"Uncle Aron's compliments, which hadn't changed since the days of the
Bible, didn't sound so great. One time, he told my mother that she was
'awesome like an army with flags.' Another time, he informed her that
'your nose is like the tower of Lebanon."
Meet the village it took to raise Gil Hovav - colorful aunts and uncles
hailing from one of the most respected lineages in the Jewish world
(Hovav is the great-grandson of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the reviver of the
Hebrew language). This book includes twenty-two funny and heart-warming
stories awash with love and longing for the people who raised one skinny
and cross-eyed Jerusalemite boy to love poor-man's food, to love proper
Hebrew and, most importantly, to love people.
The nostalgic writing is dished up with more than twenty delicious
family recipes with the seal of approval from Gil Hovav, the man who has
played a major role in the remaking of Israeli cuisine and the
transformation of Israel from a country of basic traditional foods into
a "gourmet nation". Readers get to chuckle at Hovav's amusing
recollections and salivate over his family recipes for sweet sour chorba
tomato soup and his Aunt Levana's eggplant and feta bourekas. If you've
ever wondered how to make hilbeh or slow-cooked eggs (or if you're
simply itching to expand your culinary repertoire), this book is for
you.
As wholesome and warming as a homecooked meal, Candies from Heaven will
appeal to anyone who treasures good food and relationships built on
love. Dig in, dear readers, pleasure is served.
