VeggieTalk

On July 9, my two teenage sons and I flew from Tel Aviv to Paris (hubby flew home to NY the day before; business beckoned). One of the sheer delights of eating in Paris are “assiettes.” These are platters filled with numerous small dishes; these are prominently featured in many of the veg eateries as well as in cafés and bistros (I’m a compulsive menu reader, so I know!). We discovered a tiny macrobiotic restaurant/health food store in the St. Germain district called Guenmai. I remember seeing it on my lists of veg eateries, but if we hadn’t happened upon it, I would have never found it. Should you find yourself in Paris, it’s at 6, rue Cardinale, phone # 01-43-26-03-24. The servive is extremely friendly, though very little English is spoken.

The nice thing about assiettes is that you get to sample many flavors in the same meal; the portions of each item are modest, but overall, it is quite enough food. Somehow I find this style of eating so satisfying—I have been increasingly been making assiette-style meals at home, making pretty plates of 5, 6, or 7 items. Everyone in my family likes this kind of meal, which incorporates freshly made dishes as well as leftovers. I certainly don’t have time to make 7 dishes for the same meal; of course, simple items like raw veggies are included in the count.

The point, though, is that each dish is quite simple and shines by virtue of the freshness and quality of its ingredients. Here is what was on Guenmai’s assiette that day: quinoa with tiny bits of green beans; brown rice; a savory pastry filled with onions and pine nuts; tiny lentils with tomatoes and parsely, a grated salad of carrots and turnips, plus slivered cucumbers, in a cilantro dressing; the most deliciously sweet cooked carrots; and a melange of broccoli, cauliflower, and red and yellow peppers. With the assiettes we had rice flour spring rolls and freshly made juices. For an early lunch it was absurdly expensive, but that’s the price of traveling with two vegan teens. My sons always need lots and lots of beverages, and I think those alone set us back 25 euros!

One of the most fun things about traveling is finding food inspiration and ideas. I’m most drawn to simple preparations that have creative twists. In Israel, I loved the myriad varieties of salads, served morning, noon, and night. I could spend a month in Israel just studying the salads.

And by the way, yes, I am very upset and concerned about what is going on there now. We left shortly before the conflict with Lebanon broke out. This is not a political blog so I am not going to offer my opinion here. It’s a tremendously difficult situation and suffice it to say that I hope with all my heart that it can be resolved soon.

Our last lunch before heading to the airport was at a lovely little cafe in the suburbs of Tel Aviv. The top photo shows a salad I ordered, with a mixture of sweet and white potatos on a bed of greens. The potatoes were dressed in a sweet chili sauce—a very creative twist. I’m pretty sure that this kind of sauce is fairly easily found in the Asian section of supermarkets. However, I really wanted to make this salad today for company, and so I used what I had, which was Bragg’s vinaigrette.

The bottom photo shows my copycat version of the salad. I made two additions: a diced avocado for the greens salad, and a topping of pumpkin seeds. It was so easy to make, yet such a pleasing presentation! This is definitely a keeper. After this post, I’ll be covering the Paris and Amsterdam portions of our trip; stay tuned!

Mixed Green Salad with Sweet and White Potatoes

6 or more servings

• 1 large sweet potato
• 4 medium white potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold or red skinned
• 1/2 cup vinaigrette, homemade or store bought, plus more for serving

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

• One 4-ounce bag mixed baby greens

• 1 cup (1/2 pint) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

• 1 small avocado, peeled and diced

• Toasted pumpkln seeds for topping

Microwave the sweet potato and white potatoes separately until done but still nice and firm. Plunge into a bowl of cold water when done.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into dice. Combine in a mixing bowl with vinaigrette; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Line a large serving platter with the greens. Mound the potato mixture in the center.

Scatter the tomatoes and avocado around the perimeter of the salad. Top the potato mixture with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds. Serve at once; pass around additional vinaigrette as desired.

… on a hot summer morning. OK, it wasn’t as hot as it has been of late, but it was still a bit mad to run such a hot oven. And of course, I didn’t absolutely have to, but for some reason, I went to bed the night before thinking that I really wanted to make pita from scratch to go with my family’s usual Sunday brunch. Where I live, you can’t get decent pita bread. Pita needs to be consumed shortly after it emerges from the oven.

The first meal we had (outside of our relatives’ homes) in Israel was lunch at a hummus place in a run-down section of Tel Aviv. Yes, there are places that strictly specialize in hummus (as my mother would have said, “From this, you make a living?”) This simple meal was heavenly. This is hummus with foul, another dip made from fava beans that a specialty of several Arab cuisines. In this traditional presentation, hummus (chickpea and tahini puree) sits at the bottom of a shallow bowl, then the foul goes on top of it, surrounded by a pool of good olive oil, and topped with herbs and spices. I must learn how to make this, or at least, where to buy it ready made.

On the side are served wedges of raw onion, falafel balls, some sort of lemony dressing, and of course, pita breads fresh from the oven. It was running across this photo the other day that put the notion of making pita into my head. I tinkered with a basic pita recipe to come up with the following. I simply could not believe it, 11 of the 12 pitas came out with pockets, just like they are supposed to! Next time, I may up the quantity of flour to 3 1/2 cups, and with it, the other ingredients, to make slightly larger and denser pitas. But for a first attempt, I was pretty pleased.

Actually, I think this was my second attempt. I seem to recall making pitas with my sister-in-law when I was 17; we put the pitas right on the rack of the oven, as we did not have baking sheets. I may also try that next time.

By the time we left Israel, my family and I were thoroughly sick of pita, hummus, falafel, cucumber and tomato salads, etc. But just a little more than a week later, when we saw a falafel place in Amsterdam, we made a dash for it. There is something about that stuff that is just a bit addictive!

Pita Bread

Makes 12

• 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water (about 110 degrees F)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons natural granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour, plus more for kneading

In a large bowl, combine the water with the yeast and sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes or more, until the yeast is completely dissolved.

Stir in the salt, then the flour, a little at a time, with a wooden spoon. Once all the flour has been added, mix with your hands until all of it is evenly moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured board. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each one into a ball and roll out into a 5- to 6-inch round. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the rounds on two large nonstick baking sheets.

Cover with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oen to 475 degrees. Bake the pitas for 8 to 11 minutes, or until puffed out and just beginning to turn golden.

Remove from the oven; gently transfer to a rack to cool (make sure to use oen mitts!). Serve warm.

Our favorite meal (outside of our relatives’ homes) was at Taste of Life, or Taim Hakaim (60 Ben-Yehuda, Tel. 08-655-9360). This unique establishment is owned and operated by the community of African Hebrew Israelites, whose headquarters in Israel is in Dimona. This same group is affiliated with the Soul Vegetarian Café chain of restaurants. Soul Vegetarian manufactures organic, vegan, kosher foods and have restaurants in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Charleston, Ghana, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Despite enjoying the delicious Mediterranean-style meals we’d grown used to, this vegan-style comfort food was most welcome. Our sons are conscious of eating slowly and savoring meals, but they couldn’t help but practically inhale their food.

Here is Evan’s meal of seitan with gravy, a creamy potato casserole, and a ragout of veggies, plus a typical Israeli-style salad with tofu “feta.” Adam had something similar with a broccoli and mushroom dish instead of the ragout; my husband feasted on a melt-in-your-mouth eggplant parmesan. I was getting over a stomach upset I had picked up by eating at a kibbutz, so I had to take it a bit easy; the creamy potato casserole really hit the spot. If vegan desserts are available the boys can always find more room, so they tried some oatmeal-raisin and carob cookies.

The second photo is of a delightful young lady who works at the café. Not only was the food wonderful, but the people who cook and serve are warm and conversational. We also had interesting chats with some of the other diners eating at adjacent outdoor tables, who were up from the community in Dimona. Many are originally from the U.S. and seemed to enjoy meeting our family of vegans. Visiting Dimona would be a fantastic food field trip, but our time with my large family was so precious. Besides, it was getting HOT, and Dimona, which is located in the Negev dessert in the south, is even hotter than Tel Aviv. Next time, for sure! And I’ll write some sort of article about it. The community manufactures many of the products used in the café—creamy soy cheeses, “sausage,” “salami,” burgers, and the like. They are supposedly the largest manufacturer of tofu in Israel. The superb seitan is made right in the Tel Aviv café.

I absolutely loved the gravy that was served on the seitan, and the chef had no problem sharing the simple recipe with me. Actually, she gave me the list of ingredients and I decided to figure out the quantities; she probably needs to make much larger amounts. Next time, maybe she’ll give me a tutorial on how to make this amazing seitan—it’s a lot better than my homemade version.

Here is my version of the gravy. I made it last night to top a “mixed grill” of tofu and seitan:

Great Gravy

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Combine the water and soy sauce in a small saucepan and heat.

Combine the cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve in a cup or small container. When the water adn soy suace mixture is at a steady simmer, slowly whisk in the cornstarch, stirring constantly until the liquid is thickened.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the basil and yeast. Use at once over seitan, tofu, or mashed potates.

Israelis live nicely but more modestly (and less wastefully) than Americans, but one thing they seem to do much more generously is to entertain. We had dinner at the homes of many of my relatives, and it seems no big deal to set out a table with six to eight different dishes. This is how it is typically done; all the food is set out on the table at once, and is passed round and round until everyone is stuffed silly. At every last meal, at least twice the amount of food needed was served, but no matter, I’m sure leftovers are well used and taste nearly as good the next day.

Here is a meal we were served at the home of one of my American cousins, Elaine; her Israeli husband, Alex is the cook in their home. Elaine and I grew up together in the suburbs of Detroit; she’s only a year older than me, but her kids are grown and they have an adorable first grandchild! Here is what Alex made: A mixed lettuce salad with mung bean sprouts and onions; steamed eggplant served with tahini, lemon, and fresh garlic; broccoli; corn on the cob; a tomato and cucumber salad with pine nuts and scallions; a fruity rice pilaf; and the best okra dish I’ve ever had. The first course was melon and cherries, and fresh pecans in the shell—straight from a tree in their yard.

By the way, being vegan in Israel is still somewhat unusual (though vegetarianism is not), but no one made an issue of our diet. The typically Mediterranean ingredients (including eggplant and tomatoes galore, peppers, pine nuts, chickpeas and other beans, sesame seeds and tahini, lemon, olive oil, etc.) make it easy to create meatless, dairy-free meals. Middle Eastern specialties like falafel, hummus, and mujaddarah are vegan to begin with and we had plenty of those as well.

Excuse me now, I feel like going to make a tomato and cucumber salad for breakfast …

I am surprised by my choice (I had expected to choose Paris), but hands-down, it was Israel. And the reason is the produce. Everything just tastes incredibly vivid and luscious, whether it is an exotic passionfruit or a humble cucumber. Whether we ate out or were served dinner by my many relatives, the food, no matter how simple, was just packed with flavor.

Israel is a small country, about the size of New Jersey. Imagine fresh produce that is picked when ripe and not rock-hard, as it does not need to be trucked thousands of miles to its destination. I also liked the style of eating. The days begin and end with salads of all sorts, and fresh fruits galore!

My husband and I and our two ravenous teens stayed in an apartment-style hotel with a decent kitchenette, though I did not do any cooking. Too many relatives clamoring to feed us! However, we enjoyed keeping fresh breads, cereals, and fruit in the hotel for breakfasts.

Scenes like this one from a produce shop are quite typical; I went a little crazy trying not to buy too much, as absolutely every kind of fruit is currently in season (except for sabras, or cactus fruit, which my husband was disappointed about—these were a childhood fave of his). Fresh figs are as beautiful to look at as they are intoxicating to eat. I think my favorites were the melons. Here in the US you never know what you’re going to get with melons, but in Israel, each one seemed to be so intensely flavored and scented.

Hello! I just returned from a 4-week trip abroad; I’ll be spending the day organizing my photos and will start posting a report of the food portion of our travels a bit later. I expect to be posting once or twice each day about our journey to Israel, Paris, and Amsterdam, until I get caught up to the present.

Meanwhile, I had this surprise while abroad: VegNews magazine has named Vegetarian Kitchen “Best Web Site for Nesters” in their first annual Veg Webby Awards. Here’s what they said:

With a score of cookbooks to her name, Nava Atlas has become a prominent vegetarian personality. One of the coziest destinations on the web, her quaint Veg Kitchen includes recipes sorted by season, details on setting up a pantry, and a rudimentary nutrition reader. Browse her entertaining blog, which covers recipes, ideas for cooking lesser-used veggies and grains, and tidbits about her family—including one content vegan cat.

You can see the entire Veg Webby Awards. on line; pick up the July-August issue of VegNews on the newsstand to read my review of Le Potager du Marais in Paris from my trip to Paris last March.