Are You Craving A Shawarma?

Hey guys! So if you haven't guessed it already this blog post is going to be about the scrumptious foods I have tried so far in Israel. Let me first start by explaining to you some differences between the US and Israel when it comes to meal time.  Beginning with breakfast...you would think of some pancakes, waffles, eggs, maybe some toast and cheese or yogurt with granola. Well, scratch that image and think salad. That's right. I said salad. About a week ago I met up with some of my Israeli family here in Haifa. When they asked me what I usually eat for breakfast and I replied yogurt and half of a grapefruit, they were shocked! They said, "What, no vegetables or cheese?" Here in Israel it is pretty typical to have an assortment of vegetables with your breakfast. These veggies usually go along with cheeses and eggs, and some really awesome pastries. I'm pretty sure I haven't had such a delicious chocolate croissant until eating in Israel. Also, a really popular dish that is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner is called shakshuka. It's basically tomato sauce, with onions and tomatoes chopped up and mixed in with two sunny side up eggs placed right on top. You dip bread into eat and eat it all together. Sounds a little strange but it is so yummy!
Now, when it comes to lunch and dinner...the first thing I must tell you about is a shawarma. Yes, this is the dish that is talked about in the movie "The Avengers." My family friend put it into perspective for me, he said that if an Israeli has his last 10 shekels in his pocket, he'll use it to buy a shawarma. Now let me tell you, he was right! A shawarma is a pita bread filled with a combination of salads, hummus, tahini  sauce, sometimes fries, and a type of meat or curried chicken which is cut up off of a huge roast. A falafel sandwich consists of the same things except instead of the meat, the pita is stuffed with deep-fried chickpea balls. It's also delicious. The last thing I want to tell you all about which is everywhere, and with practically every dish here, is hummus. For those that don't know hummus is a thick paste or spread made of ground chickpeas and sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon, and garlic. Growing up my family always had some on our Shabbat table to eat with bread. But here it is actually with almost everything! During the CIEE orientation we went to the ancient city of Akko for the day, and had lunch at a famous hummus place. Everyone had the choice to add extra things into the hummus, like ground meat, eggplant, or mushrooms. I got mine with mushrooms and I'm pretty sure it was the best hummus I've ever had! On that note, all this talk about food is making me hungry, so dinner time it is! Until next time...shalom everyone!