Summer in Palestine

People here in Palestine would think it's funny I'm even bothering to post this because this salad is as common as french fries in the U.S. But it's what I have been living on in the hot weather. It's been in the high 90's, and often past 100 every day for months. This is abnormally hot for Bethlehem. It's hard to think, move, and eat. As my friend recently posted on Facebook, "I'm sorry if I'm not returning phone calls, but it's hot and I'm dysfunctional. Don't blame me, blame your God." This salad seems to be the only thing that helps. It's commonly called Arabic Salad.

Ingredients:
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Fresh Mint
• Fresh Parsley
• Lemons
• Hot pepper to taste (such as jalapeno)
• olive oil
• salt
• avocado (optional)
• tahini (optional)

I'm not giving you amounts because it really doesn't matter. If you can find cucumbers with thin, sweet skins, those are the best. These are also ubiquitous in Bethlehem, and my roommates and buy several kilos at a time and eat them in a few days. Chop all the vegetables into small cubes. Peel and chop the lemons as well. On days when this salad is all I eat, I add avocado or mozzarella so that it has a few calories. Mix everything together and Add some olive oil, mint, parsley, and salt to taste. If you want a thicker dressing, mix a few teaspoons of tahini with the olive oil and a little water until it's a thin paste. That's all! If you really want a true Palestinian experience, you can throw lemon juice, mint, sugar and ice in the blender for a limonana, or mint lemonade.

Coffee, Jerusalem Style

"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."
-Turkish Proverb

I have a deep love for Arabic coffee. It's strong and sweet and gritty and stains your teeth. It's a symbol of hospitality in the Middle East. I was told that many years ago, people here saved their coffee for guests. When they ground it in the desert, the sound could be heard from miles around and neighboring communities would hear it and come to welcome the newcomers. In a typical day in Jerusalem, it's easy to drink 5-6 cups of it between seeing friends, shopping, drinking it at home, etc. Luckily the cups are little. It took me a while to learn to make it, and my first attempts were pretty horrific. But with the help of my patient neighbor, I've learned to make it fairly well.

You'll need a pot shaped like this one. Ours is much less ornate. You'll also need coffee ground Turkish or Arabic style, which is extra fine, almost like powder. Here they mix dark and light roasts and add cardamom to the blend. If you don't have a Middle Eastern grocery store nearby, either ask for an extra fine grind or grind it yourself, and it should work fine.

To make the coffee, spoon about 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons into the pot. (It depends on the size of your pot, and you can make it to taste, but you want to put much more coffee in the pot than you think you should.) Next, fill the pot with boiling water. Then, place it on the stove on low heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly. The coffee should foam up. In Jerusalem, you're supposed to spoon this foam into the cup because it's considered a luxury. But our neighbor told us that's bad form in Galilee because it shows that you didn't boil the coffee long enough and are rushing your guest out of the house. After the coffee is hot you add sugar to taste. We usually add about a tablespoon. Then, you pour the coffee into cups and let the grounds settle. Here's B. making his first pot ever. It was terrible. But, after much practice, he can make a pretty decent cup now.

In season

One of my favorite things about living here is that it's very easy to tell what fruits and vegetables are in season. Unlike the U.S. where you can buy any kind of fruit at any time, here the vendors' stock is always different. Last week, all the fruit sellers in the old city had piles of a green, fuzzy little fruit-like things. At first, I avoided them, but then decided since everyone was carrying them, they must be worth something. When I got home, I asked my neighbor what to do with the strange little fruits. She laughed and told me it was an almond fruit and that I should eat it with salt. I did, and at first it was odd. It's not at all sweet and very crisp. But then they were strangely addictive with tiny green baby almonds inside. I'm looking forward to seeing what's on sale next week.