One question that that my Danish relatives will be certain to ask me when I get home is “How was the food?”
In Neot Semadar, that question is remarkably easy to answer because we get the same food every week. That is to say: The weekly menu is the same. So without further ado, let me present the weekly menu:
Sunday
Breakfast: Make-your-own-salat from salad, cabbage, tomato, peeled cucumber, lentil sprouts, carrot, onion, parsley, lemon, olives, white cheese, tahina, boiled eggs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whole grain bread, white bread and apricot jam as needed.
Lunch: Wok dish with tofu and rice, salad, tahina and white bread.
Dinner: Soup, potato salad, salad, tahina and white bread.
Monday
Breakfast: Actually, breakfast is the same as described above every day of the week.
Lunch: Stuffed bell peppers with salsa, salad, hummus and white bread.
Dinner: Soup, cous cous, salad and white bread.
Tuesday
Lunch: White beans in tomato sauce, white and full grain rice, steamed vegetables, salad, tahina and white bread.
Dinner: Soup, baba ganoush, salad and white bread.
Wednesday
Lunch: Breaded fish, mashed potatoes, salsa, salad, tahina and white bread.
Dinner: Soup, hummus, salad and herb bread.
Thursday
Lunch: Ratatouille, rice with lentils, salad, tahina and white bread.
Dinner: Soup, taboulleh, halloumi or cream cheese, salad and white bread.
Friday
Lunch: Spaghetti in tomato sauce, egg-lentil puree, carrot salad and white bread.
Dinner: Fried or steamed fish with sauce (four different variants), rice, salad, tahina and challah. Fruit for dessert.
Saturday
Breakfast: As above, except there’s omelet instead of boiled eggs, toasted bread and yoghurt lassi!
Afternoon meal: Leek quiche, rice, leftover spaghetti and carrot salad, salad, tahina and white bread.
You’ll notice that there’s tahina served with almost every meal. Israelis eat tahina with everything. The typical tahina sauce served here is made as follows:
Mix tahini with water 1:1. Stir well to make the sauce even and smooth. Add salt, lemon juice and garlic to taste.
And it’s good with almost everything: On toast with apricot jam, as a dressing for your salad, with your rice, as a dipping for bread… Try it out!
The breakfast table
