Q & A - Lite Bites

By PHYLLIS GLAZER
A friend told me about a company that sends environmentally friendly gift packages to both Israel and abroad, but she can’t remember the name of the company. Would you happen to know? I’d like to send that kind of gift to a friend in London.
Sasha Baruch
I think you are referring to www.nagaya.co.il. This company sends organic and fair-trade socially-conscious gift packages domestically and overseas.
I was told that Tel Aviv University is opening seminars for people who suffer from various health problems, or their caretakers, where they teach people how to cook natural foods that improve their specific problems. But when I called they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. Do you know where these seminars are being held?
Shlomit Polinsky
The seminars that you are talking about are scheduled to start the end of May, at the Broshim Campus, the School of Alternative Medicine at Tel Aviv University. For more information call Ya’ara Raphaeli at (03) 641-1961 or write to yaarar@tauex.tau.ac.il.
Is it possible to freeze fresh garlic? If so, do I crush the fresh garlic, or leave the cloves whole and then freeze it?
Arieh Mendel
I have never tried to freeze whole green garlic cloves, but I have a friend who peels and crushes them into a paste with olive oil and freezes it. She even makes enough to last for several months. To do this, you separate the heads into cloves and dip them briefly in boiling water to loosen the skin and facilitate peeling. Then coarsely grind them by pulsing in a blender or food processor. Add enough olive oil to make a paste. You can freeze this paste in little glass jars, and use a spoon to take out just as much as you need each time. Remember to leave space at the top of the jar for expansion.
My husband tells me that his mother, who was American, used to have a long plastic tube that had a kind of rubber ball on it that she would press like a syringe to fill with pan juices for basting chicken.
I’ve looked for something matching this description in house-ware store – even the fanciest ones – but haven’t found it anywhere in Israel. Do you know if and where it is available here?
Rakefet Schulson
He’s talking about a baster, and you should be able to find at least one type in Israel. I saw one recently at “Spices,” 11 Kehilat Saloniki Street in the Hadar Yosef/Neot Afeka area of Tel Aviv. Made by OXO, it sells for around NIS 60. I’m sorry I don’t know what it’s called in Hebrew, but you can describe it as you did above.
Their number is (03) 647-5555, or write to telaviv@spices-center.com.