it made it into the bowl. We would hold the chopper (which belonged to my Bubby) together, breaking up the nuts and apples and mixing it with the wine and spices. I remember that we would keep tasting it until we got the seasoning just right and then sneak a few more bites in before we put it away for the Seder. The sponge cake and the charoset are not about the actual dish, it is about what they represent; my connection to my grandparents, my way to remember them and honor their memory.

We are constantly moving, attached to our phones and not really enjoying the things around us and those that we are with. Let us make this Pesach a time to stop and enjoy where we are, to hug those that we are close to, to listen to and appreciate one another, and to just be thankful for the life that we are fortunate to have.

Chag Kasher V’Sameach! Enjoy it

22/09/2022

Before Yom Kippur my great grandmother who I am named for would make kreplach for the whole family she taught, my Bubby who then taught my mother. My mother now makes over 150 of these every year to distribute to our extended family.
My first memory in the kitchen is making these kreplach with my mother when I was 5 years old. A Sunday near the end of the summer the kitchen becomes a kreplach production line. A very soft dough is made, my mother found a written dough recipe that is very similar to what my grandmother used to do so I can provide you with exact measurements for the dough.
This recipe comes from the Ratner’s cookbook - Ratner’s was an iconic dairy restaurant on the Lower East Side.
Circles of dough are filled with meat that has been cooked until it is fall-apart tender. The kreplach are boiled for a couple of minutes and placed on a towel to cool. My father then, packages them to freeze and they are then distributed to our family in the States and in Israel. My mother makes enough kreplach so that everyone in our extended family can continue the tradition of having them in their chicken soup before Yom Kippur (she also makes a few extra so that I can have some in my freezer all year).
This isn’t so much as a recipe as it is a technique as it is a very “Bubby Recipe” - a little of this a pinch of that, but I hope you take the time and try making your own kreplach, maybe you will even start a tradition for your own family. This recipe makes about 160-180 kreplach, but you can of course cut the amounts and it won’t take you much time at all to prepare kreplach for your family to enjoy before Yom Kippur.
Did you know that the singular form of kreplach is krepl, but when will you ever eat just one?
Like these kreplach may we be able to see the hidden brachot in our lives and be sealed in the book of good life!
The recipe is on the blog - http://thekatamonkitchen.blogspot.com/2021/09/kreplach.html

14/08/2022

TEN years ago (yes ten years how crazy is that?!!) On August 14, 2012, I stepped off a plane as a new citizen of Israel and started the greatest adventure of my life.
A lot has happened these last ten years. I've had a few very interesting jobs: madricha, sales clerk at a tourist shop, private chef, medical clown instructor, to name a few. I’ve worked at two amazing Jerusalem restaurants, started my own catering business, taught many cooking classes, hiked all over the country and along the way I have made some truly incredible friends.
I am grateful that my parents instilled in me a deep love for the state of Israel and I was lucky enough to make Aliyah with my brother, sister in law, and nephews. I remember as our plane of 200+ new olim began to land and we approached the coastline of Israel my nephews who were 4 years old at the time (they’re now going into 9th grade!) looked out the window and said we can see our new house!
I too had that little kid excitement along with a whole mix of other emotions.
As the plane touched the tarmac everyone broke out into song and began cheering. We descended from the plane and stepped foot onto Israeli soil as citizens of this beautiful country.
There were many moments these past 10 years that have been extremely difficult and I’m sure going forward there will be more hurdles. However, every day when I walk through the streets of Jerusalem I look around and am reminded that I did in fact make the absolute right decision. The decision to come home to the land of the Jewish people. The land where my great grandmother who I am named for was born. The land that I dreamed of living in ever since I was a little girl. The land that thousands of heroic men and women have given their lives so that I can live here. The land where I will one day raise my children as Israelis. The land where you truly feel at home. 🇮🇱

27/06/2022

When it comes time to make lunch the day before my weekly grocery shop I have to use whatever I have on hand as my fridge is pretty empty in anticipation of tomorrow’s stock up.
Today, what I found in my fridge was a bunch of zucchini that were slightly past their prime.
I remembered that had posted about a zucchini butter pasta which celebrates the sweet zucchini which is a star vegetable of the summer season and is accented with the flavors of garlic and a bit of heat from a pinch of chili flakes.
I always have pasta on hand because what would life be without it? And even if my fridge is empty there is still butter and Parmesan in there so I knew this pasta recipe would be the perfect way to make the best use of what was in my kitchen.

29/05/2022

Today we celebrate 55 years of a reunified Jerusalem and I’m doing so by enjoying a dish that’s very popular in this holy city.
Sabich is served in a pita but I made a sabich plate with a big swoosh of creamy chummus as the base, topped with fried eggplant, fresh Israeli salad, amba spiced cauliflower, plenty of techina, a big handful of fresh herbs, sliced pickles, and a soft boiled egg instead of a the usual hard boiled. Some claim that the name for sabich is named after an Iraqi Jew who was the owner of the first sabich stand in Tel Aviv others say that it’s an acronym for the hebrew words salat (salad), beitsa (egg), yoteir chatzil (more eggplant). Regardless of its origin or what city it comes from, enjoying this tasty dish is a great way to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim.
My great grandmother, who I am named for was born in Jerusalem in 1897. She raised 3 children in Jerusalem in the 1920s, before the State of Israel was established. When I walk by the house that she raised my grandfather in, that stands just outside the shuk, I think about how lucky I am to live here in Yerushalayim freely and safely. It’s the city she lived in and that so many have dreamed of coming to and it’s the city I’m privileged to call home. Yom Yerushalayim Sameach!

03/05/2022

Year after year these words still ring true. The only change from what I wrote from 6 years ago is that the number of fallen has risen to 24,068.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲
A day before we celebrate the birth of our State of Israel we remember the 23,447 brave men and women who have given their lives for our country.
It's a bit strange to share a picture of my cup of coffee when speaking about this solemn day, but this regular cup of joe has changed me.
I made Aliyah 3 and a half years ago, fulfilling my dream to come home.
There are some days that are difficult, like when dealing with bureaucratic issues, but today was not one of those days.
I walked into the coffee shop a few hours before the start of Yom Hazikaron and you were able to feel the intense mixed emotions of the coming days in the air.
The moment that really struck me is when the barista asked for my name. When I said it's Ahuva he didn't ask me to repeat it or how to spell it as they do in NY. (My name means beloved and I am named for my great-grandmother who was born in Jerusalem.)
I was handed my cup and the small square of chocolate that comes with each drink, but this week those chocolates are a bit different. Instead of being wrapped in its regular label each square is wrapped in an Israeli flag.
These few minutes in a coffee shop provided me with the strongest feeling of really being in the place that I belong than I have ever experienced in the past three years.
This evening I went to a ceremony commemorating lone soldiers who have fallen in battle. Men and women who came here on their own and served in the IDF not out of the obligation of draft, but out of a deep love of the homeland of the Jewish people.
After the ceremony I went to Jerusalem's town square and sang with over 1,000 people the following words that are still ringing in my ears אין לי ארץ אחרת...כאן הוא ביתי I have no other country...here is my home.
Remember the 23,447 who have died for the State of Israel and to quote Alon Bakal z"l who was murdered in a terror attack "let it be that by next Yom Hazikaron, not one name is added to the list of heroes that is already too long.

Some more thoughts that I had this year
Memorial Day here is very different from where I grew up. Here in Israel it’s not a day for shopping sales, going to the beach, or having a bbq. It’s a day to remember those that gave their life so that we can live in our Jewish homeland.

The transition from Yom Hazikaron, a solemn day of remembrance to Yom Haatzmaut, a day of immense joy and celebration is challenging. The juxtaposition of these two days makes the emotions of each even more intense. Without the loss of those that we remember on Yom Hazikaron we would not have a Yom Haatzmaut to celebrate.
Whether you live here, want to live here, or just come to Israel for vacation you need to take a moment to remember those that we lost because without them we would not be here. In the span of a week we have two memorial days Yom Hazikaron to remind us the cost of having a state and Yom Hashoa to remind us the cost of not.
This Yom Haatzmaut we will be celebrating 74 years of having the State of Israel, but we have to remember that we would not have it without those that we have lost. As the last line of Israel’s national anthem states להיות עם חופשי בארצינו to be a free nation in our land - that freedom comes with a price a price of 24,068 and we must never forget them.

02/05/2022

With Yom Haatzmaut coming up I was trying to think about what special muffin to make for Muffin Monday. I thought what foods are synonymous with Israel and falafel was the first to come to mind. I said to myself, no I way, I can't make a falafel as a muffin, But then I thought why not?
Israel is the land of saying why not? It is a country that defies the odds. A country that doesn't take no for an answer and pushes itself to be the best that it could be. So if Israel, a little piece of land the size of the state of New Jersey can accomplish so much in 74 years why can't I make a falafel into a muffin?
These falafel muffins or falaffins are made from a simple mix of chickpeas, spices, and a lot of fresh herbs to create the flavor of falafel we all love. But instead of forming them into balls and frying as is usually done, the chickpea mixture is pressed into a muffin pan and baked to create a falafel muffin cup.
These falaffins are crispy around the edges and soft on the inside. They are great on their own, but they are made even better when loaded up with classic falafel additions like Israeli salad, chummus, techina, and pickles. Or go the sabich route and fill the falaffins with chummus, fried eggplant, hardboiled eggs, and amba. Shwarma is another option, make shwarma spiced chicken, chop it up and fill the falaffins along with chummus and pickles. Whichever filling you choose just make sure not to leave out the chummus because it acts as a barrier so the bottom doesn't get soggy and really what is a falafel without chummus?
Falaffins are the perfect addition to your Yom Haatzmaut bbq and any day you want to have a little taste of Israel.

The recipe for these Falaffins is on the blog - http://thekatamonkitchen.blogspot.com/2021/04/falaffins-falafel-muffin-cups.html?m=1

The Katamon Kitchen

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22/09/2022

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