Crunchy Soup

One of the finest elements of Israeli cuisine is something called soup almonds. Why they're called this, I don't know since they neither look nor taste like almonds. What they are, are tiny, crisp, puffy squares of stuff that – this part of the name does not mislead – are intended for soup. What do they taste like? Fried wonton is the closest thing I can think of.

Once upon a time – and I am old enough to remember this – meals in the kibbutz dining hall were free. Three times a day you could go and feast on all you could grab for nothing. Then soup almonds were a rarity, trotted out only for the Shabbat evening chicken soup. But of course, socialism has been as big a failure here as it has been everywhere else (Obama supporters be warned) so now most everything has been privatized. It's a testament to capitalism that soup almonds are now readily available in the dining hall. You can buy a little bag of them for a shekel.

I put them in everything. I add them to my rice to make it crunchy. You can add them to broccoli to make it crunchy and lessen the cooked-broccoli taste. In fact, they're so versatile that you'd think their creators would advertise accordingly, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to them. I think they should put me on retainer.

NEWS FLASH: I just heard that a big piece of space junk, a container full of ammonia, having been discarded by the Mir space station a year ago will strike the earth tomorrow. No one knows where it will hit. It's like a great, big lottery. If I were a little more paranoid I'd plan to spend the day hiding in the house with a helmet or two on my head. But I never win anything, so I don't expect my odds here will be any better.