James Bond Day

"Bond, James Bond."

Ian Lancaster Fleming, British author and creator of the legendary fictional British secret agent (James Bond, 007), was born on May 28, 1908.

To mark Ian Fleming's birthday, spy novel and movie fans read their favorite stories of intrigue and view their best-loved James Bond movies. From Doctor No to Diamonds Are Forever, and from Goldfinger to Golden Eye, James Bond has captivated readers and movie audiences with his investigative prowess, intriguing spy devices and outrageous wordplays.

Who's your favorite James Bond?

Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The United States holiday occurs every year on the final Monday of May and many people visit cemeteries and memorials to honor those who have died in military service. Memorial Day originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. It is not to get confused with Veterans Day which celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, living or dead.

Memorial Day Poster-Arlington National Cemetery

Photo by UntidyBlog.com

Although Memorial Day is a day of remembrance many people choose to go to the beach, hold picnics, sports events, barbecues and other family gatherings on this weekend. This weekend typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone! 

AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NATALIE!!!

Summertime...And The Livin's Easy.

We are getting closer and closer to summer, the weather has been warming up more and more each day and pretty soon it will officially be summertime! This is such an exciting time of year for so many reasons...sunshine everyday, beach time, no school, summer dresses, tank-tops, and shorts, concerts, delicious fruits and veggies, and so much more! We are fans of every season but there is something about summer that makes it so special. Perhaps it's the endless hours spent at the beach tanning and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea that make it so special. Whatever it is that makes your summer special you better get ready for it because it's right around the corner!

Have a good Memorial Day weekend USA! :)

Malibu, CA-Photo by Amanda

Mediterranean Sea, Herzliya Beach Photo by Natalie

My Brother's Strawberry Mojito's- Photo by Natalie

Talya's Hand Stands In The Park- Photo by Natalie

World Turle Day

The World Turtle Day began in the year 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive

Image via tumblr

Turtle Day encourages you to discover the world of turtles and tortoises, and to learn how you can help to protect and help them to thrive. Some ideas include dressing up as turtles, saving turtles on roads, or getting involved in turtle research.

With five out of seven marine turtles listed as endangered and 43% of the world's freshwater turtles listed as threatened it is important pitch in this World Turtle Day. Here are five tips from American Tortoise Rescue (ATR differentiates between turtles and tortoises, but for simplicity they're all called turtles here.) Check out the group's website for more ways to get involved.

• Never buy a turtle from a pet shop, as it increases demand from the wild.
• Never remove turtles from the wild unless they are sick or injured. 
• If a turtle is crossing a busy street, pick it up and send it in the same direction it was going — if you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again. 
• Report cruelty or illegal sales of turtles to your local animal control shelter. 
• Report the sale of any turtle of any kind less than four inches. This is illegal everywhere in the U.S.

Image via Photography Blogger "baby snapper" by Clay Junell

Image via Photography Blogger "Baby turtle" by きうこ

Image via Photography Blogger "Hatching out! An African Spur-Thigh Tortoise" by Cheryl

Image via Photography Blogger "Synchronized Swimming" by Bill Hails

National Vanilla Pudding Day

Today is National Vanilla Pudding Day! This yummy, creamy pudding existed since the 19th century, and most culinary historians say that the modern recipe we use today evolvolved from custards, which date back to Ancient Rome. The first instant pudding was introduced in the 1950s by Jell-O which was advertised and promoted as a "busy-day dessert." Here is one of the original commercial from the 1950s introducing Jell-O instant pudding. To celebrate National Vanilla Pudding Day, make some delicious homemade vanilla pudding from scratch, or from an instant mix!

Image via Chow

Even though its National VANILLA Pudding Day, we want to share with you guys our favorite pudding and their recipes. These two favorites of each of ours are very similar but we will still show you guys both of them despite that, so HAPPY NATIONAL VANILLA PUDDING DAY & ENJOY :)

Natalie's favorite is a milk pudding called Hitaliye (هيطلية)

Image via Donna Hay

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk
• 1 heaped tablespoon of corn starch 
• 1/2 teaspoon ma'ez zahr (orange blossom essence) and/or rosewater
• Sugar (optional)
• Honey/ caramelized sugar

Directions:
- Boil the milk
- Mix cornstarch in a cup with a little bit of milk and you can also add sugar to make it sweet which is optional (add desired amount)
- Add the mixture (cornstarch,milk, and sugar) to the boiling milk.
- Make sure to keep stirring the pudding constantly
- Add the orange blossoms essence/rosewater or you can put a bit of both.
- Keep cooking the pudding under low fire until it gets thick around 15 minutes or until you get the desire consistency
- After pour the mixture in small bowls and place in fridge
- Once they have cooled, which probably will take a few hours, you can add honey/caramelized sugar to top it off.
-ENJOY :)

Amanda's favorite pudding is a rice pudding 

Image via Eat The Right Stuff

 Ingredients:

• 1 qt. milk
• 1/4 cup pounded rice
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom essence
• 1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds and skinned pistachio nuts (optional)

Preparation:

- Mix rice with water and add to milk which has been brought to a boil.
- Stir and cook until thickened and then add sugar.
- Continue cooking and stirring until mixture coats the spoon.
- Add flavorings and boil a few minutes longer.
- Pour into individual serving dishes and decorate with chopped nuts.

HAVE A GREAT VANILLA PUDDING DAY!

HAMBURGER MONTH!

Guess what! It's National Hamburger Month! 

Did you know...

The term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, from which many people emigrated to the United States..

A "burger" is not only associated as a ground beef hamburger, but other different meats are used as well, such as a buffalo burger, venison, turkey, lamb, salmon burger or veggie burger. 

Americans eat an astounding 48 billion burgers a year, which is equivalent to about three per week per person!

White Castle  is the oldest hamburger chain, it started in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas and they served steam-fried hamburgers, 18 per pound of fresh ground beef, cooked on a bed of chopped onions, FOR A NICKEL!

The Big Mac was introduced in 1968. The price was 49 cents.

And now for some mouth-watering burgers!

The Habit-Food Spotting

If you are ever in California you must go to The Habit!! They make the best burgers... honestly. I usually order a single char-burger with avocado and its delicious!

The Counter Burger

The Counter is a burger joint in Northern California, in the Bay Area, their concept is to make any kind of burger you want, there are 312,120+ different burger combinations!

Agadir

An awesome burger place all in Israel!

Chile Underground

NOW GO GET A BURGER!!

National Pet Month

National Pet Month is a celebration of pets and the benefits they bring to people's lives and the benefits people bring to their lives. This holiday is celebrated on May 20th in the Unites States and during April in the UK.

The purpose of national pet month is:

1) Promote the benefits of pet ownership
2) Encourage pet adoption
3) Raise awareness of the benefits of people for pets and vice versa
4) Increase public awareness of services available from professionals who work with animals
5) To strengthen understanding of the role, value, and contribution to society of working companion animals (pets)

This month is about appreciating your pets whether it's a dog, cat, hamster, bird, fish, or anything else. It is also a month to help encourage people and yourself to adopt animals, and to just gain more knowledge about pets.

Here are some fun facts about pet ownership

• An estimated 1 million dogs in the United States have been named the primary beneficiary in their owner's will.
  
• At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his Shetland sheepdog. 
  

57%	of households include either a dog or a cat
90%	of pet owners say they consider their pet a member of the family
27%	have taken their dog or cat to a professional photographer
33%	of pet owners have a picture of their dog or cat displayed in their home
15%	bought a car or home with their pet in mind
50%	of dog and cat owners give their pets Christmas presents
36%	buy birthday presents for their pets
48%	of cat owners swear Fluffy watches TV
50%	of pet owners talk to their dog or cat
80%	think their pets can sense their moods
58%	of pet owners bury their furry friends on their property when they die

"Bisty" - Natalie's cat rescued from the streets!

"Tony"-Amanda's cat 

"Oreo" Amanda's dog

"Mittens"-Amanda's crazy kitten rescued from a kibbutz

SuN-FloWeRs!

Now that the sun is out it is the perfect time to grow sunflowers because in order for them to grow well they need to be in full sun, but lets not focus on how to grow. Sunflowers are quite magical, did you know that at sunrise most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day they track the sun from east to west and return to an eastward direction again in the night. 

Sunflowers are known to be native to the Americas, but there is some debate about where the sunflower was first domesticated. The earliest known examples were found at the Hayes site in Tennessee and date back to around 2300 B.C. There were also other remains found at the Olmec site of San Andrés dating some time before 2100 B.C. 

The seed of the sunflower is the best known use of the plant. The seeds are roasted and salted and eaten whole, or pressed for oil that is very healthy for you. Even the flower of the sunflower is edible, you can use the petals to make a bright addition to any salad. Sunflowers can also be processed into an alternative for peanut butter, it is often called Sunbutter.

Photo by Stannes Florist

Sun Flower Seeds

Photo by Only Positive

HAVE A HAPPY SUNNY-FLOWER KIND OF DAY!

Fattoush

Fattoush is derived from the Arabic fatt which mean "crush". When making this salad you toast pita bread then break it up and add to the salad this is one of the main ingredients that makes fattoush different from any other salad. The other main ingredient is the spice sumac

Sumac isn't a herb but a type of berry that is grown on a Mediterranean bush and mostly grown in southern Italy and the Middle East. If you've ever eaten za'atar, you've probably eaten sumac because it is usually one of the ingredients of za'atar.

Sumac was used as a medicine specifically in the medieval times where it treated almost half a dozen illnesses. Research has also found that sumac has anti microbial properties which suggest that sumac might be used to treat and prevent hyperglycemia, diabetes and obesity due to hypoglycemic properties. Recent research also suggests that sumac has antioxidant properties. In one experiment, sumac was added to animal's drinking water and it was found that there was less oxidized DNA bases in their colons, livers, lungs and lymphocytes.

Our homemade fattoush

So now that we know more about fattoush and sumac here is the recipe on fattoush.

•Ingredients:
4 Cucumber
2 Tomato
2 Green pepper
2 Radish
Handful of fresh Mint
Handful of Parsley
1/2 Lemon
1 tablespoon Sumac
Olive oil
2 Pita bread

•Directions
- first toast the pita bread and make sure not to burn it !
- roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers.
- thinly slice the radish
- roughly chop mint and parsley
- add sumac
- add lemon and olive oil and if needed salt
- I would suggest to add the bread at the last minute so it won't get soggy or even each person add it into their own plate just incase you don't finish the salad.

And enjoy!!!

Feast of Weeks

Feast of Weeks, also known as Shavuot, is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the anniversary of the day
God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. The word Shavuot means “weeks" and it marks the completion of the seven-week period between Passover and Shavuot. On this holiday it is customary to eat dairy, some say it is a reminder of the promise regarding the land of Israel, a land flowing with "milk and honey" and others say it is because our ancestors had just received the Torah and did not have both meat and dairy dishes available (due to dietary laws).

Photo by Jewish Exponent

Each Jewish culture celebrates Shavuot in their own way. Persian Jews make "Polow mastin", a dish made of rice and milk, and "kultcha shiri", a dairy cake. Greek Jews make a special porridge made with dairy and cinnamon called "sutlac". Libyan Jews make necklaces strung with cookies or pretzels in symbolic shapes for their children, and Iraqi Jews make "sambusak", a savory pastry filled with cheese. 

Greek Dish: Sultac

Iraqi Dish: Sambusak

My family (Amanda) are Moroccan Jews and tonight we had a feast at my grandmother's sister's house. She made cheese bourekas (a puff pastry that is similar to sambusak), quiche with cheese and spinach, quiche with corn and mushrooms, salads, pasta with cheese and mushrooms, bulgarit (bulgarian cheese, similar to feta), and a homemade cheesecake with tea for dessert. It was a fun filled evening, everyone was enjoying their meal and singing and laughing. I wish I had a picture to show you but just imagine a full sized table with 8 adults and one adorable 2-year-old girl, and about 5 main dishes and 6 different salads. It was an amazing evening with family, just the way the holidays are supposed to be. 

Cheese Bourekas

Bulgarian Cheese

Israeli Cheesecake

HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY EVERYONE!!

Happy Mother's Day to ALL mothers out there!!

This is a special holiday that honors motherhood, maternal bonds, and the positive influence mothers have in society. 

A brief history of Mother's Day in the USA:
In 1868, Ann Jarvis created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day". The purpose was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War." She wanted to expand this day into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular. Her daughter, Anna Jarvis, continued her mother's efforts and campaigned to establish Mother's Day first as a U.S. national holiday and then later as an international holiday. The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of states followed quickly. On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.

Anna Jarvis

Thank you Ann and Anna Jarvis for your efforts in making this a recognized holiday and a day for honoring mothers all around the world.

I want to take this time to honor my mom; she is the most special woman in my life and I love her endlessly. She is my best friend, my mentor, my inspiration, my rock, and I miss her so much. As much as I love living in Israel and being independent, there are days where I just want my mum, to hug and kiss her and cuddle with her. She is one of the most loving and caring people I know and I can't wait to see her and give her the biggest hug in the world. Thank you for always being there for me and supporting me, you truly are an amazing mother and I feel so lucky and privileged to have you in my life. I love you :)

My beautiful mum

   My mum and I <3<3<3

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!