CAARI Cooks! January 25, Monday

By Rosalie Whitehill

We went to the Dan Gourmet Culinary School, which trains chefs for all the Dan Hotels in Israel.....their biggest and best chain.  After we arrived at the school on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, and got our aprons,

we had a wonderful demonstration by one of the head chefs.....fine English and a sense of humor.....on how to properly prepare many Mediterranean dishes and how to cut and chop properly and easily (although I don't think many people on this trip do much cooking).

He showed us how to make falafel, humus, tehina, salads, and something like a pizza but covered with a meat (lamb and beef) mixture that had to be cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes and flavorings before it was baked on the dough which had been prepared for us.  

With the help of 3 chefs, we prepared the meal......took us about 1 and 1/2 hours.....and then we sat around a huge table, enjoyed wine again (better stuff than at the hotel) and ate what we had prepared.  It was truly a fun experience and there seemed to be general agreement to add this trip to the CAARI program.

You can see by the pictures we all had a great time! 

Tomorrow, after school, we are scheduled to visit a Yemenite Village....

Rosalie

Happy Tu'Bshvat Day!

We couldn't see the full moon, as the skies were stormy, but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful evening at CAARI TuB'shvat Seder. The room was festively decorated by our Tu"BShvat Decorating Committee.  


The hotel prepared plates of dried fruits and nuts and a lovely dessert table with all kinds of tempting cakes and fresh fruits! All set for a fun evening! 



Esther Rose, active in the JNF of Sarasota, beautifully conducted the Seder. We read from our special Hagadah, as were said the blessing over the four cups of wine, symbolizing the 4 seasons, and blessing over the dried fruits and nuts. Esther was accompanied by Gidi Sivan, our resident musician, keyboard and percussion player. Gidi played many Tu Bshvat and Jewish


folk songs as the CAARI program danced and sang in the Tu BShavat Holiday celebrating the Land of Israel and its yearly renewal. A happy time was enjoyed by all. It was by far one of the most successful Tu Bshvat Seder we have had!