First Shabbat in the New Apartment

Fridays are insane here in Tel Aviv. 1/2 the city has the day off from work and the other half is working in the shops and restaurants that are open until Shabbat begins, which has been around 6:30 the past few weeks.

Yesterday, I went to the big market to buy some fruits and veggies for the week and stuff to prepare dinner for Lindsay and I. We had invited other people, but they were going to family things. I made roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes as well as my version of Cafenetto's Arabic Salad (tomato, cucumber, lemon, mint, coriander, and parsley).

First, I went to Dizzengoff to buy a pan for the veggies and other items. I was on the hunt for xanthum gum because I'm going to attempt to make wheat free challah. I went to the huge grocery store there. The lines were insane. I only had two items, but there were easily 30 people on the express lines. I went to a regular line and got behind a woman who had already started checking out. She was having her stuff delivered, so the checkout woman had to bag and box it all according to refrigeration needs. The shopper, who was a little older, was completely useless and just stood there watching. No one helped bag and the woman behind me was complaining about how useless the rest of the staff was. It took nearly 15 minutes to ring up the 1000 shekels ($250US) grocery order. I wasn't so angered by that because I was amazed at how much stuff this woman was buying.

Next I went to the outdoor market where I bought fruits and veggies for the week. I also got tons of fresh herbs and a 5 kilo bag of rice!

Our dinner was delicious, but I think next week I'll try to make the challah. Instead of xanthum gum, I think I can use gelatin. Alternatively, I might be able to order the gum online. I've already found the flours I need. Those are available around the corner at the Natural Market. I go there everyday and drive the women nuts. I ask questions and most of the time they tell me they don't speak English. So, instead I have them read soy yogurt labels to ensure they're wheat-free. I was able to communicate tapioca starch - it's the same word in Hebrew! Next time I'm going in there with a better prepared list (in Hebrew) because they don't get good wifi and I can't translate while in the store.