Green chile at last......sort of

Not too much to update everyone on. Phil has been working, a TON. Pretty much every night he works from home as well as every weekend. So that has made it a little difficult go anywhere together. And it has gotten quite humid and hot here recently, making going anywhere during the day a very unpleasant, hot and sweaty experience. And it has stopped cooling off at night here, which before was a major relief from the heat of the day. Last night we were out to dinner with our friend Cheryl (she comes here 3 or 4 times a year on business) and we opted to sit outside. Big mistake! We sweated through our dinner and then I am fairly certain I almost had heatstroke on the walk home. Okay, maybe that's a little bit dramatic, but you get the point. It’s HOT! Me and humidity just don’t mix. (And yes, I know that those of you in Florida don’t have any sympathy for us!)

All my friends are getting ready to take trips back to the States (coincidentally) over the next couple months, so our newly formed Book Club will not be starting until September. Actually, we opted for a Book Swap Club instead. English books here are just way too expensive. And the logistics of first picking out and agreeing on a book and then finding the cheapest way to order them and get them over here seemed like a little too much work for five girls that just wanted to get together and yak anyway. So we decided to make it a swap and everyone can bring a few books that they have already read, and then we all have new and free selections to choose from. Hee-hee…..we joke and call ourselves the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wives. You have to be familiar with young adult lit to get that lame joke.

My latest project (besides continuing to knit like crazy—blanket three is almost complete!) is buying and roasting chiles. So we found at the Shuk what look similar to Anaheim peppers which are sort of similar to green chiles. So although I don’t know exactly what they are, I know that they are wicked hot and will make an excellent substitute for the NM green chile that we both love and miss so much. Last weekend Phil and I spent an afternoon roasting and peeling a couple kilos of chiles so that we could freeze them. And as I was none too bright and a) didn’t wear gloves and b) was not exactly being careful as I was peeling them, I ended up with my hands on fire for about two hours after we finished. I had to stick them in a bowl of milk it was so bad! So yesterday I went to the Shuk and picked up 3 more kilos and then stopped to get some disposable gloves on the way home because I am not going through that again! So I guess that is another afternoon project for the weekend. The goal is to have the freezer stocked with roasted chiles before they go out of season, whenever that may be. This should keep the Hubby happy until we get back to NM for the real thing. Even though I grew up in NM I think he loves green chile more than I do!

Oh, and I have discovered my new favorite thing here. Juice. Yes, it sounds simple but it makes me really really happy. All over the city there are like a zillion juice stands where on a hot day (okay, any day for that matter) you can get any kind of fresh squeezed juice you desire. My favorite is the carrot, orange and ginger combo which a friend intoduced me to. I have to get one at least twice a week and I have even been known to get out of my PJs and leave the apartment just to go get a juice. Hey, I used to have a chai tea addiction, now I have a juice addiction. At least it's a healthy vice. You can also get any kind of smoothie that you want. I tried one that was banana, pecan and date. Sounds weird but I swear it tasted just like banana bread in a glass. The US could learn something from Israel and their fresh juice and smoothies that aren't weighed down in sugar and high fructose corn syrup. I swear you can’t even get fresh squeezed OJ in many places in the States. It’s always that from concentrate-tastes-like-baby-aspirin junk. Oh my gosh! Did I actually say something positive about living here in comparison to the US?!?!?!?! I must be turning a new leaf. (Don't get too used to it though!)

Well, I've got a ton to do today to get ready for the weekend. Stocking up on groceries before Shabbat is a must, and I much prefer to do it on Thursday rather than on Friday morning when the whole city is at the grocery store. While fresh juice is an entry on my mental list under why I like living in Israel, Shabbat is definitely an entry under why I don't! Shabbat Shalom everyone and have a great weekend!