Kosher in Newark Airport

I had remembered reading something about kosher food in the Newark Airport, so since I had so much time in between flights, I went searching. I was in the terminal which has United Airlines, and since I was an "international traveler" only using United, my suitcase was sent directly to Israel from Phoenix. I did not have to retrieve it and go through security etc again. That gave me lots of time to search.

I looked at all of the food places but didn't find anything special, just the usual stuff. Then I went to the gate for my plane to Israel, which was still open to everyone, since it was too early. The gates to Israel flights are closed off and one needs additional security before a flight. There I saw all sorts of prepared foods, meals of sorts with a "star K."

I checked on facebook to find out about this "star K" and was told that it's a very reliable kosher supervision from Baltimore. In the end I didn't buy anything, because the prices were so high. I was full enough from my homemade airline food and the special coffee I had bought myself in the Phoenix airport.

Homemade "Airplane Food"

In the olden days, not all that long ago, airplane travelers were given meals on most flights. That is on all but the shortest flights. Nowadays, even if you're traveling over five hours, like the trip between New York/Jersey and Arizona, you only get water and some soft drinks. You can buy food on the plane, but nothing is kosher. When they first eliminated the meals, there were "snacks," crackers or nuts, but no longer.

Since I had a very long flight and travel day plus, I ended up making myself an airplane meal. I was very nervous about it, because I didn't know if security would allow the aluminum tray, but thank Gd it did.

The night before I flew, I made two of these, one to eat that night and the other for the flight.

• chicken breast (Empire kosher)
• onion
• zucchini

I baked them all covered with lots and lots of layers of foil, and then I cut up a tomato, one for each. 

The only other food I took with me was a nice big juicy apple and some almonds. And on the plane I took down the tray and set up my meal to eat. It was delicious and filling, just perfect. 

Non-Diet Treats

Granted that I've been keeping my weight "down," that is lower by about 15 kilo (30 pounds) than it once was, for the past seven years or so, but every once in awhile I do need a treat.

First of all there's my not so secret craving for Haagen Daz mint ice cream. I limit it to my trips to the states, generally just once a visit. I used to have no problem finding a Haagen Daz place in all sorts of malls and stations and if not that the mint ice cream was in every supermarket all over. But the last couple of times I looked for it in Arizona, I couldn't find it at all. So I began scouting around for it while still in New York. I saw that the Duane Reade near my friend had a container and began fantasizing about having an entire container for lunch before flying to AZ.  I sort of hinted the idea to my friend who knows me all too well and suggested we go to the Haagen Daz place not far from her and just buy myself a couple of scoops. 

And that's what I did. A cup with two scoops of my mint and one of the special run peppermint (not as good) cost me more than a container that had lots more (and lots more calories, too.) But I certainly do not need the calories, and my cravings were satisfied with the scoops. 

Since I had been so good about just getting scoops of ice cream, I allowed another craving to win. In the international chain Coffee Bean, all of the coffees are kosher, not just the plain ones. There are even branches with kosher foods, sandwiches etc. But the branch in the Phoenix Airport is not one of the kosher ones. But I wanted a fancy coffee, so I bought one there.

Yes, it was good! And I got it before getting on the plane to Newark which was the "stopover" before the plane to Israel.

And now that I'm home, back to the diet...

Shabbat HaGadol, Tzav: Jewish Blog Carnival Combo, Havel Havelim and Kosher Cooking Carnival

This combined Havel Havelim-Kosher Cooking Carnival is cross-posted on Shiloh Musings.

This Shabbat was Shabbat HaGadol-Tzav, The Great Shabbat-Command!

Tzav(Leviticus 6-8) Everyone Needs a Push
"Command Aharon and his sons [by] saying, this is the teaching of the olah, it is the olah on its fire on the altar the whole night, and the fire of the altar will burn in it (Vayikra 6:2)."
Rashi explains that the Hebrew word "tzav," command, implies ziruz - encouragement and urging - for that time and for all generations. Particularly when it comes to situations involving loss of money (because the Kohanim do not receive anything from a burnt offering other than the hide), is there a need to encourage and urge. (aish.com)

And I've found myself hosting the pre-Passover Havel Havelim and Kosher Cooking Carnival now that it's dark and Shabbat has ended.

Havel Havelim is the long-running international weekly Jewish blog carnival. It was started by Soccer Dad who now longer blogs, and now we organize it on our facebook page. It floats from blog to blog, whoever is willing to host. Next Havel Havelim, just after Passover, will be hosted by Tzivia, Adventures in Aliyah Land  please send to [email protected] with a one-line description of your post, thanks.

The monthly Kosher Cooking Carnival is my initiative, and it has also been in existance for quite a few years. It includes posts about all aspects of kosher food and kosher cooking, cookbooks, halacha (Jewish Law,) customs, restaurants and recipes. It also has a facebook page to notify people about who's hosting etc. I'll probably host next month (according to the Jewish Calendar,) too, unless there's a volunteer. If I'm just doing KCC, it'll be on me-ander and not Shiloh Musings. Send your links to me at [email protected], thanks.

I'd appreciate your visiting the blogs, comment, share and especially share the link to this HH-KCC combo, thanks.

Remember, you don't have to be a blogger to enjoy, read, comment and share Havel Havelim and the Kosher Cooking Carnival!!

Here are the posts, in no particular order, except that those sent by the bloggers are first. Then mine and those I found.

Yojeved Golani, Lessons to be Learned from the Fire
Nechama and Me, and Widespread Election Fraud Against Eli Yishai's Yachad/ HaAm Itanu Party, Time all suggested by Yojeved
From Varda Epstein:
Another Alternative Peace Plan, Death To America? Oh, That’s Nothing, The Red Rattler Theatre’s Permissible Exclusion, VIDEO: McCain Tells Obama To Get Over It,
Kosher in the L.A. and Newark Airports
Kosher in Phoenix, Actually Scottsdale, AZ
Visit Shiloh, Passover and Beyond...
How to fix your internet problems in Israel (sort of).
Doug on Israeli Beers: Podcast on four Israeli beers, An evening at the Frieds -- delicious food, excellent beer, Golan Brewery launches new Og Double Bock Wheat Beer
The White House's Freudian Slip
Store on Wheels
Obama’s Jihad Against Israel
#blogExodus: Bless
Coming to a Close - Interesting Dreams
Beef in Beer, Great Success!
Israel, the Liberal Country of the Middle East
Bli eyin haraa, Good News, Better News
Can Obama be Impeached?
State chametz almost couldn't be sold
Free attractions and Museums on Pesach 2015!
What We Talk About When We Talk About Matzo Balls
Covering My Head with a Scarf - not a wig
Two Audio Shiurim for Pesach: "Two Types of Redemption", and "Pesach and Eliyahu Hanavi"
Is this the End of the Two-State Solution?
Netanyahu's "Anti Arab" Election Speech, Was It Racism or Realism?

Please join our blogging community.

Remember, you don't have to be a blogger to enjoy, read, comment and share Havel Havelim and the Kosher Cooking Carnival!!

Kosher in the L.A. and Newark Airports

It's not easy to find kosher food when stuck in airports. The Israeli Ben-Gurion aka Natbag or "Tel Aviv" has kosher food, but I usually find myself choosing between overly expensive fruit, chocolate and nuts if I can't bring from home. During my recent visit I had a lot of trouble, since I ended up spending the night in Newark Airport. 

I brought instant oatmeal with me for the Newark to Phoenix, AZ flight, but that was cancelled, so I was stuck. There were places where they sold instant oatmeal, but finding boiling water was almost impossible. 

That's because there weren't any coffee places open in the middle of the night. But they also sold some yogurts. Some were kosher.

It was better in the Los Angeles Airport, where I ended up when rebooked to AZ via LA.

Coffee Bean is a chain that has many kosher products, and some branches have even more. There were kosher tuna sandwiches in that branch. So, after a delicious and very needed cup of coffee, I got myself breakfast, a tuna sandwich.

In Coffee Bean, unlike Starbucks, all the coffees are kosher, even the fancy ones. I had a regular one, which was what I needed at the time. But it's a good thing to know.

Kosher in Phoenix, Actually Scottsdale, AZ

Just before Purim, meaning a few weeks ago, I went to Arizona to visit my father, sister and family. Since I was worse than jet-lagged after spending a night in Newark Airport about 36 hours earlier, I needed a good meal. We went off to Mozart, the lovely kosher dairy restaurant I'd been to in the past, but I noticed right next to it a new kosher restaurant, PAPRIKA, (480) 998-2559 7116 E Mercer Lane.

As regular readers here probably know, I've discovered that it's possible to get a better, more satisfying meat meal for less money than a dairy one would cost. That's especially if you want to cut down on carbohydrates. So, my sister and I decided to give Paprika a try.

It's next to Mozart for the simple reason that they both have the same owners, new owners from what we were told and I now have read on the internet. Actually, the WC-Restrooms for both are the ones in Mozart.

I can't remember exactly which  two types of meat I had ordered. I think one was beef and the other chicken, but I do remember that they both tasted very good. The meat was freshly cooked to order, and the salad was OK for an American one. 

The food is an American version of a simple Israeli meat place except for the soup, which if my memory is correct, was a borscht-beet soup. That tasted very nouveau, more the style Mozart is known for.

We were very pleased with our meal, recommend the restaurant and wish the owners well.

Lunch in That Name-forgotten Kosher Miami Restaurant

Somehow I didn't photograph the name of the Miami kosher dairy restaurant my cousins and I ate in the Sunday I was there.  I'd appreciate if someone would add the name in the comments, thanks.

We had a lovely meal. The menu and Hechshar are posted on the window, but I can't see the name anyplace. Those who know Miami should be able to recognize it and the buildings across the way which are reflected in the window.

I had my usual Tuna Salad, which I eat out in many places.

When it's called Salad Nicoise, I just tell them to "hold the potatoes." I think that this restaurant just had "plain old tuna salad," because I don't see the hard-boiled egg you usually find in a nicoise salad.

The restaurant seemed to be one of those family-friendly ones with lots of plain tables and quick service. When my cousin didn't like her food they tried to be accommodating.  There are quite a few kosher restaurants in the area, and I trusted my relatives to choose one.  It's nice to have a choice all within a short walking distance. As I've written before, I was very surprised by the amount of  kosher stores in the Miami area.

Food on The Plane, Good Menu on El Al

This last trip to the USA was the first I had flown El Al for a number of years.  For various reasons, recent trips to and from the states had been British Airways, Delta, United Continental and US Air.

I must admit that El Al has the least comfortable seats, most crowded and so soft that the slightest touch on my seat by other passengers makes me jump and worse.

But there is one thing I missed on all those other flights, even when being more comfortable and enjoying the sometimes better free entertainment, the MENU. 

El Al's regular and special kosher meals include salads, vegetables and sometimes fruit, too.  You also have a choice of kosher meals on El Al.  On other airlines, it's either kosher or not.  You can't choose between a kosher meat/poultry, fish, vegetarian or fruit option. 

Here are some pictures I took of the food served on my way to from "natbag" aka Ben Gurion International Airport to JFK International Airport.  I must admit that the food was one of the only good things about that flight.  It wasn't pleasant.  Actually, the fault wasn't El Al's...

 

 

"Homemade" Kosher When Traveling

During this year's trip to Phoenix, AZ, I didn't eat out in any of their kosher restaurants, but I ate a lot of food.  It wasn't that my sister had turned her house kosher or my parents had moved to a kosher facility either. 

I just had my own cooking equipment, knife, cutting board and covered pot in both locations.  I did a lot of basic food shopping, lots of vegetables.

I also had basic cooking equipment at my friend's apartment in Atlanta, GA, though there we ate one meal out per day to sample the kosher restaurants to be blogged about later, G-d willing.

For protein I bought canned fish, canned beans, almonds and at my friends, I ate "frozen cheese," aka Häagen-Dazs^® ice cream, including a whole pint of my favorite Mint Chip!

Maybe it's just me, but I don't function if I don't eat proper meals.  I am much more pleasant to be around when I've been eating good healthy food.  If you're based in a hotel/motel, make sure it has a microwave, which can be "kashered" and then "cooked in" when double/triple/quadrupling the wrapping.  Check with your LOR, local Orthodox Rabbi.  Many canned foods are kosher, too, and can be eaten directly from the can besides fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were kosher foods at the motel breakfast, and there was  a complementary airport shuttle I took for the price of a tip.

It's not that you shouldn't "treat yourself" when away from home, but in the end I think we all feel better if most of our food is healthy.  My sister and my friend really made every effort to make sure I had food to good eat, and considering that I've been a housewife and mother for over forty years, it was no great effort for me to cook a bit for myself.