Chapter 37, Jukitta

“Long time ago in a land far, far, away lived a small beetle, ‘Jukitta’ was her name.” Dad started to tell us a story. We were all sitting on the floor around him in Aunt Marie’s Back yard. It was one day before Vivi’s Bar-Mitzvah”. Vivi was there with his sister Inez, his brothers Avram and Motke, my cousin Batyah and her baby brother Ofer, My cousin Yudit and her brother Haim, and even Momi Uncle David’s son and his baby brother Ranni. Our eyes were fixed at My dad’s direction listening to his story. I heard this story already before, from Meme Milli yet I always loved it and anyway, Dad was a great storyteller. And now that he had a little wine to drink, he was a little funny too. 

This was late at night after a very eventful day. We were in Ashkelon, an old city in the southwestern part of the Israeli shore. It dates back to the Philistines. Remember the story of Samson and Delila? Well, it happened there. On the shoreline stretched an archeological park. Many cactus plants were spread in between the old digs and structures. They were barring fruit, a lot of fruit, “Sabres” the cactus pair, is very sweet yet very prickly on the outside, just like the Israeli born kids – Sabras. After spending a few hours on the beach swimming and making sandcastles we decided to pick some Sabres and bring them home. This was not an easy task. We had to create special tools for this job. A long stick like a broom stick for example was needed, an empty can with two nails connected to the end of the stick in a 90-degree angle. We had to reach the Sabres cover it with the can and twist. The fruit would fall of the branch and stay in the can. We would drop it into a big container and fill it with water and ice. The combination would soften the little thorns and make it easier to peel the fruit. That day we picked up so many pairs that we had enough to feed the whole family and guests who came to the Bar-Mitzvah party. Not without a price, all of us ended up scratching some part or another of our body from the tiny thorns.

“Jukitta was a brave beetle and very industrious,” Continued Dad.  “She was a very good cook. Her favorite dish was grass soup. Everyone in the neighborhood loved her soup and they lined up to grab a bowl for lunch. Her biggest fan was a little mouse who lived across the street. He loved her soup so much that he fell in love with Jukitta. After a long courting period he asked Jukitta to marry him. To his delight she accepted.
  ‘will you teach me how to make this soup?’ asked the mouse. 
  ‘Well, there is a lot more than just ingredients and technique involved.’ She replied. ‘you have to give it your all, your soul your love.’ 
  ‘I will watch you and learn’, said the mouse. And so, he did. He watched her cut the grass and vegetables and how she sautéed the onions and added the garlic and so on. He loved most to see how she used her long spoon and stir the soup as it was boiling. She worked slowly and with a lot of patience. 

One day Jukitta had to go to the market to get some salt and a few more ingredients for the soup she was planning to make the next day. ‘Will you watch over the soup for me?’ she asked Mouse. ‘All you have to do is slowly stir the soup whenever you see it bubble.’ 
  ‘Sure, I will be happy,’ answered Mouse.

As soon as she left, Mouse jumped right in and took the long spoon and started to stir. He was having fun and started to sing and dance while stirring. Unfortunately, as he was dancing, he lost his grip and dropped the spoon by accident into the pot and lost it in the soup. Mouse panicked, what am I going to do? He was running all over the kitchen looking for a spoon to replace the one he dropped in the pot to no avail. There was no extra spoon. It was Jukitta’s only spoon. Finally, an Idea came to mind. Mouse had a long tail; he could use it instead of a spoon. So, mouse stood on the top of the pot balancing himself he lowered his tail down and started to stir the soup. When Jukitta returned from the market mouse was so excited, he jumped of the pot and ran to great his lovely wife. ‘come, come Jukitta’ he sang, ‘come taste the soup.’ 

Jukitta walked with him to the kitchen and looked at the soup. It looked good, a little thicker than usual and it even smelled a little better, something was different. She looked down at her loving husband and suddenly asked, ‘Mouse, where is your tail?’”

“EEEEUUU” we all cried as my Dad was laughing, and I was scratching my knee. In fact, I was scratching my knee all night long and during the next day at the synagogue while Vivi was reading the Torah and even the night after and all the way home. When we arrived home, Mom looked at me and my knee. “We need to take you to the doctor” she said. My knee was swollen and full of puss. The doctor called it a “Farunkel”, a pussy sist, he lanced it, gave me medication and ordered me to stay of my leg for 2 days until the swelling subsides. 

 

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Lemon Chicken Soup

  Lemon chicken is a popular Greek soup. It could be served chilled in the summer or hot in a cold winter day. My version of this soup has very little meat. It is mostly broth base.

 

Ingredients:

Bones from ½ a Chicken

½ a Cup Lemon Juice

¼ Cup Rice or Orzo

1 Onion 

1 Parsnip 

1 Turnip

1 Potato

4 Garlic Cloves

1 tsp Salt

¼ tsp Turmeric

A Pinch Black Pepper

2 TBSP Olive Oil

4 Cups Water

 

Preparation:
  Steam the vegetables until soft. Add spices water lemon and bones and bring to boil. Simmer for one hour. Strain the soup from the bones, mash the potato, parsnip and turnup in the soup to create a thicker texture. add the rice, bring to boil and simmer until the rice is soft. Serve cold or hot.

 

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