Hummus is so popular in the United States and worldwide that the global market for commercially prepared hummus is expected to top $1 billion by 2022. So why make your own? The simple answer is that homemade hummus tastes great. Hummus is more than a dip. In Israel and the Middle East — and at…
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Food
Organic Epicure
Pastrami, pork and grandma’s herring
Karen Solomon’s new cookbook, “Cured Meat, Smoked Fish & Pickled Eggs: Recipes and Techniques for Preserving Protein-Packed Foods,” is, on the one…
Food
Sacramento sisters have a latté love for their Tiferet cafés
In 2014, Sabrina Berhane often found herself jogging past a “for sale” sign in a storefront in her East Sacramento neighborhood. When she mentioned it to…
Small Bites
Oakland Israeli joint Ba-Bite closing
Yes, that was me on KQED’s “Check Please, Bay Area” on Aug. 2, talking up Ba-Bite, a great Israeli restaurant near my house in Oakland that I was the…
Recipe
Pair raisins and almonds for sweetness and prosperity
Almonds and raisins are among my favorite pairings for joyful occasions and celebrations, not only because of their flavors but also because they share…
Organic Epicure
Chabad rabbi makes a deal with the Devil and learns to raise pigs
Did you hear about the Chabad guy working for the pig farmer? No joke. Mendel Rice approached the farmer at the Marin Farmers Market last fall and asked…
Recipe
Why cauliflower is the 'it' vegetable
Cauliflower is the vegetable of the moment, especially in Tel Aviv, which I recently visited. Fried, sautéed or roasted, it seemed to be on almost every…
Organic Epicure
Jewish deli opens in the beet-ing heart of Davis
Leave it to a chef of Afghani and Persian roots to come up with beet pastrami. Yes, you read that right. While Jewish deli lovers in Davis are no doubt…
Talking With ...
Personal growth in a prison garden
Amanda Berger of Berkeley, 59, is the program director for the Insight Garden Program, a nonprofit that works with inmates to create and keep gardens…