Food of the vagabonds...

As you may notice, I have changed the name of the blog.

From Wikipedia:

"A vagabond or “drifter” is an itinerant person. The word is derived from the Latin adjective vagabundus, “inclined to wander”, from the verb vagor, “wander”. It does not denote a member of a nomadic people, but rather an individual who follows a wandering lifestyle within a sedentary society. Such people may be called drifters, tramps, or rogues. A vagabond is characterized by almost continuous traveling, lacking a fixed home, temporary abode, or permanent residence. Vagabonds are not bums, as bums are not known for travelling, preferring to stay in one location."

 Perhaps I am a drifter. Even as a little girl, I tended to float between social groups. I don't like staying in one place. I get antsy, restless.  I can't help it. It's inside of me, somehow. Even now, the most settled I've been in a long time, I am itching to move on, and have been fighting it like mad, because I really need to have a bit of money saved. And it's...exceedingly difficult for me. 

I like sleeping in tents, and on the couches of people I've just met. I love busking, and farm-hopping and hitching, and not knowing where I'm going until I realise where I want to go. I don't tend to like hotels, or even hostels, or organized trips. I enjoy being lost. Because I'll always find something. One must get lost in order to be found again...

I just...I  feel drawn to certain places at certain times, and I like to follow those instincts. Right now, I am actively suppressing those instincts. Like I said, it's hard for me. I keep feeling like ignoring myself will have some sort of consequence, which I know sounds "crazy".
I'm safe and healthy and happy here in Boston. But somehow, it's not enough. I need to be flying by the seat of my pants. Or, er, my leggings.

It's who I am, and I know it's not a lifestyle that is comfortable, or for everybody. I don't know why I am this way. But I am, and I'm happy to be who I am.

 Anyway, for the time being, I am here in Boston, and I will continue to dream of the places I want to be, and cooking is, besides reading, the best way to pretend you're somewhere else...

So for now and forever, I dub this blog "My Vagabond Kitchen."

In honor of the name change, I have my favorite backpack-y meal. I have eaten this in tents, in parks, in tiny, stoveless flats and dorms and...really everywhere. It involves no cooking, minimal prep, and condiments that come in sachets which you can swipe from a pub table. The ingredients will vary, depending on where you are what time of year it is. However, wherever you go, these vegetables tend to be available, and cheap. This has been made so many times and it's always important to use what you have on hand. When traveling, I always have a "food bag", of all the acquired bits and bobs from the past week or so. Fruit, crackers or bread, vegetables, garlic, chocolate, salt, pepper, and condiment sachets, napkins...Waste not, want not.

Be sure your cans have peelback lids! I can't imagine lugging around a can opener, besides, that would make your next flight a nightmare, as it would add unnecessary weight to your suitcase, and I doubt it's legal to carry on...

This is a wonderful meal to share with your travel buddy. No plates required. A couple of forks and spoons are always good to keep in your food bag, however. I have strong memories of Copenhagen, being so hungry and getting all the ingredients to make this salad, and not having any cutlery! We looked in ice cream shops, takeaway places...I don't even remember what we eventually did...I'm sure we managed. That's the thing. You always do.

 Corn and Tuna Salad

Ingredients

1 can of tuna, drained

1 small can of corn

1 cucumber, diced

1 tomato, in cubes

1/2 red onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 lemon

1 teaspoon (or sachet) of mayonnaise

Salt, pepper, and any spices you have...

Optional: Any other vegetables that you have (red cabbage or radicchio was always nice, nuts also add a wonderful element.)

 

Preparation

Mix the tuna and the mayonnaise. 

Combine all ingredients, squeeze over the lemon juice, and season well with salt and pepper. 

Eat. Savor. Feel sustained. Enjoy your day, or your night. 

Happy Trails...

Quinoa and Salmon Salad

Here I am conducting a food interview on the kibbutz!

This recipe is inspired by the very first food interview I ever conducted. The interviewee was my delightful friend (and my kibbutz roommate!) Rebecca, who grew up in Sweden. She mentioned that she liked to make a salad of quinoa and gravlax. It sounded so good- light, fresh, simple.
So, recently, I've been trying to find lots more people to interview. I'm just on a roll with it, I guess. So I've been looking over the interviews I've already typed out, I saw Rebecca's mention of a quinoa and lax salad, and I knew that a spin on that was exactly what I wanted for dinner.... 
I knew I wanted to use rocket, because I'm obsessed with it. (Fun fact: eating it before bedtime gives you crazy dreams!) The fennel aspect happened because I, from far away in the supermarket, thought it was dill! I walked closer, saw it was fennel, and thought... "Fennel! Hmm....." And somehow the fennel lead to the lemon and honey. I don't know. It sounds weird. But I loved how different yet complimentary all the flavors were...and the textures! 
 By the way...if you are interested in being food- interviewed, please drop me a line. I don't care if I don't know you- we can do it through email!  
Onward...

  

Salmon and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup sprouted quinoa

About 2 cups of rocket/arugula leaves

4 oz smoked salmon, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 bulb fennel, julienned

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

The juice from 1/2 a large lemon 

4 tbsp sunflower or other innocous oil (olive just seems a bit overpowering a flavor for this)

1 tsp honey

a good pinch of dried dill, or a larger amount of fresh, chopped. 

Preparation

Prepare the quinoa according to the package. This will take about 15 minutes to cook up, so in the meantime...

Whisk together your lemon juice, oil and honey. Season with salt, pepper and dill.

Toss all of your ingredients together when the quinoa is reading. Add the dressing last, since the greens wilt very easily.

Speaking of easy, how simple is this recipe? 

This makes a great dinner for two, or a side salad for more.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Salad

Oh MY. I don't know if I have it in me right now to do an entire blog post about salads in Israel, because it is an enormous topic. Salads are everywhere. No meal (especially breakfast!) in Israel is complete without the ubiquitous chopped salad of, in it's purest form, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions with lemon juice and olive oil. Falafel, shnitzel and shawarma (three of Israel's most popular street foods) are usually served in fluffy pita with hummus, and the consumer can choose from dozens of little salads to stuff in their sandwich. 

Cabbage salads, fried eggplant, pickled vegetables...the possibilities are endless and really vary from place to place. But let it be said. I've collectively spent nearly a year in Israel and can think of one meal that didn't include salads. (At a wonderful French restaurant in Tel Aviv) 

Both kibbutzim where I volunteered served a variety of salads for every meal. This cauliflower salad was served quite often with dinner on my more recent kibbutz, and it was one of my favorites. It is as simple as can be and tastes incredible. We always ate it as a cold salad, but I'm sure it would be lovely warm as well.

Working in the kitchen...probably about 6:30 am...not looking great

 I worked in the kitchen and on days where we made the salad, I often was the one to prep all the cauliflower. In those days, I was like a cauliflower prepping machine! I would have to separate a dozen or so crates of cauliflower into little florets, drop them into a large tub of cold water, cling film the top, and wheel it into one of the large walk-in fridges so our chefs could use it later in the day. When I did cauliflower, I always hoped it would be for this salad. It's so good! 

Cauliflower Salad

Okay, as I sit here chowing down on this salad, I implore you; if you make any of my recipes, make this one!! It was fun to revisit. And I really enjoyed the confused/slightly judgemental look on my cat's little face as I broke down the stalk of the cauliflower and pushed it down the garbage disposal.... Animals must think humans are so weird.

Also, a few notes....

The photo above will look slightly different from your final product, since I added the tahina after photographing and uploading it, just because I am absent minded and honestly couldn't be bothered to set up the camera and take a billion pictures of the cauliflower and then upload them all and choose the best one...I just couldn't do it again.  I'm sorry.

Don't be afraid of parsley! In Israel, it is used as an ingredient, not a garnish. It really stands out in this dish.

On my kibbutz, the cauliflower was put in a deep fryer. If you randomly have one, go ahead and fry them there! In that case, you don't need to slice them in half. 
Finally, I gave sort of loosey goosey instructions on making the tahina, because it's really to taste. Also, you won't use it all. Just spoon it on and make sure the tahina coats the cauliflower. Any leftovers can be used as salad dressing, eaten with pita, over meat...really anything. It's delicious.

Ingredients

One head of cauliflower, separated into florets and sliced in half  

Oil

1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Tahini paste

A handful of parsley, chopped

Water

Preparation

In a large pan, pour enough oil so that half your cauliflower will be covered. Heat the oil and then add half the cauliflower. Fry until it's soft, brown and the stems are translucent. Drain on a paper towel and add the other half. Do the same thing. 

Season the fried cauliflower with a little salt, pepper, and some lemon juice. Mix in some of the chopped parsley. Let it cool.

To make a tahini sauce: pour tahini into a food processor and squeeze over half a lemon, some parsley, and your garlic. Pulse and add water until it becomes a thick yet loose, khaki-colored sauce. 

Mix some tahini with the cauliflower and  squeeze over the rest of your lemon. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, but you won't need much. 

!בתאבון