Easy Israel

Munich (the movie) opens tonight and I've wanted to see it for some time. The '72 Olympics and the tragedy that occurred happened before I was born and was far less publicized than, say, World War II, so I know little about it. What I do know is that the Israelis were involved and they've conjured up some mighty fine cuisine in their time.

So I looked up classic Israeli meals and found an overview of the classic Shabbat Friday Night Dinner. It being Friday night, I thought this would be perfect. It turns out to be quite the ordeal. Challah, then fish, then soup, then chicken, then kugel, then vegetables and finally dessert.

By the time I consult the internet to determine what challah and kugel are, (a bread in need of a massage and a rich noodle dish, respectively) I'm already pressed for time to determine what we're actually going to eat for dinner before the movie starts.

One of the specifications on the Shabbat page was to make the meal yours and prepare your favorite foods. Well, I love falafel. I could make a meal out of falafel alone. However, I am not particularly good at planning ahead to make it. Canned chick peas have always resulted in an enormous mess and you have to soak the dried ones for such a long time before they're even remotely usable.

So instead we had simplified versions of everything. Falafel Flavored Chickpeas, a Tzatziki Flavored Cucumber Salad and Baba Ganoush. Ok, there were no corners cut on the baba ganoush (it's as easy to make as an eggplant salad or something would be), but I did buy my pita bread from the supermarket.

I hardly think that anything is lost by failing to puree these dishes. I actually think it's easier to eat a bowl of falafel flavored chick peas than it would be to eat an equivilent bowl of falafels. They're not as dry, but just as tasty. They do have a tendency to roll out of your pita, though. The tzatziki salad's residual dressing could be used as tzatziki itself, which is really good on top of everything from potatoes to lamb to another salad.