MB have really been looking forward to today, when we will go to the market in Jerusalem and experience the pre-Shabbat crowds, the noise, the pushing, the haggling, etc. But first, it's off to the Biblical Zoo with B, J and Meir. It was WAY better than I thought it would be. It's not huge, but the habitats are modern, with lots of room for the animals, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. It's also really lovely, set down in a valley, with views of beautiful Jerusalem hillsides all around, and beautiful art within the zoo. This is all reflected in the zoo's mission statement. The website is: http://www.jerusalemzoo.org.il/len/ and if you are going to Jerusalem, you really might want to check it out. It's just relaxing and fun.
After a great walk through the zoo - the weather was just fabulous, as it had been throughout the trip - it only rained the day that we spent in the Old City, and not very much - we headed to the market. What fun! The colors, the sounds, the smells, the people, the food - all perfect. At the market, MB really stocked up on spices that she will need for cooking Israeli food in Rochester, B got a pretty hamsa, and I bought an embroidered bag with pomegranates that I'm now using for my tallit. I tried to bargain with the guy, but he wouldn't budge! I even walked away, but came back later and just paid him what he wanted, because I hadn't seen that particular size in the other places I'd been. The produce in the market was amazing. Eggplants as big as your head, leeks longer than my arms. Huge pomegranates and strawberries and mangoes and all sorts of things.
J wasn't feeling too well (precursor of the Italy ear infection?) and she and Meir went off to get something to eat and drink, while MB, B and I walked around. I thought I had "saved" Meir's cell phone number in my Israel phone (J had forgotten hers), but it wasn't there when I needed to call them. I did panic a little, thinking how were we ever going to find them, but miraculously, we just ran into them at Marzipan, when we were buying a challah for shabbat, and some bourekas for lunch. Then I really DID save his number, and we split up for a while. Met up and went home to cook shabbat dinner!
OK, so MB really went all out, in this unfamiliar kitchen, with no "pantry" (we had to buy a whole bottle of oil, a whole bag of flour, a whole bag of arborio rice, a whole bottle of pepper (salt too, but we kind of messed up on that - all the spice labels had English translations, except none said "salt" - we bought what LOOKED like salt, but it was lemon salt - sort of made for an interesting flavor). Anyway, MB made risotto, with zucchini (they were round! from the market), red peppers, leeks, maybe something else - we had to use powdered vegetable stock, which kind of wasn't the best, but we made do. I made my famous fried spinach, which was a special request from Jordana, who didn't eat much of it, because she really wasn't feeling well. In fact, she didn't eat much at all :-( We had challah, and rugelach from Marzipan, and baklava, and lit candles, and it was a lovely Shabbat dinner. Some of this is out of order, because J and I also went to a nearby synagogue for services, and that was very special.
Read for a while, chilled, turned in early...Day 8 coming up...
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