My favorite foodies, part V: Sigal

This is the fifth in a series of posts on my favorite home cooks.  (Read previous interviews with Mimi, Leora, Batya, and Ilana-Davita.)

My friend Sigal is one of my few sabra friends, though from her perfect English one would never guess she was born and grew up in Israel.  She has always amazed me with her delicious Shabbat meals (served on plates she made herself as a skilled potter) and tireless dedication to making her own “processed” foods such as almond paté, nut and grain crackers, and granola.  She and her husband recently decided to become vegan, but it hasn’t slowed her down a bit.

Please introduce yourself in a few sentences.

My name is Sigal I have lived in Efrat for the past 13 years. I am a mother of four, homeschooling three kids and one about to go in the army.

From whom did you learn to cook?  (If not from a person, how?)

I learned to cook from my mom and then anyone else that I felt I could learn from, as well as from cookbooks.

In what style do you cook predominantly (e.g. Mediterranean, Jewish, Asian)?

I don’t think I have one particular style but I do cook a lot of Mediterranean dishes.

What dietary guidelines do you observe (kashrut, vegetarian, vegan, Paleolithic diet)?

I keep kosher and am vegan myself, i.e. no animal products with the exception of honey.

What are your favorite foods?  What food aversions do you have?

Favorite food? Tomatoes, garlic, I can go on but it seems that I like fruits and vegetables A LOT!

What is your relationship to your kitchen, to food, to cooking?

I have a love/hate relationship with cooking. Sometimes I can’t get enough and sometimes I wish we could pop a pill, go on with the day, and not have to think about food shopping, food preparation, cleaning up, washing dishes, etc.

What do you think cooking and food say about identity?

I don’t know what food says about my identity and why would it?

Please share one of your favorite recipes, either from a blog post or from your own repertoire.

This is my homemade granola recipe:

6 – 8 cups rolled oats

4 – 6 cups  mixed nuts, seeds and dried fruit

½ – ⅔ cups oil (sesame or mild olive oil are best)

1 – 1½ cups maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Mix all the ingredients except for the raisins and dried fruit.  Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the granola mixture about ½ – ⅔” deep.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.  Take out and mix well.  Put it to bake in the oven for 5 -7 minutes more, remove, and mix again.  Add the raisins and dried fruit and bake for 5 more minutes.  Cool.  Keep mixing the granola and breaking it up until completely cool so it doesn’t form into one lump.  Store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Thank you, dear friend.

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