Part 2 - bureaucratic circles from PT to BB and back again

Thursday's 5 hour stay at L&D left me with instructions to return on Sunday for more monitoring. From Thursday night until Saturday morning I was having frequent, but not regular contractions. I had what I thought was some 'show' and I really thought that if I didn't go into labor on my own, by the time I got to L&D on Sunday, they're examine me and tell me I was 4 cm dilated or something.

Saturday afternoon the sinus infection went into overdrive and by evening I was in agony. I managed to sleep from 1 a.m. until 2 a.m., NS woke up for a snuggle and then I slept from 2:30 until 5 and then I gave up trying to sleep with the pain.

At 8 a.m. Zach and I were on a bus and we were at hospital by 9. I gave reception the paperwork I received at discharge Thursday and she asks me where the HMO approval (Tofes 17) is.

Um.. no... I'm following doctor's order. She tells me that I have 2 options. Pay 600NIS and hope to be reimbursed by the HMO, call the HMO and have them fax over the T17. She does not have their number. Neither do we. But their offices are about 10 minutes away by cab. And thanks to past experience with NS, calling and waiting for a fax can be a most-of-the-day thing.

So we decide on option 3. Head over to the office and get it in person. We get there, I tell the receptionist what I want and she tells me... "No need for you to go to the hospital for this. We can do it ourselves. Do you want to go to the women's emergency day clinic in Ra'anana, Tel Aviv or Bnei Brak?"

(Here is a map of where we were. And where they wanted us to go.. although I have no idea which clinic in Tel Aviv they were talking about since none of them have the women's emergency day clinic).

We opted for Bnei Brak since it was closest.

We get there at 10:30. Urine is fine, no more protein. BP is high though and won't go below 140/90. Ultrasound for measurements - plenty of amniotic fluid, baby is measuring fine. Weighing in at about 3.5 kilo (7lbs 12 oz)... my biggest yet!!! Then it's wait an hour for a fetal monitor to become available. Sit on the monitor for 45 minutes. Wait 45 minutes to see the doctor. Who looks everything over, sees there are two rather alarming decelerations in the baby's heartbeat (one during a contraction, one very much NOT during a contraction). He circles these two points, taps on his keyboard for 5 minutes, prints it up in triplicate, stamps and signs it, hands it to me and says get to the hospital with this ASAP. He also said I should get my family doctor to give me a prescription for antibiotics and anti-histamin for the sinus infection.

It's now 2 p.m. And we're heading BACK to the hospital, where we were at 9 a.m. I was ready to cry.

We took a cab back to the hospital and the driver had a great CD playing... Moody Blues... so we talked music. At least that was nice.

So we're back at the hospital, urine is still clear, they finally get a BP reading that's below 140/90 and they hook me up to the monitor for 20 minutes. Some nice contractions, nothing alarming from the baby. Then it's wait to see doctor 1 so she can take a history and then wait even long to see doctor 2 and his student for an exam and a discussion.

The exam shows... I have apparently de-dilated... un-dilated... I went from being 1 cm and 30% effaced on Thursday to being closed with a 'long' cervix. And this is WITH having contractions Friday and Saturday. I'm telling you, my body just doesn't know what to do any more. I have a senile uterus... So there go all my hopes of going into labor then and there or of them sweeping my membranes to get things moving.

More ultrasound stuff... baby's head is rather low in my pelvis, which explains why there's so much pressure when I blow my nose... but being low doesn't seem to be doing much for labor...

Then the discussion... due to the previous c-section, they will NOT induce me due to a greater risk of uterine rupture. I was expecting them to say that. Basically it's more of the same... I need to be monitored every 3 days and if the baby hasn't come by next week (not sure exactly WHEN the actual deadline is), I'm looking at a repeat c-section.

Honestly, at this point, my personal deadline is when this sinus infection clears up... I'm not stupid enough to want to risk my health or the baby's health and go 'for as long as possible' just to have a natural delivery. I'd just like to be able to be as pain free as possible... coughing and blowing one's nose after abdominal surgery hurts like a bitch.

Tuesday morning I'll be seeing the nurses here at the local clinic (couldn't get an appointment until late Wednesday afternoon, AFTER the OB). Maybe I can convince them to let me do the monitoring here and on Wednesday I see my OB.. even though I think he's an incompetent ass. Worse comes to worse I will BEG the local office to give me the T17 approval so I can do the monitoring at the hospital.

Oh, and the OB at the hospital took pity on me and gave me a prescription for antibiotics...

Sick as a dog and still pregnant... Part 1

The lease is up yet the tenant is showing NO signs of vacating... today I am officially 40 weeks and 4 days.

I have a raging sinus infection that left me in tears for most of Saturday night.

But before that, there was Thursday...

My 10:40 appointment with the GP turned into 11:40.. she is notoriously a late runner...

I have a sinus infection. She took my blood pressure and it was pretty high. Tried again and while it was lower, it was still high so third time... it's still high.

So she prints up a form and orders me to L&D at the hospital for monitoring.

Now I gotta say, for all that she tends to arrive past her first appointment and then actually spends TIME with her patients so she ends up always running late, she was the FIRST person at the clinic to actually be concerned about the high blood pressure. The nurse who checked and saw the high BP the day before didn't seem concerned. Neither was the OB.

So I now have orders to head to the hospital. I called SR. Her phone was off. Called TC and HER phone was off. It took me about 15 minutes to finally reach TC and she headed home. SR was reached a bit later and she also headed home. TC got home within an hour thanks to some great rides...

So then it was my turn to head out. Luckily I caught one of the jutnies that run between here and Petach Tikvah. It's marginally more expensive but they're faster. I met Zach at the mall across from the hospital, we had something to eat and then headed across the bridge to L&D.

Blood was taken. Urine showed a bit of protein. Was running a slight fever (with the sinus infection, I wasn't surprised) and then they took my BP 3 times before they got a 'good' reading. They asked me a bunch of questions... no headaches but I've been seeing floating spots in my vision the past couple days.

Then 40 minutes hooked up to the fetal monitors. That was fine.

Then wait for the blood tests to come back so I can be seen by the doctor and then we decide what next. Doctor did an ultrasound (everything was fine), he checked me (1 cm dilated, 30% effaced YAY!!!!), blood tests all came back fine. Except according to the monitors, I wasn't actually in labor.

Before they discharged me though, they wanted me to go to neurology and then opthomology because of the spots. And I had to go by wheelchair. So off to the ER, saw a neurologist and that was fine, then on to opthomology and I had a complete eye exam (which meant for the rest of the night my eyes were dilated and out of focus) and that was fine.. I think the official diagnosis for the spots is a combination of sinus pressure, high BP, possible dehydration and being at the end of a pregnancy.

So back to L&D we go. Before I can be discharged, the doctor needs to review the printout from the monitors.

Whereupon we discover that at some point, the printout had gotten lost. Which meant I had to go back on the monitor for 20-30 minutes...

Now since the eye doctor, I started having some contractions when I sat or stood, but when I had to lay down for the monitoring, they stopped completely. So they let me go.

But I have to go back on Sunday. For BP, urine and monitoring. Which is what my stupid OB should have ordered.

And then since we got home... I've been having contractions basically every 10 minutes or so. They last for no more than 30 seconds but the pressure is pretty intense at times and it hurts to pick up NS now (whether I'm in the middle of a contraction or not).

So here's hoping that new baby will finally make an appearance some time REALLY SOON!

Pregnant forever...

Went to the nurses today. Weight is WAAAAAAAAAY up. She took my BP three times because the first 2 times it was also elevated.. by the third time it was more acceptable. She didn't seem concerned about the weight or BP. Urine showed nothing to be worried about.

Then on to the non-stress test. It took her almost 10 minutes to find the baby's heartbeat. Then I sat for 30 minutes while one doppler monitored the baby's heart beats and a second monitored any contractions.

I had a few contractions but the monitor says they're not 'labor'.. Sigh.

NS was a pure angel the whole time... Thank you!!

The nurse then took the readout to the OB and she said the OB says everything is fine. I then asked her 'What now?'... she got this confused look on her face... I was like.. "Look, tomorrow is my official due date. Do I need to make another appointment for this or what?"

I mean seriously... there have been no indications that this baby is ready to be born any time soon and yes, I realize that I can go from 0-10 in an hour with no signs beforehand, but come ON! Her reaction was like... "Do you expect to still be pregnant?"

She suggested I make an appointment with the OB for next week. So I did. Not sure if I should also make an appointment to see the nurses to make sure my urine is free of glucose and protein...

Later today I have an appointment to see the GP for this cold.

I think my body forgot what to do at the end of a pregnancy...

Pesach cleaning

Here is NS helping me get a start on the Pesach cleaning by emptying his toy bucket...

English radio from Israel!

Rusty Mike Radio

Birkat haChama

If anyone is interested, here are the prayers (in Hebrew and English) that is said for Birkat haChama.

Birkat Hachama will said at sunrise on April 8, 2009 (Hebrew date: 14 Nissan 5769).

For more info, head over here.

Overweight, Pregnant, didn't know, in the Army

A Mother In Israel posts about a young woman named Meital who... never mind, I'll just copy and paste what AMiI wrote:

This morning on Channel Two radio show Seder Hayom, host Keren Neubach interviewed Meital, 19-year-old mother of a four-month-old baby called Amitai. Amitai was born while the mother was doing basic training in the Israeli army. Meital had no idea she was pregnant, and none of the army’s doctors considered the possibility despite Meital’s many medical complaints. She was already pregnant when she began her service.

Meital didn’t realize she was pregnant for the following reasons:

1. She is overweight, and didn’t feel the baby’s movements or notice the weight gain.
2. She has irregular periods.
3. She was on birth control pills.

At one point she got off the bus and crawled to the infirmary, where the doctor laughed at her and sent her away. Other times doctors prescribed antibiotics and painkillers. The army even required her to do another thirty days of basic training because she did not pass the first session. Meital was pregnant when she began her service.

When she began having contractions, Meital called her parents to bring her to the emergency room. The nurse diagnosed a urinary tract infection, and when the membranes ruptured, the nurse claimed it was urinary incontinence. Meital’s mother suggested that perhaps her daughter was in labor. A gynecologist checked her, and the healthy baby was born within minutes.

She received NIS 800 from the army, a release notice, and no further contact.

I really don't understand a couple things here. I'm overweight. I'm about 5'2" tall. According to a BMI weight:height chart my ideal weight should be between 50 and 60 kilo. When I started this pregnancy I was 84 kilo. At 39 weeks pregnant, I am now 94 kilo. So it's safe to say I was overweight when I began this pregnancy. Over 20 kilo from the high end of 'acceptable'.

HOW overweight does a woman need to be to NOT KNOW SHE'S PREGNANT??? How overweight does a woman need to be to know know she's 7, 8, 9 months pregnant? I didn't feel the baby all that much until about 20 weeks because of the way the baby was laying (arms and legs facing inwards). But man-o-man by week 30, I felt everything.

I do know of a young lady who found out she was pregnant... at 20 weeks. She suffered with infertility right from the start of puberty, had gone through fertility treatments to get pregnant the first time (which resulted in adorable twin boys) and just resigned herself (like many of us who have IF) to the fact that she'd need treatments to ever get pregnant again. So imagine her surprise when the ultrasound she went for because she was experiencing weird 'pains' showed an almost 5 month old fetus.

In addition to this new mother's issues of not knowing she was pregnant, what are the IDF guidelines for accepting overweight/obese kids into basic training? If a woman is that overweight that she doesn't feel fetal movement, how can she be fit (BTW, I realize one can be overweight and fit, yet this girl had to do extra basic training because she WASN'T fit) to go through basic training and then into the service?

Monster Burger!

Purim Sameach!

Mishloach Manot: home made roasted garlic hummus and home made lavash crackers

Spirituality in the 9th month

There is a Segulah (an action that is reputed to lead to a change in one’s fortunes/luck/circumstances, etc) in some communities for a woman in her ninth month to immerse in the Mikvah (ritual bath) for an easy, safe, fast, etc. labor and delivery. I self-define as MO so going to the Mikvah in the 9th month certainly isn't something that is regularly done. But I'm also not the type to let 'what others think' stop me from doing something I feel is important.

There is also a lesser known Segulah that if a woman immerses after a woman in her ninth month, she has a 'better' chance of conceiving that month.

Now when a woman goes to the Mikvah after her period, there are all these rules and regulations and guidelines that need to be followed - from when she can go, to the preparation process and personal grooming that takes place before the immersion... the prep time can be upwards of 2 hours or more.

For my purposes however, I simply showed up, took off my jewelry, stripped, showered quickly and immersed. After my first dunk, the Balanit (woman who watches to make sure every millimeter of hair goes under) showered me with blessings. I then dunked a second time with a silent prayer to God that all should go well and finally a final immersion with a prayer that the women who followed after me should merit what their hearts desired.

This may sound stupid or silly to some of you, but I now feel more... spiritually prepared for this birth, which for an Orthodox woman, is just as important, IMO as being physically ready... which we all know I've been ready for the past 2 weeks or so....

10 days until EDD... I've been hoping for a Purim baby though. Maybe now it will come.

Random Purim things

Mishloach Manot: home-made roasted garlic hummus and home made lavash crackers with multiple toppings.

For the family from shul we're giving to, they're going to get a walnut-cinnamon-raisin bread and a bottle of wine.

Tomorrow's Purim meal will be deli and dinner will be monster burgers.

Later I need to make the vegetable-barley soup for the break-the-fast party tonight the shul is having down the street.

Oh... and make NS's tunic...

Fun Purim Table Idea

The past few years, whenever I get a chance to do this, I do.. it's so much fun and I always get compliments. Purim Seudah and weekday Sheva Brachot tend to be the only opportunities...

Use white paper tablecloths and decorate with crayons. If you use disposable, have everything in different, bright colors.

Segulahs

There's a fine line IMO regarding Segulahs and Kamayas and Avodah Zarah. Unfortunately I know way too many people who put way too much importance in the 'power' of the Segulah and Kamaya yet they're so desperate for whatever they're wishing/praying for, they refuse to see it.

When I was pregnant with NS and we discovered he was breech at 32 weeks, I cannot tell you how many times I was told about 'the Segulah' about checking all my Seforim and making sure they were all 'right side up'. I was told a dozen times about a particular well somewhere outside of Jerusalem where, if my husband were to draw the waters and give me a cup to drink, that would turn the baby...

I checked the Seforim and made sure they were all facing the same way. I didn't drink any well water. I ended up with a c-section because he never turned.

So now I'm 38 weeks pregnant and I feel like I'm a million weeks pregnant :)

And there's a Segulah for a woman in her ninth month to go to the Mikvah and she should be Zocheh to have an easy, safe labor and delivery.

And then there's another Segulah for a woman who wants to conceive (or is having problems conceiving) to dunk right after a woman in her 9th month has immersed.

So I'm thinking of going on Sunday to the local Mikvah (which is just down the street)...

It's not that I believe or disbelieve in Segulahs (Kamayas are a different story). I just feel.. it can't hurt, right?

Nice to see honesty isn't totally dead...

http://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/18167.shtml

Someone bought a digital camera, second hand. Only to discover there were over 400 photos on the camera's memory card. Based on the photos, it was obvious someone's Israel vacation photos so he posted a few of the photos and his contact info on this site.

FYI, someone recognized the people and the original owners have been reunited with their camera and vacation pictures.

A sad commentary...

Typos aside, I think this is one of the saddest posts I've come across on Imamother in a long time and quite frankly makes me quite happy that I am not ultra-Orthodox.

I'm for months after birth and I have been feeling depressed lately. I believe I might have PPD and I want to get help. However, we do not have any extra money and the world being the way it is I want to get help without having to worry about future shidduch repercussions for the baby and our other children. Where can I go?

So... if she ends up going off the deep end because she has untreated PPD, THAT would be better on the shidduch resume for her kids?

Commentary

http://tinyurl.com/forbesoped
The Obama Administration Sacrifices Israel
Anne Bayefsky 02.22.09, 11:48 AM ET

The Obama administration's decision to join the planning of the U.N.'s Durban II "anti-racism" conference has just taken a new twist: cover-up. On Friday, State Department officials and a member of the American Durban II delegation claimed the United States had worked actively to oppose efforts to brand Israel as racist in the committee drafting a Durban II declaration. The trouble is that they didn't.

The Feb. 20 State Department press release says the U.S. delegation in Geneva "outline[d] our concerns with the current outcome document" and in particular "our strong reservations about the direction of the conference, as the draft document singles out Israel for criticism." One member of the delegation told The Washington Post: "The administration is pushing back against efforts to brand Israel as racist in this conference." In fact, tucked away in a Geneva hall with few observers, the U.S. had done just the opposite. The U.S. delegates had made no objection to a new proposal to nail Israel in an anti-racism manifesto that makes no other country-specific claims.

Getting involved in activities intended to implement the 2001 Durban Declaration--after seven and a half years of refusing to lend the anti-Israel agenda any credibility--was controversial to be sure. But late on Saturday Feb. 14, the State Department slithered out a press release justifying the move. It claimed that "the intent of our participation is to work to try to change the direction in which the Review Conference is heading."

Following what was clearly a planned public relations exercise, Washington Post columnist Colum Lynch championed the U.S. bravado in an article based on the story orchestrated by the American delegates. In his Feb. 20 article entitled: "U.S. Holds Firm on Reparations, Israel in U.N. Racism Talks," he fawned: "The Obama administration on Thursday concluded its first round of politically charged U.N. negotiations on racism, pressing foreign governments ... to desist from singling out Israel for criticism in a draft declaration to be presented at a U.N. conference in April."

The reality, however, was nothing of the sort. Instead, Obama's Durban II team slipped easily into the U.N.'s anti-Israel and anti-Jewish environs, taking the approach that "fitting in" was best accomplished by staying silent.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian delegation proposed inserting a new paragraph under the heading "Identification of further concrete measures and initiatives ... for combating and eliminating all manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance..." with the subtitle "General provisions on victims ... of discrimination." The paragraph includes: "Calls for ... the international protection of the Palestinian people throughout the occupied Palestinian territory." In other words, it claims that the Palestinian people are victims of Israeli racism and demands that all U.N. states provide protection from the affronts of the racist Jewish state.

Furthermore, the new Palestinian provision "Calls for ... implementation of international legal obligations, including the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the wall..." This is a dramatic attempt to change an "advisory opinion" into a "legal obligation"--a status which attaches to no advisory opinion. The ICJ decision, which advises that the Israeli security fence is illegal, has always been rejected by the United States--hitherto. And with good reason. The Egyptian judge had voiced his opinion on the result before the case was even heard, in his capacity as a leading Egyptian diplomat. The terms of reference from the General Assembly who asked for the decision, and the documents they laid before the Court, predetermined the outcome. And as the strong dissent by the American judge and Holocaust survivor Tom Buergenthal pointed out, the Court came to its preposterous conclusion that "the right of legitimate or inherent self-defense is not applicable in the present case" without considering "the deadly terrorist attacks to which Israel is being subjected."

But when the Palestinian delegation laid their new proposal before the drafting committee, what did Obama's team do? Nothing, absolutely nothing. They made no objection at all.

It is impossible to argue that their silence was unintended. Over the course of the week's negotiations the American delegation had objected to a number of specific proposals. They had no trouble declaring "we share reservations on this paragraph," in the context of a demand to criminalize profiling. They "called for the deletion" of provisions undermining free speech like the suggestion to "take firm action against negative stereotyping of religions and defamation of religious personalities, holy books, scriptures and symbols."

Their silence when it came to Israel was, therefore, deafening. It also had the very concrete result of not placing the Palestinian paragraph in dispute, and the diplomatic rule of thumb is that paragraphs that have not been flagged as controversial cannot be reopened for discussion, as negotiations finalize an end product.

The Obama team was not only silent on the new "Israel is racist" language, it also said nothing when faced with Holocaust denial. Negotiators from the European Union suggested on Wednesday a new provision to "condemn without reservation any denial of the Holocaust and urges all states to reject denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full, or in part, or any activities to this end." Iran--whose president is a Holocaust-denier--immediately objected and insisted that the proposal be "bracketed" or put in dispute. The move blocked the adoption of the proposal and ensured another battle over the reality of the Holocaust in April--at these supposedly "anti-racism" meetings. After Iran objected, the chair looked around the room, expecting a response. He said: "Is there any delegation wishing to comment on this new proposal by the European Union? It doesn't seem the case. We move on." U.S. delegates said nothing, even after the prompt.

Again, the American silence must have been deliberate. In marked contrast, after the E.U. objected to a provision calling for limits on free speech, the American delegation had no trouble piping up immediately: "I want to echo the comments from the E.U. This ... call for restrictions is something that my government is not able to accept."

Evidently, a U.S. team bent on legitimizing Durban II believed it would be counter-productive to object vigorously to sections most likely to be noticed by Americans skeptical about participation in the conference. They must have figured that no objection would mean no controversy, which in turn would mean there would be no cause for complaint from U.S. observers. That's one way to buy favors on the international stage, but it sure doesn't forward a stated intention of changing the Conference direction. Nor does it promote the ultimate need to change the anti-Semitic and anti-democratic direction of global human rights policy.

The week's events also revealed that European negotiators have adopted the same strategy at Durban II that they did at Durban I. After the United States and Israel walked out of Durban I on Sept. 4, 2001, it was the European Union that cut the deal trading off a mention of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism for a reference to Palestinians victims of Israeli racism. Likewise, this week the European Union said nothing in response to the Palestinian proposal but pushed the Holocaust reference instead. No matter that discrimination against the Jewish state, and against Jews for supporting the Jewish state, is the major form of anti-Semitism today.

The manipulation of Holocaust remembrance--knowing that Israel is the bulwark of the Jewish people against "never again"--is as cynical as it gets.

European Union delegates confirmed that their silence on the Palestinian proposal was deliberate, commenting off-camera that the references to Israeli racism had already been made in the Durban I Declaration, and the purpose of Durban II is to implement Durban I.

State department officials and U.S. delegates to Durban II's planning committee insist that their minds have not been made up. Friday's State department press release said "the United States has not made a decision about participating in the Durban Review Conference or about whether to engage in future preparations for the Conference, but the work done this week will be important information for taking these decisions." Similarly, The Washington Post reports, quoting an American delegate: "This is a fact-finding mission; it's just a first step ... Negotiations will probably resume in March or early April."

The strategy is painfully obvious--spin out the time for considering whether or not to attend the April 20 conference until the train has left the station and jumping off would cause greater injury to multilateral relations than just taking a seat.

The delay tactics are indefensible. The U.S. administration attended four full days of negotiation. During that time they witnessed the following: the failure to adopt a proposal to act against Holocaust denial, a new proposal to single out Israel, which will now be included in the draft without brackets, broad objections to anything having to do with sexual orientation, vigorous refusal by many states to back down on references to "Islamophobia" (the general allegation of a racist Western plot to discriminate against all Muslims), and numerous attacks on free speech.

This "dialogue" is not promoting rights and freedoms. It is legitimizing a forum for disputing the essence of democracy, handing Holocaust deniers a global platform and manufacturing the means to demonize Israel in the interests of those states bent on the Jewish state's destruction.

But you can be sure that the State Department report now on Obama's desk reads "can't tell yet, don't know, maybe, too early to tell." Why?

If the Obama administration does not immediately announce that its foray into the morass of Durban II has led it to decide this is no place for genuine believers in human rights and freedoms, there is only one conclusion possible. His foreign policy of engagement amounts to a new willingness to sacrifice Israel and an indeterminate number of American values for the sake of a warm welcome from the enemies of freedom.

Anne Bayefsky is a senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and editor of www.EYEontheUN.org.

Oatmeal-chocolate chip-peanut butter bars

This one is from the Nestle site...

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/3 cups quick oats (uncooked), divided (I used rolled oats and it's fine)
1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® SWIRLED™ Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Morsels, divided (although I just used chocolate chips)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 325° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in 2 cups oats. Remove 1 1/2 cups mixture and reserve for topping. Spread remaining dough in prepared pan. Carefully spread with remaining peanut butter. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup morsels.

COMBINE reserved topping with remaining oats until crumbly. Stir in remaining morsels. Drop by spoonfuls over filling.

BAKE for 28 to 32 minutes or until top is deep golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Lemon Delight Bundt Cake

Can't tell you how it tastes, but here's what mine looks like. And yes, I know it's a tube pan and not a bundt pan. That's all I got.


2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
3t baking powder
3/4 c orange juice
3/4 c oil
2t lemon extract
4 eggs

Glaze:
1 1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/2 c lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 & grease & flour bundt pan. Combine dry ingredients. Add liquids & beat 3-4 minutes. Bake for 45-50 minutes. When done, insert a skewer every 1". Pour 1/2 the glaze over so it seeps into the holes. When cool, turn it over & pour on the remaining glaze.

Worthy Cause

Table To Table has "Support Israel's South" and it seems like a brilliant idea. Not only can you buy a Shabbat meal for someone in Israel who couldn't otherwise afford it, but the food is bought from various Sderot caterers who are also feeling the pinch since living under missile attack for some reason prevents folks from having their affairs in Sderot (go figure!)

This one came in under the radar...

My apologies to Ilana-Davita for not getting this up sooner... the latest JPIX is now up... well, it's been up for a couple weeks apparently.

I've now become a fairly regular poster for the JPIX and Kosher Cooking Carnivals and eventually I'd like to host them but with 4 weeks to go until D-Day... that's going to have to wait.

Cat on a red clay roof

Chocolate Chip Cookie topped Brownies

It's really simple... make one batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (or buy a mix) and make a double batch of brownies (or buy a mix). Pour the brownies into a pan, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on top and bake.



Once it's cooled, melt 6 oz. of chocolate with 2 Tablespoons of margarine or butter and when it's completely melted, whisk in a small container of Rich's whipped topping. Pour over the cake and let it set for 24 hours.

For those of you who don't have cookie and brownie recipes...

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
chocolate chips

Cream shortening, white and brown sugars and vanilla extract. Add egg and beat. Mix in the dry ingredients and finally the chocolate chips.

Fudge Brownies
1/2 cup canola or sunflower oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix oil, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Add eggs and beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend with egg mixture. Stir in nuts.

Bake in a 9 inch x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from the edges of the pan.

The Mystery is Solved

New York City officials have discovered the source of a mysterious maple syrup smell that has enveloped the city (Manhattan in particular) at various times since 2005.

The culprit: a New Jersey facility that processes flavors and fragrances.

After the latest occurrence last month, officials launched a new investigation. It included mapping the time and place of all the odor complaints to the city's 311 hot line.

Experts compared those with wind and atmospheric conditions. Then they checked those against air sampling tests during the periods that New Yorkers reported smelling the odor.

New Jersey officials also helped with the case. Finally, the odor was traced to a Bergen County facility which processes fenugreek seeds.

Given the evidence, I think it's safe to say that the Great Maple Syrup Mystery has finally been solved," said Mayor Bloomberg. "I want to thank the City's environmental protection and emergency workers, as well as their colleagues in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, for their diligence in finding the source of the smell, which was a lot like finding a needle in a haystack. Air samples taken by DEP have confirmed that the odor in New York City was an ester associated with fenugreek seed processing. The Health Department confirmed that the odor does not pose a health risk, but I am pleased to know that our OEM and DEP smelling sleuths got to the bottom of this mystery."

Gothamist has a map of recent syrup smell locations. The New York Times first reported on the smell in an October 2005 article titled "Good Smell Perplexes New Yorkers."

Back in 2005, Mayor Bloomberg said a number of agencies -- the NYPD, the Office of Emergency Management and the Health Department -- had investigated the scent and found nothing toxic or terrorism-related.

Fenugreek... that's hilbe to us Israelis :)

Feeling very pregnant

It is an absolute magnificent day out and I feel guilty for loving it when we so desperately need the rain.

And it's a sin that I'm on the computer and not taking my 21 month old down the street to the park.

But this past week I have been feeling every second of being pregnant and the thought of walking anywhere makes me want to curl up in bed.

So I think when the laundry finishes in the machine, we'll head upstairs and spend some time on the porch.

It's not the playground, but at least we'll be outdoors...

Cross Culture

Israeli dance, to a Miami Boys Choir song... in China.

Something positive

Threads on Imamother often become fodder in blogs, mostly due to the naive, stupid, ridiculous and downright moronic attitudes expressed in posts. I myself will often post about a particularly annoying one in a different blog. Often I'll read a thread and wonder how these women ever manage to find their way out of bed in the morning.

But every now and again, someone will post a thread or pose a question that inspires... and I'm not just talking about the recipes.

Imamother is set up as a multilevel forum. You've got the threads that anyone can see, one doesn't need to be a member. Then there are the sections where one must be signed in in order to read the threads and finally there are 'usergroups', which require permission to join, even once you are a member. One of those user groups is called Life in Israel. And I have to say, for the most part, the threads posted there are thoughtful and the women who post, although we run the gamut Hashkafically and politically, there is very little snarking that goes on and for the most part we all get along... we even have the most real-life meetups I think of the entire board.

A few days ago, a woman posted in the LiI section, asking for a spreadsheet program because she wanted to start budgeting. I recommended GoogleDocs and now the thread is over 40 posts strong and it has inspired several members to follow suit. We've been discussing the pros and cons of Hora'ot Kevah (automatic bill payments) via credit card vs the bank, the difference between a credit card and a debit card (NOT an automatic thing here in Israel) and the monthly government children stipend (which I see now has a thread all its own).

Another thread started is where to grocery shop for the best bargains, yet another is simply how to save at the Makolet, dairy shopping, meat shopping, buying grains...

I just want to say that for all the knocks Imamother gets (and again, I'll admit to being guilty of this), I'm glad to see at least some of us are trying to see beyond what theme we should do for Mishloach Manot or complaining about our cleaning lady and trying to be responsible in what we all know will be a difficult economic time.

I realize that these threads, because they're member and then further membership only, aren't going to be seen by the general public. I just figured it should be mentioned regardless.

60 Minutes

Watch CBS Videos Online

Wow.... this 'report' is so lopsided, it's amazing Bob Simon can stand up straight.

Food Recall, Israel, CORRECTION

IMPORTANT CORRECTION:

Garlic breadsticks, not chopped garlic. And the article had a blurb on Tnuva salmon and onion 5% cream cheese, a third of which was also found contaminated.

Food Recall, Israel

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3661650,00.html

As far as I can tell it is the Ma'adanit brand... basically all their frozen pizzas, their chopped garlic and their quiches.

Kosher Cooking Carnival

Is now up.

Kol haKavod to Ilana Davita on a job well done!

Another view at The View

To her credit, Whoopie Goldberg simply sits through the anti-Lubavitch crap looking rather pissed off. And Joy Behar makes a vague attempt to come to the Lubavitcher defense.

To her DIScredit, Baba Wawa lets the guest go on... I mean really Barb.. you've been conducting hard-hitting interviews since before I was born. You could have taken control of the situation much earlier.

And I gotta ask... what is WITH self-hating Jews and their need to write ridiculous screenplays and directors who are willing to produce these things without any research whatsoever... I wonder if the BBC gets scripts across their desk about how the Anglican Church is burning heretics at the stake in modern-day London... "Smashing idea! Wonder if we can get Hugh Laurie back on this side of the pond if we offer him the role of Bishop... it'll be a step up from playing that annoying Yank he's become popular with..."

Pesky on politics

Or at least it's an attempt at a political post.

Like many folks I availed myself of the little quiz available to see who my views most closely mesh with.

The highest score was 77% with Likud. Then 74% with Israel Beteinu followed closely by Ichud HaLeumi at 72%. Shockingly enough, Kadima came in at 72%. I'm ashamed.

For whatever reason, maybe because these tend to be the Big News Items, the big issues for me are about security and religion.

For security, I have a 95% compatibility with Ichud Haleumi (no surprise there) while having a mere 75% match with Likud and 78% match with Israel Beteinu.

So now we're faced with a bit of a conundrum. The whole religious thing.

What can I say? I grew up believing in the concept/theory/illusion of Separation of Church (religion) and State taught to me in Civics class. An interesting discussion at a shiur I used to attend questioned why Moshe Rabbenu wasn't also tapped to be Kohein Gadol. One of the answers was very to the point. Spiritual leaders play different roles than politicians and things really don't go well when both hats are worn by the same person/people.

And unfortunately I see that today. It seems that many Rabbis in politics tend to whore Halacha out for the sake of getting their projects funded, while those who sit quietly on the side... sit quietly on the side. Who needs that? Either we need strong spiritual leaders who are willing to fight for what is Halachically correct (and whose Masorah would we follow, anyway?), or we use religion as a basic guideline, but go the 'more' democratic way of whatever.

And then there's the question of how to vote... is voting for the smaller party you have more of a connection with a 'wasted vote' because chances are, if they even make it into the government, they'll be so small, they'll be easily brushed to the side - and by not voting for them of course they run the risk of not getting in at all... or do you vote for the party that has a better chance of winning, and whose policies (at least on paper) you can sort of live with?

Ugh. I need some chocolate.

ABC's "View" Hags, Comedienne Attack Lubavitch Chassidic Jews

Read more here.

Deli Roll... ring

Buy a roll of frozen puff pastry dough. Defrost and cut off a piece. Roll out thinner and spread with your choice of condiments - I use a mix of mayo and yellow mustard (mostly because I can't easily find deli mustard) - the mayo is important as I find it keeps the mustard from drying out and disappearing completely. Other people use a mix of mustard and ketchup, or just ketchup, I made it once with BBQ sauce...

Anyway, then make rows of overlapping deli meat. I tend to buy the inexpensive turkey roll and salami. Feel free to use pastrami, roast beef... ham if you don't keep kosher (cheese too)...

So I make a row of turkey, then salami and alternate. When I roll it up, I make sure to roll it according to the same meat rows instead of the alternating rows. Otherwise when you slice it, you'll end up with mostly only turkey pieces and mostly only salami.

Now I used to simply bake it and it was quite tasty, but the dough inside was always undercooked or raw... so I made the above decorative deli ring by first making slices about 3/4 of the way through then arranging it like a ring and this way the middle gets cooked as well.

Bake at 350 degrees F until the dough is golden brown. (Feel free to do an egg wash beforehand).

Al-Arabiya accidentaly reports real news

While filming, Al-Arabiya reporter Hanan el-Masri hears terrorists have fired a Grad missile from underneath the building.

(For english, use closed captions, at the lower right hand side of the screen).

Life in Sderot during the previous ceasrefires...

21 year old Sderot Dana speaks about what it's been like.

The new view

Not quite as breathtaking as what I had before my move, but picturesque nonetheless.

Chicken-Veggie Pizza

The chicken veggie pizza... it came out quite good - the chicken was NOT too dry... although I did leave it too long on the plata to heat so the crust came out a bit too crunchy... but still...

Dough:
3 cups flour
1 Tbsp instant dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup warm water
1 cup apple juice or water

Mix the flour, yeast and salt together. Add the liquid and mix thoroughly, adding more flour as needed. Knead and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Sauce:
small can of tomato paste
some water to thin it out, but not too thin
seasoning: salt, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano

Toppings:
Chicken breast, diced
chopped meat
assorted veggies

I used chopped meat I had from when I made burgers earlier in the week so it was seasoned with garlic powder and oregano. The veggies I used were diced onions and green peppers... if TC hadn't been with us, I'd probably have used fresh mushrooms as well. I'd though about frozen corn, but changed my mind.

To assemble:
Flatten out the dough onto a cookie sheet or other flat surface. Spread on the sauce. The top with first the chicken, then the chopped meat and finally the veggies. Bake for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

From "Eretz Nehederet"

Link:

A Prayer for every IDF Soldier

A Prayer for Every Soldier

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, ARUTZ SHEVA

Two modern rabbis are continuing a tradition that Torah sages say dates back 3,500 years ago, when a person was designated to pray and learn Torah for soldiers sent by Moses to fight the Jews' enemies. Jewish tradition states that King David also continued the practice.

The counterterrorist operation "Cast Lead" is being accompanied by "Operation Tefillah, Torah and Troops," initiated by Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, the chief rabbi of Rehovot, and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, the Bostoner Rebbe who now lives in the Har Nof community of Jerusalem.

In an open letter to Jews, the rabbis "ask soldiers and/or their relatives who would want a 'partner' in Torah and Tefillah [prayer] to e-mail maortlmo@gmail.com or fax 972-8-9450027 and give their Hebrew name and mother's Hebrew name without any other particulars such as family name or other identifying factors."

The rabbis will distribute the names "among those who heed the call to add Torah and Tefillah for the sake of those who find themselves in jeopardy."

The same tradition was put into practice in the Second Lebanon War two years ago, when more than 50,000 people participated in the campaign co-sponsored by National Council of Young Israel.

"Every tefillah that is said on behalf of a soldier will make a difference, regardless of where a person may be in religious observance, said Young Israel Executive Vice President Rabbi Pesach Lerner.

"Each soldier who is putting his or her life on the line to defend the land of Israel and safeguard the Jewish nation deserves to have someone praying for their well being and safe return," he added.

To request the name of a soldier by phone or fax, call the National Council of Young Israel at 212-929-1525 x100, or send a fax to 212-727-9526.

http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/news.php?id=4430#

15 seconds

How far could you run in fifteen seconds?

How far can you run...

* when you're dressed and awake?
* when you're asleep?
* when you're pouring boiling water?
* when you're taking a shower?
* when you're diapering a squirming, dirty baby?
* when you're on the toilet?
* when you're...

Think of all the normal situations a person can be in during twenty-four hours... think of growing up with this as a daily occurrence for the past 7 years.

HT: Batya @ Shilo Musings

Let's Play Pretend

Some politics

Apple Strudel Muffins

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 1/2 cups chopped apples


* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon butter


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Tehina Cookies (egg free)

Thanks to Israeli Kitchen for this recipe.

Tehina Cookies yield: about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
200 grams soft margarine
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup tehina. If there’s a layer of oil floating on top of the jar, stir in back in.
2 cups plus 4 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
option 1: 2 Tbsp. pine nuts and powdered sugar
option 2: cinnamon and sugar (this is what I used)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160 C - 325 F.

1. Cream the margarine and the sugar together.

2. Add the vanilla and the tehina and blend again.

3. Combine the flour and the baking powder; add to the tehina mixture.

4. Form balls the size of walnuts and place them on a baking sheet protected with baking paper. The dough is dry and crumbly, so squeeze it together to make the balls.

If adding the optional pine nuts, do it like this: form one cookie ball; take 2 or 3 pine nuts into your left palm, and with your right hand, press the ball onto them. Reverse it onto the baking sheet. If the ball crumbles slightly, just squeeze it back into shape with your fingertips.

If coating with cinnamon and sugar, roll the slightly flattened balls in the mixture and place on the sheet before baking.

Bake for 13-15 minutes. Do not bake longer. The cookies need a little moisture to retain their shape and not crumble.

Cool the baking tray on a rack, and don’t touch the cookies for at least 5 minutes. If they’re handled while hot, they will fall apart.

Dust with powdered sugar if you wish, when they’re cool. Hide a few for yourself before you offer them to family and friends.

Now this sounds like a cool place!

Read all about the water buffalo dairy in Israel over at Israeli Kitchen.

Wish I'd known about this place when we had a car... this sounds like a cool place!

KCC

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is up at Leora's and she's got my chocolate turtle cheesecake recipe listed among a few dozen other delectable recipes and food-related posts. Take a look!

The One More Mitzvah Project

A fellow blogger who tragically lost her almost 5 month old daughter is putting out a request.

We are sitting Shivah for our daughter, Adelle Shayna, who passed away Motzei Shabbos. My Shiny baby was a Tzaddikess whose little life was totally connected to HaShem. We learn that the Shechina is present at birth and death and in the 145 days in between those events, Shiny's every action was motivated by the Will of G-d. We're so very blessed to have been a part of that. I've gotten a lot of emails and comments on my own LJ from people promising to take on another Mitzvah in her Zchus. I'm posting here because I want more. Call me greedy if you want but I'm asking you all to please do one more Mitzvah in the merit of Adelle Shayna Bas Yael Davida and Mordechai Eliah.
It has been such a great comfort and given me such strength to see this happening. If you could please comment and tell me if and what you're doing in her merit, I would be greatly appreciative. Amazing things are happening. My father has been putting on Tefillin the last four days and before that he hadn't done it in 40 years. Please help us do more amazing things.

Non-Jews can also participate by looking into/keeping the Seven laws of Noah (the Noahide laws).

In addition, to help spread the word, I've started a Facebook group, so please feel free to join One More Mitzvah l'Shem Adelle Shayna Project

Recipe, as requested

The info in italics are my changes (these are my own variations which I find helpful since I live in Israel and can't readily find some ingredients or don't feel like paying 3-4 shekels more per container).

Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake

Graham cracker crust in a springform pan
1 14 oz. bag caramels (1 container dulche de leche spread)
1 5 oz can evaporated milk (omit if using spread)
1 cup chopped pecans
2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened (750 grams of gvinah levanah, 5% or higher)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 6 oz. pkg semi-sweet chocolate pieces, melted
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, melt caramels with milk over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour over crust. Top with pecans.

Soften the dulche de leche spread by placing the container in a bowl of hot water. Pour over crust. Top with pecans.

Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing on medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in chocolate and extract.

Pour over crust.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes.

(In the photo 2 posts down, I made a chocolate ganache and poured that over the cheesecake then topped with chopped, roasted pecans and then well, globs of the caramel cream (dulche de leche) around the edge)

Chill and serve.

Now driving is Assur?

R' Chaim Kanievsky OK'S Expulsion Of Yeshiva Students
Dec 16, 2008

Jerusalem, Israel -- Recently, a Yeshiva in the Givat Shaul area of Yerushalayim expelled around ten students that received their drivers licenses. The Yeshiva was attempting to stop students from applying for their licenses, and asked Israel's licensing office for the names of the students from their Yeshiva who had recently received their driving certification.

The Rosh Yeshiva visited R' Chaim Kanievsky for advice on how to deal with these students. Sources say that R' Kanievsky told the head of the yeshiva that, "A person who categorizes himself as a Ben Torah should not have a license, which takes him out of this category."

R' Kanievsky added that R' Shach had already said decades ago that this practice should not be allowed, because aside for the dangers involved, it takes people away from learning Torah, . Therefore, he said, despite his anguish over the issue, the students should be expelled from the yeshiva.

The Rosh Yeshiva asked about an additional boy who had also gotten his license only because his father was disabled, and getting around was difficult. R' Chaim Kanievsky responded that that student could be kept in the Yeshiva, but advised him to cancel his license anyway.

So Hatzalah and ZAKA and driving to shul and Beit Medrash and driving to do Bikur Cholim and Menachem Avel are now taking away from learning Torah? What about heading towards putting in to practice what one learns in the Torah?

Not for those dieting...

Last night I went to a bridal shower. I made a chocolate turtle cheesecake... my piping skills leave something to be desired (it would also help if I had been using a real piping bag instead of a baggy with the corner snipped off)... but man, was it yummy!

Israeli parents be aware, change in vaccination!

From a friend of mine:

I was at tipat chalav with my son this morning.

Consider yourselves informed...the new MMR vaccine (12 month, and booster in grade 1) is now an MMRV vaccine and INCLUDES THE CHICKEN POX VACCINE!

I was able to decline the V, and they do still give the plain MMR, on request.

For those of you who are interested in the chicken pox vaccine on its own, I was told that if I change my mind he can still get it, so I would assume that it is now included in the sal.

You know, I don't get it. There's enough controversy surrounding vaccinations in general and the MMR specifically, why do something so asinine as to make it even MORE of an issue?

Win a free Ergo Carrier

Win a Free Organic Embroidered Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System from Along for the Ride

Old Navy Fail

Apparently myn laws didn't bother reading what it said before buying it for their 18 month old grandson.

And obviously no one at Old Navy bothered reading it either...

Around the neighborhood

Down the street from us is a very interesting yard. There's this metal scarecrow wearing a raincoat and these guys:


For some reason whenever I see this I'm reminded of the Banana Splits Adventure Hour.


There's a stuffed animal towards the back driving the hovercraft and some sort of hedgehog masthead at the front... Don't know what the Cyrillic says.

Further down the street begins the parks. Ariel has 3 sections of park that runs along the center of pretty much 2/3rds of the town. The one nearest us is 'the river park', although technically there's no river. It's a series of man-made fountains, falls and pools. The center section park has benches, grassy areas and a playground and the final section just has benches and grass.

JPIX is up

Kol haKavod to Leora for putting together the latest addition of JPIX - the Sukkot edition.

I'm still not brave enough (or comfortable enough with my editing skills) to offer to host a carnival.

Maybe someday.

Delectiv - FAIL

It's a good thing my date was such pleasant company because man, did the food suck.

I went to eluna.com to try and find a couple places for us to go. One of the places was a deli called Delicative and based on this glowing review we went.

You'll notice there's no date on when the review was submitted. Because from what we saw, it's a very old review.

I won't get into the aesthetic differences (menu listed meat and a price instead of 'named' sandwiches, no Dr. Brown's) but complain about the food itself and how it seems many Israelis in the food industry expect us to be idiots.

For the record, Zach and I each ordered a beef hot dog and then he had a deli meat type sliced goose breast and I had the corned beef.

The overall fails with this place was the bread, their sandwich making ability, lack of side dishes and WAY overpriced.

The bread: For both the hot dogs and the sandwiches we had a choice of mass-produced commercial baguette or... well, that was it.

For the hot dogs, the baguette was 3 inches too long and for the 'foot long' dogs available (chicken or veal), they're about 3 inches too short. So for the regular beef dogs we ordered, there was just WAY too much bread and it's totally the wrong consistency. They would be better off buying Angel's 'Bingo Buns', which is a very good Israeli version of standard white bread type hot dog buns. You want something that won't get in the way of having to put some effort into biting through the hot dog. If you have to fight first the bread and then the dog, the dog will end up sliding back and you're left with a mouthful of bread.

And for the sandwich... the classic deli sandwich should be served on rye. Which isn't commercially available here, but the standard sliced bread is a reasonable substitution (I don't like carroway seeds or pumpernickle so the lack of either of those things wasn't missed by me). The purpose of the bread in a deli sandwich is so you don't get the deli mustard all over your fingers and to give you something uniform to hold because you SHOULD have about 6 inches or so of thinly sliced meat (and we'll get to what I actually got in a bit).

Sandwich making ability... or actually, it's their lack of ability. First of all, what is with the Israeli fascination with putting everything into these stupid baguettes? I should not be able to order Chinese food in a baguette. A baguette is NOT club bread. And it should NOT be my only option.

And why must they stuff everything between the bread? This isn't pita or a lafa and I'm not ordering falfel or shawarma at the local stand.

So we ordered our hot dogs. To their credit they DID have deli mustard and the sauerkraut was in a warmer. However.. The young woman cuts open the too big baguette, squeezes on the mustard, spoons on the sauerkraut and then... slices the hot dog lengthwise and puts it between the baguette. I suppose this is their way of making sure I don't end up with that annoying 3 inches of beefless bread.

As a Noo Yawkah, I was horrified. And eating it was a disaster. With the baguette too long and too wide for me to get a bite of hot dog, sauerkraut and mustard all at once my meal turned into alternating bites of baguette with beef and baguette with sauerkraut and mustard.

We should have walked out after the disappointing hot dogs (which we had to pay for as soon as we got it even though we were planning on ordering sandwiches next). But we didn't.

So on to the sandwiches. You can't even call these hero or sub sandwiches because again, the bread is all wrong. The crust is way too chewy for it to be a good sandwich bread because everything inside ends up sliding out the back end.

I ordered corned beef. The guy cuts open a baguette and asks me... oh the horror... if I want HUMMUS with it.

Umm.. no. I want deli mustard. That goes on... I asked for cole slaw and that gets slapped into the V of the bread. And then FIVE measly slices of corned beef.

Let me explain something to you about this place. Their deli and hot dogs are from a Kibbutz called Tirat Tzvi which is pretty much the only company that makes commercially available beef deli and beef hot dogs. I can get all this at the deli counter of my local supermarket. Hell, I could have gotten all this at the supermarket 20 meters away from this place with the proper breads and side dishes. And it would have cost me less.

Oh, and there was no sign of a french fry, the only cole slaw was now making my bread soggy and mustard runny and I didn't notice any pickles in the 'toppings' bar. AND, they refused to honor the eluna 10% off coupon. The guy behind the counter said he has no idea what this is, we should talk to the owner who of course, is not there.

I did email eluna, btw and told them about the coupon thing and that they need to have all their reviews time stamped because it seems to me good old Arthur was there when it was owned by an ex-Noo Yawkah who knew his stuff but has since sold it to Israelis who wouldn't know what lean Romanian pastrami was if it bit them on the ass.

A photo essay

From 3:45 until about 4, my son must be on the window bench (and the window and screen must be open) so he can watch the school buses come by, stop in front of our house and spew out half a dozen kids.

I'm worried he's going to end up the neighborhood crazy man who stands by the window with a notepad and pen in hand, writing down the goings on on the street and calling the police every half an hour to report a suspicious looking cat.


Is that a diesel engine I hear?


Buh! Buh!


No more bus?


But are you SURE?


I'll keep watch just in case.


Longing to see the buses...

LEAH NEEDS OUR VOTES!!!!!

http://memelabs.com/somedaystories/

Only 12 days left and Leah is under 200 votes behind!

If you haven't voted yet, PLEASE do so!

If you have voted, please get the word out!! Come on people!

ETA: Click on Evelyn from MA. Her daughter Leah was too young to nominate herself so her mom is doing it on her behalf.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Chanukah!



So far the Mega near me in Ariel is on a major fail for me.

Monday I was pleasantly surprised to see a tray of sugar topped jelly donuts, each sporting a curl of jelly on the snowy white top and... chocolate frosted with sprinkles!

So I bought one and when I got home, bit into it (should I have said a Shehechiyanu?), heard the satisfying crunch of the fried outer crust, felt my teeth cut into the chewy, doughy inside and then pulled away. Ok, maybe the custard is on the other side.

Well, I finished the donut without ever finding the custard.

When I went to the Mega the next day they had half a tray of sugar topped with the swirl of jelly and sugar topped without a swirl. I asked the woman at the bakery counter and she confirmed that the non swirled had no filling. So I bought one with a swirl.

Quivering with anticipation when I got home, I bit into the sugary dough, expecting jelly to squeeze out the other end.

Nothing. When I got to the middle of the donut, where the swirl was, I noticed a thin injection of jelly into the dough where the swirl was... And that was all the jelly the donut had.

Hopefully the donut making will improve with experience...

Mac and Cheese

What can I say. Chalk it up to pregnancy cravings. Or watching Iron Chef America - Battle Cheddar... but suddenly, I NEEDED Mac and Cheese.

I put out a call in my other blog and used the first of the two mac & cheese recipes I was given. I also seemed to have inspired friends on my other blog and on Facebook to make mac & cheese...

Baked Mac & Cheese

4 c. cooked elbow macaroni, drained
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. sour cream
4 T. butter, cut into pieces
1/2 t. salt and pepper, each
1 c. milk
3 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while it is still hot, add the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese, if desired. May be frozen for up to 6 months; just make sure it's completely cool before you freeze. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Chol haMoed, Day 1

Despite getting off to a wet, gray start, the day did actually pick up quite nicely. The kids and I ventured over to Petach Tikvah and after lunching at Kenyon haGadol, we crossed the street and had some fun at the gorgeous, huge playground.






Oh, so you want to see some of my KIDS enjoying themselves...





If the baby hadn't been disturbed by his sisters and some random little girl, I think he would have easily spent an hour squatting in front of that abacus.

The place is amazing. It's huge so even though there were a lot of kids, it was never crowded. There's a wonderful balance of toddler to well, as you can see from the climbing rope 'tree', even adults found what to do there.

The only minus, which is an issue I have with just about every Israeli playground I've been to - not enough shade over the equipment. Maybe I'm spoiled. Growing up in Brooklyn, where so many of the trees are well over 100 years old, it's something I grew up expecting.