Magical Culinary Tour: 'Ani Hozer Habayta'

If you're wondering where on earth the next Magical Culinary Tour has taken me and you, I'll save you the suspense. The above phrase, 'Ani Hozer Habayta' is the title of a very popular Israeli song from many years ago. It means, 'I'm returning home.' One of those nostalgic, tug-at-your-heartstrings, love-my-country type of songs. Israelis are extremely patriotic; so much so that they will bitch about Israel when they live there, but if they ever emigrate or go work in another country, they will miss their country so much it will tear them up inside. I don't know what it is about Israel - if I did I could tell you the reason I feel the same pang every time I remember my childhood and summers there.

Not many people know, but I was born in Israel. A true Sabra - the plant that has thorns on the outside, like a cactus, but is sweet on the inside. I was there from age 0 to 6 - and in that short time my entire being was cemented. I am lucky enough that many Israelis moved to Brooklyn and thus set up Israeli grocery stores - or rather, the foundation of a happy Israeli family - the 'makolet'.

A makolet is so many things in one tiny space - essentially it means 'grocery store'. I have lived most of my life in Brooklyn, and just plain grocery stores still have not moved me to emotion like the memories I have of Israeli makolets.

They are old-fashioned, horribly disorganized. As soon as you come in you smelled zaatar and cumin, marinading olives in vats; the makolets were dark inside, because the sun outside was so strong, coming into the makolet would be a welcome relief. I remember walking to one in the middle of the day. The sun was the hottest in the middle of the day, especially in the summer months. There wouldn't be a soul around me, and all I would hear would be the sound of my flip-flops scraping across the cement. Brave men and women would go out at this time of day. I seem to remember little kids like me making these trips, for one or two items to bring back home for lunch or dinner that night. They were usually short walks, often just downstairs as many makolets were inside small apartment buildings. The best part of the makolet for me was the fridge there. Strange as it seems, I will never forget the memory of walking into a cool and dark store, going to the back, opening up a fridge and getting out a bag of milk or chocolate milk. I've always thought dairy products in bags were the coolest things in the world - and the one thing I miss most in the world is lying back and drinking a bag of Shoko - Israel's chocolate milk, the best chocolate milk in the world, in my opinion. The fridges and freezers in those stores were old - they were the type that the handle had to be pushed down to open, not like the ones here that open like a door or that would slide.

I needed some ingredients to make some CL recipes, so I knew that today would be the perfect day to make the trip down. All I needed to do was follow Avenue U and a few minutes later I reached the Israeli neighborhood with its many stores. This one is my favorite.
Holon, if you're curious, is a small-ish town near Tel Aviv, though Israel is so tiny most cities are described as small-ish towns close to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or Haifa!

There is another 'Holon' store also not too far from this one - I'm not sure if it is the same owner but they essentially have the same products and most importantly, the good pita!

Now, is there good pita and bad pita?? The answer: Yes! If I had a true addiction to pita, and my thighs thank me that I don't, then I don't think I could live anywhere in the world except for Brooklyn and Israel. Brooklyn is the only place, outside of Israel natch, that has the most authentic pita in the world. It is meaty, it is soft, it is bread! It is not the thin pathetic packaged pita breads that supermarkets sell. In case you're wondering, yes, I'm a true pita snob.

Holon and the stores surrounding it have the pita. I don't know how it's possible that it tastes exactly like the pita in Israel and is baked in Brooklyn, but there ya have it. Deliveries come in every morning except for Saturdays when these stores are closed. The only mornings I'm free are Sundays, so between 10 and 11am, as was the case today, I would make the trip to get the freshest pita around.

Here are some of the other things good makolets are known for:

Huge vats of olives and other pickled items.

They love their olives and pickles! Mmmmm!

And their dried fruit and spices!

Israel is big on dairy - most breakfasts consist of cut cucumbers and tomatoes spread out, and plates of cottage cheese, cheeses, spreads... breakfast al fresco.

I ended up buying some goodies - things for some of the recipes I will be making, and things also for nostalgia's sake.

The big bottle at the back is Petel. Petel literally means 'raspberry' but is the generic term referring to all these syrupy cordials, no matter the flavor, though raspberry is everyone's favorite, including mine. A few drops into a glass and then topped up with cold water, still or fizzy, mmmmmm! Bamba is dangerous! Yummy puff-snack flavored with peanut butter. This is what kids take on school trips along with pita filled inside with chocolate spread -- better than nutella! And speaking of pita - I wasn't joking about how fresh it is. Check out the steam still inside the bag - it was baked just this morning. The huge bag of zaatar was only $3. I smelled it all the way home!

So that was more of less my culinary adventure. Its purpose really was to get some ingredients for tomorrow's dinner, but a lot of it had to do with the fact that I miss home and this, in a way, is getting it back.