I had reached a point before I left home, where I felt absolutely stuck creatively, I had no idea where I was going or what I wanted to do, I was finding no inspiration in anything and the feeling of frustration was growing. I am pleased to say that this trip was giving me so much, that I almost couldn't wait to get home and start working again, I felt refreshed and could see so much that I wanted to do, I have over two thousand photos, so enough to keep me going for the next few years, and I have three pieces on the go.
I also think that it will take some time to get this trip out of my system. I will be going again, as there is still so much I want to do and see. Anyway, this day with Bella was refreshing and opened new areas for me, so we decided to go out for lunch.
She had asked if I liked fish, I do, so we went off to Dag al Hadan, a fish restaurant situated on the River Dan, they also farm the fish there, and we had a wander afterwards to see the tanks where the fish are brought up, (not sure that's the right term, but they did go in size from very tiny to absolutely huge.)
The restaurant is lovely, with the river running past, and we had a table right beside the water, the waitress gave us bread to feed the ducks which were swimming around, and they soon knew where to go for food! They were very sweet, and we had fun feeding them. We ordered, chargrilled trout, and we had the usual array of salads and some beautiful fresh bread, chatted and just took in the lovely surroundings.
I really cannot get enough of this food, and enjoy making it at home, I had fun over the Christmas period making Hummus, Tabbouleh and Israeli salad
As we sat waiting, this dear little cat wandered across the bridge behind me, past our table to the next one, and sat on the rock and just looked at the people sitting at the next table. It rather reminded me of Puss in Boots in Shrek, she didn't say a word, not a meow or a rub around anyone, she just walked in and sat and looked with big eyes. Here cute act was rewarded by Bella and I who passed on our fish heads.....
Straight out of the tank and onto my plate......
The two cockerels were also an interesting addition to the menagerie, the cat didn't bother with them or the ducks and they cared less about her, so they just wandered around pecking at the ground.
It was back to Bella's studio for the rest of the day after this lovely lunch, and then I had an early night, or was going to when there was a knock on the door and in bursts Uri to say goodbye to me. I was leaving Bella the next day and heading back to Tel Aviv and staying with Niza. I will go over what we did, but this post is really supposed to be about food.
Friday was Niza's birthday, and saw us going north a little, and then meeting up with her sister's Naomi and Rifka in Zichron Yaakov for lunch. We went to a meat restaurant, and it was wonderful. There was a chiller cabinet with the most beautiful rich red meat in it. ( I should apologize if you are vegetarian, this was one of the rare occasions I did eat meat, and have to say I wasn't missing it, but it just looked good quality, so apologies again.)
After the main course, they came out with the most delicious apple tart complete with sparkler and Naomi and Rifka sang a very happy birthday song to their sister, it was great fun and every one was clapping and singing with them!
Niza, Naomi, me and Rifka
We had now come to the end of the week and were getting ready for the Sabbath. Niza, thought it would be lovely for us to go to the beach for Brunch and we asked Eti to join us. It was really quite hard to think that here I was, sitting on the beach in 26C while there had been snow back here!! However, I got over it very quickly and enjoyed it, although I don't think I made myself very popular as I sent a photo home of the beach......
Brunch was lovely, and we ordered Sabih which was eggplant with cheese and other vegetables and another wrap and we split them between us so we got to try different ones. It was lovely to sit and watch the world go by, people were swimming in the sea, it was hot and sunny................
Eti, me and Niza
Now I was moving on again but going back to Shoshi's for a night. The next day was the Sabbath, and we had a wonderful stroll along the promenade at Bat Yam, and then went back to one of the restaurants where Shoshi had booked a table, for lunch. Again, it was a beautiful day, and it was lovely to sit and watch the world go by. As it was the Sabbath, lots of people had been to the synagogue and families were coming out to eat. This particular restaurant had my favourite favourite breakfast, Shakshuka eggs. Now I have to admit to making this quite a lot, it's probably the best breakfast there is, tomatoes which have been gently cooked, and then a couple of eggs dropped into them and poached, there really is nothing better.
When I got home, there were still lots of tomatoes in the fridge, so I made Shakshuka eggs, following the recipe in The Book of New Israeli Food, it said to add Harissa which is a very hot spice from the middle east, I need to cut back on the quantity, I was wondering if I would ever feel my tongue again!!
We had minted Lemonade which was so refreshing
Shakshuka eggs
Israeli Salad, no meal is complete without it.
Towards the end of my trip, I was out with Clara, and we went to the home of a friend of hers after lunch. Nina had prepared a tray of desserts and nuts and fruit, it was lovely. I told you I make Tahini cookies which I can't get enough of. I made some for the church coffee morning today, and they went down very well, glad I didn't take too many!!!
So here endeth the food entries, but still lots to tell about what else I saw, but thought you might need to keep your strength up!
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