I Love My Ice Machine in the Summertime

I made a commitment to myself when I started writing these blogs: If I don’t have something to say, no writing just for the sake of self-promotion or getting a blog out every day or something totally perfunctory. I might have crossed the line here.

So, space here in Tel Aviv is tight (and expensive). My very small kitchen features 4, yes 4 refrigerator/freezers, which I have managed to squeeze into a ridiculously small amount of space. They are always chock full. So full in fact that I keep telling Irit that I need to add yet another one, although she is quick to point out that I will just fill that one up as well with homemade sauces and vinaigres, etc. And we both know she is right. Which is to say that no matter how many cooling machines I have on hand, there is never enough space for ice. Which sucks. Because the thing I probably use most in my cooking on a daily basis is the unheralded, under-appreciated, unloved, ice. Why?

Well aside from the accompaniment that keeps me hydrated all of those hot hours in the kitchen with soda and a liberal splash of Campari, ice is critical for all of the fucking blanching I do. If you don’t cook a lot, you would not believe how much ice you need to make an ice bath for just one simple vegetable, most of which are green (broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts). If you are cooking professionally, you need a small iceberg in the kitchen, every day. Which I now have and which I bless most every day.