Food!

So I am in pasta heaven. Last night Mara and Stephanie came over for dinner and Jonathan made lasagna. One layer was cottage cheese mixture, the other layer was bulgarit (like feta), and he put emek (type of sliced cheese) on top... yuuummmm. They brought salad and garlic bread, it was like in a restaurant! Then we had ice cream and movie.

This afternoon Jonathan and I went to the Old City and wandered around the Christian quarter for fun. They had baklava there to die for. Pictures to follow... of both the Quarter, plus of the baklava!

I went to Mara's for Shabbat dinner, and she made two kinds of baked ziti, one traditional and one olive. It was sooo good. And I think I made a new friend - there's a male classmate who's been an acquaintance, but we had an excellent conversation tonight on the way home. I want to hang out with him more, so we're all going to go see Casino Royale together tomorrow.

Still on my food theme: Israel has no soup cans. They're all freeze-dried veggies and noodles in bags, you stick it the contents of the bag in a pot and add water. It's very odd. And oh so sad - last winter Jonathan and I got hooked on Campbell stews out of a can. I need my cream of corn and my beef with potatoes! Ah well. Something to look forward to next year when we're back.

And trivia of the day: modern Hebrew words are derived from Biblical terms. The Israeli desert is called the "Negev." The modern word for towel is "magevet." It has the same root, M/N, G, V - because what do you do with a towel? Dry yourself off. And what is the desert? Dry. It makes sense, in its own warped little way. I *love* this language.