Aloha Bread Lovers
Aloha Bread Lovers – tomorrow (Sunday) we will be serving a favorite of ours that we haven’t made in a while – Jachnun. This is a dish traditionally served on Sabbath morning, originating with the Jews who came from Yemen (more on this below). It is a dough that soaks in olive oil and is then spread paper thin, slathered with butter and then rolled up into dough rolls. These are then placed in an iron pot, we add whole eggs and add a healthy amount of date syrup (Silan). The whole thing is put in the oven and – you guessed it – slow-cooked overnight. It is served with some tangy tomato sauce and a cooked egg from the pot. AND, we will have our favorite Uke Jammers (still minus Gordon who is still waiting for a part for his car…oy).
And now for the connection between Jachnun and Hawaii – something that I learned about this week: In 1947 the U.N. voted to partition what was then the British Mandate for Palestine, creating two states – the Jewish state of Israel and the Arab state of Palestine. The Jewish leadership accepted the partition, the Arab leadership rejected it and in 1948 the new state of Israel was invaded by 5 Arab armies. At the same time, the rest of the Arab world responded by attacking and in some cases expelling their Jewish populations – altogether it is estimated that roughly 850K Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries. Yemen was no exception. The CEO of Alaska Airways at the time was John Wooten who had purchased surplus DC-4’s and C-46 airplanes following WW2. He used some of these planes to help airlift aid into Berlin. In 1949 when he learned of the plight of Yemenite Jews under attack in Yemen, he used his fleet as part of a secret operation known as Operation Wings of Eagles, airlifting 49,000 to Israel between 1949-1950. Back then it was a perilous mission. The planes needed to stop to refuel in Amsara, Ethiopia before continuing on to Aden, Yemen. Navigation was done by a sextant and a chronograph. Fast forward to a merged Hawaiian and Alaska Airways and voila, the connection between Jachnun and Hawaii!! Here is a link to read about it: https://news.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/on-eagles-wings/
Finally, thank you for your patience and understanding as Motek was closed for one day due to tenting for termites. Naturally, we had just received a shipment of 2500lbs of flour that along with all other foodstuffs were moved out of the bakery, and then back to the bakery. Glad that it’s behind us.
Mahalo – David and Yael
P.S. – A Joke: WARNING – CLICK ON THIS LINK AT YOUR OWN PERIL: https://www.oldjewstellingjokes.com/2018/10/31/larry-greenfield-sidney-the-lumberjack-256
