Jerusalem Tales
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Jerusalem Tales

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It’s hard for me to write and yet I know I must. Silence, utter mute silence is my response when I’m confronted with terrible grief, irrevocable reality. I guess we all experience this at some point of our lives. It’s very hard to find any meaningful words, any meaning at all when bad things happen to good people. It’s the ultimate philosophical question mark, the most trying test to our faith.

Nothing I write, nothing I say will change the reality. Nothing, no amount of prayer can bring Hugo back. And I can’t skip over this into a cappuccino, as much as I’d like to drown myself in a whole vat of cappuccino in my despair for his family and for all who knew him to be the unique soul that he was in this world.

I was sitting with my grandfather, who’s from the old world where the Ottoman Empire ruled over Iraq and the Middle East. He’s one hundred years old now, and whilst his legs have given way and he needs twenty four hour care, his mind is sharp. Sitting with him is like sitting with a young man who’s stuck in wrinkly, well worn body, whose mouth moves too slowly for his words that he wants to express. His eyes give it away though, dimmed with age they look at me and seem to ask, ‘Who are you?’ and ‘What is it all about?’

I sat with him that early Summer, Los Angeles morning and asked my eyes asked him in return, ‘You tell me what it’s all about? What wisdom do you have to gift me?’ After a few silent moments he lifted up his finger and began to draw a circle in the air. ‘Life is a Galgal – a circle,’ he rasped. ‘Life is a Galgal.’ Slowly, carefully, around and around, his finger drew the circle of life in the air. And I appreciated his wisdom. The cycle of life, the culmination and summary of one hundred years on this earth.

If I’ve learnt anything in the month that has felt like the mourning month of Av, it’s that we don’t know much. In fact we know nothing. We know as much as the zero in that circle of life. We just go around and around, day in day out, living our lives. This may seem defeatist. Maybe I’ve become a fatalist in the month where my son’s good friend dies suddenly, horrifyingly. Where a beautiful black haired, black eyed baby of just a few months dies, also suddenly, also horrifying, and I can’t look at her mother’s face without crying. When I think of the heartbroken parents there are no comforting words to offer. How can I not be a fatalist, because they don’t deserve their sorrow. No one does.

My only conclusion is that we don’t know anything as we walk in this world. Day in day out, along the fragile circle of life which we are gifted with. All we can hope to do is work on ourselves so that each day counts, each relationship counts and to be the best we can be in the moment. In all humility we don’t know what tomorrow brings, we don’t even really know what God wants, except what comes to mind from the book of Micah, ‘What is good and what does God want from you? But to do justice and loving kindness and go humbly with God.’ (Micah 6:8)
What this means is different to all of us. It’s a personal journey, and more often than not it’s a silent expedition of the soul, which takes place wherever you find yourself, Johannesburg, Los Angeles or Jerusalem.

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About Sarah

About Sarah

Writer, Thinker, Explorer

This is my website where I share my thoughts, experiences, writing and recipes. To explore what it is to be a woman, a Jew living in Jerusalem, a mother, a fellow human being walking the unknown path, sometimes crooked, straight, shadowed, lit up, always blessed, that we call life.

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ADRP Award 2018!

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Chicken & Rice in the Oven

I love this recipe because it’s a great all in one meal. I got the idea from a friend’s house we went to for a meal. She says she often cooks rice in the oven. Something I had never heard of before. I’ve always cooked rice in a pot. So this was a different concept, an all in one, easy peasy recipe of yummy rice and chicken in a casserole dish, which everyone loves. 

So I googled a recipe and found this one. I am posting this link here, https://www.recipetineats.com/oven-baked-chicken-and-rice/ so the original is attributed, and it does describe in much greater detail the process, and I’m typing up my version of it here because I never quite stick to instructions. Having said that I don’t recommend straying from the amounts of water, the rice can turn out too soggy or dry – I learned that the hard way.

Ingredients 

(I have to say here that I always double this recipe.)

5 chicken thigh fillets – or drumsticks or anything you want

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups basmati rice

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I use salted, hot water – tell me who has broth to use at hand ever???)

1 1/4 cups hot water (I use boiling) 

Chicken Rub

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried thyme 

1/2 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp salt

Black pepper

Olive Oil

I’ll be honest here I just put whatever I want on the chicken. This is a good guideline though. 

Method

  1. Preheat oven 180C/350F
  2. Cut onion and garlic and scatter them on a casserole dish with olive oil and pop in the oven for 10-15 minutes so they are golden, careful not to burn. 
  3. Mix chicken with chicken rub – you can also prepare this in advance. I add olive oil as well. It adds flavour and moisture.
  4. Add washed rice to the garlic, onion in dish and mix.
  5. Place chicken on the rice. Pour chicken broth (if you have) and water around the chicken. (I salt my water because otherwise, I find the rice tasteless.
  6. Cover with foil and back for 30 minutes. Remove foil, baste with more olive oil if you want, and bake for further twenty minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
  7. Fluff up rice and serve. 

I find if I stuff up the liquids, and it’s too soggy, I can let it cook a bit more to dry out. If I didn’t add enough liquid I add more and cook a bit longer. So don’t panic.

Further, you can add other vegetables when you add the chicken. I’ve added potatoes and sweet potatoes. But you can use your imagination and add Jerusalem artichokes, onions and any other veggie you fancy.

Enjoy!

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