FOOD TIDBITS

By EVA BEN-DAVID
Osem has a new, coconut flavored cake with date jam filling in the HaBayit series that is kosher for Pessah. This cake joins the other Osem Pessah cakes: brownie-fudge, marble cake and chocolate chip cake. The price for the coconut-date cake is NIS 17.25. Ready-made kosher for Pessah food dishes from Nir Ezion are available in the Supersol, Coop Blue Square and the Coop Jerusalem supermarkets; the only thing you have to do is heat them up. There are 10 different dishes (some only suitable for those who eat kitniot) including gefilte fish, meat balls and potatoes, turkey meat balls with peas, stuffed cabbage or stuffed peppers (with meat), potatoes or gewetch (a mix of vegetables). The prices for main dishes vary from NIS 24 to NIS 28, and side dishes cost NIS 14-18. Dr. Lek has some delicious and impressive-looking kosher for Pessah ice cream cakes. You can choose from a layered cake with caramelized hazelnut brittle, chocolate mousse and a frosting of white chocolate; a layered cake consisting of vanilla-hazelnut cream, a layer of caramel parfait, topped with caramel and whipped cream; or a passion fruit mousse cake (parve). A family-size cake is NIS 89. Neither you nor your kids have to deprive yourself of your breakfast serials this holiday - that is, if you eat kitniot. Telma has kosher for Pessah cornflakes and kariot (pillows), squares filled with nougat cream. The kariot are NIS 22 a package and the cornflakes are NIS 18. Something that doesn't look quite so appealing to me, but might please your kids is the Carmit coconut marshmallows, also kosher for Pessah (for those who eat kitniot). A bag of this very sweet treat is NIS 5.95. If you're looking for some nice wine for your Seder, you can splurge a little and try the Teperberg Reserve wines, like the cabernet sauvignon 2003, made from grapes grown in the Elah valley; the price for a bottle is NIS 95. Also from the Teperberg wineries are the white Chardonnay 2004 (NIS 55) or the red Meritage 2005, a mix of (mostly) cabernet sauvignon, Merlot and cabernet Frank (NIS 52). New wines aiming at a younger public are the Barkan Domaine wines, a series of one white and four red wines, all very reasonably priced. The red wines are cabernet sauvignon (from the Tabor Domaine), Merlot (from the Latrun Domaine), Shiraz (from the Adulam Domaine), Petite Syrah (from the Samson Domaine) and the white wine is an Emerald Riesling from the Dan Domaine. The wines are all from the 2005 harvest; the red wines are NIS 30 and the white is NIS 25. At a little higher level are the new wines in the Barkan Classic series; the new additions are Pinot Noir, Pinotage and Shiraz Rose, all dry wines. The price for the Pinot Noir 2004 and the Pinotage 2004 is NIS 39-42, and the Shiraz Rose 2005 is NIS 29-32. The Golan wines will almost never disappoint, and you can find the new Mount Hermon Red and Mount Hermon White wines from the 2005 harvest for NIS 38 (or considerably less in certain supermarkets): nice wines for a good price. A slightly sweet wine that is also good as an aperitif, served cold, is the Yarden Gewurtztraminer, priced at around NIS 50 a bottle.