stuffed pita with cheese and za'atar

My trip to Israel was incredible, filled with wonderful people and thrilling experiences.  I climbed mountains, crawled through tunnels, floated in the Dead Sea, sang, laughed, and cried.  Food wasn’t really a central focus, ususally eaten in cafeterias or hotel dining rooms on our way out to the next activity.  But now that I’m back home, I realizing how much even those simple meals affected my experiences – the piles of different salads, fresh pitas, and gobs and gobs of hummus.   And beyond those, the vibrant sights and smells of the suk in Jerusalem, the juice stalls on every corner, and even our home cooked Shabbat meals were a part of the fabric of the adventure.

I took nowhere near enough pictures to capture everything, but wanted to share a few of my favorite foodie shots.  The next goal – to make pita as tasty as the ones that came fresh off the stone in Akko, a falafel as light and crispy as the ones in Tzfat, and really really really good hummus.

Read on for more photos….

spices in the jerusalem suk

snack mixes with coconut, almonds, and cinnamon

pita oven in akko

my first challah

knafe - sweetened goat cheese with pastry topping - from the Akko suk

bread from the old city of Jaffa